Using Miso as a Seasoning

Miso may be used in place of salt or shoyu in most recipes. It has a more mellow and varied flavor than shoyu, and imparts added body to broths and sauces. The following quantities impart approximately the same "saltiness" and can therefore be used interchangeably (as explained on page 32 of the book).

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons shoyu
1 tablespoon salty miso, (see chart p. 32 of the book)
1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons mellow miso
2-1/2 to 3 tablespoons sweet miso

To use miso sold in a polyethylene bag, cut across one of the bag's upper corners to make a 3/4-inch-long opening. Then simply squeeze the bag (as you would apply icing to a cake using a pastry bag) to give a neat, smooth bead.

One tablespoon of miso weighs 17.3 gm.

Remember that natural miso is a living food containing many beneficial microorganisms which are easily killed by prolonged cooking. Whenever possible add the miso to soups or other preparations just before they are removed from the heat or use the miso in ways that require no cooking.

Buy the Book!

The Book of Miso
by William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi
Ten Speed Press, 2001
280 pages, $19.95 paper
USBN 1-58008-366-6
Recipe reprinted by permission.