What is Miso?

My daughter loves miso soup. You know, the kind they give you at the Japanese restaurant that usually has cubes of tofu and slivers of seaweed? Well my daughter who swears to hate anything seafood loves miso soup. She tolerates the seaweed or just picks them out when she sees them. But I haven't told her that the stock base for miso soup is made of fish stock. Or rather, flavored with dried bonito flakes. Did you know that?

Did you also know that the main ingredient of the soup, MISO, is made of fermented soy beans? My daughter does not mind this so much. She loves edamame! Salt and koji fungus are also added to fascilitate the fermentation process along.

The final product that I buy is a tub like the one pictured below at the Asian market. It's usually in the refrigerated section.



It is a thick paste, golden in color, has a slightly sour, fermented smell and very salty. I have been buying it mainly to make my daughter's miso soup. Then a few weeks ago, I ran across this recipe for Miso Dip, and I just fell in love with it!

MISO DIP

It's so simple, I don't know why I never thought of doing it before. The dip, which is really more of a condiment that you can use to accompany a variety of dishes, is simply miso paste sauteed with garlic, onions and tomatoes. Nothing could be simpler! But oh the possibilities of using this condiment is endless!

So far, we've used it as a flavor enhancer for soups, a dip for fried fish and pork chops, added it to curried dishes, and my favorite, as a pasta sauce!

I'll post more photos and recipes of miso dip inspired dishes as I get to them.
Now if you would like to learn more specific and detailed information about Miso, check out this page about Hatcho Miso for some very interesting facts.