What is Miso? What types of miso are there? Delicious miso dishes

If you are a fan of Japanese food, you must have tried many dishes using miso. So what is this divine Japanese condiment – miso? Learn all about miso with Tnhelearning.edu.vn as well as delicious and attractive dishes with miso!

What is Miso?

Miso is also known by the familiar name of miso paste. It is a condiment that always appears in Japanese rice trays.

Miso is made from soybeans, rice and barley. To become miso it has to go through a process called fermentation (fermentation with salt, kojikin mushrooms) to have a thick consistency and serve with vegetables, meat and fish. In addition, it is also a great seasoning for the typical Japanese miso soup .

Miso has a sweet, salty, and salty taste, aromatic and slightly yeasty due to the fermentation process. Depending on the taste of each person, the miso sauce has a different sweet and salty taste.

The origin of miso paste exists 2 theories.

One theory is that miso was imported from China . The reason is that until the Edo period, miso was still called hishio, written as 醤 like the Chinese language.

The other theory is that miso is a unique product originating from Japan , starting from the Jomon period. Usually used in family meals with fried, steamed or stir-fried dishes and gradually became the traditional ingredient as it is now.

However, perhaps the latter hypothesis is still considered more correct by everyone. As we can see miso is widely used in Japan as it is now.

Types of miso

Sort by ingredients

If we classify miso by ingredients, we will get 4 types of miso: barley miso, bean miso, rice miso (most common) and mixed miso .

Rice Miso: A type of miso that is made from rice and soybeans and then fermented. Depending on the climate and region, it has the right color and flavor. In cold places like Hokkaido, miso will be salty and red, while in Osaka, miso will be white and sweet.

Barley Miso: This miso is made by fermenting barley along with soybeans . Barley miso has a slightly yellow color , depending on the region that it has a different taste. It is often said that people in Kanto will eat miso with a salty taste, and Kyushu with a sweet taste.

Bean Miso: This is a type of miso that uses only one ingredient for fermentation, which is soybeans . The soybeans give this miso its dark color , and the bean miso has a rather salty taste.

Mixed Miso: This is a type of miso made from soybeans, mixed with 2 or more different types of miso and then fermented like the above types of miso. People combine different types of miso to create their own taste. For example, if you combine salty bean miso with sweet rice miso, you will get a mixed miso that is just right.

Usually, mixed miso has a salty taste. But its taste and aroma will largely depend on various factors in composition and fermentation.

Sort by color and taste

Most of the time when making miso, only the basic ingredients are the same. But depending on the region and method of making, miso has different colors and flavors.

It is the Maillard reaction – the chemical reaction between sugars and reducing amino acids that gives foods their brown color and better flavor – during the fermentation process that results in the different red, white, and bold colors.

White Miso: When the soybeans are boiled, you will see the sugar and protein come out, blending into the yeast or refined rice. The fermentation process is short for several weeks , making the miso taste sweeter and the miso also white.

Lightly Dark Miso: This is a blend of red and white miso in color. The fermentation time of this miso is also short, only 3 months to 1 year . Its flavor is more salty than white miso and is also more acidic.

Red Miso: To create such color, the process of making miso paste must undergo high temperature and long fermentation time, about 2 years. Therefore, this type of miso is the saltiest of the three color-classified miso.

Miso dishes

Salmon cup noodles with miso sauce

A cup of delicious noodles, full of colors from green seaweed, red chili, yellow egg yolk , pink salmon. Guaranteed to make you fall in love with it. Fatty salmon , eaten with the rest of the ingredients, makes your noodles not boring.

Miso soup

This is a traditional Japanese dish, always on the Japanese table. With just dashi broth, miso and some ingredients such as seaweed, tofu , you can immediately enjoy a hot, cool soup.

Chicken udon noodles with miso sauce

Typical Japanese large udon noodles, combined with a sweet broth, and ingredients such as chicken, beef, and kimchi create an extremely nutritious and attractive bowl of noodles.

Namero

This is a dish made by taking minced fish or meat and mixing it with seasonings including miso paste . The fish used here is raw fish, adding miso sauce, the flavor of the dish is more intense.

Deep-fried pork with miso sauce

After the pork is deep-fried and crispy, it will be covered with a miso-based sauce . This is a dish that will help you remember forever because the pork is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, just cooked, mixed with a light and delicious miso sauce.

Miso is an indispensable condiment of Japan to make dishes more delicious and richer. Hope the information about miso and miso-based dishes above will help you have a great ingredient in the kitchen to cook delicious dishes for your family.

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