No one puts miso in a corner. Well, that’s not true. A lot of people do. But they shouldn’t, because they probably don't know how to use miso paste. You can’t just label miso as a soup ingredient and call it a day. Miso has so much more to offer, and it deserves all the love it can get.
If you’re not familiar with miso (or often pass the plastic tubs in your grocery store’s refrigerator thinking, “Eh, maybe next time”) let us give you a quick miso breakdown.
Miso is a fermented mixture of soy beans (usually, but other grains and beans are used too) and koji (a totally safe type of mold that grows on rice). It packs an amazing amount of umami, plenty of salt, and just enough funk to keep things interesting. There are tons of varieties of miso out there, but if you're cruising your average grocery store, you're most likely to find two varieties: Sweet white miso, which is lighter in color and flavor, and red miso, which is fermented for a longer time to make it saltier, earthier, and more intense in color and flavor. If you want a more in-depth miso breakdown, we've got you right over here. Whatever kind of miso you're working with, here’s how to get the most out of that fermented flavor bomb:
Green Beans and Cucumbers With Miso Dressing
Crushing and smashing green beans and cucumbers sounds crazy, but it creates nooks and crannies to soak up as much umami-rich miso sauce as possible. And this is a dressing you'll want a lot of.
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Salad Dressings
Miso doesn’t need to be cooked. It’s ready to go as soon as you pop the lid to that tub, which means you could stir it into that quick dressing you just whipped up. You can dress a simple green salad or some roasted vegetables with a miso dressing, and whether you’re leaning toward the creamy side or the acidic side, it’s an easy way to make everything a little more interesting.
Miso- and Mayo-Marinated Short Ribs with Spicy Sauce
Build big flavor quickly with condiments that are already in your fridge.
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Glazes and Marinades
Miso’s greatest strength is lending deep umami flavor to vegetarian dishes, but it makes meat even tastier too. A miso-glaze or marinade does for chicken wings or a pork chop what tomato sauce does for sausage and meatballs—it adds an extra layer of savoriness. Just make sure to dilute your miso with vinegar, water, butter, or some kind of sauce. You don’t want to go spreading your whole roasted chicken with clumpy miso straight from the jar.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Miso-Tahini Sauce
That three-ingredient sauce can go on anything. Double batch = necessary.
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Creamy Schmeary Stuff
Miso and mayo. Miso and ranch. Miso and cream cheese. Miso and tahini. It’s all great, especially when it ends up schmeared on the bottom of a platter, or spread on a sandwich. A little miso mayo turns that turkey and cheese from 0 to 100 real quick. Real quick. Whole squad on that miso-mayo sh*t.
Garage Noodles Are the Rent Week Stir Fry Recipe That's Here to Party
Kale, mushrooms, onions, and a beautifully bold sauce make instant ramen noodles something to be excited about.
Stir-Fry Flavor Enhancer
Stir-fried vegetables and noodles like to get involved with a little sauce, and miso is a great addition to whatever liquid you’re adding to the pan. We love it stirred into a mixture of rice vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin. The sweet, salty, acidic, funky flavors all meld beautifully when hit with high heat for a short amount of time. Oh, a little fish sauce never hurt either.
Ramen Noodles With Miso Pesto
This cilantro-miso pesto is bright and delicious on springy ramen noodles.
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The Pesto Move
The greatest lie the devil ever told was that miso is only good in Japanese dishes. It’s just not true. Miso transforms a bright, herb-heavy pesto into something a little earthier. Flavor-wise, it’s like comparing a fresh tomato to a roasted one. The roasted tomato has a more developed, complex flavor. Same goes for that miso pesto you’re going to make.
Green Miso Soup With Soba
Nutty, buckwheat-based soba noodles add some heft to the classic miso broth.
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And That One Thing We Said We Were Going to Ignore
Remember when we said we weren’t going to talk about soup? Well...we lied. Because miso soup rules. Sorry. Want to know how to make that? We've got a whole thing about easy miso soup right here. That said, miso is killer in all kinds of soups. Chili. Beef stew. Chicken noodle soup. Minestrone. If it's soup, a spoonful (or two!) of miso paste is never not going to add salt and depth. We like to add it towards the end, when we're seasoning to taste.
More miso, more noodles, no problems:
Cold Miso-Sesame Noodles
The ultimate dinner-to-desk lunch dish.
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