What is miso?
Miso, also known as lobster sauce, is fermented with soybean as the main raw material, salt and different kinds of koji. In fact, it is a seasoning from Japan. There was a saying in the Edo period in Japan: "It is better to buy miso than to pay the doctor. It can be seen that miso is important in the hearts of Japanese people. Miso is produced in almost all parts of the country. There are rich flavor differences due to technology, raw materials and process length, and there are hundreds of flavors, which can be described as Japan's national seasoning. Countries adjacent to Japan have also been affected by the miso fever, making miso the most familiar Japanese seasoning for Asians, and its cooking methods are quite extensive. Do you like miso cooking? Come and meet some common Japanese miso on the market!
There are many kinds of miso in Japan, with their own characteristics in color, taste and usage!
Understand the classification of miso.
Quzhong:
Miso is a fermented seasoning cooked by adding koji and salt to soybean. According to the different koji added, such as rice koji, bean koji and wheat koji, it can be divided into three categories: rice miso, bean miso and wheat miso. Among them, rice miso, which accounts for 80% of the total, is also the usual taste of Taiwan Province people, and it is suitable for being salty and sweet.
Color:
From the color appearance, it can also be divided into three categories: white miso, light miso and red miso; Pale miso is between the two, yellowish and earthy. The difference in color depth is caused by the length of fermentation time. The longer the ripening time, the darker the color will be.
It is the fastest way to distinguish miso from color.
Taste:
There are mainly differences between "sweet-tasting miso" and "pungent-tasting miso". The former is light and sweet. The latter has a strong aroma and a salty taste. The difference in taste is mainly due to the different ratio of Aspergillus to salt, and most of Aspergillus will be made into sweet and salty miso; If there is more salt, it belongs to pungent miso.
Red miso with strong flavor is often used to make sauce and dip in sauce.
Generally speaking, Japanese kanto region, Northeast China, Hokkaido and other places with colder weather have a heavy taste, so most of the miso produced is Xin Kou miso. The Kansai region with a light diet is the main producing area of Gankou Miso!
Miso:
Xinzhou Miso: A representative of light-colored pungent miso, it is the most common miso in Japan and the most familiar flavor in Taiwan Province. Because it tastes refreshing and the bean flavor is fresh, it is often eaten directly except for seasoning. For example, the famous Japanese local snack "Wuping cake" is eaten with miso sauce on the baked cake, which is one of the "flying famous things" in Gifu County.
Edo Ganmiso: Compared with Xinzhou Miso, Edo Ganmiso only uses half the salt and twice the koji to ferment, but the fermentation time is quite fast and the shelf life is relatively short. It is a unique red miso with strong sweetness.
On the left is Edo Ganmiso (red miso) and on the right is Xinzhou miso (light miso).
Sendai Miso: Red Miso fermented by rice koji takes longer to mature than Xinzhou Miso, reaching six months to one year; Therefore, it is red in color, strong in flavor and salty in taste, and is often used to cook soup.
Yuehou Miso: It is produced in Niigata County, a big rice county. It is a red miso with high salt concentration, and its biggest feature is the grains with rice.
Xijing Miso: The time of fermentation and ripening is the shortest, and it is also called white miso because of its white color, which is sweet. The main producing areas are in Kansai areas such as Kyoto and Hiroshima; Xijing Shao, a famous local cuisine in Kyoto, is made of Xijing miso pickled fish1~ 2 days, and then grilled with charcoal fire.
White miso: Xijing miso is often used to bake bread and cakes because of its sweetness.
Wheat miso:
Kyushu Miso: It is made by fermenting soybean mixed with wheat koji, which is light brown in color. It is mainly produced in Kyushu and Shikoku, also known as "Tian She Miso". Wheat miso is a kind of sweet miso, which is characterized by the granular taste of wheat and is often used to make barbecue rice balls.
Wheat miso with brown particles is a special miso in Kyushu and Shikoku.
Bean miso:
Bading Miso: "Bean Miso" fermented with soybeans, bean koji and salt, all made with bean koji. The ripening time is about three years, the color is dark reddish brown, and the salty taste is heavier, with a slightly astringent and slightly bitter strong taste as the biggest feature. The output of Bading Miso is relatively small, mainly produced in Aichi Prefecture. There are also many famous snacks derived from Bading Miso, such as the famous miso fried pork chop in Nagoya, which is covered with maroon Bading Miso sauce.
Nagoya's famous gourmet miso pork chop is Bading miso, a specialty of Aichi Prefecture, which is reddish brown in color and rich in flavor.
In addition to these famous local miso, the Japanese have also brought the spirit of loving miso into full play, and made more miso flavors into "mixed miso", so the flavor level is natural. Next time you go to the supermarket, you might as well try all kinds of miso to surprise the dishes!