A generous tablespoon of miso paste in a cup of hot water and quicker than Zatoichi can vanquish a bad guy (or flies, this is a fun link), you have soup. A delicious solution to a quick and healthy hot drink can be that simple. You really don’t need to know more.
But why leave it there? It turns out that miso is very interesting stuff. Typically miso is made from soybeans; it’s actually soybean paste (there are other variations, but we’ll save that for Advanced Miso). For anyone even slightly interested in Japanese food this is pretty common knowledge, but a quick call to Mamie and we could have more knowledge tucked in our kimono sleeve! My Japanese chef pal started out by explaining the dark/light thing. This is a consequence of age (darker is older), and there’s more. Miso is associated with different prefectures of Japan. The milder white misos are from the Kyoto area, which is in Southern Japan. This is where Mamie grew up. She was quick to tell me that she prefers the milder white miso. Kyoto was the seat of Japanese nobility and is associated with the arts and refinement, hence the more subtle and delicate miso. As she was telling me this I had the distinct impression that mellow white miso was truly part of her culinary DNA.
But what if I was talking to someone from the north? Would they praise the darker, saltier and stronger flavored miso? The dark, more fermented misos are associated with rustic, rural, rugged mountainous areas of chillier Northern Japan.
I like the idea of food preference as embedded DNA. We all have our comfort foods and engaging with familiar tastes can be like returning home. But how dull!!! Food is one of the simplest ways to experience something new. You can’t go wrong with a small tub of miso. Add some little cubes of tofu and a sliced scallion to your cup of miso and you can imagine dining with Zatoichi and some less savory characters!
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