The best way I have found to describe miso paste is it's kind of like
soy sauce only in a pasty form. I have a bowl of miso soup every
morning for breakfast. I would not say it enhances the flavors of other
foods. It really has it's own very strong taste. For a very simple
soup, soak 1 shitake mushroom for 20 minutes. Remove stem and slice.
Boil 1 cup water with one 6 inch piece of kombu seaweed and shitake
mushrooms for 10 minutes. Discard the seaweed. Remove from heat.
Dissolve 1 tablespoon miso in stock. Garnish with chopped scallions.
DO NOT keep cooking with the miso. Miso should be added at the last
minute and not be reheated. Some things you can add to make it more
interesting are:
Any type of edible mushroom
carrots, beans sprouts, snow peas, grated daikon, lotus root
any type of seaweed (Wakame, dulse, arame, hijiki, etc.)
tofu
leftover cooked grains, (brown rice, millet, barley, etc.)
cabbage, kale, bok choy, collards
The possibilities are endless.
Here is another recipe I got from Veggies Unite.
Cauliflower Millet Miso
one head of cauliflower,stem removed, broken into large peices
one half cup of white miso
one cup of millet
three large carrots, diced
one medium onion, diced
Put cauliflower, onion, and carrots in a medium sized pot of water or
vegtable stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add
the millet and cook for 10 minutes, Uncover, add the miso, stir and cook
5 minutes. Enjoy
Serves: four.
Preparation time: 45 minutes.
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