I've seen miso listed in a number of recipes and I've been looking for it for almost two weeks. I finally found it today where it was all the time -- in the refrigerated section at my local Asian grocery store. I needed it in order to make Japanese Curry with Edamame, a recipe I found on the Vegetarian Times website.
I bought a plastic bag of yellow miso. I was actually looking for white miso, but the clerk told me that yellow miso is white miso. I was left to trust him on this matter since the store didn't have any miso that looked white and I'm an uneducated culinary rube. They did have red miso, which my reading told me was more strongly flavored that the white . . . er, yellow. So, I bought the yellow . . . I mean, the white.
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley, and/or soybeans with salt and the fungus kōjikin, the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru, a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso is widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest. Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. There is a wide variety of miso available. Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savory.
As for the Japanese Curry with Edamame? It was salty, sweet, earthy, fruity and savory. And fabulous! The sauce was rich, like a gravy, and I served it over brown rice. It was filling and tasty and a recipe that I plan to make again soon. And, I added another new food to my list -- quinoa, kale and now, edamame!
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