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Miso Comes in a Variety of Shapes and Forms
Miso is normally used in soups and/or cooked dishes. However, some types of miso are used alone as a topping for plain-tasting foods, eaten as a snack with drinks, or put on steamed rice. These types of miso are referred to as “okazu miso.” Kinzanji-miso is a wellknown example of okazu miso.
Moromi-miso refers to a soft, solid mass where the raw ingredients brewed to make soy-sauce or sake become fermented. Put simply, it is a stage of fermentation prior to becoming soy sauce. To make moromi-miso, the koji (malted rice) made from wheat, soybeans, rice, etc., is fermented in an amount of salt water less than that used to make soy-sauce.
Moromi-miso is produced not for making soup, but for enjoying on its own. In moromi- miso the shapes of the ingredients, wheat and/or soybeans, are clearly visible; it is indeed “soy-sauce to be eaten.” “Moro-kyu” where moromimiso is served on cucumbers, is perfect as a side dish to enjoy with sake. It is also an all-purpose seasoning that can be used with tofu, sashimi, or broiled fish, for example.
How to Cook Moromi-Miso
Chicken Moromi-Miso Yaki Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 2 chicken thighs
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
Pickled sauce:
- 1/4 onion
- 1 one-inch piece of ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce koji (Nijiya Shoyu koji)
- 3 Tbsp. moromi-miso
- 2 Tbsp. sake
Cooking Directions
- Grate the onion, ginger, and garlic. Mix with soy sauce koji, moromi-miso, and sake.
- Pierce the chicken with a fork, and marinate it in the sauce for one hour in the refrigerator.
- Coat a pan with the sesame oil, and cook the chicken over medium heat.
