Miso Lovers

Miso paste is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soy beans with salt and the fungus.  When i first saw miso paste, i wonder why there are several colors of miso paste and what the differences may be.    Well, i read an article today about miso.

In the past, people here said that you can tell the home town of a person if you know what miso paste the person likes to use most at home.   Apparently miso made in different parts of Japan, has different ingredients and colors.

Up north in areas like Hokkaido and Tohoku, miso were made of mainly rice and the color are dark brown (sometimes we call them red miso), they are saltier than other types of miso.   In the West, like Aichi prefecture, miso were made of mainly soy beans.   In further Westside of Japan people used rice to make miso, but the taste is sweeter and the color is rather pale (here called white miso).    In Kyusu and Kumamoto miso paste is mostly made of barley and the color is usually light/bright.

Tips for Miso lovers:  

1. Use lighter color miso in winter time, then as the season changes to spring and winter, use a darker type of miso.

2. You can buy two types of miso of different colors and use a mixture of them in the process.

3. Lighter color miso is sweeter with lower salt is suitable in winter, whereas the darker color (red miso) which is saltier is suitable for summer.

4. Color of miso differs by the way they process the soy beans.   When you steam soy beans for a longer time, the color of miso turns darker - such as in the case of making red miso.   When you steam soy beans for a shorter time, the miso turns pale/lighter - such as in the case of making white miso.

Please note that soy beans are the main ingredients of most miso you see nowadays.

Easy Roll Cabbage

Have you heard of cabbage being soporific, meaning you can actually sleep better upon eating a lot of cabbage?   Well, i don't quite feel it that way when i eate cabbage.  I like cabbage because it contains lots of vitamins and here in Japan cabbage is a popular vegetables in early spring, usually cooked in soup or other hot dishes - believed to have a positive effect on skin and boost antibody against cold or minor illness.

Serve 2

Ingredients

6 slices of cabbage (big and round)

200 gram of minced pork (choose a less fatty one if you are concerned about fat level)

1/2 finely cut onions

4-6 pcs of shiitake mushrooms (alternatively you can use other type of mushrooms available)

1 tbsp of butter

1/4 tsp of salt

a little pepper

a slice of laurel (leave)

100 ml of water (i prefer using 200 ml of chicken broth or Japanese broth)

100 ml of tomato puree (use fresh tomatoes if you like, but it takes time, i usually use canned tomato puree)

variation: half boiled broccoli, white radish

salt and pepper to season the soup

1 tbsp of butter at the end of cooking for creamier taste 

How to make:

1. Prepare 6 slices (or more if  you like) cabbage leaves, by first cutting the core of cabbage, then peel out the cabbage leaves slowly so that you do not break the leaves unnecessarily

2. Boil these slices of cabbages in water until it becomes softer (but make sure you do not overcook it in boiling water)

3. Prepare minced meat, finely chop/mince mushrooms and onions -> put all these mixture together and add seasoning

4. Take each cabbage leave and wrap about two tablespoon of mixture nicely so that when you boil them the roll cabbage will stay in its shape.  Place them into a pot.

5. Pour the soup and bring it to boil then pour tomato pure into the pot.  For variation, you can add already half boiled broccoli and white radish, and a few sausages will make the soup taste even better

6. Taste it and adjust with seasoning at the end