Homemade miso
Miso has just finished preparation and it starts to be matured. After half a year, what taste it has?
Ingredients (3.5kg - 4kg)
- 1 kg (= 2 lbs) soybeans
- 600g - 1.2 kg (= 1 1/4 lbs. - 2 1/2 lbs.) koji (malted rice): We use much koji in our area.
- about 450 g (=1 lb.) salt : Adjust to your favor.
Utensils
- Pressure cooker: It's OK if you don't have this pot. But if you have, you can shorten boiling.
- Masher, Wooden pestle or Liquidizer: You need a tool for mash the soybeans.
- Earthen pot or Wooden keg: You need this for preserving miso. To mature Miso which need breath, earthen or wooden ware are desirable. You prepare container which can hold three or four times of soybeans.
- Weight (1 Kg = 2 lbs): You use for maturing miso
- Gauze, Newspaper, String
Directions
- Wash soybeans well with rubbing. Soak soybeans in 2 liter water for a night (about 8 hours).
- Put harf amount of soybeans of 1) with soaking water into pressure cooker, and put the drop-lid, and set the lid. Boil at high heat until its weight start to turn, and boil for more 20 minutes at low heat. Stop the heat and steam for 10 minutes. Boil the rest of soybean in the same way. If you use usually pot, put soybeans and soaking water into pot. Boil at high heat until water becomes boil, and boil at low heat for approximately 2 hours. Put soybeans into the colander and drain.
- When soybeans cool almost to body temperature, put into container and mash them with masher or Wooden pestle or Liquidizer.
- Put koji and salt into a container like a wooden tub, and mix well. Add mashed soybeans of 3) and mix well. If it is still hard, pour about 1/2 cup water which is boiled and cooled.
- Make miso ball for letting the air out of miso, and stuff it into preserving container. When finish stuffing all, level the surface of miso, and spread gauze all over the surface. Put the weight on it, and cover with newspaper and tie fast with string. Put the container in the cool place.
Maturing
Miso needs for maturing from 4 months to 8 months. It is different in season. When it becomes just ready to eat, mix up and down and put some miso into a jar. Level the surface of the rest, spread the gauze and preserve in the cool place. No need weight this time.