SEATTLE —
Miso Pickling Paste
This miso paste will last for numerous pickle batches, but its vibrant, salty sweetness will eventually dissipate. You will know the bed is getting “tired” when it becomes watery and the flavors become thin. At this point, you can use the miso mixture to flavor another dish, a stir-fry, or a soup stock.
Miso can be expensive to use in this quantity. This is why we want to use the miso as many times as possible. You can add salt and extra mirin and sake to freshen it up. Or, if you do not want to maintain a bed, thinly coat the vegetables with miso and place them in a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible. Place this on the counter for a few hours, or longer in the fridge.
You can use any type of miso or tasty paste. This is also a good way to use a homemade miso that may not have turned out as hoped or become too sour. If you are using an imperfect miso or tasty paste that is low in salt, add another 1 percent salt by weight for deeper flavor.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (237 ml) miso
- 3 tablespoons (44 ml) mirin, sherry, or rice vinegar (see note)
- 3 tablespoons (44 ml) sake
Directions:
- Combine the miso, mirin, and sake in a small bowl and mix well.
- Use the miso paste to prepare a pickling bed as described on page 87, layering the paste with fresh vegetables (for short fermentations) or partially dried or salt-pressed vegetables (for longer fermentations).
- Taste the miso-zuke to determine doneness. They are finished whenever they are flavored to your liking, which can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Once the pickles are ready, pull them out of the pickling bed, wiping off any lingering paste, and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they will keep for about a week.
- Store the miso paste in the refrigerator when not in use. We like to store it in a small, square glass container that can serve as the vessel for both storage and a pickling bed.
- Note: The alcohol content of the sake and mirin helps keep the medium from developing surface yeast or off-flavors, but they can be omitted if avoiding alcohol.
- Uses for Already-Used Pickling Pastes
- Once a pickling paste is past its prime, don’t toss it—even if it’s not potent enough to be used for tsukemono, it has a lot of life still left. Try using it as a flavoring agent in sauces, soups, and dressings, or use it as the liquid for savory baked goods. Another option is to dehydrate it and use it as a flavoring powder.
Segment Producer Joseph Suttner. Watch New Day Northwest 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.