The miso-making people are not known for small-batching their product. The typical scenario goes like this: you need a tablespoon of miso for a recipe and then you are left with a brick of miso paste that you shove to the back of your fridge for a couple of years until it is a dry, sad lump of unusable food stuff.
I was in this camp until I began making miso dressing. My suribachi helps the process because I can really make a good garlic paste that integrates so well with the miso and vinegar bath.
Miso is a brilliant fermented food so it’s no wonder if has been used in cooking since the 7th century. Most miso is made with a blend of rice, soybeans, and salt. Salty, funky, charcoal-y it’s categorized as an umami food for it’s deep savory taste.
If you’d like to turn your salad into a miso-tasting feast, you can also make these delicious miso noodles and finish with a miso ice cream.
Red Miso Dressing:
1T. miso
1 small garlic clove
1T. champagne vinegar
3T. EVOO
Pepper to taste
Mash clove in suribachi until it becomes a paste.
Add vinegar and leave for five minutes.
Add miso and whisk to blend.
Whisk in EVOO 1T at a time.
Pepper to taste…you likely won’t need salt.