About Miso

Ah, February in Vancouver: grey and wet with chances of grey and cold. Whether the cold comes with snow or rain, or some awful blend of both, it is a good season for soup.

Miso is thought to have been introduced to Japan from China around 1,300 years ago. Miso was originally a prized food available only to the nobility, who used it more often as a side dish for rice or as a medicine than as a soup base. Today miso is an essential part of the Japanese diet, but that came about only after miso became popular in soup, and after the warrior class during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) established the custom of having simple meals consisting of rice, one kind of soup and one other dish of fish or vegetables.

Partial fermentation sets miso apart from other fermented soy foods like soy sauce. Partial fermentation produces peptides, compounds produced as proteins are gradually broken down into amino acids during fermentation. Absent from boiled beans and present only in limited amounts in soy sauce, peptides are found in abundance in miso, and they are thought to be good for reducing high blood pressure and lowering cholesterol.

Miso's main ingredient, soybeans, are filled with high quality protein. Fermentation of soybeans generates a great deal of vitamins and amino acids. Miso also contains nutrients such as kalium, magnesium, and fiber.

Miso is a naturally preserved food and will keep up to a year in the fridge, making it ideal to have on hand for a quick hot meal.

To make a quick (but not entirely traditional) miso soup, just dilute vegetable broth or chicken broth with water (about one part broth to two parts water). Bring to a boil, then turn the heat off under the broth. In a separate bowl, whisk together miso paste (about 1/2 a cup for every four cups of broth/water) with an equal amount of the hot broth/water. Add the diluted miso to your soup pot and stir to combine. Serve hot.

You don't ever want to boil miso, as it will become gritty if it is overcooked. If you want to add vegetables or udon or soba noodles to your soup, simmer them in the broth-water prior to adding the miso. You can also toss in diced tofu and thin slices of green onion with the miso.

Green Earth Organics carries Hikari Organic Miso in two varieties: White Miso, which has a mellow flavour, and Red Miso, which is richer in colour and taste. Both are $6.79 for 750 grams.