Sweet Miso Glaze - Japanese Den Miso

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This Japanese barbecue sauce can be used on so much more than just cod and eggplant. It's the ultimate definition of flavour, and glazing a piece of salmon or pork belly with this, will send your brain into yum yum land. Guaranteed.

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• Ingredients needed
• How to make it
• How to use it
• Other recipes you might like
• Useful equipment for this recipe
• Sweet Miso Glaze - Den Miso
• Nutrition Facts

Den miso is probably the most versatile barbecue sauce, slash, glaze you can get. It is everything you want from a glaze when oven grilling, broiling or barbecuing food.

It's extremely intense in flavour with contrasting sweet and salty umami flavours characteristic of Japanese food and many other Asian cuisines.

Because of the sugar content of miso glaze and amino acids in the miso paste, it caramelises beautifully and enhances the flavour of anything you cook with it.

You can use miso glaze on fish, pork chops, steaks, vegetables, and in high-end restaurants it's even used in creative desserts.

So go crazy. Just don't burn it.

Ingredients needed

• Miso paste - Shiro(white) miso is normally used but you can use Aka(red) miso instead or a combo of the two.
• Sake - Japanese rice wine made by fermenting rice koji with rice and sake yeast. Use normal dry white wine if you can't find it or if it costs and arm and a leg, and you're not ready to splash out.
• Mirin - This is made the same way as sake but it's a lot sweeter and for that reason, the alcohol content is also lower. Use Sweet white wine if you can't get find it but, mirin is a common ingredient in sushi and you will most likely find it in your local store for cheap.
• Sugar - I use brown sugar because I like the slight molasses flavour it adds. Feel free to use any type of sugar. If you do decide to use something like honey, then be mindful that honey burns quicker than sugar. So, I suggest sticking with sugar.

How to make it

1. Mix together 50g(ml)(3 ⅓ tbsp) sake or white wine, 50g(ml)(3 ⅓ tbsp) mirin or sweet white wine, 150g(⅗ cup) white miso paste(Shiro miso), 75g(⅓ cup) brown sugar in a small saucepan and slowly simmer while whisking for about 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened.
2. Use immediately if cooking, for example, my miso eggplant recipe or store, sealed airtight, in the fridge for months.

How to use it

Miso glaze is useful in many dishes and, especially when you switched to a vegan diet, and struggle to find rich intense umami flavours. For the meat-eaters, your boring piece of chicken or watery pork loin just became delicious.

• On barbecued meat and fish like pork belly, lamb chops, ribeye steak, chicken skewers, or even whole fish.
• Finish seared salmon, cod, sea bass or most other fish with a bit of miso glaze under the grill or broiler.
• On vegetables like this delicious miso-glazed eggplant, roasted carrots, broccoli, bok choy or Whole roasted cauliflower.
• Use a small spoon full in cake batters like carrot cake or apple cake. In chocolate cookie doughs or mix with caramel in truffle shells to enhance the flavour and bring nuance to your baking and desserts. Chocolate works great with salt and the miso has both salt and umami which makes for interesting tastes.

Other recipes you might like

If you like Asian flavours or making your own sauces from scratch then you will find the following recipes useful:

• Massaman curry
• Homemade sriracha hot sauce
• Chimichurri sauce
• Filipino Beef adobo
• Smashed Chinese cucumber salad
• Thai spiced beef koftas
• Chocolate barbecue sauce
• Mushroom and garlic butter

Useful equipment for this recipe

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