Miso, the umami-packed Japanese ingredient made of fermented soybeans, has been gaining popularity continually outside of Japan. While a range of styles exist for miso, the most common are made from Koji, rice inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae mold, which is in turn added to soybeans and left to ferment them over a period of time, with longer fermentation times leading to darker miso pastes with more robust flavors.
MisoHeat takes a red miso base, indicating a stronger flavor and longer fermentation time, and adds chile peppers as well as a bit of water and vinegar for consistency. The texture is paste-like, sitting somewhere between a very thick hot sauce and peanut butter, and has a slightly grainy consistency though spreads well. It has an aroma of chiles and a fermented umami element.
I tried a spoonful of MisoHeat straight just to get an idea of the flavor profile. While the flavor wasn’t objectionable, almost reminding me of a very concentrated miso soup, it’s clear that this is meant for use as a condiment an ingredient as opposed to slathering on top of food as you would use a hot sauce. The heat level is medium-low, there’s a bit of a kick, but it’s not overpowering. The company also makes a reaper edition, which I have and will try soon, which I imagine packs a larger punch.
I tried using this as a sandwich topping as suggested on the bottle, as well as adding a dollop to some instant noodle soup, and found it was OK in both applications but didn’t bring the depth of flavor I was expecting. What I found was absolutely magical with this product, however, was using it to marinate fish and certain meats. Given that red miso and salmon is a popular pairing in Japan I decided to slather this over salmon filets and leave them to sit coated in the refrigerator for several days before putting them on the charcoal grill alongside some green onions. The extended marination time let the MisoHeat both permeate the salmon with flavor and change the texture to make it more juicy and meaty. The MisoHeat chili paste also caramelized beautifully on the surface of the salmon adding an additional textural element, making it some of the best salmon I’ve ever had. I found it was also successful with pork loin using the same treatment, though the flakier nature of the salmon allowed more of the paste to work its way into the flesh of the fish for better flavor penetration. When I tried it with a top sirloin it was less successful, the flavor of the miso didn’t stand up as well to the stronger flavor of beef.
I’m looking forward to opening up my next jar of MisoHeat to try using it as a cooking ingredient on stovetop meals. I have a feeling it will pair very well with other seafood such as shrimp and scallops. Just based on that I feel that I can well recommend this product. While it’s not a traditional hot sauce or condiment it makes me want to experiment more in the kitchen to find ways it can make food more delicious, and that’s always a big plus in my book.
by MagnusAlbusPater