Homemade Miso Made In a Plastic Storage Container (Sweet or Not So Salty Version)
- 1000 grams Dried soybeans
- 1000 grams Rice koji (Seikyo's Yasaka label fresh organic koji)
- 450 grams Salt (or shima maasu, Okinawan salt)
- Wash the soybeans, and soak in plenty of water overnight.
- Drain off the soaking water, and boil the soybeans in fresh water.
- Cook them slowly over medium-low heat for about 5 hours.
- Be careful not to let them burn.
- Bubbles will rise to the surface as they cook so skim them off.
- Add water to the pot to cover the beans if the water level drops too low.
- When the soybeans are soft they are done.
- You should be able to crush one easily between the thumb and forefinger of your opposite hand (your left hand if you're right handed).
- Reserve 2 handfuls of the salt in a separate container.
- Mix the rest of the salt with the koji while breaking up the clumps with your hands.
- (The koji in the background has been mixed with salt.)
- Spray a bowl or other container with 70% ethanol.
- Add the slightly cooled soy beans and mash them up using a potato masher.
- If a few bits of soybean are still left, it's fine.
- Spray both hands with 60% ethanol, then mix the salt-koji and the mashed soybeans together well.
- Add some of the soybean cooking liquid until the mixture is soft and dough-like, with a texture similar to how your earlobe feels.
- Form it into baseball-sized balls (these are called miso balls), as if you were making onigiri rice balls.
- Spray a plastic storage box with 70% ethanol, and wipe it dry with a clean paper towel.
- Cover the bottom with some of the salt that was reserved in Step 5.
- (Leave some salt to sprinkle on top of the miso.)
- Push the miso balls into the bottom of the plastic box so that there are no gaps.
- I don't throw the balls in.
- (Translator's note: some miso instructions say to throw the miso balls into the container to eliminate air pockets.)
- Verify that there are no air pockets by observing the miso from the outside of the box.
- When all the miso balls are packed in, sprinkle all the remaining salt on top.
- Spray the surface of the miso with 70% ethanol, and cover with plastic wrap.
- Spray again with ethanol and add another layer of plastic wrap.
- Wipe off any soy beans that are stuck to the sides of the container, spray with more ethanol and put the lid on.
- Wrap in newspaper.
- Store in a cool dark place.
- Open it up in about 5 months to check on it.
- Mix it up from the bottom with a clean paddle.
- It's ready to eat in 6 to 10 months.
soybeans, rice, salt
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/171833-homemade-miso-made-in-a-plastic-storage-container-sweet-or-not-so-salty-version (may not work)