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Miso (味噌)

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Yes! You can also make your own homemade miso from scratch – with just 4 ingredients and a little patience! My simple step-by-step instructions on How to Make Miso will guide you through this process. Get the recipe here [2].

Make Homemade Miso from scratch with just 4 ingredients and a little patience. My simple step-by-step instructions on How to Make Miso will guide you through this process. Once miso paste is made, you can use it for many delicious Japanese dishes!

As a home cook and a Japanese cuisine advocator, I want to be able to share not just the recipes, but also to uphold the tradition of making food from scratch. I believe there is a beauty in preserving the heritage integral to our food culture. Do you agree? This year I’ve taken up a few cooking projects that I’d like to accomplish, and making miso paste from scratch is one of them.

This is my first time making miso, and I can’t be any more excited to share the experience with you!

Quick Overview of Miso Making

The process of making miso takes 2 days, but it is not until 6 months later only you get to use the product. Umm… are you still here?

It may sound daunting, but the method is actually simple and the result is totally worth the effort!

In my recipe below, I included both Instant Pot and Stove Top options for cooking the soybeans.

Day 1

  1. Wash soybeans
  2. Soak soybeans for 18 hours (don’t cut it short!)

Day 2

  1. Cook soybeans (pressure cook – 20 mins; simmer – 3 to 4 hrs)
  2. Mash soybeans
  3. Combine soybeans, salt, and koji
  4. Pack the mixture into a jar
  5. Store the miso and wait for 6 months…

What You Need for Making Miso – Ingredients & Tools

4 Simple Ingredients

1. Organic soybeans

I purchased organic American soybeans from WholeFoods where you can get the exact amount of soybeans you need from a dispenser. You can also look up Laura Soybeans  [3]or purchase them on Amazon [4].

2. Fine sea salt

I used fine sea salt for my miso because it yields the best flavor and is rich in minerals.

3. Rice koji

Rice koji is steamed rice (and sometimes with other grains such as barley) that has been treated with a fermentation culture, Aspergillus oryzae, koji-kin (麹菌). The enzymes found in the koji work to break down carbohydrates and proteins into amino acids, fatty acids, and other nutrients during the fermentation process.

In the US, you can find Cold Mountain [5] brand of rice koji for sale. You can also buy rice koji from Anything from Japan [6] which ships internationally.

4. Filtered water

Quality of water plays an important role in making good miso paste, so be sure to use filtered water that is safe and has removed most of the impurities.