Miso Soup Help!

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:52 am

Hello gents, I love Miso Soup and was wondering if anyone has any experience making miso soup. I tried making it the other day even made the dashi stock but it just does not taste right. I was also using white miso paste if that is of any help. Any help and/or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you,
Sergio

Lyrt · Post by **Lyrt** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:01 am

Did you put the miso at the very last moment, after the vegetables and tofu were cooked? Also, never boil a miso soup twice.

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:02 am

Yes, and yes. I added the miso off the stove mixing it in a little bit of the stock and then adding it back to the pan.

Serg

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:29 am

Isn't miso one of those things that you are just better off buying than making yourself? Mayonnaise comes to mind, any others?

Clive

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:39 am

For a lot of people yesbut I love to cook, sometimes the more difficult the better. The miso in this case is to go along with the sushi I am making tonight for dinner tonight, the sushi rice is probably more difficult and finicky to make than the soup.
In the case of mayo, I personally can’t stand the stuff from the store, when you’ve made it yourself (and correctly) there is a vast difference in taste and texture. Clive, let me put it this way, it’s like saying you’re better off using canned foam for shaving rather than taking the time to use a quality cream or soap because it’s easier.

(Hey I had to tie in shaving here somehow) But to each his own, oh and by the way something else that people may think you are better off purchasing is mole-one heck of a complicated sauce to make. But then again…

What can I say cooking is my other passion...

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:49 am

Mole???? You mean the brown thing that grows on your skin??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You're way out of my league, but I really very much appreciate where you come from. I followed the Julia on Julia blog with huge interest and have the 'standard' food books on my library shelves.

Anytime you are in NJ, feel free to stop in and cook us a meal LOL
Clive

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:52 am

fallingwickets wrote:Mole???? You mean the brown thing that grows on your skin??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You're way out of my league, but I really very much appreciate where you come from. I followed the Julia on Julia blog with huge interest and have the 'standard' food books on my library shelves.

Anytime you are in NJ, feel free to stop in and cook us a meal LOL
Clive

, well played sir! And it would be my pleasure.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:01 am

I have a request for you. Nearly all my life I have been around 'food' people, some that just cooked for the fun of it, others to fleece the public

Maybe its all just a giant legend, but the story I always heard is that hellmans was the 'best' mayonnaise one could use.
So I ask with all sincerity for a good mayo recipe. I have never made it from scratch, but would love to try. can you point me in the right direction for a recipe?

Clive

Post by **Sam** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:06 am

Clive, I heard the same thing re: Hellman's>

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:20 pm

fallingwickets wrote:...but the story I always heard is that hellmans was the 'best' mayonnaise one could use.

LOL!

Just the other day I read an article about mayo in the paper. It said that you can tell a person is a Yankee if he picks up some Hellman's at the grocery. In these parts, we like Duke's, and we accept no substitutes.

The article said that Duke's is a little thinner than Hellman's, and thus makes for a better potato salad.

Big Swifty · Post by **Big Swifty** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:32 pm

Out west the mayo of choice is called "Best Foods", but from what I have heard Best Foods and Hellman's are the same company putting out the same stuff just with a different name on the label. To me that seems a little strange as to why a company would do that.

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:53 pm

Clive PM sent.

MrSmooth · Post by **MrSmooth** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:06 pm

PACHUCO wrote:Clive PM sent.

I was kinda hoping you'd post it!

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:38 pm

As I told Clive this is not my recipe, it is from Cooks Illustrated magazine/website also the producers of the PBS show America’s Test Kitchen. And it is a wonderfully easy and a good one. I’ve added chives, roasted garlic, and paprika to it for some amazing baked potatoes. Some dill and wasabi powder for salmon, in other words a very versatile condiment.

Homemade Mayonnaise
Makes 3/4 cup
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice , plus 1 additional teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
ground white pepper (if available, otherwise black), to taste
3/4 cup canola oil (or other vegetable oil)

In food processor, combine yolks, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined, about 10 seconds. With machine running, gradually add oil in slow steady stream (process should take about 30 seconds); scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and process 5 seconds longer. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Cooksillustrated.com. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/printre ... &bdc=39756

I’ve made this recipe without the food processor using a whisk; just remember the key is to put in the oil as slowly as you possibly can to make sure it is well incorporated for the emulsion to take. I personally almost always add some hot sauce to this. And have considered a couple of drops of liquid smoke for use on hamburger buns.

Serg

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:26 pm

Big Swifty wrote:Out west the mayo of choice is called "Best Foods", but from what I have heard Best Foods and Hellman's are the same company putting out the same stuff just with a different name on the label. To me that seems a little strange as to why a company would do that.

I think if a small company's product has built up a lot of brand loyalty in their local area, and then their business gets bought out by a big company that operates at a national level, the big company might start distributing the product nationally under the big company's name, but regionally keep the original name.

Pauldog · Post by **Pauldog** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:41 pm

fallingwickets wrote:Isn't miso one of those things that you are just better off buying than making yourself?

Miso is only one out of many ingredients in miso soup, and ytou usually do just get some from a store. Miso is a paste made by fermenting soybeans, and quite a bit more complicated to make than homemade mayonnaise.

By the way, I'm not familiar with white miso; the stuff I get is brown and fairly dark, and it's pretty salty.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:09 pm

Ain't it amazing what you can do with soy beans? I'm making soy milk at home, turning some into yoghurt, some into tofu and some actually gets used as milk. The okara goes into veggie burgers, or thickens curries and soups. Not fermented any yet, nor have I attempted to use the yuba.

Chris

PACHUCO · Post by **PACHUCO** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:52 pm

I'm only trying to make the soup, not the paste I love to cook but I'll leave the fermenting to those who know what they are doing. Well I think I have a fairly decent recipe going so far, it still needs a little refining I'll post my results later in the week.

Serg

Trumperman · Post by **Trumperman** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:44 pm

GA Russell wrote:
fallingwickets wrote:...but the story I always heard is that hellmans was the 'best' mayonnaise one could use.
LOL!

Just the other day I read an article about mayo in the paper. It said that you can tell a person is a Yankee if he picks up some Hellman's at the grocery. In these parts, we like Duke's, and we accept no substitutes.

The article said that Duke's is a little thinner than Hellman's, and thus makes for a better potato salad.

Duke's all the way ya'll!

Regards,

Bill

Pauldog · Post by **Pauldog** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:31 am

Fermented soy is supposed to be healthier - more digestible, fewer of the substances that can cause problems, etc.

Besides miso, two traditional fermented soy products are tempeh (Indonesian) and sufu or fu-yu (Chinese). I've heard that it takes some work to make them, and so far, I've only bought them at a store. Fu-yu is awfully salty, and I never figured out what to do with it, but tempeh is pretty versatile. A local food co-op deli makes Jamaican jerk tempeh, which is pretty tasty, and I've copied it with reasonable success.