Egg-Yolk White Miso Base (玉味噌, Tamamiso)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Yusen hot-water bath: a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan
• •Wooden spatula or silicone spatula
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional but useful

Instructions

1. 1

   Smooth the miso

   Put the Saikyō miso in a heatproof bowl. If it looks coarse, press it through a fine sieve first. This is not fuss. Lumps of miso hide dry pockets, and those make you stir longer than you should once the yolks are in.

   Use the palest sweet white miso you can find. Regular shiro miso works as a stand-in, but if it tastes sharply salty, the finished paste will be less soft and round.
2. 2

   Warm the seasonings

   In a small pan, combine the sake, mirin, dashi, and sugar. Warm gently until the sugar dissolves and the sharp smell of alcohol softens, then take it off the heat and let it cool until it is no warmer than your hand. Hot liquid would set the yolk in streaks before it can blend with the miso.

3. 3

   Add the yolks

   Beat the yolks lightly, then whisk them into the miso until the color is even. Add the cooled seasoning liquid a little at a time, stirring until the paste is smooth and loose. Mixing off the heat gives the yolk nowhere to seize; everything warms together later.

4. 4

   Cook over yusen

   Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently trembling water for yusen, a hot-water bath. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Stir constantly with a wooden or silicone spatula, scraping the sides and bottom, for 12 to 18 minutes. The paste will loosen first, then thicken and turn glossy. If you use a thermometer, bring it to 71°C, or 160°F, while stirring.

   Low heat is the whole secret. A hard boil heats the edges too quickly, and that is where tamamiso scorches or grains.
5. 5

   Check the texture

   Lift the spatula. The tamamiso should fall in a thick ribbon and sit for a moment as a soft mound before settling. Draw the spatula across the bottom of the bowl; the line should stay open for a second. Take it off the heat then, because the paste keeps cooking from its own warmth.

6. 6

   Cool and store

   Transfer the tamamiso to a clean jar or shallow container. Press parchment directly on the surface, cool it quickly, then refrigerate. Use it plain as a base, or season only the portion you need: rice vinegar for su-miso, yuzu zest for yuzu-miso, or finely pounded kinome for kinome-miso. Fresh herbs and vinegar shorten storage, so don't mix them into the whole jar unless you plan to use it soon.

Chef Tips

• •Don't reach for powdered dashi here. There is so little liquid in tamamiso that every spoonful speaks clearly, and instant granules bring salt before depth.
• •For a meatless table, use konbu and dried shiitake dashi. That is honmono in the temple line, not an apology.
• •If the paste tastes too salty after cooking, loosen a spoonful with a little more dashi rather than adding more sugar. Sweetness can round the edge, but dashi gives it back its body.
• •For su-miso, stir 3 tablespoons tamamiso with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and a few drops of dashi. For yuzu-miso, add grated yuzu zest and a little juice. For kinome-miso, pound the leaves first so their scent spreads evenly.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the dashi up to two days ahead and keep it refrigerated. Use it cooled, not hot, when it meets the yolks.
• •Tamamiso keeps 4 days refrigerated in a clean covered jar with parchment pressed to the surface.
• •Bring it to cool room temperature before using. If it has firmed in the refrigerator, loosen only the portion you need with a few drops of dashi, vinegar, or citrus juice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 18g)