Spring Sansho Miso (木の芽味噌, Kinome-miso)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Suribachi (ridged Japanese mortar) and surikogi (wooden pestle), or a small mortar and pestle
• •Heatproof bowl set over a saucepan
• •Flexible spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer, useful for the egg-yolk base

Instructions

1. 1

   Sort the kinome

   Choose leaves that are small, soft, bright green, and fragrant the moment you touch them. Pinch off only the tough stems and keep the leaves cool under a barely damp towel. Kinome loses scent as soon as it wilts, so do this just before grinding, not hours earlier.

   Powdered sansho is the dried berry, not the young leaf. It has its own place, but it will not make this paste.
2. 2

   Cook tamamiso

   Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely bubbling water. Add the miso, egg yolks, sake, mirin, and sugar, then stir steadily with a spatula for 15 to 20 minutes. The paste should turn glossy and thick enough that a spatula leaves a slow-closing track; if you use a thermometer, it should reach 160°F/71°C. Gentle heat cooks the yolks and drives off the alcohol without scorching the white miso.

   Direct heat is impatient here. It can scorch the miso at the bottom before the yolks have cooked cleanly.
3. 3

   Cool the base

   Scrape the tamamiso into a shallow bowl and let it cool until it is no warmer than your finger. Press parchment directly on the surface if it sits longer than a few minutes, so a skin doesn't form. Kinome is a leaf, not a spice to cook; heat dulls its green scent.

   This is the detail that decides the dish. Cool the miso before the leaves go in.
4. 4

   Grind the leaves

   Put the kinome leaves and the pinch of salt in a suribachi, the ridged Japanese mortar. Grind in circles with a surikogi until the leaves break down into a vivid green paste, then work in 1 tablespoon of the cooled tamamiso to gather it. The ridges crush the leaf evenly and release the oils; chopping leaves you with green flecks and less fragrance.

5. 5

   Fold and adjust

   Fold the ground kinome into the cooled tamamiso until the color is even. Taste it. It should be sweet-salty first, then citrus-green, with a faint sansho tingle. If it is too stiff for brushing, loosen it with 1 teaspoon dashi or cooled sake at a time. Add liquid sparingly, because a loose paste slides off the food and hides the leaf.

6. 6

   Brush and serve

   Use the kinome-miso at once, or refrigerate it in a covered container. For bamboo shoots, sea bream, or tofu, cook the food first, then brush on a thin layer of paste at the end and warm it briefly until glossy. Don't blacken it. Miso and sugar scorch quickly, and long heat steals the fragrance you saved so carefully.

Chef Tips

• •Buy kinome only when the leaves look tender and glistening fresh. If they are limp, leathery, or smell dull, change the dish. Sourcing first, always.
• •A suribachi and surikogi give the finest paste. A small mortar and pestle works. If all you have is a spoon and bowl, mince the leaves very fine first, then rub them with the salt until they stain the bowl green.
• •Saikyō miso is sweet and pale, which lets the leaf show. If your white miso is saltier, add the extra teaspoon of sugar and loosen with dashi, not more sake, so the paste stays round.
• •For a meatless table, loosen with konbu and dried shiitake dashi if you need liquid. That is honmono in the shōjin direction, not a compromise.

Advance Preparation

• •The tamamiso base, without kinome, can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to cool room temperature before grinding in the leaves.
• •Fold in the kinome on the day you plan to serve it. The paste keeps 2 to 3 days refrigerated, but its color and scent are best in the first 24 hours.
• •Store with parchment pressed directly on the surface and use a clean spoon each time. Freezing darkens the leaves and flattens the fragrance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)