Toasted sesame miso

  • Ferment
  • medium
  • 10
  • 15 minutes
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Dean Parker's toasted sesame miso recipe contains much less salt than a traditional miso, giving it a lovely sweet flavour as well as speeding up fermentation time significantly. This recipe is delicious slathered over mackerel, mixed through a dressing using Japanese flavours, or even mixed through a caramel in a sweet and savoury dessert. A dehydrator will make this process easier, as you will be able to keep the temperature at a stable rate of 25°C. If you don't have one, keep the miso in a warm area. For more information, visit our how to make miso guide.

First published in 2017
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Ingredients

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Imperial

Toasted sesame miso

Equipment

  • Dehydrator
  • Blender

Method

1
Toast the sesame seeds in a hot, dry pan until golden
2
Blend the seeds, koji grains and salt together with the water until completely smooth
  • 125g of koji grains
  • 18g of salt
  • 250ml of water
3
Transfer the mixture to a container and drop it on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles (this ensures the miso ferments evenly)
4
Cover the container with muslin cloth, secure with elastic or string and leave in a warm place to ferment – the warmer it is the quicker the fermenting process will be. 25°C takes around 5 days, so this is best made in summer if you don’t have a dehydrator
5
Taste after 5 days – if you are happy with the flavour, store in the fridge to halt the fermentation process. If you are not in a hurry, you can carry on fermenting as long as you'd like – the best misos are left to age for years
First published in 2017
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With an unwavering dedication to finding the best ingredients around and amplifying their flavour through a variety of techniques, Dean Parker is an exciting young chef who rose through Robin Gill's restaurant empire and now heads up his own restaurant in Glasgow.

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