Barley miso
mugi miso — barley-kōji fermented soybean paste · Condiment
Top 10 pairings
Barley miso — mugi miso — is the rustic, country style of Japanese miso, made with a barley kōji in place of (or alongside) the usual rice. The grain lends a malty, grainy sweetness and a hearty, earthy depth, and the paste ferments to a warm caramel-to-russet brown at a medium salt. Long associated with the farmhouses of Kyushu, it is the hearty, homely miso of everyday soups and grilled dengaku glazes.
Picking a good onedrag
Sealed, even, sweet-maltyFuzzy, sour, off
Open and in useEveryday bestKeep it cold and take clean spoonfuls. Whisk it into soup off the heat, and salt the dish only after it's in.
Smell at the open tubSavoury core clean, caramel flat
The surface in the tubWhite film or dark top: skim it
The paste on a spoonCoarse, or liquid on top: stir it in
Read the tubBlend or no grain named: everyday
These cues are Miso's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.