finger licking and natto miso

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finger licking and natto miso

Postby WWFSM on Fri Oct 18, 2013 11:53 am

I'm thinking of trying either finger licking miso or natto (sp?) miso next. Not certain which one is right for me, anyone tried these?

Just so you know, I'll be making them soy free due to allergies.

In the Art of Fermentation, Katz mentions Finger Licking Miso is made with (paraphrased because I don't have the book in front of me right now) "vegetables that are already fermenting". What type of veggies? How are they fermented before adding: salted, miso fermented...? Is it tasty? Can I use rice koji instead of barley koji for this one? Katz mentions that the recipe is in The Book of Miso, but I'm having trouble finding it there.

How about the natto miso? Anyone here tried it? Is it as horrid as natto? I'm okay with natto texture, but the taste is just impossible for me (plus the allergy induced vomiting). Is it more miso taste or is it more natto taste?

Does it have to be barley koji for the natto miso or could I use rice koji? How about making it with adzuke beans instead of soy, or is soy necessary for the texture? Any other substitutes for malt in the recipe? I was thinking of sprouting some barley or other grain and then adding it in (would I need to dry and/or cook first?), or any recomendations on what kind of malt and somewhere in Canada where I could mail order it?

I know, so many questions. I don't know if anyone here has tried these or not, but I thought I would put it out there. If I give them a go, I'll post answers and updates here as I go along.
Doing my best to be the change I want to see in the world, one meal at a time.
http://wholewheatfsm.blogspot.ca

Currently Culturing
Kombucha, perry, cider, wine (red and white), mead(s), miso, sourdough, & seasonal veg my garden gives me
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Re: finger licking and natto miso

Postby WWFSM on Tue Oct 22, 2013 1:29 pm

Just posting my thoughts and research here in case anyone in future is looking for info on fermenting these misos.

Other than Katz's The Art of Fermentation, the only other place I've found reference to natto miso is The Book of Miso. The description is short and would require a bit of interpreting to translate into an easy to follow recipe.

Natto Miso: Prepared in the area of Nagasaki since the 1700s, natto miso contains a relatively large proportion of soybeans which gives it an appearance similar to the famous sticky fermented soybeans called natto. Containing barley koji, slivered kombu and gingerroot, it is fermented naturally for about 30 days.


From: http://books.google.ca/books?id=SKqJsiZ49HkC&lpg=PP1&dq=miso&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q&f=true

That's it. That's all I can find written about natto miso in this book (so far).

But going from this and what Katz says... Because it's a quick ferment, maybe do it like a sweet miso, with the same ratio of koji grain, beans and salt as the sweet miso recipe in The Art of Fermentation? Then again, the "large proportion of soybeans" from the quote above... If we take that literally, this sweet miso idea won't work...but without a lot of koji, how would we have the miso paste ready in under 30 days?

Going back to what Katz says, and the description of it having a natto texture, perhaps the Book of Miso meant to say a large proportion of whole soy beans? Or maybe the koji is also cultured on the soy beans as well as the grain, then we wouldn't need such a high percentage of grain.

I do wish Katz had gone into it more instead of tantalizing us and then sending us to The Book of Miso.

As for the kombu and ginger? 5%? 10%? And is the kombu added dry, soaked, or cooked before adding? Slivered kombu indicates that it has to be at least soaked, probably cooked to just below a simmer to get it tender enough to slice it that thin. Assuming they aren't using fresh kombu (this would be the first time I've seen fresh kombu used in Japanese cooking, but doesn't mean it isn't possible).

Reading other parts of the Book of MIso, it looks like I could substitute adzuki beans for soybeans, however, I may not get the same natto-like texture (not necessarily a bad thing).

As for finger licking miso, The Book of Miso lists a large variety of misos under that name, which indicates to me that it's more a category (like sweet or red) of miso than a specific recipe. So that gives me more room to choose and experiment.
Doing my best to be the change I want to see in the world, one meal at a time.
http://wholewheatfsm.blogspot.ca

Currently Culturing
Kombucha, perry, cider, wine (red and white), mead(s), miso, sourdough, & seasonal veg my garden gives me
WWFSM
 
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 11:10 am
Location: Canada, Left Coast

Re: finger licking and natto miso

Postby nkbrilley on Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:45 pm

The most detailed info i can find is on the recipe sheets you get from GEM cultures when you get your koji starter. Two recipes. I have tried one and tho' not ready yet smells great.
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