Mirin is a low-alcohol sweet rice wine, about 40% sugar. I always thought Miso was akin to radioactive isotopes - a half-life in the thousands of years. With the fermentation and the salt it's almost indestructible. Misoyaki Salmon from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, chewy 4-6 fresh wild salmon filets (about 1-1 1/2 pounds) 1 cup sake 1 cup mirin 1/2 cup orange juice 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups white "Shiro" miso paste 2 tablespoons red "Aka" miso paste 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon cooking oil To make the marinade, combine mirin, sake, orange juice and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the alcohol burns off. Remove from heat and whisk in soy sauce, white and red miso paste until until mixture is creamy. Set aside to cool. When marinade is cooled, pour it into a bog zip-loc bag with the salmon and seal. Gently massage the marinade into the salmon, coating the fish well. Marinate in the fridge for 1-2 days. When ready to cook the fish, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take filets out of the plastic bag and wipe off the marinade. Pat fish dry. Heat oil in a large fry pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sear salmon filets 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove the pan to the oven and bake until fish is cooked through. Serve plain or with the sauce of your choice. I put in a link below to the source blog for this recipe. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

MisoMaster chickpea does not have soy. Soy-free, gluten-free https://great-eastern-sun.com/stuff/miso-master-organic-kosher-soy-free-chickpea-miso- Do take note that the 16oz container is a few dozen servings. Very concentrated. Even after opening the fridge life is 6-12 months...depending on your consistent temp. I buy the 8oz and just mark the lid. I almost always have 2-3 varieties from dark to the white, using them for different things. I've never had one go bad, even well past that date. Also important to never let your miso 'cook'. For a simple MisoHappy soup, i scoop a small tsp, (your silverware tsp), and rest it into a small coffee/tea cup. Bring your kettle to a simmer, then let it rest a few minutes to cool down. Then pour over your miso and stir...then let it rest, stir again. Takes a few to soften the miso. -If i'm adding anything, like green onion, ginger i chop/mince that while waiting for the kettle. I also like some chopped fresh cilantro with the stems and a squeeze of lime. (a nice, what i call, 'me-so-happy' breakfast broth) -For a heartier lunch/brunch...i prep the miso the same way, in a small cup, but in a separate heat proof bowl or small saucepan, i pour boiling water from the kettle over some rice noodles and veggies cut very thin or thin slices. The noodles will soften and the veggies, like carrots, celery, etc will blanch. Pre-cooked slices of chicken or beef could also be added to that.(could be leftovers from the fridge)...then add the miso to that when the noodles are ready. (varies with different brands how long the noodles need to soak). -Both above simple soups can be prepped in the time it takes for a kettle to boil, : ) (my supper recipe is complicated and time consuming...) Tried to simplify it but it requires a bit of prep...basically a Vietnamese Pho.)

Bonito flakes are not 'fishy' at all. Just a hint of tuna and a very mild flavor. As light as down feathers. Added to the table the heat from the dish makes them 'dance'. I'm not a big fan of sardines or anchovies unless mixed into some things. RedBoat fish sauce is a staple but just a hint for richness in some things like Worcestershire. NasuDengaku, miso, is probably like chicken soup in our culture...a thousand ways to prepare.... To clarify for those not understanding...miso is a naturally fermented paste. Similar texture to tomato paste. A little goes a long way. 3 little half pints will last me 4-5 months or more. Very long fridge life. To make miso soup, a tbsp with 2 cups hot, no boiling water, sliced green onions, fresh ginger, etc... To make a glaze, one tbsp, with 2 tbsp of water, soy, or fish sauce, ... On my roasted eggplant I topped with miso glaze, then added some warm water to my same glaze to make a broth, then into the oven. Similar to many things we oven roast where the broth is just one third in the baking container. The top roasts and caramelizes. The moisture in the baker keeps the dish juicy and moist... Sesame seeds, bonito flakes, panko bread crumbs optional. I'm just re-creating a dish we loved so long ago... The brand I use is just readily available in all my markets. I don't shop WholeFoods as not convenient but they stock it. As well as on-line... Found in the fridge section. Shelf stable bottled is no longer a naturally fermented miso. Good flavor but no longer has the benefits of fermentation. All my noodle bowls and soups have a small miso slurry with fresh ginger and green onion, grated tumeric sometimes, added to a bone or chicken broth but just stirred in off the stove heat. Over about 180º will kill off a good natural ferment. Never add salt. It is a good replacement and can be a bit salty but has much more flavor. A little goes a long way.

I have found Albacore tuna to be tough, compared to Ahi tuna, and so I have avoided it, but perhaps I was cooking it wrong. I'm okay with canned albacore tuna, however. We often have blackened catfish, which is a Cajun dish popular in Texas and Louisiana. Basically, the fish is seasoned with a Cajun spice mix and then fried in a cast iron skillet with a lot of butter. I typically use the leftover butter on the rice that I have with it. The fishes we normally buy include ahi tuna, wild-caught salmon (in season), opah, swordfish, and red snapper. Occasionally, I will buy sole or flounder, if I happen to find it. I prefer to grill tuna, salmon and swordfish as steaks, and to keep the swordfish moist, I put a domed lid over the grill pan, but the main thing is not to cook it past 130° to 135°, and I check the temperature frequently when I think it is getting close. It is always better to undercook, as it can be put back in the pan if it needs more cooking. I cook ahi tuna steaks to 120°, and I buy sushi grade tuna so that temperature will not be an issue. We also eat a lot of sushi and sashimi, but I do not do anything unusual with that. For tuna, I normally season it with dill and lemon, but sometimes I make a marinade with soy (or ponzu) sauce, ginger, wasabi, and sesame oil. I do the same with salmon and sometimes use a teriyaki sauce at the end of cooking. For swordfish, I prefer to keep it simple, and just use dill, lemon, and white pepper. I prefer white pepper on fish to black pepper, but I also like Sichuan pepper. If the salmon I have is too thin to grill, I sometimes bake it with dill, capers, white pepper, and butter. I fry sole, flounder, or red snapper in butter the same way I do catfish, but without the Cajun seasoning. I also frequently make fish tempura, which is similar to fish and chips, but without the chips, and I use small pieces of any white fish for this and also make tempura vegetables to go with it. My favorite vegetable to use is turnip. When I fry catfish, I make a cornmeal batter for it, and make hush puppies to go with it, using any leftover batter for those and adding more ingredients as needed. I generally add Cajun seasoning to those and also jalapeño. I make salmon cakes using fresh salmon and use Marilyn's recipe (DanaIN, I believe) for that. The only fish I poach is salmon, and I use Julia Child's recipe for that, which yields a great broth that I freeze and then use for sauces. I have an 18" long oblong pan (with cover) for poaching a whole salmon, which I bought after Kevin came back from Seattle with a whole salmon for me from Pike Place Market. He was reluctant to buy that at first, but he had called me and asked me what I wanted from Seattle, and that is what I asked for. When he saw the fish at the market, he changed his mind and decided that he had to buy one. Typically, I do not make fish stew, but I did use salmon broth for fish chowder, once I had poached a salmon. We live very close (just a few blocks) from one of the best sushi restaurants in Coachella Valley (I think it is #1), and it is also reasonably priced. Therefore, I tend to go there rather than make sushi myself, but in L.A., I lived close to Japanese markets, and so I tended to make the sushi myself because it was very easy to get all of the necessary ingredients, including cooked sushi rice, although I sometimes cooked the rice myself. In addition to fish tacos (which I make with lettuce instead of cabbage), I like to make crêpes filled with salmon and a few capers, and I use a velouté sauce made with fish stock in the filling and on top. My favorite use for canned salmon is for making stuffed tomatoes, and the filling includes salmon, mayo, green onion, and lemon juice. When I was in my 20s, I would make a tuna casserole with wide egg noodles and a mushroom velouté sauce, but I have not made that in decades.