HOW TO MAKE MISO BUTTER
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
To make basic miso butter, all you need is room temperature unsalted butter at room temperature and miso. As you’ll see in the recipe below, I like adding alliums (such as chives, scallions, or onions) to give the butter even more flavor.
In general, I like to use a 1:4 miso-to-butter ratio to get a versatile compound butter that I can use for anything. I’ve seen other recipes that use a higher proportion of miso. For instance, The New York Times uses a 1:2 miso-to-butter ratio, which is a bit too much miso for me. I recommend preparing the miso butter as directed below and then adding more miso to suit your taste/recipe.
QUICK TIP TO WARM UP BUTTER
The butter needs to be soft enough to mix easily with miso, so you should let it sit at room temperature to soften. To accelerate that process, I often cut the butter into slices and let it sit on the counter. If I’m pressed for time, I microwave the sliced butter for about 5 to 10 seconds to get it to soften. Some pieces of butter might start melting at the edges, but it’s not a huge issue.
WHITE MISO
Although you can make miso butter with different varieties of miso, I typically use white miso (shiro miso–白味噌–in Japanese). White miso is a fermented paste made from soybeans, salt, and rice koji (a mold or spore with the scientific name Aspergillus oryzae). Because white miso has a shorter fermentation period (usually several months), its flavor is more mild.
Depending on the miso maker, white miso can also have a lightly sweet finish. The levels of salt in white miso varies across brands. Additionally, the color of the fermented paste can range from a pale beige to darker tan color with yellow ochre undertones (see photo above).
I typically use Miso Master’s white miso because it has a lightly sweet and malty note. This brand of miso is also great for baking (see my Orange & Black Sesame Cookies or Miso and Apple Cake recipes).
RED MISO
You can also make the butter with red miso. Red miso is generally a type of miso that has been fermented for a longer period (usually a year or more). That’s why the paste has a reddish-brown color. Because of the longer fermentation period, red miso has a stronger savory flavor, a light sour fermented flavor, and barely any sweetness. You can use red miso in this recipe by making a 1-for-1 substitution with white miso.
ADDING CHIVES OR CARAMELIZED ONIONS
Although not necessary, I think adding chives and/or caramelized onions to the butter makes it even tastier! The simplest thing you can do is add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives (or thinly sliced scallions) to the miso butter. Feel free to add more chives if you want more flavor.
For something extra, add caramelized onions. I was inspired by the dark onion butter recipe in Melissa M. Martin’s Bayou to add caramelized onions to the miso butter. This is by far my favorite version, as the caramelized onions add a deep, complex sweet flavor. However, caramelizing onions takes a long time (at least 50 to 60 minutes) and you need to stir the onions very frequently to keep them from burning. (By the way, you can find Bayou at Bookshop.org, your local bookstore, or Amazon.)
You can cook a double batch of caramelized onions and use half of it for the miso butter. Save the other half and add it to roasted vegetables, salads, pasta, or anything that can use some sweet umami flavor. See recipe notes for details on making a double batch of caramelized onions.
HOW TO STORE MISO BUTTER
Refrigerate the butter in a container and use within 1 to 2 weeks. You can also spread the butter over a piece of parchment paper or wax paper, wrap it up, and freeze for months. When you want to use any of the frozen butter, slice off whatever amount you want and let it reach room temperature before using.
Miso Butter Recipe
Ingredients
Miso Butter with Chives
- 8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon white miso, adding more if desired (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives, can sub with thinly sliced scallions
Miso Butter with Caramelized Onions
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as safflower, canola, or grapeseed oil
- 3/4 pounds (340g/3 cups) finely chopped yellow onions
- 8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon white miso
Instructions
Chive Version
- In a bowl, use a fork to mash the miso into the butter. Then, use a spoon or silicone spatula to finish mixing the 2 ingredients together. Taste the miso butter and see if the flavor is to your liking. Feel free to add more miso if you want more savory flavor.
- Sprinkle the chopped chives over the butter and mix everything together until well incorporated. Serve the miso butter with toasted bread, roasted vegetables, or add a dollop to your morning oats!
Caramelized Onions Version (My Favorite)
- Fill a small bowl with water and place it next to the stove. You’ll need it to deglaze the pot or pan later.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or a large stainless steel sauté pan or skillet) over medium heat Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- From this point on, you’ll be spending a lot of time around the stove, monitoring and stirring the onions every 3 to 4 minutes (more often as you near the end of the cooking process).
- Once the onions start turning light brown, and there’s significant brown spots stuck to the pan, reduce the heat to low. Use a wooden spatula to scrape off the brown spots (also known as a glaze).
- After 30 to 40 minutes of cooking, the brown glaze at the bottom of the Dutch oven (or pan) can be incredibly difficult to scrape off. If that’s the case, you’ll need some water to help deglaze the pot or pan. Push the onions to the side, exposing the stuck-on brown glaze. Pour about 1 tablespoon of water over the glaze and use the spatula to distribute the water. Once the brown spots are no longer stuck to the pot/pan and the water evaporates, spread the onions over the pot/pan again. Deglaze as often as needed.
- Keep stirring the onions every 2 to 3 minutes, until they turn into a rich brown color. The total cooking time for me is usually between 50 to 60 minutes.
- Once the onions are done caramelizing, transfer them to a bowl and let them cool to room temperature.
- In a bowl, use a fork to mash the miso into the butter. Then, use a spoon or silicone spatula to finish mixing the 2 ingredients together. Taste the miso butter and see if the flavor is to your liking. Feel free to add more miso if you want more savory flavor.
- Add the caramelized onions to the butter and mix everything together until well incorporated. Enjoy!
Notes
- Type of Miso to Use: I like using white miso (or shiro miso) for the miso butter because it has a mild taste. Note that the salt level of miso can vary across different brands. I’ve tested this recipe with several different brands of miso and found that the amount above was fine, even for the saltier miso. If you find the miso butter to be too salty, feel free to add more butter. You can also use red miso (a more fermented miso) and make a 1-to-1 substitution with white miso. Note that red miso has more savory and a slight funky fermented flavor.
- Storing Miso Butter: Refrigerate the butter in a container and use within 1 to 2 weeks. The butter can be frozen and stored for months. To freeze the butter, spread it over a piece of parchment or wax paper and then shape the butter into a log. Roll the log inside the sheet of parchment or wax and twist the ends to seal it. You can transfer the log to a freezer bag, if you like. When you are ready to use the butter, slice off whatever you need.
- Doubling the Caramelized Onions: This process takes a long time, and I often cook a big batch at once. You can cook 1.5 pounds of diced onions with 3 tablespoons of oil. The cooking directions will be similar to that outlined above. The main difference is that it will take longer for the onions to brown and caramelize. It takes me about 80 to 90 minutes total. I know some of you may try to speed up the process by bumping up the heat. Be careful because you may burn the onions. I prefer to be patient and cook the onions slowly to prevent burning. You will need about 1/3 cup or 80g of caramelized onions for this miso butter.
Leave a Reply