Miso Making

Japanese cuisine has a long history of ingeniously fermented foods: miso, pickles, natto, sake and more. Inspired by the richness of Japan's fermentation traditions, we have added a "Department of Japanese Fermentation" to the Institute and are thrilled to introduce our new instructor, Yoko Maeda Lam, who will be teaching many of these new classes.

Miso-making is the "gateway" introduction to Japanese ferments. Simple to make and with only three ingredients, the only difficult part is to remain patient while waiting for nature to do its thing. 

Miso Making
You’ll begin this hands-on class by starting your own batch of miso using impeccably-sourced, organic, non-GMO soybeans. Yoko will discuss the wide variety of other beans and grains that can be made into miso as well. 

Traditional Miso Soup – Miso Shiru
What would a Japanese meal be without Miso Shiro or miso soup? Sometimes referred to as “The Japanese Chicken Soup,” Miso Shiru is as much about the stock as it is about the miso. We’ll make a simple “Ichiban Dashi” stock from scratch, add traditionally homemade miso and discover how simple it is to make better-than-restaurant quality miso soup at home. 

Miso Soup To-Go
Speaking of simple, you’ll also learn a crazy-easy shortcut for making instant miso soup "cubes," a to-go option that only requires the addition of hot water.

Homemade Furikake
Nothing goes to waste in the Japanese kitchen, and the same goes for the Institute. Yoko will share her recipe for using the leftover dashi soup stock ingredients to make Furikake, a tasty condiment to use with rice, vegetables, fish or a bowl of ramen.