Garlic embedded in miso (ninniku no misozuke)

At one of the shoots for my preserving book, I poked garlic in miso and subsequently forgot about it. For about one year. When I dug the garlic out, it was sublime. You don’t have to wait one year, though I would suggest trying these every few months. You can keep them in a ginger jar on the counter or in the fridge, whichever works for you. I love miso as a pickling medium because you don’t need to add anything to it and there are enough different types of miso to give you a variety in the pickling process. This miso pickling bed should not be reused for miso soup, but a dab of it in a Western stew could be all the salt you need–just a hint for that hidden taste. This garlic-infused miso is also fantastic dolloped on a hot bowl of rice or smeared on grilled eggplant.

Credit: Andrews McMeel Publishing

• serves

  6

• prep

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 heads of garlic
• 1 cup barley miso

Resting time: at least one month

Instructions

Peel the garlic and separate into cloves. Pare off the root ends of the cloves. Smooth the miso into a ceramic, glass, or plastic container. Poke the cloves into the miso and leave for a month or so. Taste periodically. Store in the fridge or at room temperature. Scrape off the miso or wash the cloves before serving. Good as part of a pickling plate or with drinks before dinner.

Variation:  Parboil the unpeeled garlic for 5 minutes before peeling and embedding in the miso. This will cut the pickling time down to about a week.

From Preserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting, and Pickling for the Modern Kitchen by Nancy Singleton Hachisu, photography by Kenji Miura/Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.