Tried making my own homemade miso.

I've always wanted to try making my own homemade miso, and this year I finally got around to it.

Amazake (甘酒, [amazake]) is a traditional sweet, low-alcohol or non-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice. I started making homemade amamazake a few years ago. I've been interested in fermented food, and I also make salted rice malt and yogurt. This year, I tried making homemade miso. Miso is a fermented food made from soybeans, koji rice malt, and salt.

I always buy rice malt, from Hishiroku, a local koji starter shop in Kyoto that has been in business for over 300 years.They also have an online store, so if you're looking for koji, be sure to check it out.

↪︎Hishiroku Online Shop https://1469.stores.jp/

When I searched the internet for how to make homemiso, I found many articles and YouTube videos, but they all basically said the same thing.

I made it using a recipe that uses dried soybeans, dried rice malt, and salt, but there seem to be other recipes that use boiled soybeans if you want to save time for boiling the soybeans.

It starts with soaking dried soybeans in water overnight, boiling and crushing the soybeans, and mixing them with koji rice malt and salt. Then, mix the soybeans and koji rice malt together. When written down, the process is simple, and I was able to prepare it without feeling it was difficult. However, it was quite physical work! My arms were sore after I finished it!

I'm going to ferment it in a cool, dark place for about 3 to 6 months, and then it will be ready to eat sometime between July and October. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it's a success.

There are many bacteria on human skin, and by making miso with bare hands, the bacteria come into action and give the miso its own unique taste. I wonder what kind of taste my homemade miso will be. If the miso I made this time goes well, I'd like to try making miso with my kids again. There are apparently more bacteria on children's hands, so it might be a miso with a different flavor.

Shiho Kanai

Gallery Rin Art Director