Miso is very hot on the internet right now and my theory is, on top of it being *cultured*, it is also delicious (This is a pun on fermented foods, and how it isn’t a traditional American cuisine). Get it?
What is miso, exactly? Miso is a fermented soybean paste that is salty and used in a multitude of Asian countries to add seasoning to dishes and is an example of the Umami flavor. Miso soup is probably the most well know uses of miso in America.
Now that we have the definitions out of the way, we can get to the bottom of this dish. This dish is essentially an Asian inspired beef stroganoff. However, the addition of the miso adds a depth to the dish even though it only takes about 20 minutes to make.
Ingredients
- Optional meat: 1 lb of a leaner cut of steak
- 1 onion, diced
- 8oz mushrooms (I used baby bellas), sliced
- Garlic, minced
- 2-3 servings of Udon noodles (I use around 400g of dry noodles)
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (or milk alternatives)
- 2 Tbsp miso paste
- Butter, oil, salt, etc
Recipe
- With meat option: Cook the steak to your liking. Thinly slice it after letting it rest.
- Slice the mushrooms, dice the onions, and mince the garlic
- Start the water boiling process for cooking the udon noodles (if that is the type of udon you have – frozen udon will most likely not require this step)
- Sautee the onions and garlic in oil on medium heat, salt them while they sauté
- Once the onions are partially cooked, add in the mushrooms and sauté until they start to brown. Part way through cooking the mushrooms, add in the oyster sauce and a Tbsp of water to help it mix in better.
- Make sure you don’t crowd then mushrooms too much and salt your mushrooms – salting pulls out the water and helps them to brown up better
- Cook the udon noodles based on the packaging
- Add the heavy cream, miso, and the meat into the pan and combine
- Add in the cooked udon, and enjoy! (Always salt + add any other seasonings to taste)
The great thing about miso is that it is relatively inexpensive, lasts a long time in the fridge, could be great for your gut*, and adds a lot of flavor to a dish with minimal effort.
*There still isn’t a lot of actual scientific research that shows a true understanding of the gut and the mechanisms of gut bacteria. The general understanding is that you need probiotics and prebiotic in order to have a healthy gut microbiome. The probiotic foods will add healthy bacteria to your stomach and the prebiotics feed the probiotics to keep them happy and healthy.
Examples of probiotics: kefir (yogurt), fermented foods (kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, sourdough starters, etc), pickled vegetables, and kombucha.
Examples of prebiotics: Most fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.
Thanks for reading this recipe of mine – Steph
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