ULTRA UMAMI. Miso has origins in China, but is best known for its role in Japanese cooking, where it is used in soups, sauces, marinades, glazes, and dressings. Pictured is a different option: a bowl of miso macaroni and cheese with shiitake mushrooms. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

From The Asian Reporter, V22, #05 (March 5, 2012), page 17.

By J.M. Hirsch

AP Food Editor

Fermented bean paste? Doesn’t exactly scream party in your mouth.

And yet we happily slurp in that salty, savory soup doled out every time we sit down for sushi. And that’s because miso really is a flavor bomb worth knowing.

So let’s start there. Miso is a broad term for pastes made from fermented cooked soybeans that are aged, sometimes for years.

Miso has origins in China, but is best known for its role in Japanese cooking, where it is used in soups, sauces, marinades, glazes, and dressings.

There are many varieties of miso, which can vary widely in color and flavor intensity based on how long it is aged and which ingredients are added.

Sweet white miso, for example, is made from fermented soybeans and rice, then aged for just a few months. The result is a smooth paste with a sweet, salty, savory flavor and a light golden color. Move up to red miso — usually made with barley instead of rice and aged for up to three years — and both color and flavor get more intense.

Your best bet is to stick with sweet white miso. Its mellow savory-sweet flavor is versatile and pleasant; the stronger miso can be an acquired taste.

Misos are widely available at most grocers, usually refrigerated in the produce section alongside other Asian ingredients. While there are less expensive options, try to get an organic brand. Many cheaper varieties are poorly made and use flavor and color additives to compensate.

Now that you have it, what do you do with it?

Soup is an obvious choice. Bring some water to a simmer and add thinly sliced veggies — carrots, shiitake mushrooms, cauliflower — and some cubed tofu. Simmer briefly, then mix two to three tablespoons of miso with 1/4 cup of water in a small cup. Add the diluted miso to the soup (this helps it dissolve better than adding miso directly to the soup). Simmer briefly, then slurp.

Miso also makes a great glaze for salmon. Mix 1/3 cup miso with two tablespoons lime juice, one tablespoon water, one clove minced garlic, one teaspoon wasabi powder, and one teaspoon soy sauce. Spread over salmon, then broil for three minutes uncovered, then another five minutes covered with foil.

For more ideas for using miso, check out the "Off the Beaten Aisle" column on the Food Network website. Or give in to total comfort and try it in this 20-minute easy mac and cheese.

J.M. Hirsch is the national food editor for The Associated Press. He is the author of the recent cookbook, High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking. His "Off the Beaten Aisle" column also appears at <www.FoodNetwork.com>.

* * *

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Servings: 6

1 pound elbow pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

Two 3 1/2-ounce containers (2 cups) shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

8-ounce container crème fraiche

3 tablespoons sweet white miso

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Salt and ground black pepper

* * *

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet over medium, heat the oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until well browned, about six to seven minutes.

Move the skillet off the heat. In a small bowl, mix together the crème fraiche and miso, then stir that and the Parmesan, cheddar, garlic powder, and hot sauce into the mushrooms.

Once the cheese has melted, add the drained pasta. Mix, drizzling in some of the reserved pasta cooking water to get desired consistency, until the pasta is coated. Season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 519 calories (123 calories from fat, 24 percent of total calories); 14 g fat (6 g saturated, 0 g trans fats); 26 mg cholesterol; 70 g carbohydrate; 30 g protein; 4 g fiber; 1,058 mg sodium.