A few months ago (way before all these Coronavirus lockdowns that are still in place as I am writing this post), I visited our local ‘casual sushi bar’ for some ‘casual sushi’ and I noticed a new addition on their menu: a maki roll stuffed with flambéed tuna, avocado, and black tobiko covered by a generous amount of miso mayonnaise. While the main ingredients were not particularly something that stood out to me, the miso mayo caught my attention. I imagined a lovely creamy sauce bursting with all of that umami miso goodness.
I ordered the maki, tasted it… and? Disappointing!
The sauce was not as creamy and delicious as you would expect of a mayonnaise and the miso flavor was barely detectable. Sad.
As it goes with cravings – both real and imagined – the idea of what I had imagined to be a creamy, savory, full-of-umami mayo never quite left my mind… I had to have that creamy miso mayo!
At home, I often make my own mayonnaise already, so, despite the restaurant’s failure to still my hunger for creamy umami-goodness, how hard could it actually be to just add miso paste to my homemade mayonnaise? Turns out it’s very easy. So here we are.
Of course, this sauce can’t only be eaten with sushi and, to be honest, it probably shouldn’t be eaten with sushi period. This miso mayo is full of flavor and has a salty almost caramel-y flavour. It is, perhaps, too overpowering when paired with something as delicate as sushi, but this sauce is amazing with some grilled chicken, baked salmon, grilled prawns, (mushroom-)burgers, sandwiches and with salty potato chips, or fries as a dip!
Tip #1: Making mayonnaise takes some patience and arm-power. If you want to quickly whip up a batch of mayo (who doesn’t?), add the egg yolk, mustard and vinegar to a large high-rimmed bowl and use an immersion blender to gently mix in the oil. You’ll have homemade mayo in seconds.
Miso Mayonnaise
- V
- DF
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 1 large, fresh egg yolk
- 1 heaped teaspoon Dijon-, or coarse mustard
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 250ml sunflower-, or canola oil
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste, or more to taste
Method
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, especially the egg yolk.
- Add the yolk and mustard to a mixing bowl and whisk for a few seconds until the mixture starts to thicken slightly, then stir in the vinegar.
- Whilst mixing continuously, very gently (!) start adding the oil to the egg, mustard and vinegar, starting with just drop by drop. As the mixture thickens and starts to turn a lighter color and starts to emulsify slightly, you can start pouring the oil a little quicker in a very thin stream.
- Once the mayonnaise is close to your preferred consistency, add the miso paste. Mix to incorporate all ingredients well and beat the mayonnaise a few seconds more until it’s thick and creamy.
