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At Suis Generis restaurant, and our research and learning center, the Tiki Food Lab, we are on a constant quest to uncover umami wherever it may be lurking. One of those places is right there in your fridge - inside of your eggs!! So, we wanted to share one of our favorite umami secret weapons - miso cured egg yolk, also known in Japanese as Tamago Misozuke.
These delicious jewels of wonder and merriment are not only bursting with umami, they are the perfect substitute for parmesan cheese for those who are lactose intolerant!! Another of our missions is to create delicious cheese, and cheese substitutes - and this one is fabulous!
Miso-Cured Egg Yolk Recipe
Step One - Salt & Sugar cure
We use a two-step process to make our miso cured egg yolks. The first step imparts flavor and reduces water content in the yolk. Make a mixture of 50% sugar and 50% pure fine sea salt (tip: never used iodized salt for fermentation purposes because the iodine inhibits fermentation and adds negative flavor). You can also add other flavors such as chili pepper, garlic powder, or whatever you may want to accent the flavor profile you seek.
Pour about a half inch of your salt & sugar mixture into a container just large enough to hold the number of eggs you want to use. For example, a cup deli container is perfect to cure 3 yolks. Make little divots the size of your yolks. Crack the raw eggs and gently separate the yolks for the whites. Reserve the whites for other purposes. After all - we are strong proponents of Zero Waste Cooking!
Gently place your yolks in tht divots and then cover the yolks carefully and completely with more of the salt & sugar mixture. You want to keep them separated enough so the yolks do not touch each other and for the salt & sugar mixture to be completely around the egg yolks. Cover your container and put in a fridge for 2 days. You can also leave them at room temperature, but most people are more comfortable placing them in the refrigerator - and our trials indicate there is little difference in the ultimate result either way.
Step Two - The Miso Cure
Use a spoon to gently remove the yolks from the salt & sugar cure. They should be mostly firm at this point, but use care to not pierce or dent them. Gently rinse the salt & sugar cure so they do not become too salty. Then, remove the rest of the salt & sugar mixture from your container (again saving for other uses). To make the miso mixture use a ratio of 90% misto to 10% sake or mirin. We have also experimented with other liquids such as orange juice, lemon, guava, olive oil and sherry - each of which produces slightly different flavor accents. Be creative and have fun with the process! Mix your miso and liquid of choice and place about 1/2 inch down in the container. Gently place your salt & sugar cured yolks into the miso and cover them with additional miso mixture so they are fully covered.
Place the fully submerged yolks back in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 days and ideally 7-14 days - or even much longer. The results will vary widely based upon how long they remain in the miso cure. We find that 7-14 days gives an excellent parmesan-umami flavor. When you go longer than that, they acquire a stronger miso flavor - which is also interesting and delicious!
How To Store Miso-Cured Egg
For longer term storage, we place our cured yolks into a dehydrator for several hours to give them an even more firm texture and we believe this step makes them last longer. However, we have not yet conducted trials on to what extent that is true (there is always more to learn!!). It is certainly not necessary to place into a dehydrator and they can be used right out of the miso - but they will not be as firm and do not seem to have as much of a parmesan texture or intensity without the dehydration step. The cured yolks can be stored in a refrigerator for months because they have been cured in both salt and miso. We place a silica packet into our storage container so they remain firm and parmesan-like.
Using Your Miso Cured Egg Yolks
They are delicious grated on pastas or any dish where you might grate parmesan cheese. Use your imagination and play with the flavors - because they are amazing!!!!
Enjoy - and come join us at the Tiki Food Lab for a cooking class and Food Experience. We would love to talk to you in person about fermentation and zero waste cooking!!
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