Salmon Miso + Soy Milk Nabe
This month for Sake Gumi, we are featuring the Kid Shiboritate sake. We are also inviting the maker of that sake, Heiwa Shuzo, to host a brewery tour and sake tasting with us on Zoom! They are a small brewery in Wakayama who make bright sakes that have been frequently popping up on our shelves.
Shiboritate sakes are fresh, unpasteurized, and un-aged and are often the brewery's first release of the season. The Kid Shiboritate is indeed lively, with flavors including grapefruit peel and peach. It ends with the signature Heiwa finish – clean and refreshing.
When I asked Shibata-san, the toji of the brewery, what his favorite food pairing was for this sake, he mentioned soy milk nabe. I had never tried making soy milk nabe before and was intrigued. My donabe is in full use as we are in the middle of the winter, so it was a perfect time to try something new out in my trusty pot.
I adapted the Salmon Chowder with Miso Soy-Milk Broth recipe in Donabe, a book we carry by Naoko Takei Moore and Kyle Connaughton.
INGREDIENTS
5-6 servings
1 lb salmon, cut into chunks, generously salted for 30 minutes
1/2 kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), cut into 1" chunks
1 Japanese sweet potato, cut into 1" chunks
2 tbsp butter
1/2 yellow onion, minced
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sake
1-3/4 cups dashi or vegetable stock
1/2 cup Sendai miso or white miso
1-3/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
5 oz shimeji mushrooms
5 oz enoki mushrooms
METHOD
1. Salt salmon chunks and set aside for 30 minutes. Pat dry. You can substitute salmon with tofu for a vegetarian version.
2. Melt the butter in the donabe.
3. Add onions and cook on low for about 10 minutes being careful that the onions are translucent and don't turn brown.
4. Add the flour and stir well.
5. Add the sake and stir well.
6. Add the dashi and bring to a simmer.
6. Add the kabocha and the sweet potatoes. Cover lid and bring to a boil, then cook on low for 5-6 minutes or until tender.
7. Meanwhile whisk together the miso and soy milk.
8. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the soy milk and miso mixture to the nabe and bring to a simmer by turning up the heat to medium.
9. Add salmon and mushrooms and cover with lid. Once the donabe starts steaming, turn the heat to low and cook for another 3-4 minutes (or until salmon is cooked).
10. Plate and enjoy with sake!
Butter, miso, and soy milk make this dish extremely rich! It's a warming winter stew that will make your kitchen smell heavenly. The citrusy sake was a perfect contrast to this creamy dish as it cleansed the palette between spoonfuls of salmon and rich broth.
