When you’re cooking up a delicious soup, stew or pasta sauce, one thing that can dramatically improve the taste is a stock cube. These little packages of flavour come in many varities, from beef and chicken to veggie, and they’re a shopping list staple for many.
However, stock cubes are not always the healthiest option. They’re considered an ultra processed food with a long list of ingredients, and can contain high levels of salt and other additives. So as a healthy yet tasty alternative, health experts are singing the praises of one ingredient in particular that’s used a lot in Japanese cooking – miso.
Miso is a fermented soybean paste with a salty, umami flavour, making it perfect for using in savoury cooking where you’d usually use a stock cube. It requires just three ingredients to make – soybeans, salt and a kind of fermented rice called koji.
It originates from Japan, and is one of the five key ingredients used in the cuisine there, along with soy sauce, mirin, sake, and rice vinegar.
You’ve probably heard of miso soup before, but this versatile paste can also be used in dressings, marinades, stir fry sauces or pasta dishes. It’s cheap too, costing just £1.80 from Sainsbury’s.
Not only is it tasty, but it’s healthy too. Diet expert Tim Spector recently appeared in one of Max La Manna’s TikTok videos hailing the benefits of miso in cooking, describing them as a great alternative to stock cubes.
Because it’s a fermented food, it can be beneficial for gut health, and the soy beans in miso are also rich in natural compounds called isoflavones – which is a type of antioxidant that can help the body to fight cell damage and ageing.
Miso can also help to support immune function because it’s rich in beneficial bacteria, which could minimise your need for antibiotic therapy if you do fall ill with an infection.
However, there are a few things to be wary about when cooking with miso. The first thing to remember is that it should never be boiled, as this can make it lose some of its aromatic qualities and health benefits.
The experts at Miso Tasty said: “This is why miso is traditionally stirred in at the final stage of cooking, either over a gentle simmer or heat with turned off.”
Miso is also quite thick, so instead of adding a spoonful straight into your salad dressing, thin it out with some water or olive oil beforehand. It can be high in salt as well, so as with anything, make sure you’re eating it in moderation.