Fragrant and sweet-savory Niku Miso (Miso Meat Sauce) is a meal-prep hero. This tasty all-purpose meat sauce provides protein to any dish—whether or not it’s plain steamed rice, noodles, or lettuce cups. It’s fast, straightforward, and prepared in simply 10 minutes!
At present, I’m bringing you a well-liked and attractive dish referred to as Niku Miso that Japanese residence cooks make to accompany plain steamed rice or noodles. On this easy recipe for our Simple School Meal Collection, I braise floor meat with aromatics in a sweet-and-savory miso sauce. I’ll present you find out how to whip collectively this meal-prep marvel in 10 minutes!
For extra widespread fast and straightforward pork principal dishes, strive my 10 Minute Meal – Mapo Tofu, Ginger Pork (Shogayaki), and Mabo Eggplant (Mabo Nasu)!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Cooks in a single pot and is prepared in 10 minutes! It’s excellent for busy professionals, faculty college students, or anybody who wants a simple and attractive weeknight meal.
- Protein-packed principal dish. Niku miso is nutrient dense and boosts the protein part of any meal.
- Excellent for weekly meal-prep. Closely seasoned niku miso retains effectively within the fridge for as much as 7 days. I’ll make it on the weekend and serve it all through the week at school bentos or for my work-from-home lunch. It’s a lifesaver on busy weekdays!
- Adaptable for vegetarians. I used floor pork for this recipe, however you’ll be able to simply substitute it with meatless choices.
- Versatile for a lot of dishes. I serve it with plain rice, on noodles, or in lettuce cups. Lacking some spice? Drizzle in chili oil. See extra concepts beneath!
Substances for Niku Miso
- Floor pork
- Ginger
- Geen onions/scallions
- Toasted sesame oil
- Seasoning:
- Miso
- Sugar
- Mirin
- Soy sauce
- Sake (or water)
- Potato starch (or cornstarch)
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Floor pork: Pork and beef are the everyday decisions in Japan, however be at liberty to make use of floor hen or floor turkey; for vegan/vegetarian, use cubed agency tofu.
- Miso: You should utilize any miso paste, however I like utilizing pink miso because it has a bolder and deeper taste than gentle white miso.
How To Make Niku Miso
Preparation
Step 1 – Prep the components earlier than cooking begins. Grate the ginger and thinly slice the inexperienced onions.
Step 2 – Combine the sauce. Stir collectively the miso, sugar, mirin, sake, soy sauce, and potato starch in a bowl till clean and effectively mixed.
Cooking
Step 3 — Prepare dinner the meat with the aromatics. Add the bottom pork to the recent sesame oil within the pot and break up the meat with a spatula. Add the grated ginger and inexperienced onions and sauté within the oil.
Step 4 — Add the miso sauce. When the meat is almost not pink, give the sauce combination a ultimate stir and add it to the pot. Stir to include and thicken the sauce. Prepare dinner and cut back the cooking liquid to the specified thickness.
Step 5 – Serve. Flip off the warmth and serve scorching together with plain steamed rice.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Break up the bottom meat with a spatula – Separate the chunks of floor pork into small crumbles because it cooks. The meat will prepare dinner extra totally and evenly this fashion and higher soak up the scrumptious seasonings.
- Dissolve the miso utterly – Once you combine the sauce components, stir it till it’s a clean consistency. You don’t need chunks of undissolved miso in your ultimate dish.
- Give the sauce components a ultimate stir – The potato starch within the sauce can settle, so I all the time give it one final stir simply earlier than including the combination to the pot.
Variations and Customizations
- Attempt a special floor meat. You should utilize any floor meat you want for this dish. Whereas I used floor pork at this time, floor beef is one other widespread alternative in Japan. I additionally counsel making an attempt floor hen and floor turkey, a well-liked possibility within the US.
- Bump up the aromatics. So as to add extra depth of taste, you’ll be able to incorporate different widespread aromatics in Japanese cooking. You can undoubtedly add garlic, yuzu kosho, or chili paste. For a extra conventional Japanese taste, I like utilizing Tokyo negi (lengthy inexperienced onion) as an alternative of inexperienced onion.
- Bulk up the quantity with veggies. When my youngsters have been little, I’d sneak in veggies into this dish as a result of the meat sauce binds effectively with greens. Finely mince carrots, eggplants, zucchini, and/or shiitake mushrooms and prepare dinner them along with the bottom meat. I believe it’s a tasty solution to incorporate extra veggies in your food plan!
- Make it meatless. As an alternative of floor meat, strive cubed agency tofu or chopped mushrooms for a plant-based model.
What To Serve with Miso Meat Sauce
Niku Miso is a flexible protein add-on for a lot of dishes. Listed below are some scrumptious concepts:
- Rice – Serve it with steamed rice, fried rice, or as a filling for rice balls (Onigiri).
- Noodles –Toss into stir-fried noodles or pasta, or use as a topping for udon, soba, or somen noodle soups.
- Sandwiches – Unfold it on sandwiches or onigirazu.
- Low-carb choices – Take pleasure in it in lettuce wraps, in vegetable stir-fries, and extra!
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
To retailer: As soon as the sauce is cooled to room temperature, refrigerate instantly in an hermetic container for as much as per week.
To Freeze: Retailer within the freezer for as much as 3–4 weeks.
To Reheat. Reheat solely the portion you’ll serve within the microwave or a frying pan.
Regularly Requested Questions
Whereas you should utilize any sort of miso for niku miso, I counsel utilizing one with a bolder taste just like the pink miso that I exploit within the recipe. A deeper miso style stands up effectively to the bottom meat within the dish. If you happen to do use a light miso, be sure you alter the sugar and different seasonings for a balanced taste.
I don’t suggest it. Sugar is crucial to counter stability the salty components of the sauce just like the miso and soy sauce.
Extra Scrumptious 10-Minute Recipes
They these widespread recipes from our Simple School Meal collection!
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
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Collect all of the components. I exploit an electrical pot for this recipe and others within the 10-Minute Meal collection. You additionally might use a daily saucepan on the range.
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Thinly slice 2 inexperienced onions/scallions into small rounds. Put aside some for garnish.
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Peel and grate 1 inch ginger (I exploit a ceramic grater). Put aside.
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To combine the sauce, add 2 Tbsp miso to a small bowl. Add ½ Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp sake, and 1 tsp potato starch or cornstarch. Stir till clean and effectively mixed.
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Warmth the saucepan over medium-high warmth or on Mode II (600W) for the electrical pot. When it is scorching, add ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil and 6 oz floor pork.
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Sauté the meat, breaking apart the clumps with a spatula. Add the grated ginger with juices and hold stirring.
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When the pork is nearly not pink, add many of the inexperienced onions, reserving some for garnish.
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When the inexperienced onions are coated with oil, give the sauce combination a ultimate stir and add it to the pot.
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Stir to include and thicken the sauce. Proceed to sauté and cut back the cooking liquid till it reaches the specified thickness.
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Switch the niku miso to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with inexperienced onions. Take pleasure in!
