Miso "Hummus"
About a year ago, I saw this fun article come out from Chicago Magazine. I skimmed through the recipes and thought that the salad dressing appeared similar to something I had at Alinea's pop-up "The Progression" when they closed for renovations. I was lucky enough to snag tickets to it and I think I had something similar to this for one of the courses. We were given romaine lettuce hearts on skewers and were instructed to grill them over a binchotan grill. A similar sounding dressing was given to us in squeeze bottles to season ourselves, with ground black pepper, and a salt cured bonito - a cross between prosciutto and katsuobushi (what was given was closer to prosciutto). The dressing was really delicious and from my memory of it, this recipe must be close to what I had at the pop-up.
Any time I made this, the sesame pops out just enough that I'm reminded of hummus, so I had the idea of modifying the recipe to be dipped with fresh vegetables or just about any kind of flat bread. This is a super easy recipe to make. However, the one thing that might be hard to find is shiro shoyu.
Shiro shoyu (white soy sauce) is unique to Japan and a specialty ingredient. The shelf life is significantly shorter than most other types of soy sauce and the big difference is that it uses a ratio of wheat to soybeans when it's fermented. Typically, most soy sauce is close to 50/50 for wheat to soybeans. Tamari is high is soybeans and low in wheat. This is different from Chinese dark soy sauce, which is aged longer.
Since the Chicago area doesn't have too many Japanese grocery stores, the only place to find shiro shoyu is Mitsuwa and this one only carries one brand. I think in Hawaii it's a specificity ingredient since I've asked my sisters to find some for me before and they've only found it in a few places. Once this is opened, it will oxidize in a few months and become quite dark taking on more of a typical soy sauce flavor. It's best to use it fresh or store it in the fridge. You can buy shiro shoyu online as well. Just look for a bottle where the soy sauce should look clear and amber in color if you can't find it IRL.
When buying shiro miso for this, I also like to look for the miso with the lowest amount of sodium per serving. These are the ones that tend to taste better in my opinion.
I buy tofu the same day that I make this as tofu doesn't have a long shelf life. When the tofu is really fresh, this can last up to a week (use your sense of smell) in the fridge.
Recipe: Makes about 1.5 quarts
1 block of firm tofu, drained of liquid
4 heaping tbsp of shiro miso (white miso)
12 oz. tahini
4 tbsp shiro shoyu
5 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 cup neutral oil (canola is what I use)
1 cup hot water
About 2 tsp ground white pepper (until you taste it a little bit 'brighter' and a very slight burn)
In a microwave safe container, add water and heat it in the microwave for about 1 minute until the water is hot.
Add all the ingredients to a blender. If your blender is not too strong, it might help a little by cubing the tofu first.
Blend on low so the ingredients begin to move, then slowly increase the speed until the mixture is well combined. Don't blend it too long or else the blender will heat it up and it can get chunky in some parts from being cooked.
Chill for at least an hour in the fridge in a closed container.
