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Soy and legumes from Japan — Kumamoto

Tofu misozuke (tofu pickled in miso)豆腐の味噌漬け

Very firm tofu is pressed hard to drive out water, then buried in salty miso, with layers of sugar in the Kumamoto version, for about half a year. Enzymes from the miso's koji slowly soften the tofu until it is creamy and tastes like cheese or sea urchin. It is sliced thin and eaten with rice or with drinks.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Tofu misozuke itself.

Short entrySoy and legumes6 months

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold practice with no published amounts.
Very firm tofuKazura tofu, pressed under a stone, or kashinoki tofu made with four times the usual soybeans[MAFF-tofumiso]
Miso with a high salt content[MAFF-tofumiso]
SugarSpread over the tofu in alternating layers with the miso[MAFF-tofumiso]
Starterthe koji enzymes already in the miso

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countMoulds

What changes: Firm tofu is pressed under a stone until most of its water is gone

Step 1 of 3
Make very firm tofu and press out the water
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

The soy milk is set with bittern (nigari). Output: very firm tofu.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
very firm, can be tied up and carried
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Very firm tofu is pressed hard to drive out water, then buried in salty miso, with layers of sugar in the Kumamoto version, for about half a year. Enzymes from the miso's koji slowly soften the tofu until it is creamy and tastes like cheese or sea urchin. It is sliced thin and eaten with rice or with drinks. Made in 3 steps over 6 months. The longest step, leave it to ripen, takes 6 months (MAFF). Koji enzymes from the miso does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6 monthsReported[MAFF-tofumiso]Leave it to ripen

What makes this one different

Unlike furu, the tofu grows no mould of its own. It borrows enzymes from the koji in the miso around it, and is kept at room temperature for months, so only very firm tofu is used.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Moromi-zuke tofuTofu pickled in moromi mash instead of miso (Kumamoto).
  • Fukuoka tofu misozukeStudied for the koji protease behind its cheese-like taste (Funaki 1997).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Local lore links it to Heike soldiers who hid in the Higo mountains about 800 years ago. In mountain districts such as Gokanosho and Itsuki, families made their own tofu and wheat miso from swidden crops, and the pickled tofu was a stored protein in places with poor transport and no refrigerators (MAFF).

  1. [MAFF-tofumiso] MAFF, Traditional Foods in Japan, Miso-marinated Tofu (Kumamoto)gov
  2. [funaki1997] Funaki J., Yano M., Misaka T., Abe K., Arai S. 1997, Purification and characterization of a neutral protease that contributes to the unique flavor and texture of tofu-misozuke, Journal of Food Biochemistry 21(3):191–202 (abstract)paper
  3. [kawahara2022] Kawahara A., Zendo T., Matsusaki H. 2022, Identification and characterization of bacteriocin biosynthetic gene clusters found in multiple bacteriocins producing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum PUK6, Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering 133(5):444–451 (abstract)paper