Umami the fifth taste, is translated as "delicious" or "savory." It's the flavor that's been a chef's secret since Ancient Roman times. Learn more about umami: Demystifying Umami, then learn to make an umami-dense dish like Pasta Puttanesca or Miso Simmered Eggplant (recipe below). Once you understand umami, it will seem it's been hiding in plain sight, right under your nose. Call it the Great Umami Caper.
Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter and Umami
Most of us learned the tongue could be mapped to just four flavors it was capable of perceiving. This tongue map has now largely been revised or left aside. Even those who cling to the map, acknowledge that at least one other flavor is perceived and that is umami.
In Japanese culture, people recognize seven tastes and seek to balance or harmonize them. Umami is "deliciousness," but the word conveys more. Others are sweet, tart, bitter, spicy, astringent, and salty. Knowing how to identify and unlock umami will prevent the mistake many new cooks make when trying to amplify flavor. They reach for salt when they want umami.
Secrets from a Bowl of Soup
An Irish friend once remarked that he loved miso soup in restaurants but could never achieve the depth of flavor at home. He was simply diluting the miso paste with water, then adding scallion and tofu. The “secret” to delicious miso soup is umami. It was the missing ingredient in the soup that he made. While miso paste itself has some umami, the dashi he omitted would take his soup from good to “Wow!”
A good bowl of soup was at the heart of the “discovery” of Umami by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda in 1907. The Japanese use a soup stock called dashi as the base for many soups. The clear broth is simple to make and gives miso soup (and others) their deep, savory taste. Two umami powerhouse foods: kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) are essential components to dashi.
Umami Everywhere, Even your Pantry
- If you've used tomato paste to give depth to a sauce, you've used umami.
- A dash of Worcestershire Sauce, dip of Marmite, splash of Maggi Seasoning? Umami.
- If your mantra is: Everything's better with bacon.You're an umami fan, too.
- Capers, themselves, are little umami bombs, as are other fermented or brined items such as olives.
- A few vegetables have umami: mushrooms, tomatoes, corn, and eggplant are all good sources.
Eggplant Simmered with Miso Recipe
Elizabeth Andoh who conducts the well-loved A Taste of Culture programs, and is the author of WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2005), took time from work on her upcoming book to share this eggplant recipe. This recipe combines miso and eggplant, two umami-rich foods with dashi which brings us back to Dr. Ikeda’s groundbreaking and delicious bowl of soup.
Eggplant Simmered with Miso Sauce
Serves 4 to 6
- aka neri miso (dark “stirred” miso sauce):
- 2 tablespoons aka miso (combination of Hatcho and Sendai recommended)
- 2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dashi (basic sea stock; email request for recipe), or water
- 3 to 4 Japanese eggplants, about 7 ounces
- 1 scant tablespoon vegetable oil (for skillet-searing)
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup dashi
- garnish: 1 tablespoon freshly toasted sesame seeds, cracked
Make the miso sauce:
- Place Ingredients in a small, sturdy pan. Before placing the pan over heat, stir ingredients with a wooden or silicone spatula until they are thoroughly mixed. Cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. The sauce will bubble and splatter a bit, so use caution and long-handled spatulas and pans. Cook until the mixture is glossy and the consistency of tomato ketchup. The sauce will stiffen and thicken a bit as it cools.
- Trim the eggplants, removing stems and sepals; slice in half, lengthwise. Cut the halves into 1-inch lengths. Preheat the skillet, drizzling in the oil. Place the eggplant pieces, skin side down in a single layer and sear, undisturbed for 1 and 1/2 minutes. Use an otoshi-buta (dropped lid) or other smaller lid to press lightly against the eggplant as it sears. This technique is known as mushi yaki (“steam sear”). This traps in some moisture (they will become visibly juicy) without having the eggplant stew (making them loose their vibrant color, and overly soft).
- Flip the eggplant pieces (the skin is now facing up) and sear for 1 minute until slightly browned. Use the dropped lid again to press for the final 30 seconds. Remove the dropped lid, pour in the dashi around the outer rim of the skillet and lower the heat to maintain a steady, but not vigorous simmer.
- Immediately move a few eggplant pieces to make room in the center of the skillet for 2 tablespoons of the neri miso paste. Stir to help dissolve the paste in the simmering liquid. To preserve color and texture, though, try NOT to stir the eggplant pieces at this point. Let the eggplant cook in the rapidly reducing miso-thickened stock for another 30 or 40 seconds, swirling the skillet gently to be sure the eggplant is not sticking. When the sauce has reduced to a thick glaze (less than a minute), remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir once to lightly toss and coat the eggplant in sauce. Sprinkle half the toasted sesame over the eggplant and let it cool in the skillet. Transfer the room temperature eggplant to individual servings dishes and sprinkle remaining sesame seeds as garnish just before serving.
Itadakimasu and Domo arigato gozaimasu, Elizabeth!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
