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Substitutions · 14 dishes here use it
Salt and fermented depth in paste form. Boiling it kills the aromatics that made it worth using, so it goes in at the end, whisked with a little liquid first.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
Functional substitution system
For miso, the page's working definition is: Salt and fermented depth in paste form. Boiling it kills the aromatics that made it worth using, so it goes in at the end, whisked with a little liquid first. The swap cards below are judged against that job rather than visual resemblance.
Job → candidate → side effects → small test → correct.
1 · Job
What is the missing ingredient doing?
2 · Candidate
Choose the shelf item that replaces that function.
3 · Side effects
Check water, fat, salt, acid, sweetness, and texture.
4 · Small test
Change a spoonful or small portion first when possible.
5 · Correct
Taste again and move only the axis that is still wrong.
What the missing thing was doing
Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.
A substitution is easier to judge once you have watched the job being done properly.
Instead · 1
white for red at one and a half times; red for white at two thirds
Instead · 2
two teaspoons of soy and a pinch of sugar per tablespoon of miso
Instead · 3
a teaspoon of each per tablespoon
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
The company miso keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.