Meet the easy miso sauce recipe that I want to put on EVERYTHING. This versatile sauce is delicious as a dip, but you can also use it as a miso dressing for salad or as a glaze for seafood.
This miso sauce recipe is the best thing that has happened to my kitchen.
The first time I tasted miso sauce was at a local Korean barbecue restaurant and I was immediately hooked.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise since my love for miso is well documented, but I couldn’t get enough of the tangy, pungent dipping sauce on my grilled shrimp.
I got my fill that night, but it didn’t take long before I was craving it again. Luckily, the sauce is super easy to make at home in just a few minutes.
Give it a try, I just know you’re going to love it as much as I do!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
- Versatile. There are so many way to use this sauce! It’s a dipping sauce for vegetables, a tangy salad dressing, a marinade for grilled meat, or a simple way to make miso glaze for salmon.
- Balanced miso flavor. Making this sauce from scratch means you can adjust the amount of each ingredient to make the perfect miso sauce for your palette. Plus you’ll always know exactly what’s in it!
- Keeps well. This sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for weeks and is a go-to staple to adding tons of flavor to quick meals.
- Naturally Vegetarian, Vegan, and Low Carb. Gluten-Free depending on brands used.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Miso paste. As discussed below, I use white miso for this recipe.
Toasted sesame oil. This adds a sweet and nutty flavor to your sauce.
Fresh ginger. Freshly grated ginger gives this recipe a zesty kick that dried ground ginger doesn’t hold a candle to. You’ll need a piece that’s about the size of the tip of your thumb. I use a microplane grater to grate mine into a thick paste.
Fresh garlic. As with the ginger, you really want to use fresh garlic for this recipe. Again, I grate it on my microplane.
Lime juice. For a tart flavor
Rice vinegar. Kikkoman rice vinegar is a staple in my kitchen for whenever a recipe needs a subtle hint of acidic flavor that isn’t too sour. You can also use apple cider vinegar, but it will change the flavor of the recipe.
Maple Syrup. This is optional if you want a sweeter sauce.
What is miso sauce?
This gingery miso sauce is a savory dipping sauce made from miso and flavored with freshly grated ginger and garlic. It has a bold flavor that’s incredibly savory, with tangy, acidic notes that add a great punch to whatever you use it on.
What is miso and how is it processed?
Miso is a deeply savory condiment that’s an essential element in Japanese cuisine. It’s made from fermenting soybeans with koji mushrooms and other ingredients, like seaweed, rice, or barley.
The enzymes in the mushrooms break down the soybeans as they ferment, giving them a complex, salty, tangy flavor and a thick, paste-like consistence similar to peanut butter or a soft dough.
There are several typos of miso available, with white miso having the mildest flavor and red miso having the strongest, most pungent flavor. For this miso sauce recipe, I use white miso.
Our local Asian Supermarket has a whole aisle dedicated to various miso pastes! I love checking them out for the widest variety, but most grocery stores also have one or two varieties. Look for it in the produce section, near the tofu.
Pro Tip
- Grating your ginger and garlic (rather than mincing or chopping them) gives you smaller pieces and releases the juices for a bolder flavor that seasons your sauce evenly. When grating aromatics, be sure to scrape off anything that accumulates on the back of the grater and add it to the bowl.
Commonly asked questions
How to store Leftovers
Store this homemade sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep well for several weeks, if you don’t eat it first!
Can I freeze it?
Yes, but there’s really no reason to.
Is miso gluten free?
Whether or not miso is gluten free depends on what grains are added during the fermentation process. This can vary from brand to brand, so it’s important to read labels carefully if gluten content is an issue for you or those you’re cooking for.
How can I use this miso sauce?
There are so many ways to use this! I love it:
As a dip for raw vegetables (especially snow peas!)
As a spread for turkey sandwiches
Thinned with water as a salad dressing
As a dipping sauce for grilled shrimp
As a glaze for chicken or salmon (either as is or mixed with a little soy sauce)
More recipes made with miso
- Miso Maple Roasted Veggies
- Sirloin Steaks with Miso-Butter Mushrooms
- Ginger-Miso Glazed Salmon Salad
- Miso Potato Soup
All Purpose Miso Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar kikkoman
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 lime juiced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- ¼ cup water
- maple syrup optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, vinegar, sesame oil, and lime juice.
- Use a microplane to gate in the ginger and garlic.
- For a pourable consistency, whisk in up to 1/4 cup of water.
- For a sweeter sauce, add a teaspoon or two of maple syrup, to taste.
I tried this for the first time and thought it was good. Next time I will try it without the lime juice, that flavor didn’t blend well with the others