Tama-miso (Miso and Egg Sauce)

Miso-and-Egg Sauce
Tama-miso
2/3 cup sauce
page 83

This sauce is a topping for grilled foods. It’s also the basis for some dressings.

2 Tablespoons sake
2 Tablespoons water
5 Tablespoons Saikyo miso (sweet white miso—note, I’ve experimented with a light miso I like this sauce better: it’s less sweet, and the color is more pleasing but it’s quite different from the original recipe)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/8 teaspoon light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu, not “lite” soy sauce)
In a small cup, mix the sake and and water. In a suribachi, grind the miso, sugar, and egg yolk to a smooth paste. Add the liquid a little at a time, and continue grinding to make a smooth mixture. Season to taste with a bit of shoyu.

Have a bowl of ice and water ready. This sauce is meant to be cooked in a double boiler, but mine is just too large for such a small amount. This is what I do: transfer the miso mixture from the suribachi to a small saucepan, hold it over simmering water in a larger pot, and stir constantly and thoroughly so you don’t scramble the egg. Heat and stir until the sauce thickens, about 6 minutes. Set the saucepan in the ice water to cool. A snowbank will work also.