Broiled Salmon with Tama-Miso Glaze

Once upon a blue moon (or, two years ago when I lived in Denver), I borrowed a few cookbooks about Korean and Japanese cuisine from my sister-in-law. A miso glaze caught my eye while flipping through the Japanese cookbook—I used it on some salmon steaks and it got rave reviews from a close friend and my husband. And normally, when I obtain recipes online, I usually bookmark them so I can access them or credit them later. But since I used a physical book and not the internet, I figured that I would have the book around, just in case I wanted to make the glaze again.

Unfortunately, when I moved to Los Angeles I completely forgot about the recipe—I gave the books back to my sister-in-law without a second thought. And when I was finally ready to make the glaze again, I kept drawing a blank. I couldn’t remember the name or the ingredients, other than miso (duh), an egg yolk, and sugar. I tried replicating it a few times with minimal success. I looked it up online and only found recipes for miso marinades or recommendations to slather the miso onto the filets straight from the container. It was extremely frustrating!

Finally, I decided to try looking the recipe up by listing a few ingredients in Japanese and I hit the jackpot; I found not only the recipe, but the cover of the book staring at me from the screen. So I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do—it isn’t restricted to salmon filets, but can be used on other grilled/broiled vegetables as well. (I highly suggest eggplant—in fact, tama-miso glazed eggplant is a popular izakaya dish.)

So, before I get into the nitty-gritty—I should note that this recipe is a little persnickety. I have tried dumping all of the ingredients in together before double-boiling as well as gone step by step, and in order to get the silky-soft consistency that we’re looking for in the glaze, you need to follow the directions in order. Also, be warned that you will be standing over the double-boiler continuously stirring the glaze for at least 6-8 minutes. This isn’t something you can walk away from. But the resulting consistency and flavor are well worth it: a lightly-caramelized glaze, with the flavor but not the normal grainy texture of miso—with a hint of sake, just enough to heighten the umami of the bite. Paired with a flaky, juicy salmon filet with a lightly salted crisp skin and you’re smiling after each bite.

Tama-miso recipe adapted from The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo.