Nagatanien Asage: Instant Miso Soup using Nama Miso
I introduced Japan’s No.1 instant miso soup series “Marukome Ryotei no Aji (マルコメ 料亭の味)” before, but when it comes to “Nama-Miso-type” instant miso soup, “Nagatanien Asage (永谷園 あさげ)” is the best-selling product.
What is Nama Miso?
Most miso products sold in supermarkets and online are pasteurized miso pastes. The production process involves heat sterilization treatment to stop the action of fermentative bacteria called “Aspergillus Oryzae”.
In contrast, as the word, “Nama (生)” means “raw” or “fresh” in Japanese, “Nama Miso (生みそ)” is unheated miso paste. In other words, the fermentative bacterium “Aspergillus Oryzae” is still alive in the miso paste.
When Aspergillus Oryzae is active, miso’s fermentation proceeds even if the food is ripe enough to eat. So accordingly, the flavor quality changes.
However, many of those who are fussy about the taste of miso prefer Nama Miso paste over ordinary miso because of the day-by-day transition of its flavor and smell.
Nagatanien Asage (永谷園 あさげ)
Now, let’s get down to the main topic today. Actually, the other day I bought the Nagatanien Asage above, the top-selling Nama Miso-type instant miso soup, for this blog article.
This “Asage (あさげ)” is a long-selling instant miso soup series produced and sold by “Nagatanien (永谷園)”, a Japanese food company known for Furikake, Ochazuke, and instant miso soup products.
Contents
The product I have now is made up of small garnish packets (black) and Nama Miso paste packets (green), 10 each for 10 servings.
Ingredients
According to the list on the back of the bag, the garnish packet contains Wakame seaweed, Fu (麩: dried bits of wheat gluten), and chopped green onions.
Meanwhile, the miso paste is a Nama Miso blended with “Kome Miso (米味噌: rice miso)“.
Cooking
The making of this instant miso soup is straightforward; First, put the garnishes and Nama Miso paste together in a bowl. Then pour in 160ml boiling water. After stirring well, you can enjoy the miso soup.
Taste
The Nagatanien Asage miso soup has a good old taste featuring mild acidity. This is an authentic bowl of miso soup with a taste familiar to us Japanese.
