I wanted to see what Hatcho miso could do in a dish my kids already know, so I made Sloppy Joe filling and baked it into little hand pies.
This is part one of my three-miso series. Rice koji, barley koji, and soybean koji each make a different miso, and I want to show how I use each one at home. This time it’s Hatcho miso, made from soybean koji and aged for more than two years.
Hatcho miso can take the the heat.
Most miso goes in at the end, but Hatcho miso holds up to simmering. I let it cook into the filling until it melts in.
For the tomato base, I used a jar of thick and chunky mild salsa from Whole Foods. It already has onion, peppers, and seasoning in it, so I didn’t need a separate tomato sauce. I added Hatcho miso and let it simmer with the sauce for a while. People often say to add miso at the very end, but Hatcho miso holds up well to heat, and I like how the flavor gets deeper as it cooks down. In Japanese we call that koku.
The salsa is already salty, so I start with a little miso and taste as I go.
For Halloween I cut faces into the tops. Without the faces, they’re just good little pies, and I keep a batch in the freezer. My kids love having one of their own.
Ingredients (makes about 30 small pies, depending on size)
1 lb (450 g) ground beef (one Whole Foods pack)
1/2 medium onion (about 75 g), chopped
One 16 oz (450 g) jar thick and chunky mild salsa
1 tbsp (about 18 g) Hatcho miso
1 box ready-made pie pastry (2 sheets)
How I make them
Cook the beef and onion until the beef is cooked through. Drain extra fat if needed.
Mix the miso with a little of the salsa first, then add it all to the pan.
Simmer gently, stirring now and then, until the filling is thick and spoonable. Taste and add more miso if it needs it.
Let the filling cool before you fill the pies.
Cut the pastry into matching shapes, add a small spoonful of filling, and seal the edges well. Cut a small vent or a face into the top.
Bake at 375–400°F (190–200°C) for 20–25 minutes, until golden.
Freezing: Cool the baked pies, wrap them one by one, and freeze them in a bag with the date. Reheat until the center reaches 165°F (74°C).
The idea came from Recipe Boy’s Jack-O’-Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie, which also uses chunky mild salsa. I made mine into small hand pies and added Hatcho miso.