塩麹 – Another Miso-like Rice Paste

年明けから塩麹造りを始めた。今日はそれを使って初めての料理。昨日仕込んでおいたのは豚ロース、それから蕪でこれはそのまま漬け物だ。豚はソテーするつもりだったが、野菜と一緒に蒸すレシピを見て方針変更。でも耐熱容器はうちには殆どないし蒸し器とは組み合わない。しばし考えていて、四角いパイレックスがちょうどラゴスティーナのパスタ鍋に浮いた状態で乗ることを発見、そこにほぼ口径が同じ蒸籠の蓋を被せることにした。他の調味料は一切使用せず、豚肉の脂と塩麹が野菜の味付けとなる仕組み。殆ど寝かせるだけで実に美味しい料理が仕上がるのだから、これはすごい。



I started fermenting malted rice with salt as the new year began, which is popular here now and called “shio-koji”. I used it in cooking for the first time today. Pasting the rice lightly on pork sirloin yesterday for preparation, I kept it in the refrigerator over the night. I also marinated some turnip with the rice. I had thought of pork sautéed originally but came across with a recipe of steaming it with vegetables (onion, cabbage, potato, tomato), and I thought it more interesting. In order to steam them in a heat-resistant container as specified, I had to use square Pyrex that fitted on the rim of Lagostina pasta pot and covered it with the wooden steamer lid. No other seasoning is needed as pork’s fat and malted rice will manage the vegetables. So the most part was not cooking but the time to rest them, yet the dishes turned out to be so delicious!