Temae miso

Step 1: Rinse the 1 ⅛ lb dried soybeans, cover with the 6 ¼ cups water (at least three times their volume) and soak 18 hours, until they have doubled in size and a split bean is evenly coloured right through.

Step 2: Drain, put in a large pan and cover with fresh water by 5 cm. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then simmer gently, half covered, for 3–4 hours, topping up with water, until a bean crushes easily between your thumb and little finger. (Or pressure cook for 25 minutes after it reaches pressure and let it release naturally.)

Step 3: Clean the jar or container and lid: wash in hot soapy water, rinse, then dry in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes (or pour boiling water over and in it and air-dry upside down). Let it cool; it must be completely dry. Use a 3 litre crock, food-grade bucket or wide jar.

Step 4: While the beans cook, mix the 1 ⅛ lb rice koji with the 7 oz fine sea salt in a large bowl, rubbing them together until evenly mixed.

Step 5: Drain the beans, keeping 300 ml of the cooking liquid. Mash the beans while warm with a potato masher, or in a food processor, until no whole beans remain.

Step 6: Let the mash cool to below 95°F (lukewarm to the touch); hotter will kill the koji. Add it to the salted koji and mix with your hands, adding cooking liquid a little at a time, until it feels like soft clay, about as firm as an earlobe.

Step 7: Shape the mash into tennis-ball-sized balls. Throw them hard, one at a time, into the clean container and press each one down with your fist to drive out all air pockets.

Step 8: Smooth the surface flat, wipe the inside walls above the miso clean with kitchen paper, and sprinkle 1 oz fine sea salt evenly over the top. Press cling film directly onto the surface, then add a weight of about 1 kg (a bag of salt or water in a sealed bag) on a plate.

Step 9: Cover with a lid or cloth and leave in a cool, dark place (a cellar or cupboard away from the stove) for 6–10 months. Check once a month: dark liquid on top is normal tamari, just stir it back in when you open it.

Step 10: Normal: dark tamari, gradual darkening, a sweet, soy-sauce smell, and a thin white film of yeast on the surface, which you scrape off along with 1 cm of miso below. Bad: fuzzy blue, green, black or pink mould, mould that reaches deep into the miso, or a rotten smell; throw the batch away.

Step 11: When it is ready, scrape off the top layer, pack the miso into clean, smaller tubs and keep in the fridge, where it keeps at least a year. Use a clean, dry spoon each time.