Raw Vegan Miso Cured Avocado

You might be going “Miso cured avocado”? What in the world is that? Well, I’ll tell you and you are in for a treat! Miso cured avocado is literally avocado cured/pickled in miso. This recipe is a take on one of the Japanese pickling techniques called Saikyouzuke, which originated in Kyoto, Japan. Saikyouzuke is traditionally done on seafood, but when you apply it to avocado, it takes on the savoriness and depth of flavor from the miso and ends up tasting almost cheese like! It just looks like regular avocado, but when you put it in your mouth, BAMM!! Flavor bomb! Best of all, to achieve this cheesy savory avocado, all you have to do is coat the avocado in miso and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. Easy and delicious with the element of a flavor surprise, how cool is that?

Since we are curing with miso, choosing what miso to use is a factor. Traditional Saikyouzuke uses white miso, but I personally prefer using red miso for this. White miso is a milder miso than red miso, so the end result is milder. Red miso achieves a savorier, cheesier, and deeper flavor in my opinion. 

Now that we touched on choosing the miso, let’s jump right into miso curing avocados! First, cut the avocado in half and take the pit out. Peel the skin off very carefully.

Thin out the miso with water and maple syrup so that the miso will be easier to apply. Traditionally, Mirin is used to thin out the miso, but we are using water and maple syrup to keep it alcohol free. Cut a piece of cheese cloth so that it is just big enough to cover the avocado halves. Wrap the avocado with the cheese cloth. I recommend wrapping it so that the ends of the cloth can be tucked in the hole where the pit was. Paint on the miso all over the avocado so that the entire thing is coated. Wrapping the avocado first with the cheese cloth before slathering the miso makes for a mess free, easy clean up later. However, if you don’t have any cheese cloth on hand, you can simply slather the miso directly on the avocado and skip the cheese cloth, then wipe the miso away when curing is done.

Place the avocados in an air-tight container and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. After about 8 hours, peel off the cheese cloth partially and take a small piece off the avocado from either the top or the bottom for a taste test. Check to see if the flavor is the desired intensity. It should taste savory and cheesy. If you haven’t achieved the desired depth of flavor, then give the avocado a few more hours to cure. If you are happy with the savoriness of the avocado, peel the cheese cloth off. The beautifully jade colored avocado will reveal itself to you!

Slice or dice the avocado into your desired size. It’s great on salads, crackers, sandwiches, wraps, you name it! For a cooked option, it’s delicious with rice, toast, or pasta too.

If you plate it like the picture at the very top, it would be great for parties or pot lucks. Here’s how to do it:

1. Slice one piece of avocado then gently peel it off the knife and lay it down. Slice another piece, equal thickness, then lay it down so it is overlapping on top of the previous piece. Make sure to leave a small gap so it is off-set. Miso cured avocado is quite soft so handle with care. It is very easy to smush it.
2. Repeat until the entire half of the avocado is done and fanned out.
3. Cut off the excess to make it into your desired shape. Try a rectangle, a square, or even a diamond shape.  

You can garnish with some sprouts, sesame seeds or maybe thinly sliced green onions if you’d like. In this picture, I garnished with some wasabi-tamari-buckwheat grouts. To make them, I tossed the sprouted buckwheat grouts in a wasabi-tamari sauce and dried them in the dehydrator until crisp. I also used black sesame seeds, kaiware sprouts (daikon radish sprouts), thinly sliced green onion (using only the white part), and salt cured cherry blossom (a garnish item used in Japan).
When serving, lightly drizzle the toasted sesame oil on top and squeeze some lemon juice. The toasted sesame oil and lemon juice really compliment the cured avocado, and it’s my favorite way to eat it. Enjoy this beauty!

Raw Vegan Miso Cured Avocado

 

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Cook time

8 hours

Total time

8 hours

 

Author: Mariko Sakata

Cuisine: raw food, raw vegan, gluten-free

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 avocado (ripe but firm)
• 3 Tablespoons miso
• 1-2 Tablespoons water
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 
  
• Some sprouts, sesame seeds, thinly sliced green onion for garnish (optional)
• Some lemon juice and toasted sesame oil to drizzle when serving

Instructions

1. Cut the avocado in half and take the pit out. Peel the skin off very carefully.
2. Add water and maple syrup to the miso and mix well.
3. Cut a piece of cheese cloth so that it is just big enough to cover the avocado halves. Wrap the avocado with the cheese cloth. I recommend wrapping it so that the ends of the cloth can be tucked in the hole where the pit was.
4. Coat the entire avocado with miso.
5. Place the avocados in an air-tight container and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
6. After about 8 hours, peel off the cheese cloth partially and take a small piece off the avocado from either the top or the bottom for a taste test. Check to see if the flavor is the desired intensity. It should taste savory and cheesy. If you haven't achieved the desired depth of flavor then give the avocado a few more hours to cure. If you are happy with the savoriness of the avocado, peel the cheese cloth off.
7. Slice or dice the avocado into your desired size.
8. Garnish with sprouts, sesame seeds, and thinly sliced green onions. When serving, lightly drizzle the toasted sesame oil on top and squeeze some lemon juice.

Notes

White miso is a milder miso than red miso, so the end result is milder. Red miso achieves a savorier, cheesier, and deeper flavor, which I prefer.

If you don't have any cheese cloth, you can apply the miso directly on the avocado, then wipe the miso away when curing is done.

Miso cured avocados are great on salads, crackers, sandwiches, wraps, etc. For a cooked option, it's delicious with rice, toast, pasta, etc.

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