Negi Miso (Leek and Miso Sauce) is an excellent all-purpose condiment. Use it to marinate meat, dip vegetables and egg rolls, and enjoy on steamed rice! Its bright, aromatic, and savory flavors work wonders in any recipe, especially Japanese or Asian dishes.
Whenever I set out to do my meal prep for the week, I try to make one or two homemade sauces and dressings to keep around in the refrigerator. They are so handy for everyday and emergency meals! And this Negi Miso (ねぎ味噌) or Leek and Miso Sauce is one of my favorite ones to make.
I use the sauce as a marinade, dipping sauce, seasoning, or anything that is in need of a flavor boost. With only a few ingredients, you could easily it together in a flash and store for later use.
All-Purpose Negi Miso (Leek & Miso Sauce)
Negi Miso (ねぎ味噌) is a miso-based sweet and savory sauce that contains Negi, Japanese long green onion. It’s kind of similar to a pesto sauce for western cuisine that you would use for a sandwich, pasta, chicken, etc. With a bright herby flavor, negi miso is just as flexible as the beloved pesto!
Negi – Long Green Onions
Negi (ねぎ, ネギ, 葱) in Japanese means long green onions. They belong to the same allium species as scallions (or green onions) but are longer and thicker in size and do not form a bulb at the bottom. It’s somewhere in between leeks and scallions in thickness, texture, and taste. It is the key ingredient that characterizes the sauce.
There are several variations of negi depending on regions. In Kanto regions, including Tokyo, Shiro Negi (白ねぎ, white negi) is often preferred. The white part is longer than the green part, and the white and sweet part of Shiro Negi is used for Yakitori and Nabe (hot pot dishes) such as Sukiyaki. In Kansai regions including Osaka and Kyoto, Ao Negi (青ねぎ, green negi) is used mostly for garnish/flavoring and stir fry.
Different negi may have a different flavor profile. Some are more pungent and slightly bitter than the other. You can soak these Japanese long onions in cold water to mellow the flavor if needed.
- Naga Negi (長ねぎ) or Shiro Negi (白ねぎ) from Kanto region
- Kujo Negi (九条ねぎ) from Kyoto
- Hakata Banno Negi (博多万能ねぎ) from Kyushu region
- Asatsuki (あさつき)
- Wakegi (わけぎ) from west of Japan
Substitutions: If you can’t find negi in a Japanese or Korean grocery store, you can definitely use scallions/green onions or leeks or both (for texture & flavor).
Miso – Japanese Fermented Soybean Paste
Miso (味噌) is a soybean paste that’s an essential condiment in Japanese cooking. There are many different types of miso out there and you can read more on this ‘all about miso’ pantry page. You may want to know one thing – WHICH miso is the best?
This slow-aged red koji miso is actually the #1 selling miso from Hikari Miso®. Made of organic soybeans and rice, it is free of additives and preservatives. In terms of taste, this miso has a rich and mature flavor with the full-bodied umami of soybeans and the sweetness of rice.
Where can I buy Kodawattemasu by Hikari Miso®:
- Japanese grocery stores (Nijiya, Mitsuwa, Marukai, local mom-pop shops, etc)
- Asian grocery stores (including Chinese/Korean grocery stores)
On a side note, “Kodawattemasu” (こだわってます) in Japanese means “I’m particular (about the quality of miso and the miso-making process).” It may be hard to memorize, so just remember the green label with No.1 on the package!
Substitutions: There is no good substitution for miso. Please try your best to find miso at your local Japanese/Asian grocery store.
What Can I Use Negi Miso (Leek & Miso Sauce) for?
This sauce is an all-around sauce in my house. With a complexly sweet and salty flavor, it can really jazz up any bland dish, especially if you do a lot of Japanese or Asian cooking at home. Here are just some delicious examples:
- Use as a stir fry sauce.
- Flavor onigiri as a filling or apply with sauce (See Yaki Onigiri recipe).
- Apply on tofu, eggplant, daikon, and konnyaku (See Dengaku recipe).
- Dip vegetable sticks (cucumbers, carrots, and daikon) in the sauce.
- Eat with steamed rice. Serve a teaspoon of Negi Miso sauce on the rice.
- Marinate meat and fish.
- Use as a seasoning (Shrimp Egg Rolls above – recipe coming soon).
I hope you enjoy it!
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Negi Miso (Leek and Miso Sauce)
Ingredients
- 2 Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) (2 oz, 60 g; you can substitute any of the following: 1 thick negi; 4–5 scallions/green onions; or a combo of leeks for texture and green onions for flavor)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Cut 2 Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) into small pieces.
- In a medium saucepan or frying pan, add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil and then the minced negi.
- Sauté the negi until wilted.
- Then, add all the seasonings to the pan: 5 Tbsp miso, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp sake, and ½ tsp soy sauce.
- Mix well and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens.
- When you can see the trail at the bottom of the pan when you draw a line with a spatula, it’s done. Transfer the sauce to a sterilized jar.
To Store
- You can keep this sauce for up to 1 week in the fridge and 2 months in the freezer.
I think you may need to review the calorie count on this. It says it is 506 calories per serving, and there is no way it is that high considering the number of servings this recipe makes.
Hello Mark! Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post.
The recipe provided yields one cup of Negi Miso, and the nutritional information given is also for one cup, which is the serving size indicated in the recipe card.
We hope this information is useful to you!🙂
Unrelated to the recipe, but where did you get that glass jar?
Hi Karen! Here you go! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1F2L3A?tag=onamzjusoneco-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B01N1F2L3A&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.JD39FUPH6SRN&th=1
We hope this helps!☺️
This looks amazing! But I’m curious: On the Neji Miso Chicken recipe it says only to use the green part I believe. Is it the same for this recipe? It didn’t say thought the picture looks like it may indicated that.
Hi CJ! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Nami used all of the Negi(long green onion) for this recipe.
Please slice them all.🙂 We hope you enjoy Negi Miso!
What a great idea! Will make this to have on hand. It will surely help make the cooking process faster.
Hi Amy! Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
We hope you enjoy this Negi Miso in many ways! Happy Cooking!
Hi Nami!
I looove your recipes, including this one! Can you share a recipe for making brown rice miso at home? I recently saw on TV (MasterChef Australia) that a Japanese lady had homemade miso that she fermented herself. I’d love to make miso at home too – do you know how to make it? I’d be so interested in an authentic Japanese recipe! And a tutorial on how to sterilise and safely store foods, my grandma used to preserve all kinds of foods from our garden but I haven’t dared to dive into preserving myself.
Thanks for always sharing tour amazing recipes!
Love from Australia!
Hi Lily!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We currently don’t have the recipe on the site that uses brown rice koji to make miso. We’ll make sure to add the recipe to Nami’s list. Thanks for your request!
Meanwhile, please check here for the Homemade Miso recipe with white rice koji; https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-miso/ 🙂
[…] them with confidence and enjoy anytime you like! Serve the shrimp egg rolls with the all-purpose Negi Miso (Leek and Miso […]
Can you tell me if this miso has mushroom powder in it? Some miso does and being allergic to mushrooms I have to pass up miso in most cases when It is served at an oriental restaurant although I like it.
Info appreciated.
Aub.B.
Hi Aubrey! I’m not at home and can’t check the package currently… I’ll check when I get a chance. Their website doesn’t say much: https://hikarimiso.com/product/organic-miso/kodawattemasu/
This looks great! Can’t wait to try. Do you know are negi the same as korean dae-pa? I have a korean market that is much closer to me than the Japanese market that sells negi. I was wondering if there was a big difference between the korean and japanese versions?
Hi Mei! I had never used it before but have seen it on YouTue. They look very similar to me so I would definitely use them instead of going to the Japanese market to buy Negi. 🙂