Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup)
Time: About 15 minutes
When the Japanese chef Yumiko Kano showed me this sauce, she used it to dress blanched and shocked green beans. Now I toss it on all sorts of vegetables, from grilled eggplant or mushrooms to steamed kale or broccoli. Try a dollop on thickly sliced tomatoes, use a bowlful as a dip for raw celery, or spoon it on boiled rice or soba, somen, or udon noodles.
Virtually any unsalted roasted nut and most seeds will work here. For starters, try almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts, or pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
Grate the ginger into a small fine-meshed strainer over a bowl and press out the juice, about a teaspoon. Put the ginger juice, miso, nuts, and soy sauce if you’re using it in a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the side if necessary. Add a little water or more soy sauce until the mixture is the desired thickness. Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Tahini Miso Sauce Faster and easier; just use a whisk: Instead of the walnuts, use ½ cup each tahini and water.