Are you looking for the best sauce for salmon? Miso butter sauce is the reason your fish, chicken, or roasted vegetables will go from good to something people will ask about, and it takes less than 15 minutes!
This is not a glaze, paste, or compound butter. It's a beurre blanc-style emulsified sauce where butter is whisked into a reduction of aromatics, miso paste, and sake.
French method. Japanese ingredients. Restaurant result. And unlike a classic beurre blanc, the miso paste keeps this sauce from breaking.
I can tell when my husband loves a good sauce because he will wipe the last bit off his plate with his finger and lick it when nobody is watching. This sauce is finger-licking good.
I started making this after falling in love with the miso-marinated sea bass on this site. The marinade has all that beautiful miso flavor baked right into the fish, but sometimes you want that same flavor in a form you can spoon over anything and make in less time.
This is the same French technique behind my pork tenderloin with curry butter sauce. Swap in miso and sake, and you have something that tastes completely different but uses the same method.
My favorite way to serve it is drizzled over restaurant-style pan-seared salmon, next to cucumber noodles and rice, or over roasted sweet potato chunks.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Is Different
- Japanese flavors like sake and miso.
- Ready in under 15 minutes from start to finish.
- Works on salmon, halibut, sea bass, chicken, and roasted vegetables.
- Miso paste acts as a natural emulsifier, which means this sauce won't break.
- Make it ahead, store it in the fridge, and reheat it before your guests arrive.
What Is Miso Butter Sauce?
It's a beurre blanc where cold butter is whisked into a warm reduction of miso, sake, mirin, and honey.
The flavor is savory, mildly sweet, with a tiny bit of salt, followed by a rich mouthfeel from the butter.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make this pourable Miso Butter Sauce!
- Sake: A dry, full-bodied sake replaces traditional white wine and builds the Japanese-French fusion flavors. It's inexpensive and keeps forever in the cabinet. I recommend Ozeki Sake brand sold at the liquor store. If you are hesitant to buy a bottle of sake, substitute my favorite white wine alternative, dry vermouth.
- Red Miso Paste: A paste from fermented soybeans. It has a salty umami punch. It's sold in the refrigerated areas of the produce or dairy sections of the store and has a long shelf life in the refrigerator. Red miso is my favorite because of the color, but white or yellow miso paste also works.
- Mirin: A Japanese sweet cooking rice seasoning. It adds sweetness, saltiness, and umami. I buy the Kikkoman Manjo Aji Mirin in the international aisle of the store.
- Honey: This floral sweetener balances the salty, umami-rich punch of miso paste.
- Shallot: Chef’s favorite. A small, pink-skinned onion that grows in the form of a bulb-like garlic with 1-4 cloves to the cluster. They are more delicate and mild than red onions and will store for many weeks in the pantry. Great for vinaigrettes, salads, and sauces.
- Hot Sauce: Introduces some acid and a tiny bit of spice for balance.
- Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted butter for saucemaking. Cold butter is critical. It enters the warm reduction gradually as it melts, which helps the emulsion build evenly.
See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.
Equipment
Small saucepan (1½-2 quarts): I like to make small-batch sauces with an All-Clad saucier pan. The rounded sides at the bottom are helpful when whisking in the butter.
Wire whisk: It's essential to make sure the butter is incorporated while melting.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Have all of your ingredients measured and ready before you start.
Step 1: In a small saucepan, melt 1 teaspoon of butter over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Step 2: Add the sake and reduce by half, about 2-3 minutes. Keep the heat at medium and watch it closely to prevent scorching.
Step 3: Whisk in the miso paste, water, honey, mirin, and hot sauce. Bring to a low boil and reduce by one third, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Step 4: Whisk in the cold butter chunks, all at once, until it has melted and fully emulsified into the sauce.
Step 5: The sauce should look glossy and slightly thick. Move the saucepan towards the back of the stove to stay warm. Serve within 2 hours.
Top Tip
The mistake that actually breaks a beurre blanc sauce is simmering the sauce after the butter goes in. There's good news for this version:
The miso paste itself helps stabilize the emulsion, so this sauce is more forgiving than a classic beurre blanc. I tried to break the sauce by reheating it to 215°F, and it did not split.
Make Ahead And Reheating Instructions
Make Ahead: Make the sauce up to 4 days ahead of time. Let it come down to room temperature for 20-30 minutes before storing.
To Store: It will hold in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in a covered dish. In addition, freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 1 month.
To Reheat: Reheat from the refrigerator or freezer in a pot over low heat, stirring to recombine. Also, you can microwave it, stirring often. Once warmed, store over low heat on the stove.
FAQ
I like the boldness and the color of red miso paste. If miso paste is new to you, it comes in a few ‘strengths’, lending a range of colors and flavors from light and sweet to darker and more pungent. Start with a lighter color and try one at a time to see which you prefer.
If you bought miso paste for one recipe and it's still sitting in the fridge, you can use miso instead of mustard in salad dressings or marinate fish in it before cooking, like my miso-marinated sea bass.
Dry vermouth or dry white wine both work. Avoid sweet wines. Vermouth is a practical option because it keeps indefinitely in the cabinet. Unseasoned rice vinegar can also be substituted.
You can whisk in a teaspoon of water at a time to thin it out.
Did you try any of these tips? Leave a comment below to let us know how it turned out! Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Miso Butter Sauce (Miso Beurre Blanc)
Equipment
- 1.5-2 quart saucepan
- wire whisk
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot
- ¼ cup sake
- 3 tablespoons red miso paste
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold (cut into 1-inch chunks)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the teaspoon of butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add the sake and reduce by half, about 2-3 minutes.
- Whisk in the miso paste, water, honey, mirin, and hot sauce. Bring to a low boil and reduce by one-third, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Whisk in the cold butter until it has melted and fully emulsified into the sauce. Serve within 2 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Comments
No Comments