Cucumber with Miso Sauces 味噌胡瓜

As far as we are concerned the best way to enjoy the fresh Japanese cucumbers we got from Suzuki Farm (see picture), is to eat the chilled fresh Japanese cucumber sticks with miso 味噌. Typically, the special miso called “Moromi-miso* もろみ味噌” is used and the entire dish is called “Moromi-kyuri もろみ胡瓜 or often abbreviated as “Moro-kyu” もろきゅう which I posted previously.

*Moromi-miso is meant to be eaten as a condiment rather than to be used for cooking or making soup. It has a liquid component mixed with ingredients such as soybeans and barley which are still visible in it.

I had some moromi-miso but it was fairly old. Upon tasting, I found it had oxidized so I couldn’t use it. Since I had already made two kinds of flavored miso from other ingredients we got from the Suzuki Farm, I used those flavored miso instead. On the left side I served “Yuzu” miso (dark) and “Kinome” miso (light). Although many Izakaya cut the cucumber into fancy shaped pieces for this dish (to justify the higher charges?), I just made it into sticks. One of the secrets to making this dish great is to chill the cucumber throughly in ice water before serving.

I served one cucumber between the two of us. It was extremely good and quite filling. The two kinds of miso I prepared were a great accompaniment. I thought the flavored miso tasted a bit better than the traditional moromi miso.

By the way, you can tell if a cucumber is fresh if the skin still has small prickles.

Although American mini-cucumber is a good substitute for Japanese cucumber, it is no comparison to a genuine Japanese cucumber. We were so happy to get these fresh Japanese cucumbers from Suzuki farm.