Recipe shared from Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments
Time until ready: ~2 months (or age longer!)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups (350g) dry garbanzo beans
2.5 cups (440g) barley koji or rice koji
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sea salt (150g) plus a couple more cups for the fermentation vessel
1 tablespoon of unpasteurized miso (optional, but recommended)
TOOLS
1 half-gallon sized jar or crock (or larger)
Fermentation weights or salt “bag”
Plastic wrap, muslin cloth, or parchment
Pickle tamper (optional)
Potato masher (optional
Soak beans for 8-24 hours. Strain. Boil the beans in plenty of fresh water until they are soft. In the case of chickpeas, about 1 hour. Or steam in a pressure cooker for 35 minutes. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid, and allow to cool to body temperature. Once cool to below 100F combine in a large bowl with koji and salt. Mash by hand, or with a potato masher or meat grinder, adding a little bit of bean cooking liquid at a time. It should not be overly wet, more chunky and dryish, like the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add the optional 1 tablespoon of “seed” miso at this point and mix thoroughly.
Prepare the fermentation vessel by rinsing the sides of the jar with a little of the bean liquid or boiled water. Pour out the excess and then sprinkle salt evenly over the inside of the vessel. Pack the miso into the vessel, a spoonful at a time, tamping as you go to remove any air pockets. Or form the miso into small balls and toss them firmly into the vessel to minimize air pockets.
Use either plastic wrap, muslin or parchment paper cut to fit across the top of the miso. Place it on top. Sprinkle about 1/2+ tablespoon of salt along the edges of this cover to seal any gaps. Set a weight on top of your miso to press out gases. Ideally, the weight on top will equal the weight of the miso. You can use a big bag of salt as a weight too. Get creative! If your vessel has a lid, place it on top. Otherwise, set a cloth or paper cover over the fermentation vessel and secure it with string or a rubber band.
Ferment chickpea miso for minimum of 2 months at room temperature. This miso is in between a “mellow” and “medium” formula so you can ferment for 6-12 months but unlike soybeans, the chickpeas taste great as a young ferment. Once you decide it tastes good to you, remove the weights and adornments, scrape any mold layer and transfer to fridge for long term storage.
