Miso-marinated salmon is sweet and savory

This savory-sweet salmon recipe uses the simple Japanese technique of marinating the fish in miso. The fermented soybean paste is mixed with sugar, sake and mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine) and essentially cures the fish, the testing team notes in their “Why this works” summary.

“The miso, sugar and alcohol all work to season and pull moisture out of the flesh, resulting in a firmer, denser texture. Miso also adds flavor benefits: sweetness, acidity and water-soluble compounds such as glutamic acid that, over time, penetrate the proteins and lend them deeply complex flavor,” the team noted.