Miso

Lo uses saikyo white miso, a very mild and slightly sweet soybean paste, but any white miso works well in this sweet-and-spicy dish. The brightly flavored sauce makes a great dressing on simply prepared seasonal vegetables. Scallops would also be a good choice.

Tofu is a surprisingly rich source of calcium, which may discourage your body from storing fat, especially in the tummy region. Break out the bikini!

The deep, sweet flavor of white miso gives salmon an umami-packed supercharge. Look for containers of refrigerated miso and bottles of mirin in better supermarkets or at Asian markets.

The dressing is also a great dip for broiled shrimp or chicken.

Miso is the secret savory ingredient in the topping for this luscious cobbler.

If sake is unavailable, substitute dry vermouth. Miso paste tastes surprisingly good with butter. The red variety has a more pungent flavor than yellow or white miso and is a terrific match for meat.

The shredding disc on the food processor makes quick work of grating the beets and carrots. For a pretty presentation, spoon the salad onto a bed of beet greens, spinach, or arugula. Serve with burgers or fish.

In Japan, dengaku refers to food that's been miso-glazed and grilled. This Kyoto-style dish was developed by chef Abe Hiroki at EN Japanese Brasserie in Manhattan. Of course Hiroki makes his own tofu, but we used storebought tofu with great results.

The small, round, mild white turnips known colloquially as Japanese turnips are at their most delicious when simply cooked with their greens. A last-minute swirl in miso butter (which is fantastic on pretty much any vegetable) gives them an almost meaty underpinning.

During the summer you can grill the asparagus outdoors. The smoky flavor of a wood charcoal fire adds complexity to this substantial meal. While I call for green asparagus, try making the dish with a colorful array of asparagus—green, white, and purple. White miso, which is called shiro-miso in Japanese can be found in health food stores. Smooth rather than grainy miso is preferable for this recipe.

A sweet-and-salty miso glaze turns tofu into little bites of comfort food, traditionally served on skewers.

Yellow miso (also known as shinshu miso) is available in the refrigerated Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Japanese markets. It adds a mellow, salty flavor to this healthful dish. Look for mirin in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Japanese markets.

Forget deep-fried noodles: Miso dressing gives this hearty vegetable meal flavor minus the saturated fat.

The Japanese flavors at work here are a great way to add stylishness and exoticism to an inexpensive cut. And the whole thing really sings when you pair it with the <epi recipelink="" id="350696">Napa cabbage slaw</epi>.