The “Umami Sauce” I’m Adding to Every Single Meal (Makes Everything Taste Incredible!)
When it comes to dinner, I have my go-to dishes and rarely stray from them. I know I probably should — it’s my New Year’s resolution to try more things in the kitchen — but it’s easier said than done. What dishes I do make on the regular, I know how to make almost effortlessly, saving me time and energy. That’s key when I have a busy day or plans at night. I still want my meal to be delicious, but I don’t want to have to put too much thought into it.
Salmon is a dish I can make with my eyes closed. I eat it at least once a week, usually with some rice and broccoli. As much as I love it, I do have to admit that I’ve been wanting to jazz it up a little. Lately, I’ve started introducing some variety to my regular weekly meals through sauces and seasonings, whether it’s Korean barbeque sauce or chili crunch. I just found yet another condiment that takes so many dishes to the next level, including salmon: Cabi’s Miso Glaze.
What Is Cabi Miso Glaze Umami Sauce?
Founders Eri Miyagi and Miki Nomura started the brand to “share the beauty and ease of Japanese home cooking,” producing unique flavors that can be incorporated into any type of cuisine. “Cabi” means mold in Japanese — though the brand is sure to stress that it’s the good kind of mold, related to the fermentation process. Koji mold, specifically, plays a large role in Japanese cuisine; even if you’ve never heard of it, you’ve probably eaten it in the form of soy sauce, miso, vinegar, or sake.
Cabi’s Miso Glaze, as you might’ve already guessed, includes it, too. Cabi aims to limit the amount of the ingredients in its sauces — it’s vegan and gluten-free — so the bottle only includes the rice miso blend, sugar, sansho peppercorn, sesame seeds, kaffir lime leaves, guar gum, and alcohol. (The miso is produced by an artisan, 100-plus-year-old company near the Japanese Alps). It all comes together to create a umami-rich marinade that pairs with everything from fish to veggies, giving it a restaurant-like flavor.
Why I Love the Cabi Miso Glaze Umami Sauce
I’m convinced that this sauce — which works as a dip as well as a glaze and marinade — can go with pretty much anything. All at once sweet, peppery, and earthy, the taste is understated, though I could definitely tell the difference between a bite of salmon that was coated in it versus one that wasn’t. It upgraded plain broccoli (which I’m usually not the biggest fan of, but this sauce had me clearing my plate of it) and rice. It adds a complexity and brightness to dishes and sides that I’ve become too familiar with, and I can’t wait to mix it into my noodles and ground beef, too.
What’s more, the application process was smooth. The bottle is soft, which makes the sauce painless to get out. I’ve found that with some condiments, it’s easy for too much to come out at once, but I was happy to find that this was not the case with Cabi’s. Another pro regarding the packaging? The bag it arrives in has a four-step recipe printed on the side for a salmon miso rice bowl! Cabi’s website also has a number of recipes, including Niku Miso, that you can glean inspiration from.
Cabi’s Miso Glaze helps me keep my dinners simple and quick, but the result doesn’t taste like it, adding some much-needed depth to the foods I stick to every week. Trust me, you’ll be glad you grabbed the two-pack once you start adding it to your meals, too. You can also score the variety pack if you want to try out a new, low sodium soy sauce (which I unsurprisingly loved, too!).
Buy: Miso Glaze Umami Sauce (2-Pack), $26.99
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