Give Pork Chops A Richer Umami Flavor Every Time With Just One Overlooked Ingredient

All you need to properly enjoy a good pork chop is the right preparation and seasoning additions that make pork chops pop, but if you want pork chops to have instant depth and flavor, add a kick of umami. You can do this in a number of ways, from sauteing with mushrooms to marinating in soy sauce, but my favorite umami addition, especially for pork chops, is shiro miso.

Miso is a fermented soybean paste made with koji, a mold produced from cereal grain. Miso comes in many varieties, the lightest of which is shiro, or white, which has a mild umami and slighty sweet flavor that adds depth to pork chops and complements the meat's milder taste. You can add miso in a number of ways, including making a miso glaze, a miso-based sauce, or even a miso-infused marinade depending on how prominent you want that umami flavor in your pork chops.

The easiest way to add a touch of miso to pork chops is to add shiro miso to a flavor-enhancing marinade. A miso marinade is also great for anyone who doesn't want miso to be the dominant flavor of the dish since pork chop marinades suffuse flavor over a period of time, leading to miso flavor that's a bit more diffused compared to a glaze or sauce. Make sure to use marinade components that work with the sweet, bright, umami ingredient, such as brown sugar or apple cider, which play well with both miso and pork.

If you're more committed to making a miso moment out of your pork chop dinner, go for a glaze or sauce. For a glaze, choose ingredients that help caramelize the exterior of your meat, such as brown sugar again. For a sauce, play with additions such as shallots, garlic, and other aromatics that can imbue flavors as you reduce the sauce in the pan. You can also add other components, such as mushrooms, which further embolden the umami component, or apples, which complement the flavor of both pork and miso.