Hoba Miso with Beef

“Hoba” means a magnolia leaf in Japanese and the dried hoba leaf is
soaked then used to cook the sweet miso mixture over fire.
Hoba miso does not have to be cooked with beef or vegetables and can be enjoyed just by itself.  When we were in Takayama, our breakfast course included plain hoba miso.  It was cooked over hoba leaf without any other ingredients besides scallions.
You can actually make the recipe without hoba leaves, however it will lack the fragrance and flavor infused from cooking on the leaf.  In place of hoba leaf, you can use a sheet of aluminum foil instead.  If you have hoba leaf but don’t have a shichirin, just use a frying pan.  I have tried this method and it works great.

Simply put all the ingredients together for miso, place them on a hoba leaf or aluminum foil, and cook it over a heat element.  Very simple.  You can add beef, chicken, tofu, or any other protein you like, and/or vegetables and mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 2 dried hoba leaves (magnolia leaf)
• ½ Tokyo negi or 1 scallion/green onion
• 1 shiitake mushrooms
• 7 oz (200 g) Well-marbled beef steak
• 1 scallion/green onion

Hoba Miso Mixture

• 2 Tbsp. miso (I used Koji miso from Takayama)
• 1 Tbsp. Mirin
• 1-2 tsp. sugar *
  

Instructions

1. Soak the hoba leaves in the water for at least 20 minutes. This prevents the leaf from burning when you cook the leaf over open flame.
   
2. Meanwhile, combine miso, mirin, and sugar in a small bowl and mix well.
   
3. Slice the beef into ½ inch (1.3 cm) thickness. If you’re using well-marbled wagyu from Japan, I recommend slicing the beef when it’s still slightly frozen. Otherwise, if the beef was at room temperature, the fat easily melts when you touch it with your finger and it’s become very hard to cut.
   
4. Cut the shiitake mushrooms, Tokyo negi and scallion.
   
5. Light the portable fuel (I used Sterno brand). If you don’t use a shichirin to cook, you can use a non-stick frying pan to cook instead. There is no need to oil the frying pan, simply place the leaf on top.
   
6. When the leaves have soaked for 20 min, gently dry with paper towel and spread the miso mixture on the leaves where you will be placing the ingredients.
   
7. Place the Tokyo negi (scallions), shiitake mushoroms, and steak on the miso.
   
8. Cook the beef over open flame or on medium high heat until you see the miso starts to bubble around the edge. When the beef is cooked on the bottom side, flip and cook the other side.
   
9. As miso gets burn easily, it’s NOT recommended to re-use the leftover miso or the same leaf. Instead, use the leftover miso as a condiment and enjoy it with steamed rice.

http://www.justonecookbook.com/hoba-miso-with-beef/