1.   A typical Japanese breakfast may have miso soup, made from fermented soybeans and malted rice.

2.   But many Westerners seem to know almost nothing about miso, a fermented soybean paste as ubiquitous in Japan as olive oil is in the Mediterranean.

3.   Cookbook author Mai Pham suggests a simple one made with everyday-bottled Hoisin sauce, instead of the harder to find fermented soybeans.

4.   Miso is, of course, the delicious Japanese paste made from fermented soybeans and sometimes other grains like rice and barley.

5.   Most soy sauce is a brew of fermented soybeans and takes from six months to a year to make.

6.   Most soy sauce is a brew of fermented soybeans, and takes from six months to a year to make.

7.   Now, with miso, a fermented soybean paste, growing in popularity throughout the United States, more chefs and food-store owners are making it available.

8.   True, miso soup is made from fermented soybeans and malted rice.