My new website is up and running! I've been working on my new website for about a month. There's still a lot that needs to be done so I decided that I'm going to focus on my new site and to stop posting here. I'm a little sad because this blog was where I got my idea for my blog but I guess you have to move on.
If you like what you see here, please visit my new site at:http://umamitopia.com
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Okura Okazu (Okra Side dish)
Easing your way into something new is the approach I like to take. That's why I'm not gonna bring out the big guns and start talking about natto (fermented soy beans) as my first neba neba oooey gooey dish. I like a little neba neba (slimy) stuff every now and then. I always feel like I'm eating something super good for me when I eat it. Okura (okra) has a lot of texture from the crunch of the green skin, seeds and membrane and of course it's lovely slimy goodness.
Okra has a beautiful geometric shape and along with it's bright green color and pearly seeds, it looks appetizing without doing much.
Ingredients
1 cup of cooked and chopped okra
1 teaspoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon of soy sauce.
1/4 cup of unpacked katsuobushi
1) Boil water and cook the okra whole for 2 minutes.
2) Drain and cool in cold water.
3) Cut off the ends and chop into 1/8 inch slices.
4) Add the soy sauce, vinegar and chopped okra and stir with chop sticks until foamy. About 2 minutes.
5) Mix in katsuobushi and serve.
Into a bowl for a wash.
Blanch the okra. You want them to still have a crunch.
All lined up and ready to be chopped.
Mix and bring out that neba neba!
Enjoy!
Okra has a beautiful geometric shape and along with it's bright green color and pearly seeds, it looks appetizing without doing much.
Ingredients
1 cup of cooked and chopped okra
1 teaspoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon of soy sauce.
1/4 cup of unpacked katsuobushi
1) Boil water and cook the okra whole for 2 minutes.
2) Drain and cool in cold water.
3) Cut off the ends and chop into 1/8 inch slices.
4) Add the soy sauce, vinegar and chopped okra and stir with chop sticks until foamy. About 2 minutes.
5) Mix in katsuobushi and serve.
Into a bowl for a wash.
Blanch the okra. You want them to still have a crunch.
All lined up and ready to be chopped.
Mix and bring out that neba neba!
Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Fried Eggplant and Tofu Skin Shiromiso Miso Soup
BAM 9: Beef and onion korokke, okura (okra) okazu, fried eggplant and Yuba (tofu skin) shiromiso miso soup and rice.
All of the miso soup posting so far have followed the same miso soup recipe base because I used awase miso. This recipe uses shiromiso so it will call for significantly more miso since shiromiso is lower in sodium. Additionally, shiromiso is sweeter and you'll need more to counter balance this sweetness.
I've been hooked on this miso shiru because it has a maroyaka (mild) taste from the shiromiso but a richness that comes from the eggplant. It goes perfectly with this Korokke Build a meal.
Ingredients (Servings 2)
2 cups of dashijiru
1/3 cup or 4 tablespoons of shiromiso
8-10 oblique cut Japanese or Asian eggplants (see Cooked Ninjin Carrots on how to cut. These eggplants are slightly longer and thinner however.
14 slices of yuba or tofu skins (Cut into 1 inch wide, 3 inch long pieces)
thinly cut green onions for garnish.
1) Wash and cut eggplants. Soak in a bowl of water while you prep the yuba (tofu skins).
2) Drain water from eggplant and dry with a paper towel. Don't forget to do this because you don't want to put water into the hot oil.
3) Heat canola oil to 180 C or approx. 356 F.
4) Carefully drop the eggplants in the hot oil and cook 1-2 minutes.
5) In a sauce pot, simmer the dashijiru and add the yuba and simmer a bit. This depends on if you have fresh yuba or the dried yuba. If you use dried yuba you will want to soak it beforehand.
6) Add the miso and dissolve into a ladle with chopsticks.
7) Serve into bowls and add the eggplant and top it off with green onions.
Slightly elongated oblique cut Asian eggplant. If you use regular eggplant you might want to peel off the skin.
When you first drop them in, they should foam up a lot so keep an eye on them.
When they are close to done they shouldn't bubble up as much and have a little bit of color.
Put the eggplant on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
Simmer the yuba depending on the type of yuba you get.
Add the miso.
Ladle in the soup and the yuba.
Arrange the eggplant in the middle.
Top it off with green onions.
All of the miso soup posting so far have followed the same miso soup recipe base because I used awase miso. This recipe uses shiromiso so it will call for significantly more miso since shiromiso is lower in sodium. Additionally, shiromiso is sweeter and you'll need more to counter balance this sweetness.
I've been hooked on this miso shiru because it has a maroyaka (mild) taste from the shiromiso but a richness that comes from the eggplant. It goes perfectly with this Korokke Build a meal.
Ingredients (Servings 2)
2 cups of dashijiru
1/3 cup or 4 tablespoons of shiromiso
8-10 oblique cut Japanese or Asian eggplants (see Cooked Ninjin Carrots on how to cut. These eggplants are slightly longer and thinner however.
14 slices of yuba or tofu skins (Cut into 1 inch wide, 3 inch long pieces)
thinly cut green onions for garnish.
1) Wash and cut eggplants. Soak in a bowl of water while you prep the yuba (tofu skins).
2) Drain water from eggplant and dry with a paper towel. Don't forget to do this because you don't want to put water into the hot oil.
3) Heat canola oil to 180 C or approx. 356 F.
4) Carefully drop the eggplants in the hot oil and cook 1-2 minutes.
5) In a sauce pot, simmer the dashijiru and add the yuba and simmer a bit. This depends on if you have fresh yuba or the dried yuba. If you use dried yuba you will want to soak it beforehand.
6) Add the miso and dissolve into a ladle with chopsticks.
7) Serve into bowls and add the eggplant and top it off with green onions.
Slightly elongated oblique cut Asian eggplant. If you use regular eggplant you might want to peel off the skin.
When you first drop them in, they should foam up a lot so keep an eye on them.
When they are close to done they shouldn't bubble up as much and have a little bit of color.
Put the eggplant on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
Simmer the yuba depending on the type of yuba you get.
Add the miso.
Ladle in the soup and the yuba.
Arrange the eggplant in the middle.
Top it off with green onions.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Ingredient in the Spotlight: Akamiso (Red Miso) & Shiro Miso (White Miso)
おみそは作る物じゃない！買う物だ！Roughly translated "Miso isn't something you make but something you buy!" That's what my aunt said in protest when my uncle (who was raised on my grandmother's homemade miso) asked his wife to start making miso for him. I guess she thought of miso like ketchup. How many people would go through the painstaking process of making ketchup? It's so easy to buy it at the grocery store. The funny thing was that she was convinced that she could find store bought miso to satisfy my uncle. After about 100 different varieties of koyu miso (expensive high quality miso) and a few years later, she finally gave up and asked my grandmother how to make it.
I'm not going to post my grandmother's miso recipe because...well I don't have it. I buy miso. One of these days I hope to learn.
I wanted to talk about the different types of miso. The most common types of miso are awase miso, akamiso and shiromiso. Akamiso (Red miso) is named after reddish brown color and shiro miso (white miso) for it's pale golden color. Lastly there is awase miso or mixed miso.
I found a really nice chart that summarizes the differences between akamiso and shiromiso.
Shiromiso
Akamiso
I'm not going to post my grandmother's miso recipe because...well I don't have it. I buy miso. One of these days I hope to learn.
I wanted to talk about the different types of miso. The most common types of miso are awase miso, akamiso and shiromiso. Akamiso (Red miso) is named after reddish brown color and shiro miso (white miso) for it's pale golden color. Lastly there is awase miso or mixed miso.
I found a really nice chart that summarizes the differences between akamiso and shiromiso.
Shiromiso
Akamiso
Monday, June 7, 2010
Cooking Perfect stove top rice
I've been meaning to post a stove top version of Japanese rice since I first posted the electric rice cooker post. How can you build a meal without rice?
There is a science to cooking rice and I'll try to explain it using a graph. You should note that controlling the heat is the most difficult part of cooking stove top rice. Refer to the size and pot chart for additional tips.
Ingredients
2+(1/4) cups of Japanese medium grain rice (this is equivalent to 3 cups in Japanese units
2+(1/4) cups of purified water*
Clay pot
1) Wash rice according to the cooking with an electric rice cooker directions. Drain water with a colander.
2) Add the rice and purified water to the pot and soak for at least 30 minutes. (During the summer or warm climates 3o minutes, during the winter or dry or cold climates 1 hour).
3) Turn on the stove on to medium heat and slowly bring to a boil. The rice should reach boiling at exactly 10 minutes.
4) Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
5) Turn off the heat and steam for 10-15 minutes.
If you want to add okoge (crunchy toasted rice) to the bottom of the clay pot, you'll want to turn the heat up to high for 1 minute before you turn the stove off.
*The rice to water ratio is about 1:1.2 but since the rice absorbs some water when you wash it, it will end up being 1:1.
Easy Directions in a graph:
This chart lists the various options you have for cooking stove top rice.
After washing rice, drain and immediately add to the pot and add water.
I used a clay pot.
Add purified water to the pot.
Soak the rice in the water for 30 minutes to an hour.
Make sure the heat is on low so that the rice doesn't dry out for step 4.
Fluffy fragrant rice. I did added the okoge step.
Mmmmm Okoge...tastes like senbei (Japanese rice cracker).
One more graph to go. Will post that later this weekend. :)
There is a science to cooking rice and I'll try to explain it using a graph. You should note that controlling the heat is the most difficult part of cooking stove top rice. Refer to the size and pot chart for additional tips.
Ingredients
2+(1/4) cups of Japanese medium grain rice (this is equivalent to 3 cups in Japanese units
2+(1/4) cups of purified water*
Clay pot
1) Wash rice according to the cooking with an electric rice cooker directions. Drain water with a colander.
2) Add the rice and purified water to the pot and soak for at least 30 minutes. (During the summer or warm climates 3o minutes, during the winter or dry or cold climates 1 hour).
3) Turn on the stove on to medium heat and slowly bring to a boil. The rice should reach boiling at exactly 10 minutes.
4) Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
5) Turn off the heat and steam for 10-15 minutes.
If you want to add okoge (crunchy toasted rice) to the bottom of the clay pot, you'll want to turn the heat up to high for 1 minute before you turn the stove off.
*The rice to water ratio is about 1:1.2 but since the rice absorbs some water when you wash it, it will end up being 1:1.
Easy Directions in a graph:
This chart lists the various options you have for cooking stove top rice.
After washing rice, drain and immediately add to the pot and add water.
I used a clay pot.
Add purified water to the pot.
Soak the rice in the water for 30 minutes to an hour.
Make sure the heat is on low so that the rice doesn't dry out for step 4.
Fluffy fragrant rice. I did added the okoge step.
Mmmmm Okoge...tastes like senbei (Japanese rice cracker).
One more graph to go. Will post that later this weekend. :)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Wakame furikake
Fukikake and rice. It's the easiest meal I can think of. When I was in school, I would often mix my furikake and rice and make an onigiri. The fancy furikake in the refrigerated section in Japanese stores isn't cheap. The other day I was wondering around a grocery store and had a craving for fresh furikake and ended up paying 5 dollars for one tiny 1.7 oz. (50gram) bag.
I decided it was time to start making my own furikake. It's simple and hardly takes any effort at all. Plus you can use a mallet or surikogi (Japanese pestle) to mash it up and that's always fun. This furikake has two types of seaweed and served on a steaming bowl of white rice, reminds me of the ocean.
Ingredients
3/4 cup of dried wakame (seedweed) They come pre cut in plastic bags.
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of mirin
1 tablespoon of toasted white or golden sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of aonori (another variety of dried seaweed)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt (optional)
1) Put the wakame into a plastic ziplock bag and smash it with a mallet or surikogi stick. If you have a mortar and pestle that works well also.
2) Use a non stick frying pan and on low heat add the wakame and toast for about 1 minute.
3) Turn off the stove and add the soy sauce, mirin and continue to toast with a wooden spoon.
4) Add the sesame seeds and stir.
5) Let cool a bit and add the aonori and sugar.
6) Cool completely and store in an air tight tight container.
Serve on a steaming bowl of rice to release the oceany goodness of the seaweed.
I'm using a Japanese mortar and pestle. Use your free hand to shield the pieces from flying out. You can use the plastic bag but I'm trying to be a little green.
Crush into small pieces. You don't want large chunks.
Add the sesame seeds.
Add the aonori.
Serve with a hot bowl of rice.
You can also mix it into a bowl of hot rice, salt your hands with sea salt and ball it up into a musubi (Japanese rice ball).
I decided it was time to start making my own furikake. It's simple and hardly takes any effort at all. Plus you can use a mallet or surikogi (Japanese pestle) to mash it up and that's always fun. This furikake has two types of seaweed and served on a steaming bowl of white rice, reminds me of the ocean.
Ingredients
3/4 cup of dried wakame (seedweed) They come pre cut in plastic bags.
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of mirin
1 tablespoon of toasted white or golden sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of aonori (another variety of dried seaweed)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt (optional)
1) Put the wakame into a plastic ziplock bag and smash it with a mallet or surikogi stick. If you have a mortar and pestle that works well also.
2) Use a non stick frying pan and on low heat add the wakame and toast for about 1 minute.
3) Turn off the stove and add the soy sauce, mirin and continue to toast with a wooden spoon.
4) Add the sesame seeds and stir.
5) Let cool a bit and add the aonori and sugar.
6) Cool completely and store in an air tight tight container.
Serve on a steaming bowl of rice to release the oceany goodness of the seaweed.
I'm using a Japanese mortar and pestle. Use your free hand to shield the pieces from flying out. You can use the plastic bag but I'm trying to be a little green.
Crush into small pieces. You don't want large chunks.
Add the sesame seeds.
Add the aonori.
Serve with a hot bowl of rice.
You can also mix it into a bowl of hot rice, salt your hands with sea salt and ball it up into a musubi (Japanese rice ball).
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wafu Pasta 1: Shiso Ume Garlic Spaghetti with a kick (Vegan friendly :) )
I'm a big fan of Italian food! One of these days I will eat my way through Italy. In general, Japanese people love Italian food and you'll often find Wafu (Japanese style) pasta dishes at Italian restaurants.
This wafu pasta isn't a classic wafu pasta but it uses very Japanese ingredients such as shiso and umeboshi that make it wafu.
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon of kombu cha (powdered kombu flavor)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of minced umeboshi
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
7 shiso leaves
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of pasta water
sprinkling of sliced chili peppers
350 grams of spaghetti noodles (a little bit less than a 1 lbs bag)
1) Boil your water and add salt.
2) Boil your pasta about 1 minute less than the directions on the package. You don't want it to be hard but a little extra aldente.
3) Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest of the pasta.
4) Heat a large frying pan and add the olive oil, chili peppers and garlic.
5) Add the pasta and stir fry, making sure that the garlic doesn't burn.
6) Add the pasta water, umeboshi, salt and kombu cha.
7) Plate and top generously with shiso.
Stack the shiso leaves.
Roll up your shiso like a...uhhh anyway roll 'em up and hold it down with your fingers.
Slice them into thin strips.
Peel off the bainiku and mince it until it looks like this.
Drain your pasta and massage with with cold water.
When the pasta is almost done, start heating up a pan. When the pasta is drained, add the olive oil and chili's to the pan.
Add the garlic, give it a quick stir and add the pasta.
Add the bainiku (umeboshi), salt, kombu powder and pasta water and mix well.
Top with shiso and mix it in as you eat.
This wafu pasta isn't a classic wafu pasta but it uses very Japanese ingredients such as shiso and umeboshi that make it wafu.
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon of kombu cha (powdered kombu flavor)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of minced umeboshi
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
7 shiso leaves
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of pasta water
sprinkling of sliced chili peppers
350 grams of spaghetti noodles (a little bit less than a 1 lbs bag)
1) Boil your water and add salt.
2) Boil your pasta about 1 minute less than the directions on the package. You don't want it to be hard but a little extra aldente.
3) Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest of the pasta.
4) Heat a large frying pan and add the olive oil, chili peppers and garlic.
5) Add the pasta and stir fry, making sure that the garlic doesn't burn.
6) Add the pasta water, umeboshi, salt and kombu cha.
7) Plate and top generously with shiso.
Stack the shiso leaves.
Roll up your shiso like a...uhhh anyway roll 'em up and hold it down with your fingers.
Slice them into thin strips.
Peel off the bainiku and mince it until it looks like this.
Drain your pasta and massage with with cold water.
When the pasta is almost done, start heating up a pan. When the pasta is drained, add the olive oil and chili's to the pan.
Add the garlic, give it a quick stir and add the pasta.
Add the bainiku (umeboshi), salt, kombu powder and pasta water and mix well.
Top with shiso and mix it in as you eat.
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