Miso Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Homemade Udon Noodles
Give this udon noodle recipe a try yourself. You don’t have much to lose but some flour and time. This udon noodle recipe produces about 2 1/4 pounds of cooked noodles, which is ample for 8 portions.
If you use a stronger (higher protein) flour such as King Arthur, you may need a touch more water. Add it by the teaspoon when moistening the dry ingredients.
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds noodles
1 pound (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour, Gold Medal preferred
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup water
1. Put the flour and salt in a food processor bowl. Pulse a few times to blend. Remove the feed tube and run the machine while you pour the water in a slow, steady stream.
After all the water has been added, the dough will look crumbly. Let the machine run for a little more to moisten all the flour. It may not gather into a ball. That’s okay. (Alternatively, put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle, and slowly work in the water by hand.)
2. Transfer the dough and all the bits to your work surface. Start kneading it vigorously. You should not need any water. Knead for about 5 minutes, slapping the dough onto the work surface occasionally to work the gluten. You’re done when the dough is smooth and feels firm-soft, nearly as soft as your earlobe but not quite. Shape the dough into a ball and slide it into a zip-top plastic bag. Seal well, pressing out all the air. Set aside to rest for at least 2 hours or up to 4 hours in summer and 8 hours in winter.
3. Before you roll out the dough, set a big pot of water on the stove and heat it up. You’ll be making the noodles and cooking them at the same time.
4. Remove the dough from the bag and put it on lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8 inch, turning it and flouring it occasionally to prevent sticking. Aim for a rectangle-like shape.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons dashi granules
4 cups water
3 tablespoons miso paste
1 (8 ounce) package silken tofu, diced
2 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
Directions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine dashi granules and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in tofu. Separate the layers of the green onions, and add them to the soup. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.
Homemade Udon Noodles
Give this udon noodle recipe a try yourself. You don’t have much to lose but some flour and time. This udon noodle recipe produces about 2 1/4 pounds of cooked noodles, which is ample for 8 portions.
If you use a stronger (higher protein) flour such as King Arthur, you may need a touch more water. Add it by the teaspoon when moistening the dry ingredients.
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds noodles
1 pound (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour, Gold Medal preferred
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup water
1. Put the flour and salt in a food processor bowl. Pulse a few times to blend. Remove the feed tube and run the machine while you pour the water in a slow, steady stream.
After all the water has been added, the dough will look crumbly. Let the machine run for a little more to moisten all the flour. It may not gather into a ball. That’s okay. (Alternatively, put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle, and slowly work in the water by hand.)
2. Transfer the dough and all the bits to your work surface. Start kneading it vigorously. You should not need any water. Knead for about 5 minutes, slapping the dough onto the work surface occasionally to work the gluten. You’re done when the dough is smooth and feels firm-soft, nearly as soft as your earlobe but not quite. Shape the dough into a ball and slide it into a zip-top plastic bag. Seal well, pressing out all the air. Set aside to rest for at least 2 hours or up to 4 hours in summer and 8 hours in winter.
3. Before you roll out the dough, set a big pot of water on the stove and heat it up. You’ll be making the noodles and cooking them at the same time.
4. Remove the dough from the bag and put it on lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8 inch, turning it and flouring it occasionally to prevent sticking. Aim for a rectangle-like shape.
Coffee Jelly
Yield: 4 servingsIngredients:
- 2 cups coffee
- 2 Tbsp sugar (adjust the amount of sugar based on your preference)
- 1 Tbsp gelatin powder, mixed with 4 Tbsp of water
- whipped cream for topping
Oshitashi
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon sesame seed
1 lb spinach, well washed and large stems removed
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
Directions:
Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet until lightly colored. Cool.
Add the spinach to a large saucepan of boiling water and cook 2 to 3 minutes until wilted.
Have an ice bath ready.
Drain the spinach in a colander, shock in the ice bath (to retain color of spinach), then drain again.
Squeeze dry and place in a bowl.
Mix the cooked spinach with the soy sauce, mirin and sesame seeds.
Serve at room temperature.
1 tablespoon sesame seed
1 lb spinach, well washed and large stems removed
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
Directions:
Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet until lightly colored. Cool.
Add the spinach to a large saucepan of boiling water and cook 2 to 3 minutes until wilted.
Have an ice bath ready.
Drain the spinach in a colander, shock in the ice bath (to retain color of spinach), then drain again.
Squeeze dry and place in a bowl.
Mix the cooked spinach with the soy sauce, mirin and sesame seeds.
Serve at room temperature.
Lazy Tuna Sushi
The Rice
The Tuna
Optional Egg
Optional nori
Cut strips of nori into desired width.
Assembly:
Combine the tuna, egg and rice. Shape into desired shape and size. I like doing triangle shape…musubi style as it’s quick to form with my bare hands. Wrap in nori if desired.
You can omit either the egg or tuna. Try it with canned salmon too! Don’t make the rice balls too big…one, two or even three bites is big enough. This recipe will yield 12-15 pieces of “Lazy Sushi”.
I’ve decorated mine with black sesame seeds and served with beni shoga. But you could also add cooked peas or edamame.
This “sushi” is bento-able. Meaning…there is no raw fish involved so it’s okay to pack then eat later. The vinegar and salt will slow the growth of bacteria. But always use common sense and safe food handling for all your bento lunches.
I packed some “Lazy Tuna Sushi” in a bento for our house guests as an in-flight meal.
- 3 cups cooked Japanese rice
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsps sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cups water
The Tuna
- 1 can of tuna (oil or water, just drain it well)
- 1 tablespoon shoyu (soy sauce) or more to taste
Optional Egg
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon mirin
Optional nori
Cut strips of nori into desired width.
Assembly:
Combine the tuna, egg and rice. Shape into desired shape and size. I like doing triangle shape…musubi style as it’s quick to form with my bare hands. Wrap in nori if desired.
You can omit either the egg or tuna. Try it with canned salmon too! Don’t make the rice balls too big…one, two or even three bites is big enough. This recipe will yield 12-15 pieces of “Lazy Sushi”.
I’ve decorated mine with black sesame seeds and served with beni shoga. But you could also add cooked peas or edamame.
This “sushi” is bento-able. Meaning…there is no raw fish involved so it’s okay to pack then eat later. The vinegar and salt will slow the growth of bacteria. But always use common sense and safe food handling for all your bento lunches.
I packed some “Lazy Tuna Sushi” in a bento for our house guests as an in-flight meal.
Tanuki Udon
Ingredients
Spices
Preparation
- 1 1/4 Udon noodles
- 1/4 Aburaage (thin dried tofu) (2” slices)
- 1/2 green onion (sliced lengthwise and chopped—see picture)
- 1/2 oz ground ginger
Spices
- 5 cups dashi soup or 5 cups hot water and 1/4 oz (8g) hon-dashi (soup stock powder)
- 1 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp katakuriko (mixed with 5 tbsp water)
Preparation
- For dry Udon noodles, boil for the recommended time on the package. If the noodles are fresh, only boil for 2 minutes to separate.
- Boil dashi soup then add sake, mirin, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and mix
- Add katakuriko to thicken the soup
- Add aburaage and ginger
- Transfer Udon noodles to a bowl. If the noodles are stuck together, loosen with a little hot water and strain.
- Sprinkle green onions on top and serve!
Shrimp Tempura
Ingredients
Directions
- 1 cup cold water (250 ml)
- 1 cup ice (250 ml)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (190 ml)
- 1 large egg yolks
- 4 cups vegetable oil (1 L)
- 2 pounds large shrimp (14/15), peeled leaving tail on and deveined (900 g)
- Coarse salt
- Lemon wedges
Directions
- Combine the ice and water and let sit for 5 minutes. Measure out 1 cup of ice water. Using a fork stir in ¾ cup of the flour and egg yolk into the water. The batter will be very lumpy which is ideal for tempura. When making large quantities of tempura, prepare small batches of fresh batter rather than one large batch.
- Put the oil in a deep pot over high heat and bring to 350°F.
- Put the remaining ¼ cup of flour on a plate. Dredge the shrimp in the flour, shaking off the excess.
- Dip the shrimp into the tempura batter, draining off the excess.
- Immediately plunge the shrimp into the hot oil and fry until the batter is crisp and the shrimp are pink. The tempura batter will remain white rather than turn the golden colour usually associated with deep fried foods. Deep fry the shrimp in small batches so as not to overflow the oil or reduce the temperature of the cooking oil.
- Immediately drain the shrimp on paper towel and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Serve garnished with lemon wedges.