1 large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsely
1 green onion, minced
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp Braggs
2 tsp wasabi powder or to taste (I used double that cause I like it)
2/3 cup homemade tofu mayonnaise
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Transfer to tightly covered container and refrigerate. Is best used within an hour or so of being made.
We found this avocado wasabi sauce great on bean burgers, or as a dip for raw carrots. The smooth texture of the avocado and the zip of the wasabi make an unsuspectingly great combination of flavors. We haven’t tried it on eggs yet - if you do, let us know what you think.
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Monday, October 12, 2009
Onigiri balls and Sushi Rice Vinegar
Ingredients
(makes about 2-3 rice balls)
1 c short Brown Rice
3 c water
1⁄4 t Salt
8 Sheets sushi nori seaweed
Umeboshi paste
Place a cutting board or wax paper on the counter and wet your hands throughly. This is to keep the rice from sticking to your hands (although some grains will still stick) and to keep your hands cool from the hot rice. Then place nori on top of paper and several spoonfuls of rice in the center of each nori sheet. Scoop some rice with a spoon or scooper approx 1/3- 1/2 cup of rice for every rice ball
Make a deep crater in the rice ball, but don't puncture it to the point that your fingers slip to the other side! This is where your filling is going to go, so just deep enough to place things in. Insert your fillings into the hole. Make sure that you don't overfill it! Fold some rice over the hole/crater so that all fillings are hidden.
Tips:
Mix sesame seeds in with the rice before you form the rice balls. You can use regular sesame seeds (goma) or black sesame seeds (kurogoma).
Umeboshi either in the center or torn up and mixed into the rice.
Fresh ginger salad dressing mixed with rice!
Use commercial rice seasonings which typically contain some nori, sesame and some other flavors.
Use vinegar or salt on the rice for additional taste or make a solution of the two plus sugar and pour a little at a time onto the hot rice, cutting and folding it into the rice. Don't use too much of the solution as the purpose is to enhance the flavor of the rice -not overpower it. A solution of salt, rice vinegar and water folded into the rice will make the rice a bit stickier which can be beneficial if your rice balls tend to fall apart.
Dip your hands in salt water to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands as your form the rice balls.If you have difficulty sealing up rice balls with fillings, when you form the rice ball, form two halves with filling and put them together, using the salt water solution to help you to smooth and seal the seams.Try to get all the liquid out of a filling, because wet fillings makes your onigiri soggy, unappetizing, and falls apart.
Serve with a sauce made of soy sauce and some gari (pickled ginger) and wasabi.
Other fillings:
Sweet red bean paste (Anko) for a more desserty onigiri, however doesn't go well with nori
Grilled smoked Tofu
Steamed Carrot sticks
chopped up pickles (tsukemono)
pickled plum (umeboshi)
Ground veggie meat cooked with grated or chopped ginger, then flavored with soy sauce, some red pepper flakes, sake or mirin, and sugar. It should be quite dry. Curry flavored veggie ground meat mixture works surprisingly well too.
Tofu Wasabi Spread (really Thick)
Sushi vinegar mix (awase-zu)
If you can't get prepared sushi vinegar you can make it thus:
Mix 1/4 cup of rice vinegar or mild cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of mirin, sake or sweet brandy, and 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Heat over low heat in a small saucepan, and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. This is enough to flavor 4 cups of rice, so adjust the amount according to the amount of rice you have.
(makes about 2-3 rice balls)
1 c short Brown Rice
3 c water
1⁄4 t Salt
8 Sheets sushi nori seaweed
Umeboshi paste
Place a cutting board or wax paper on the counter and wet your hands throughly. This is to keep the rice from sticking to your hands (although some grains will still stick) and to keep your hands cool from the hot rice. Then place nori on top of paper and several spoonfuls of rice in the center of each nori sheet. Scoop some rice with a spoon or scooper approx 1/3- 1/2 cup of rice for every rice ball
Make a deep crater in the rice ball, but don't puncture it to the point that your fingers slip to the other side! This is where your filling is going to go, so just deep enough to place things in. Insert your fillings into the hole. Make sure that you don't overfill it! Fold some rice over the hole/crater so that all fillings are hidden.
Tips:
Mix sesame seeds in with the rice before you form the rice balls. You can use regular sesame seeds (goma) or black sesame seeds (kurogoma).
Umeboshi either in the center or torn up and mixed into the rice.
Fresh ginger salad dressing mixed with rice!
Use commercial rice seasonings which typically contain some nori, sesame and some other flavors.
Use vinegar or salt on the rice for additional taste or make a solution of the two plus sugar and pour a little at a time onto the hot rice, cutting and folding it into the rice. Don't use too much of the solution as the purpose is to enhance the flavor of the rice -not overpower it. A solution of salt, rice vinegar and water folded into the rice will make the rice a bit stickier which can be beneficial if your rice balls tend to fall apart.
Dip your hands in salt water to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands as your form the rice balls.If you have difficulty sealing up rice balls with fillings, when you form the rice ball, form two halves with filling and put them together, using the salt water solution to help you to smooth and seal the seams.Try to get all the liquid out of a filling, because wet fillings makes your onigiri soggy, unappetizing, and falls apart.
Serve with a sauce made of soy sauce and some gari (pickled ginger) and wasabi.
Other fillings:
Sweet red bean paste (Anko) for a more desserty onigiri, however doesn't go well with nori
Grilled smoked Tofu
Steamed Carrot sticks
chopped up pickles (tsukemono)
pickled plum (umeboshi)
Ground veggie meat cooked with grated or chopped ginger, then flavored with soy sauce, some red pepper flakes, sake or mirin, and sugar. It should be quite dry. Curry flavored veggie ground meat mixture works surprisingly well too.
Tofu Wasabi Spread (really Thick)
Sushi vinegar mix (awase-zu)
If you can't get prepared sushi vinegar you can make it thus:
Mix 1/4 cup of rice vinegar or mild cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of mirin, sake or sweet brandy, and 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Heat over low heat in a small saucepan, and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. This is enough to flavor 4 cups of rice, so adjust the amount according to the amount of rice you have.
Vegetarian Hand Rolled Sushi (Temaki)
Ingredients
* Sushi rice (brown rice or white rice)
* Nori
Possible filling ingredients:
* Carrot, julienned
* Orange and red bell peppers, julienned
* Cucumber, julienned (Chinese B without seeds, or regular is also ok)
* Asparagus
* Avocado
* Scallions, julienned
Garnishes:
* Black sesame seeds
* White sesame seeds
* Black sesame seeds/salt combination
Directions
Place a half sheet of nori horizontally in front of you on your mat. Place rice on left third of nori, leaving border of nori all around. Place filling ingredients vertically across middle of rice. Fold near corner of nori over to begin folding into cone shape. Continue to roll until cone is formed.
Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce as condiments.
* Sushi rice (brown rice or white rice)
* Nori
Possible filling ingredients:
* Carrot, julienned
* Orange and red bell peppers, julienned
* Cucumber, julienned (Chinese B without seeds, or regular is also ok)
* Asparagus
* Avocado
* Scallions, julienned
Garnishes:
* Black sesame seeds
* White sesame seeds
* Black sesame seeds/salt combination
Directions
Place a half sheet of nori horizontally in front of you on your mat. Place rice on left third of nori, leaving border of nori all around. Place filling ingredients vertically across middle of rice. Fold near corner of nori over to begin folding into cone shape. Continue to roll until cone is formed.
Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce as condiments.
Basic Miso Soup
For about 4 servings, you need:
* 4 cups of basic dashi stock (see below)
* 1/3 - 1/2 cup of miso
* gu or extra ingredients (see note below)
Heat up the dashi if it's cooled. Simmer any hard ingredients, such as potatoes or daikon radish until tender.
Add any ingredients that don't need any cooking, such as wakame seaweed or tofu.
Take the miso in a ladle, and add a little bit of the hot stock, Mix the miso and stock together in the ladle with a chopstick until the miso is dissolved. This step ensures that there will be no lumps. (Go easy on the miso amount at first, and taste. If you need to add more you can.)
Dissolve the miso mixture in the soup. Don't let it boil or the flavor will dissipate. Serve immediately.
Here are some easy ingredients combinations, or gu, that you can put in the miso soup:
* Cubed tofu and presoaked wakame seaweed cut into small pieces. (A very easy to handle brand of wakame is "Fueru Wakame-chan", available in Japanese or Asian food stores. It comes in precut form in little pouches. Wakame can also be used in seaweed salad. Soak it briefly before using - oversoaking makes it slimy.
Hint: to cube tofu so that it doesn't fall apart, cut it up on a wet chopping board and slide it in the pan slowly, or else cut it up on the palm of your hand.
* Cubed potatoes (simmered in the soup until tender) and wakame. This is one of my favorites in the cold months.
* Julienned daikon radish, simmered until tender.
* Julienned cabbage, simmered until tender.
* Sliced button or shiitake mushrooms, or canned nameko mushrooms., with tofu and some chopped green onion added just before serving.
Vegetarian / Vegan dashi (Japanese stock)
Mizu dashi (water dashi) with kombu
My preference is for a simple kombu based stock, which can be made quite easily by soaking a piece of good quality kombu in water in a closed container overnight in the fridge. Put about a 30cm / 12 inch long piece of kombu in about 2 litres (8 cups) of filtered water. This is more kombu than for the regular kombu and katsuobushi stock, since the kombu has to produce all the umami on its own. If you don’t have time to soak it overnight, you can soak it for a minimum of half an hour at room temperature.
To use, bring the dashi up to a simmer (not a full boil), then take out the kombu. This produces a light colored, subtly flavored dashi. The soaked kombu can be cooked further until soft, and used in stewed dishes and the like.
Dashi using shiitake mushrooms and kombu
If the kombu dashi is too subtle for you, you can try tossing in a couple of good quality dried (never fresh) shiitake mushrooms in the water. This needs to be soaked for at least a couple of hours, or until the shiitake are quite soft. This will produce a light brown colored dashi with an assertive shiitake flavor, which is especially suitable for dishes that will include the shiitake. The soaked shiitake can be used in your dish.
Saving the soaking liquid from shiitake mushrooms
Finally, if you are using shiitake mushrooms for a dish and reconstituting them anyway, save the soaking liquid to use as dashi in the future. I keep the cut off hard stems in it to extract a bit more flavor. It will keep for a few days in the fridge, or can be frozen. (I freeze it in small ziplock bags, laid flat.)
* 4 cups of basic dashi stock (see below)
* 1/3 - 1/2 cup of miso
* gu or extra ingredients (see note below)
Heat up the dashi if it's cooled. Simmer any hard ingredients, such as potatoes or daikon radish until tender.
Add any ingredients that don't need any cooking, such as wakame seaweed or tofu.
Take the miso in a ladle, and add a little bit of the hot stock, Mix the miso and stock together in the ladle with a chopstick until the miso is dissolved. This step ensures that there will be no lumps. (Go easy on the miso amount at first, and taste. If you need to add more you can.)
Dissolve the miso mixture in the soup. Don't let it boil or the flavor will dissipate. Serve immediately.
Here are some easy ingredients combinations, or gu, that you can put in the miso soup:
* Cubed tofu and presoaked wakame seaweed cut into small pieces. (A very easy to handle brand of wakame is "Fueru Wakame-chan", available in Japanese or Asian food stores. It comes in precut form in little pouches. Wakame can also be used in seaweed salad. Soak it briefly before using - oversoaking makes it slimy.
Hint: to cube tofu so that it doesn't fall apart, cut it up on a wet chopping board and slide it in the pan slowly, or else cut it up on the palm of your hand.
* Cubed potatoes (simmered in the soup until tender) and wakame. This is one of my favorites in the cold months.
* Julienned daikon radish, simmered until tender.
* Julienned cabbage, simmered until tender.
* Sliced button or shiitake mushrooms, or canned nameko mushrooms., with tofu and some chopped green onion added just before serving.
Vegetarian / Vegan dashi (Japanese stock)
Mizu dashi (water dashi) with kombu
My preference is for a simple kombu based stock, which can be made quite easily by soaking a piece of good quality kombu in water in a closed container overnight in the fridge. Put about a 30cm / 12 inch long piece of kombu in about 2 litres (8 cups) of filtered water. This is more kombu than for the regular kombu and katsuobushi stock, since the kombu has to produce all the umami on its own. If you don’t have time to soak it overnight, you can soak it for a minimum of half an hour at room temperature.
To use, bring the dashi up to a simmer (not a full boil), then take out the kombu. This produces a light colored, subtly flavored dashi. The soaked kombu can be cooked further until soft, and used in stewed dishes and the like.
Dashi using shiitake mushrooms and kombu
If the kombu dashi is too subtle for you, you can try tossing in a couple of good quality dried (never fresh) shiitake mushrooms in the water. This needs to be soaked for at least a couple of hours, or until the shiitake are quite soft. This will produce a light brown colored dashi with an assertive shiitake flavor, which is especially suitable for dishes that will include the shiitake. The soaked shiitake can be used in your dish.
Saving the soaking liquid from shiitake mushrooms
Finally, if you are using shiitake mushrooms for a dish and reconstituting them anyway, save the soaking liquid to use as dashi in the future. I keep the cut off hard stems in it to extract a bit more flavor. It will keep for a few days in the fridge, or can be frozen. (I freeze it in small ziplock bags, laid flat.)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Veggie Bean Burger with Avocado Cream
Veggie Bean Burger
(makes 4 burgers)
2 cups cooked beans (black beans, aduki, pinto, kidey, chickpeas)
1 cup steamed squash
1 carrot
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 small shallot
1/2 cup miso liquid or stock to moisten patties
1 T fresh herbs or powdered (sage, corainder, parsely, thyme, dill, basil, ginger, fennel, cumin, mint, garlic)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
sunflower seed if desired
Mash up beans. Mix in the other ingredients and make patties. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 oF until brown. Serve with avocado cream.
Avocado cream sauce
2 very soft avocado
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1/4 t coriander powder
1/4 t seaweed seasoning (or salt)
1/2 t olive oil
3-4 T water
Place water at the bottom of a blender. Add avocado, spring onion, coriander, seasoning, olive oil and mix until creamy.
(makes 4 burgers)
2 cups cooked beans (black beans, aduki, pinto, kidey, chickpeas)
1 cup steamed squash
1 carrot
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 small shallot
1/2 cup miso liquid or stock to moisten patties
1 T fresh herbs or powdered (sage, corainder, parsely, thyme, dill, basil, ginger, fennel, cumin, mint, garlic)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
sunflower seed if desired
Mash up beans. Mix in the other ingredients and make patties. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 oF until brown. Serve with avocado cream.
Avocado cream sauce
2 very soft avocado
2 spring onions, chopped finely
1/4 t coriander powder
1/4 t seaweed seasoning (or salt)
1/2 t olive oil
3-4 T water
Place water at the bottom of a blender. Add avocado, spring onion, coriander, seasoning, olive oil and mix until creamy.
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