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Nanakusa - Risotto with Japanese twist

1/9/2019

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“Nanakusa gayu” (7 spring weed congee)
According to Wikipedia,
“The seventh of the first month has been an important Japanese festival since ancient times. The custom of eating nanakusa-gayu on this day, to bring longevity and health, developed in Japan from a similar ancient Chinese custom, intended to ward off evil. Since there is little green at that time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them suits the spirit of the New Year.”
As well as it is for resting & healing the hard worked stomach from the new year’s rich, festive food.
I can’t have the plants until spring in Vancouver, but wait! Found some green plants outside.
However..I don’t have that much desire to go to wet forest ( Vancouver is rain almost all winter).
So that I made western version of the congee - less number of plants but I’d call “Nanakusa” risotto.
My method is hybrid of risotto & cooking rice in Japanese style. Japanese cook rice very thoughtfully. Control the heat, water- all for the texture of rice.
I found the idea of Risotto is a bit similar to japanese rice cooking method because Italians really think about the texture of rice and the liquid.
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Nanakusa risotto - Yeld for 2people
<Ingredients> 
Onion 1/4 piece, small diced
Garlic I clove, minced
Carrot 1 inches Julian
Radish red or white with top 1 piece, radish top : chopped. Raddish : Very thinly sliced
Rapini 2-3 pieces cut in 1 - 2 inches
Watercress cut in 1-2 inches
(If you can find dandelion leaves, that’s great adding too)
Rice 1cp
Dashi stock 2Lb
Evo 2 TB or more
Nutritional yeast 1/2 tsp
Coconut oil or evo to finish(2TB or as you like)
Salt to taste
<Method>
Put oil in a frying pan, on medium high heat, stir fry the onion and a little bit of salt until slightly caramelized.
Add rice and toast them until the rice mixture have gotten good smell, then lower the heat as medium heat. 
Add dashi stock carefully at first, little by little. You will continue keeping adding liquid, about 1cup each time.
At first 15 min, on medium heat and sort of boil the rice to be fluffed up them but keep stirring. Then change the heat to medium low heat . Keep stirring, wait to add next ladle until the rice absorbed the liquid.

Keep adding the liquid, at this point (photo), lower the heat. Keep stirring sometimes but not too often to avoid breaking the rice.
When the rice get your desired point(aldente or whatever), as well as until the sauce gets creamy, add seasoning.
 Nutritional yeast and salt, add rapini, to get them slightly to be cooked.
Add carrot, chopped radish top.
Lastly add water cress and sliced radish.
Finish salt, coconut oil.
Add “good amount” of salt is a key point since the vegetables are just slightly cooked, the moisture would thin out the saltiness.
Bonnapetito.
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Green tempeh?

5/10/2018

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I got green tempeh from Tempea foods.It is their new product - Edamame and pumpkin seed tempeh.
It has nice flavor, as well as colour is beautiful.
I was thinking a recipe with keeping nice green colour.
Then made this.
Inspired by "Nanban zuke".Nanban means white barbarian(haha) but the word is pretty old when Portugal arrived in Japan for spreading their religions. Many of things arrived with them called "nanban". Food with Curry taste, chinese inspired, portugal style egg cake..etc. 
Anyways. "Nanban zuke" is kind of chinese style dish, it is way less oil than the chinese ones, and usually make it with fried sardines and other white meat fish.   
Put the fried fish in vinegary sauce with sliced vegetables.
The crust getting soggy? That is the best point to Japanese.
We like soggy crust. The crust sucks sauce is very good matching with rice.Sounds gross? Try it. You will like it.
However. I wrote this recipe less soggy. But still soggy.

<Ingredients>2 servings
*Sauce
Vinegar, 3 Tablespoons
Soy sauce, 2 Table spoons
Agave or maple syrup, 1 Table spoons(if you like sweet taste, add 2-3 T)
Dashi stock (or water), 1/2 cup 
Salt to taste

*Fried tempeh
Tempeh (Edamame one or regular), 300g, sliced in 8/1 inch thin
Corn starch, less than 2 cups
Frying oil (I will recommend coconuts oil) As you need

*Sliced veggies
Onion 1/4 piece, slice very thin 
Yellow or red pepper 1/4 piece, slice very thin julian
Carrot, celery, green onion, as your choice.
Salt

<Method>
Put all vegetables in a heatproof bowl and salt, set aside.
Boil all ingredients for the sauce.
When it reached boiling, stop heat, pour hot liquid into the veggies in the bowl.
Fry the tempeh.
Heat up frying oil. Dust the tempeh with cornstarch.
Once the oil reached high heat, fry the tempeh.
Watching the heat, be patient.It will take time to get the surface completely dry.
When the tempeh fried, put them on a plate.
Put vegetables, then pour sauce very end.
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Soba salad.

4/6/2018

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Soba salad is pretty popular in western Japanese restaurants.
Most of them are using vinaigrette, mine is a little bit more like "soba meal".

<Ingredients, serving for 1-2 >
<soba>
Soba noodle, dried , 1-2 bunch
<salad>
Dried lily flower (optional) , small hand full
Carrot, cut in julian( like sticks)
Kelp, 2 inch long, 1/2 inch wide
Soy sauce 2 Table spoon
Agave 1 Table spoon
​Salt 1 teaspoon
Purple daikon, or raddish , small piece, thinly sliced
Asparagus, 3-4 pieces, cut the bottom edge
Green beans 5-6 pieces, prepared( cut the top)
Fresh greens, as your amount
pumpkin seed, sesame seed, small amount for topping
Salt, finishing olive oil
<salad sauce>
Tahini, 2 Tablespoons
Miso, 1 Tablespoon
Dashi stock (see last post.Kelp infused water) 
Soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon
Salt, 1 Tea spoon
<Method>
Stew the lily flowers. Rinse them lightly and put them in a pot, cover with water.
Put kelp and heat up with medium high heat.
Once it boiled, turn the heat into low.  
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Lily flower in water.
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    Tomoko Tahara A.K.A.#cookhatter

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