Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional (11 page)

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Authors: Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner

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BOOK: Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional

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2 to 3 scallions, minced

Heat the
dashi
(stock) to a simmer. Add the nameko mushrooms and silken tofu cubes, and heat for a minute. Turn off the heat and dissolve the miso in the soup, adjusting the quantity to taste. Add the scallions and serve immediately.

This miso soup made with a slightly slimy, albeit tasty, mushroom called nameko must be made with dark miso. Actually, the hot soup dissolves most of the sliminess of the mushroom, rendering a hearty, flavorful soup
.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Tofu and Vegetable Stew

Kenchin Jiru About 7 cups slivered, sliced, or diced vegetables: traditionally, taro root, carrots, daikon, potatoes, and something green, such as snow peas

2 tablespoons oil

1 pound tofu

6 cups
Konbu
to
Shiitake no Dashi
(Konbu-Shiitake Stock), page 54

½ teaspoon sea salt

4 to 6 tablespoons soy sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh gingerroot

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Prepare the vegetables so that they are all roughly the same size and thickness (all root vegetables cut into matchsticks, or sliced, etc.) so that they will cook evenly.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Crumble the tofu by hand, and add to the oil, sautéing for a few minutes. Add the vegetables and saute for a couple of minutes more. Add the stock and sea salt, and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook until the vegetables are tender. Flavor with the soy sauce, cook for another couple of minutes, then turn off the heat. Stir in the ginger and sesame oil, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

There is a legend that says a young monk once dropped a block of tofu with which he was to prepare a dinner for the monastery. With his broken tofu, he concocted this delicious, country-style soup. Other vegetables such as green beans, parsnips, or squash can be used if Japanese vegetables are unavailable.

Savory Steamed Custard Soup

Chawan-Mushi

1 pound silken tofu

1 cup
Konbu
to
Shiitake no Dashi
(Konbu-Shiitake Stock), page 54

2 tablespoons soy sauce (preferably usu-kuchi)

3 tablespoons sake, white wine, or dry sherry

4 large fresh shiitake mushrooms (reconstituted dry are also acceptable), cut in half or quartered

4 to 8 spears asparagus (depending on thickness), cut into ½-inch lengths

8 to 12 ginko nuts, shelled

2 green onions, minced or thinly sliced

Purée the tofu, stock, soy sauce, and sake in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Distribute the mushrooms, asparagus, and ginko nuts equally in the bottom of four
chawan-mushi
dishes or ceramic coffee mugs. Pour the tofu mixture on top to fill the cups three-quarters full. Cover each cup with aluminum foil, and place the cups in a large pot. Fill the pot with water half-way up the cups, cover the pot with a lid, and bring the water to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer gently until the custard has risen and set. Top each cup with green onions and serve immediately.

Traditionally made with eggs, this soup is considered a delicacy in Japan and is often served for special occasions. The delicate egg custard flavored with stock, soy sauce, and sake has hidden treasures at the bottom: morsels of wild mushrooms, gingko nuts, and often shrimp or other seafood. Here I present a vegan version using silken tofu to replicate the eggs.

Yield: 4 servings

Japanese-Style Consommé

Suimono

Basic Suimono:

3 to 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, or a 2 x 2-inch piece of konbu

3 to 4 cups dashi made from two tablespoons of “Instant” Konbu Dashi, page 56

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon sake

2 to 3 teaspoons soy sauce (preferably usu-kuchi) (It is slightly saltier but has a lighter color and will not darken the dashi [stock].)

Suimono, literally meaning “water dish, ” are by far the most delicate of Japanese soups. They are the equivalent of consommé and are delicious if made with a rich stock. Here, the dashi or stock is of paramount importance or the soup will be bland and lacking in character.
For a vegetarian version, I recommend using the “Instant” Konbu Dashi recipe on page 56, supplemented by either additional konbu or dried shiitake mushrooms to yield a flavorful base for the soup.

Suggestions for items to float in the dashi (stock) (use no more than 2 to 3):

½ carrot, thinly sliced, and if possible, trimmed to resemble flowers

2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced paper thin

Enoki mushrooms, separated into very small clumps

Shimeji
(oyster mushrooms)

A few leaves of baby spinach per bowl

A few sprigs of mitsuba (trefoil), page 27, if available (Do not use scallions if using mitsuba.)

Minced scallions

A grating of lemon or yuzu zest per bowl

Several pieces fu (wheat puffs) per bowl

Yield: 4 servings

Soak the dried shiitake in the
dashi
(stock) until fully reconstituted. Squeeze out the shiitake and remove. If you are using konbu instead, add it to the dashi, bring it to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the konbu. It is now ready to be simmered briefly with a vegetable or mushroom slices and seasoned, or simply seasoned and poured into individual bowls with scallions, mitsuba, fu, or tender greens, such as baby spinach, that will wilt upon contact with the hot soup.

With a few pieces of decoratively pared veggies, tofu, and fu (colorful wheat “puffs”) floating on the surface, these subtle soups are simplicity itself

If you are using carrots, fresh shiitake slices, enoki, or shimeji mushrooms, add them to the dashi and simmer gently for a few minutes until tender. This will add a greater depth and complexity to the flavor. Add the sea salt, sake, and soy sauce, and simmer for an additional minute only. If you are not adding any of these vegetables, simply add the seasonings to the dashi and heat for a minute. Turn off the heat, taste, and adjust the seasonings. It should be flavorful but subtle. Pour into individual bowls and top with minced scallions, a grating of lemon zest, or if available, mitsuba sprigs. (They are extremely fragrant—my pick for suimono.)

Clear Soup with Chrysanthemum Leaves

Shungiku no
O
-suimono

3 to 4 cups
Konbu Dashi
(Konbu or Konbu-Shiitake Stock), page 54