Miso Soup

This recipe is quick and easy to make, but more importantly tastes so good it'll make you wonder why on earth you kept buying those awful sachet mixes (oh you know who you are).

Photo courtesy of Japanesefood.about.com

Ingredients (Serves 4)
Fresh tofu - 1 small block (cut into small cubes)
Spring Onions - 1/4 cup
Seaweed (Wakame) - handful
Soy Bean Paste - 3-4 tbsps
Dashi Stock - 3 cups

Method

Add the Dashi stock to a pan and bring to a boil. Add the tofu cubes to the soup. Simmer the tofu for a few minutes on low heat. Take out a little soup stock from the pan and dissolve soy bean paste in it. Gradually return the miso mixture in the soup. Add Wakame. Stir the soup gently. Turn off the heat and add the chopped green onion.

Note: You can find dashi stock with miso paste (combined) in some Japanese stores.

Useful tip: Remember never to boil the soup after you put miso in.

Japanese - (Tamago-Yaki) Rolled Omelette

A few months ago I took a Sushi and Sashimi course. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning to make Japanese food.

More information on the courses can be found on: http://www.hashicooking.co.uk/

The classes are run by Reiko who is a great chef and an awesome teacher. She welcomes you into her home and shows you how fun and easy Japanese cooking can be. She has years of experience with Japanese food as well as other world cuisines.

And now for some recipes.

Tamago -Yaki (sushi Omelette). Tamago is Japanese for "egg". Tamago-Yaki is sushi using an egg.

The Japanese rolled omelette may look really complex but once you know how to make it, it is quite simple.

An essential is the Tamago pan in which the omelette is made.









Ingredients
1 tsp of dashi powder dissovled in a little bit of water
1 tsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar (can adjust according to taste)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
6 large eggs, beaten

Garnish
Grated Daikon (white Japanese raddish)

Mix all the ingredients in a large jug and stir well. Heat the pan over medium heat and brush it with some vegetable oil. Pour in a quarter of the egg mixture. Till the pan to coat it evenly. When the egg starts to set, roll it up towards you with a pair of chopsticks (will form a roll at the end of one side of the pan). Keep the rolled omelette in the pan. Push back to the furthest side from you. Grease the empty part of the pan and pour 1/3 of the egg mixture in at the empty part of the pan (half the egg mixture is used at this stage). Lift up the first roll with chopsticks, and let the egg mixture run underneath. When it looks half set, roll the omelette around the first roll to make a single roll with many layers. Move the roll gently onto a bamboo sushi mat. Roll the omelette firmly and leave to stand rolled up for 5 minutes. Repeat the whole process to make another roll. Cut the rolled omelettes into multiple inch slices crossways.

Serve with grated daikon on the side with a splash of soy sauce or make Tamago-Yaki. Will add sushi rice and more sushi recipes in the next few days.