Sun Sauce

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A reader asked me to try to figure out a recipe for a sauce from a favorite restaurant of hers. This is my first attempt, and never having tasted the sauce, I can’t say whether my version is close to the original. But she is right: the sauce is delicious. Adjustments I will make to this recipe would be to make more: using the whole package of tofu, proportionally more miso, and proportionally less apple juice (the sauce was too sweet for my taste). Also, the the mustard and fennel would be more refined had I simmered the ground seeds in the vinegar and apple juice for a minute or two, then let it cool to meld the flavors.
I started with the tofu and added small amounts of sweet miso (I was all out of Saikyo miso so used regular sweet miso), apple juice, and vinegars. Because I’m still learning to cook on a glass-top electric stove, I burned the first ¼ teaspoons of the mustard and fennel seeds I tried to roast. I washed the pan and roasted a larger quantity of seeds, watching more more carefully. I don’t have a spice grinder, though I’ve heard of people using a coffee grinder (then ‘cleaning’ it by grinding raw rice in it) so I used my suribachi. Next time I’ll risk the coffee grinder! Fennel seeds are really hard!

Sun Sauce an experimental recipe suggested by a reader serves 2 to 3 ½ package silken tofu (about 6 ounces) 1 ½ to 2 Tablespoons sweet white miso 2 Tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon Rhine wine vinegar 1 ½ teaspoon mustard seed 1 ½ teaspoon fennel seed tamari Combine the tofu, miso, apple juice, and vinegar in a small blender. Heat the mustard and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan until you can smell them. Grind in a suribachi. (or spice grinder) Add the ground spices to the dressing, and blend. The consistency of my sauce was like mayonnaise. From my reader: One of their main dishes served is a brown rice or basmati rice dish, with fresh chopped vegetable, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots over the top, then top that with sun sauce. But they put it on fish dishes also, all kinds of things. For my stir-fry, I added a Tablespoon of tamari to the dressing and warmed it gently in the stir-fry pan. It was so good that I added some of the sauce to top the dish! I had thought to make something similar to the dish my reader described, but the day I made this was a day of a big snow storm and didn’t have many vegetables on hand. For my stir-fry: Velveting the Chicken: 10 to 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes pinch of salt 1 Tablespoon sake 1 egg white 2 teaspoons potato starch or cornstarch 1 teaspoons sesame oil pot of boiling water, over high heat In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the above ingredients, adding them one at a time and mixing with the chicken. Cover and refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes. Drop the chicken cubes into the boiling water and let them cook just until they turn white. Remove and drain. Use the marinating time to prepare the other ingredients. The Vegetables: 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil ½ head of broccoli cut into flowerets 20 sugar peas 1 Tablespoon grated garlic Heat a wok or large cast iron frying pan. Add the oil, heat. Fry the garlic about 20 seconds, then add the chicken. Stir-fry on high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the peas and broccoli and stir for a minute or two. Add a Tablespoon of water and cover to steam-cook the vegetables. Stir in a Tablespoon tamari and half the sun sauce. Serve over hot rice.

firm silken tofu sweet miso sweet miso ingredients add a little at a time fennel and mustard seeds frozen apple juice concentrate sun sauce stir-fry with chicken

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