This is a clam an oyster chowder with Japanese ingredients! Sweet white miso and soy milk combine to make this interesting soup. The store was fresh out of clams, except for the small flat tins of smoked clams. So I’ve substituted shucked oysters for the clams. A very good soup!!!
When you make miso marinated steak, there is too much marinade to just throw away. I hate to waste such delicious stuff, especially when it can be used 2 or 3 times! So I made miso marinated pork loin and pan-fried it. Served with lettuce, tomatoes, and soba this meal is a unique variation of the original recipe.
It was a dark and stormy night…
…when we sat down to eat. The rain fell in torrents. Streams of water blew under the awning and into the back door. The sky was green and black. Lightning flashed, thunder roared. Tree tops turned violent circles as wind tested the flexibility of trunks. We two remembered romantic times when we’d been foolish enough to go out into such a storm to catch the excitement, to make it our own… Wet clothes, hair blowing, wet skin, on skin…
In Japan, ramen made from scratch is usually eaten in restaurants because it is a lot of work to make only a few servings. I’ve made, and frozen, the basic ramen components. With all the prep-work ready in the freezer, this meal went together very easily. The toppings for this miso ramen are similar to those I used for the shoyu ramen, but from a quick search of google images, it appears there are many variations.
Michigan has been quite cool for May so the cold loving daffodils and tulips have stayed fresh and pretty for a long time, and the sun makes me want to start summer grilling. Yakitori! Japanese food’s version of kebobs!
Kushiyaki is the general term for food grilled on a skewer: tofu, vegetables, seafood, or beef; all sorts of tasty tid-bits—I’ve even seen umeboshi stuffed with cheese! Yakitori is chicken on skewers. “Tori” refers to chicken (perhaps the general word for “bird?”). “Yaki” refers to the method of cooking: usually grilling or pan-frying (and sometimes to broil or bake).
The most difficult part of this recipe is finding radishes with young and tender tops.
It’s finally spring, and in Japan young bamboo shoots are included in meals as a symbol of the new season. Here in Michigan, I have not yet seen any fresh bamboo shoots in the Asian stores near home, but parboiled bamboo shoots, sealed in heavy plastic are available most of the time. The bamboo shoots I usually see are cone shaped, about 3″ in circumference and 4″ to 6″ long. They have a very elegant inside geometry that you would never guess if you have used only the canned ones available in most U.S. supermarkets. So what are these?
Even the lowly steamed or blanched vegetable can have a rich and satisfying sauce of its own! I’m thinking this blend of toasted walnuts with sweet white miso would compliment the bitterness of some other vegetables not suggested in the recipe: broccoli rabe, Swiss chard, kale, or mustard greens.
I did manage to cook a simple and quick miso marinated broiled fish with rice and a miso soup, no nice pickles nor vegetables. The fish is refreshed as in many Japanese recipes by salting it for half an hour to draw out the excess liquid. Make the marinade while the fish is in the fridge. I forgot to get the pickled ginger out for the picture…
This recipe traces its roots to Thai and Chinese cooking. This is the second time that I’m documenting this recipe—I’ve made it several times because it’s simple and very tasty, yet has no “artificial” ingredients.
At least the pictures are better!
And for leftovers, the food was good as well.
Miso was used in Japan to preserve fish and beef before refrigeration. According to Ms. Shimbo, Hikone (now Shiga Prefecture) during the Edo Era (1600-1868) was known for its excellent beef. To bring this top-quality beef to the Tokugawa shogunate (now Tokyo), the people of Hikone used miso as a preservative. Today, miso adds a delicious rich flavor to many foods and is popular in many Western dishes.
