Roasted Eggplant with Miso Lime Dressing

Here's a recipe similar to what I tried a few weeks ago.

Dressing inspired by Bon Appetit
Serves 4

1 large eggplant
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons white miso
-
chopped fresh cilantro
togaroshi, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare the dressing. Whisk together rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, lime juice and zest and water. Next, blend miso with the ingredients, using a fork to mash and then form into a paste.

Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise. Pierce the surface with a fork. Spoon the dressing liberally over the eggplant.

Roast until eggplant is falling-apart tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cilantro and togaroshi, if desired.

When eating, it’s best to mix together the miso dressing with the tender eggplant beneath to distribute the salty miso flavors.

Buckwheat (Soba) Noodles with Green Beans & Toasted Sesame-Lime Vinaigrette

I have a thing about green beans, so I'm not sure if I will make this recipe, but the dressing I might try.

1 package buckwheat soba noodles, cooked to al dente, drained and rinsed

1/2 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 1″ lengths and blanched

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2″ pieces

1 c. cherry tomatopes, cut in half

1-2 spring onions, cut into paper thin slices

1 c. cooked chicken or tofu, cut into 1/2″ pieces

small handful cilantro leaves

1/3 c. roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Dressing:

1/3 c. freshly squeezed lime juice

3 Tbs. fish sauce

2 Tbs. “rooster” chile sauce or siracha (to taste)

1 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. tamari sauce

3 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

Make dressing.  Place lime juice, fish sauce, chile sauce, sugar and tamari in a small bowl.  Whisk in sesame oil until well blended.

Place all salad ingredients together in a large bowl, reserving a small amount of peanuts and cilantro for garnish.  Add dressing, toss well, garnish and serve.

Tofu with Kimchi (Dubu Kimchi)

We had a similar dish last week at a Japanese restaurant that was serving fusion dishes. Delicious!

Kimchi tofu, a traditional Korean appetizer, got a modern update from chef Andrew Ahn from the SSAM Contemporary Korean Cuisine restaurant. To make it more stylish give it a richer taste, he used bacon instead of pork and added rice wine and other seasonings. On SSAM's menu, this appetizer is officially called "sautéed kimchi with bacon and seared tofu."

"This is a very popular and traditional appetizer going with Soju, in the old times, when the Korean peasants get tired after work, they would get together with friends, get a drink and taste this appetizer together as a way to relax themselves," Ahn said.

In the summer, if it's not too hot and sweaty in the kitchen, this easily prepared dish is a good appetizer to go with some alcoholic drinks and whet the appetite with a bit of sour, a bit of sweet, a bit of salt, and a bit of rich taste infused into the healthy and light tofu.

Ingredients (serves two):

100g crispy bacon, minced

10g garlic, minced

20g onion, chopped

120g kimchi, preferably aged

1T rice wine, preferably Korean-style

250 ml chicken or beef broth

10g scallion, minced

1/2t sesame oil 

200g tofu

Two slices crispy bacon

1. Stir-fry the minced crispy bacon, garlic and onion all together for about one minute add the kimchi, stir fry for a moment, then add the rice wine. Add the chicken or beef broth and keep stir-frying for about five minutes to remove the acidity and water from the kimchi until it tastes a little sweet. Turn off the heat, then add the minced scallion and a few drops of sesame oil and mix.

2. Spread a few pinches of salt on tofu to let it dehydrate for about three minutes, then boil for one minute so it will be a little firmer

3. Pan fry one slice of bacon until it gets crispy, then put it on a paper towel to drain. Cut it into three pieces.

4. Spread half the stir-fried kimchi and bacon from step one as the base layer under the. Cut tofu with three knife cuts, and insert the pieced crispy bacon made from step three vertically. Add one more layer of the mix of stir-fried kimchi and bacon on top of tofu. Garnish with something green, like basil leaves.

Here's another version.

Ingredients for 2 servings

1 package of tofu
1 cup of kimchi (preferably more aged (sour) kimchi)
1/2 cup of samgyupsal (pork belly) or bacon
1/2 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 green onion
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
soy sauce (optional)
sugar (optional)

* The amount of each ingredient is subject to personal taste. If your kimchi is already salty or you use bacon, you can probably skip soy sauce.
** You can easily skip pork belly, onions, spring onions or sesame seeds if you don’t have.

Directions
1. Tofu: there are three options to prepare the tofu.
(a) Steam or boil the tofu for about three minutes. (b) You can slice the tofu into pieces, and pan-fry them with olive oil for more flavor. It usually takes about four to five minutes to cook each side over medium-high heat. (c) Use raw tofu.
I usually boil it because I like it cooked and boiling is the simplest!
When it’s cooled down from boiling or pan-frying, cut the tofu in half lengthwise. Then, cut each into 1/2 inch pieces.

2. Kimchi Bokkeum
Slice the samgyupsal 1 1/2 inches long.
Chop the kimchi into smaller pieces.
Mince the garlic.
Chop the onion and spring onion.
Over a pan, add the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is ready, add the minced garlic, onions and samgyupsal. Stir-fry until they’re almost cooked.
Add the kimchi. Add soy sauce and /or sugar if you’d like. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
Add sesame oil and spring onions and cook for one more minute.
Turn off the heat and place the kimchi bokkeum in the center of a big dish.
Place the tofu slices around the kimchi.
Garnish the kimchi bokkeum with the sesame seeds.

How to eat
Place some kimchi bokkeum on top of a slice of tofu, and eat them together.

Sauces and Marinades

STEEPED IN FLAVOR

Easy Marinade Recipes from Around the World

After mixing the marinade, set aside a portion for basting during cooking. Pour the rest into a glass or stainless-steel dish just big enough to hold the meat or fish. The food need not be completely submerged in the marinade, but it should be turned several times to ensure even flavoring. Always keep food refrigerated while marinating.

Fish needs only 30 minutes to an hour of marinating; chicken can be marinated anywhere from 2-8 hours, depending on the intensity of flavor you are looking for; red meat is usually marinated overnight. Do not marinate meat too long or it will become mushy.

Be sure to drain or blot excess marinade from the food before grilling or broiling. (Wet food tends to steam rather than brown.) Once the surface is seared, you can baste it with the reserved marinade.

TERIYAKI MARINADE

The traditional sweetener for teriyaki is mirin (sweet rice wine), but if it is unavailable, use sake, sherry or white wine and increase the sugar slightly.

3 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced peeled gingerroot

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup mirin

2 tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar

1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil

Combine scallions, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Whisk in soy sauce, mirin, maple syrup or brown sugar and sesame oil. Use with beef, lamb, poultry or seafood.

Makes 1 cup of marinade.

25 calories per tablespoon: 0g protein, 1g fat, 2g carbo; 142mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol.

VIETNAMESE LEMONGRASS MARINADE

4-6 stalks fresh lemongrass or ¼ cup dried lemongrass

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 shallots, minced

1 jalapeno chilies, seeded and minced

3 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons brown sugar, or to taste

1 teaspoon hot sauce, chili oil or Tabasco

If using fresh lemongrass, cut off the top 2/3 of each stalk and discard. Trim off the outside layer and root end, and slice thinly. If using dried lemongrass, soak in water for 30 minutes, then drain. Put all the ingredients in a blender and process to a coarse paste. Use with poultry or seafood.

Makes ¾ cup.

10 calories per tablespoon: 0g protein, 0g fat, 2g carbo; 43mg sodium; 1 mg choles.

(From Eating Well, Jan-Feb 1993)

GARLIC BUTTER

Makes 4-8 servings

Time: 10 minutes

Essential. Make this once, and it will become a friend forever. Use it on broiled or grilled fish or meats, on baked potatoes, rice or on noodles.

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ stick butter, at room temperature

Salt and pepper to taste

Freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over low heat; add the garlic and cook just until the garlic softens, 2 or 3 minutes. Let cool.
2. Cream with softened butter; add salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Slow Cooker Meals

15 Splendid Meals from the Slow Cooker from Kitchn

Nin's cake icing

melt chocolate (I'm assuming unsweetened chocolate) with butter and a little milk and  add   cream cheese to thicken it to desired consistency. 

Miso Mashed Potatoes

From Steamy Kitchen

You can use either Miso & Easy (ready made miso in convenient bottle) or regular miso paste that you can find at grocery stores (usually in refrigerated section near tofu) or health food stores (like Whole Foods).

ingredients:

2 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed2 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons Miso & Easy (or 1 tablespoon regular miso paste)2 tablespoons milk2 teaspoons minced fresh chives, parsley or green onion

directions:

In a large pot, add the potatoes and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium and let cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Drain the water, leaving the potatoes in the pot. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and season with additional miso (needs more flavor) or milk (too thick) if needed.

Miso Ginger Asparagus

Try this with steamed or roasted broccoli, cauliflower or grilled eggplant slices.

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon cooking oil (olive, canola or vegetable)
2 teaspoons Miso &; Easy (or 1 teaspoon miso paste + 1 teaspoon hot water)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375f.  Place asparagus on baking sheet and drizzle with cooking oil. Toss to coat. Roast asparagus for 8-10 minutes or until pierces easily with fork. Timing depends on how thick the asparagus spears are.

2. While the asparagus is roasting, prepare the ginger miso sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.

3. Pour over asparagus and serve.

Pomelo Salad

Summer is almost here. Time for Pomelo Salad!

Vietnamese Pomelo Salad

Serves 6

1 medium pomelo 
1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
2 to 3 teaspoons salt
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped, roasted peanuts

Dressing
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

With a large knife slice through the rind and go around with the knife until you can pull the two sides apart. With your fingers, peel the pith away from the white-covered flesh. Then, peel away the white skin away from the flesh (use scissors or a small knife is skin is too hard.) Separate the flesh into bite-size pieces and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss cucumber strips with salt. Set aside for 20 minutes to allow the salt to draw out excess water.

Mix together the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.

In a wok or sauté pan, cook the shallots and garlic until shallots are caramelized, about 3 minutes. Allow the shallots and garlic to cool for a few minutes, then toss with the carrots.  After the cucumber has been sitting for 20 minutes, drain away excess water and add cucumbers to carrots. Add the mint, chopped peanuts, and dressing and toss well. Transfer to a plate or large bowl and serve.

Thai Pomelo Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

One 1.5- to –lb pomelo, peeled and separated into segments
1 lb 21-26 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
¾ cup desiccated coconut flakes (unsweetened)
½  cup coconut milk
Dried red chile flakes, to taste (I use whole Mexican chile pequin as they are very easy to crumble up with your fingertips and taste just like dried bird’s eye chiles. They’re also very, very cute.)
4 tablespoons finely-minced shallots or onion
2 tablespoon finely-minced garlic
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup plain roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
Fresh lime juice, to taste
Fish sauce, to taste
A handful of Fresh cilantro leaves

Method:

1. In a small saucepan, sauté together the vegetable oil, shallots, garlic, and dried pepper flakes over medium heat until the mixture releases its wonderful aroma and becomes confit-like in consistency. Add the coconut milk into the shallot mixture and heat through; remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. In a skillet over medium-low heat, dry toast the desiccated coconut flakes until they turn medium brown color. Be careful not to leave the skillet unattended; coconut burns very easily. Set the toasted coconut aside to cool.
3. Poach the shrimp, drain, and set it aside.
4. Gently break up the pomelo segments into roughly ½-inch pieces and put them in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the poached shrimp, shallot-coconut mixture, toasted coconut flakes, peanuts, and cilantro leaves to the pomelo bowl.
6. Add to the mixing bowl 2 tablespoons each of the lime juice and fish sauce and toss everything together as gently as you can with your hands. Adjust the seasoning with more lime juice or fish sauce as needed. (If your pomelo is on the tart side, you may want to add just a tiny bit of sugar to counteract the acidity. But usually the subtle, natural sweetness of the toasted coconut and coconut milk is sufficient.)
7. Serve immediately with additional roasted peanuts and toasted coconut on top, if desired.

Notes:

1. Though quite a few recipe authors suggest grapefruit as a substitute for pomelo, I encourage you to seek out pomelo in Hispanic or Asian stores in your area first. Then, if you absolutely cannot find it, use grapefruit segments, blotted dry with a clean kitchen towel to remove as much juice as possible. (Grapefruit releases a lot of juice and I don’t like a salad that swims in juices.) Navel orange segments can also be used. (But then you can’t really call it Yam Som-O since the Som-O is absent.)
2. Make sure that the roasted peanuts are fresh. Nothing ruins an otherwise good dish like rancid peanuts.
3. The best way to poach shrimp is in simmering, not furiously boiling, water at the temperature of 160° and 180°F (71–82°C). Be sure to not overcook the shrimp.
4. Do not substitute lemon juice for lime juice, soy sauce for fish sauce, or sweet coconut flakes for plain desiccated coconut.
5. To kick it up a notch, add to the mix 2-3 tablespoons of crispy-fried shallots, commercial or homemade.