Recipe Monday: Miso Soup

We are having an unusually cool August here so I thought I'd post a recipe for easy Miso soup. Most of these ingredients should be available at your local asian grocery store if you live in the US or UK. If you are looking for one, you can try checking if there is an H Mart or Assi Plaza near you, these are chain stores which can be found in some parts of the US. Miso Soup 2 quarts dashi (Instant dashi stock can be found in stores) 1/2 ounce wakame (dried seaweed) 2 tablespoons shiro or light miso 4-6 tablespoons red miso 12 ounces firm silken tofu, cut into small cubes 2 scallions, thinly sliced Place wakame into a bowl and cover with water. Set aside for about 10 minutes to rehydrate. Bring dashi to a simmer over medium heat. Add the miso and whisk together, then add in the tofu and continue to cook for 1 minute. Rinse wakame to remove any salt then chop into 1" pieces. Divide the wakame and scallions between 4 bowls and pour the soup over it. Note that the amounts of miso can be altered to taste, if you like a lighter taste to your miso soup you can add more of the shiro miso and less red miso. More red miso will make a more robust fuller bodied flavor.

Who wants some awesome?

They are giving away a box of awesome here:
http://decourseyproject.blogspot.com/2010/03/give-away-nifty-gifties.html

Anyone want one?

No?

How could you NOT want something that awesome?!?

Monday: Recipe Day!

Nori Sushi Rolls Serves: 2-4 INGREDIENTS 4 cups cooked brown rice or sushi rice 2 tbsp gomashio 1 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 cup carrot, grated 1 cup beets, grated 1 small cucumber, sliced like matchsticks 1-1/2 cups sprouts (e.g., sunflower, broccoli) 2-3 avocados, sliced 3 stalks green onion, chopped 8 nori sushi sheets Braggs (for dipping) Wasabi (for dipping) DIRECTIONS 1. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, gomashio, maple syrup, and vinegar and place in refrigerator to chill for 10-15 minutes. 2. When rice has chilled, place nori sheet on a sushi mat or cutting board and spread 1/2 cup of the rice mixture over 2/3 of the nori sheet closest to yourself. 3. Add each vegetable, placing it in the middle of the rice mixture. 4. Roll the nori away from you. Dab a little water with your finger to seal up the edges. 5. Slice into two or four pieces. 6. Use Braggs and wasabi for dipping. Try different sorts of vegetable combinations for variation. NUTRITION INFO Calories: 81 Fat: 3.4 g Carbohydrates: 11.7 g Protein: 1.9 g

Bento Paradise - Kappabashi Market

Here is a small selection of the bento boxes, jubako and other containers available at Kappabashi Market in Tokyo.

Kappabashi Market, Tokyo

Kappabashi Market is best known for selling of plastic food models, but they also have many other things including cooking and food serving supplies, many bento boxes and accessories.
If you've ever been to a sushi restaurant and seen those plastic displays of different types of sushi, this is the type of place to purchase those. They also have keychains and other novelty items made with the display food.

PACSEC Bento Day 2

Bento2, originally uploaded by kkadow.

PacSec Lunch Day two. Slightly different. Tokyo, Japan.

PACSEC Lunch Break

Bento Lunch, originally uploaded by kkadow.

PacSec conference lunch break. At Aoyama Diamond Hall in Tokyo, Japan.