[Recipe] Miso Soup Recipes

Tip

To add in miso paste, use a ladle with a sieve to mash the miso in the soup.

Miso paste should be added in after fire is turned off and just before serving.

Clam Miso Soup

Ingredients

150g of clams
1 slice of ginger
400ml water
30g miso

Method

1. Put clams in water and add some salt and leave for half a day
2. Scrub the clams thoroughly and discard the water
3. Put the water, clams and ginger in a pot and cook on high heat until it boils
4. When clams open up, turn off the heat and mix in the miso to taste
5. Garnish with fine ginger slices and some spring onions when serving

When cooking miso soup with vegetables like the following recipes below, use dashi stock instead of plain water for better flavour.

Miso Soup with Chinese Cabbage and Carrot

Cut cabbage into strips, separating leaves from stalks

Bring sufficient amount of dashi to boil

Add in the carrot and cabbage stalks first to cook until soft

Add in the leaves and simmer until cooked

Turn off the heat and stir in miso and serve immediately

Miso Soup with Potato and Onion

Same as above but replace cabbage with potato and onion

[Recipe] Teriyaki Mackerel

This is a simple teriyaki mackerel recipe.

Ingredients 

2 slices of mackerel
Pinch of Salt

Teriyaki Sauce - Mix the following ingredients together

1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce

Method

1. Wash mackerel thoroughly and pat dry
2. Mix with a pinch of salt and marinate for a short while
3. Add oil to hot pan
4. Add in mackerel and pan fry both sides till golden brown
5. Add in teriyaki sauce mixture and cook until sauce is reduced
6. Serve

[Recipe] Egg and Leek and Enoki Mushroom Soup

I love to have this soup poured over steaming bowl of rice. It is excellent as a soul food, feel the warmth of home cooked goodness as you savour this soup on its own with rice or with an additional meat dish.

Ingredients

75g leek and/or Enoki mushrooms, Spring Onions, Cabbage and Carrots (can vary to your preference)
1 egg

400ml dashi

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
Dash of salt

Thickening Sauce of 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water

Method

1. Wash leek thoroughly and cut into sticks
2. Mix egg with leek
3. Bring dashi to a boil
4. Add in seasoning and turn to low heat
5. Pour in thickening sauce
6. Put in the egg and leek / other ingredients
7. Stir the egg solution well so that the egg is smooth in texture
8. Simmer until cooked

Dashi Stock

Soak 4 shiitake mushrooms in pot of water for 30 minutes

Heat and boil the water

Turn off heat and leave for 20 minutes

If you wish to keep the mushrooms for other cooking methods, you may soak it in the water overnight and remove the mushrooms before boiling the water

[Recipe] Pan Fried Radish in Soy Sauce

Ingredients

400g radish or 2 slices of 6-7cm thickness
300ml kelp stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp usukuchi
1/2 tbsp sugar
15g butter
1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
Some grapefruit peel (optional)
1 tsp mirin

Method

1. Cut a cross on top of radish slices
2. Fill enough water in pot to submerge radish slices and cook in until softened
3. Rinse radish in cold water for 5 minutes to wash off the bitter taste
4. Bring kepl stock to a boil, add in radish and simmer until tasty
5. Remove radish and drain
6. Add butter to a hot pan and then radish slices
7. Pan fry until golden brown
8. Add in mirin and fry until light brown

How to prepare Kelp Stock

Wipe kelp with clean cloth to remove dirt and soak it in a pot of water for 2-3 hours

Simmer the pot of water on low heat to a boil

Discard the kelp when water is boiled

[Recipe] Stewed Scorpion Fish

Ingredients :-

2 scorpion fishes (or seabream or bigeye fish)

2 slices of ginger

60ml or 4 tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce

60ml or 4 tbsp Mirin - Japanese Vinegar

50ml Sake

2 tbsp sugar

300ml water

Spring onions for garnishing

1. Wash fish, remove scales and organs.
2. Cut 2-3 slash diagonally on its body to speed up cooking
3. Bring 300ml of water to boil
4. Add 2 tbsp sugar, 2 slices of ginger, 50ml sake, 60ml / 4 tbsp mirin and 2 tbsp soy sauce
5. Let it simmer for a moment then put in the fishes
6. Simmer until fish is cooked then add in 2 more tbsp of soy sauce
7. Transfer fishes onto a plate and sprinkle spring onions on top

Notes : -

Sequence of seasoning :- water, sugar, mirin, sake then ginger and fish

Adding soy sauce in two batches is because first batch will give taste to the dish while the second batch will give it aroma.

Alternative method
Use fish fillet
Halve the water to 150ml
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp Sake
1.5 tbsp sugar
Add in 2 tbsp miso into simmering soup after the seasoning and fish are added and simmer until cooked

[Share] Next big smartphone games - Puzzle & Dragons

Watch out Candy Crush, here comes a game that is quietly taking the world by storm.

Puzzle & Dragons

Coming from the land of the rising sun, Japan, whose citizens are spoilt silly by the choice of games.

The country is the home of Nintendos and Playstations as well as world famous game characters Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon and more.

So you can bet that this game is something to take notice of if it has been downloaded by 10% of the Japanese population so far - a staggering 13 million downloads!

If you are sick of Candies or you are looking for a distraction to pull you away from your Candy Crush addiction, you might want to try this game - Puzzle & Dragons.

Extracted from the Google Play Store description of this game :-

- SIMPLE YET ENGROSSING GAMEPLAY
Match 3 or more Orbs of the same color to attack your enemies. Unlike most puzzle games, you can move an Orb as far as you want. Try to make as many Combos as you can!

-EPIC BATTLES WITH TONS OF DIFFERENT MONSTERS
Match the mystical Orbs and watch your Monsters attack. String together as many Combos as you can to unleash a devastating attack!

- MONSTERS ASSEMBLE!
Collect tons of unique Monsters and assemble the best possible team. You can use 1 Leader and up to 4 Ally Monsters as you explore dungeons. Obtain new Monsters by completing dungeon or by utilizing the Egg Machines.

- POWER-UP AND EVOLVE
Monsters grow stronger by “Fusion.” Using different combinations of ingredients, you can Power-up your Monsters or try Evolve Fusion to make your team incredibly powerful.

- EXPLORE DUNGEONS WITH FRIENDS
You can make Friends in game or invite your real friends by using their ID. Everyone can enjoy the world of Puzzle & Dragons together!

Iphone version
Android version

[Share] Street Painting or Chalk Art

I am a fan of Street Painting or Chalk Art. It amazes me how the artist could visualize the 3D effect in their minds and drawing it on a flat 2D surface.