Every month, a new recipe loaded with Umami flavour will be up here.
January:
睦月- Spicy Miso soup with swiss chard and salmon -
A Miso soup with a punchy twist with garlic. This filling soup makes a nice light lunch with a bowl of brown rice or multi-grain rice. Great for a winter day when the sky is grey but suspiciously bright and you feel the snow is on its way.
You need:
4-5 large leaves of swiss chard, washed and cut into 2cm strips across the fibre
800cc Dashi stock
250g salmon fillet, skinned and cut into bite size chunks
2-3g dried Wakame seaweed
(most of dried Wakeme sold in the West are already cut into stamp size or smaller and can be added into the hot liquid directly. If using uncut Wakame, soak in plenty of water for 10 minutes then remove the central stem which is quite hard.)
1 Tablespoon Sake
3 Tablespoon Miso paste (white or brown)
1/2 small clove of garlic, finely grated or crushed
A few sprig of chive or scallion, chopped finely
Shichimi spice mix, to taste
(serves two to three)
1. Bring Dashi stock to boil. Add Wakame and swiss chard. Cook for 8 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add salmon and Sake. Skim any scum float to the surface and cook for another 3 minutes or until salmon is thoroughly heated.
3. Scoop 2-3 Tablespoon full of Dashi stock from the boiling pan in a small bowl and mix with the Miso paste until smooth. Add to the pot and stair. Adjust the taste as the saltiness of Miso paste varies widely.
4. Add garlic and chive, then take off from the heat immediately.
5. Serve piping hot with a bowl of freshly cooked rice.
Sprinkle some Shichimi spice mix if you prefer.
What is Shichimitogarashi?
For more healthy and inspiring recipes, look at "Fresh Japanese"