Miso Soup - Miso Shiru

I've finally got most of my backlogged posts published. Which considering the last two months was no easy feat. I never mentioned it before, but I was out of the country during the last two weeks of January and traveled back home to Perth to be with my extended family during Chinese New Year. Then I ended up scheduled to work every weekend since I was back in Sydney until now. I actually got most of my posts finished up last weekend, when I was working onsite. I had to wait for the other teams to finish before I had to do my part. That wait took 5 hours. Most data centers are like a large and very noisy walk-in refrigerator. This one was one of those. All I could think of while waiting (and typing up my posts), was that I wish I had a nice hot bowl of miso soup with me.

In that environment, I don't think there could be anything that could be as soul satisfying than sitting there with my hands cupped around a hot bowl of miso soup, sipping away, savouring each mouthful.

And you guessed it, as soon as my part was done, I got home, boiled some water, added some dashi granules, miso paste and some other ingredients found in my pantry and fridge and 10 mins later... ta-daaa.. Miso Soup...!

Miso is a great base for a seafood based soup too. Whenever I do have enough seafood bits and pieces on hand (and the spare time), I make a Fisherman's Soup with the off cuts of seafood (eg. Fish head, Mussels, salmon, prawn) with miso. But this time, it was just a simple miso soup with some Enoki mushrooms thrown in... And boy did it hit the spot. :)

Miso Soup - Miso Shiru

normally serves 2, or 1 in this case (if you want seconds)

• 1 teaspoon Dashi granules
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons White miso paste *
• 1/2 tablespoon Mirin
• 1 piece package Silken tofu (diced into cubes - 1 piece is about 75g)
• 1 tablespoon Wakame seaweed
• 70g Enoki Mushroom (washed, brown roots removed) - Optional

* you may need to adjust this depending on the type of miso used

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add in the dashi granules to the water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium, pour in the mirin and whisk in the miso paste.
3. Add in the Enoki mushrooms and seaweed.
4. Stir in the tofu cubes.
5. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Steamed Minced Tofu with Dace Fish Paste

Ok. So after the Agedashi Tofu and Steamed Tofu with Fish Paste & Black Bean Topping, I still had leftover fish paste and about 1/4 pack of the tofu sitting in the fridge.

Fish paste can be kept in the freezer and defrosted when required. To prolong the life of the tofu, change the water the tofu is sitting in daily. The tofu should be able to last about a week after first open.

This dish is great when dealing with leftover bits of tofu and fish paste. Basically, you just mince and mix both ingredients together, add some seasoning and steam it for about 10 mins and your done.

I remember having it at my Aunt's place and she had jokingly told me this was a dish that was for toddlers and old people only. When I had asked why, she replied that this dish was designed for people with no teeth. Great. Still not sure who on the table this dish was aimed at, but I do recall it to be really tasty.

Steamed Minced Tofu with Dace Fish Paste

• 250g of tofu
• 250g of fish paste
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Pinch of White Pepper
• 1 Egg white

Topping:

• 1 teaspoon Re-hydrated Dried Shrimp (finely chopped) - Optional
• Cooked oil
• sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
• Spring onion (finely sliced - for garnishing)
• Coriander (top half with leaves only - for garnishing)

Method:

1. Using a fork, mash up the tofu and mix well with fish paste.
2. Add in a pinch of salt, sugar, white pepper and egg white and continue mixing until its all combined and smooth.
3. Scoop out the contents and set in a shallow dish. Gently level the surface with a spoon.
4. If using, sprinkle about a teaspoon of finely chopped dried shrimp over the surface
5. Cover the dish with some cling wrap, ready for steaming
6. Bring some water to boil in a wok with a steamer tray. Using the wok as a steamer, place the dish in to steam for about 10-15mins on medium heat.
7. Remove from the steamer and carefully remove the cling wrap (watch for the hot steam here), garnish with some spring onions and coriander leaves.
8. Place a saucepan with about a tablespoon of oil on high heat
9. Drizzle with some sesame oil and light soy sauce over the garnish
10. Carefully pour the hot oil over the garnish, they should sizzle and cook immediately. The hot oil helps to bind the flavours of the soy, sesame oil, coriander and green onion together.

Agedashi Tofu

After making the Steamed Tofu with Fish Paste & Black Bean Topping, I still had quite a bit of tofu leftover. In a standard box of 900g Silky Firm tofu, you get about 12 pieces. I still had 6 pieces remaining after yesterday night's dinner. I also still had a bit of fish paste left, but I'll leave that for later. Right now I just wanted a quick snack.

Tofu.. Snack ? Agedashi Tofu ?

Fried tofu with dashi stock ... humm.. yes pls.. :)

If your not looking for an over rubbery version of Agedashi Tofu, then Potato starch probably works best, better than cornflour actually. Also try to look for Silken Firm Tofu in the grocery store. The softer tofu types makes it a bit harder to handle during the coating and frying process. I actually had quite a bit of dashi stock still leftover, feel free to halve the dashi stock or just fry more tofu pieces. I prefer to retain some of the crispiness of the tofu pieces. To do this, just avoid pouring the stock over the tofu pieces and only pour enough so that it comes to about 1/2 way up the tofu pieces.

Agedashi Tofu

• 3 pieces of Silken Firm Tofu
• Potato starch (with a couple grinds of salt) - enough for dusting the tofu pieces
• Grapeseed oil - enough for shallow pan frying
• 3/4 cup dashi stock (1 tablespoon dashi granules dissolved in 3/4 cup of hot water)
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce

For the Toppings:

• Daikon - Japanese white radish (grated)
• Roasted seaweed strips
• Bonito flakes
• Spring onions (finely sliced)

Method:

1. Place the tofu pieces on top of paper towels, and let sit for about 15 mins to remove the excess moisture. Carefully turn the pieces over let sit for another 5 mins.
2. While the tofu pieces are drying, mix the dashi stock with mirin and light soy sauce and set aside.
3. After the tofu pieces have dried, coat them thoroughly with the lightly seasoned potato starch.
4. In a saucepan, pour in enough oil so there is about 0.5cm layer. Enough to shallow fry the tofu pieces. Carefully put the coated tofu pieces in to fry, turning every couple mins on each side. When every side has turned golden, remove and drain on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
5. Place the tofu pieces in a bowl. Garnish with roasted seaweed strips, grated daikon, bonito flakes and sliced spring onions. Pour some of the dashi stock into the bowl (not over the top of the tofu pieces), until it reaches about 1/2 way up the tofu pieces and serve immediately.

Steamed Tofu with Fish Paste & Black Bean Topping

Fish paste is available at most Asian grocery stores and most Asian fishmongers would actually make their own 'ready to cook' version. If you want to make your own fish paste at home, then this post by Red Cook would probably be what I would recommend.

The fish paste I buy from the fishmonger is already seasoned. If you aren't sure if yours are, drop a teaspoonful of the paste into some hot boiling water and taste it. If it isn't seasoned, then add in about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix well.

The cling wrap used while steaming helps to keep the water from the condensation out of the tofu. This is an optional process as you can always just pour the water out. But after the time when I lost one of the tofu pieces.. it fell into the sink as I was trying to pour the water out.. doh!.. I've just used the cling wrap method instead. If you are employing this method, use a good quality known brand cling wrap, like GLAD or something similar, so that it wouldn't break and will survive the steaming temperatures.

This dish is like a steamed version of 'Yang Tau Foo' - which is like a fried tofu stuffed with fish paste - that I've had in Singapore before.

Steamed Tofu with Fish Paste & Black Bean Topping

makes 6 pieces

For the Tofu:

• 6 pieces of silky tofu (usually 1/2 the packet)
• 300g fish paste
• dash white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornflour

For the Topping:

• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 heaped teaspoon fermented black beans (coarsely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine recommended)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili (finely chopped) - optional
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Fresh Coriander and Spring Onions (finely sliced diagonally) - Optional

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the fish paste with the white pepper and cornflour.
2. Place a piece of tofu on your palm, then using a butter knife or a small spatula, take some of the fish paste mixture and spread it over the top of the tofu.
3. Repeat until all the fish paste has been evenly divided amongst the pieces of tofu. Arrange on a plate and cover with cling wrap ready for steaming.
4. Bring some water to boil in a wok and place a steamer rack inside.
5. While you are waiting for the water to boil, prepare the black bean topping.
6. In a small bowl, add the garlic, fermented black beans, light soy, sugar, Chinese rice wine and chilli (if using) and mix well.
7. Once the water in the wok is boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and place the plate of tofu on top of the steamer rack. Steam for about 10 mins, until you can see the fish paste is no longer transparent and is cooked.
8. While the tofu is steaming, in a small saucepan, pour in 1/2 of the oil and turn the heat on high.
9. Once the oil from the saucepan is steaming hot, pour it over the garlic and black bean mixture. This will cook the black bean and garlic.
10. After 10 mins, remove the plate from the wok and discard the cling wrap.
11. Pour in the remaining vegetable oil back into the same saucepan and place it back on high heat.
12. Carefully spoon on top of the fish paste about 2 teaspoons of the black bean and garlic mixture. Drizzle the remaining soy sauce over the tofu pieces.
13. Garish with coriander and some finely sliced spring onions.
14. Once the oil is hot, remove from the heat and carefully pour (bit by bit) over the coriander and spring onions so that it sizzles and cooks. This helps to release the aroma and also makes the strong flavour of fresh coriander a bit more subtle.

Steamed Tofu & Chicken Mushroom Sauce

Today was one of those days where I go and open my fridge, stare at it for a couple of minutes, contemplating what I have to make for dinner.

I pulled out the following:

• 1/2 pack of tofu (still edible)
• partially defrosted chicken thigh pieces
• button mushrooms (about a handful)
• spring onions & coriander
• 1/2 onion (nicely wrapped up in some Glad wrap ?!?)

I managed to pull away one full piece of chicken thigh. The rest was still a bit too much fused together with ice that I decided to throw it back into the fridge and let it continue with its defrosting process.

Combine this with some chopped garlic, some spring onions and coriander and we'll have enough to make this steamed tofu dish.

Firstly mince up the chicken, then marinate the chicken mince with:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of corn flour (can substitute with potato starch)
• 1 teaspoon of chinese cooking wine
• Couple of dashes of sesame oil

Let sit for about 15-20 mins. While this is resting, bring a Wok full of water to boil, and place a steel rack in the water so that a plate can rest on top of it. The water should not be touching the plate. Place the tofu in the place and use some Glad wrap (cling film) to cover the plate, then place on top of rack for steaming. Cover with a lid.

This way, the condensation of water that catches on the lid wont fall back into the plate with the tofu. Otherwise, at the end of the steaming process, you'll have a very watery plate of tofu.

Steam for about 5 mins on medium-high heat. Once this has finished, remove the plate from the Wok, remove Glad wrap and set aside.

Chop onions and slice mushrooms. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a pan and add garlic, then onions then mushrooms. Once everything starts to soften a bit, add in the chicken mince.

Once the chicken has cooked, add in about 1/4 cup of water and then the spring onions. The water with the corn flour previously used to marinate the chicken will turn into a sauce. Add a bit more corn flour if the sauce seems a bit too thin.

Pour this on top of the tofu. Sprinkle with some additional thinly sliced spring onions and coriander (if you have it) if desired. Serve immediately with some steam rice.