Brocolli Miso Soup

I have a new toy ~~~~~~~ !

Introducing Bethany... my new Bamix deluxe handheld blender. :)

So its bye bye to my dear old Sunbeam StickMaster...

I've been aching to try out Bethany since I picked her up off the shelves from Peters of Kensington over the weekend. So yesterday night after work, I picked up some veggies from the local green grocer and went straight home to try out this soup recipe I had previously stumbled upon.

I've always been a sucker for blended soups. Mushroom, Pumpkin, Tomato... but this was one I haven't tried before. The recipe stood out because the idea behind it was fascinating. The recipe uses Miso paste to add depth and flavour to the soup. And yet no milk, cream or stock is required. Just Veggies, Miso paste, herbs and water. Yummo!

I first saw the recipe from WellFed. The original can be found here, the recipe below is slightly modified as I made it in a pressure cooker to save time. But I'm sure the recipe will still work fine if not using a pressure cooker.



Brocolli Miso Soup
As seen from WellFed

Ingrediants:

• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots (finely chopped)
• 2x bunches of broccoli (About 500g - florets removed from the stems, the stems peeled with a vegetable peeler and diced)
• 4 tablespoon white miso dissolved in 1 cup of water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Cheddar Cheese (shaved) - Optional

Method:

1. Using a pressure cooker, over medium heat, add in olive oil, bay leaves and cook the carrots and onions until slighly softened.
2. Add in the broccoli stems and cook them until slightly softened also.
3. Next add in the broccoli florets and then the dissolved miso paste
4. Cover pressure cooker lid and set to 8 PSI and turn heat on high to bring to pressure.
5. Once pressure is obtained, lower heat and cook for 15 mins.
6. Release pressure, check that the vegetables are soften and remove bay leaves.
7. Blend the contents with an immersion blender.
8. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper if required (salt may not be required depending on the type of miso being used).
9. Serve just is or with some shaved cheddar cheese (optional).

Notes:

• If using a large stock pot instead of a pressure cooker then it has to be simmered on medium heat for 35-40 mins after bringing to boil.
  

Kimchi Fried Rice

Whenever I open up my fridge and see leftover rice going stale.. I smile to myself and think.. humm... Fried Rice... yay !!! :)

Although this time, I didn't have any chinese sausage, lettuce or green onions left in my fridge. So I couldn't make my grandma's signature fried rice.

I did however have a lot of kimchi that was causing my entire fridge to smell like one big kimchi !

I had opened up a bag of kimchi the previous month, but with all the travelling I've been doing lately, I haven't managed to finish it off. Resulting in my entire fridge being consumed by kimchi smell. Oh well... :)

By the way.. this Kimchi fried rice is something I will be making again and again.. its that good...(grandma will not be pleased).. :)

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of steamed white rice left in the fridge overnight
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
• 4 slices of bacon (sliced in to strips about 1cm wide)
• 1/2 onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of kimchi (roughly chopped)
• 1 tablespoons of kimchi liquid
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 tablespoon of light soy sauce
• 1/4 cups of peas
• 1 spring onion (thinly sliced into small round pieces) - optional

Method:

1. Heat up the oil in a deep pan or wok and add in the onion and garlic and saute until aromatic
2. Add in bacon and then the chopped kimchi.
3. Do a few stirs, then add in the rice and use a spatula or something similar to press down on the rice. So the cold rice lumps break up.
4. Sprinkle with 3/4 of the salt, then stir to combine well.
5. Move the rice around to the sides of the pan or wok to create a well or crater in the middle
6. Add the eggs one at a time to the center of the pan, the remaining salt and scramble the eggs as they cook.
7. Fold in the rice, drizzle the soy sauce over the rice, add remaining peas and spring onions (if using) and stir to combine well.
8. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• I prefer the Chung-Ga brand uncut kimchi which is available in Asian grocery stores in sealed bags.

Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette

During my recent trip back home, my Aunt decided to throw a quick dinner party together, and I was told that I'll be responsible for the Oysters.

I thought... Great. I can do Oysters. Au Naturale ... Kilpatrick .... Sorted :)

And then I found out she ordered 10 Dozen Oysters. TEN Dozen...! that's 120 Oysters!!!

My mother's oven would only be able to do 2 dozen Kilpatrick oysters at a time.

So I quickly googled around for something that would be quick and easy to put together (since I still had to whip up the Kilpatricks - my mother's favourites). This one that I came across from Not Quite Nigella stood out from the rest. It looked simple, fresh and very easy to put together.

After tasting the Vinaigrette however, I did kind of twitch the recipe a bit. I added a bit more ginger, light soy and reduced the amount of oil. So you may want to do the same and taste as you go and add or subtract as required. Basically, you want a vinaigrette that doesn't overpower the oysters, but still want to taste the vinaigrette and not just oil.

Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette
As seen in Not Quite Nigella - Tetsuya's Oysters

Ingredients:

• 12 Large Oysters Shucked (I had Coffin Bays - but any large creamy tasting oyster will do)

Vinaigrette:

• 2 teaspoon ginger (finely grated)
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (Japanese brand preferred)
• 1 teaspoon castor sugar
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons grape seed oil
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Garnish:

• 4 stalks of Chives (finely chopped)
• 3 tablespoons Salmon Roe

Optional:

• Rock Salt for Oysters to rest on

Method:

1. If using, place rock salt on a serving plate and arrange oysters to top
2. To make the Vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl, taste and adjust the amount of sweetness (sugar), saltiness (light soy) or tang (lemon juice) as required
3. Spoon about a tablespoon of Vinaigrette into each oyster
4. For each oyster, sprinkle a pinch of chive and divide the Salmon Roe between the oysters evenly.

Notes:

• I left the skin on the ginger, and used a lemon zester to grate the inside flesh of the ginger
• The Vinaigrette recipe from NQN was for 12 Oysters, but I found I had more than enough for about 4 dozen oysters.