Cold Soba Salad & Tempura-The Daring Cooks February 2011 Challenge

This month's challenge was hosted by Lisa of http://blueberrygirlinoz.blogspot.com/ .  Japanese fare a fave at home especially tempura, sushi and noodles . So, thanks for this great challenge Lisa!

This challenge made me experiment on something i've been planning on trying at home, tempura sushi. Love it! love it! another way to present your sushi. It's like two in one...sushi/tempura.. ha!

I used Nobu's tempura batter and Simple Butter Ponzu Sauce recipes from his book "Nobu Now". The batter was "so, so" i still want my batter w/o eggs. I believe that tempura will stay crispy longer sans the eggs.

The Ponzu Sauce added another layer of flavor to the tempura, Yum!
SIMPLE BUTER PONZU SAUCE:


4 T ponzu****
1 T melted clarified butter

PONZU RECIPE***

4 T soy sauce

8 T rice vinegar

2 T lemon juice

3/4 inch square piece of konbu*(omit if you can't find them)

Mix all the ponzu ingredients (better if you soak this overnight) then add the melted clarified butter.

Butter ponzu sauce needs to be served immediately because the fat will separate when it cools down.

TEMPURA BUTTER:
1 egg yolk
6 3/4 fl oz. iced water
3 1/2  AP flour

1. Make the tempura batter by lightly mixing the ingredients.

2. Blanch the vegetables or  seafood briefly if raw.

3. Heat oil for deep frying to 355 degrees F. Dust the vegetables or seafoods lightly with flour, dip in the batter and fry in the hot oil for about 2 minutes. With the sushi, you can dip them straight into the batter.

4. Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.

Butternut Squash (must blanch them first before frying)

Sweet Potatoes (must blanch first before frying)

Green beans

Shiso leaves

Tempura- Sushi, Sweet Potatoes, Butternutsquash, Green Beans!

COLD SOBA NOODLES, A WONDERFUL "GO TO" LUNCH OR DINNER. HEALTHY AND SO FILLING.

SOBA NOODLES:

Ingredients

2 quarts (2 Liters) water + 1 cup cold water, separate

12 oz (340 g) dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)

Directions:
Cooking the noodles:
1.Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.

2.Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:


Ingredients

¾ cup 70gm/2½ oz spring onions/green onions/scallions, finely chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce- it's a must to use Japanese soy sauce like Kikkoman to achieve the flavor.

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon Asian mustard powder

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon  sesame oil (if you can’t find this just omit from recipe.)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each

Directions:

1. Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, add and shake in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed


TOPPED WITH FRIED TOFU, EGGS, SCALLIONS AND SESAME SEEDS.

Cold Soba Noodles with crispy tofu and eggs. Garnished with sesame seeds and scallions.



GARLIC SAUTEED SHIRIMP

Another Nobu recipe from "Nobu Now" this was good. Simple to make as well. Nobu suggested to use the finest quality sea salt to draw out the natural sweetness of the shrimp. No problem with that since i have one of the best quality sea salt in my pantry, well that's my opinion.

Serves 4

10 tiger prawns, in the shell, each about 1 ounce ( i used 1 lb large size shrimp)
sea salt (good quality salt)
black pepper
3 T grated garlic
olive oil
sake'
chopped chives or parsley

1.  Slice the whole shrimp (prawns) in half lengthwise and devein. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.

2. Add the grated garlic and little olive oil to a frying pan, and heat. When the garlic aroma has infused the olive oil, turn up the heat and add the shrimp, shell side down. Saute the shrimp, gently shaking the pan from side to side, Halfway through, turn the shrimp over and saute flesh side down.

3. Finish off by sprinkling some sake over the shirmp, then pile them on plates and scatter with chopped chives.

Had this as a side dish for my Black and Red Rice Risotto

BLACK AND RED RICE RISOTTO (MARCH 2010 DARING COOKS CHALLENGE)

This month's challenge was hosted by Melbournefoodgeek (Eleanor) and Jessthebaker (Jess), http://thedaringkitchen.com/forums/daring-cooks-challenges/daring-cooks-march-2010-challenge-comfort-food-heart.

Risotto!! Oh boy!! this is one of those dishes that i've tried to love but to no avail. Don't get me wrong i have had delicious risottos' from restaurants, i've made some at home but i guess it's a texture thing but i love lugaw, congee or porridge hhmmm.. anyways, this is excatly why we call it a cooking challenge right? I could easily skip this months challenge but i figured i've got to give risotto another chance! I decided to try an Asian style since i've tried traditional/conventional risottos.

I remembered Nobu had a Japanese risotto, so this challenge was based on Nobu's recipe from his cookbook Nobu Now. I also made another Nobu recipe Garlic Sauteed Shrimp to go with the risotto.

Overall, it was okay, something different. It was creamy with an added nutty flavor, as i expected, it required more cooking time as oppose to arborio rice. This was also a great way to make more dashi stock. But, have i convinced myself to become a risotto fan? not quite.

Anyways...thank you Eleanor and Jess for this challenge.

I'VE BLOGGED MY ARANCINI ALA SICILIAN  HERE

Ingredients: serves 2

8 oz black rice
8 oz red rice
1 T olive oil
1 quart dashi (recipe to follow)
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t light soy sauce ( i recommend to use Japanese soy sauce)***
1/2 oz parmesan cheese
chopped chives or chopped parsley
roasted onions (optional)

1. Very lightly rinse both types of rice. Drain in a sieve
2. Put the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add both types of rice and stir for 3-4 minutes.
3. Next, ladle in 2 1/2 cups of dashi and bring to a simmer. When the liquid is almost absorbed, add the remaining dashi. When all the liquid has been absored, add the salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Finally stir in the Parmesan cheese.
4. Pile onto plates, and top with chopped chives or parsley.


***There are different types of soy sauce. Each Asian country produces their soy sauce, and each gives distinct taste.  Since this is a Japanese dish i recommend to use Kikkoman or any Japanese soy sauce. Using a Filipino or Chinese soy sauce will give a different taste or flavor. Japanese soy sauce is lighter or less salty compared to the other kind/brand of soy sauce.

SERVED THIS WITH SAUTEED SHRIMP PLS. CHECK RECIPE HERE

This dish required a quality sea salt and this is one of the quality salt i've ever tried.

DASHI STOCK:

1 quart water
1/3 oz konbu
1 oz. dried bonito flakes

Heat the water and konbu toegether slowly in a saucepan over medium heat. Just before the water boils, take out the konbu, add the bonito flakes and turn off the heat.
Leave the stock until the bonito flakes have sunk to the bottom of the pan, then strain.

SALMON KELP ROLL

Another recipe from "Nobu Now" cookbook. Yes, it's another roll! check Here for the explaination if you don't already know why i've been making Japanese fares and why. This was one of our Sunday menu.

SALMON KELP ROLL
Recipe from Nobu Now Cookbook P. 36

Serves :2
½ sheet Shiroita Konbu kelp ( 5x8 inch) *
2 ounces boneless skinless salmon fillet
2 large shiso leaves
1 garlic clove, cut into 6 thin slices
1 stick yamagobo root, rolled and cut into slices about ½ inch thick.
½ ounce scallions chopped
daikon for garnish *2 T ponzu
1 head of an edible flower *

AMA-ZU (SWEET VINEGAR)
2 T rice vinegar
6 T granulated sugar
2 ½ t sea salt
PONZU
4 T soy sauce
8 T rice vinegar
2 T lemon juice
¾ inch square piece of konbu

1. Make the ama-zu by putting all the ingredients in a pan and warming through gently until the sugar dissolves. *
2. Prepare the kelp: heat the ama-zu in a pan until it is just about to boil (it should not reach boiling point), then add the kelp. Simmer gently for 1 minute, remove the pan from the heat and leave it to cool at room temperature. *3. Peel off the skin of the salmon and cut the flesh into 6 thin slices about 1/8 inch thick.

4. Drain the kelp well and spread it out on a sheet of plastic wrap.* Place 4 salmon slices side by side and then the other slices across them side by side.

5. Over the salmon slices, arrange the 2 large shiso leaves, the slices of garlic, yamagobo and scallions. Roll up the kelp tightly into a cylinder.

6. Cut the roll across into 6 pieces and arrange them on a serving dish with daikon garnish in the middle. Pour some ponzu around the pieces and place the flower on the daikon.

Ponzu sauce – are available at Japanese/Asian markets.

yamagobo root - pickled burdock

Shiroita Kelp is the ingredient i had to substitute. Noble Fish didn't have this kind of kelp so i opted to buy Soy Wrap w/c to me is the closest to the kelp and i get to try something new as well.

***I skipped some steps since i didn't have the kelp.

This is like a very thin crepe. It comes w/ 5 different flavors.

Sashimi/Sushi Grade fish should be used for this particular dish.

Salmon

Shiso Leaves

Yamagobo (Picled Burdock)

Place salmon slices side by side. Over the salmon slices, arrange 2 shiso leaves, slices of garlic, yamagobo and scallions (i used chives). Roll up tightly into a cylinder.

Cut into pieces and arrange them on serving dish w/ some garnish. Daikon should have been a garnish for this but forgot to buy one so i garnished it w/ my cherry tomato. Pour some ponzu.

It was okay but will not be doing this again. I didn't like the pickled burdock (yamagobo). But the soy wrap, i will definitely be using them again great alternative for nori wrap. (Wink, Wink to Tina)

SHRIMP ROLL (SHRIMP OR PRAWN, SHITAKE MUSHROOMS, SHISO LEAVES)

I bought a new cookbook "Nobu Now" as a birthday gift to myself. As I peruse through the recipes, I see some familiar ingredients while some; I haven’t the slightest clue what those ingredients are. Some I’ve seen and heard but never ventured on using them nor tasted them.

Call it coincidence, Debbie, posted a blog on shiso leaves Cold-Smoked Herring Bouzushi (rod sushi)
and remembered Nobu had shiso on at least 6 of his recipes. I’ve seen shiso leaf graced my plate at fancy shmancy Japanese restaurant but thought it was just a garnish so I set it aside. Ever since Debbie posted her blog w/ shiso and Nobu had these in his recipes, I decided to give shiso a try.
I listed all the Japanese ingredients that I need for the recipes I planned on making and went to Noble Fish, a Japanese mini grocery store near my place. I got almost all the ingredients except for two. They didn’t have the Shiroita Kelp for the Salmon Kelp roll. I saw this colorful soy wrap and decided to use it instead of the kelp and pate’ brisque obviously I can’t buy them there but me being me I thought of experimenting, and used rice paper w/c I have in my pantry. I know, I know…I should have used egg roll wrapper or phyllo dough to substitute the pate’ brisque but hey, like I said I wanted to experiment and see if I could fry those rice papers.

Menu for that weekend were Shrimp Roll and Pam’s sushi for Saturday. Salmon Kelp Roll and a Debbie inspired shiso wrapped sushi for Sunday. Over all it was a success except for a few ingredients that I will not use on my next try.



I will be blogging all recipes separately so comeback and read all my new Japanese dishes. Okay?


Recipe from Nobu Now Cookbook p.57
Serves: 1
1 tiger prawn or large size shrimp
½ shitake mushroom
1 large shiso leaf
1 endive (chicory) leaf
1/ sheet pate brique or egg roll
a little yuzu kosho
2 T Maui Onion salsa
1 t caviar or fish roe (i used red onions)
cilantro


MAUI ONION SALSA

1 3/4 ounces finally chopped Maui Onion (i used red onions)
1 3/4 ounces finely chopped tomato
3 T Ponzu
1 t orange juice (i added the zest)
1/2 t hot chili sauce
Mix all the ingredients together.

1. Remove the shell, head and tail of the shrimp. Cut into the back of the shrimp with a knife, devein and slice through the meat lengthwise.

2. Cut the mushroom into ¼ inch slices. Cut the shiso leaf in half and the endive leaf into four.
3. Place on the sheet of pate brique the halved shrimp pieces, alternating the heads and tails. Put the shitake pieces on top and sprinkle w/ the yuzu ppper. Spread the halved shiso leaves over them and fold each side of the pastry over the filling, then roll up away from you.

4. Heat the oil for deep frying to a temperature of 355 degrees F. Deep fry the roll until golden brown. Drain.

5. Spoon the onion salsa into a cocktail glass and place in it the endive leaf and then fried roll. Top with the caviar or fish roe and cilantro.

Nobu’s note:
Eat the first bite of the roll with the caviar/roe and then the second bite onwards with the salsa.

Shiso Leaf – There are both red and green shiso leaves. The red ones (akaijiso) are mainly used to color umeboshi and other pickles. The green leaves (aojiso) have many uses as a herb, tempura and garnish. Although it is called perilla or beefsteak plant in English, shiso is actually a member of the mint family. Shiso buds are also used as a condiment, garnish and, when very young, for tempura.

PONZU- a citrus and soy sauce dip

Yuzu Kosho – Available from Japanese markets, this commercial seasoning comprises green chili, yuzu rind and salt.

Yuzu – Japanese citron- is zestier than lemons and not as sweet. Yuzu also has a very potent fragrance. It is used for both its acidic juice and its aromatic rind. Yuzu juice is now available from Asian supermarkets.

Ponzu

Yuzo Kosho - green chili, Yuzu rind and salt.
Yuzu - Japanese Citron is zestier than lemons and not as sweet.

Shiso leaves. I'm glad i could buy this at the Japanese store nearby. Something new that we like.

Shiso leaves - They are both red and green. The green (aojiso) have many uses as a herb, tempura and garnish. Is also called perilla or beefsteak plant in English. Shiso is actually a member of the mint family. Shiso buds are also used as a condiment, garnish and when very young, for tempura.

Assemble shrimp in the middle lower part of the sheet. Arrange shiso leaves, mushrooms on top of the shrimps then spread a little of the yuzo kosho. Then fold and roll.

Folding and rolling is so simple.

Shrimp and Shitake Mushroom Rolls in a row

A knock off plating from Nobu Now. Original plating had caviar instead of fish roe.

Shrimp roll w/ Onion Salsa, Shitake Mushrooms, Fish Roe and Endives. The combination of all the ingredients were perfect.

We love, love these rolls but will not use the rice paper again for frying. It's crispy when you serve them right away but became soggy after few minutes. I would suggest to use thin egg roll wrapper or phyllo dough if you can't find pate' brisque.

Will definitely make this again! Yum!