Archive for February, 2008

« Older Entries Newer Entries »
February 20th, 2008

Simple Miso Soup

This post may be uninteresting to you, especially since Japanese food in America has been wildly popular for the past few years. It’s a simple recipe for Miso Soup. And I am so excited about it!

I guess I missed the boat on this one—when all of my friend’s were lapping up miso soup in college, when I skimmed over blog posts and recipes of it uninspired, when I chose the gyoza over it in restaurants. I never cared to even try miso soup until one day last spring, when Jim and I were in New York for a play and (more importantly) a fancy dinner. We chose a restaurant, well-received on Zagat, whose name has vanished from my memory. Every item on the menu, save for the miso soup Jim ordered, was either unremarkable or inedible. I finally gave in and tried Jim’s soup out of hungry desperation. It was delicious! I loved the salty, briny flavor of the dashi and went wild for the crunchy green onions. I mostly stayed away from the tofu, thinking that I was allergic to it after I had a reaction to a soy-gingerbread latte a few months prior.

Since then, I’ve learned that I’m not allergic to tofu and also that I just don’t care for it. So, I’ve been hunting for a comprable miso soup in sushi places and gourmet shops since last spring, hoping beyond hope to find one that focuses as much on the other ingredients as it does on the tofu and not having to break the bank for it. I was unlucky to the point of being turned off by miso soup altogether—almost to the point of forgetting about it, until my soup obsession started this winter. I don’t know why I never made miso soup myself before but I should really give myself a kick in the ass. It’s so wonderfully easy—and I can make it to my tastes! Don’t like tofu? Screw the tofu!

So, that’s why I’m so excited about this simple miso soup. I see it as a jumping off point for me—today’s post is the classic miso, tofu and all, but next week I’ll try something different. Eventually I’m sure I’ll come up with my ultimate miso soup. The combination of the sea-laced kombu dashi with salty red miso is the broth-soup jump-off point of my dreams (wow, I really am turning into a soup-nut.) And to top it all off, miso soup is healthy and beneficial to my lazy winter immune system—maybe one of the reasons I’m already feeling better!

Miso Soup

Don’t let the ingredient list scare you off—they were all stocked in my supermarket without my knowing. I asked the clerk, thinking it was hopeless, if he had kombu and bonito flakes and the wonderful man said of course! and then politely gave me a lesson on how to make the best miso soup. Also, the ingredients store easily in the pantry—a plus in my book.

For the dashi:

  • 1 strip kombu, scored a bit with the tip of your knife
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1/2 cup bonito flakes (dried tuna)

For the miso soup:

  • Prepared dashi
  • 1/3 cup red miso (you can use white or yellow if you think red is too strong)
  • 2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced

To make the dashi: Combine kombu strip and water. Bring to a simmer but do not let boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove kombu with tongs and discard (or save for another use.) Add bonito flakes and simmer for a few more minutes. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve.

To make soup: Place dashi back on stove, reserving about a cup in a heatproof bowl. Whisk miso into the cup, combining well. Pour combined miso back into the dashi and stir. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Add green onions, turn off heat and let it sit for another minute. Serve.

 

QUESTION! QUESTION!  Do you have any interesting (or simple) miso soup recipes or tips?? I’d love to hear them!

Posted in Light Meals, Quick and Easy | 9 Comments »

February 18th, 2008

Barbecue Beans

I have a horrible cold-slash-probably bronchitis that’s ruined my weekend. I was planning on writing a nice long post, really a love-poem, to one of my favorite dishes—Barbecue Beans. Thinking that barbecue beans never get the flattery they deserve, I was going to write a post about how remarkably delicious they are, with their notes of slight sweetness and subtle spicyness, their hint of mustardy bitterness. I was going to tell you how warmly substantial these beans are. I eat them almost every afternoon for lunch and I was going to rave that they never get “old”.

I was going to good-naturedly cajole you into making them, telling you that all the ingredients are probably in your kitchen right now. Everything you need for this recipe can be bought and then forgot about until you have time to make it. There’s no ingredient with a looming expiration date forcing you to make the beans immediately, just in case you get a horrible cold-slash-probably bronchitis and wanted to order in.

I was going to do all that but, in between hacking coughs and nose-blowings, decided against it. I need my rest you know. So, here’s the recipe. It’s wonderful. Jimmy is making me a huge pot of it tonight—to sustain us for the week. And I’m going back to bed.

Barbecue Beans

serves 4-6//adapted from the Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

After you make this once, you may want to adjust the ingredient amounts. I fiddled around with it and find this version my favorite but you may want it sweeter or spicier. Also, this recipe relies heavily upon the BBQ sauce you use, so pick your favorite.

  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, depending on their size, minced
  • 1 can (15 oz.) Navy beans, drained
  • 1/3 cup BBQ sauce, I use Bone Suckin’ Sauce Thick and Spicy (if you don’t use a spicy BBQ sauce you may want to add more hot sauce)
  • 1/4 cup mustard, I like dijon here
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • a few drops of hot sauce, or more to taste

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender and onions are translucent. Add beans, BBQ sauce, mustard, and maple syrup. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Uncover, add cider vinegar and hot sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings if you want. Serve with white or brown rice.

Posted in Light Meals, Quick and Easy, Sides | 17 Comments »

February 13th, 2008

Jerk Chicken for People with Tongues of Steel

This is a recipe to spice up your life this Valentine’s Day.

I’d like to think of myself as a spicy person. I’d like to think I could handle scorching hot chiles and searing curries. I think it’d be sexy desirable kinda-cool if I could down tacos slathered in the hottest hot sauce. I’d probably even lie to someone if they asked if I could handle the hot stuff. I’d even bite my lip and handle the hot stuff, holding back tears and swallowing chiles whole—trying to keep the stuff in contact with my tongue for as short of a time as possible—and gulping down glassfuls of water whenever heads turned, cursing my bull-headedness all the while.

But seriously, I’m kind of a pansy. I mean, not a total wimp, no. I do add hot sauce to my rice and beans. But it’s like 2, maybe 3 drops of hot sauce. I enjoy spicy foods but I’ve never overloaded on the stuff. And sometimes, when I’ve gone a while since eating anything too-spicy, I can even convince myself that I am a champion of heat. I’ll look at a recipe that’s far to spicy for my taste like it’s baby food. I’ll scoff at the less-spicy (but equally delicious, I’m sure) versions of the dish. I’ll even go to extremes to make it as spicy as possible. And then I’ll only be able to have a few bites at dinner.

This jerk chicken recipe is not for the faint at heart and the sauce that accompainies it is certainly useless, as I don’t see any sane person needing it, unless, I don’t know, you are a Jamacian who eats the hearts of men who eat scotch bonnet peppers for breakfast. If you do like heat, however, this recipe is for you. The flavor combination of allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all that heat is really interesting—pungent, peppery, and zippy up the wahzoo. The molasses gave it a rounded-out sweet depth that I really enjoyed. It’s well worth making the recipe even if you can only have a bite or two. I was actually able to eat a few pieces after rubbing off the chile paste and Jim polished off the rest of it. Jim’s a hot-kind-of-guy, which is why I say forget about making the sauce—even he wouldn’t touch it.

This recipe was found on Elise’s Simply Recipes and reproduced here. Go there to see her pretty pictures and take note of the one where she wears gloves—you cannot, can not forget that step, or you’ll be weeping scorching-hot tears for the rest of your romantic Valentine’s Night.

Jerk Chicken

serves 6-8//from Simply Recipes Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup malt vinegar (or white vinegar)
  • 2 Tbsp dark rum
  • 2 Scotch bonnet peppers (or habaneros), with seeds, chopped
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 4 green onion tops, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp dried thyme or 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons molasses

1 (5 or 6 pound) roasting chicken, cut in half, lengthwise
1/2 cup lime juice
Salt and pepper

Method

Safety note. Scotch Bonnet and Habanero chile peppers are very hot and can cause extreme pain if they come in contact with your eyes. We strongly recommend wearing protective gloves while handling the chilies and the jerk paste.

Put vinegar, rum, hot peppers, onion, green onion tops, thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and molasses into a blender. Pulse until mostly smooth.

Place chicken in a large freezer bag, or in a large roasting pan or baking dish. Pour lime juice over the chicken and coat well. Add the jerk paste to the chicken pieces and coat well. Seal the bag or cover the chicken in the pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove chicken from the marinade bag or pan. Put the remaining marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to use as a basting sauce for the chicken. If you want you can reserve a little of the marinade (once boiled for 10 minutes since it has been in contact with raw chicken) to serve with the chicken or to mix with some ketchup and a dash of soy sauce for a serving sauce. (You probably won’t need to do this unless you have a death wish.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken halves in a rimmed baking pan, skin side up. Roast until chicken halves are cooked through, about 50-60 minutes. The chicken is done when the juices run clear (not pink) when a knife tip is inserted into both the chicken breast and thigh, about 165-170°F for the breast and 180-185°F for the thigh. Transfer chicken to platter. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand 15 minutes.

Cut chicken into pieces. Serve with black beans and rice.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Posted in Chicken, Dinner | 25 Comments »

« Older Entries Newer Entries »