Indian Appetizer
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp Grated fresh ginger
• 4 cup Stock or water
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Cumin seeds, toasted
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• Juice of one lemon
• Fresh coriander leaves
Directions
1. Put grated ginger & stock into a pot & bring to a boil.
2. Simmer 30 minutes till the water has reduced by half. Add salt, cumin & pepper.
Simmer for another 2 minutes.
3. Squeeze in lemon juice & garnish with coriander.
Japanese Dashi
Dashi is stock generally made from konbu (kelp), dried bonito (a kind of fish) flakes, or both. To complement the taste of the miso, strong-flavored stock is used. Bonito flakes are now available outside of Japan, so try making dashi with them.
Concentrated stock is available at stores selling Japanese foods in granular, powder, and liquid form. You can use these, too, if you can get hold of them. While the amount you use will be different according to the type of dashi, figure on adding around two teaspoons for around three cups of water.
Dashi
Ingredients
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups Dried bonito flakes
1 Bring water to boil. Add bonito flakes and wait for the water to boil again.
2 Turn off the flame and remove the flakes with a strainer.
Japanese Miso Soup with Tofu (1)
Japanese Miso
Miso soup is made by mixing miso paste (a traditional flavoring) and dashi (stock). The paste is made by fermenting soy beans, rice or barley, and salt. There are different kinds of miso depending on the region, just like there are different varieties of cheese. The most common type of miso is a light brown color, although there are also some that are pale yellow and others that are dark brown. The soup can be prepared with vegetables, meat, fish, tofu, or any combination of these. You can use potatoes, cabbage, or shiitake mushrooms in the miso soup. These ingredients should be cooked in the stock until soft; add the miso slowly and turn off the heat when the soup comes to a boil.
Ingredients
• 1/2 block tofu
• 4 tbsp Miso or according to taste
• 1/2 Leek (a whole scallion may also be used)
• 3 cups dashi
Directions
1 Chop the leek and cut the tofu into small cubes.
2 Heat the dashi and mix in a little miso at a time. (Don’t use 4 tablespoons all at once; it could be too much. You should add more only if the taste is still too weak.)
3 Add tofu and turn off the heat as soon as the stock comes to a boil. Serve in bowls, topped with chopped leek.
Japanese Vegetable Miso Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
• 6 cup Water
• tbsp White miso
• 150 gm fresh peas or
• 3 cups frozen peas (thawed)
• 3 Green onions, with tops (thinly sliced)
• Jalapeno pepper (seeded and sliced into thin rings)
• Garlic clove (minced)
• 1 medium piece dulse (finely chopped)
• tsp freshly squeeze lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp hot sesame oil
Directions
1. Put 1 cup of the water and the miso in a small bowl and stir together.
2. In a large pot, combine the remaining 5 cups water, the peas, green onions, jalapeno pepper, and garlic. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-hight heat, then immediately reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the miso mixture, dulse, lemon juice, and hot sesame oil. Bring barely to a simmer over medium-high heat.
4. Serve immediately.
Thai Carrot Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2-4 tbsp Hot & Sour Soup Mix
• 2 cups yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 4 cups carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 pieces fresh lemon grass, cut in half and bruised
• 2 tbsp minced fresh galangal (Thai ginger) or Chinese ginger
• 1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 ½ cup Coconut Milk
• 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro
Directions
1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add hot & sour soup mix, onions, salt and sugar and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and fragrant.
2. Add the carrots, lemon grass, galangal, lime juice, vegetable stock and coconut milk and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove the lemon grass.
4. Now cool, blend and strain.
5. Serve garnished with cilantro.
Thai Gazpacho
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
• 1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
• 1⁄4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 tsp. chopped garlic
• 1⁄2 “ piece fresh galangal (Thai ginger) or Chinese ginger, sliced and bruised
• 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock to make it vegetarian
• 750 gm fresh tomatoes chopped
• 3 tbsp Lemon Grass Salad Splash
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp green onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp Barbecue Sauce
• 2 tsp. mint, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup cucumber, seeded and chopped
• sprigs of leftover fresh cilantro and cucumber slices
Directions
1. Heat oil saute shallots until translucent. Add garlic and galangal and saute 1 minute or until aromatic. Add chicken (or vegetable) broth and 500 gm tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, then cool to room temperature.
2. Strain mixture, separating the pulp and the liquid. Reserve the liquid and set aside. To the strained pulp, add the remaining 250 gm chopped tomatoes, lemon grass salad splash, salt, cilantro, green onions, barbecue sauce, mint and cucumber. Transfer to a food processor or blender.
3. Lightly chop mixture, using a pulsing action, to desired consistency. Combine this mixture with reserved liquid and chill thoroughly.
4. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with sprigs of fresh cilantro and cucumber slices.
Thai Squash Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 cup Coconut Milk
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp Hot & Sour Soup Mix
• 1 tbsp Roasted Red Chili Paste
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1⁄2 tsp. salt
Directions
1. Quarter the squash and remove the seeds.
2. Steam the squash over boiling water for 15 minutes, until the squash is soft. Scrape the squash away from the tough rind and set aside.
3. In a saucepan, simmer the coconut milk, stock, hot & sour soup mix, roasted red chili paste, brown sugar, salt and optional lemon grass for 5 minutes.
4. While the coconut milk mixture is simmering, blend and strain the squash. Add the squash puree to the coconut milk mixture and stir well to combine.
5. Simmer for 5 minutes and garnish with optional cilantro. Remove the lemon grass sections and serve immediately.
Thai Congee (Kao Tome) Vegetarian
Congee, called jook in China where it originated, spread throughout Southeast Asia. It’s used as a breakfast dish or as comfort food. This recipe consists of two parts, a simple rice porridge made of rice (any kind white or brown) cooked in water or vegetarian chicken broth. It’s served with your choice of toppings and condiments. Steamed tofu with salted black soy beans, or diced sweet potato, taro and pumpkin, pickled ginger, Chinese pickled vegetables, pickled garlic, fried shallots and cilantro, Asian omelet, Japanese Rolled Omelet/ fried shallots, sliced/ chopped roasted peanuts, sliced green onions, minced fresh ginger, fresh cilantro, fresh Asian basil leaves or hard cooked eggs are some of the available toppings and condiments.
Thai Congee (Kao Tome) Vegetarian
Congee, called jook in China where it originated, spread throughout Southeast Asia. It’s used as a breakfast dish or as comfort food. This recipe consists of two parts, a simple rice porridge made of rice (any kind white or brown) cooked in water or vegetarian chicken broth. It’s served with your choice of toppings and condiments. Steamed tofu with salted black soy beans, or diced sweet potato, taro and pumpkin, pickled ginger, Chinese pickled vegetables, pickled garlic, fried shallots and cilantro, Asian omelet, Japanese Rolled Omelet/ fried shallots, sliced/ chopped roasted peanuts, sliced green onions, minced fresh ginger, fresh cilantro, fresh Asian basil leaves or hard cooked eggs are some of the available toppings and condiments.
Thai Congee
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice or short-grain rice
• 5 cups low-fat chicken broth or water
Directions
1. Combine ingredients for the congee in a saucepan, bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours.
3. Or use leftover rice with about twice as much liquid as rice.
4. Simmer until the porridge has a smooth consistence.
5. Pour into soup bowls.
6. Top with your choice of toppings and condiments.
7. If serving a large group, a larger choice than 2 or 3 toppings might be served.