Today’s miso soup is made with Chikuwa and Wakame seaweed. Chikuwa is a Japanese fish cake that is made from white fish paste called surimi. Chikuwa is easily found at Japanese markets, and it is inexpensive. This is a quick and easy miso soup that takes minimum time and effort to cook.
Loco Moco is a Hawaiian rice bowl dish with Hamburger Steak. Loco Moco hamburger is similar to Japanese Hamburger or Salisbury steak. The steak is served over Steamed Rice, with a thick gravy sauce and a fried egg placed on top. This Hawaiian soul food has got just the right taste and many people have fallen in love with it. The popularity of Loco Moco has spread to everywhere in the world, and now it’s a well-known Hawaiian dish in Japan too.
No-Fold Gyoza are Gyoza dumplings with pork filling but without complicated folding. Usually, you seal the Gyoza skin to keep the filling neatly inside by making kind of troublesome pleats. But here, the filling is merely wrapped in the skin by rolling. Super easy! It may not look as pretty as the regular one, but it’s still as tasty as always. This also freezes beautifully. One day make multiple batches and freeze, and have Gyoza dinners later on busy nights. No defrosting needed beforehand, but just cook a little longer. Hope you try this simple but delicious Gyoza soon!
Today’s Miso Soup is with Broken Tofu and Nori roasted seaweed. This may be the easiest miso soup we have done yet. Medium hard Tofu is broken apart into chunks by hand, and Nori is also torn by hand. No knives and cutting boards are involved. On top of the nice oceanic aroma of Nori seaweed, toasted sesame seeds give the soup another layer of nice fragrance. And all is done in 10 minutes – that’s not bad at all. Hope you try this easy and delicious miso soup at home!
Sautéed Kabocha with Butter and Soy Sauce is a great side dish to any entree, from Japanese to American foods. In fact, the rich savory flavor with a touch of sweetness of this Kabocha would be a nice holiday dinner addition.
Ajitama Onigiri (味玉おにぎり) is a Japanese rice ball with a marinated boiled egg (Ajitama) inside. Ajitama is often called Ramen Egg because it is a common and popular topping for ramen noodle soup. Eggs are marinated in salty and sweet soy sauce based sauce, and they taste great with rice, too. We use the same sauce to season steamed rice for making Onigiri.
Today’s miso soup is made with cabbage and green onions, topped with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Parmesan cheese is packed with umami, so there is no surprise that it goes well with miso soup.
Tamago Sando (卵サンド) is a Japanese version of an egg salad sandwich. Finely chopped hard boiled eggs are mixed with tangy Japanese mayonnaise and sandwiched with fluffy white Shokupan Bread. Tamago Sando has always been a popular kind of sandwich in Japan as long as we can remember, but in the more recent craze, it’s surfaced on social media often and gets a lot of attention for the strikingly scrumptious look of the rich overstuffed sandwich. Tamago Sando is so easily made by anybody with or without cooking skills, so you can actually make and eat the delicious dish at home rather than looking at pictures.
Matcha Dorayaki is a version of the popular Japanese sweet Dorayaki with Anko sweet red bean paste sandwiched between fluffy matcha-flavored pancakes. The harmony of sweetness of the red beans and the slight bitterness from Matcha works very well. If you like Matcha flavor, you have to try it! You can make homemade Anko yourself from our library. Or you may opt to buy prepared Anko from Japanese markets, which is fine too. Because the pancakes contain more sugar than regular American pancakes, cook a small number at a time to be able to handle better without burning them. Have Matcha Dorayaki at a calming teatime for one, or share this delicious dessert with friends and family. Hope you like it!
Today’s miso soup is with Steamed Rice. Steamed rice gives miso soup some body, by very slightly thickening it. It is still a soup, not Okayu porridge or Zosui. It’s a perfect dish when you’re not feeling well and have no appetite. This simpler and milder soup is easy to take in, but it’s still got some substance to give your body energy. Hope you like it!