Soy Yogurt Shiokoji Soft Cheese & Crispy Black Sesame Mushrooms
The momiji are really turning in my garden now, autumn has truly arrived ! Aki Kinu !
I wanted to make a meal using the flavours of the harvest season. To me mushrooms are a key ingredient at this time of year. Being high in vitamin D they are also the perfect thing for the body once we start to get less sunlight.
I adapted this recipe after being inspired by Riverfords organic vegetable box. I wanted to make it more Japanese so this is what I came up with.
First make your soft cheese. I have made soft cheese before with soy milk and there is a recipe on my pages for this but this is even easier. I used 1/2 a 400g pot of natural organic soy yogurt add to this a teaspoon of shiokoji. Shiokoji is a natural seasoning made with salt water and rice koji. If you want to make more cheese use the whole pot and double the Shiokoji.
Give it a mix and spoon your yogurt into a piece of cheese cloth. Tie at the top and leave in a sieve over a bowl in the fridge to drain for around three days. You now have your cheese.
You can also use it with crackers and chutney it’s really delicious.
Next make a marinade for your mushrooms. I added one tablespoon of ground black sesame powder (surigoma kuro すりごま) to a bowl. To this add a tablespoon each of tamari, toasted sesame oil and maple syrup give it a stir to combine and then add your mushrooms. I used a mix of shimeji, eryngii and maitake you can use what ever mushrooms you like. Give it all a good mix coating your mushrooms in the black sesame and leave for half an hour.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the paper over with a little sesame oil then spread out your mushrooms. Bake in a moderate oven until they are crispy. Remove and sprinkle with chipotle flakes.
Toast some ciabatta or any crusty bread then spread with your soft soy yogurt cheese, top with mushrooms and finish with a dollop of wasabi mayonnaise and a squeeze of sudachi ( both optional ). You can purchase these from The Wasabi Company see the links on my pages.
I had mine with a fresh salad, Kabocha pottage and for dessert persimmon kuzu mousse.
To make the mousse just use persimmon purée and a kuzu slurry (a tablespoon of kuzu root mixed with a little water) heat in a pan until it thickens and then spoon into a pot and cool in the fridge. Finish with some slices of persimmon.
Persimmon or kaki as they are known in Japan remind me of autumn there. You will see them growing everywhere and at the farmers markets. A real taste of Japan. No wonder the Japanese call this time of year Shokuyoku no Aki (autumn the season of appetite ).
When the cicadas can be heard no more, the leaves start to turn and the temperatures cool, we know Aki Kinu ( Autumn has arrived in Japan ! ) This is known as Kigo a word or phrase that is used in Japanese poetry to associate with Japanese seasons.
Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.
Another thing that people anticipate with the changing seasons is Momiji, this refers to the Japanese maple tree. As well as viewing the cherry blossoms in spring people in Japan are also excited about the turning of the maple leaves from green to bright vivid red and orange, this is known as kouyou or autumn colours.
Last year I was in Tokyo late November to mid December. One of the festivals at that time is the Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Festival. Starting this year 2019 November 15th and running until December 1st. The famous 300 meter long avenue lined with 146 Gingko trees turn a spectacular golden . The day I visited the sky was pure blue and was a gorgeous backdrop for the golden leaves.
