Tag

Ramen

Blog, Summer Food

Morioka Reimen

Morioka is the capital of Iwate prefecture in rural northeastern Tohoku. Morioka is in fact famous for three kinds of noodle dishes. Jajamen a thin udon noodle dish with a topping of minced pork, onion,shiitake,mushrooms, ginger,black ground sesame,miso,sesame oil and green onion. I made a vegan version of this dish by using soy mince instead. Add this on top of cooked udon.

Finish with cucumber, chopped green onion and chilli oil. Mix together before eating.

There is also Wanko soba, served in tiny bowls with various condiments. There is even a National Wanko soba  competition to see how many bowls of soba you  can eat in one sitting. Each time you finish a bowl more will be quickly served to you until you say stop. The record is 380 bowls in 10 mins ! You can also try this yourself in some of the restaurants, have you ever done this ?
The last of the famous Morioka noodles is Reimen. This noodle dish is perfect for a hot summers day as it’s served chilled. The dish combines spicy and refreshing. It is made with a tare sauce broth and sides of cucumber and kimchi. It normally comes with a boiled egg on top. Why not use my vegan egg recipe to add to this and make it look even more authentic. It  also surprisingly comes with a refreshing slice of melon or pear, which is what makes this dish so different.
To make the tare add to a pan 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, 1/4 cup mirin, 1/4 cup soy sauce, two tablespoons of sake, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of brown rice vinegar, 1 inch grated ginger, 1 chopped green onion. Bring everything to a simmer and reduce to 1/2 cup. Strain and store in the fridge.
Use 2 part stock to one tare to make your broth.

Add cooked Ramen noodles and your toppings of kimchi, vegan egg, cucumber and fruit. I used pieces of pear. Have you ever visited Morioka and tried any of these famous noodle dishes for yourself?

 

 

Autumn Food, Blog, Spring Food, Summer Food, Winter Food

Vegan Ramen Egg

Ramen ラーメン, nearly every region in Japan seams to have their own version. From different broths like shio (salt ramen) shoyu (soy sauce), miso, milk or Kare . Then there are straight or curly noodles of all different thickness. When visiting Japan be careful if your thinking of eating ramen in a ramen shop as not only are the the noodles made with egg but the broth will definitely have a animal based broth. There are some great vegan ramen places however so that won’t stop you from enjoying a tasty slurpy bowl of ramen goodness when your in Japan. One of my favourites is definitely T’s Tan Tan who have a restaurant in Jiyugaoka and ramen shops at Tokyo Station, Ikebukuro, and Narita airport.

There are also more places offering vegan ramen now so your sure to find something when your there.

You can also pick up vegan instant ramen which are the types I normally use either a brand called samurai or ohsawa. They do come with broth sachets but you can either use this or make your own. The ohsawa is hard to find outside of Japan but I have managed to find samurai at the Japan centre in London. Check out your own Asian grocery store.
Ramen hot or ramen cold ( hiyashichuka). However you like your ramen there are an abundance of toppings you can add which are great for vegans. From chopped green onion, sweetcorn, tofu, fu, kimchi, mushrooms,pakchoi, bamboo shoot and seaweed.
One popular topping is Ajitsuke tamago or seasoned egg. Why not make your ramen look even more authentic and make a vegan version.

You will need a silicone egg mould


To make the egg white.

1 and a half cups of cashew milk

3 tsp agar agar powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground or finely crushed kala namak ( Himalayan black salt ) this is what’s going to give your egg an egg flavour. This salt actually has many important minerals like iron, calcium and magnesium.

Pour the cashew milk into a blender, add black salt and agar agar and blend to combine. Pour into a pan and heat stirring continuously until it almost comes to a boil. Take off the heat and pour into your mould. Place this in the fridge to set. Wash out your blender.

Yolk

Emty a can of chickpeas but retain the water that’s  inside.

Add to your blender

1/2 cup of canned chick peas that have been warmed slightly so they are soft.
1/4 cup of aquafaba (the water in the check peas)

1/4 teaspoon of normal salt.
1/2 teaspoons of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast

Blend and pour into a bowl add 2 tablespoons of melted coconut butter like no odour tiana or a no odour oil like rapeseed. Mix

Take out your eggs from the fridge and gently pop them out of the mould. With a melon baller scoop out some of the white and spoon in some of the yolk mixture. I like to sprinkle a little powdered black salt on the top before serving. You can store the eggs in an air tight container in the fridge and they also freeze so you can put them in the freezer and take them out to thaw on the day you need them.

Making these are just a bit of fun and are more for aesthetics than the taste of a real egg. I also tried putting them in the microwave and they warm up great and makes the egg yolk runny. Have fun.

 

 

 

Blog

Japanese Micro Season 8 小満 Shōman (Lesser ripening)

小満 Shōman (Lesser ripening)
May 21–25 蚕起食桑 Kaiko okite kuwa o hamu Silkworms start feasting on mulberry leaves

May 26–30 紅花栄 Benibana sakau Safflowers bloom

May 31–June 5 麦秋至 Mugi no toki itaru Wheat ripens and is harvested

The summer heat is starting to be felt now as temperatures rise in Japan. There is a vibrant spurt of growth in the fields.
Safflowers blooms are picked to make natural  textile dyes ranging from yellow to red in colour.

Towards the end of this micro season the wheat is harvested. People often forget that wheat is important in Japanese cooking because rice takes the forefront. However we must remember that noodles are made from wheat so we would have no ramen, somen, or udon without it. Also we have the barley to make barley miso or barley tea known as mugi cha, I particularly like this one by Sabo it is an organic roasted  barley that is loose instead of in a teabag form.


Of course beer is very popular in the hot summers of Japan with Asahi, Ebisu, Kirin, and Sapporo beer springing to mind. Do you have a favourite Japanese beer brand ?
As the temperatures start to rise cold noodles are enjoyed why not make Hiyashi Chuka a dish of cold ramen with various toppings and a dressing. It’s nice to choose refreshing vegetables for your ramen like cucumber and tomato, bell peppers and sweetcorn maybe. Then a dressing made with soy sauce and vinegar. I have a recipe on my pages with a lovely refreshing dressing. You could also make Tsukemen or dipping ramen. Ramen is dipped into a hot soup. Somen noodles are very much a favourite of summer in Japan

The noodles are very fine and are normally served chilled with ice and condiments for dipping and serving. Again I have a recipe on my pages for somen dishes.
I hope that over the summer you can try making a chilled noodle dish for yourself.

Autumn Food, Blog, Spring Food, Summer Food, Winter Food

Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories Season 2 Episode 8 Curry Ramen

I have been loving watching Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories, about a diner in the night life district of Shinjuku Tokyo called Meshiya, open from midnight to 7am. The owner the customers call Master, maybe asked to make food that the customer has a special relationship with. It may remind them of someone, a feeling or home. I’m sure any of us that have been to Japan can relate to this. Myself included, this was why I started making Japanese food in the first place. There is something comforting about a bowl of ramen but when asked to make this particular one, Master and the others in the diner find it quite unusual. Ramen+curry+cheese. It’s actually a girl Hinano who asks for the cheese on top. I decided I wanted to try to recreate this Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories recipe for myself.

The master used shio ramen or salt ramen but I used the packet that came with my vegan ramen which was umami rich.

The master also used meat in his curry, if I’d of had maitake mushrooms I think I would of used them in this meal but I didn’t have them so I just made the traditional curry from potato, carrot and onion.
I first roughly peeled and chopped half an onion, a carrot and a potato this was enough for two portions of curry. Then peel and grate finely one apple.

Sauté them in some oil, if you have maitake then add it here also. Then add kombu dashi enough to cover the vegetables. Kombu dashi can be made by soaking a piece of kombu kelp over night in water or you can simmer the kombu for ten minutes in water if you have not soaked it over night.
Then add a tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce, a tablespoon of tomato ketchup, a tablespoon of mirin and a dashi of vegan Worcestershire sauce. Let this simmer until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart, add a little more dashi when simmering if needed. Then get some of the broth with a ladle and put it in a bowl add to this half a block of curry roux cubes and dissolve, then add this to your curry, stirring as it thicken. I also added a tablespoon of S&B Japanese curry spice. You can add this also if you have it.

Make your ramen noodles as instructed. Using the broth that your ramen has been cooked in with the sachet of seasoning  add to a bowl some ramen broth and the cooked ramen noodles. Then add your curry. Top with vegan cheese, I used daiya mozzarella and I added a sprinkle of parsley for colour. I must say I have never added cheese before but the three together made the most delicious meal. I hope you try it out.

Autumn Food, Blog, Summer Food

Tsukemen ( dipping ramen )

Do you know Tsukemen?

つけ麺 /dipping ramen

This is a popular summer dish in Japan when the weather gets hot and humid. As it’s turning cooler in the UK now I thought it might be nice to make this dish as one final farewell summer Japanese meal.

Cold ramen noodles are served separately with a hot dipping soup. Pick up a few noodles and dip into the soup. 

I had a can of organic tomato and basil soup which I used as one dipping broth adding some chilli oil for extra spice and then some left over Kuri pumpkin soup and I used @ohsawa_japan_group ramen. 

Served with some roasted vegetables ( purple sweet potato,daikon,carrot,lotus root and eggplant. Also a shaved fennel salad with salad leaves.  For the salad I made a sesame/miso dressing. 

Autumn Food, Winter Food

Soy Milk Miso Ramen

This creamy ramen dish feels so decadent but is so quick and simple to make. First you will need dashi stock . Soak a piece of kombu and one dried shiitake in water over night then remove . Now prep your vegetables you can use what ever you like. I also pan seared some tofu and mushrooms . Now add some grated ginger to a pan with some toasted sesame oil and fry for a minute then add Kombu Dashi about 1 cup heat on a low heat. Now add 1 tablespoon each of mirin and soy sauce or tamari if gluten free and two heaped teaspoons of white miso paste and 1 cup of soy milk. Stir on a low heat to dissolve the miso.

Cook your ramen noodles these take just a few mins . Add these to a bowl and pour over your miso soy milk broth. I topped mine with pan seared tofu and maitake mushrooms, steamed komatsuna,baby corn,red onion and bean sprouts. Drizzle with some chilli oil for extra spice and add some toasted sesame seeds.

Perfect when you don’t have much time to cook but want a satisfying meal .

 

Summer Food

Hiyashi Chuka ( Cold Ramen )

The weather started to warm up to day so I thought I would make a popular summer dish in japan Hiyashi Chuka ramen. A dish consisting of chilled ramen with various cold toppings and a tare sauce or sesame dressing. In the Kansai region it is known as Reimen. In Hokkaido Hiyashi Ramen. You can pile on to your ramen what ever toppings you like . Cucumber,lettuce,tomato,bell pepper etc. If you eat meat or fish you could add chicken, strips of egg or ham or shrimp. Mine is of course totally vegan.

First prepare your sesame dressing.

x3 tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce

x2 tablespoon brown rice vinegar

x1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 a teaspoon of sugar

x1 teaspoon of ginger juice

1/2 teaspoon of chilli oil

1/2 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds

whisk and chill well

( you could also make your dressing more citrus by adding a tablespoon of yuzu juice or more sesame by adding tahini.)

Cook your ramen and drain,rinse and then soak in ice water. Prepare your toppings. Then drain your ramen and plate . Finally pour over your chilled dressing.

I like to called this dish Rainbow ramen Bowl

 

Blog, Winter Food

Tomato Ramen

Nothing better than a  hot comforting bowl of tomato ramen for dinner to night on a cold night and so simple to make .

All I use is a tomato soup . ( I like to use an organic one from Abel & Cole ) be careful when buying tomato soups check the ingredients as many contain milk.

cook your ramen and soup in separate pans choose your choice of topping here you can see I used sweet corn,bean sprouts,chopped onion and  (bok choy,pak choi ) .

Add your soup to the bowl and top with ramen and vegetables

super easy .
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