Japanese Hamburg Steak

(serves 4)
The Hamburg Steak is the predecessor of the hamburger, before it was turned into a humble sandwich. That’s not to say the Hamburg Steak is simply a hamburger without a bun, for it has many more ingredients, for instance a gravy. In this sense you can think of the Hamburg Steak as a cross between a Salisbury Steak and Bangers & Mash. The city that the most people eat Hamburg steak is not Hamburg as you might expect, but Tokyo; in Japan every family restaurant will serve Hanbagu Steakey and it is cooked at home by every family. My recipe is based this delicious Japanese version of the Hamburg Steak. 

Ingredients

1. Minced Beef (500g)
2. Egg (1)
3. Shallots (5)
4. Milk (0.5 cup)
5. Bread (2 slices)
6. Onion (1)
7. Oxo Beef cube (1)
8. Mustard
9. Worcestershire Sauce
10. Miso
11. Sherry
12. Soya Sauce
13. Butter

Preparation

 

1. Leave 2 slices of bread exposed in the fridge overnight to dry out.
2. Toast the bread on very low heat for 15 minutes to make them ultra crispy and then smash the bread with a mallet into crumbs (in a plastic bag).
3. Peel and cut 5 shallots in half and julienne them into very thin slices. Peel and cut one onion in half and slice it into thick half rings. If the outmost layer of the onion is thin, you should discard it as it will get burnt before the rest of the onion softens.
4. Pan fry the shallot slices in 3T of oil on a low flame until you notice a few pieces have turned brown (see picture). Turn off the heat and allow to cool (the shallots will darken further). After some time spoon the shallots and oil into a mixing bowl.
5. Add one egg, 1/2 a cup of milk, 1T Worcestershire sauce, 1t soya sauce, 1t mustard, 1t salt to the mixing bowl and mix well. Stir in the bread crumbs. Next, add the ground beef followed by a sprinkle of 1t white pepper and fold until you get a homogenous mixture. Leave the beef to stand. Do not be concerned if there are any pieces of bread crumb visible.
6. In the same pan, sauté the onion slices on low heat in 3T of oil until the onion begins to darken.
7. Dissolve 1 Oxo beef cube and 1t of miso in 1 cup of boiling water. Add the stock to the pan with the onions. Follow up with 1T sherry, 1t sugar, 1t mustard and simmer until most of the water has boiled off and you are left with an onion gravy. Pour the onion gravy into a gravy boat or other vessel.
8. Separate the ground beef into 4 equal parts with the end of a fork or spoon. Shape each portion into a ball in your hands, which you then flatten into a thick (1 – 1.5 inch) patty.
9. Add oil to the pan (which you have cleaned) and heat up the pan. When the oil is sizzling hot, place the beef patties into the pan.
10. Pan fry the beef patties for 6 minutes flipping them every minute or so. After the 6 minutes add 1/3 cup of water and cover – allow the beef to steam for a minute.
11. Remove the cover and add a large knob of butter. Flip the hamburgs one last time. Turn up the heat. When most of the water has boiled off, plate the hamburgs and pour the pan’s residual liquid into the onion gravy. Spoon the gravy over the beef patties to complete your hamburg steak.

 Notes

• The staple typically served with Hamburg Steak is steamed white rice or mashed potatoes, rarely fries and never bread.
• Like other steaks, there will usually also be an assortment of cooked vegetables like carrots, egg plant, tomatoes or string beans. Many of these can be cooked together with the beef in the pan so plan accordingly. A sunny side up fried egg is also typical.
• If you don’t like the idea of an onion gravy, Hamburg Steak is also be served with a variety of other sauces, like black pepper sauce, mushroom sauce or demi-glace sauce.
• For the ‘cheeseburger’ version of the Hamburg, you don’t place a slice of cheese on the meat, but insert a block of cheese in the middle of the raw burger.  
• The Hamburg Steak is supposed to be eaten well done, so don’t try to make them ‘medium’. In Japan they sometimes mix some minced pork with the beef and you definitely want to eat pork fully cooked. Even fully cooked the meat will remain tender and juicy because of the non-meat ingredients and the steaming, so there is no need to worry about your ‘burger’ becoming tough and hard unless you really overcook it a lot.
• Do not substitute onion bits for the shallots. It won’t impart the right flavour to the beef. 

 

Know Your Cake

This is my 20 page guide to cakes from around the world. The countries these cakes, pastries, pies and desserts come from include France of course, and Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Japan and America.  With it you’ll be able to name your cake and eat it too. With the guide they’ll be no more not knowing the name of the cake you just ate or wondering how you are ever going to order it again.  

Sample of one of the pages

The PDF was actually made for another of my blogs, but since it is related to food I thought it would fit right in here. Don’t expect anything too fancy or detailed; a lot of it is just cut and paste from here and there on the internet, but  it’s put together everything in one place and does the job.

Download PDF of  Kobi’s Cake Guide version 2.3

 

Goma Style Cold Ramen (Hiyashi Chuka)

(serves 2-3)
Cold Ramen or Hiyashi Chuka was traditionally served in summer as a refreshing chilled alternative to hot Ramen in the days before air-conditioning became commonplace and is still served seasonally in some places. Thus all the ingredients of Hiyashi Chuka, cucumber, ham, omelette and imitation crab sticks and even the Ramen itself are served cold. This Goma variety is served in a creamy sesame sauce and is great for lunch on a hot day. If you love the taste of peanut butter, you are definitely a fan of Goma Hiyashi Chuka, even if you don’t know it yet.     

Ingredients

1. Ramen (2 servings)
2. Tahini
3. Ham (100g)
4. Imitation Crab Sticks (100g)
5. Cucumber (1/2)
6. Eggs (2)
7. Sesame Oil
8. Sesame Seeds (black or white)
9. Soya Sauce
10. Rice Vinegar
11. Mirin
12. Hon Dashi Granules

Early Preparation 

1. If you keep your Tahini in the fridge, take it out ahead of time so it has a chance to warm up.
2. Dissolve 1t of Hon Dashi granules in 1/3 cup of warm water to make some stock.
3. Beat 2 eggs with 1/3 of the stock, 1T of Mirin and 1 heaped t of sugar. Cook an omelette with the egg mixture, using low heat to make sure it doesn’t get burnt. Cut the omelette into strips that are about 1/8 of an inch wide and place the egg strips in the fridge, covered in cling film.
4. Cut the ham into long strips matching the egg. Do the same with the crab sticks. Also put them in the fridge in cling film.
5. Julienne half a cucumber into long thin pieces. They must be as thin as the noodles so they don’t remain rigid. Ideally you’d use a mandolin slicer for the cucumber as it is difficult to cut the cucumber sufficiently thin by hand. Keep the julienned cucumber in the fridge as well.
6. If you intend to make your Hiyashi Chuka presentable keep all the toppings separate in the fridge. They should also all be of the same length.
7. Now for the sauce.  Mix 3 heaped t of Tahini with 2T sesame oil, 1T rice vinegar, 1T Mirin, 1t soya sauce in a bowl. Use the back of a tea spoon in a circular motion to integrate the tahini into an emulsion.
8. Dissolve 1t sugar in the remaining stock. Stir the stock slowly into the emulsion to thin it down into a sauce and then place the sauce in the fridge. It should thicken again once it becomes cold.

When You Are Ready To Serve

1. Boil the ramen. When the noodles are done (it’s best to judge by tasting) rinse them immediately with running cold tap water in a colander. You’ll need to move the ramen around with your hands as the bottom portion will tend to stay warm. Use iced water if it is a warm day and your tap water is not cold.
2. Leave the colander to drain for a short while and then divide the ramen onto plates. Pour the sauce evenly into the noodles and then arrange the toppings over the noodles.
3. Finally sprinkle each plate with some sesame seeds and serve.

Notes

• Gomadare means Sesame Paste Sauce, which is where the ‘Goma’ in Goma Hiyashi Chuka comes from. Plain Hiyashi Chuka refers to original cold ramen that is served in a vinegary soya sauce.
• Hiyashi means chilled, which makes sense but Chuka means Chinese Style, which is strange since this dish was invented in Japan. My guess is that the closest thing Cold Ramen resembled when it first came out was Chinese tossed noodles (i.e. Lo Mein) and that’s how Chuka came into the picture.   
• The egg and cucumber are standard ingredients for Hiyashi Chuka, but the strips of meat are allowed to vary. You can also have more than 4 toppings. Some common alternatives/additions are roast chicken, Chashu pork, fish cake, corn and tomato.
• The sweet omelette is essentially made according my Tamagoyaki Recipe. You can check it out if your are interested in the finer details.
• The Ramen that you use should be of the yellow wavy type. If you can’t find ramen pasta is a viable alternative. In Japanese-western buffets you sometimes see a cold pasta version of Goma Hiyashi Chuka in the appetizer section. And of course you could try making ramen from spaghetti. Whatever noodle you end up using, make sure its a type of noodle that doesn’t get mushy easily – i.e. no instant noodles.
• If you have no Hon Dashi, you can substitute in 1/3 cup of any kind of stock you fancy, but it should be salted.
• If you have no Mirin you can boil 4T Sake with a dab of maple syrup down to 2T to make your own substitute.
• If you have no rice vinegar, any kind of white vinegar should do.

 

Easy Tamagoyaki (Stacking Method)

(serves 4)
Tamagoyaki is the sweet omelette in the shape of a brick that you find on a Sushi platter. At home you can serve it as an amuse-bouche or a side dish. Tamagoyaki only requires a few simple ingredients but the typical method of making them can be technically demanding, requiring the rolling of multiple omelettes into a square Swiss roll on a hot pan before they fully cook. This takes lots of practice to get right as you have to work deftly. Fortunately there is an easier way for the novice that results in a perfect Tamagoyaki the first time and every time, the Stacking Method.      

Ingredients

1. Eggs (4)
2. Mirin
3. Hon Dashi
4. Sugar
5. Nori (Dried Seaweed Sheet) – optional

see notes below for alternatives to
Hon Dashi and Mirin

Preparation 

1. In a large bowl, dissolve 1T of sugar and 1 flat t of Hon Dashi granules in 1/4 cup of warm water.
2. Add 4 eggs and 2T of Mirin to the bowl and beat the mixture until it becomes a fairly uniform yellow colour.
3. Use a small pan, a pan that has a flat bottom. Place it on very low heat. Add a few drops of oil and spread it around the pan.
4. Ladle into the pan enough egg mixture to cover the whole pan without you having to tilt it. If the egg bubbles, splutters or gets cooked instantly, then pan is too hot. When the egg is almost cooked, flip the slice over to cook the other side. Next, flip the omelette sheet onto a plate and leave the pan off the fire for the time being. The omelette should be of the same thickness throughout, which is why the pan needs to be flat.
5. Add a new ladle of egg mixture to the pan and put it back atop the flame. When the egg is almost fully cooked and only a thin film of raw egg is left on top, remove the pan from the fire. Using the back of a spoon spread the remaining raw egg evenly over the entire surface of the omelette sheet.
6. Stack the first omelette sheet onto the one in the pan and return the pan to the fire. Press down with a flat spatula to ensure the raw egg is evenly distributed and after about ten seconds when the two sheets have fused into one, flip them back onto the plate.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 adding more layers until almost all the raw egg mixture is used up and you end up with a block of Tamagoyaki as shown here. During the whole process add oil as required.
8. Cut the block exactly into two halves. Smear a thin film of the remaining raw egg mixture on the top of one half-block and place the other half-block back in the pan, again on low heat. Next, position the hot block onto the other block with the cut ends on the same side and press down firmly. The idea is to let the hot egg cook the film of raw egg to cement the two blocks together.
9. Allow the new tall block to cool and then wrap it in cling film. Sandwich it between two plates in the fridge. When the Tamagoyaki is cold, pad it dry with some kitchen towels, trim away the uneven bits at the edges and then cut the block into mini-bricks.
10. Wrap each brick with a strip of dried Nori seaweed. The Nori should overlap at the bottom and a dab of water will suffice to join the two ends. This allows your guests to eat their Tamagoyaki with their bare hands if they wish.

Notes

• Ideally you should use a Makiyakinabe pan. This is a pan that has three vertical sides and is rectangular in shape, as shown here. Modern ones are now made of non-stick material. Your next best alternative is one of those small pans for frying one egg at a time.
• You definitely want to avoid burning the egg. A slightly browned patches are ok, but no more than that. You can notice in the top picture there is a brown line running along my Tamagoyaki, which is what will happen if your fire is too strong. Using a low flame may not be enough. Move the pan away from the fire often and make frequent use of the residual heat to cook the egg. Also, only pour in the raw egg mixture after removing the pan from the fire. Patience wins the day.
• You also want to cook the egg evenly. To do this move the pan around so the fire is not concentrated on one spot for too long. This also prevents the egg from getting burnt.
• You can skip step 8 depending on how big your pan is, how many Tamagoyaki bricks you want to end up with and how tall you’d like them to be.
• If you have no Hon Dashi, you can substitute in 1/4 cup of any kind of (salted) stock you fancy.
• If you have no Mirin you can boil 4T Sake with a dab of maple syrup down to 2T to make your own substitute.
• If you are into Japanese egg recipes, two others I have on this site are: Steamed Chawanmushi and Runny Yolk Eggs for Ramen.

 

Rich White Chicken Ramen

(serves 3)
This is a relatively easy way to make an impressive rich chicken stock for Ramen, on par with those in Ramen restaurants. You won’t need to grind bones and slave over the simmering stock for hours, simply by using soy milk as the secret ingredient. A lazy man’s Torikotsu Ramen if you will. The Chicken Chashu and Caramelized Leek used in this recipe give this Ramen its own character.   

Ingredients 

1. Chicken Wings (8)
2. Chicken Breast (2 halves)
3. Ramen Noodles (3 servings)
4. Bacon (3 slices)
5. Soy Milk (1.5 cups)
6. Eggs (3)
7. Leek (1)
8. Hon Dashi
9. Soya Sauce
10. Chicken Stock Cube (1)
11. Sesame Oil
12. Sesame Seeds
13. Coriander Seed Powder

The Night Before 

1. Rinse the wings, they must be whole, not just the mid-joint. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Place the wings into the boiling water together with 3 slices of bacon.
2. Cut the leek into half. It should be at least 1 inch in diameter, or else use more than 1 leek to compensate. Place the top half with the leafy portion into the pot and retain the lower half for later use. Keep the pot on a very low simmer for an hour and then leave covered overnight.
3. Brine the 2 pieces of chicken breasts in a solution of 4T salt and 4t soft brown sugar dissolved in 4 cups of cold water. Make sure all the meat is submerged and keep them in the fridge overnight. (refer to the link in the notes below if you haven’t done this before)
4. Boil some water in a different pot and place 3 eggs in the boiling water for 7 minutes and then straight into iced water. This is to get the yolks runny but the whites cooked, the so-called Ajitama style egg. Shell the eggs carefully and soak them in a solution of 1T of soya sauce and 0.5t of soft brown sugar in 1 cup of water. Keep them in the fridge overnight as well. (again refer to the link in the notes if you haven’t done this before)

The Next Day

1. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer again. Boil until the volume is reduced to about 3 cups. In the meanwhile…
2. Rinse the brined chicken breasts thoroughly and marinate in 2T sesame oil, 1t Chinese Wine, 1t coriander seed powder and 2T sesame seeds.
3. Take the boiled eggs out of the fridge and allow them to warm to room temperature.
4. Julienne the remaining half of the leek. Pan fry the leek in 4T of oil until they are light brown. The leek should continue to darken for a while after your turn off the fire.
5. Pour the stock through a strainer to remove any sediment, discard all the solids. Pour the filtered stock back into the pot. Add 1 chicken stock cube, 2t of Hon Dashi and 0.5t of sugar, followed by 1.5 cups of soya milk. Bring to a simmer again.
6. Remove and reserve half the crispy leek from the pan for later use as garnishing. Add some of your chicken soup to the pan with the other half of the crispy leek, stir and pour everything back into the soup pot.
7. Arrange the sesame seeds in the marinade onto the chicken breasts like a crust. In a toaster oven, cook the chicken breasts for 10 minutes at 150oC followed by another 10 min at 200oC. Alternatively you can roast them for about 13 minutes in a regular oven preheated to 180oC. In either case the chicken is done when it begins to shrink. Check visually to make sure you don’t over cook.
8. Allow the breasts to rest and when at room temperature slice them as shown below. Deglaze the baking tray with some of your chicken soup and pour everything back into the soup pot.
9. When the soup has been reduced to 3 cups again, skim off any film that has formed on the surface and it is ready for use. Check for taste and add a bit of water or salt as needed; remember that Ramen soup has to be more salty than regular soup.
10. Cook the raw noodles in a separate pot of boiling water. Strain the noodles and separate them into 3 large bowls. Add boiling soup and top off with the chicken slices, the crispy leek and the eggs sliced in half.

Notes

• If your chicken breast came with the breast bone, cut this out carefully and boil it with the wings. In fact any chicken bones you have on hand can be added to the stock pot. They will increase the gelatin content of your stock. 
• Your soya milk should not be of the sweetened variety. It’s the type some people add to their coffee in place of creamer.
•  If you are unfamiliar with brining, you can refer to this page (but ignoring the poaching part).
• If you are unfamiliar with making runny yolk eggs, you can refer to this page (but ignoring the optional part).
• Use whatever type of noodles you like but if you want to be authentic and can’t find real raw ramen noodles, you can make ramen noodles out of spaghetti following the procedure from this page.

 

Making Ramen Noodles from Spaghetti

(serves 3, scalable to however many)
You can change Spaghetti into Ramen noodles. This faux Ramen derived from pasta has got the bouncy texture of and a similar taste / aftertaste to real Ramen noodles. The special ingredient for making Ramen noodles is Kansui, an alkaline mineral water.  What we are going to do here is use Bicarbonate of Soda to duplicate the alkaline effect. Boiling the pasta in alkaline water allows it to absorb more water than usual without getting soggy. Granted the result is not as perfect as fresh Ramen, but it’s close enough if you can’t buy authentic raw ramen near where you live. 

Ingredients

1. Spaghetti (250g)
2. Bicarbonate of Soda
3. Vinegar (white)

Please prepare the soup, meat, toppings etc. ahead of time and have them ready before your begin making your Ramen.

Preparation 

1. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Separately boil some additional water in a kettle for later use.
2. Add 2 flat t of Bicarbonate of Soda to the pot. This will increase the pH of the water to the necessary alkalinity.
3. Boil the spaghetti in the pot as per normal. After a while you will notice a few things that are different from when you normally cook pasta:
4. Firstly the water will really foam up as the Bicarbonate reacts with the starch in the pasta. I included a photo of the reaction so you won’t be shocked when it happens. Anyway, this is why you need a larger pot than usual.
5. Secondly, the water will become a bit slimy or gooey. This is normal, the same thing happens when you are boiling fresh raw ramen.
6. Finally, as the pasta cooks it will turn into a deeper shade of yellow than usual, to the colour of ramen.
7. When the noodles are done they will be a bit thicker than you’d normally expect of pasta because more water has been absorbed. For your first time it’s better to test the noodles by bite rather than relying on sight. You want the noodles to be just fully cooked, not al dente.
8. When the noodles are cooked, immediately add 6T of a white type of vinegar, like rice or malt vinegar, into the water. Lemon juice should work too. Give the pot a good stir, you will get a second round of foaming as the bicarbonate is neutralized. This will get rid of the bitter taste.
9. Pour the contents of the pot into a strainer and then give the ramen a good rinse with some very hot water from the kettle.
10. Your Ramen is now ready for consumption.

Notes

• I wish I came up with this great idea but the credit belongs elsewhere. I came across it in a Japanese website.
• If you have a choice, buy the smallest guage spaghetti that you can find, i.e. the one with the smaller n number. This will maximize the surface area to volume ratio. In fact Spaghettini might be even better, but I hardly ever see any in supermarkets. I’ve also tried capelli (angel hair), but I found it to be too thin.
• There is no need to add oil to the pot as the bicarbonate reaction stops the pasta from sticking together. Besides, you don’t want oil to coat the pasta and inhibit the alkali from getting into the pasta..
• There is no need to add salt to the pot as sodium bicarbonate when neutralized becomes a type of salt.
• What about the rest of the Ramen? Not to worry, my site now has recipes for all the components of Ramen.
  1. try the Soup Recipe from here
  2. try the Chashu Pork Recipe from here
  3. try the Ajitama Egg Recipe from here

 

Oven-Steamed Salmon in Miso

(serves 2)
Here we have a simple no fuss way to cook salmon by wrapping it in foil and steaming it in its own juices in the oven. Miso with its strong distinct flavor is one of the best ways to marinate meats which don’t absorb flavor easily, such as fish. Steaming is one of the best ways to cook salmon fillets as you don’t need to overcook the outside to ensure the middle is done. Put the two together and you have the trappings of a great salmon recipe. This recipe is also great for BBQ and toaster oven friendly as well.   

Ingredients

1. Salmon (Belly Fillet, 400g)
2. Coriander (chopped, 1 cup)
3. Miso
4. Minced Garlic
5. Sesame Oil (1/4 cup)
6. Honey
7. Cointreau

Preparation 

1. Rinse and pat your salmon fillet dry with a kitchen towel. We want the belly cut (the type without a bone in the middle).
2. Prepare 1 cup of chopped coriander. I usually just hold a bunch in hand and snip away with scissors from the top. We only want the leafy portion.
3. Mix 1T of miso, 1T minced garlic, 1T Honey, 1T Cointreau and 1/2 t pepper with 1/4 cup sesame oil. When the mixture is even, mix in the chopped coriander.
4. Place a large piece of foil on a plate. You can see from the photo it is the same plate the salmon is served on later. Spoon one third of the miso coriander mixture onto the foil as a base for your salmon.
5. Position the salmon on the base. If you look carefully at the right side of the upper picture (you can click on photo to zoom in), I cut off the thinner tip of the fillet and stacked it back on in a way to make the thickness of the salmon even, like a brick.
6. Spoon on the rest of the marinade, making sure some of the coriander adheres to the side. Wrap up the foil by rolling the long edges of the foil together, then crumpling in the two ends.
7. Place the foil parcel in the fridge. You can cure the salmon overnight if you wish. The minimum curing time is 2 hours in the fridge plus one hour to warm up to room temperature.
8. Preheat your oven to 180^oC (350^oF). Put the foil parcel in and turn the temperature down to 150^oC (300^oF). Bake for 8 minutes, 9 if you insist on having your salmon 100% cooked.
9. Allow the parcel to rest for a further 5 min once removed from the oven. Then cut open and serve.

Notes

• One of the purposes of  the coriander is to allow the marinade to adhere to the salmon instead of pooling at the bottom of the foil parcel. If you don’t like coriander, you will need to replace it with Italian parsley or something similar instead of just skipping it altogether.
• For more information on Miso, refer to this page. 
• If you are into steamed fish, have a look at my Cantonese style Steamed Snapper which uses the pan method.

 

Japanese Wafu-Style Orzo

(serves 3)
How does one cook a light pasta that still tastes good? For the answer we have to look not to Italy, but to the Far East where the Japanese have developed Wafu Cuisine, a style incorporating the best of Japanese and Western cooking. Miraculously, my Wafu Pasta recipe is not based on cream, cheese or oil, yet it’s still delicious and satiating. You will find this Italy meets Japan recipe great for the formal dinner table but also perfect for those times when you just want to have dinner on the sofa.       

Ingredients

1. Scallops (12=200g)
2. Shaved Ham (100g)
3. Mushrooms (100g)
4. Corn (1 ear)
5. Scallion (4 sprigs)
6. Orzo a.k.a. Risoni (200g)
7. Miso
8. Butter
9. Sesame Oil
10. Sherry

Preparation 

1. Slice each scallop into 3 discs. Marinate them in a mixture of 1T of sesame oil and a flat 0.5t of salt.
2. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices. Any kind of brown or white mushrooms will do. If they are large, cut them in half before slicing.
3. Julienne the bottom 1/4 (white) of the scallion into one bowl and the second 1/4 (green) into a separate bowl. Discard the remaining tips.
4. Cut the ham into small pieces. Brine soaked pre-sliced ham, the type that is sold for sandwiches, has the texture best suited for the Wafu style.
5. Shave the corn kernels into a bowl. Retail the cob.
6. Fry the white scallion bits with1T of sesame oil in a pan. When the scallion begins to brown, add the shaved ham. Continue to stir fry for a minute. Mix 1 heaped t of miso with 1T sherry and add this to the pan followed by 1 cup of water. You now have a ham and scallion miso soup base.
7. While the mixture is simmering, rinse 200g or orzo in boiling water and then add the orzo to the pan, followed by the corn kernels and mushroom. Scrape the cob with the back of a knife blade over the pan. Leave uncovered on a low simmer.
8. In the meanwhile melt a large knob of butter in a second pan over high heat. When the butter browns add the scallops. Stir fry for thirty seconds and then turn off the heat. Immediately add a second large knob of butter to cool the pan.
9. When the liquid in the first pan thickens, test the texture of the orzo. If it is still hard, add 1/4 cup of hot water and continue simmering. Repeat until the orzo is just right, then pour the scallops and butter into the pan and mix well.
10. Spoon the orzo into your serving dishes. Dust with black pepper and garnish with the green scallion bits.

Notes

• I suppose I should start off by explaining what the Japanese Wafu-style is. It translates as ‘Winds in Harmony’ and refers to the way the Japanese prepare Western dishes to suit local tastes. Its a style of cooking that developed gradually after WWII and has now become immensely popular in family restaurants in Japan. You could go as far as to say it is a type of fusion cuisine. Salad dressing containing soya sauce, yozu or sesame oil and mayonnaise containing wasabi are both examples of Wafu.   
• One important aspect of Wafu cooking is it tends to be balanced with delicate flavours. If you want to stay true to the Wafu style, stay away from strong tasting ingredients like garlic, olive oil, bacon, blue cheese. A little cream is ok, but not too much. 
• This is quite a flexible recipe and you can substitute a number of ingredients to create many different varieties of the pasta. You could for example swap the corn for baby asparagus (you might want to add a bit of sugar though), the shaved ham for smoked turkey or the scallop for clams.
• The prime flavour for the sauce is Miso. For more information on Miso, refer to this page. 

 

Singapore-style Prawn Ramen

(serves 5)
Singapore’s Hokkien Prawn Noodles is a favourite of mine, and so is the Shio-Ramen of Hakodate in Japan. In fact they can be considered distant cousins. Both these types of noodles use seafood, pork and salt to flavour their soup so I thought why not try a fusion combination of the two styles. The good thing about prawn stock is you don’t have to boil it for hours and hours for perfection, for extracting the full rich flavour of prawns is a relatively simple process. This makes this Ramen recipe a great option for home cooking.   

Ingredients

1. Large prawns (8=600g)
2. Fish Cake (400g)
3. Noodles or Ramen (5 servings)
4. Shallots (8)
5. Bean sprouts (2 cups)
6. Garlic (1.5 bulbs)
7. Coriander (100g)
8. Chinese Wine
9. Chicken Stock Cube (2)

Please note: the ingredients for Chashu Pork must also be procured but they are not listed above. Refer to the link just below.

Preparation 

1. The night before you have to oven-stew the Chashu Pork according to this recipe. Use only 2T instead of 1/4 cup of soya sauce but otherwise follow the recipe faithfully. Leave the Pork to soak overnight in the cooling oven and the following morning, place the meat(wrapped in clear film) and stewing liquid separately into the fridge.
2. On the day itself, julienne the shallots and put the peeled cloves of 1 bulb of garlic through a press. Fry them together in a pan on low heat in 1/4 cup of oil until they are slightly caramelized. Strain the oil into a bowl and then pour the oil back into the pan, leaving the fried material on the strainer.
3. Cut the heads off the prawns. Heat up the pan again and stir fry the heads in it. When the heads are red, pour in 3T of Chinese wine. Then add  1 cup of water. Cut the heads up with a pair of scissors while they are in the pan and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Strain the liquid into a large pot and add a fresh cup of water (without wine this time) to the pan. Bring to a boil again, then simmer for 5 minutes, then strain the liquid into the pot again. Repeat for a third time. This is the secret to a rich bright red prawn broth, the hallmark of a quality Singapore Prawn Noodle. Discard what is left of the mashed prawn heads.
5. Shell and devein the prawn bodies. Add as much water as you need so that you end up with five bowls of broth. Bring the broth to a boil and place the prawns into the pot and cook them until they curl up. This will not take too long. Remove the prawns into a bowl and allow them to cool. Reduce the heat to a low simmer.
6. Julienne the top half of your coriander. Tie the stems into a knot and throw them into the pot of broth. Add half of the fried shallot garlic mixture to the pot. Add half the chopped coriander as well. Retain the remaining coriander and fried garlic/shallot as condiments.
7. Add most of the stewing liquid from the pork into the pot followed by 1t of sugar and 2 chicken cubes. Stir and then add salt 1t at a time until the taste is right. Broth that is served with noodles has to be saltier than plain broth, remember this as your are taste testing. Remove the coriander stems at this point.
8. Slice the pork, prawns and fishcake. Keep the sliced pork wet by drenching it with the remaining stewing liquid. Fishcake comes cooked so there is no need to cook it again. Keep the slices covered in the fridge.
9. Boil the bean sprouts in plain water with 1t of salt. When they are limp, drain the water and keep the bean sprouts into a bowl. You can reuse the pot for boiling the noodles.
10. To serve, boil your noodles in a separate pot until they are al dente. At the same time bring your broth to a boil. Divide the noodles into 5 large bowls. Arrange the bean sprouts and various meats over the noodles. For each bowl, pour boiling stock into the bowl and then drain the stock back into the boiling pot – this is to warm up everything. Add broth a second time and garnish with the condiments.

Notes

• Large prawns are quite expensive if bought fresh. It is ok to use frozen prawns. The size of the prawns is important, do not substitute with smaller prawns or the broth will be very weak (soup is not red).
• Most of the greyish stuff in the ‘spine’ of the prawn is roe. When deveining the prawn, you really only want to find and pull out the alimentary canal.
• Besides Ramen, you can use any type of Asian noodles you like, fresh or dried. Do not use pasta or instant noodles.
• I sometimes make chicken stock with chicken feet to add more body to the soup.
• For a more Japanese feel, instead of the stock cubes in step 7, you can use a heaping T of Miso. Japanese Prawn ramen usually has a generous topping of Sakura Shrimp. You can also try adding some to your noodles for that added wow factor. 

 

Japanese Dried Mixed Noodle Toppings

(serves multiple portions)
Dried Noodle Toppings are something you keep in the fridge and sprinkle over freshly cooked soup noodles to instantly transform a mundane bowl of noodles into a symphony of tastes and textures. The toppings are created from a mix of small dehydrated vegetable and seafood items which come back to life after a few seconds in hot soup. While great with instant noodles, they also go very well with oatmeal, congee or any kind of gruel. With Dried Toppings, you needn’t worry about cooking meat to go with your noodles ever again.    

Ingredients

1. Wakame (a.k.a. dried sea mustard)
   a delightful bouncy seaweed which is commonly found in miso soup. It has a mild taste and mainly serves to add the texture of seaweed to your noodles.
2. Nori (a.k.a. laver)
   a type of crispy seaweed which is processed into paper like sheets. You have probably come across them in sushi rolls. Nori practically falls apart when it gets wet but it does provide gives the flavour of seaweed that Wakame provides the texture of seaweed lacks.
3. Sakura (a.k.a. cherry shrimp)
   These give your noodles that occasional something crispy and tasty to munch into. They also give your broth an undertone of seafood flavour. You can find out more about sakura on this page.
4. Dried Shrimp Roe 
   These deepen the hint of seafood from the sakura. You can find out more about this item on this page.
5. Wheat Spirals
   This is a mainstay of Japanese noodles in clear soup. When hydrated, these spirals feel and taste a bit like a mini rolled up omelette. They also absorb the taste of the broth very well. These are made of gluten, so gluten-phobics be aware.
6. Dried Bean Curd
   These are small bits of bean curd which have been toasted till they are completely dry. They impart the balancing taste of bean curd to your soup.
7. Sesame Seeds
   These are a dry substitute for sesame oil. According to convention you should use white sesame if you are using whole seeds (nice crunch) and black sesame (flavours the soup) if you intend to mill them into powder.
8. Dried Scallion
   You can dry these out in an oven wrapped in foil or just buy them in a bottle. They add a hint of cooked onion to the soup.

Preparation 

1. Rather than give you the exact amounts of ingredients, I’ll refer you to the picture above with all the ingredients in the right proportions.
2. The two types of dried seaweed are required in larger amounts than the rest of the ingredients as you can see and they are essential for noodle toppings. All other ingredients are optional or substitutable with other dried items.
3. You basically just mix all the ingredients in a bowl and them store them in a zip-loc bag or air tight box in the fridge. All the ingredients are fully dehydrated so they will keep for a long time in the fridge. If any of your ingredients come with a pouch containing drying agents when you purchased them, you should throw these into the zip-loc/box to keep all the ingredients bone dry.
4. The amount suitable for a big bowl of noodles is whatever you can grab with three fingers. Do not use too much of the toppings or your noodles will get over powered. I usually put the toppings in the bowl before pouring in the noodles and soup (which would make them bottomings) so there is sufficient hot soup to hydrate them properly.

Notes

• Try not to substitute in too many items which have been preserved using salt. Otherwise, your noodles may become too salty.
• Use only small bits. Don’t substitute in dried items which are too large to rehydrate in a few seconds of boiling water. So things like whole dried mushrooms are out. 
• You can buy ready mixed noodle toppings as well, at any place which sells dried Japanese goods.