Daikon in Awase Dashi Consommé

(serves 4)
Dashi is the quintessential Japanese seafood consomme. As it is made using desiccated ingredients, there is no frothing or oil patches, and thus no need for repeated skimming, making it much less labour-intensive to prepare than its Western equivalents. In addition, using no fresh seafood means a seafood consomme without the smell of seafood. Daikon is a mild tasting root vegetable that absorbs the taste of whatever it is simmered in. Together Dashi and Daikon form the ultimate combination. The recipe is essentially two recipes, one to boil the Dashi itself, and a second to make a soup by infusing the Dashi into the Daikon. The result is a delicate, yet intense and flavourful consomme.  

Ingredients

1. Daikon (400g)
2. Konbu (20g)
3. Sakura  (1/2 Cup)
4. Small Mushrooms (1 Cup)
5. Hon Dashi
6. Sake
7. Raw Rice
8. Spring Onion

Glossary

1. Daikon = Japanese Radish
2. Konbu = Dried Kelp
3. Sakura = Dried Shrimp
4. Hon Dashi = Bonito (Tuna) Stock Granules

Preparation

       

1. Cut out a six inch long section of the Daikon (Japanese Radish). As the outer layer of the Daikon is deceptively fibrous, you will need to remove more than just the skin. Drag the peeler lengthwise along the daikon three times, over the same area.  Rotate a bit and repeat until you end up with a sort of octagonal cross section. Now peel down the ‘corners’ of the octagon until you end up with a roundish cross section.
2. Cut the Daikon cylinder into 4 equally sized discs. If you want you can bevel the edges (which I didn’t bother to) for a more professional appearance.
3. Add 1 heaped T of raw rice into a pot containing 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the Daikon pieces to the rice water and simmer for 15 minutes. (This will leech out the distinct grassy taste of the radish)
5. Rinse the Daikon in water and set aside for the time being.
6. After cleaning the pot, add 6 cups of cold boiled water to it. Place 20g of Konbu (Dried Kelp) in the water and very slowly heat up the water. Use the Konbu as is, do not wipe or rinse it, even if you notice some white specks.
7. When you see small bubbles forming at the bottom of the pot, remove and discard the Konbu immediately. (If the water gets any hotter, the stronger undesired tastes of the Kelp will be extracted into the stock as well)
8. Bring the stock to a boil and add 2 flat T of Hon Dashi granules, 1t of sugar and 1 cup of Sakura (Dried Shrimp).
9. Place the Daikon back in the pot and simmer under a low flame for one hour. Replenish the water as neccessary. Leave the Daikon to soak in the pot until you are ready to serve the consomme, for several hours if possible to maximize flavour infusion. If it’s overnight, you’ll need to refrigerate.
10. Slice enough mushrooms to get one cup of bite sized mushroom pieces.
11. When it’s time to serve the soup, bring the pot back to a simmer. Add the mushrooms and 1T of sake and simmer for five minutes. Garnish with finely julienned spring onion stalks.

Notes

• Type of Konbu
  There are a few varieties of dried kelp, and the one I typically use is called Hidaka Konbu (日高昆布). It is an affordable multipurpose kelp and the most commonly used variety. 20g is three blades cut in two. There are more expensive varieties such as Ma Konbu (真昆布) and Rishiri Konbu (利尻昆布) but Hidaka is good enough for home cooking. Don’t confuse Konbu with the edible Seaweed Sheets (Nori) used in sushi. I’ve included a photo so you know what Konbu looks like.  
• Type of Mushroom
  I usually use a mushroom called Hen of the Wood (a.k.a Maitake) which has a nice earth flavour, or Beech Mushroom (a.k.a. Shimeji). Morels would be suitable as well. Small mushrooms with a little bit of the stalk are the way to go. Mushrooms to avoid are the dark ones like portobello, which will make your consomme black and the less delicate varieties like abalone mushrooms.
• A more traditional alternative to using Hon Dashi granules is to use skipjack tuna shavings (a.k.a. bonito) instead. If you choose to go this route, you will have to boil a cup of bonito shavings in the stock for one minute and then wait for the shavings to sink (about 10 minutes). Then you have to pour the pot’s contents through a metal mesh. I don’t bother with this as Hon Dashi granules can achieve the same taste in a few seconds.
• Daikon is a Japanese word and it may be labelled under a different name wherever you are. Some other names for Daikon are White Radish, Oriental Radish, Winter Radish and Icicle Radish. Korean Radish is not the exactly the same but can be used as a substitute. What you should not substitute for Daikon are red radish or horse radish.
• If you can’t find any Sakura dried shrimp, what else can you use? Dried Anchovies would be a good substitute, but you have to remove them before you add the mushrooms. You can also use mini clams, but add these together with the mushrooms. Do not use Chinese type dried shrimp which are vastly inferior in quality and in any case unsuitable for soup. Again, for the avoidance of doubt I’ve included a photo of Sakura for your reference.
• If you happen to have some lying around in the fridge, you can also use cooked rice instead of raw rice. Increase the amount to 2 heaped T but reduce the boiling time from 10 minutes to 1 minute.
• FYI: Stock made from Konbu alone is called Konbu Dashi. Stock made from Bonito shavings (and therefore from Hon Dashi granules too) alone is called Katsuo Dashi. Stock made from a combination of both Konbu and Bonito is called Awase Dashi. If someone mentions Dashi without specifying what type, he means Awase Dashi.  

 

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.

 

Capellini with Sakura Shrimp

(serves 8 as an appetizer, or 4 as a main course)
This was my first successful attempt at an Angel Hair dish. It is surprisingly heavy for a pasta dish, and is ideally served as a starter in half-portions. The philadelphia cream cheese was the ‘missing ingredient’ that took me quite a bit of trial and error to discover. It somehow blends with and takes the edge off the anchovy flavour, creating a really unique taste for the dish.

Ingredients

1. Anchovies in Oil (50g)
2. White Wine (1/3 cup)
3. Salmon fillet (100g)
4. Sakura Shrimp (6T)
5. No. 1 Capellini (250g)
6. Cream (1/3 cup)
7. Cream Cheese (2T)
8. Chopped Parsley (1T)

Preparation

1. Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan for the stock. Throw salmon in and cook for 10 min. Turn off heat and remove the fish from stock. Mash with a spoon to detect and remove any bones.
2. Mash the anchovies in its own oil all and fry in a pan together with 4T of olive oil. When hot, throw in the salmon pieces. Stir fry with a wooden spoon and make sure all the salmon is thoroughly flaked and browned, then add the white wine as a deglaze.
3. When the pan begins to dry, add the cream and 1 cup of fish stock just after turning heat off. Add 0.5t sugar and 2T of (Philadelphia) cream cheese.
4. Boil a pot of water with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil. Place the capellini into the water for two minutes and not a second more. Drain immediately. It should still be semi hard.
5. Lightly toast the Sakura in a toaster oven while the pasta is cooking and leave them inside the oven after the timer goes to keep them warm.
6. While the pasta was cooking, you should reheat the salmon sauce. Immediately upon draining, stir fry the capellini for an additional minute in the sauce where the pasta should soak up most of the liquid. Turn heat off and mix in an additional 4T of olive oil and 1T of finely chopped parsley.
7. Using a large fork, twirl the capellini on to the serving plates. Sprinkle the Sakura and black pepper as a final garnishing before serving. Serve immediately.

Notes

• This is a re-post using a name that is more easily searchable.
• If you don’t know what Sakura Shrimp are, click on the link.
• I like to use salmon head instead of salmon fillet, which imparts more flavour to the stock. In an emergency, you can use canned salmon too.
• Use only No. 1 capellini as No. 2 is too thick for this recipe. (i.e. No.1 = Angel Hair). Capellini is notoriously difficult to work with as it becomes mushy for 100 different reasons. Its extremely small diameter ( i.e. large surface area to volume ratio) makes it soggy very quickly if a water or cream based sauce is used. Oil on the other hand, locks out additional moisture and keeps the pasta springy, so it is my belief that Capellini can only ever be served with an oil based sauce.

 

What are Sakura Shrimp?

Known also as Sakura Ebi, Cherry Shrimp or Cherry Blossom Shrimp, these are tiny shrimp caught from a certain bay in Japan, the name of which eludes me at the moment. As you might gather, they are named after cherry blossoms, because of their similar colour. There are may ways to eat Sakura but if you live outside of Japan, you will have to make do with the boiled and then sun-dried variety, which is the variety which I use, and refer to.

OK, enough about the background. So what is so special about Sakura? They have a light crispy texture, and more importantly they retain (for an eternity compared to other crispy food) their crispiness even when put into liquid. This is because other crispy food is made crispy artifically by removing water through heating. If they get re-hydrated, they become decidedly uncrispy. Sakura on the other hand are naturally crunchy because they are crustaceans. This makes them the ultimate sprinkle-on-top food.

Where can you find Sakura Shrimp? At any Japanese food specialty store or Japanese supermarket. Don’t confuse Sakura Ebi with the more common Chinese shell-less dried shrimp. Those can’t be eaten without lots of cooking, and in general are unsuitable for Western cuisine. If you would like a recipe which uses Sakura Shrimp, try my Angel Hair with Sakura .

 

Angel Hair Nippon-ara

This post has been reposted here under a new name.