Miso Mushroom and Spinach Soup!

This recipe is based off of a recipe that I found by Gordon Ramsay called "Noodle Soup With Poached Egg and Spring Onion." It's just like his, but I add a few more things here and there! ;)

My boyfriend was actually not feeling well at work so I made this tasty and healthy soup to make him feel better and I have to say...it worked! ^-^

Here is what you will need ( I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients so bear with me! ^^;):

-A package of udon noodles

-Fresh baby spinach

-Fresh sliced portobello mushrooms

-Dried shiitake mushrooms

-1 egg

-Dashi stock

-Sake

-Chopped green onions

-Freshly grated ginger

-Shiro miso

-Optional: Narutomaki or kamaboko

-Optional: Shichimi

First of all, place the dried mushrooms in a container with warm water and allow them to re-hydrate for about 20 minutes. Save the broth.

Make the dashi stock. I make it using dashi granules.

Bring it to a boil on high heat and use a whisk to make sure that all of the granules have dissolved.

Grate some peeled fresh ginger. I don't typically measure for this recipe because everything is really to your own personal taste.

After 20 minutes, remove the mushrooms from the water and chop them into slices and place them in the stock.

Bring the dashi stock to a low boil again, but this time add in soy sauce, sake, freshly grated ginger, and some of the leftover mushrooms broth to taste.

Boil the udon noodles according to the directions on the package.

Bring the stock to a simmer and gently add in an egg and poach it.

Next, get a bowl ready and add some raw portobello mushrooms to the bottom...

Followed by the cooked udon noodles...

And then add some cleaned and fresh baby spinach on top! Almost there! xD

Don't forget to chop up at least 1 green onion! 

Now for my favorite part...add in as much miso as you like! 

I'm all out of miso now :(

This one was mine! :P

Although it's optional, adding in some narutomaki or kamaboko (pictured above) adds a great flavor to the soup!

And this is the boyfriend's xD

The only thing that my boyfriend doesn't like on his is the poached egg! His kamaboko are hiding! xP

The way I make it is enough for exactly two servings! Perfect! 

Here's a close up! Just look at that tasty shichimi on top! I highly recommend using it! 

And another picture...

The boyfriend approves of this soup! ;)

My Version of Mapo Tofu with Recipe!!! (マーボー豆腐)

I have been wanting to make Mapo Tofu ever since Cooking with Dog posted a video about it in 2010. I could never find all of the ingredients and made it a goal to one day make it no matter what (If you're curious, you need to mix tian miang jiang and doubanjiang, the two sauces that I could not find). A few weeks ago while I was grocery shopping at a local Wegmans, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye...



I began jumping with joy while my boyfriend stared at me...he should be used to this by now! I immediately put it in the car and decided to make it that very night. I am not usually a fan of "out of the box" sauces and prefer to make my own, but in this case it worked perfectly! I would just add in a few extra ingredients to make it more authentic! ^-^

A little etymology lesson: "Ma stands for "mazi" (Pinyin: mázi Traditional Chinese 麻子) which means a person disfigured by pockmarks or leprosy, the latter is also called 痲 má or 麻風 máfēng. Po (Chinese 婆) translates as "old woman, crone". Hence, Ma Po is an old woman whose face was pockmarked. It is thus sometimes translated as "Pockmarked-Face Lady's Tofu"."-Wikipedia

Here is what you will need:

 

-1 box Chinese mapo tofu sauce
-1 block firm tofu
-1 lb. ground beef
-Chopped green onions
-1 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic
-1 Tbsp. finely chopped ginger
-1 Tbsp. soy sauce
-Chinese granulated chicken stock
-2 Tbsp. sake
-Steamed rice
-Sesame oil
-Potato Starch mixed with water for thickener (2 tsp. potato starch/1/3 tsp. water)

*I did not measure as a lot of it depends on taste and what you think the right amount should be.

First of all, prepare the ingredients: Chop the garlic and ginger, drain and cut the tofu into cubes, etc. Now begin to prepare the rice (I love my rice cooker! <3) You want the rice to be nice and hot when the mapo tofu is ready!



Heat up a pan on high heat, add in the sesame oil and coat the pan with it. When the oil is hot, add in the ground beef and break it up into small pieces while stirring continuously until fully cooked.



After the beef has been cooked thoroughly, add in the chopped garlic and ginger and reduce the heat to medium. Stir fry until aromatic. It smells so good!!! xD



Next, push all of the beef to one side and add in the mapo tofu sauce packet and reduce the heat to low in order to increase the flavor. Constantly stir to avoid burning at this point and stir until evenly browned.



Next add in the first Tbsp. of sake and continue to mix followed by the chinese chicken stock, soy sauce, and the remaining sake. Stir the mixture lightly.



Put in the tofu cubes and gently stir them in the pan and be very careful not to break them apart! Bring the mixture to a boil at high heat again and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. This reduces the tofu's moisture and allows the sauce to be absorbed by it!



Next add in the chopped green onions and stir very carefully until completely combined. Then lift the pan off the burner and mix in the potato starch by swirling the pan. Place the pan back onto the burner and using the wooden spatula, push the mixture using gentle motions to make sure that you do not break the tofu! Lastly, heat over high heat for about 30 seconds to thicken it and IT'S DONE!!! :D



First put some rice in a bowl and then add on the hot mapo tofu!



I recommend adding a little shichimi on top for a very tasty garnish.



I highly recommend this Chinese turned Japanese dish! It's it so fun to make and tastes amazing!!!

It's Gyoza Time!!!

I was going through some old pictures on my phone of food that I have made in the past and came across this one: Gyoza.

Gyoza (or pot sticker) is a dish that originated in China and has made itself known in many parts of the world. It is a pan-fried dumpling that is typically filled with ground beef or pork and vegetables such as cabbage and green onions. They are simple to make and are delicious!!!

The recipe that I used is from a YouTube cooking channel that I frequent called "Asian Cooking Made Easy." Please check out Lila's channel and watch her videos! She is such an amazing cook and is such an inspiration to me. Click here to visit her channel! ^-^

Here is what you will need for my rendition of the recipe:

-1/2 of a napa cabbage (chopped and steamed in the microwave)

-3 green onions (chopped)

-3 garlic cloves (roughly minced)

-1/4 piece of fresh ginger (grated)

-3/4 lb. of ground pork

-1 tsp. sugar

-1 Tbsp. sake

-2 tsp. soy sauce

-1 Tbsp. cornstarch

-Pack of gyoza wrappers

-1/2 Tbsp. peanut oil

-1 Tbsp. sesame oil

*Make sure that you wash your hands well before the first step! 

First, place the pork in a bowl and add in the sugar, sake, soy sauce, cornstarch, green onions, garlic, and ginger. Use your hands to mix everything all together! I always love this part!!! :D

After mixing everything together, add in the cabbage and mix some more! Yay!!!

On a personal note, gyoza is one of my favorite dishes to make because my boyfriend helps me fold them! It can be time consuming, but we got back and forth like an assembly and we always end up finishing in no time! ^-^

These photos were taken about a year ago and I didn't take better ones showing how to fold the gyoza so I looked one up on Google! :P

Make sure that you wet half of the gyoza skin in order to make it stick and just keep folding! Make sure to place them folded side up on the plate. It may take a few tries before you get used to it, but you'll get it in no time!!!

After you fill and wrap all of the gyoza...it's now time to fry them!!! 

Now heat up a large non-stick pan that has a tight fitting lid on medium high heat. Add the peanut oil to the pan and spread it around using a paper towel. Depending on the size of the pan, fill the pan up with just enough dumplings so it's full, but not overcrowded. You never want to overcrowd your pan. 

After the dumplings have been added, our in 1/2 cup of hot water and put the lid on and let them cook for 7 to 8 minutes or until the water evaporates. If this is your first time making these, it can be easy to burn them so you may want to keep checking on them regularly.

I know, it's a different batch! :P

After the water evaporates, you can drizzle a little sesame oil over the gyoza if you wish and let them cook for another minute or until the bottoms are brown. The first few times I made gyoza, they stuck to the bottom a little and there was a coating of black "burned" stuff on the bottom. If that happens to you, don't worry! They are still salvageable! Just use a spatula to remove them and place them on a plate, or can just put a plate on top of them and carefully flip the pan over so the gyoza transfer onto the plate (this way is more fun!) And...they're DONE! :)

You can also make the perfect gyoza dipping sauce by mixing soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, a little sugar, and a little hot chili oil! 

I love serving bubble tea alongside side gyoza!!! It's amazingly delicious!!! It's also fun to place the plate neatly in the center of the table and let everyone serve themselves! ^-^

Since these photos are so old, I might make another post on how I make this that is more detailed!

See you soon!