Miso Ramen Vail Style

How I have been craving a nice bowl of good ramen! But good ramen restaurants seem rare here and I couldn't find a good opportunity to go, so I decided to give it a try and cook it myself. I have read about how making good ramen is a real craft, but still I wouldn't let myself be discouraged by all I have read. Since I am not a big fan of チャーシュー (grilled pork meat), I decided to replace it with a nice piece of fried salmon, season the stock with miso and even toasted the nori. All in all, I can say that I really had a nice lunch, but I agree that making good ramen really is a craft that needs some skill. :)

~Vail~

Salmon With Miso Sauce

Yay~ It's japanese food again! I discovered this dish in an Izakaya in Shinjuku and ever since I tried it I desperately wanted to know how it is made. An Izakaya is a kind of restaurant that's really popular in Japan. Usually you go there with a group of people and order several dishes from the menu card which are shared, so that everyone can try everything. The servings are rather small but, depending on the restaurant, they usually are rather inexpensive too. Personally, I love Izakayas because they are cosier than normal restaurants, they can be found almost everywhere, and you are not limited to one single dish.

Well, anyway, once I got back home from Japan, I googled for the recipe and found a few versions, but they all had one thing in common: the miso coat. So I tried to coat the salmon with the miso paste, then fried it carefully in a pan, but unfortunately the paste turned into something like charcoal and fell off. Disappointed by this experience, I wasn't eager to try again - until I made miso soup. And that's when I suddenly knew how to cook this delicious japanese meal.

What you need:

* 300g fresh salmon
* 3 tsp miso paste
* 2 tbsp soy sauce
* 2 tbsp mirin
* a bit of rapeseed oil

Heat the oil in a frying pan and put in the salmon.
In a small bowl, dissolve the miso paste with 3 tbsp of hot water. Add the soy sauce and the mirin.
After the salmon is ready, take it out of the pan and keep it warm. Remove the remains of the oil (if there are any) and pour in the miso sauce. Heat it shortly, then serve the fish with the sauce. Red or orange pepper (or for instance chinese cabbage) and japanese rice are best as side dishes.
This recipe provides about 2-3 servings.
Enjoy!

~Vail~

Miso Soup

Miso soup is one of my favourite soups. It's inexpensive, easy to prepare and very tasty - unless you're one of those people who hate the taste of dashi. XD
I'll show you how to prepare miso soup in a few easy steps.

What you need:

* miso paste (red or white, it doesn't matter)
* dashi
* silk tofu
* wakame
* water

In case you're not familiar with the ingredients, I shall give a short explanation.

* Miso: Miso is a paste of fermented soy beans which has a salty taste and is used for soups or other dishes. There are different kinds of miso pastes which variate a little in taste. I used red miso paste for my soup.
* Dashi: Dashi is a kind of fish stock which is used for soups and sauces. You can find it in a lot of japanese dishes, providing the "typical" japanese taste.
* Silk Tofu: This kind of tofu is very soft and perfect for soups. You should not buy firm tofu or it will ruin your soup, believe me!
* Wakame: Wakame is dried seaweed which looks a little like dried tealeaves.

Now, on to the recipe!

Pour 1L of water in a pot and add the dashi powder. Heat it until it boils, then add 1 1/2 tbsp of wakame. (Don't let your eyes fool you when you think that it's not enough, because the tiny dried pieces will grow a lot once in contact with water!)
Cut the tofu into cubes.
In a small bowl, blend 3 tbsp of miso paste with a little bit of boiling water and stir well until it has dissolved completely. Reduce heat, then add the miso and the tofu.

The water shouldn't boil anymore when you add the miso and tofu. In case you think it doesn't taste strong enough, add more miso.
Enjoy!

There are actually many ways of doing miso soup with different ingredients, such as small sea shells, green onions etc. I've tried so many different miso soups while being in Japan, so really, it's up to you what you use. :)

~Vail~