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Post by Sanji Himura on Mar 9, 2013 16:21:56 GMT -5
Seen a technique or a recipe on TV that you just had to recreate? Or maybe you wish to see the particulars that went into an Iron Chef recipe?
You are in luck. Today, for the very low cost of Free, I, Sanji Himura, will show you just went into the recipes that the top restaurants use to create their fabulous dishes.
If you think all of this sounds familiar, it does. Please see the Potato battle that Iron Chef Chen had with Katsuyo Kobayashi (episode 232 in the Iron Chef Collection).
I will answer questions in the order that they are received.
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Post by miwaneisan on Mar 16, 2013 4:39:46 GMT -5
May I ask you the recipe not only from the epi. #232 but from any of iron chef or challenger's recipe?
It's spring, the best season for freshly-harvested onion, spring cabbage, new potato and bamboo shoot, we can get them at the cheapest price now. Are there any of your recommended recipes for the above ingredients? 1 or 2 recipes are OK. (pls note I can't buy Foie Gras or Caviar as combination ingredients!)
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Post by Sanji Himura on Mar 18, 2013 0:13:11 GMT -5
I will give some recipe recommendations, but first, I will explain to the rest of the world about the significance of bamboo shoots.
As it is Spring, bamboo shoots, or rather, takenoko, signify the coming of the new season. However, harvesters are weary of harvesting the crop because it will start to turn bitter as soon as pulled from the ground. Another reason, as Yukio Hattori pointed out in the bamboo shoots episode, fresh bamboo shoots often require at least an hour of boiling to make them safe for use in dishes. To combat this, chefs employ the pressure cooker to cut into the amount of time that it would take.
For the home cook, you can buy bamboo shoots in three ways, often depending on what part of the world you are in, AND if it has a well known Asian community. The first way is fresh, right out of the ground. You can buy this variety mostly in Japan and Asia. Buying your shoots this way is also a chore because, as I said, additional preparations are required to make this even safe for cooking. The second way is canned bamboo shoots. They are more common in non-Asian communities. Finally, you can buy them in a vacuum pack. They have already been pre-soaked, so no additional cooking is required to soften them up to be safe for cooking. For those who are seeking a real bamboo shoot experience, they are starting to appear internationally in this form in your ethnic market stores.
Nutritionally speaking, bamboo shoots are very low on fat and cholesterol at 0g per shoot. There are 346mg of sodium per shoot, and 2g of carbs. Bamboo shoots are a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Riboflavin and Zinc, and a very good source of Vitamin B6, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.
Here is a recipe that involve the ingredients listed, Miwa-san. Bear in mind that not all ingredients requested will be used in the recipe.
Spring Miso Soup
Recipe with thanks from the blog, I'll Make it Myself
[US measurements]
800mL [about 3 1/2c] water 60mL [1/4c] Dashi concentrate 1 TBSP Rice Miso 1-2 TBSP Sesame oil 1 Large "new" potato (wt. approx. 150g[6 oz.]) 1 Small "sweet" potato (100g [3 oz.]) 1/2 Large carrot 100g [3 oz.] bamboo, boiled 1/4 head of Chinese cabbage, roughly chopped 1 small pack of enoki mushrooms 1 300g [10 oz.] package of silken tofu Handful of chopped green onions Mitsuba, for garnish Grated ginger, for garnish
Procedure:
- Wash and peel the potato and carrot. Slice the potato into eighths; cut the carrot, sweet potato, and bamboo shoot to about the same size.
- Heat sesame oil in a large frying pan. When it is hot, add the potato, sweet potato, and carrot and cover with the lid. Stir occasionally and don’t let the vegetables brown.
- Add the dashi to the water and set to boil over a low flame.
- When the potatoes and carrot are slightly softened, add the bamboo and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Wash the enoki and slice off the bottom of the root. Break into smaller clumps and add to the frying pan.
- Wash the cabbage and roughly chop. (If you are going to serve this more than a day later, wait to add the cabbage until just before serving.) Add to the pan and cover with a lid for about one minute.
- Add the vegetables to the stock and turn down the heat.
- Break up the tofu into bite-sized chunks with your hands and add to the soup.
- Let simmer for a few minutes until the vegetables are softened to your liking.
- Garnish with mitsuba, diced green onions, and grated ginger before serving.
Notes
This is mainly for the US audience, but if you are having trouble finding a Japanese market new potato or sweet potato, use American yellow and red potatoes respectively. While they don't share a similar flavor to its Japanese contemporaries, they do share the same texture.
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Post by miwaneisan on Mar 18, 2013 10:57:26 GMT -5
Wooooow, thank you so much, Doc. Himura! Very very wonderful recipe! It must be flavor of spring... ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) I will definitely try it. Thanks for your advice, too. I can get all of the ingredients easily incl. new potato. I'm very surprised that it is a recipe for the US audience. I think it's definitely Japanese soup! ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) And as Doc. says, it seems a little bit difficult to get fresh bamboo shoot and cook by myself. But its nutrition sounds very healthy and best especially for women! Much appreciated!!
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Post by Sanji Himura on Mar 18, 2013 12:12:51 GMT -5
Actually, it is a Japanese recipe. I have inserted American measurements in case people in the US wanted to try it too.
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Post by miwaneisan on Apr 1, 2013 9:23:22 GMT -5
I just wanted to say this recipe "Spring Miso Soup" was very nice. I enjoyed Takenoko's texture and vegetables & sesame oil's flavor very much. Again, thanks, Sanji. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) After enjoying the soup as the recipe said, the next day I arranged the leftovers. Many small pieces of vegetables were remaining in the soup, so I added some more Dashi, water, miso and put chicken & sliced remaining vegetables (both pan-fried with butter in advance), cheese, cooked rice, and boiled 3 minutes. After stopped flame, I dripped a tea spoon of soy source on it just for flavor. (and small chopped green orions for garnish. (a kind of risotto?) It was nice, too. (in my preference) I remembered Michiba-san proved Miso & cheese combination was nice. Also soy source flavor was well matched, too. (because of fermented foods, I guess? ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) )
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Post by Sanji Himura on Apr 1, 2013 20:03:02 GMT -5
It would be considered more of a rice soup more than anything. To explain risotto, we must first go to Italy, where the dish is considered to be a favorite in the regions Piedmont, Lombardy, and Veneto in Northern Italy. Why those three regions? The answer is simple, it is the type of rice that they grow in those parts of Italy, arborio. How that kind of rice got to Italy in the first place remains kind of a mystery, but two common theories are that, one, the dish is supposed to imitate the pilafs of the Near East, while the other theory is that the dish was a Southern Italian invention in the 11th century when the moslems of North Africa ruled Sicily and parts of Southern Italy. The rice was eventually brought to Italy from the Far East. Typical risottos like this one, tend to follow a simple formula: 1. Set a pot of cooking liquid, like a stock, simmering in a sauce pan. 2. Cook the rice quickly in hot oil just to coat the rice, usually 2 minutes. Have vegetables? Cook them quickly before introducing the rice. 3. Add cooking stock until it is all absorbed and the rice becomes al dente. I hope that clears up the definition of what is a risotto.
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Post by miwaneisan on Apr 6, 2013 3:48:51 GMT -5
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Post by Sanji Himura on Apr 8, 2013 13:14:07 GMT -5
I got this question via Facebook:
To look at it from a culinary perspective, we must first dive into the history of the restaurant. El Bulli opened in 1961 as a high cultured place that a german doctor and his wife wanted on their piece of land that they purchased. The "El Bulli" name stuck with the place because of the french bulldogs that the owners owned.
In 1976, under french chef Jean-Louis Neichel, the restaurant gained their first Michelin star. Current head chef, Ferran Adrià, joined the kitchen in 1984, and three years later was put in charge of the whole kitchen. El Bulli earned their second Michelin star in 1990 followed by a third in 1997.
However the depression has hit them and they were forced to close the restaurant last year.
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Post by miwaneisan on Apr 8, 2013 23:37:58 GMT -5
Bulli is from bulldogs.. Interesting. I knew you would be able to answer it for me. Thanks for reply to my question from FB, Sanji.
Actually, one of Japanese IC fans informed me about an interesting (at least for us. Japanese IC fans) video about El Bulli where Hattori, Setsuko Yuuki, Sakai, Ishinabe, Chen Kentaro and a bit of Wakiya showed up. That's just The Last Dinner at El Bulli... I was wondering if I should post it in this board or inform to Keith?
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Post by Sanji Himura on Apr 8, 2013 23:48:43 GMT -5
Do both.
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Post by miwaneisan on Apr 10, 2013 11:09:13 GMT -5
OK, I'll try rough translation to describe a summary first.
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