Since Shoo and I arrived, we've spent plenty of time with his mum, Yoko, who is adorable and has been spoiling us rotten with amazing food. She makes an amazing miso shiru (miso soup) with lots of variants, and since Shoo dropped the hint that I love aubergines, she's delivered my favourite vegetable in various incarnations - yay!
Top is white miso soup (popular down in Kagoshima, as opposed to red miso) packed with beansprouts, tofu and a green vegetable similar to choi sum, called komatsuna.
Miso soup is usually made by mixing miso into dashi (stock) made by infusing boiling water with kombu and/or bonito flakes. Bonito is a fish similar to tuna, with very dark red flesh, but the dried flakes look kind of like tree-bark.
Below is today's lunchtime soup: fresh bamboo shoots, wakame, thinly sliced abura-age (deep fried tofu) and a little bit of tofu. I just love the taste and texture of the bamboo shoots - the satisfying crunch and delicate taste are miles away from the canned bamboo shoots you buy in UK supermarkets for chinese dishes.
There was also a stir-fry dish that had me in aubergine heaven! This time with minced pork in a sweetish sauce. Thank you Yoko-san!
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Daily Miso
Friday, 24 April 2009
MOS Burger
A bit of catching-up is required - after five days on the go darting around town to meet friends I've had almost no time to post. So we're back to day one in Fukuoka, where before getting on a Kagoshima-bound bus we stopped at MOS burger for a cheapie lunch.
I've never been a fan of fast food and burger joints especially. I've barely stepped inside a MacDonald's since I was in high school. But MOS won me round, with it's slightly dinky portions, ingredients that actually taste pretty natural, and enthusiastic use of Engrish.
Sadly, their cute cow illustrations grimly subtitled 'Hamburger is my life' were no longer present in the branch we visited.
I didn't try the signature MOSburger, (top photo), as they changed the recipe when I still lived in Japan, and I never approved of the new sauce - it had a definite cheap nastiness about it. Instead I plumped for a reliable rice burger (above and below) - and here the recipe had improved I think - the rice 'cakes' used to fall apart really easily, but this time they held together until the last bite. Inside is a fried cake made of carrot, onion and seafood bits - squid and prawn. I think we could do with the delights of MOS in the UK... Maybe I'll start a facebook campaign...
It Started With Bibimbap
This was the reason Shoo was so looking forward to flying Korean airways!
Gotta say I prefer the version I've eaten in Korean restos in Japan before, and it in no way compensated for the lack of a personal in-flight entertainment system - and what is an intercontinental flight without movies if not dull, ankle-swelling and head-frazzling? The few large screens were little consolation, as they seemed to be showing the dregs of Korean TV...
I admit though, that the bibimbap (henceforth known as bbb) provided a temporary diversion. It had a kind of playschool DIY quality that was quite satisfying - tip in various ingredients, give it a good mix with a the oversised metal spoon, and shovel it down interspersed with gulps of swamp-in-a-cup (seaweed soup). That killed about half an hour, leaving only about 10 and a half before our stopover in Seoul.
I love, love love the searing, tangy but sweet chilli paste that flavours the whole thing - gochujang. It took me ages to work out the packaging it comes in, in Asian grocers in the UK, but now that I've identified it I use it in loads of sautees, stir-fries and stewed dishes.
Monday, 20 April 2009
5000 Miles Away
The Kitchen has floated all the way to Japan... assisted by jet turbine courtesy of Korean Air (photos of exotic yet endearingly DIY plane food to come). I'm more than 5000 miles away, in Kagoshima City, located on beautiful Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's main four islands. Over the next 10 days I'll be posting about adventures with food and friends over here, so keep watching this space!
Type rest of the post here
