glass noodle salad with lotus root, burdock, & black sesame

burdock root is one of those items in the produce department that took me forever to use, mostly because it looks decidedly undelicious, all hairy & dirty brown, but also because I wasn't sure how I was going to fit a meter of root into my tiny refrigerator. i'm so glad i came around. scrape that scary outside layer off, and you are left with a taste and texture like no other--earthy and sweet, soft and crunchy at the same time. i won't even get started on how healthy it is; a quick google search will blow your mind. it's basically medicine.

so of course it had to go in this yummy salad. i'm such a texture fiend sometimes, and this mix--crisp veggies, chewy cellophane noodles and tofu, and crunchy sesame seeds--really did it for me. and pretty too! i love it when food is such a total experience. anyway, check it out. ingredients
100 g cellophane noodles (1)
80 g fried tofu (2), sliced
1 small carrot, julienned
20 cm burdock root (3), julienned
5 cm lotus root (4), thinly sliced
large handful green beans, in 5 cm pieces
1 tbsp black sesame seeds (5)
juice from 1/8 lime
30 mL (adjust according to taste) soy ginger marinade

(1) 春雨, はるさめ (2) 油揚げ, あぶらあげ (3) 牛蒡, ごぼう (4) 蓮根, れんこん (5) いりごま黒

i got the lime from a.l. plaza in kosugi. everything else is from e-town in kosugi.

i was listening to thievery corporation--abductions and reconstructions while cooking this.

let's go!
1. for both the burdock and lotus root, you have two choices: fresh or pre-cleaned and cut in a little bag. if you buy them fresh, you'll need to take a couple extra steps. for the burdock root, rinse well under cold running water while scraping a knife along the surface to remove the dirt and fibers. don't go nuts here--the peel has a lot of flavor, so leave some on. for the lotus root, remove the peel with a paring knife. for both, cut and immediately soak in 2 cups of cold water & 1 tbsp vinegar for about 5 minutes. then blanch (i'll explain this in the next step). obviously, it's easier to buy the prepared roots, but sometimes you just want to spend a little quality time with your vegetables before you eat them.2. blanch your green beans (and burdock & lotus root if necessary). the purpose of blanching is to make your veggies more tender and enhance their flavor. first, boil water (add 1 tsp salt for every 3 cups water). get a big serious rolling boil going--you don't want the boil to stop when you add your cold vegetables. throw in the green beans and let them cook for about 3 minutes (about 1 minute for burdock and lotus root). drain in a colander and immediately plunge into an ice bath. this is important. if you don't do this, your veggies will keep cooking and you will have a soggy, not as flavorful salad. keep them in the ice water for 5 minutes. 3. cook your noodles according to the package and cool down in cold running water.

4. toss everything together in a big bowl.

enjoy!

tandoori tofu

i've been doing a lot of experimenting with tofu lately. it's not something i'm familiar with, so i have failed pretty hard more than once. but i'm getting better, and i'm discovering that patience is really key. wait for the tofu to drain, wait for it to marinate, wait for it to cook. it really pays off in the end, and if i plan ahead, it's no problem.

this meal was really, really good. it takes a lot of spices you may not have lying around, but if you like indian food, they're a good investment. the marinade recipe is a bit large--i had some leftover, but it can be reused, and will keep for as long as the yogurt is good. also, as i discovered while waiting for everything to marinate, it makes a great carrot dip.


ingredients
1 pack prebaked tofu (1)
250 mL yogurt
30 mL lemon juice
1/2 onion, fine dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated ginger (2)
2 tsp turmeric (3)
1 tsp curry or garam masala (4)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (5)
1 tsp paprika (6)
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds (7)
1/2 tsp cumin (8)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (9)

(1)焼とうふ, やきとうふ (2)しょうが (3)ターメリック (4) カーレ、ガラムマサラ (5)チリーペッパー (6)パプリカ (7)コリアンダー (8)クミン (9)ナツメグ

i got everything from e-town in kosugi

i listened to fresh air while making this.

let's go!
1. first of all, you will really help yourself out if you get the prebaked tofu. it will have little brown marks on the top, and the packaging will have やき or 焼 written on it. if you can't remember the yaki kanji, just look for the fire (火) radical on the left side. anyway, the prebaked tofu is a lot firmer and will really suck up your marinade.

2. take it out of the package, put it on a plate, and put another plate on top of it for about an hour.

3. while your tofu is draining, you can make the yogurt masala. this part is really easy--just mix everything together. about the spices--garam masala and curry are both spice mixes, and one is not necessarily like the other. so my measurements work for what i have, but you should definitely taste, and adjust accordingly. also, note that cayenne pepper is sometimes labeles chili pepper. you you'll notice that it's not the red color that you may associate with tandoori food. if you really need to, you can add a few drops of red food coloring, but i think the natural color is very pretty.

4. pour off the tofu juice. cut the tofu into strips about 1.5 cm thick. cover with the marinade and let it sit for a couple of hours. overnight is best.
5. cook in your fish broiler on the med-hi setting until the tofu starts to brown. this only took about 4 minutes on each side, but i've heard that my broiler cooks a lot faster than most. just keep checking on it. look at the picture below, for another "learning from disco's mistakes" moment.

i left a lot of marinade on the tofu while i broiled it. this caused one side to stay kind of mushy. the other side had a little marinade on it, and browned really nicely. i would suggest brushing some of that off before broiling--you can always spoon some of the sauce on later. after it browns on both sides, you can spread a little more on the top and throw it back under the broiler for a minute.

enjoy!
this was really spicy, so i ate it with some lettuce and yogurt. perfect. also, i reheated the rest in the microwave at school the next day--still delicious.

toro and tofu salad

last month, i was hanging out at max's house after our marine day weekend camping trip got rained out. i was feeling pretty miserable, sunburned and a little ill after an uozu banger done quite right. but then takashi saved the day with this amazingly delicious salad that, along with a bucket of bloody marys, perked me right up. it was tasty, yet simple and healthy, so i had to make it myself. it makes a great bento, too.

ingredients
1 head leaf lettuce
1 block tofu
1 pack pounded tuna belly (1)
2 tbsp soy sauce (2)
1 tbsp sesame oil (3)

(1) ねぎとろ or まぐろたたき (2) しょうゆ (3) ごま油 or ごまあぶら

i got the sesame oil at marushin in takaoka. everything else is from e-town in kosugi.

i listened to nujabes--metaphorical music while preparing this.

let's go!
1. cut lettuce into thin strips and place first on the plate.

2. put tofu on top of lettuce. i cut my tofu into little blocks, but you could just as well leave it whole.

3. now, the tuna. toro is the fatty part of the tuna, and is definitely the most delicious. if you can't find it, go to the sashimi counter in the seafood section and ask for it. it should already be pounded up, so all you have to do is sprinkle it on the tofu.

4. pour the soy sauce and sesame oil on top. you should be able to get sesame oil in a regular grocery store--just ask for goma abura if you can't find it. if you are a tall blonde, the grocey girl may freak out when you try to talk to her, but you must resist the urge to backhand her. that solves nothing. talk to someone else who isn't a total hivemind basketcase.

enjoy!
this was just as good the second time. i sprinkled some sesame seeds on top when i had it for lunch the next day, and that gave it a nice texture--i recommend. takashi served a bowl of this with natto at max's house. not my jam, but he says it's great, so if you like natto, rock on. thanks for the recipe, takashi!