Somen in spinach tomato broth

The first thing coming to japan that worried me the most was the food.Had heard from many friends that it is not spicy as indian food,but my hubby after having a welcome japanese dinner went on and on about the delicacy.Being a seafood lover this was a place we could make the most for our tastebuds.Yet i was a bit reluctant when he said going out for a japanese lunch.believe me after lunch i felt an immense pleasure of tasting japanese food.Its been three years now and japanese food has made a place in my kitchen.thanks to my wonderful friends here who taught me the recipes.I indianised some of it accordingly as a token of indo japanese friendship.


My son loves any japanese dish.As long as its either vegetarian or seafood.

This is one of his favorites. Somen in hot broth of spinach and tomato ,with a flavor of miso makes this simple and delicious dish a perfect winter food.

Here is the recipe

Dried somen noodles-1 bundle

spinach-half bunch

tomato-1

miso paste-3 tsp

sesame seeds-fro garnishing

onionhal small and chopped finely

Method

Boil enough water for the somen noodles.Add somen when at a rapid boil.Stir noodles briefly to separate.Cook for 2 minutes, then taste a noodle. It should be soft but not mushy.Immediately remove the noodles and plunge them into cold water.Run under cold water until noodles are cold and seperable.

meanwhile prepare miso soup cooking tomato ,onion and spinach with one cup water.when cooked add miso paste,mix well. swith off the flame before it boils.

Add the cooked soup on on a bowl of somen.garnish with powdered sesame seeds.serve hot.

GYOZA--Japanese dumplings

GYOZA

I had first tasted gyoza in bangalore's chinese restaurant (forgot the name)and was just bowled by the taste it had and ofcourse wondered how they made the outer layer so thin yet crispy...

After coming to tokyo my hubby got veg gyoza's from a restaurant closeby.Though it was tasty yet it lacked the spice level which we had back in bangalore.After searching verious recipes over net .By making trial and errors i asked my friend "P".She told me an easy method ,and i just added it up all to get the end result.And here it was an easy way of making yummilicious japanese inspired indianised gyozas with a filling which even my son finishes without much effort.

There are two recipes for the gyoza dough and the filling.I just buy the readymade gyoza covers and prepare the filling at home.

These are the ingredients for the filling

Cabbage-grated finely half cup
green onion-finely chopped half cup
carrot-grated or finely chopped 1 small
greenpeas-2 tablespoon
tofu -crumbled 1/4 cup
ginger garlic paste -1tsp
pepperpowder-1/4 tsp
greenchilli-1
salt 1/2 tsp
jeera-1/4 tsp
sesame oil-1/2 tbsp
soy sauce-1tsp
and not to forget
Shop bought Gyoza covers-20




Method.

grate cabbage ,finely chop onions ,carrots.crumble tofu
crush greenchilli
Heat a pan ,add 2 teaspoon sesame oil to it.add jeera .when it changes color add the cabbage onion s to it.
then add ginger galric and greenchilli.saute well .
add finely chopped carrots,green peas,crumbled tofu.

add little salt as soy sauce is added and pepper .soy sauce saute well .
till it becomes dry and soft.keep it to cool.

Now to make the gyoza:

Hold the gyoza cover in ur palm ,put a teaspoonful of filling iionto it.
Moisten half the circle with water,close the other end over it.make fringes with ur fingersas we do .make 8 gyozas same way.
Then the cooking part,its called MUSHIYAKI.(baking food in covered pan).
take a shallow frypan.drizzle it with sesame oil.heat it and place th egyozas neatly onit.
when it starts sizzling add water til the gyozas are half immersed.
turn the flame high and place a transparent lid to know the water is reduced.remove lid after two minutes and wait till all water evaporates.
remove the gyoza by inverting the pan over the plate.
serve it dippin sauce made of soy sauce and vinegar 1 tablespoon each.

You can try a variety of fillings .maybe skipping all the veggeis and sticking to cabbage and onion ,u can add prawns too.filling of ur choice.