Japanese Style White Fish Balls In Shiitake Ginger Broth Food

FISH WITH SHIITAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 175 degrees. Place chicken stock in a wok or skillet, and bring to a simmer. Cut fish into pieces about 3 inches square, place in stock, and simmer until just cooked, about 5 minutes. Use spatula to transfer to heatproof platter, cover loosely with foil, and place in oven. Drain and strain stock, and reserve. Wipe out pan.
• Heat peanut oil in pan. Add garlic, ginger and scallions. Sauté briefly, and add mushrooms. Sauté until wilted. Add soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce. Cook 30 seconds, then add reserved stock. Bring to a simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water, and add, stirring. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Add sesame oil.
• Transfer fish to serving dish, spoon mushroom sauce over, scatter with cilantro, and serve.

JAPANESE-STYLE WHITE FISH BALLS IN SHIITAKE-GINGER BROTH

Steps:

• To make the fish balls, cut the fish into 1- to 2-inch chunks, place in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Add the ginger, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and process until thoroughly blended. With wet hands, pat the mixture into 3/4-inch balls. Set aside on a plate, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
• To make the soup, combine the water, mushroom stems, ginger, cilantro, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover partially, and cook until the mushroom and ginger pieces are soft, about 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan. Discard the contents of the strainer.
• Bring the strained broth just to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the shiitake caps, spinach roots, and fish balls and cook until the balls rise to the top, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, garnish each bowl with a few scallion strands, and serve piping hot.

ODEN WITH HOMEMADE SHRIMP BALLS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, arrange eggs in a single layer and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a full boil, then cover and turn off the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and run under cold water until eggs are cooled, then peel.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add 8 cups water, the daikon, cabbage and instant dashi powder, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until daikon is tender, about 15 minutes.
• While daikon cooks, in a medium bowl, combine shrimp, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt and cornstarch, and mix well. Using about a scant 2 tablespoons per shrimp ball, form mixture into 16 balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Mixture will be sticky, so work with moistened hands.
• Add shrimp balls, inari-no-moto and eggs to pot and simmer until shrimp balls turn pink and are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in udon, if using.
• Divide the shrimp balls, vegetables, tofu and udon among bowls. Halve eggs and add to bowls. Fill bowls with broth and serve with hot mustard on the side for dipping.

UDON NOODLES WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS IN GINGER BROTH

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, toss with the sesame oil, and return to the pot. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, shallots, and mushrooms; cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to soften and turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Stir the chicken stock, vinegar, and soy sauce into the pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the mushrooms are very tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and scallions, and stir to combine.
• To serve, divide the noodles among 4 shallow bowls; ladle the soup over the noodles.

UDON NOODLES WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS IN GINGER BROTH

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles, and cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, toss with sesame oil, and return to pot. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add ginger, shallots, and mushrooms; cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to soften and turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Stir chicken stock, vinegar, and soy sauce into pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook until mushrooms are very tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and scallions, and stir to combine. To serve, divide noodles among four shallow bowls; ladle soup over noodles.

STEAMED SEA BASS WITH GINGER AND SHIITAKES

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil under a metal or bamboo steamer. Sprinkle sea bass with salt, black pepper, and cayenne; place on a piece of parchment paper inside steamer. Top with ginger and shiitakes, cover and steam 15 minutes. Remove fish and place on a plate. Sprinkle cilantro and green onions on fish; drizzle with juices from parchment. In a small sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until smoking. Pour some oil over each fillet to wilt cilantro and green onions. Drizzle plates with soy sauce.