Kuromame no shiso-ni : black beans, shiso and rice

Rice and beans, Japanese style. I think the shiso flavor is a nice companion for black beans and I had already paired them :

shiso bean empanadas

Kuromame, black soy beans. Soaked and boiled. They take lots of time to cook… depending on size and how old they are. Hard to predict, but don’t start now and expect serving them for next meal. Cook them the day before.

So I recooked the boiled beans in an oiled pan with onion, garlic, cumin seeds, a little paprika, salt. When the onions were cooked I’ve covered with bean cooking broth, let simmer. At the end, added cut shiso leaves in the beans, and some on top.

It’s a mix of genmai (brown rice) and akamai (red rice).

A simple soup : nameko mushrooms, hijiki seaweeds (dried), water. Then a little soy sauce when it’s cooked.

Steamed mizunasu aubergines and shiitake mushrooms.

Komatsuna no ohitashi (boiled and refreshed) with gomadare sesame dressing.

Japanese garden creamy Winter soup

When it’s so cold inside, you need a soup every day. Yes, I wrote inside that’s not a typo, as outside the weather is mild, it’s Winter, but not freezing. In my place without heating, the day is just OK, but at night it’s a little chilly. So I put on a big sweater, my half-gloves and I get a bowl of good soup to warm me up…

It’s very quick to throw stuff in. Then, just let simmer a while. Today’s soup is a miso-minestrone. See the 3 steps at the end, but first let’s look at what is in it :

It’s full of season produce. Can you recognize them ?

Do you know that animal ? His name is taro. Well, he is a potato… and it’s usually called…

…satoimo here.

That’s the season of black soy bean kuromame. I had them boiled.

Some greens.

Shungiku, chrysanthemum leaves.

Kezuribushi, bonito fish flakes.

Koji-miso. There exist very different types of miso. The color depends on ingredients. The more rice, the whiter, the more soy, the darker. This one is light colored miso with a high content of fermented rice (komekoji), and it’s rough textured. Its taste is sweet and mild.

Step one : in some water, put to simmer some dry daikon radish skins (I keep them to make broth), a few peeled satoimo taros, a ts of pasted garlic, 2 tbs of tomato paste, a dry chili and a cup of boiled black beans with their broth. Let 20 minutes.
Step two : I made a 1/2 cup of neri-goma (tahini, white sesame paste), mixed it with a tbs of miso, a ts of fish flakes. I’ve diluted that in the soup and let 2 minutes on low heat.
Step 3 : pour the soup on shungiku greens, top with more fish flakes.
If you want it vegan, just don’t add the fish flakes, replace the topping with aonori seaweed flakes.