I had okara as a by product from making tonyu (soy milk), this time from black soy milk. Okara is also sold in supermarkets or tofu shops here. It’s full of fibers.
Okara, onion, kabocha pumpkin, sesame and parsley paste, ninniku no me (garlic stalks), grated ginger, potato starch, miso.
Mixed. Then formed into patties and pan-fried.
Ramen burger ! Yeah, and it’s probably addictive. At least, my version is. You should really try.
If you wonder who came with this crazy idea, here is a little historic explanation. Everybody knows Fukushima, the region is famous for its… atomically good ramen. Well that’s a true.
喜多方ラーメン (Kitakata ramen) from the town of Kitakata are said to be one of the 3 best in Japan.
source “tourist info”
They are ramen, topped with chashu (pork roast), a slice of surimi, menma bamboo shoots, negi… Then one shop had the idea to make to round patties of broth flavored noodles and serve the toppings inside :
kitakata ramen-burger
source “the restaurant that started the ra’burger”
They have then been copied all by many others.
So, I have not followed their recipe at all. I’ve used a home-made black bean burger and improvised my fried noodles :
making the burger (click here).
Here are toppings. My sauce : neri goma (pasted sesame, tahini), rice vinegar, miso, a little sugar, paprika, chili pepper and turmeric.
The construction : a round of pan-fried ramen, a layer of greens, a bean burger, a good amount of sauce, pickled ginger, a second round of ramen, cut coriander leaves.
That’s a complete Spring spicy ramen burger. And it’s really delicious.
I tried to eat it with the hands, and I got greasy fingers, that I had to lick after… A sort of burger case would be convenient. I should get some printed at my name.
I could eat beef burgers but I now prefer bean burgers. If you think I’m weird, you should try these. They are soft, juicy, crunchy, flavorful. And easy to make.
Basic ingredients that you can make from scratch but I had them ready to start. Yakisoba (fresh ramen for hot plate) and cooked black beans (here kuromame). You can use other types of noddles/pasta.
today’s green
Mix, shape and cook. OK, I mash the beans with a fork, I mince the greens, onion, ginger, I roughly break the walnuts. That’s not precise be make them to taste, you can sample the ingredients as you mix in. With 1 cup of beans, I made 2 burgers. I cook them briefly in a frying pan.
With 1 pack, I made 4 rounds of yakisoba. I stir-fried them with a little sauce and spices, then shaped and cooked next to the burgers.
You wonder why I made these yaki-soba “patties” ? Oh, I had space in the frying pan. You’ll see that in next post.
Here is the burger !
Two small Japanese dishes, passed through the gourmande’s paws as usual. That’s not super original, but maybe you don’t know these two.
age-dofu (recipe here)
Agedashi is a classic way to prepare tofu, that means ageru (fry), then pour dashi (broth) on it. This time I made it with taro.
This is the Kyoto style taro, kyo-imo. I have peeled one, cut in a few rolls, boiled till tender. Then I’ve patted them dry and deep-fried till they get colored.
The dashi is the Japanese basic broth : DIY dashi recipe or plant-based kombu dashi.
I have left the fish flakes (you can omit them), added dry togarashi chili pepper, flavored with soy sauce and reheated slightly. I’ve added a little potato starch to thicken and poured on the hot kyo-imo.
Serve hot while it’s crunchy around.
I have used these black soy beans (kuromame) instead of the white. And I have proceeded exactly as I do for white tofu (recipes here).
It’s zaru tofu, shaped in a basket.
Topped with kezuri-katsuo (fish flakes), and at the side soy sauce to pour on it.
You’ll see the rest of the menu in the next post… (soon here)
黒豆
This is a compilation about ideas to cook kuromame (black soy beans). First, you need to boil them, go to the end of this post for instructions.
SIDE DISH
As a side dish for :
kare raisu (Japanese curry)
Korean wind lunch
Rum vanilla apple black beans, in fragrant tortilla
WITH RICE
Black rice
Same recipe as seki-han, red rice (red rice), but with kuromame…
BEAN BALLS
A variation to burger or croquette.
Tama (green lemon big bean ball)
Swedish bean balls
Dark green curry with bean balls
OTHERS :
Marron berry chunky terrine (France)
Feijoada with pig trotter (Brazil)
Enfrijoladas frescas (Mexico)
also in :
Japanese garden creamy Winter soup
four bean gumbo
‘lumaca’ soup
SWEET :
Recooked in a syrup of sugar and grated fresh ginger.
Sweetened with syrup of kurozato (black sugar). They are floating with black sesame on top a bowl of sweet potato okayu
PREPARATION OF DRIED BEANS :
Cooking them is quite long, that can take 3 or 4 hours, after soaking them 24 hours. The time is hard to “predict” as it depends on the size of beans and their age (this year’s crop, or older…).
Process :
-Anyway, rinse them and soak them. You can add baking soda or not (I don’t but Japanese water is not harsh).
-Bring them to boil, you use the soaking water or change. In the first case, color will be more vivid. Boil them at least 10 minutes and take away the foam on surface (the toxic substance of beans).
-Continue on low heat, in a crock pot if you want. Beans are cooked when they are soft.
I cook a batch of 250g without any flavoring, and I freeze most in cups (silicone cupcake molds) for further use.
Tip (that I don’t use) : to keep the color, you can add some nails or other iron objects that are rusted.
Japan’s most common recipe is to cook them with sugar (same weight as the beans) added from the soaking water, or from the low heat simmering… or like I do later. The sweet black beans are one item of the New Year good luck dishes. For savory recipes, you can add a piece of kombu seaweed in the water.
GOURMANDE in OSAKA 