The most refreshing salad

We are in the middle of a heat wave. That was hot before that’s hard now. Here is a dish based on refreshing ingredients. I already told you the konnyaku noodles were ultra refreshing and another benefit is their fiber greatly helps digestion.

Melon (Provence style). Itokonnyaku (aka shirataki, konnyaku noodles). Hot green chili peppers.

Rinse longly the noodles. Add bits of chili pepper and raw ginger. Put in the fridge to get it very cold.

Carve pearls of melon.

Lay on the noddles. Add the juice that escaped.

Serve very chilled. At the last minute, decorate with ribbons of basil and balsamico reduction.

Hiya yakko fresh simple lunch

冷奴 hiya yakko, literally chilled cubes. Cubes of tofu. That’s the symbol of Japanese Summer.

Negi leeks. Well just the greens are needed now…

Chop thinly.

Take freshly made quality tofu. Silky is the most popular for this dish. Chill it. Serve cubed with the negi and shoyu soy sauce. Or other toppings of your choice.

People hate or love okra’s jelly texture. That’s what make this veggie great for hot days. It helps for hydration.

Fresh skewers. The okras are blanched and refreshed in iced water, then cut.

The season of the famous Japanese peaches is arriving. This small one makes the perfect conclusion.

Black soy milk iced matcha latte (from beans)

That’s not a fast-food drink. Count 12 hours or more to get your refreshment. Well, it’s not really labor intensive.

Kuromame, black soy beans. Compil’ here.

After overnight soaking. I don’t know why they burst. That doesn’t matter.

Squeezed in cotton gauze. More details about soy milk making here.

That gives soy milk. The grounds are okara:

This okara will be used in next post.

You can drink the milk.

Or make a matcha latte. I foamed 1/3 of chilled milk with matcha green tea powder and poured on top. You can see a gradation.

Seed butter vichyssoise

Made with leftovers. A cold soup flavored with sesame and sunflower seed butter.

Old potatoes and whites of leeks. So the idea came quickly : a vichyssoise, the creamy chilled soup.

Lots of leeks, a few potatoes.

I had not enough sesame, so I’ve mixed with a few “pipasol” seeds. The result is very nutty.

As a side dish : ribbons of carrot, mitsuba (stalks and leaves)

With cheezy sauce/dressing : tofu, olive oil, salt and sakekasu (sake lees)

Ryori, a Japanese classic menu… (compilation by cooking techniques)

Quick list of Japanese “classics” to help you navigate on this site. That’s not complete at all. I tried to make it representative. I often make them with a twist, but I tell you in the post.

Short memo about the Japanese meal

-all dishes are brought at the same time, ideally served in individual dishes, one plate per item.
-there is rice + soup + three items. Or more.

The items, called okazu tend to be side-dish sized. On the menu in restaurants, traditional style was to present the okazu by cooking technique.

ONE :

GOHAN, rice
rice cuisine list ***** sushi list

and ONE :

吸い物,SUIMONO
A soup to drink !