Smoked oysters and kimchi pasta

A simple colorful pasta lunch, really delicious. Bonus : a quick tsukemono (Japanese pickle).

A can of smoked oysters in oil, kimchi, soy bean sprouts and Japanese kabu turnips. These kabu are appreciated for their greens as much as for the root. Let’s use both in this meal.

Stir-frying the oysters.

Then add kimchi, al dente pasta, the sprouts. Serve on the blanched turnip greens. Sprinkle with sudachi lime juice.

Kabu. Peel, slice very thinly. You should be able to read a newspaper through a slice. I use a peeler.Place the slices in salted fresh water, let 15 minutes. Mince a small amount of greens. Drain the slices, squeeze well, add the greens, black pepper and broken walnuts. Mix well.

You have a nice veggie side dish, fresh and crunchy.

A delicious dragon fruit (from Philippines).

A nice meal.

Salade de crudités updated : veggie nori-maki

Once upon a time, we’d serve the crudités on a large plate, even with the sauce mixed in with each type of vegetable. For guests, Granny would display them on huge (imitation) silver trays.

That looked like that.
Grated carrot, sliced Japanese turnip, sliced new onion, greens, edamame (they have to be boiled).

Then this became popular to make sushi… So why not rolling in the veggies ?

(Do you notice something weird on the photo ? You should… I had a problem after the shooting session. LOL)

And serving the dressing (soy sauce, black rice vinegar and chili pepper) as a dip.

Namul, Koreanizing the veggies

Here is a plate generously filled with decadent veggies, and that’s only one serving. I don’t know why but when the Koreans prepare vegetables, they change them so much that I have the impression of eating dessert. But you never have too many veggies. So let’s make a ton !

They can be served as banchan (sides) or used to make a :

bibimbap (click here tomorrow)

The vegetables are raw or lightly cooked (blanched/steamed). I flavor them with fragrant sesame oil, soy sauce, grated garlic and dry chili. If I have some, a little grated yuzu zest doesn’t hurt. Then top with toasted sesame seeds. I try to use little salt, since I will eat a lot. Now there are many good low sodium soy sauces.

I’ve let these raw.

The greens of the turnip. I have steamed them slightly.

I’ve bought this sprouted soy bean kimchi.

ゼンマイ zenmai (osmunda japonica) is a type of fern often eaten as a vegetable in East Asia. We usually by them boiled. I just added sauce.

Tanuki soba and big kabu turnips

A hot Japanese soup. Soba are buckwheat noodles. The tanuki is a Japanese raccoon dog.

tanuki ezo-tanuki, Northern white tanuki (image source, a blog with nice animal photos)

I’ve not been hunting. This dish is nearly vegan (you can use vegan broth). In Osaka, tanuki soba means a soba soup garnished with a slice of abura-age. In other places in Japan, they may give it a wrong appellation. Maybe it evokes the color of the fur of a tanuki. Or it’s because it’s tanukis’ favorite dish when they dine out in town…