Mountain of veggies green curry

Yeah, all those veggies inside a curry trying to recreate the mountain green curry of the mountain people in the North of Thailand and South of China. It’s very sour, very bitter, very green… and the combination is refreshing. Well, that’s my arranged version with what I had in stock, as they surely never get favas and okras, but they have many local produce I can’t get.
I think the sansho (lemony, bitter), the goya (bitter), the ginger (hot) bring the good balance.

Green sansho peppercorns (frozen), onions, ginger, bay leaves.

Goya bitter cucumber, broad beans, okras, carrots.

I used green curry paste, brown sugar, citrus juice for the broth.

Ready.

Served with jasmine rice.

A side-dish totally fusion : white sashimi konnyaku, yellow bell pepper and balsamic reduction sauce.

Kibinago no nanban-zuke (fishbait in sour marinade)

Second visit of kibinago fish bait.

南蛮づけ nanban zuke. It’s fried fish, then marinated in a sour sauce. The result is very light on the stomach.

kibinago (silver stripe round herring) are these small mini-fish, often to small to cut them. Perfect for frying.
Wash the fish and drain well water. Sprinkle black pepper and chili pepper or other spices (optional).

Heat frying oil. Pass the fish in potato starch, fry them.

The fried fish, onion, carrot, ginger (grated) a chili pepper.

For the sauce : 1/2 cup water, 2 tbs mirin, 1 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs sake brought to a boil. Then add 4 tbs of black rice vinegar. Pour on fish and veggies. Cover. Let 30 minutes minimum. I prefer overnight.

The next day.

Renkon (lotus root) in black vinegar with ginger. Green beans and edamame in yuzu citrus juice.

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Genmai (brown rice) and miso soup with wakame seaweed.

Sour fragrances for a daizu bean soup

This soup looks very ordinary, but under the flat appearance it’s a bunch of raw spices and nutty touches. It’s nutritive and surely detoxing as the ingredients are all very healthy.

Soybeans, called daizu in Japanese. They are dry. They are the ingredient to make tofu, natto and other soy products. This time I soaked them longly and boiled to eat them as a vegetable. They are a source plant based proteins.

Cooked. The skin go away on this photo because I froze them and thawed a bit quickly.

Sobacha (buckwheat tea) is made of broken and roast buckwheat kernels. It’s a delicious caffeine-free drink.

I keep the grounds after infusion. As you can see they take lots of volume and become soft. Of course, and I eat them. It’s a pleasant nutty grain, a bit too strong on its own. So let mix that in.

Diced ginger. It’s excellent for digestion.

Frozen sancho peppercorns(Sichuan pepper). It has a sour and fragrant power not unlike ginger. Both go well together. I’ve mixed all the ingredient listed, added water and reheated, then I’ve diluted a tbs of miso and blended in a 3 tbs of ground freshly roast sesame.