Japanese-style green tea February 16, 2010

At most sushi-places, they serve a very particular variation on the subject of green tea. It has a very nice and distinctive taste, and for our New Year’s dinner for 2009, I recreated it with some small success.
 
You will need;

• Free leaf green tea
• Sesame seeds

 
Simply put some tea leaves and sesame seeds in a tea pot, bring water to the boil and pour it over the leaves and sesame. Leave it to brew for a little while, and serve. You can leave them in the water, draining the pot if you wish.
 
The leaves and sesame seeds are good for two to three brewings with fresh water.
 
I recommend using high-grade green tea leaves. I have used Chaplon Long Jing Superior, which is a bit on the expensive side, but very nice.

Homebrew Sashimi

I love fish, I really do. Getting good quality fish isn’t necessarily cheap, but when you do, you can do what ever you want to with it. You can even eat it raw. I love sushi as well, and sashimi can also be a hit. Here’s my take on it, inspired by my mother, but modified a bit.
 

• Raw fish (I usually prefer salmon, but any fish that is rich in flavour, and preferably a bit fatty as well will do)(Cod is nice)(As is trout)(And prawns)(Mmm prawns)
• Salt soy sauce
• Lemon and/or lime juice OR Wasabi (japanese horse radish, sold in tubes. It’s green and very strong)

 
First, make the dressing, mixing roughly equal parts of soy sauce and lemon and/or lime juice, or wasabi to taste if you want a slightly more “authentic” taste. (You can mix lemon juice and wasabi, but you’ll end up using much more of both, and not getting as good a result.) Thinly slice the fish into slices roughly measuring a square inch, and somewhere between a half and three quarters of a centimetre thick. Mix the dressing and the fish. You can serve this immediately, but if you want the taste to be a bit deeper, cover with plastic film and leave in the fridge for a while.
 
Serve with rice, salad or whatever else you want.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is the widely known tomato soup served across the spanish speaking world. There are many takes on it, here’s mine:

• Tinned tomatoes, chopped or whole
• Garlic
• Salt

 
Garnish:

• Croutons
• Cucumber
• Onion
• Sweet corn
• Bell pepper

 
Blitz the tomatoes and garlic in a blender until it’s smooth, and add salt to taste. Salt with herbs can work well as well. Put the soup in the fridge to cool. Serve with loads of ice in the gazpacho, and the different garnishes on the side, to add according to taste. If you want some bits of tomato in the gazpacho, add a tin of chopped tomatoes after you’re done blitzing it.
 
This dish works well with pretty much any beverage, my favorite is beer.
 
Keep in mind that this is simply my take on the concept. I have eaten some great gazpachos, and I feel this is pretty close to true to the taste of the original, and it is so simple it might amaze you.

Fusion sauce

This was my first attempt at any sort of asian cooking. It’s really quick, really simple, and tastes great.
 
This sauce is very quick to make, and it works very well with dishes such as chicken and rice or fish fingers. You’ll need:

• Coconut milk
• A lime

 
Pour the coconut milk in a shaker. Squeeze the lime over it. Shake well.

Chili “My Way”

This chili is a brainchild of mine based on many American movies, as well as more than a few different myths involving chilis that lived on for years. The chili works well as an addition to tacos, as a part of a breakfast-meal, or as a snack to go with beer or other drink. There are no measurements here, this is all very rough and ready. You’ll have to feel you way around the chili, and make it your own. Maybe you’ll think of something I haven’t?
 
My chili contains the following:

• Tinned chick peas
• Tinned, chopped tomatoes
• Tinned sweet-corn
• Tinned kidney beans
• Tabasco sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Pepper

 
Put the tomatoes, beans and corn in a pot. Boil it until it thickens a bit (If you want to, you could always use a thickener, such as cornflour).
 
I have had other things in it in the past, but this is the basic recipe. I usually use all of the fluids from the kidney beans, and I use flour or corn flour to thicken the chili. It gets better the more it gets heated and cooled, and I have been known to use the remnants of an old chili as a base for a fresh batch.

Bread and oil

I can’t help but think there’s something very Italian about this; and I just love the fact that it is simple, both in creation and taste, as well as a very good base for just about anything.
 

• Bread
• Olive oil
• Salt

 
Cut the bread in slices. Pour some olive oil onto it, and spread lightly with a knife. Add salt (I use flaky sea salt for preference, but whatever you’ve got will probably do just fine).
 
Variants include adding any one (or more) of the following:
 

• Basil
• Cucumber
• Cheese (my favorites for this include feta, manchego and cheddar)
• Sun dried tomato

Asparagus in oil and salt

This is a quick and simple recipe for asparagus, which is great for serving as-is, as a starter. I got it from Knut the easter of 2007, and have been making it a lot (cause it’s so simple and so good).
 
You’ll need:

• Oil (I use olive oil, but you can use what you like)
• Asparagus (green ones)
• Salt (I prefer flaky salt like Maldon)
• Garlic (I prefer the chinese ones, but both kinds are fine)

 
Place a frying-pan on the plate, put it on full, and add oil and salt. While heating, cut the garlic into smallish slices, and the asparagus into pieces, chopping the bottom bits off, as they’ll get thready. Once the oil is hot (it should be really hot) add the asparagus and garlic, and start working the pan. I usually do without utensils, simnply shaking the pan around instead. If that doesn’t work for you, feel free to use utensils. When they turn darker green they are mostly done. Pour them over into a serving dish and serve.
 
I think it might be a good idea to cut some fine slivers of parmesan or manchego cheese to spread onto the asparagus, and they’ll do with some pepper as well.