Thursday 1 August 2013

Miso Rice (Japan no Gohan)

This is one of my favorite recipes that I invented taking inspiration from Oishinbo, the Gourmet Japanese food manga. I took inspiration in their technique and the ingredients they used to make their food. It is the embodiment of Japanese Culture

Miso Rice (Japan no Gohan)
200g Rice
1 Teaspoon Miso
Finely Chopped Negi (spring onion)
Olive Oil
Butter
Any Kind Of Mushroom
Soya Sauce
Sake
Dry Dashi Mix
Seaweed Mix

 
The first part of the rice is cooked using the principles of maze gohan ( Japanese mixed rice). First fry some oil and then grill about 1 teaspoon of miso in a pan. When the miso starts to become more liquid, put in the finely chopped spring onion. The fragrance of both of the ingredients is very savory, When the spring onions are done sautéing, add in the rice. By mixing the rice with the miso, the flavor seeps into the rice and makes it slightly more dry.

The next step is to fry some butter on the pan, and then add mushrooms, preferably Portobello, but any mushroom can also work. Sautee the mushroom and then add the dry seasoning first. Mainly black pepper, then add in the soy sauce and sake, causing the mushroom to caramelize with the sauce. The Fragrance of the ingredients is very strong and aromatic. Let the mixture grill for a while and reduce the sauce by about half.

Then add in the rice to the mushrooms, because of the dryness of the rice and the excess amount of sauce of the mushroom The rice will have the right consistency when mixed together. And then add the dry dashi packet into the rice, making the rice change into a more brown color. Because the dish is based on the three fundamentals of Japanese cooking: Soy sauce, Miso and Dashi. The dish has a very strong Japanese taste and is very simple. The approximate time of cooking is about five minutes.
It is preferred to eat the rice in a large bowl, because you can eat down the rice with chopsticks, which is technique used to eat maze gohan, the food that inspired this dish




 
History of Bread Making.
Documentation of Technique.

Initially, the reason that I started my passion for food was based on a series that showed me the innovation and creativity that went into making food for people. It was a series about bread, documenting a boy's journey to invent his own cultural food for Japan. His passion made me interested in cooking as an outlet of creativity. These posts that I am going to write are a documentation of technique both technical and practical that I have learned from my experience as a cook, inventor, learner and eater of good food.

Bread: Croissants
The foundation of the shape of Croissants were founded in the Ottoman Empire. There are two shapes specifically used to designate the ingredients used to make the croissant. There are the crescent shape and the straight shaped Croissant. The crescent shape is used to designate the use of margarine within the croissant, while the straight shape is used to show the use of butter within the bread. The process of making a croissant involved making many layers of pastry dough, which is then baked in the oven giving it a flaky flavor.


Bread: Parisian Bread
Parisian bread was founded in Paris, France. It has a strong founding and culture, with the length of bread being decided by Napoleon Bonaparte. the idea of making Parisian bread, is a long layer of dough that is kneaded and then rolled up to make the pastry that expands in the oven. The tastiness and texture of the bread's outer layer is caused by the air pocket inside the rolled dough. The reason that the length of the dough was set by Napoleon was because the longer the length of the dough, the better tasting the bread. By setting a specific length of making the bread, he wanted to work against decadence. The markings on the top of the bread are used to define French bread, and causes the outer layer to be more crispy.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Rhode Island Chili Dogs and Onion Rings

This is my version of the Chili dog, done with simple ingredients that form 4 different layers when put together. The four different parts are; Fried Onions, Meat Cream Sauce, Baguette and Hotdog. The Onion Rings are also made very simply and when put together forms a very good combination

Ingredients:

Chili dog:

Oil
!/2 of a White Onion
200g Minced Beef
1 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
Black Pepper
Pure Cream
2 tablespoon Tomato Sauce
Butter
Half a Baguette
2 Hot dogs (or any kind of Sausage)
Grated Colby Jack and Chedder Cheese

Onion Rings:
1/2 of a White Onion
Flour
Egg
Panko Breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Steps:
1. For the Chilidog first start by Cutting the White Onion into Slices. When Onions are fried they become soft and fragrant, so bigger slices give the texture that is needed for the Chilidog. Fry the Onions in Olive oil until they become golden brown and very fragrant then remove from heat.

2. To make the Meat cream sauce, fry some butter on a pan and fry the minced beef until it is partially cooked and add in black pepper. Then add in the tomato sauce and the Pure Cream, making sure that all of the ingredients mix together well. Then add in the Tabasco, you can change the amount of Tabasco added depending on how spicy you want the chili dog to be. When the meat cream sauce is cooked, put the pan on low heat and reduce the sauce.

3. For the Baguette, cut the french bread into half length wise and then cut it again to form the bun for the chili dog. Then Butter the sides of the bread facing inwards and fry it in a pan without oil, when th bread is cooked, it will be firm and the butter will melt onto the bread.

4. For the Hotdog Take a pan and heat some water inside and cook the hotdog, make sure that the hotdog absorbs in the water and cooks completely. Also Grate some Colby Jack and Chedder Cheese, or any cheese that is available to you

5. To assemble the chili dog, Put the bread and then the Hot dog, then the Meat Cream Sauce and topping it with the fried onions. Then add in the cheese as the final topping and then bake the hotdog in  the oven of 150 degrees for 10 minutes. Then you have Chilidog, made with techniques taken from many countries.

To make the Onion Rings Basically cut the half of the Onion Lengthwise, removing each preceding ring from it. Then put the Onion Rings into flour egg and then bread crumbs and then deep fry it in oil. Basically this is a very simple recipe that tastes much better than the Onion Rings made in most restaurants. Serve the Onion Rings and the Chili-dog together and then you have a delicious meal.