Category Archives: Japanese

Spicy silken tofu

June 23, 2018 8:02 pm / Leave a Comment /

There seem to be lots of soy-tofu recipes around but it’s something I haven’t done before in the steam oven.  Remember the benefit of buying a quality steam oven is that you can have accurate control over the temperature.  Yes, I guess I could put this in at full 100 percent steam but I like to heat it slowly like a custard almost, giving it adequate time to heat evenly before you drench it in the delicious sauce.

You can adjust the sauce to taste but love it or hate it, tofu does need some flavour so this packs a punch 🙂

Ingredients:

1 block silken or soft tofu, removed from packet and drained
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
1 large clove garlic, crushed
a small knob of ginger, grated
2 tablespoons of soy
1 tablespoon of miso
1-2 tablespoons of water
pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
¼ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp white sesame seeds
Fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

Place drained tofu on baking paper in the perforated steamer tray.

  1. Heat the oil on medium heat, add the garlic and ginger and stir well being careful not to burn it.
  2. Add the chilli flakes if using then all the other ingredients
  3. Remove from heat and stir well until you have a smooth consistency, taste to balance flavours.
  4. Steam the tofu at 90°C for 8 minutes.
  5. Remove from steam oven and put onto a warm serving plate.  You can warm the plate in the steam oven while the tofu is heating.
  6. Heat the sauce again until hot and pour over tofu to serve.
  7. Cut into cubes and garnish with fresh coriander.  You could also top with chopped green onions which would be delicious too.

Serve as part of a shared meal.

 

 

 

Posted in: Japanese, Main Courses, Side dishes, Steam Oven

Teriyaki salmon

July 7, 2017 4:35 pm / 8 Comments /

After our server was recently migrated I lost this last post, so here it is again in case you missed it.

Want perfectly crispy skin salmon without overcooking the salmon in the process?

Then try this method of marinading the salmon for a few minutes, steaming it and finishing it off in a pan if you don’t have a combi oven.  A great way to utilise the steam oven away from the traditional thinking that ‘steaming’ is always wet, pale food.  It is an excellent appliance for pre-cooking food that will save time plus retain the nutrients and flavours.

The results were excellent, quicker than cooking in the pan alone and with more accurate results the flesh was slightly pink in the centre which is the way we like to eat our salmon but with crispy skin which was slightly caramalised from the sugar in the sauce.  Exactly what you want with a decent teriyaki sauce.

I have utilised the pan for cooking some eggplant as well.  Apart from having an extra pan to wash up with this recipe it was all delicious!

Ingredients:  Serves 2

Teriyaki Sauce:  (This makes enough to put in a jar for other meals)

1/3 cup Mirin
½ cup soy (remember to use GF option)
2 tsp rice vinegar
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ cup castor sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 small pieces salmon, skin on
½ eggplant
dash of peanut oil

Steam oven rice here to serve and steamed green vegetables here.

Method:

  1. For the Teriyaki sauce, mix all ingredients into a screw top jar. Shake then open and stir until sugar dissolves.  Set aside.
  2. Check the salmon for any bones, wipe over with kitchen paper and place into the solid, perforated tray which has been lined with baking paper. Spoon over a little of the Teriyaki sauce to marinade the fish while you are waiting for the rice to cook.
  3. Now, wash your rice and follow the instructions on cooking
  4. Place into steam oven and set timer for 100°C for 17 minutes. Set another timer somewhere else to alert you in the last couple of minutes of this cooking time.
  5. Slice eggplant and salt to remove any bitter juices. Rinse off and pat dry.  Cut slices into quarters.
  6. Heat a non-stick frypan with a dash of peanut oil. Add eggplant and stir fry until golden and almost cooked through.
  7. When you have 1½ minutes remaining on the rice, open the steam oven and add the salmon and green vegetables. They can either be in a separate tray or just placed on top of the rice.  Close the door, depending on your steam oven the appliance hopefully will reheat again to 100°C.
  8. Remove the salmon, add skin side down to medium-hot pan with the eggplant pushed away to the sides. Now add 2 tablespoons of the Teriyaki sauce, let the skin fry a little then turn it over.  Don’t have the pan too hot or it will burn.  Cook for exactly 2 minutes in total.  Cooking times will depend on the size of your fish.

Remove and serve with the rice, steamed vegetables and drizzle over the sauce that has collected in the baking paper from the salmon.  You will have extra Teriyaki sauce if you wish to use that too.

 

Posted in: Fish, Gluten free, Japanese, Main Courses, Steam Oven

Sous vide wagyu with wasabi dipping sauce

January 19, 2017 9:09 am / 6 Comments /

Sous vide wagyu with wasabi dipping sauce

I had a great In-home cooking class with a lovely lady in Milsons Point who gave me a gift of two beautiful wagyu steaks.  I put them in my freezer before Christmas but had in mind what I wanted to do with them.  They weighed 320g and were already vac packed.  Perfect for sous vide as no need to even bag them up again.  They were quite thin so I reduced the cooking time from my previous sous vide attempt here.

Perfectly cooked to medium rare the sous vide method is definitely the way to go with good quality cuts of meat.  Apart from a very quick searing of one minute on each side in a smoking hot pan or BBQ you don’t have to worry that you are overcooking it; something that can easily happen, especially on the BBQ or with thinner cuts of meat.  Cooking at such a low temperature will allow the fat marbelling to melt away.

Try this, the sauce is amazing.  You can adjust the amount of wasabi to suit your tastes but start with these quantities unless you have a real issue with spicy food.  Remember to taste as you go.  Great with a green salad (also even better dipped in the sauce!) and a bowl of steamed rice here.

Ingredients:  Serves 2

2 x Wagyu beef steaks as above
2 bowls of pre-cooked steam oven rice
Cucumber and mixed salad to serve

Dipping sauce:
1-2 tsp wasabi (from the tube)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp Canola oil
Spring onions

Method:

  1. For dipping sauce mix all ingredients together in a small bowl except oil & spring onions.
  2. Whisk in oil to emulsify.  Set aside.
  3. Bring steaks to room temperature in bag, about 15 minutes from the refrigerator should be enough.
  4. Place steaks, in unopened plastic bag in perforated steam oven tray and cook @ 56ºC for 30 minutes for thin steaks of 320g.  If your steak is thicker you will need to adjust the time.
  5. Preheat a non-stick frypan or BBQ until smoking hot.  Add a dash of olive oil just before you are ready to sear them.
  6. Cook for ONLY 1 minute on each side, sprinkle with a little sea salt and remove to a plate to rest while you reheat your rice in the steam oven for 4 minutes @ 100ºC.

Serve with warm steamed rice, dipping sauce and a fresh green salad.  Yum!

 

 

Posted in: Cooking classes, Japanese, Main Courses, Rice, Sauces & custards, Steam Oven