Soup

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Black Bean Soup with Toppings トッピング山盛りブラックビーンスープ

I’m a big soup person.

I love any meal that includes soup.

Black bean soup is probably one of my favorite soups.

I made my black bean soup, and I was going to make salad that would go with it, but then I decided to put everything in a cup!

The toppings are corn, red onion, grape tomatoes, radish, avocado, and cilantro.

The soup is tasty as it is.

But there are times when more is better, right?

These are a recent addition to my soup cup collection.

I love the organic feel of the cups.

And the size!

These cups are over-sized and they can easily hold a large amount of anything that can be served as a meal.

Black Bean Soup with Toppings

canola oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1~2 stalks celery, chopped
2~3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can black bean, rinsed
1~2 cups water
cumin
sugar
salt
pepper
toppings – anything you like! (e.g., corn, red onion, grape tomatoes, avocado, cilantro)

1. Sautee garlic, onion, and celery in oil.
2. Add tomato paste, black beans, and water. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
3. Add cumin, sugar, salt, and pepper.
4. Serve with toppings.

I’m on Instagram.

June 22, 2016

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Seafood, Soup

Mussle Coconut Curry ムール貝ココナッツカレー

It’s always fun to visit an Asian grocery store because I seem to find something new and interesting every time I go.

Last time I was at a large local Chinese grocery store I found these beautiful green mussles!

It was interesting to find out that they are from New Zealand because I usually see them at Chinese restaurants so I had assumed they were from Asia.

These were sold in a box frozen. When I opened the box at home I was pleasantly surprised that each piece was very large and plump.

Another thing I found during the same trip to the grocery store was this. Rice flake noodles.

I had never seen it before, and I thought it would be fun to try it in my coconut curry.

These flakes are paper-thin and so pretty.

I expected them to maintain the flat shape, but once cooked in boiling water they all curled up!

The third major ingredient of this dish, coconut milk, also came from the same Asian grocery store that day.

I always enjoy coconut curry, but this one turned out to be a bit special with the new fun ingredients!

Check out my other coconut curry for more ideas, like this, this, or this.

Mussle Coconut Curry with Rice Flake Noodles

canola oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
ginger, chopped, same amount as garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2~3 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Indian curry paste
1 can coconut milk
a dozen green mussles, thawed
1 cup rice flake noodles, cooked
sugar
salt and pepper
fresh scallion, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Sautee garlic and ginger in oil.
2. Add onion and celery. Continue to cook.
3. Add vegetable stock. Boil and turn down to a low heat.
4. Add curry paste and coconut milk. Turn heat up.
5. Add mussles. Cook mussles for a few minutes until cooked through.
6. Add cooked rice flake noodles.
7. Season, with sugar, salt, and pepper.
8. Serve with scallion and cilantro.

I’m on Instagram.

April 24, 2016

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Potato/Squash, Seaweed, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Soba Soup with Basil Sweet Potato Tempura

Soba Soup with Basil Sweet Potato Tempura

I like refreshing soba salad like this one, but this time of the year hot steamy soba soup is delicious of course!

This is a pretty traditional Japanese dish. Everyone loves tempura soba in Japan. It’s a bold statement but it’s true (lol).

But sweet potato and basil tempura is a bit different, and you probably won’t find it on the menu at soba restaurants in Japan.

When you hear the word, tempura, a lot of people probably picture shrimp tempura, but you can make tempura with basically anything.

I love vegetable tempura and this one, made of sweet potato, onion, and basil, is a good example to show that you can mix and match various vegetables. This type of veggie tempura is called “kakiage”.

The crunchy tempura, the natural sweetness from the sweet potato, the bright orange color of the potato, and the unexpected freshness from the basil came together so well, and I loved it.

Soba Soup with Basil Sweet Potato Tempura

soup
– 2 cups water
– 1 tablespoon Japanese shio kombu seaweed (salted kombu seaweed)
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– 1/2 ~ 1 tablespoon sugar
– salt
basil sweet potato tempura
– 1/3 cup julienned sweet potato
– 1/3 cup onion slices
– 1/2 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped
– tempura batter (all purpose flour, baking powder, ice water)
– canola oil, for frying
– salt
100g soba noodle, cooked
scallion, chopped
Shichimi (Japanese seven spices)

1. Make soup. Add salted kombu to water. Boil and then turn down to low heat. Add soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
2. Make tempura batter. Combine all the ingredients. Mix sweet potato, onion, and basil. Dip them into the batter. Deep fry in canola oil at 350F until cooked through and crunchy. Remove from the oil. Place on a plate lined with paper towel. Salt.
3. Serve cooked soba noodle in the soup. Place the tempura on top. Sprinkle chopped scallion and Shichimi spices.

I’m on Instagram.

2 Comments

March 6, 2016

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tomato Ramen
トマトラーメン

Tomato Ramen

I love anything with a tomato flavor and tomato ramen made so much sense to me.

This turned out to be good, but I felt like I put too much tomato paste to the soup and it turned out to be more like tomato soup like rather than tomato “ramen”.

As soon as I tasted the soup, I remembered that I made the same mistake the last time I tried making tomato ramen.

Here is a lesson for me: more is not always better.

Vegan Tomato Ramen

soup
– canola oil
– 2 cloves garlic
– 1/2 onion, sliced
– 2~3 tablespoons Shio-Kombu (Japanese salted kombu)
– 2 cups water
– soy sauce
– tomato paste
– sugar
– salt and pepper
cooked ramen noodle (I use fresh noodle)
toppings: tomato, corn, napa cabbage, spinach, scallion, roasted seaweed

1. Make soup. Cook garlic and onion in oil. Add shio-kombu and continue to cook. Add water. Boil and then reduce to a low heat. Add soy sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and pepper.
2. Serve cooked ramen noodle in the soup with toppings.

トマトラーメン

トマトの味にしたスープでラーメン。

美味しくできましたが、ちょっと改良の余地ありかな。

というのも、トマトペーストを入れすぎた気が。

実は以前にも一度トマトラーメンを作ったのですが、その時もまったく同じ失敗をしたような記憶があって、情けなし。。。

味見を何回もしているので、あら、美味しい！、というところでストップしないとダメですね。

何でも多けりゃ多いほどいい、というものではない、というレッスンでした。

インスタグラムもやってます。よかったらチェックしてみてくださいね。

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