Recipes: Dashi Soup, Napa Salad

Yesterday's dinner was fairly raw, and very satisfying, which I never expect. A napa cabbage salad and Japanese soup from dashi.

Start with dashi from a piece of kombu and shiitake mushrooms. I did boil it a minute as I'm not brave enough yet for raw dried and soaked mushrooms. If they'd been fresh, maybe.


Dashi
4 c. water
1 1"x4" piece kombu
3 dry shiitake mushrooms
1/8" slice of fresh ginger or galangal (optional)
2 T shoyu

I put the kombu and mushrooms in the water, warmed it slightly and let it soak a bit. (While it soaked, I made the salad.)

Once the mushrooms are soft, slice and reserve:
2 scallions
1 carrot (moons or half moons)
hand full snowpeas (I cut them in long strips, then in half)
1 T wakame, soaked in cold water
Stem and slice the shiitakes. You may want to take some out and save for another use.

When you're ready to serve:
Warm the water, kombu, shiitake, either to 115 F (40 C) degrees or to just boil.
Off the heat, remove the kombu (dry and save for one more dashi!) and add the shoyu.
Taste and adjust shoyu if needed. I added a tiny bit of (1/4-1/2 t) rice vinegar at this point as it seemed to need it.

Put a bit of each of the veggies into each bowl (2 large or 4 small servings). Ladle the dashi onto them. Serve immediately.


Napa Cabbage Salad
1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
1 small Thai pepper, chopped
1 T dulse, cut to bite size pieces if large
2 scallions, sliced
1/8" slice ginger or galangal, peeled & sliced
handful pumpkin seeds, soaked & dried
big sprinkle black sesame seeds (mine happen to be roasted)
1-2 T walnut oil
1 T rice vinegar
big pinch of Himalayan salt

Let sit at least 10 minutes to let the flavors meld and for the dressing to mellow the cabbage.

This is the perfect time to finish the soup.

We topped this meal off with chard, pear, galangal and basil and a little water in the Blendtec. Then a small piece of 70% chocolate.

The kids ate tri-color orzo pastina instead of napa salad, which was a hard sell.

Pastina
2 c. water, boiling
Add
1 c. orzo
1/4 t. sea salt
Stir. Bring to boil, cover and lower heat. Cook covered, without stirring, until tender. There should be no water to drain.

Off the heat. Add 2-3 T butter and two raw (organic/free range/local) eggs. Stir until well blended and eggs are cooked (the residual steam is more than enough to completely cook the eggs, I assure you). Taste for salt and correct. You could sneak white puree into this easily (cauliflower and yellow summer squash blended smooth with a bit of lemon juice, a la Sneaky Chef).