cabbage – Goboroot.com

Kuri Gohan & Tonjiru

After my mom left, many kind hearts looked after my sister and me. We were consoled by my grandma, our aunties and uncles, and my father’s colleague Mrs. Tajima. We were about 8 years old and Mrs. Tajima had children who were in junior high, so sometimes she came to our apartment to help us with chores or brought us to her house after school. This was when I discovered a love of chestnuts. Boiled, steamed or roasted, I loved eating these nuts, as to me they encompassed a whole autumn season on a plate.

Mrs. Tajima’s children taught us how to spoon the nutty dense meat out of the steamy hot chestnuts. My fingernails ended up all yellow and sweet, with hard brown shells piled up on a table. After working hard to extract the chestnut meat, we happily ate the delicious chestnuts with a glass of milk. Today, when I close my eyes and discern the flavour of each chestnut in the rice, I wonder how Mrs. Tajima is doing, and suddenly remember the way she wiped my wet hair in the evening light with me burying my head around her tummy and wondering if this was how my mother would smell. Cooking chestnuts always brings back this memory and the warmth of Mrs. Tajima.

Kuri Gohan (Chestnut Rice)

Serves 6

30 plump chestnuts

1¼ cups white rice

1 cup (250ml) brown rice

2½ cups water

2 tablespoons sake

½ teaspoon salt

For sprinkling

Roasted black sesame seeds

Sea salt

Rinse the chestnuts, place them in a large bowl, and cover with cold water over night.

Next day, rinse the chestnuts and place them in boiling water for a few minutes. Let them cool off in the water. Peel the skin with a small knife, being careful not to break the chestnuts. Soak them in water for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash the rice well and change water a few times until water becomes clear. Place in the bowl of a rice cooker with 2½ cups water.

Rinse the chestnuts and drain well. Place the sake and salt in the prepared rice and stir to mix. Lay the chestnuts on top of rice evenly and cook (If you don’t use a rice cooker, you can cook the same way you normally cook the rice in a pot).

Combine the sesame seeds and salt in a small bowl. Serve immediately with sesame mixture lightly sprinkled on top.

Tonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup)

I always make a plenty of this dish because the flavour gets even better the next day!

Serves 6-8

1 large gobo, skin removed and cut lengthwise and then, into 1 inch pieces

6 inch daikon, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

1 lb pork centre loin chop, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups water

2 sheets abura age, cut into ½ inch strings

2 leeks, cut into ½ inch pieces

1/3 cup to ½ cup red miso and white miso (I like mixing half and half)

Soak the gobo in cold water, changing the water a couple of times until it becomes clear, about 20 minutes. Drain well.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and sauté gobo. Then, add daikon, carrots and pork until they are nicely coated with oil, for about 15 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Skim occasionally and simmer for 30 minutes.

Rinse the abura age by pouring boiling water to remove the excess oil. When cool, squeeze the moisture out and add to the soup.

Add the leek and cook further, about 10 minutes or so.

Turn the heat down to low heat, place the miso in a ladle and melt gradually into the soup. Never boil miso soup, as this will destroy the subtle umami flavour.

Gentlly simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve while hot.

Ohitashi with Cabbage

½ head of cabbage

½ organic lemon

1 Thai pepper, chopped thinly

2 tablespoon dashi stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Boil water in a medium pot and submerge the cabbage for about 5 minutes. Drain well.

In the meantime, extract lemon juice for about 1 tablespoon. Peel the rind and cut into thin strips for ½ tablespoon. Combine the juice, dashi and soy sauce in a small bowl.

When cabbage is cool, squeeze the moisture out and cut into ½ inch pieces.

Mix the cabbage, lemon rind, pepper, and lemon juice mixture and serve immediately.

Pulled Pork and Coleslaw Dinner

Rain is finally here. My garden has been replenished after the long dry months but it’s been pouring all day (and for the past few days too). A day like this makes me feel like going back to using the oven. I want to savour the aromas of a roast and feel the comforting warmth of the fireplace. Also, I needed to use up cabbages that I just harvested from the garden. So I made a brightly coloured coleslaw salad, then I started wondering what could accompany it. Given my craving for an oven roast, pulled pork immediately came to mind. I tend to work backward all the time. Luckily, I have the perfect man to take charge when it comes to supervising long oven roasts. It is indeed a very important quality in a man.

Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork and Coleslaw Sandwiches

8 to 10 hungry people

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons cane sugar

10 lb pork shoulder, skin on-bone in

2 cups BBQ sauce

8 to 10 Kaiser buns

Red cabbage coleslaw (recipe follows)

Combine all the seasonings in a small bowl.

Rinse the pork and pat dry. Remove the rind from the pork, rub the spice blend all over and marinate, covered in a refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the pork in a roasting pan or heavy bottomed pot, and cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Roast for about 6 hours or until falling apart. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork should read 170F.

Remove the pork from the oven, transfer to a large plate and let stand, covered for 20 minutes.

Using 2 folks, pull the pork to form shreds and place in a large bowl.

Pour 1 cup of BBQ sauce into the shredded pork and combine well.

Assemble sandwiches by placing the pork on a half bottom of a Kaiser bun and topping it with coleslaw. Serve with the other half of the bun and the rest of the BBQ sauce on the side.

Adapted from www.foodnetwork.com

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

I always make this salad a day before serving in order to achieve the best taste and texture.

Makes about 4 cups

1 head large red cabbage, shredded or sliced thinly

2 large carrots, julienned

1 apple, cored and julienned

4 scallions, chopped finely

Dressing

2 tablespoons cane sugar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ to ¾ cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to your taste

Combine the dressing and pour over the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Mix well and let stand for at least a few hours in a refrigerator before serving.

Roasted Beet Borscht Soup

This is a big pot of soup for a cold rainy afternoon, which can literally occur anytime here in the Vancouver area at this time of year! You can serve this hearty soup for your guests or simply cook for two and take a day or two off from cooking over the next couple of days. The longer it cooks, the better the flavour gets so it is perfect for rainy afternoons when you can spare time for a cozy homemade meal to replenish your soul.

Some baby celery leaves from the previous year’s plant that I started from seeds have survived the freezing temperatures, and have now started to show the signs of spring! I like this soup slightly creamy but not too much. When I use heavy cream, I might omit sour cream or vice versa. It totally depends on your liking; feel free to adjust.

Roasted Beet Borscht Soup

Serves 6-8

1 pound beets

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

3/4 cup potatoes, diced

8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

2 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes

2 cups cabbage, shredded

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon or so salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Sour cream, for garnish

2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (I use whatever green leaves are available in my garden such as cilantro or chives)

Scrub the beets and remove the leaves, leaving a 1 inch stub from the top. Place them on a large piece of aluminum foil and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and seal the foil tight, then roast until they are tender when tested. Large beets may take an hour or so. Set aside and let cool

In the meantime, chop the vegetables, and heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat to melt the butter. Sauté garlic, onion, carrots, celery and potatoes until softened and starting to colour, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the stove top to medium-low heat and skim off the foam that floats on top. Add diced tomatoes, bring to a boil and repeat the process to remove unwanted foam on the surface of the soup. Remove the skins from the beets, chop into cubes and add to the soup. Let simmer over medium-low heat for an hour with a lid, stirring occasionally.

This is the time to serve yourself a glass of wine if you haven’t yet. Take a break for a while.

The last thing to do is to shred the cabbage and add it to the soup after simmering for 1 hour. Then, let simmer for another 20 minutes. Add cream and adjust the taste with salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve in bowls, garnished with sour cream and dill.