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Ed notes:
SCENE 1
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| So, let's start with the kombu. Now there is a considerable amount of flavor right up at the surface of these leaves. This white powder is, in fact, not mold or dust, but a dried form of a carbohydrate. You can think of it as seaweed starch. And there's a lot of flavor in that. So just grab your scissors and snip. It's kind of leathery and is kind of tough. Whatever's left over you can seal up in a zip top bag, and keep until the cows come home. There. | 2 (4-Inch) Pieces Kombu |
| Now this will give us all the flavor we need. But, it can't cook right away. First it's got to soak. So into two and a half quarts of water in a four quart saucepan for 30 minutes. That will allow for a re-hydration of the product until it looks, well, pretty much like you would expect seaweed to look. Put this to medium to medium high heat, until the water reaches between 150 and 160 degrees and bubbles just start to break around the outside edge of the pot. Then evacuate the kombu, but don't throw it away, you can actually make a second stock from it later. |
2½ Quarts Water 30:00 |
| Boost the heat to high, measure yourself out one half ounce, about two cups of katsuobushi. When the water boils, sprinkle the katsuobushi over the water, drop the heat to low, bring that just to a simmer, and then stir every now and then for ten minutes, no longer. | ½ Ounce Katsuobushi |
Just like a chicken or veal stock, our dashi must be strained prior
to use. I just use a hand strainer lined with a piece of muslin cloth. But you
could use cheesecloth if you so prefer. But don't throw away those fish pieces,
we're going to use them later.
Let us now move to the second pillar of Japanese cuisine, tofu. Now we've toyed
with tofu on this program before, but let's refresh our knowledge base. It all
begins with soybeans, which have been called the cow of Asia. [a cow moos off in
the distance]
An apt moniker considering the fact that tofu production is nearly identical to
cheese making. Only instead of cow's milk, you use soy milk.
To produce soy milk, first you take the pods, you remove the inner beans, you
dry the inner beans, crush the inner beans, and then cook the inner beans in
water. Allow them to soak and then drain them to get this solid—which you can
feed to your cows and goats—and soy milk. Now soy milk has to be coagulated by adding either calcium sulfate from gypsum,
or magnesium chloride, which is called nigari, I think. That will leave you with
something that looks a lot like a cheese curd. Now just as with cheddaring, you can squeeze that curd to remove some of the
moisture, and that'll leave you with firm tofu. Or, you can leave the moisture
inside, which will give you a very soft, creamy tofu, known in Japan as silken.
AB: Open pantry. [it opens]
The really nice thing about silken tofu is that, unlike firm, Chinese-style tofus—which are squeezed, packed in water and then refrigerated—silken tofu can be squirted into shelf-stable aseptic containers where it coagulates under a vacuum and therefore, will keep for months, if not years, at room temperature. A potent, protein-laden pantry pal if ever there was one.
AB: Close pantry! [it closes]
Now although we can also certainly appreciate the pudding-like consistency of silken tofu, if we tried to cube it up and put it in our soup in this state, it will just fall apart. What we need to do is to make it just a little bit firmer. Luckily, it's very porous stuff and we can squeeze some moisture out of it. Just take a few pieces of paper towel—and you can use any kitchen towel, as long as it's lint-free—roll it up thusly, position another plate right on top, and squeeze it with just a bit of weight. I think 28 ounces should just about do it. [places 2 14-oz cans on top] Time? Well, I think that probably 20 minutes will do the trick. That'll be just enough time for us to talk about the ingredient that gave this soup its name.
[AB looking for Samurai attendant] Miso is a paste made from soybeans that have been ground with a grain such as rice or barley, that's been inoculated with a mold based fermenting agent called a koji. Miso is often called Japanese peanut butter. Not only because it looks, feels, and well to some extent, tastes like the American staple, but because it is nearly as ubiquitous.
S: Ah, miso! [speaking Japanese, raises a covering on a display] Shiromiso, or white miso ... [mumbles]
[AB apparently translating for the viewer] Oh, because of its subtle sweetness, white miso is often used in Japanese desserts.
S: Akamiso, or red miso, is resser [sic, "redder"] than white miso. Red miso ... [speaks indistinctly] ... "country stryle" [sic, "style"] or incamiso... [speaks indistinctly]
[AB translating] Hi! Red miso is really great for braising meats, like beef and pork. So I usually keep it around, too.
S: Awasemiso isa blend of many misos ...
[speaking Japanese]
AB: Hi.
S: Hi.
I have absolutely no idea what he's saying. But I would say that if you're only going to keep one type of miso in the house, make it the awase miso, because it's just more convenient and versatile. Oh and I want to talk about nutrition for a second ...
S: Enzyme ... phytochemical in miso are good for the health, keep the ... [speaks indistinctly as his hands descend, palms down] for the ... [speaks indistinctly while drawing an hourglass figure with hands]
Yeah, whatever he said. But it is really important that you buy miso that isn't loaded up with chemicals, MSG, artificial flavorings and preservatives. For shame.
S: Ooh. [looks sad, goes to stab himself with the sword]
AB:
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. It's okay. It's
okay. It's okay. It's all right. Put that one down. Look, I'm going to
take these, okay? I'm going to take some red because I like it. I'm going to take
some of the white. I'm going to take the awase. I'm going to take these all,
okay? Just put 'em on my tab, okay? Bye bye.
S: Bye, bye, bye, bye. Tab. [relizes using the tab is bad] No tab! [draws sword, screaming,
and runs after AB]
Japan’s Emperor Mommu established a bureau or miso regulation in 701 A. D.
GUESTS: Kikunae Ikeda
Nurse
Sock Puppets [one for each of the five taste sensations]
| Time to make the soup. Eight cups, that's two quarts of dashi go into a four quart saucepan over medium high heat. | 2 Quarts Dashi |
| Now, when the dashi reaches 100 degrees, ladle one cup off into a mixing bowl, and then whisk in eight tablespoon of miso. Now I'm going to go with six tablespoons of red miso and two of white because well, that's just what I like. You can mix it up as you wish. |
6 Tbs. Red Miso + 2 Tbs. White Miso |
Time to retrieve the tofu. And you will see that a lot of moisture has been
squeezed out. That's a lot of moisture. Now this is something we want to cut
into cubes, about a half an inch to three quarters of an inch. But it's very
soft, so use a sharp knife, go slowly and be careful. I usually just do a slice
at a time and knock that down into cubes until I'm completely done. It'll take
you a little longer, maybe.
There, we have attained a simmer. So whisk in the miso mixture and continue to
just barely simmer. Don't boil it or it will get grainy no matter what.
| Now at this point, go ahead and gently add the tofu—very gently, so it doesn't fall apart—and four scallions, very, very thinly sliced. Then just kill the heat and let it sit for two to three minutes or until the flavor of the onion kind of infuses the stock. Then, you may serve. |
12 Ounces Firm Silken Tofu, Pressed & Cubed 4 Scallions, Sliced |
[sitting at table] Mmm. Delicious. And with tons of protein, iron and assorted
vitamins and minerals, darn nutritious to boot. And of course, both miso and
dashi are chock-full of umami. Perhaps you've heard of this newly discovered
mysterious fifth taste, hmm?
Supposedly, it all started in 1908, when a scientist, name of Kikunae Ikeda,
isolated an amino acid from seaweed called glutamate. Now the flavor of this substance was elusive, yet
unique, and Ikeda named it umami, which means "tasty" in Japanese. Now Ikeda
quickly patented this formula for monosodium glutamate, and it became the big
flavor success story of the early 20th century. Matter of fact, by the mid '30s,
MSG was being dosed out from salt shakers in Japan right at the table, even at
the table of the emperor.
Obviously MSG raked in some big old buckets of yen, which had to make guys like Ikeda pretty happy. It even made it into
the U.S. despite a little bump in the road called World War Two.
MSG was a major ingredient in several famous American spice blends, and it
really caught on with food manufacturers and Chinese restaurants. Then, in the
1960s, word started to spread of a mysterious ailment. All across the country, fans of Chinese chow
began complaining of heart palpitations,
numbness of the fingers, headaches, all eventually laid at the door of poor old
monosodium glutamate. Despite the fact that, consequent studies never
pinpointed the problem.
Of course, the MSG industry wasn't giving up. They dug back through Ikeda's old
research and rediscovered one particular word, umami. What followed was years
of new tests and research projects, many of which were funded by the MSG
industry. Not that there's anything wrong with that. What did they find?
Several papers published in reputable scientific journals over the last few
years suggests that what they found is a new taste. Now, keep in mind that our
chemical senses, especially our sense of taste ...
AB: Tongue down. [a large model of the tongue comes down]
... evolved to lead us to foods that we need to ingest and keep us away from things
that we shouldn't, okay. Now we can taste sweetness. Well, sweet is a marker for calories. We can taste salt. Salt is a required nutrient. Sour often signals the presence of vitamins.
And bitter, well, many
poisons taste bitter. So that one probably
evolved as a warning.
With all this in mind, doesn't it make sense that we would have a taste for and
appreciation of proteins and amino acids like glutamates? I mean, those are the
building blocks of life, right? Well of course
it does. Is it amazing that these molecules would taste good? Of course not.
Supposed umami-rich foods, like uh, ripe tomatoes, aged cheese, red wine, meat
and mushrooms are delicious, right?
So here's my question. Why do we need another word for it? We do we need to
ultimately condense all that deliciousness, or whatever you want to call it,
down into something we can easily package, sell, and sprinkle onto food? Why
don't we just eat the delicious foods? I don't know. Maybe I've just been
exposed to too much marketing in my time. But as far as I'm concerned, umami,
you're all smoke and mirrors.
Eats rich in umami flavor:
Vegemite
Soy Sauce
Mushrooms
Worcestershire Sauce
As much as I love making and consuming my own miso soup, you know how I feel about unitaskers. [pans to fire extinguisher] That's right. Well I feel about unitasking ingredients. So now that we've got the kombu, katsuobushi, miso and tofu in the house, why not try one of these tasty and time-saving techniques?
| For instance, finely chop the benito flakes left over from one batch of dashi, place in an eight inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, and cook until almost completely dry. Then add two tablespoon of mirin—that’s a sweetened cooking vinegar—two tablespoons of soy sauce, and one half teaspoon of plain old sugar and continue to cook until it's almost dry. Then, hit it with 2 tablespoons of white sesame seeds, toasted would be nice. And then move it to a plate or platter until it is completely cool and dry. As for serving options, over rice is nice. Well, they like it at my house at least. |
Leftover Bonito [sic] Flakes (Katsuobushi) 2 Tbs. Mirin 2 Tbs. White Sesame Seeds |
|
Hey here's another good one. Place a 12 ounce block of silken tofu
in a blender craft with a half cup of buttermilk, a tablespoon lemon juice, one
tablespoon Dijon mustard, a quarter cup of ketchup, then one teaspoon of kosher
salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper. Spin that up and then add two
tablespoons of sweet pickle relish. There you go. As far as service options, well you could use that as a special sauce on a hamburger. And of course, the taller the better, wouldn't you say? Very, very good with pickles. Or you can use it in a traditional mode, with just a bit of salad, very nice indeed. |
12 Ounces Firm Silken Tofu ½ Cup Buttermilk 1 Tbs. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice 1 Tbs. Dijon Mustard ¼ Cup Ketchup 1 tsp. Kosher Salt ½ tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper 2 Tbs. Sweet Pickle Relish |
|
Say, if you've got a couple tablespoons of white miso, you could mix that up
with 2 tablespoons of honey. I like using chopsticks for this. Then just brush it
onto four six-ounce pieces of black cod or halibut. [at oven] Bake at 475 for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your filets. Very umami, that's for sure. |
2 Tbs. White Miso 2 Tbs. Honey 4 (6-Ounce Pieces) Black Cod or Halibut 475 Degrees |
|
All right let's dive into some dashi. One cup of dashi, in fact, in a glass or plastic container, along with one quarter cup each mirin and soy sauce. Seal that up, give it a good shake, and you will have made tsuyu sauce, which is great on pasta, my favorite. |
1 Cup Dashi ¼ Cup Each Mirin & Soy Sauce |
AB: Open pantry!
Japanese buckwheat, or soba noodles. Sorry to spring a new one on you at the last minute, but most megamarts do carry them these days. Says right there [in Japanese], soba. You can read it somewhere. I don't know.
AB: Close pantry.
Cook the noodles per the package instructions, and then toss with enough of the
tsuyu sauce to thoroughly soak them. And by the way, you want to serve these in
the Japanese style, cold. That's right. Perhaps garnished with some finely
chopped green onions or shredded seaweed.
S: [is sitting at the table with AB, speaks Japanese]
I'm sorry we didn't get back to the kombu. But, as you can see, once you open
your pantry up to a little Japanese influence, things can get a little crazy.
Tasty, but crazy.
AB:
So, how you liking the neighborhood?
S: [speaks Japanese]
Okay well, see you next time on Good Eats.
AB: Yoi ichinichi o. [trans: Have a nice day.]
Transcribed by Jennifer Schleicher
Proofread by Michael Menninger
Last Edited on 08/27/2010