Be a better human: miso-braised cod with soba salad

I love miso for it's patience. It's one of those ingredients that can sit in the back of the fridge and just wait until you remember it's there. It is quiet and strong all at once and I always feel that when I add it to a dish, I'm becoming a much better person because all of those qualities will be transfered onto me inside of a delicious little bundle of pure wholesome goodness.

Last night I had some cod that needed cookin' and some soba noodles that needed some spark. I whipped up my go-to stand by for fish but then changed my mind, added in some sugar and dumped the whole mess over the soba noodles instead. By George, this was delicious! Now that I had an instant salad (after adding in some carrots, peas and cilantro), I turned to the fish and figured that it was high time to pull out that ever-patient miso. Using very similar ingredients to a salad dressing I've made in the past, I just tightened things up and created a saucy paste to smear on the cod. I broiled it then baked it and placed it on top of the soba noodles for presentation points. The results were incredible. Not only did the fish and noodles look amazing and uber-gourmet, but it was super simple to make (no patience required) and healthy to boot.

Miso turning your crank? Check out some tasty miso recipes from my archives:
vegetable stir fry with lemon-miso sauce
curry & miso udon soup
miso gravy
udon soup with grilled salmon
miso soup with ramen noodles

soba salad
3 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 T minced ginger
1 t toasted sesame oil
juice of 1 large lime
1 T sugar
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 T soy sauce
4 T olive oil
1 pkg of soba noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed under cold water until cool
1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
a large handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add noodles, carrots, peas and cilantro and toss. Serve cool or at room temperature.

miso-glazed cod
3 heaping spoonfuls of white or shiro miso (or any light tasting miso)
2 T cider vinegar
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T honey
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 T soy sauce
3 cod fillets

In a shallow bowl, stir together the miso, vinegars, honey, ginger and soy sauce until you have a thick sauce. Schmear sauce over cod fillets with a back of a spoon and broil at high heat (500 degrees) until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 450 degree oven and put fish on a lower rack, baking until fish is flaky and cooked through, another 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove from oven and serve with soba salad.

transitioning into spring

For the past week, I've been relishing the spring weather in all it's bounty. It's been asparagus this and fresh strawberry that and I even managed to get in a game or two of badminton! However, when I looked into the fridge this evening, I was disappointed. It seemed that I had delved too quickly into my spring supply of produce that only winter vegetables were left, tucked into the nether regions of the vegetable drawer. Instead of making another hearty soup (groan!), I spotted a lemon and set in motion plans to put a bit of spring into dinner. A stir-fry would be perfect for my needs and instead of making a heavy sweet n' sour sauce to go with it, I whipped up a light n' lemony sauce that was just perfect! I served the stir fry on top of plain ol' spaghetti, but I'm sure brown rice would be an even lovelier accompaniment. As for the vegetables, you can use whatever you've got in your fridge which is exactly what I did.

vegetable stir fry with lemon-miso sauce
1 T oil
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
2 carrots, sliced into coins
1/2 head cabbage, sliced into strips
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
a few shakes of soy sauce

for the sauce:
juice & zest of 1 lemon
1 T miso
1 t hot water
1 t soy sauce
1 T honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 t cornstarch
a few shakes of sesame oil & sriracha

1. In a measuring cup, whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. Heat oil over high heat in wok. Add vegetables and toss until glistening. Add in a few shakes of soy sauce and keep stirring until vegetables are tender-crisp. Pour sauce over vegetables and stir until well coated. Cook for another minute and serve over rice or noodles.

gravy train!!!

note: When I wrote this post, I had misplaced this vegan recipe zine. This morning I found it & took a photo of it! If you'd like to buy it, here's a link. It's also available through Amazon.

Our apartment is tiny but that doesn't mean that we keep things tidy. When I was in Portland in April I bought a punk vegan cookbook zine* from Reading Frenzy and today I decided to make a meal from it. Unfortunately, the zine could not be found. I'm sure it's buried under a pile of papers and I'll find it when I clean up my desk mess, but for tonight's dinner I just had to go with an idea that I gleaned from that pretty cool zine. From what I recall, the recipe was for a plate of veggies and chicken-fried tofu smothered in vegan gravy and to me, that sounded pretty damn tasty. So today I roasted up some veggies with some rosemary, made some rice and whipped up some tofu tenders. Now all I needed was the gravy. After spotting a few packs of miso in my fridge, my gravy train was set. Dinner was delicious and the gravy was super flavourful and very simple to prepare...tho do cook the onions long enough to caramelize. It's worth it.

miso gravy
½ yellow onion, diced
2 T canola oil
4 T whole wheat flour
2 c hot vegetable broth
1 T soy sauce
2 T miso
pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil and add the diced onion. Saute on low heat until onion is soft and slightly caramalized. Add flour, whisking and cooking until the mixture is dark.

2. Add the miso paste and soy sauce to the broth and then slowly add it to the flour mixture, whisking until you have reached a smooth gravy like consistency. Add pepper to taste. Unless you like chunky onion bits in your gravy, blend the gravy using an immersion blender.

* When I find the zine I'll add the name and contact info to this post. Support indie press!!

miso hungry

After coming home from the gym in the pouring rain, I needed something warm and an equivalent to what Nigella Lawson would call "temple food". I looked into the fridge and pulled out a block of tofu, some green onions and a couple sachets of miso. Easy! I would quickly whip up some miso soup and then settle down to watch my guilty pleasure, America's Next Top Model. In my mind, going to the gym and eating miso soup would negate any negative effects from enduring a trashy tv show. Actually, who am I kidding? I'd watch ANTM any old time! Pass the Cheetos!

miso soup
4 c water
4 T miso (or 3 individual sachets purchased from your local asian grocery)
2 green onions, finely minced
1/2 cake tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Heat oil in a large pot and lightly saute the green onions. Add water and miso paste, stirring until the miso has dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add tofu* and serve with a splash of soy sauce or hot sauce, if desired.

*I had some fresh chinese noodles on hand in the fridge so I added that before I added the tofu. I also added a large handful of frozen corn to the simmering broth. If I had some peas, I would have added that too.