Tag: Japan

Bone Broth Ramen

(6 Servings)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 2 days (includes cooking time for the broth)
On a cold winter day you sometimes yearn for a hearty soup. For me this year it was a ramen craving! I have always had ramen at small ramen shops in NYC and after watching the documentary Ramen Heads on a flight from LA to NYC I was inspired to make my own ramen broth. Don’t be disheartened by the time I spent to make this broth. You can easily spend a quarter of the time but I just wanted to experiment and get the deepest flavor! But if you do try what I did you will see that it doesn’t really need a lot of monitoring. You can let the ingredients simmer and work their magic while you go about your normal day. I even switched off the flame and restarted a few times when I wanted to step out of the apartment for daily chores.

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Yuzu French Macarons

(24 macarons)

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

It’s holiday season and if you are looking for a challenging dessert then these Yuzu French macarons are just the right choice! Macarons have a mind of their own and practice and precision are key to getting them right. If you follow the below recipe step by step, you will not go wrong. Gifting your friends and family these beautiful macarons in cute boxes tied with gift ribbons will make their day! Chocolate, lemon & raspberry are common flavors for macarons. As usual I wanted to try something different & since we are still in Japanese cuisine month, decided to make Yuzu macarons. Yuzu is a citrus fruit that is cultivated most in Japan and Korea. It can withstand low temperatures and is hence preferred to lemons in these regions. It also has about three times the vitamin C as found in regular lemons! It is a tart fruit with a unique taste and is used as an addition to garnish some dishes or as an ingredient to sauces such as Ponzu.

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Flirtibird Cocktail

(1 serving)

Preparation Time: 2 minutes

I had this drink for the first time at my favorite speak easy bar in NYC – Angel’s Share and completely fell in love with it. I regularly drag my friends to this downtown bar to get the cocktail. One of the times I was seated at the bar and could have a conversation with the bartender. He told me the key ingredients to this cocktail – Shochu, yuzu and agave nectar. At Angel’s share they also finish the drink off with a shiso leaf. It’s tough to find so my recipe here doesn’t have one. This is my take on the Flirtibird!

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Tofu in Wild Mushroom Broth

(8 servings)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

This is the first recipe for Japanese cuisine month! This recipe is so simple yet temptingly delicious. The mushrooms impart a beautiful mild flavor to the broth and the toasted sesame oil really finishes it off well. The whiff of the sesame oil before you take the first spoonful of broth rounds off the experience. I usually serve this as an appetizer, but it can easily be consumes as a main course depending on how big of a portion you want.

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Pan Seared Scallops with Wasabi Peas & Tomato Carrot Purees

(8 servings)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

I developed this recipe a couple of years back and have been tweaking it along the way. This is an appetizer recipe that you can wow your friends and family with both visually and in taste. The ratio of the wasabi and the peas is just the right amount to not make the wasabi too overpowering. The yuzu juice imparts a slight sour sweet flavor to the scallops.

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