Japanese Recipes

1. Miso Soup

Ingredients

• ¹⁄₄ oz (7 g) dried seaweed (wakame)
• 4 ¹⁄₄ oz (120 g) fresh soft tofu or long life silken tofu
• 13 ¹⁄₂ fl oz (400 ml) dashi (fish and seaweed stock) OR 400 ml (13 ¹⁄₂ fl oz) of water and ¹⁄₂ tsp (2.5 ml) powdered dashi
• 1 ¹⁄₂ Tbsp (20 ml) miso soybean paste
• 2 medium green spring onions
• mushroom
  

Things You'll Need

• 1 measuring jug
• 1 saucepan
• 1 small bowl
• 1 cup
• 1 tablespoon
• 1 teaspoon
• 1 sharp knife
• 1 chopping board

Steps

1. Heat the dashi. Pour the dashi into a large saucepan or pot, place it on the stove, and turn the heat onto "high".
   
2. Soak the wakame. Place the seaweed into a small bowl and add water into the bowl, until it covers it well. By doing this, you're expanding the seaweed.
3. Melt the miso by putting it into a cup, and pour a little bit of dashi on it to melt it down. Stir throughly until the miso is dissolved. Pour the mixture into the pan and stir.
4. Cut the tofu into into 1 cm squares. You may cut it however you like, bigger or smaller, than 1 cm (depending on your style or likings). Add the tofu pieces to the pan and turn the heat down.
5. Add the wakame to the pan. You do not want this to boil, as the flavors of the dish may impair or distort.
6. Serve the miso soup in bowls. Chop up the spring onions and garnish each bowl before serving.

2. Gyoza

Ingredients

• 5 oz of pork
• 3 large shrimps
• 1/8 of a head of Napa cabbage
• 1/4 of a bunch of Chinese chives
• 20 gyoza wrappers
• 1 teaspoon of ginger
• 1 teaspoon of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Things You'll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Large skillet

Steps

1. 

   
   Prepare the ingredients. Chop the chives & cabbage, peel and devein the shrimp, and grate the ginger & garlic.
2. 

   
   Combine the pork, shrimp, cabbage, ginger, garlic, cabbage, salt, white pepper, and the oils into a large bowl.
3. 

   
   Mix everything together well with your hands. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
4. 

   
   Take a gyoza wrapper and place a small spoonful of the mixture in the middle. Dab a little water on one half of the wrapper's edge and securely fold in two to make a semi or half circle. While folding, pinch the two sides together like a Ziploc bag and create waves while pinching. Repeat this step for all the wrappers.
5. 

   
   Oil and heat a skillet on the stove. Put it on medium heat and carefully drop a few dumplings into the skillet at a time, but be sure not to overload the skillet with everything.
6. Fry the dumplings for about two minutes, then reduce the heat.
7. Add about half a cup of water to the skillet and cover it with a pan lid. Steam the dumplings until the water has evaporated or boiled off and then remove the food from the heat.
8. Place the dumplings onto a plate and serve it with dipping sauce or soy sauce (shoyu).

Tips

• The pork can be substituted for shrimp, ground beef, chicken, or fish.
• This recipe makes 20 dumplings and can serve 2 to 3 people.