Expanding horizons

Okay, so I'm not really expanding my horizons that much, since I'm pretty good about eating different stuff, but I'm ready to learn to cook my own stuff now, too. If anyone has recommended recipes for anything that doesn't use fish (my husband doesn't eat fish except for tuna rolls from an actual restaurant), or recommended brands for ingredients, I'd really appreciate it! (I'll post pictures of what I fix if it comes out the way I want it to, also!)

The main two things I want to try to make is a good miso soup and a good soup for udon noodles. I'd like to try tempura shrimp at home (even though hubby doesn't eat it) but I'm nervous about hot grease. The udon especially can have extra ingredients in the recipe.

Also, I'm really hoping people here have had (good) experiences with the site asianfoodgrocer.com, since that seems to be the main one I can find online and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying from any of the stores here in town.

Thanks in advance!!!

Here is one miso recipe thread: Miso Soup

and, here is another: What is the best miso soup (miso shiru)?

If you type "miso recipe" into google you'll get a countless number of recipes for it...

There are three ways you can go, miso paste with bonito etc (dashi) included (just add water), miso paste + dashi soup stock, or last and in order of most complexity, miso paste + home made dashi soup stock...

I suppose you could make your own miso paste, but who has 6 to twelve months....? Come on.

I'm not an expert on udon (nor on miso for that matter, but I've made the first two basic varieties I described), but udon is basically dashi stock & shoyu (a type of soy sauce made of soybeans & wheat)...

Here is an udon thread: Udon eating thread

I don't know what your experience is with cooking Japanese food... mine is fairly basic, meaning--- I stick to store bought dumplings etc, I don't completely do it myself--- But regardless, it's still quite common to simply buy pre-made miso, squeeze it in a bowl and add hot water in Japan. This is true of many types of Japanese food which you may get just as much enjoyment from.

Tempura is a great addition to udon, but your husband doesn't like fish, and baring vegetables, you're afraid of hot grease.

Miso & udon are pretty common foods, so there should be a wealth of information out there if you just search for it.

Here's one: http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/basic/udon/udon.html

ps. You do realize that the main ingredient in dashi is bonito, a type of fish. Maybe if you keep this under your hat your husband will never know--- But to me this flavour seem inherent to miso & udon...

Hi Brenna,

To make udon (or soba) or miso soup, preparing the stock is the most important part of the recipe. It is called "dashi" in Japanese. If you google with the word "dashi," I'm sure that you can find recipes for Japanese stock. An example is here:
About Dashi Soup

You will need very Japanese ingredients for this, and they probably are available at any Japanese grocer or market. However, I think they are very expensive to buy, especially outside Japan. Also, preparation is time-consuming. If you still want to try, go for it, since nothing beats the real thing!!

Another alternative is to buy the "instant" varieties. There is miso paste premixed with instant stock. There are "udon" soup products, too, as yukio michael mentioned. Maybe you can try those, too. In fact, many young people prefer to use these products. Today, it's only the gourmet cooks and people who want additive-free foods who prepare their own "dashi."

Regarding tempura, I do not recommend trying if you're afraid of deep-frying. Tempura requires outstanding skill and experience and is not a thing that a novice should try. You'll need to gain greater experience in handlng grease by trying other easier deep-fried foods. I've been cooking for decades and am still in pursuit of the "perfect tempura."

PS Commonly, miso soup is prepared with "niboshi (dried fish)" stock, with a bit of bonito flakes for body. Udon/soba noodle soup is made with "kobu (kelp)" and dried bonito flakes. You'll see the recipes in the link.

epigene said:

PS Commonly, miso soup is prepared with "niboshi (dried fish)" stock, with a bit of bonito flakes for body. Udon/soba noodle soup is made with "kobu (kelp)" and dried bonito flakes. You'll see the recipes in the link.

Click to expand...

epigene窶堋ｳ窶堙ｱﾂ、I just noticed, did you mean, 'konbu' (ﾂ債ｩ窶｢z) ? 窶堋?窶堙ｪﾂ〜ﾂ 窶｢ﾂｪ窶堋ｩ窶堙≫?堋ｽ 窶堋ｻ窶堋､窶堋ｻ窶堋､ ﾂ債ｩ窶｢z can also be pronounced 窶堋ｱ窶堙板？

窶堋ｶ窶堙や?堙債〜I have never heard the kobu pronunciation, only konbu.

yukio_michael said:

epigene窶堋ｳ窶堙ｱﾂ、I just noticed, did you mean, 'konbu' (ﾂ債ｩ窶｢z) ? 窶堋?窶堙ｪﾂ〜ﾂ 窶｢ﾂｪ窶堋ｩ窶堙≫?堋ｽ 窶堋ｻ窶堋､窶堋ｻ窶堋､ ﾂ債ｩ窶｢z can also be pronounced 窶堋ｱ窶堙板？
窶堋ｶ窶堙や?堙債〜I have never heard the kobu pronunciation, only konbu.

Click to expand...

I think they are the same. How do I differentiate? I usually prefer "kobu" and use it almost always when compounded with another noun, such as "shio-kobu" or "kobu-cha."
I use "konbu" usually when it is a standalone noun.
"Konbu" is believed to be Kansai usage originally, according to this person:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/GANSO_hirokun/shoujou0511.html
But, this blogger is not sure either, so someone has to do some research...

epigene said:

I think they are the same. How do I differentiate? I usually prefer "kobu" and use it almost always when compounded with another noun, such as "shio-kobu" or "kobu-cha."
I use "konbu" usually when it is a standalone noun.
"Konbu" is believed to be Kansai usage originally, according to this person:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/GANSO_hirokun/shoujou0511.html
But, this blogger is not sure either, so someone has to do some research...

Click to expand...

Just to add my 2cents here.....

I asked a language teacher (Japanese) about this and I was informed that the pronunciation "kobu" when refering to "konbu" is "hogan". The proper pronunciation in Japanese is, according to him, "konbu".

He also informed me that outside of Kansai, some people would understand it, the "usual" pronunciation is "konbu".

Just to add, I didn't want to try to correct epigeneさん、 but I hadn't heard of that pronunciation before... As I was looking up the readings for the kanji, I found the kobu pronunciation as well...

epigeneさん、is it possible your pronunciation is improvised? My understanding of the Japanese language is that it is easy to modify certain words possibly as a colloquialism and still maintain the same meaning.