Fusion
This takes a classic french sauce and turns it on its head with bold Japanese flavours – Unusual, delicious, and doable on the stovetop in a fraction of the time needed for a traditional espagnole sauce.
Japan and China
There are few things I enjoy more than home made udon noodles; the japanese have turned noodle making and eating into an art. This is super simple, and super delicious.
If you are looking for a good book on japanese cooking, Japanese cooking: A simple art is a really good place to start. This book details with precision the foundation of most japanese cooking, and this udon noodle recipe is adapted only very slightly from there.
Japan and China
A friend requested a recipe for a classic miso soup, so here we are.
If you have the time, making your own dashi is effort, but oh-so-worth-it. You can harvest your own Konbu (Giant kelp) and dry it slowly in the oven, otherwise asian food supermarkets should have it. Katsoubushi or Bonito flakes are dry, shaved tuna flakes, difficult to make yourself but again, asian supermarkets will have.
With that said, freeze-dried dashi is actually not bad, and the convenience makes up for the compromise in flavour.
Wakame is a dried brown/green seaweed that is reconstituted in water and eaten as a sea vegetable. You can harvest fresh wakame if you are near the coast, just make sure you are not taking from any polluted areas.