Nishime Vegetables

Nishime Cooked Vegetables

 

 

Nishime (Ni-SHEE-may) is a style of cooking vegetables that allows the veggies to cook in their own juices, with very little water.  My understanding is that Nishime typically means "Waterless Cooking".  I have read about this style of cooking in a number of places and decided to try it out.

 

You can use just about any vegetables in Nishime, but the ones I see recommended the most often are in the Leafy, Root, and Round vegetable categories.

 

Leafy Suggestions:

Bok Choy, Cabbage, Turnip or Mustard Greens, Kale, Leeks

 

Root Suggestions:

Burdock, Carrots, Daikon Radish, Other Radishes, Parsnips

 

Round Vegetables:

Any Squash or Pumpkin, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Rutabaga, Turnips, Shiitakes

 

 

The suggestion I saw most commonly for Nishime is to choose 3 vegetables to cook together.

 

Last night I cooked Napa Cabbage, Daikon Radish, and Acorn Squash - and it was a hit!

 

I will certainly use this style of cooking regularly!

 

Every recipe I read for Nishime Vegetables included a piece of Kombu sea vegetable.

I never did get a reason for why it's important, but I figured it was so I purchased Eden brand Kombu at my local natural foods store.  It should last me quite a while!

 

 

I placed a piece of Kombu in my pot and barely covered the bottom of the pot with water.

Some directions say no more than 1/4 inch of water.  Just enough to barely cover the bottom.

 

 

Then I layered my three vegetables on top of the kombu.

The fastest cooking is placed on the bottom, and the longest cooking is placed at the top.

So I placed the Napa Cabbage, then the Daikon, then the Acorn Squash.

 

(I'll use larger chunks of Napa next time)

I sprinkled a little sea salt on top and covered the pot, bringing the vegetables to a boil.

Then (without lifting the lid) I reduced it to simmer for 20 minutes.

 

Then I added a few drops of soy sauce and re-covered the pot for 5 more minutes.

 

And the vegetables were done!

I understand that if there is liquid in the bottom of the pot, then I may have started with too much to begin with.  I'll reduce my water even more next time.

 

Drain and serve.

 

Very much like steaming, the vegetables were sweet and thoroughly cooked and had a comforting feel to them.  A great way to serve vegetables!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare) (Japanese for Bon Appetit!)

 

 

Japanese Soba Noodles

Japanese Soba Noodles

This recipe is a variation on ones I've made before, that my family just loves. 

We like soba noodles, which are also known as buckwheat noodles. 

The sauteed vegetables and flavorful sauce make this a great one dish dinner.

This recipe comes straight out of Vegan Fire & Spice.

The ingredient list is long, but if you cook much Asian food then you most likely have many of these ingredients on hand.

I cooked the soba noodles according to the package.  I ended up using some dark soba noodles that I had left over and added in a new package of lighter soba noodles to get to 12 oz.  You can use whatever kind you have or find at the store.

While my noodles were cooking, I sauteed the vegetables - shredded cabbage, bell pepper, and scallions.  I think additions like like radish, carrots, mushrooms, and peas would also be great.

While the vegetables were cooking I mixed up the sauce of soy sauce, brown sugar, dry sherry, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced ginger, garlic, and cayenne.  I then added in cornstarch to thicken it.

I added the sauce to the sauteed vegetables and let it thicken.

Then tossed in my drained soba noodles.

And garnished with toasted sesame seeds and parsley.

Delicious and really very quick!

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)

Japanese for "Bon Appetit"!

Great Life Miso Soup

Great Life Miso Soup

I have lots and lots of miso soup recipes. 

And they are all different enough that I thought I'd try each of them out over time.

This recipe comes from The Great Life and is slightly different than I've made miso soup before.  This one includes vegetables and leafy greens.

Start by soaking a strip of wakame in water.  I found this wakame and my local natural foods store.

It softens in just a couple of minutes.  Drain it and chop it into smaller pieces.

Then boil water (1 c per serving) and the wakame. 

Add in sliced root and/or round vegetable slices.  I used carrots and turnip which I had on hand to make up about 1/2 of vegetables.  Cook the vegetables about 4 minutes.

Then add in leafy greens.  I used napa cabbage that I had on hand.

Lower the heat to simmer and add the miso paste and stir for 4 minutes.

We have been using chickpea miso paste and it is virtually flavorless, so I added a bit of soy sauce to add a little more flavor.

You can garnish with scallions and serve warm.



Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.



 

どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)

(Bon Appetit is Japanese!)