Asian cuisine nutritious and delicious
Ahi Sashimi Poké Salad (4) INGREDIENTS
1-1/4 pounds ahi tuna, cut into
1/8 inch thick strips
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup minced green onion
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons lightly crumbled wakame seaweed
2 Tablespoon ground roasted macadamia nuts
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seed
1/2 teaspoon black sesame seed
1-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
8 leaves butter leaf lettuce
DIRECTIONS
Mix together the ahi tuna, minced red onion, green onion, ginger, seaweed, macadamia nuts, sesame oil, sesame seed and red pepper in a mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour, for the flavors to come together. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a serving platter, spoon the ahi poké on top.
Basic Sushi Rice (8-12) INGREDIENTS
2 cups uncooked sushi rice
3 cups water 1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS Rinse the rice in a strainer or colander until the water runs clear. Combine with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Rice should be tender and water should be absorbed. Cool until cool enough to handle. In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, oil, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool, and then sprinkle over the mixture over the rice while continuously stirring and fluffing the rice. The rice will seem to be too wet, but it will dry as it cools. This rice can be used as a base for all sushi recipes.
Vegetable Sushi Rolls (4)
INGREDIENTS
4 sheets toasted nori seaweed Half the rice from previous recipe CENTER FILLINGS (SELECT 3 TO 4)
1 Kirby cucumber or
1/2 regular cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 small yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
1 (4-inch) piece daikon radishes, peeled, and cut into matchsticks
1/2 firm-ripe Hass avocado, peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise, sprinkled with lemon juice Soy sauce Special equipment: bamboo sushi mat
DIRECTIONS Place the sushi mat in front of you on an open work space. Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down and lined up with the closest edge of the mat. Moisten fingers with water, and evenly press about 1/4 of the rice onto the nori. Leave approximately 1-1/2-inches of the nori uncovered at the back edge. Line up the fillings about 1 inch from the closest near edge, evenly across the rice. Leave 1 inch of rice uncovered at the far edge. Beginning with the edge of the mat nearest to you, tightly roll up the nori, rice and fillings into a cylinder. Tuck the roll tightly by pulling the mat over the roll, then pull on the far edge of the mat while controlling the top edge to tighten the roll. Open the mat, dab unsealed edge of nori with a bit of water and roll the sushi forward to seal. Transfer the sushi to a plate and cover with damp paper cloth. Repeat with half of the remaining rice and vegetable fillings, reserving the other half of rice for the next recipe. Cut each sushi roll, crosswise, into 8 pieces with a sharp wet knife. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.
Unagi (Grilled Fresh Water Eel) Sushi Roll (4)
INGREDIENTS GLAZE
ROLL 4 ounces sake
1 full sheet nori seaweed
4 ounces mirin
1 ounce cucumber, julienned
1 ounce sugar
½ ounce daikon sprouts,
1 ounce water julienned
½ ounce soy sauce
4 ounces grilled unagi
1 pinch sesame seeds Pickled ginger Wasabi Soy sauce
DIRECTIONS Make the Unagi glaze by combining the first five ingredients and set aside. For the rolls, place a full sheet of nori (rough side up), on the bamboo rolling mat as in the previous recipe. Cover nori with rice like in the previous recipe. Sprinkle sesame seeds on rice from left to right. Place bands of Unagi, cucumber and daikon sprouts across leading edge of nori. Roll as in the previous recipe. Make sure when rolling all ingredients are tightly secured; this will help to keep ingredients intact when cutting. Compress the roll with the bamboo mat. You may shape your roll making it slightly oval or squared. To serve, slice into 8 even slices. Place Unagi glaze on plate or serve as side dish. Fan out sushi on plate, garnish with pickled ginger and wasabi. Serve with soy sauce.
Green Tea Ice Cream (8)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half-and-half
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons green tea powder
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, half-and-half and vanilla bean, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn’t scorch on the bottom. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer, set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the still-hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Heat to 180 degrees the custard will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. When it is ready, quickly remove it from the heat and whisk in the green tea powder. Half-fill a large bowl with ice water. Strain the mixture into a smaller bowl to smooth it and remove the vanilla bean. Rest the smaller bowl in the ice water and let the mixture cool, stirring often, then continue according to the directions of your ice cream maker.
Chef John Strand
1-1/4 pounds Ahi tuna
4 ounces grilled Unagi (eel) Red onion 8 green onion (scallions) Fresh ginger
1 Kirby cucumber
1 carrot
1 small yellow bell pepper
Daikon radish
Hass avocado
Lemon juice
Ground roasted macadamia nuts
Toasted sesame seed
Black sesame seed
Crushed red pepper flakes
Butter leaf lettuce
Sushi rice
Rice vinegar Sesame oil
Safflower oil
1 package toasted nori seaweed
Soy sauce
Wakame seaweed
Sake Mirin
1 full sheet nori seaweed
Pickled ginger
Wasabi
Soy sauce
Heavy cream
Half-and-half
Vanilla bean
9 eggs
Green tea powder
White sugar
Salt
Bamboo sushi mat
Chef John Strand of Accents – Personal Chef Services specializes in elegant in-home dinners and weekly meal services, “making your home your favorite place to eat.” He can be reached via e-mail from his Web site at www.accentspcs.com.