Imam Bayildi (Roasted stuffed eggplant)

Imam bayildi is a pretty stock Turkish dish and I felt like something different. Luckily, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers are in season, so I thought why not make some nice roasted stuffed eggplant. The green peppers I used looked like jalapenos (they weren't), not the usual green peppers, but I suppose those would work just fine too. The roasted walnuts add a nice touch of smoky flavor.



Makes 4 slices of eggplant

Ingredients:

1 small to medium bag of walnuts
2 large eggplants, top stem part removed
Butter, just a tad (optional)
Olive oil, for cooking
Garlic, 2 large cloves
1/2 onion
Tomato, chopped up. About 2 big ones
Chili powder, or paprika, about 2 teaspoons
Small green peppers, seeded and diced up, about 8 to 10
Shiso leaves, sliced up into small bits. 1/4 cups' worth. Or you can use fresh parsley/cilantro, etc.
Pepper, to taste
Dried spices such a oregano and basil etc. To taste
Shredded cheese (optional) for topping

Chop up the walnuts into tiny pieces. Place in a large non-stick fry pan and roast them. Don't turn the heat up too high, and be sure to move them around constantly. Let them roast for about 5 minutes and become really fragrant. Be sure not to burn them. Set aside.

Pour some olive oil in the fry pan, heat, and fry garlic and onions until the onions are semi-translucent. Add the tomatoes and the chili powder or paprika and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, mixing constantly and letting the mixture boil a bit. Add the walnuts, the peppers, and the shiso leaves (or parsley). Mix well, add pepper and dried herbs. Cook for about another 3 minutes. Pour mixture into a bowl and set aside, but don't wipe the pan.

Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise (for a total of 4 pieces). Place on same pan and roast on medium to low heat. Flip occasionally and be sure to roast both sides well. They are ready when the centers are less hard and spongy and more mushy. Remove and place on plate. Use a knife to slice the eggplant insides (not the purple skin) lengthwise.

Place a bit of butter in the eggplant center, and top with the tomato walnut mixture. Press the mixture down lightly with a fork into the eggplant. Wrap the eggplant slices in foil (usually 2 slices per foil packet) and place in your fish roaster/griller for about 5 minutes on medium heat. You don't necessarily have to put it in the grill, but this just helps the flavors mesh better.

Open the foil packets, carefully remove the roasted eggplant and place on a plate. Top with cheese (optional). Serve, you may need a knife to cut up the skin perhaps. Enjoy!

된장찌개(Miso Soup)

Miso, known as 된장 in Korean, is such a great stock ingredient with so many uses. This type of soup differs from the Japanese version in that it uses garlic, and is spicy. I adapted this recipe from a Korean cookbook I bought recently. What better way to learn a language and culture than to buy a cookbook in that language and learn from it? Although I rarely follow recipes to the "t" I must give credit to this book for giving me some great ideas and more knowledge on many great Korean stock ingredients (many of which I can find here in Japan). Hope you enjoy this soup, and as always, feel free to use whatever vegetables are in season as well.



Makes about 4 large, 6 small servings
Ingredients:

出し昆布(dashi konbu), the seaweed used for soup stocks, a small strip
Also 出し昆布(dashi konbu) powder. About 1/2 tablespoon
唐辛子（とうがらし）, dried red peppers, seeds removed and rinsed, about 7 to 10 small ones
고춧가루, red pepper powder, about 2 to 3 teaspoons
Garlic, 3 to 4 cloves, minced into little bits
味噌(みそ)Miso, 된장 in Korean, 1 large tablespoon's worth
Squash, diced up, 1/2 cup
Asparagus, diced up, about 6 to 7 stems
1 small onion, cut up into thin slices
Carrot, 1 medium, diced up
Tofu, diced up, 1/2 cup
ふえるわかめ, dried seaweed, about 1/4 cup or less, cut up into small bits (as the pieces will expand once wet and heated)
Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

In a medium pot, place the 出し昆布(dashi konbu), the 出し昆布(dashi konbu) powder, the 唐辛子（とうがらし） dried red peppers, the 고춧가루 (red pepper powder), and the garlic. Fill the pot about 1/2 way with water. Turn on the heat to medium, and bring to a boil.

This next technique I learned from my book: Dip a strainer into the hot water, and place the miso in the strainer. Press the miso through the strainer as it begins to dissolve until it is all in the soup. Using the strainer ensures you don't bite into a super salty chunk of undissolved miso as you drink your soup.

Add the squash, asparagus, onion, carrot, tofu, and the ふえるわかめ(dried seaweed). Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 7 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables are no longer hard (note: the time is longer if you decide to use potatoes).

Serve hot. Sprinkle a few sesame seeds into the bowl (optional). Spicy miso soup, yum!

두부조림(Tubu Jorim) i.e. Tofu "stew"

The name says "stew" but it's more like 麻婆豆腐(Mabo Dofu) in flavor and texture, so it's more like Tofu in sauce. This dish came out really good. Can't wait to make more of this stuff!



Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:

The veggies and tofu:

A medium block of firm tofu, dices up into cubes
1 Eggplant, sliced thinly
1 bunch of えのき(enoki) mushrooms, they're the thin, long, white ones. Cut up into pieces
Oil for cooking, about 1/4 cup

For the sauce:

고추장, red pepper paste, called コチュジャン in Japanese, 1 tablespoon
고춧가루, red pepper powder, 1 tablespoon
Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons
みりん(Mirin)sweet fermented rice wine, 2 Tablespoons
Water, about 5 tablespoons

In a large fry pan (that's right, I have a frying pan now) heat up some oil over medium heat. When hot, carefully place the tofu cubes in the pan. If it starts to splatter, turn the heat down and cover. Be sure to move the pan around often so the tofu doesn't stick to the bottom. Try to fry all the sides of the tofu blocks, but it's okay if you don't. After they've all been fried lightly, leave the oil in the pan, and place the tofu in a plate with a paper towel to soak up some grease/moisture.

In the pan with the oil, add the ingredients for the sauce listed above. Cook over medium heat for a very short while, using a wooden spatula/spoon to mix the ingredients well. Add the eggplant and mushrooms and cook for a bit, about 3 minutes. Once this mixture starts to bubble, add the tofu. Bring the mixture back to a bubble, and immediately turn down the heat. Let all this bubble on low heat for about 7 to 10 minutes, to let the tofu soak up a ton of flavor. Mix it occasionally so nothing sticks.

When serving, scoop the tofu mixture out with a spoon. Use the remaining sauce in the pan to cook the Shiitake and bean sprouts in the previous recipe. If you like Mabo Dofu, you'll like this :)

びわ (Biwa) and Tomato Salad

It's びわ (Loquat in English??) season here. So I decided to make a salad using this wonderfully delicious fruit. The flavor is similar to an apricot, but a really ripe apricot with no sour flavor and perhaps less sweet. Quite delicious! Feel free to leave out any ingredients you can't find/don't like. My recipes are to give you ideas, not to follow crazily ha ha. The shiso, tomato, and biwa all in the same bite is really good. I had no idea those flavors would mix so well. Happy munching!



Makes 1 serving ;)
Ingredients:

A Tomato
1/4 to 1/2 of a cucumber
About 3 しそ(shiso) leaves, also in season right now. Adds a nice smell and flavor
びわ(biwa) fruit, 1 or 2, see picture for what a biwa looks like. Peeled, seeds removed, sliced
Olives, if you're lucky enough to find them
Mozzarella cheese, slices up in strips, again, if you can find it
Pepper, a few dashes
Dried parsley, a few sprinkles

Slice the tomato, lay out the slices on a plate. Sprinkle with pepper.

Cut the cucumber in strips, place ever so nicely next to the tomato.

Cut up the shiso leaves (after washing them of course) into thin strips. Place on top of the tomatoes. Place the sliced biwa fruit on top of the shiso. Place slices of mozzarella cheese in between the fruit. Sprinkle the dried parsley, and top with olives.

Alternatively, you can layer/mix the ingredients however you want. Maybe even add some walnuts if you have some. Or some raisins. Just some ideas.

Rice and Beans, topped with Shiitake and Bean Sprouts

An easy dish to make, and the final one of my dinner. Canned beans are pretty impossible to get on this island, that's what a trip to Busan is for :)



Serves quite a few or very few depending on how much rice you use. It's up to you. Ingredients:

For rice:

Rice
Canned beans

For "topping:"

About a bowl's worth of shiitake mushrooms, sliced in half
Bean sprouts, one medium bag
The left over juices/oil from the 두부조림(Tofu stew)

Rinse/wash the rice. Soak in water for a few hours or over-night if possible. Throw in some of the beans right before you set the cooker to start. I use a bit of the bean water from the can for the liquid to cook the rice. Push the button, let the magic happen.

For the "topping" simply sautee the mushrooms in the leftover sauce from the Tofu stew recipe. After cooking a bit, put in the bean sprouts and sautee a bit longer. Throw that on top of the rice when ready and yum! Easy