Miso Salad Dressing

Mix in a blender:

2 cloves garlic

2 T soy sauce

4 T vinegar (rice vinegar, whatever)

1 T white miso paste

1 T brown sugar

While the blender is mixing, slowly pour in:

½ C oil (grapeseed, sunflower, whatever you like)

Finally, add and briefly mix in to chop:

¼ onion

Pour in a jar, cover tightly, and keep refrigerated.

No-Knead Beer Bread

 

Mix together in a large bowl:

450 gm bread flour (I use about 370 white and 80 wheat)

9-10 gm salt

¼ slightly rounded teaspoon dry yeast

Add:

350 ml beer (one can)

Stir the beer into the dry ingredients and form into a sticky ball of dough.

Put a plate or something on top of the bowl, and set aside (in a warm room, if possible) for 18-24 hours. If you want to leave it for longer, put it in the fridge for a little while to slow down the rising. 

Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface (that you can later pick up — I use a plastic placemat) and use a floured spatula to loosen and pour the dough out onto the floured surface. As if it's a square, pull one side up and over, then another side up and over, then another, then another. Finally, pick up the gooey mass and turn it over. Put a big bowl over it (or a cloth, if you prefer), and let it rise for 2 hours. In cool weather, put it in the oven, set the temperature to 40ºC (104ºF)—my oven has a setting for rising 発酵—and let it rise for 2 hours. Remove dough from the oven.

Place a dutch oven, donabe, or other oven-safe covered pot into the oven and preheat to 230ºC (450ºF). Carefully remove the pot from the oven, sprinkle a little flour inside the pot to prevent the dough from sticking, and gently turn the dough into the pot.

Cover and bake for 32 minutes, then carefully remove the lid, and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Check doneness with a thermometer. The bread should have an internal temperature of at least 96ºC (205ºF). 

Cool on a rack before cutting.

Miso Eggplant

Slice in half lengthwise and score cut surfaces in a criss-cross pattern, about 2 mm deep:

2 Japanese eggplants

Coat the cut sides with a small amount of olive oil. Place on the fish grill (or oven grill) and cook for 10 minutes until lightly browned and soft.

 

While the eggplant is cooking, make the miso sauce.

Mix together:

1/4 C miso
2 T mirin 
1 T fine sugar 
1 T sake 

When the eggplant is finished, carefully cover the cut side with 1-2 mm of miso sauce. Grill for 4 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and lightly browned. 

Serve.

No-Knead Bread

 

Mix together in a large bowl:

400 gm bread flour (I use 300-350 gm white, 100-50 gm whole wheat)

8-9 gm salt

¼ t dry yeast

(optional 2 T mixed seeds)

Add:

300 ml water

Stir the water into the dry ingredients and form into a sticky ball.

Put a plate or something on top of the bowl, and set aside (in a warm room, if possible) for 18-24 hours. If you want to leave it for longer, put it in the fridge for a little while to slow down the rising. 

Cut a piece of parchment paper and place it on a clean surface. I use a plastic placement on a tray. Sprinkle a little flour on the parchment so the dough won't stick. I spread the flour with a rubber spatula, then use the spatula to scrape the edges of the dough to loosen it from the bowl and make it easy to pick it up. 

Next, as if the dough were a square, pull one side up and over, then another side up and over, then another, then another. Finally, pick up the gooey mass and turn it over, smooth side up. Put a big bowl over it (or a cloth, if you prefer), and let it rise for 1.5-2 hours.

This is how the dough looks before rising:

When the dough has risen, preheat the oven and baking pan. See the risen dough below:

Place a Dutch oven, donabe, or other oven-safe covered pot into the oven and preheat to 230ºC (450ºF). When preheated, carefully remove the pot from the oven, take off the lid, and slide or lift the risen dough into the hot pot. Put the lid back on, and put the pot on a low shelf in the oven.

Dough placed in the hot donabe pot:

Bake for 48 minutes at 230ºC (450ºF). Remove from oven. If you are not sure it's done, you can check the internal temperature with a thermometer. It should be at least 96ºC (205ºF). 

Cool on a rack before cutting.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Making the sauce the day before seems to heighten the flavor.

Place in a pot:

2 chicken breasts, skin removed (about 500 grams)
2 cups water
1 t chicken (or other) bouillon

Boil on a low flame, covered, for 5 minutes. Turn off fire, and leave until cool. You will use the broth for your sauce.

Now make the enchilada sauce:

Measure these spices and place in a small bowl:

2 T chili powder
1 minced clove garlic
½ scant t salt
½ t powdered cumin
¼ t powdered oregano

Place in a pot and heat:

2 T grapeseed or other oil

Add and whisk for about a minute:

2 T all-purpose flour (中力粉 churikiko in Japanese)

Add the spices and continue to whisk. After about a minute, slowly add while whisking to prevent lumps:

2 C chicken broth
(1 T tomato paste)

Simmer for about ten minutes.

Now, back to the chicken. Shred with a fork on a plate. Put the shredded chicken breasts in a bowl and pour in about ½ cup enchilada sauce. Mix in the sauce and set aside.

Beans:

350 grams cooked beans (black, pinto, whatever)
1 T butter
1 clove garlic
¼ t salt

Heat the beans, butter, garlic, and salt in a ziplock bag (not airtight) in the microwave until the butter melts. Seal the bag and gently pound with a rolling pin to mash and squeeze it about to incorporate the butter, salt, and garlic into the beans. If you prefer not to use a bag, heat them in a bowl in the microwave or in a pan on the stove and mash with a fork. Set aside.

Heat in a frying pan:

1 T olive oil

Stir fry:

1 minced onion

When cooked, mix into the chicken.

Now it's time to put together the enchiladas.

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Lay tortillas on a clean surface. Place small amounts of each of the ingredients on each of the tortillas: grated cheese, beans, meat. Roll them and place seam side down in an oven pan lined with cooking paper. Pour on ½-1 cup enchilada sauce. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges start to turn golden. Sprinkle a little mozzarella or other cheese on top of the enchiladas and return to the oven until cheese is melted. Serve with green salad, and guacamole and chips. (If you have leftover sauce, freeze it to use later.)