Tomato Cucumber Seaweed Salad

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Tomato Cucumber Seaweed Salad

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https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com

This is an Asian inspired salad. The dressing has a mix of soy sauce, minced ginger and garlic, cider vinegar and a touch of sesame oil. Wonderful flavours that goes very well together.

As it is Japanese inspired, it is best eaten with a bowl of short grained rice and a grilled, steamed or simmered fish or meat. 

It is a rather healthy salad and you can make it a more substantial and complete meal by adding some firm tofu or sprinkle some crispy fried white bait on it before serving. It does need to be accompanied by that bowl of rice so you can savour every drop of the dressing and those chunky juicy tomatoes.

Tomatoes and cucumbers are mere suggestions. You could add avocados too. Boiled potatoes goes very well with the salad dressing as well. Remember to make enough of the dressing to coat all the vegetables.
TOMATO CUCUMBER SEAWEED SALAD                           

Prep:	15 minutes
Cook:	3 minutes to toast sesame seeds (if you are using)
Inactive:	5 minutes
Level:	Easy
Serves:	2
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	No

Ingredients

Salad vegetables

2 medium sized tomatoes cut into wedges

1 cup (3.52oz)(100g) seedless cucumber thinly sliced (that's about 1 of those cucumbers above)

I use cucumbers labelled as 'Japanese or Kyuri Cucumbers'. They are about 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter and about 10" (20.5 cm) in length.  Skins and seeds which are underdeveloped can be eaten and are ideal for salads. 

If you don't have access to these, you would mostly likely have to peel your cucumbers and if the seeds are large and unpalatable, get rid of the seeds as well. 

1 to 2 Tablespoons of any variety of dried or salt packed wakame (seaweed) for use in salads or soups

Please scroll down to 'Tips' to view the 2 variety of wakame that I use for salads.

If you do not have wakame and if you had cooked Japanese short grain rice using my recipe in the previous post, Salmon On Rice, where a different variety of seaweed - kombu was used in that recipe, this is where you would reuse the still flavourful kombu.

Salad dressing

1 and 1/2 tsp soy sauce

I use Kikkoman, Tamari or Bragg Liquid Amino

3/4 tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp neutral tasting oil

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp grated ginger 

I use my Microplane. If you don't have a grater, smash the ginger with the back of your knife and then mince finely.

1/4 tsp grated garlic

I use my Microplane. If you don't have a grater, smash the garlic with the back of your knife and then mince finely.

Ground pepper to taste 

1/2 Tablespoons sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

Method

Scroll down to 'Tips' to find out how to prepare the wakame. 

If you have kombu/kelp left from cooking the Japanese short grain rice (from the recipe I posted preceding this one), slice the kombu thinly and add it to the salad dressing.

Salt the sliced cucumbers with a light sprinkling of salt and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

Mix the salad dressing ingredients together (except for the ground pepper and toasted sesame seeds). Set aside.

In the meantime, in a heated pan (medium high), toast the sesame seeds until it is golden brown. Stir or shake the pan continuously as it burns quickly. Transfer to a plate and do not leave toasted sesame seeds in the pan as it will continue to brown and possibly burn.

Squeeze out the cucumbers gently. Discard the liquid. Taste the cucumbers. If they are salty, rinse and lightly squeeze out excess water.

In a large mixing bowl, add the tomatoes wedges, sliced cucumbers, wakame and salad dressing. Toss and serve immediately.

Sprinkle ground pepper and toasted sesame seeds on individual portions.

Tips

• Wakame (seaweed)

There are quite a few variety. Some come in pretty coloured fronds but the dark green ones are most common. Usually used in salads and soups. 

It is sold either dried or preserved in a lot of salt (the latter wakame is still moist to the touch). More often than not, you will find the dried version on supermarket shelves. When buying dried wakame for salads/soups, pay attention to the front pictorial. It should feature the wakame in a salads/soups. The reverse of the packaging should have english labelled ingredients. The reverse of the above bag of Wakame read 'Fujicco Wakame'. 'Fujicco' is the food manufacturer.

You might have to wait for Japanese Food Fairs to buy those packed in salt. Those are sold by weight. I hardly see the salt packed wakame on supermarket shelves. If they are, it should be found in the chiller sections.

To use those that are dried, soak briefly in water to reconstitute for not more than 5 minutes (or they will be rather tasteless) and drain. They do expand rather significantly so be careful with the quantity you reconstitute.

If you manage to get those preserved in salt, rinse off the salt thoroughly and soak for not more than 5 minutes to get rid of the excess saltiness. Taste and if it taste fine, that is, not shockingly salty, drain before use. If not soak longer and re-taste.

Cut to whatever size you desire before using.

Any taste difference between the two? Those packed in salt retains more of the flavour of the sea.
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 

So as to not waste the rest of the bag of kombu/kelp that was used to cook the Japanese short grained rice that was featured in my previous blog post, Salmon On Rice, and to show you how else you could use up the bag of wakame you bought for this salad, the upcoming recipe is for a basic Japanese soup base that is kombu/kelp based and then you could add miso to turn it into a miso soup.

Either way, a bowl of hot Japanese soup goes exceptionally well with Salmon On Rice and Tomato Cucumber Seaweed Salad. There, a complete meal!

Salmon On Rice

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Salmon On Rice

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

Simple, satisfying and light on your tummy. 

Before a wider range of Japanese food became popular fare, there were not many places you could frequent to have the variety of Japanese food that is available today. I remember eating a similar dish over a business lunch when I first started working. 

I can recall the taste - fresh slices of salmon steamed perfectly that the salmon was meltingly tender. I remember its presentation - in a Japanese square shaped, bamboo steamer basket with little pearls of shoyu ikura (soy sauce flavoured salmon caviar) sprinkled over overlapping slices of coral coloured salmon.

Naturally, I don't remember what transpired over the business lunch and worse, I don't even remember who was there. Food on the other hand always leaves an indelible mark - be it good or bad. I love food.

No rice cooker? I have included instructions to wash and cook short grained rice on a stove top. 

This recipe is easy as it is and now with instructions to cook rice without a rice cooker, you can mousey along into your kitchen and start cooking.

SALMON ON RICE                                                                  

Prep:	15 minutes
Cook:	22 minutes (includes cooking rice separately and then steaming salmon over cooked rice)
Inactive:	30 minutes
Level:	Easy
Makes:	Serves 2 person.
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	No

Ingredients

2/3 cup short-grained rice/Japanese rice

2/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons water

1" to 2" (2.5 to 5cm) square of kombu/konbu (a variety of dried Japanese seaweed/kelp)

Scroll down to 'Tips' to find out more and how to prepare for use. Omit if you do not want to buy this.

1/4 teaspoon salt

400g salmon fillet

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar

To garnish

100g Ikura Shoyu

Salmon roe that has been marinated/preserved in soy sauce and sake and/or mirin (Japanese cooking rice wine that is sweetened). Refer to my cover photograph. Substitute with salmon caviar drizzled with a tiny bit of soy sauce and sprinkled with a little sugar.

1 bag of Japanese shredded seasoned seaweed or Korean roasted & seasoned seaweed (laver)

Scroll down to 'Tips' to find out the difference and where to buy them.

Method 

Cooking the rice 

Wash the rice by rubbing the rice grains with your palms and fingers to remove as much of the rice starch as possible.

Rinse and repeat until the water is relatively clear. You might have to wash and rinse 4 to 5 times, even for rice that might come from a bag with the print "No wash required" on its packaging.

Once the water is relatively clear, drain rice and transfer to your cooking pot. Add 2/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons of water, the kombu and let it sit for 30 minutes. Do not skip this step as it is all part of the cooking process.

After soaking for 30 minutes, add the 1/4 teaspoon salt.

On the stove top

Cover the pot and bring it to boil on high heat.

Watch the pot as it will boil over very quickly. Once it comes to a boil (within 1 to 2 minutes) remove the cover, stir quickly, reduce the heat to very low and cover again. Let it simmer away for 10 minutes.

Some people will advise that the kombu/kelp be removed once the rice water comes to a boil but I don't. I don't taste a real difference so why bother? 

Remove cover. There should be no visible layer of water. Turn off the heat but leave the pot over the burner.

Set a tea towel over the top of the pot and replace the cover over the tea towel, making sure the cover fits snugly. Let is sit for at least 7 minutes before using. 

Taste the rice. If it needs more cooking, drizzle 1 Tablespoon of water over the rice. Cover with the tea towel and lid and let it sit for an additional 10 minutes.

When rice is cooked, remove the kombu. It is edible but rather bland. You can pep it up with soy sauce or cut into strips and add to salads or soups. Scroll down to 'What's Coming Up Next?' to find out how I use it in a salad.

Use a silicon spatula or a wooden spoon (dipped in water first to prevent sticking) to fluff up the rice before using.

In the rice cooker

Follow the instructions on your rice cooker. 

Taste the rice. If it needs more cooking, drizzle 1 Tablespoon of water over the rice. Cover and let it sit for an additional 10 minutes.

When rice is cooked, remove the kombu. It is edible but rather bland. You can pep it up with soy sauce or cut into strips and add to salads or soups. Scroll down to 'What's Coming Up Next?' to find out how I use it in a salad.

Fluff rice with a silicon spatula or a wooden spoon (dipped in water first to prevent sticking) and continue to keep on 'warm' mode until required.

Preparing the salmon

Remove any bones from the salmon fillet and then remove the skin and discard. Slice the fillet into 2" (5cm) lengths and 1/4" (0.64cm) thick slices. 

10 minutes before you are ready to cook the salmon, marinade it with the sugar and salt.

Assembling and steaming

If you do not have a steamer, the picture above shows you my improvisation.

You can use a steamer basket which I did or a trivet or an inverted heatproof vessel (plate/saucer/shallow bowl). Fill the pot with water. I would say enough water to almost cover the top of the steamer basket/trivet/inverted plate heatproof vessel. Cover with the lid of the pot. 

Before you start, choose heatproof bowls that will fit into your improvised steamer.

There is very little water in the pot so do not bring the water to boil until you are ready to steam the rice/salmon or you risk boiling down the water even before you are ready to steam. If that happens, top with water and reboil before putting in the bowl of rice/salmon.

Bring the water to boil on high.

Divide the hot rice into 2 bowls, creating a nice round mound in the centre. 

Divide the salmon into 2 portions. Use one portion of salmon and overlap the slices over the rice.

When the water boils, steam the first bowl of rice/salmon. It will steam super fast as the fish has been sliced thinly. Mine was done in 2 to 4 minutes. It really depends on how hot your rice was when you layered the salmon. 

How can you tell if it is cooked?

After 1 to 2 minutes, not only will the salmon have turned opaque, you will start to see little areas of white on the fish slices  - look at the bottom circumference of the bowl of rice/salmon pictured above. 

Once you spot this, pierce the fish with a skewer, toothpick or knife. If it skewers through without resistance, it is cooked. Alternatively, lift up a slice of fish gently to look at the bottom. It should be cooked through. Remove immediately from the steamer and set aside.

Top up water in pot if needed (I did not need to) and set the next bowl into the steamer.

Repeat steaming process above.

Garnishing

Nestle a generous spoonful of ikura shoyu/salmon caviar on the salmon and finish off with the seasoned seaweed. Leave more seasoned seaweed and ikura shoyu/salmon caviar out on the dining table for diners to help themselves to more as they definitely will be doing so.

Enjoy immediately.

Tips

• Kombu/Konbu (a variety of dried Japanese seaweed/kelp)

This is not meant to be eaten as is. More often than not, it has to be rehydrated.

It is a used to flavour dishes such as stews, rice, soups, sauces, etc to give it a umami flavour. A flavour that has been attributed to glutamate (one of many amino acids). You might be familiar with the artificially produced MSG? Monosodium glutamates is by the way synthesised from food. Glutamate is actually found naturally in virtually all food in varying degrees. Think cheeses, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon. So now you know why some food taste extra yummy.

To use kombu, do not wash. Wipe gently with a dry towel to remove any grit or sand. The white powder on it is a promise of flavour. Do not wipe it off.

You can find kombu locally in most supermarkets. Look under the Japanese food aisle. Otherwise, look for it at Japanese or Asian grocery stores.

I store my kombu in the refrigerator.

• Japanese shredded seasoned seaweed (to the right)

I bought this from a Japanese grocery store. It also sold at better stocked supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. On the reverse of the bag I bought, it is labelled as 'Takaokaya Mominori'. 'Takaokaya' is the name of the company. 'Mominori' means shredded seaweed.

I bought 'seasoned seaweed'. It is seasoned primarily with sugar, soy sauce, shrimp, bonito (tuna), kelp and mirin. It is delicious on its own but is primarily used to top rice dishes, salads, cold and hot noodle dishes, tofu...

Before buying, check to see that you are buying 'seasoned' seaweed and not the 'plain' seaweed which is really bland. The front of the packaging should have clear labelling indicating that what you are buying is 'seasoned' seaweed.  Alternatively, check the ingredient list on the reverse.

Store in an airtight container.

• Korean roasted & seasoned seaweed laver (to the left)

I bought this from a Korean grocery store. It also sold at better stocked supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. There will be clear pictures and english labelling on the front and/or back of the packaging. This Korean style seasoned seaweed is as tasty as the Japanese version. Seasoning ingredients include sugar and almost always sesame oil/seeds. It has a much more crackly and crispy texture as it is probably brushed with oil before roasting. It is a little oily. I use it as an accompaniment to rice or just to snack on.

Store in an airtight container.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 

To complete our healthy meal of Salmon On Rice, we must have our vegetables. Continuing with our Japanese inspired theme, this is a Tomato Cucumber and Seaweed Salad. Here is where you can use up the kombu that was used to flavour the rice.

The salad is light and clearly Asian in taste. I use ginger in it! Look out for the recipe.

Moroccan Inspired Dates And Orange Cake

Hi! I'm now working from Wordpress. I've spent a great deal of time editing and reorganising this post on Wordpress and it is so much friendlier to read & follow my recipe from there. Click on this link to take you directly to the recipe:
Moroccan Inspired Dates And Orange Cake

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

This is a moist orangey cake that is studded with dates. It is a cake you want to eat when you are tired of another run of the mill cake. 

This Dates And Orange Cake is what I would term an honest cake. There is no cream, no frosting or any other embellishment. What you see is what you get and it is terribly good. The only exception I make when it so suits me is to dust some icing sugar.

I was given a lovely Le Creuset tagine one Christmas. There was a recipe for this cake in the little recipe booklet that came with it. I have adapted that recipe. After baking 5 cakes, I now have a lighter, higher rising and more moist cake that I prefer. 

What of the tagine? It is hibernating in the kitchen cupboard. At some point in time I will retry cooking my stews in the tagine. Not as easy as you might think. I do better with my pot over the stove. It is a beautiful looking tagine though.

This is a relatively fool proof cake to bake. As it tastes even better the next day, this is a good 'make it ahead' cake.

MOROCCAN INSPIRED DATES AND ORANGE CAKE        

Prep:	30 minutes
Cook:	45 minutes
Inactive:	2 hours to overnight
Level:	Moderately easy
Makes:	Serves approximately 10 to 12 persons.
Oven Temperature:	360F (180C)
Can recipe be doubled?	No
Make ahead?	Definitely. Keeps well refrigerated up to 5 days tightly wrapped. Let it come to room temperature before eating.

Ingredients

The cake batter

7.93 oz (225g) 1 cup unsalted butter

7.93 oz (225g) 1 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup lightly beaten eggs (about 3 large size)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 Tablespoons orange zest

From approximately 2 large oranges, you will also need the juice of these oranges.

2 Tablespoons orange juice (strained of pulp and seeds)

Taken from the juice of the 2 large oranges referred to above. Set aside the rest of the strained juice as you will need it to make the orange syrup.

2 Tablespoons yogurt

Scroll down to 'Tips' for suggestions to use up any excess yogurt.

2 cups (9oz) (250g) all-purpose/plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if you are using salted butter.

7oz (200g) dates (weight before being pitted)

1/2 Tablespoon all-purpose/plain flour for dusting dates

1/2 Tablespoons flaked almonds (optional)

The orange syrup

7 Tablespoons icing sugar*

7 Tablespoons orange juice (strained of pulp and seeds)*

* If you have less than 7 Tablespoons of orange juice (from the 2 oranges), don't worry. Use whatever amount of orange juice you have and add the equivalent of icing sugar to make the orange syrup. 

If you have more than 7 Tablespoons of orange juice, reserve the excess. You might need it to make more syrup should you want your cake more moist.

Method

The cake batter

Turn on the oven to 360F (180C) and adjust the oven rack to lower middle position.

Before starting, all your ingredients should be at room temperature. 

To bake this cake, I use my 10.5" (26.67cm) X 5" (12.7cm) X 5.5" (13.97cm) Pullman loaf pan (without the sliding lid). This is a larger size loaf pan. 

Butter, flour and line the loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Refer to the photograph below to see how I line my loaf pan.

If you are using a different sized baking loaf or a cake pan, do adjust the baking times accordingly. 

Dust the 1/2 Tablespoon flour over the pitted dates and toss to coat completely. Set aside.

Attach whisk attachment to the beater shaft of your mixer. 

With machine at medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Stop machine, with a spatula, scrape bottom and sides of mixer bowl to ensure even mixing. Mix another 1 minute. At this point, your batter should leave a ribbon trail when you lift your whisk up. All this should take you about 2 to 3 minutes.

With machine at medium speed, add 1/4 cup of the eggs and beat 1 minute.  Stop the machine, lift whisk and scrape bottom and sides of bowl to quickly and evenly incorporate batter. Turn the machine back on to medium speed. Add the next 1/4 cup of eggs and repeat process. Do the same for the last 1/4 cup of eggs. 

After the final scraping of the bottom and sides of the mixer bowl, turn the machine back on to medium high speed and let it run for 1 additional minute to totally incorporate eggs.

With the machine running, add the yogurt, vanilla essence, orange zest, and 2 Tablespoons orange juice. Mix about 2 minutes. Stop machine, scrape and incorporate again.

Remove mixer bowl. 

With a long and wide metal spoon or spatula, fold in flour in 3 intervals. This usually takes me 1 minute. Flour has to be almost and not completely incorporated into batter before you add in the next batch of flour.

Incorporating flour the first time. Flour clearly visible on batter.

Incorporating flour the second time. A little less flour visible on batter.

Incorporating flour the third time. Almost no flour is visible on batter but there will be flour on the sides of the bowl.

Incorporate the flour on the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Just a few quick scrapes will do. Set aside.

Distribute 2/3 of the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin. Stud them with the dusted pitted dates.

Cover with the remaining 1/3 cake batter. Even out the top. If you want to add the flaked almonds, sprinkle the 1/2 Tablespoon of flaked almonds down the middle length of the cake. Do not be tempted to add more as it will weigh down the cake and the cake might cave in the middle.

Bake at 360F (180C) for 45 minutes.

To test if cake is done, insert a skewer. If it comes out clean, it is done. If not bake another 5 minutes and retest.

Remove to a cooling rack and let it cool before removing. 

The orange syrup

Mix the icing sugar with the orange juice and stir to dissolve.

Drizzling the orange syrup

Tear off an arm length worth of plastic wrap and set it on your work surface.

Use the overhang of the parchment paper to lift the cake out from the loaf pan and back on to the cooking rack.

Remove parchment paper and set the cake in the centre of the plastic wrap.

Drizzle some of the orange syrup over the entire top surface of the cake. Once the syrup has soaked in from the top, repeat the same process for the side lengths of the cake. 

Fold the plastic wrap over the cake and use more plastic wrap to secure it snugly.

Leave it to soak for 2 hours or overnight before slicing.

This cake taste best at room temperature.

Tips

• This is an excellent cake to make ahead.

After a few days of keeping, you might want to add a bit more orange syrup. It really depends on how moist you would like the cake. Reseal tightly with plastic wrap and I always keep mine refrigerated. 

• This cake went to a party

This is a fuss free way to take a cake to a party. 

You save on a cake box, a cake board, and instead of hunting for an appropriate serving plate at your guest's home, take your own there. As I wanted to dust the cake with icing sugar, I bagged my own and incorporate it in with the twine. 

At a busy party, save your host and yourself the hassle and bring everything you need to serve the cake.

• What to do with the excess yogurt?

- Hamburger Buns, Savoury Buns

Use it to make these sturdy and soft buns. Substitute the milk in that recipe with yogurt. The recipe is found in my Hamburger Buns, Savoury Buns post. It will have the same texture and will have an almost indiscernible tang from the yogurt. These buns go very well with anything sandwiched in between them.

-  Sweet Yogurt Drink, Sweet Lassi

A simple and wonderful way to use up yogurt. This Sweet Lassi is a thirst quencher that I sometimes order at Indian restaurants and especially when I am eating something particularly spicy! No real recipe needed here. Just a ratio.

2/3 yogurt to 1/3 iced water. 1 Tablespoon of sugar to every 1/3 cup of yogurt or just add sugar to taste.

I had 2/3 cup of yogurt left. So my recipe was:

2/3 cup yogurt
1/3 cup iced water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence (that's my own addition - I like vanilla!)
Top up glass with 1/4 cup of ice cubes

Very refreshing and what a treat!
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 

I call this Salmon On Rice. 

Not a very creative name I know but what it lacks in name, it more than makes up for in taste and visual prettiness. And because it is steamed with not a drop of oil, it is so healthy! A welcome change from all the heavy eating over the recent festive period.