Black Sesame Soup

I find myself craving black sesame soup when the weather gets cold. It’s extremely comforting, and nutritious, and warms you from the inside out.

Black sesame is a popular ingredient used in many Asian desserts. The Chinese believe that eating black sesame promotes healthy hair and healthy bones. You’ll find them in ice cream, blended into hot drinks, baked as a paste into bread, or stuffed into dim sum in all shapes and sizes. 

The jujube here is added for nutritional benefits. Known as the beauty fruit in China — jujube is full of minerals, fiber and adds a natural sweetness to dishes. 

Black Sesame Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp (30 g) glutinous rice

1/2 cup (75 g) toasted black sesame seeds*

4 tbsp sugar or sweetener of choice, to taste

6 jujube dates, pitted (optional)*

2 cups (480 g) water

Instructions

1. Rinse the glutinous rice and soak for 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

2. Drain the glutinous rice and add to the blender with sesame seeds, jujube dates, and 2 cups of water. Blend on high until very smooth.

3. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized pot. Heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom from burning. When the soup starts to bubble, add the sugar to taste. Continue cooking to your desired consistency (I like this soup on the thick side). Garnish with goji berries and serve warm.

Cooking notes:

1. You can use raw black sesame seeds if you’re not able to find toasted ones. Just toast them for 10 minutes until the seeds start to pop.

2. The jujube here is added for nutritional value and for a hint of sweetness. Feel free to omit it if it is not something you have in your pantry.

3. It’s very important to stir and keep an eye on the soup to prevent the bottom from burning. The glutinous rice will thicken rapidly and stick to the bottom as you cook.

4. This soup will keep in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 1 month. The layers will separate so give it a stir before serving.

Miso Soup with Yu Choy and Dashi Stock

I bought a bag of shiitake mushrooms for vegetarian dumplings the other day and was left with an abundance of dried mushrooms. I have never cooked with shiitake mushrooms till recent and they remind me of street food in Taiwan and a lot of my mother’s cooking.

I remember savouring these explosions of flavour in chicken broths, in the mountains of fried rice noodles grandmother would make when we visit, and in the sticky rice steamed in bamboo leaves during festivals. I also remember being made fun of in elementary school because my classmates told me they looked like tiny slugs. Not to be deceived by looks — these mushrooms are essential to Asian cuisine and can be found in hot pots, stir fry and everything savoury. Something I proudly stock in my pantry nowadays.

Here is a recipe for miso soup using a very simple dashi stock. The watermelon radish serves more as a garnish but adds such a beautiful touch.

My apologies in advance for the abstractness of this recipe, I hope you taste as you go and refrain from taking too many photos as I’ve let food burn in the process. I enjoy serving this soup as an attractive appetizer or for evenings when I want something light and warm. For friends or myself.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Dashi stock
5–6 Dried shiitake mushrooms
Handful of dried kombu (2-3 slices or half a cup if they are sliced)

1. Lightly rinse shiitake mushrooms. Do not wash kombu as the white residue adds flavour. Wipe kombu with a paper towel if you wish.

2. Fill a jar with two cups of water, soak the mushrooms and kombu. Seal and let sit for a few hours or overnight. The stock keeps well so you can make it a few days in advance

Miso Soup
Medium-firm tofu, one package, cut into blocks
Handful of baby yu choy
Miso paste, 3-4 tablespoons
Ginger, 2 slices
Soy sauce, to taste
Watermelon radish, sliced as thin as possible (use a mandolin)
Coriander or arugula, for garnish

Instructions

1. Remove mushrooms from slice into pieces. Discard the stem if you find them tough. Wash baby yu choy and chop into 2-inch pieces. Save some of the flowering tops for garnish. Cut tofu into small squares.

2. Heat the dashi stock and ginger in a pot till it comes to a simmer. Add miso paste and stir to taste. Add tofu to the pot until it boils. Taste the soup, add a few drops of soy sauce if it needs more flavour. Stir yu choy stems in till it comes to a boil again. Add the leafy parts to the soup at the last possible minute.

3. Garnish with sliced radish and coriander. Serve immediately.

Notes: I have found that arugula is a fantastic addition to miso soup. Feel free to substitute baby yu choy with other greens. I have started adding dried anchovies to the soup though the additional taste of fish may not be for everyone.

The Easiest Kombu Dashi Recipe

Here is a recipe for a tasty vegetarian broth made from Kombu (kelp) and shitake mushrooms. Kombu is one of those things that are full of minerals and really good for you. Something my mother always tells me to eat. I would use this in place of vegetable stock, add to chawanmushi (steamed egg curd), or use as a base for miso soup.

When I lived in Northern China, I often saw older ladies and aunties harvesting bundles of green seaweed by the sea. They earned the title “Sea Women” from the locals which I found rather amusing. Those trips to the fish market were quite exotic and I remember seeing starfish, the tiniest river lobsters, and spangled-looking fish. I think of those days with fondness, and laugh at how I tried to cook lobsters in my dorm room. Making these recipes make me recall a lot of the shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot), light broths and dishes I had growing up in Taipei.

Ingredients
5-6 dried shitake mushrooms, rinsed
A handful of Kelp (wipe clean with a paper towel gently, do not rinse)

Instructions
Add ingredients with 2-3 cups of water in jar or container. Leave to soak for a few hours. I keep mine in the fridge overnight. Discard the kombu but you can slice and add the shitake mushrooms into the soup.

*Add bonito flakes for a richer, non-vegetarian broth. I made the mistake of washing my kombu for the first time and realized the white residue on top is what brings the umami flavour to the soup. You can wipe the kombu gently with a paper towel instead of rinsing it.