Japanese Style White Fish Balls In Shiitake Ginger Broth Recipes

JAPANESE-STYLE WHITE FISH BALLS IN SHIITAKE-GINGER BROTH

Steps:

• To make the fish balls, cut the fish into 1- to 2-inch chunks, place in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Add the ginger, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and process until thoroughly blended. With wet hands, pat the mixture into 3/4-inch balls. Set aside on a plate, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
• To make the soup, combine the water, mushroom stems, ginger, cilantro, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover partially, and cook until the mushroom and ginger pieces are soft, about 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan. Discard the contents of the strainer.
• Bring the strained broth just to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the shiitake caps, spinach roots, and fish balls and cook until the balls rise to the top, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, garnish each bowl with a few scallion strands, and serve piping hot.

FISH WITH SHIITAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 175 degrees. Place chicken stock in a wok or skillet, and bring to a simmer. Cut fish into pieces about 3 inches square, place in stock, and simmer until just cooked, about 5 minutes. Use spatula to transfer to heatproof platter, cover loosely with foil, and place in oven. Drain and strain stock, and reserve. Wipe out pan.
• Heat peanut oil in pan. Add garlic, ginger and scallions. Sauté briefly, and add mushrooms. Sauté until wilted. Add soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce. Cook 30 seconds, then add reserved stock. Bring to a simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water, and add, stirring. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Add sesame oil.
• Transfer fish to serving dish, spoon mushroom sauce over, scatter with cilantro, and serve.

UDON NOODLES WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS IN GINGER BROTH

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles, and cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, toss with sesame oil, and return to pot. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add ginger, shallots, and mushrooms; cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to soften and turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Stir chicken stock, vinegar, and soy sauce into pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook until mushrooms are very tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and scallions, and stir to combine. To serve, divide noodles among four shallow bowls; ladle soup over noodles.

PAN-SEARED FISH FILLETS IN GINGER BROTH

Steps:

• Discard any bruised or wilted outer leaves from bok choy, then cut leaves from stalks, keeping leaves and stalks separate. Thinly slice leaves and cut stalks diagonally into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Halve carrot lengthwise and cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then stir-fry bok choy stalks, carrot, and ginger 1 minute. Stir in Sherry, broth, and sugar and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut scallions crosswise into 2-inch pieces, then halve lengthwise and cut into very thin matchsticks.
• Add bok choy leaves and scallions to carrot mixture and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
• While vegetables simmer, pat fish dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir together cornstarch and curry powder, then rub into skin of each fillet. Halve each fillet diagonally with a sharp knife.
• Stir sesame oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper into vegetable mixture and keep warm, uncovered, on turned-off burner.
• Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook fish, skin sides down, gently pressing occasionally with a metal spatula (to keep skin flat), until skin is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn fish over and cook until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Divide broth and vegetables among 4 shallow bowls and stack 2 fish halves, skin sides up, in center of each bowl.