Cooking During Lent...love some Japanese traditions on a Friday...

TOFU BRAISED WITH PICKLED JAPANESE VEGGIES IN MEDIUM BROTH WITH NORI with rice bundles and a side of fermented purple cabbage and green onion...and don't forget a sparkling glass of Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc.

I'm not Japanese...but I am a certified ReiKi Master Teacher in the Usui ReiKi Ryoho lineage. This Lenten season I offer this meal as homage to ReiKi. The meal is inspired by Japanese culinary traditions. So...

MY FERMENTED PURPLE NAPA CABBAGE & GREEN ONIONS

INGREDIENTS:

1 head purple napa cabbage with the base cut off

1 bunch of green onion greens cut into 3 inch lengths

enough pickling salt

distilled water

DIRECTIONS:

Clean a large mason jar. Fold the napa cabbage leaves into bundles that can be packed falt and stacked in the jar as tight as you can. Layer onion greens between cabbage bundles. Mix your salt and distilled water together until the salt is all dissolved. Pour it over the cabbage until all is covered. Put a fermenting weight on the top of the cabbage and put a lid on the jar loosely. Put it in the fridge for two weeks. Then eat it.

The amount of salt will vary depending on how much water you use, how big your jar is. I know how much is enough by looking at it, but you can do a quick search to find out exact measurements/ratios. This cabbage is awesome. Use it the same way you would suarkraut, Korean kimchi, or Japanese fermented garnishes.

MY PICKLED JAPANESE VEGGIES

INGREDIENTS:

4 one inch pieces of young ginger sliced using a mandolin

2 ten inch pieces of gobo peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths sliced in half

1 small white onion sliced on a mandolin

4 extra large King Trumpet Oyster mushrooms cut in half

2T mirin

1 C brown rice vinegar

pickling salt to taste

water to cover veggies

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the ingredients as directed to be prepared above in a small sauce pan. Top with enough water to cover the veggies by 1 inch. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute and store in a jar in the refrigerator until use. (no more than a month)

MY BRAISED TOFU & PICKLED JAPANESE VEGGIES

INGREDIENTS:

pickled Japanese veggies (above)

2 C veg broth (homemade of boxed) OR Kombu broth (boil a large piece of kombu in a covered pot of water seasoned with 1 T soy sauce and 1 T white miso for 30 minutes)

2 T soy sauce

1 brick of tofu cut into 8 equal pieces

wakame flakes to taste

nori cut into strips

DIRECTIONS:

Put the pickled veggies (and mushroom) in their brine in a corningware dish. Sprinkle with wakame to taste. Layer on the pieces of tofu. Add the broth. Cover with the lid. Bake in the oven at 300 degrees for 90 minutes, opening to baste the tofu with the broth a couple times. Garnish with nori strips when you serve.

RICE BUNDLES:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sushi rice rinsed

salt to taste

1tsp mirin

enough water

1 sheet nori cut into strips

DIRECTIONS:

Make sure your rice is rinsed really really well. Put it in a rice cooker with the mirin, salt and enough water. When the rice is done use a small spice bowl or ramekin to form the rice into bundles. Line the bowl or ramekin with a strip of nori. Pack the hot rice tightly and secure the nori strip around the back side of the rice. Then plate.

END NOTE: I did not add the fermented cabbage to the braise to preserve the probiotics of the ferment. I plate each item separately in homage to the presentation of such dishes in Japanese tradition. The blanc de blanc is a wonderful compliment, but a cold filtered saki would also be a lovely companion to this dish. Also, the background of the photo is my kitchen counter with some of my counter top herbal supplement apothecary in the background.