Spinach Sesame Salad

5-minute Japanese style salad.  Healthy and very tasty.

INGREDIENTS 

2 bunches of spinach

1 tsp salt

water

Salad dressing:

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

4 tbsp mirin 

1 tbsp rice vinegar 

1 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

PREPARATION

  

Wash the spinach -DO NOT CUT ANYTHING YET!

Add 1 tsp salt to boiling water.  Cook the spinach for 2 minutes.

Prepare salad dressing (while cooking the spinach): 

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Reserve.

Turn off heat and strain spinach.  Rinse with cold water.

Squeeze gently with your hands, not too much.

Cut off the stem ends (1/2 inch).

Form a "ball" with the spinach and cut in 2-inch-long pieces.

Add salad dressing.  Mix well.

Enjoy!

VARIATION: Add tofu cubes to this salad... it's delicious!

Szechuan Spicy Eggplant

INGREDIENTS (for 2-3)

6 Japanese eggplants*

2 green onions

1/2 cup vegetable stock

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Spicy Szechuan Sauce:

- 4 garlic cloves

- 1 red Thai chili pepper**

- 2 tbsp shredded fresh ginger

- 4 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp black bean sauce

- 1 tbsp rice vinegar

- 2 tbsp mirin (or any rice wine)

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 2 tbsp sesame oil

- 1 tsp Szechuan pepper (if yo have it)

*Yes, you need these ones. Sorry, it's not going to work with the regular/Mediterranean type.

**If you don't have fresh Thai chillies, you can use chili paste instead (about 1 tbsp).

PREPARATION

Spicy Szechuan Sauce:

Peel garlic cloves and place them in a mortar. Add chili (or chili paste) and ginger. Grind and reserve.

Place all the other sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the chili/garlic/ginger paste and mix.

Reserve.

Cooking the eggplant:

Wash the eggplants and cut off stems. Cut them into long strips (finger size). Reserve.

Wash the green onions and cut them into thin slices. Reserve.

Place a skillet over medium heat and add 3 tbsp vegetable oil.

Add eggplants and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir often.

Add half of the sauce and cook for 2 minutes. Stir often

Add the rest of the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir.

Add vegetable stock and lower heat. Cook for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat.

Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve very hot with cooked rice.

VARIATION: you can make a version of this by adding chunks of tofu, either deep fried, stir fried or directly from the package. 

Enoki Spinach Soup

10-minute light and tasty soup

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

Soup broth:

4 cups water (or vegetable stock)

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable boullion paste* (skip this if you are using vegetable broth)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 cup fresh spinach

1 green onion

1/2 pack enoki mushrooms

1 pack udon noodles**

*I usually use "Better Than Boullion".

**Use soy, sweet potato or rice noodles for GLUTEN-FREE.

PREPARATION

Place water and vegetable bullion paste (or vegetable stock) in a pot over medium heat. Mix well.

Add soy sauce and sugar. Stir.

Wash the spinach and remove the stems. Add leaves to soup.

Add noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

Cut the green onion into thin slices and add. Stirring occasionally.

Add sesame oil, enoki mushrooms and rice vinegar. Stir and serve immediately.

Avocado Tofu Ginger Salad

This salad is incredibly simple and super tasty!

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

1 avocado

1/2 tofu block (soft or firm, whatever you prefer)

1 green onion (or 2, depending on how big the onions are)

1 tbsp shredded fresh ginger

1/4 sheet nori seaweed 

1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds

Salad dressing:

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp rice vinegar

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1/2 lime juice

PREPARATION

Cut the avocado into small cubes and place in 2 bowls.
Squeeze the lime juice on top of it.

Cut the tofu into small cubes and add.

Cut the green onion into very thin slices and add.

Cut out a quarter of a nori sheet (reserve the other part for future cooking). Then cut it in half, put the halves together and cut in half again. Put together and repeat again. You should have now layers of small rectangles together. Cut them into thin strips and add.
Add the shredded ginger.

Add the sesame seeds. (If you don't have the toasted kind, just put a skillet over medium heat -no oil- and toast the seeds for a minute or two. You'll know when they're ready because they will smell really nutty and good).

In a separate bowl, put all the ingredients for the dressing together and whip them until it's well mixed.

Add to bowls and serve immediately.