Japanese Eggplants broiled with Miso (Nasu Dengaku)

After cooking more than 1 dish for the mega blogging marathon, I think I got in the habit of making more dishes. So here I am with the second Japanese dish for #Food of the World event that I served with Miso Noodle Soup.

I planted 2 eggplant plants in my raised garden bed and after waiting the whole summer, they have just started to grow some beautiful, long Japanese eggplants. I wanted to make a Japanese dish using them and found this simple Broiled Japanese eggplants with miso recipe on Fatfree Vegan's site.

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Japanese Miso Noodle Soup for #Food of the World

For this month's #Food of the World event, we are visiting the beautiful country of Japan. My knowledge of Japanese food is very limited and I've only eaten it a couple of times. We have a Mitsuwa close to our house with a huge food court, but I didn't find many vegetarian options there, so never really tasted Japanese food outside except for the couple of dishes I made at home.

As I was looking for Japanese recipes to make, I found this simple Miso noodle soup recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine. I had all the ingredients on hand, so made it right away. It is a light and tasty soup. I slurped the entire bowl you see in the picture :-) I added a few dashes of hot sauce to spice it up but otherwise it is a great tasting soup.

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Japan - Vegetable Curry with Edamame

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: J for Japan

Dish: Vegetable Curry with Edamame

We are going all the way east to Japan today. I knew it is an island but I didn't know that it is a archipelago of 6,852 islands. Japan always amazes me because it is one of the smaller countries in the world and even after enduring 2 atomic bombs in Hiroshima & Nagasaki back in 1945, it is now one of the most developed countries.
Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods, typically Japanese rice or noodles, with a soup and okazu (or side dish) -- dishes made from fish, vegetable, tofu and so on -- to add flavor to the staple food. Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation.
Some version of Japanese Sushi is probably found in very corner restaurant in the world. Tempura is also a very famous Japanese dish were veggies and seafood are battered and deep fried. Finding vegetarian dishes in Japan is quite difficult because they use dashi (seafood) stock in most of the dishes.

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Cucumber & Carrot California Sushi Roll (Vegan Recipe)

We are going on a Culinary tour of California for this month's International Food Challenge. Our host for this month, Joanne T Ferguson who blogs @ What's on the list picked some amazing dishes from California. As Joanne says there are no "official" dishes of California. California cuisine is based on fusion foods, from many cultures and recipes that were adapted throughout the history.

Personally I feel California is a country in itself. One reason being it is one of the largest states in US (FYI: 3rd largest in US and when compared to New Jersey which is in the 47th place, California is HUGE) and the most populous US state. From my working experience in compliance for many years, I know US as a country has many regulations, but California as a state has many many many more complicated regulations.

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Cold Udon Noodles in Peanut sauce

This recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance and I’ve been planning to make it for sometime now. It is packed with peanutty flavor and packed with veggies and my favorite seitan. This goes to Lavanya @ Home Cook recipes for A.W.E.D-Japan. DK @ Culinary Bazaar is the brain behind A.W.E.D.

Recipe adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowicz
Ingredients:
Udon noodles – 10 oz.
Seedless Cucumber – 1 medium, chopped into matchsticks
Red pepper – 1 medium, thinly sliced
Bean Sprouts – 2 cups
Scallions – 1 bunch, chopped

For the peanut Sauce:
Peanut Oil – 2 tsp
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Ginger – 1” piece, minced
Water – 1 cup
Soy sauce – 2tbsp
Ground coriander – 1tsp
Creamy peanut butter – 2/3cup
Maple Syrup – 2tbsp
Rice Vinegar – 3tbsp
Sriracha hot Sauce – 2tsp

For the Seitan:
Seitan – 1 lb./ 2 cups, sliced
Garlic – 1 clove, minced
Soy sauce – 2tsp

Method:

• Prepare the peanut sauce: In a small saucepan, sauté the garlic and ginger over medium-low heat. Add water, soy sauce and coriander pd and bring to a boil. Add peanut butter and turn the heat to low. Whisk until peanut butter and oil are combined. Mix in the maple syrup, rice vinegar and hot sauce. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.


• In the meantime, cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain in a colander and let cool.


• Heat 1 tsp oil in a small saute pan, add seitan and saute for 5 minutes or until lightly browned; flip and cook till browned. Add garlic and soy sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes.


• To serve noodles have to be cold, peanut sauce should be at room temperature & Seitan should be hot. Before serving, rinse the noodles under cold water; drain and place them in the serving bowl. Pour the peanut sauce; scatter the peppers, cucumber & bean sprouts followed by scallions. Arrange seitan on the top & lemon wedges around the plate. Enjoy right away.