Miso Stew
medium pan 3/4 filled with water
1 cup miso paste
1 cup chopped raw white cabbage
1/2 cup chopped dry wood ear mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped dry shitake mushrooms
1/2 cup dry textured vegetable protein chunks
1 block firm tofu, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup rice noodle squares (or thick rice noodles broken)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup dried crunched up seaweed (chunky)
Bring water to the boil, turn down to simmer, stir in miso paste until dissolved.
Add cabbage, both mushrooms, textured vegetable protein chunks, tofu, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Simmer for 45 minutes, then add the other ingredients. Simmer for another 15.
Season to taste. Allow to sit off the heat for a while, if you can, as it thickens the stew and absorbs the flavors better.
Tastes wonderful the next day.
Most of the ingredients are available at Asian or Chinese food stores.
High protein, calcium and tastes divine. If you are sensitive to gluten use a gluten free soy sauce such as Kikkoman.
Enjoy
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I just wanted to ask the poster of this recipe....Where did you get the dishware that's in the photo? A friend of mine used to have some just like that and i always loved em. Just wonderin'.
I was attracted over her by the delicious looking stew in the picture- hmmmmmmmmm!
I see a few of you have asked why you shouldn't boil Miso, and being the so called "macro magician" I can shed some light on this if you want. Macrobiotic cookery uses Miso a lot, not only because it has an alkalising effect on the body, but also because it contains beneficial enzymes. Think of Miso a bit like a packet mix of cake- when the cake mixture is sitting dry in the packet, it needs water to reconstitute it and activate all the propeties, but you won't get the same enjoyment from eating raw cake mixture as you do once it's been cooked in the oven because the heat transforms the texture into something cakey and solid. Miso is kind of the same. It's fermented, so it's a concentrated source of goodness, and all the vitamins and minerals are preserved with in it. When it's in it's paste form, it's still a live food, just "sleepy". When you add water, it rejuventates the healthful properties within the miso, BUT because Miso is natural and a plant food unlike the cake, if you heat it too high then you'll destroy the enzymes that you "woke up" before.
The best way to prepare Miso is to add it to a little cold water first, and then stir it into whatever you're cooking at the end. This heats it up a tiny bit, but not so much to kill the living enzymes.
Hope that makes sense,
MM x
I tried this today and whew! was it salty. I think my miso paste might have been extra strength or my "medium pan" should have been larger (more water). Now I *must* eat it with rice.
But it was still good =)
I might use 3/4 or even 1/2 cup miso paste in the future.
This stew sounds really yummy, but you should never boil miso. It should probably be added at the end of the cooking process, because heating it above a certain temperature destroys the beneficial enzymes and probiotics it has. At least this is what I've always been told...
i was also taught to always put the miso in last. and this was from a very reliable source! then again, i accepted it blindly without ever asking why one could not simply boil the miso within the soup at an earlier stage in the process.... it is interesting to learn this reason.
tvp is one of those things that relies on what you add to it, i use the really big chunks that i get from the asian store, you have to get it in early, you have to add lots of taste, and you have to let it sit for as long as you can for the best results, also i find if you wait till the water is really hot and all the flavours (miso etc) have dissolved before you add the tvp it helps it soak up and soften better ;D
I have a question about the tvp that you use, because I've never ever been able to find any that's remotely edible. I love prepared fake chicken and tuna salad that's made with tvp, but I can't find any that taste good when reconstituted at home. What do you use and how can you tell if it's good?
i couldnt comment on that im afraid, im sure most things are more healthy in their natural state, BUT if we are talking taste it really does do better to go in early as the first things the tofu and soya chunks absorb is what they taste of, so they would taste quite bland if you didnt add it first ;D
This stew sounds really yummy, but you should never boil miso. It should probably be added at the end of the cooking process, because heating it above a certain temperature destroys the beneficial enzymes and probiotics it has. At least this is what I've always been told...