On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:45:19 +1300, Quentin Grady
wrote:

G'day G'day Folks,

I'm working on making a seafood soup. In New Zealand we have a
seaweed called Karengo. It is soft and flexible. I came across it in
a Thai restaurant in what they called seaweed soup. It was delightful
and I imagine very diabetic friendly. Their version had stuffed baby
squid, something that seemed altogether far too fiddly for me.

Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
looking for a new dietary staple.

Best wishes,

Salmon Miso Soup

4 cups dashi (recipe below)
4-5 tablespoons miso
1/4 head cabbage, cleaned and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb salmon, (or other fish) cut large bite-size pieces
1/2 lb tofu, drained and cubed
eggs, if desired

Bring the dashi to a boil in a large stock pan and add the carrots and
potatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes or until carrots
and potatoes are about cooked through.

Add cabbage to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until cabbage is just
crisp.

Put miso (starting with the lesser amount) into a sieve. Dip the sieve
into the stock and melt the miso into the soup. The purpose of the
sieve is to make sure there are no big miso chunks in the soup. You
can also disslove the miso into some hot dashi and slowly add it in.
Make sure to taste as you add the miso-- too much will make the soup
salty.

Add tofu cubes gently. Add salmon pieces to top of pan and push
carefully into the soup. Simmer until the salmon is cooked through.

When salmon is cooked, portion out the salmon pieces, vegies, and tofu
to individual serving bowls.

If desired, gently break into the soup an egg for each person and let
it poach.
Put this on top of each portion.

Pour the miso soup over the top of the salmon, vegie, tofu, and egg
bowls.

Dashi Recipe:

4 cups cold water
1 sheet (1 ounce) kombu seaweed 3 to 4 inches square, soaked in cold
water in the refrigerator overnight
1/3 cup dried bonito flakes

Place the water in a medium saucepan. Add the kombu. Bring to a low
boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low (if the water
continues to boil, the stock will not be totally clear) and simmer for
5 minutes. Add the bonito flakes and stir. Turn off the heat and let
stand for 2 minutes to allow the bonito flakes to settle. Skim off any
foam.
Line a large colander or strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a
large bowl; carefully pour the dashi through to strain it. Discard the
kombu and bonito flakes.

Andrea2