Japanese flavours abound!

The subtle flavors of Japan can be found in a variety of things. Individually, the flavors are subtle, but when combined, your taste buds will be on fire!

In this dish, green tea soba noodles were tossed with a touch of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Raw shredded carrots and simply roasted kale and asparagus to top. Hodo has amazing tofu, so I had to take advantage of their tea-infused firm tofu. It's reminiscent of the dried bean curd my family used to get at the Asian market. Whole shiitake mushroom caps were simmered in toasted garlic and mirin, which is sweet Japanese sake. And the artichokes? Simmered in red miso. And to top it off, an amazing spicy peanut sauce made up of a blend of chunky peanut butter, ginger, garlic, tamari, organic honey, rice wine vinegar, red chili flakes, and a touch of sesame oil.

Soba, cauliflower, and oyster

Oysters???? Oyster mushrooms of course. People do question whether or not the dish is vegetarian and it is all within reason. And as the Chinese proverb goes, "He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever."

Spice roasted cauliflower and braised oyster mushrooms

Sesame soba noodles with edamame and sesame dipping sauce

To create textures on the plate, the cauliflower was roasted in a melange of spices: toasted fennel, coriander, cumin seeds, and turmeric. The oyster mushrooms were braised in a garlic sherry and marsala wine reduction and Braggs amino acids (I know - I can't get enough of mushrooms). To add a crunch element, rice noodles were fried and topped the stack of cauliflower and mushrooms. We were fortunate enough to get fresh soba noodles, which were cooked until done, shocked in ice water, then tossed with a bit of sesame oil and edamame. The whole dish was accompanied by a sesame dipping sauce made of toasted sesame seeds, lemon juice, silken tofu, white miso, paprika, cayenne, and a touch of turmeric. Turmeric is known to be a blood cleanser, so why not sneak it in once in a while?