Do you like cookbooks? There’s something so special about cookbooks. I enjoy looking through delicious recipes and dishes never attempted before, almost like book of possibilities! I recently stumbled across, "Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking" by Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
Figured I'd flip through to find some good recipes and instead I was drawn to read his bio/intro about his humble beginnings. He didn't come from a family of talented culinary masters, but instead worked hard from the time he was a teenager; taking on various roles in restaurant kitchen, learning as much as he could.
Experience helped build his palate and appreciate subtle flavors that could be attained by proper technique and simple quality ingredients. Through this book he emphasizes the importance of slowing down, make your own stock and soups to make delicious basics to build on to really enjoy the ‘Umami’ (savory) flavor. Instead of quick/instant recipes, he explains the depth of flavors can be more appreciated with making your own; but it doesn't take long. A gentle low simmer of kombu and bonito fish flakes and voila in 15min you have homemade Japanese stock. Feeling inspired to make broth/soup again with cooler temperatures starting to creep in. Thank you Mr. Morimoto, I will! Hope you're a bit inspired too and check out his recipes🥢
Where to get good Kombu you ask? One of my favorite places to get seaweed for soups and cooking is “Ironbound Island Seaweed is dedicated to the sustainable harvesting of wild seaweeds from the cold, clean waters of the Schoodic Peninsula and surrounding islands of eastern Maine.” quoted directly from their website. http://www.ironboundisland.com/ I actually just ordered a batch from them, and excited to make some belly-warming soups. Don’t want to wait for a shipment? You can pickup sea kelp (kombu) at most local Asian supermarkets or just pickup some chicken and make a chicken stock, even a good bone broth can be so delicious.
On a side note, in Chef Morimoto’s book, he mentions that many households in Japan now commonly use an instant powdered version for dashi stock in a pinch. However, he defends his point that although its one more step, it really isn’t a difficult thing to make dashi, and its worth the time to do it. Its true, its like a lost art. For example, when I was growing up, my mom was often busy and exhausted after work, so she would use a boxed Japanese curry to make a quick dinner. As an adult, cooking dinner for my family, I did what my mother did and used the curry mix. However, I tried making it from scratch just a few years ago and now much prefer making it easily from scratch because not only does it taste so much better, its a lot less thickeners and additives. So its made me reconsider many dishes my mom used to make for sheer need to quickly make dinner for family; I thought it was somehow the only way to make it, as silly as that sounds. Of course I love my mom and know she was only doing her best, but I’m grateful for cookbooks and recipes that inspire us to learn and improve; the most fun part is being able to share your creation with others. With the Holidays right around the corner, and food/festivities at its core, what better time to enjoy cook books and create something delicious?