Feb 12, 2009
Eat to live
Look ma, no fat
After a season of feasting, SYLVIA TAN shows you how to lighten your eating with a simple yet exquisite Japanese fish soup
There is no fat in this soup, but taste it and you will find it delectable.
The flavour comes not from fat but from the fish - in this case, a threadfin or ikan kurau fillet.
This sweet-tasting fish is cooked in dashi, the basic stock in Japanese cuisine made from nothing more than kombu (Japanese seaweed) and dried bonito flakes (from the dried smoked fish).
The lack of fat in this soup is no accident. It is a Japanese soup and there is no fat or oil in most traditional Japanese foods.
Japanese cookbook author Kimiko Barber recommends eating Japanese food as a way of staying healthier and slimmer. She says the Japanese are able to do this because they eat with chopsticks and that physically slows down the eating (or prevents gobbling, in my book).
They also eat with the eyes. Their food comes beautifully and artistically presented, a true visual feast which makes you pause before you take another mouthful.
Their diet is high in fibre-rich foods such as vegetables, rice, soba noodles and beans, which keep you full longer and lower the cholesterol level.
If all that still does not convince you, a taste of this soup made with fat-free dashi definitely will.
The Japanese use dashi even for meat dishes such as their beef sukiyaki which makes me think that perhaps we should go this fat-free route rather than always rely on a meat stock when cooking.
Dashi is also simple to make - no long simmering over the stove to extract the flavour. Indeed, quick cooking is the key, otherwise bitterness would exude from the seaweed. The proportion of seaweed to fish is, however, important to the final taste. Generally, the recommendation is one to six; I used 100g kombu to 600g dried bonito flakes.
Once done, all that is needed is to cook the fish quickly in the stock, throw in some mushrooms and top it all with a generous spoonful of raw grated radish.
Yes, raw. Aside from the vitamins (B6, C), fibre and many minerals the raw vegetable would bring to the broth, this final flourish adds taste, flavour and body to the soup without any effort at all.
Sylvia Tan is a freelance writer
RECIPE
FISH WITH GRATED RADISH SOUP
(For four)
Ingredients:
4 cups seasoned dashi
2 ikan kurau steaks, cut into four, rubbed with a pinch of salt
1 punnet willow mushrooms, trim ends
1 cup fresh grated radish
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
Dip:
1 stalk spring onion, thinly sliced
2 red chillies, sliced
Lemon juice to taste
Light soya sauce to taste
Method:
Bring seasoned dashi stock to the boil. Turn down heat to simmering.
Add the kurau pieces, then the mushrooms. Simmer for about five minutes till just cooked. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Remove fish and mushrooms and divide among four bowls.
Spoon stock over, then add a dollop of freshly grated radish. Garnish with chopped spring onion.
Serve with a chilli and spring onion with lemon-flavoured soya sauce on the side.
DASHI
(Makes 4 cups)
Ingredients:
100g dried kombu
100ml water
600g dried bonito flakes
1 tsp light soya sauce
Salt to taste
1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
Sugar to taste
Method:
Wipe kombu with a damp cloth to remove surface dirt. Place water in a pot and add kombu to it. Heat the pot and remove kombu just before the water boils.
When it boils, add the dried bonito flakes. Remove any foam that rises to the surface and turn off the heat. Leave it aside until bonito flakes sink. Strain the stock through a sieve. Season to taste with soya sauce, salt, sugar and mirin.
This stock is called ichiban-dashi (first stock). Both kelp and bonito flakes can be recycled to make a second stock, with a small, fresh piece of kombu.
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