Tokyo Turnips and Their Greens, with Scallions in Miso Dashi

This could be considered a hearty miso soup, or a stew. To add more depth of flavor to the dish, make your dashi using “blond” vegetable stock (see recipe on site). They type of miso will also affect the flavor a lot, with white miso being lighter and sweeter in flavor, whereas red miso tends to be deeper flavored and saltier. For a flavorful contrast, you could quickle the stems from the turnip greens if they are thick and use them as a garnish. Adding dumplings of some sort will certainly make the dish more substantial, as would adding noodles.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch Tokyo turnips, greens and bulb separated, washed, stems removed from leaves and chopped into ¼ inch lengths*, bulbs cut into ¾ inch wedges at most, leaves left whole, all kept separate

½ bunch scallions, trimmed, whites cut diagonally ¼ inch wide by 1 inch long, greens sliced finely into 2 inch lengths

8 cups “Blond” Vegetable stock (see recipe) used for making Dashi (see recipe) instead of water, or 8 cups dashi (using a little extra kombu and leaving it in until you make the soup/stew will add viscosity and depth to the finished dish.

2 cups miso**, your choice of type

3 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine), or to taste– Optional

1 tablespoon cilantro, mint, or shiso leaves -Optional

1 teaspoon high quality artisanal shiro shoyu (white soy sauce) or other mild soy sauce

-Options- any or all;

1-2 cups oyster mushrooms, hand shredded into strips

1 heaping cup mung bean sprouts

1 cup firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes

METHOD:

Following the recipe for Dashi on site, prepare a pot full. If you have blond vegetable stock on hand, use it instead of the water for the dashi base. Once it is ready, strain, but return the kombu to the pot of soup/stock and just simmer.

Put the turnip greens into a microwaveable dish and cover. Microwave 30 seconds or until they are wilted. Remove, chop coarsely, and place in a strainer and allow to drain.

Heat a pot of water large enough to hold the turnips and bring to a boil. Salt generously then add the turnips. Cook 2-4 minutes, just until no longer raw and just starting to become tender. Drain.

Heat a pan large enough to hold all the turnips in one layer over medium heat. Film with oil and when hot, sauté the turnips to just color them golden on each side. Remove from the pen. If using the oyster mushrooms, turn the heat to medium-high and film the pan with oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until well colored, crisp on the edges, and they make squeaky sounds in the pan. When done, place with the turnips. Film the pan with oil and sauté the chopped stems until just cooked, crisp-tender. Place them in a bowl. (If using quickled stems, ignore this step.)

Turn up the heat under the dashi and bring to a vigorous chuckle. Add the mirin and swirl to mix.

Place even amounts of the cooked turnip greens in the bottoms of bowls. Evenly distribute the turnips and green onion whites amongst 4 bowls, mounding them in the center. If using any of the options distribute these as well, scattering them around the mound of turnips and greens. If quickling the turnip green stems, add only at the last moment so they stay cool and crisp.

Place the miso into a strainer and lower the strainer into the simmering dashi just to the rim. Using a sturdy whisk, whisk the miso against the sides of the strainer until the miso combines with the dashi. Ladle the dashi into the bowls so just a little of the vegetables from the mound peek out of the broth just like a mountain sticks up out of clouds. Scatter with scallion greens and quickled turnip green stems if using. Scatter with herb f choice and serve right away.

Chef’s Notes: *If you wish, you can do a quick pickle (“quickle”) with the stems by dunking in boiling water for a few seconds and them dropping them into a bath of cold quickling solution (see website and use the solution used for “Quickles”. Skip the salting.). Refrigerate before using for contrast in the soup. ** Different misos have different flavors. In Japan, certain ones are used with certain items, and different ones are used depending on the time of the year. White or yellow miso gets used more in warmer times, red and brown get used when it is cold. Quite often I will use a mixture for a broader flavor. For this soup I would use 3:1 white: red miso, and my herb of choice would be ultra-fine shreds of shiso.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen