Mozuku, a special seaweed naturally found in Okinawa, Japan. The version I used here came in air-tight package, the dried version. Just soak in water for around 5 to 10 minutes, the seaweed will be hydrated again and transformed into ready to eat gooey slimy seaweed.
Mozuku cucumber -
Ingredients?
- 3 skinny cucumber
- 13 grams dried mozuku
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon double-concentrated tsuyu
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Some salt
How?
Don't be scared by its slimy texture. Mozuku can be seemed as one of the superfoods. It's rich in fucoidan, more so an antimicrobial substance with health benefits such as anti-coagulant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing. It's also high in dietary fibre, which is good for digestion.
So to start with dried mozuku, soak it in water for about 5 to 10 minutes in a bowl. Once hydrated, drain out excess water and set aside for later use.
Slice the cucumbers. Massage these cucumber slices with some salt.
A quick marinate for couple minutes. Squeeze out the liquid then further draw out remaining water using a paper towel.
Take a bowl, mix in 1 tablespoon of tsuyu, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1/4 cup of rice vinegar. Mix and make sure the sugar has been fully dissolved.
Mix in the cucumber slices and mozuku. Adjust the taste with more seasonings if needed.
It tastes better after resting in the fridge till cold. Serve as a small cold side dish, perfect for this scorching weather.
Notice that only 1 tablespoon of tsuyu is needed at first for this recipe. The reason is that the cucumber slices were "massaged" with salt earlier, and there's no rinsing required afterward. So these cucumber slices were already somewhat salty. As a result, don't use too much tsuyu. Only pour more when needed after mixing all the ingredients together.
Extended reading:
Still not the expert of making tamagoyaki, rolling up the beaten egg and turn that into a perfectly cooked log can be challenging, and takes a lot of practice. But I do enjoy recording my attempts here, kind of like a progress log. Hopefully one day I'll have nicely cooked tamagoyaki every time.
Ham and cheese tamagoyaki -
Ingredients?
- 5 eggs
- 1 to 2 slices ham squares
- 1 to 2 slices cheese squares
- Some olive oil
- Some salt
- Some black pepper
- Some cilantro (optional, for garnish)
How?
So I use smaller single serving tamagoyaki pan here, that means I have to make the tamagoyaki in two batches for 5 eggs. If using regular size tamagoyaki pan, cook it once should be just about right.
Measure the tamagoyaki pan and trim the ham and cheese squares according, so these ingredients have the same width. Beat the eggs, also add in tiny pinch of salt and black pepper.
Drizzle some oil to the tamagoyaki pan and wipe evenly with a kitchen towel, so the whole surface is coated with oil.
Using medium heat, pour some beaten egg and let it spread out evenly. Cook till semi-set then place the ham on the top edge.
Wait till egg on the bottom of the pan turn slightly set then fold the whole thing in, like rolling towards yourself. Then push the whole thing outward again.
Wipe the surface with oil again. Pour in more egg wash. Gently lift up the very end of the earlier cooked egg. Tilt the pan a little to let the uncooked egg get to the bottom of it. That way, once cooked, the first and the second egg layer can stick together nicely.
Put the cheese slice on the bottom half.
Again, when the bottom of the egg turns slightly set, fold the whole thing by rolling it towards yourself again. Then push outward.
Wipe the surface with oil once more. Lastly, pour in final beaten egg. Do the lift and tilt thing again. Roll up the egg and make sure the shape has set before transferring to serving plate.
Cook longer for a firmer texture. Or lower the heat a little if the egg gets cooked-through too fast. Trust me, it takes some practice.
Garnish with cilantro if desired.
Practice, practice, I definitely need more practice. Now, it's time to find volunteers to help finishing off not too successful results, that shouldn't be hard right?
Other tamagoyaki recipes:
