I REMEMBER seeing the renowned chef Jean Georges Vongrichten whiz fresh green soya beans in a blender with garlic, chilli, coriander, lime juice and Thai fish sauce until the mixture looked like a lime-green milk shake.
“The soya bean is the most exciting vegetable in the world,” he then pronounced, as he served the soya bean froth with deep-fried tuna sushi spring roll.
If this is true, how come fresh soya beans are so difficult to find? They may be the world’s most important food crop but most go into the production of soy sauce, soya bean milk and tofu.
Admittedly Japanese food specialists such as Arigato in Soho (48 Brewer Street, 020-7287 1722) stock frozen pod soya beans (edamame), which are great fun to boil from frozen, toss in sea salt and serve with an aperitif, ready to pod and pop into your mouth. And at least we can indulge our growing love for this healthy bean in the form of sweet, rich, fragrant miso (cooked, mashed, salted and fermented soy a bean paste). Like a lot of Japanese ingredients, miso is handy to have in the fridge, where it will last for up to a year.
Find it at Japanese specialists and good health food stores, and stock up on instant dashi (flaked bonito and seaweed broth) and mirin (sweet rice wine) at the same time.
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This summery miso soup with silken beancurd and asparagus is the natural companion to a platter of sushi.
Add some grilled salmon, chicken, prawns or noodles to turn it into a meal in a bowl.
MISO AND ASPARAGUS SOUP
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min
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Serves 4
20g instant dashi or Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder
1 litre boiling water
8 asparagus spears or 100g mangetout
2tbsp white or red miso paste
1tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
1tbsp soy sauce
200g cubed bean curd
METHOD
Combine the instant dashi or vegetable bouillon powder and boiling water in a saucepan, stirring well.
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Slice the asparagus finely on the diagonal, or julienne the mangetout lengthwise.
Add the asparagus or mangetout and simmer for three minutes.
Place the miso paste in a small bowl and add a ladleful of the hot broth, whisking to get rid of any lumps.
When smooth, slowly pour the mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Add the mirin, soya and the silken bean curd.
Heat through gently without boiling and serve in small, lacquered soup bowls. It is traditional to drink the soup from the bowl.
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jill.dupleix@thetimes.co.uk
www.timesonline.co.uk/foodandwine
For previous recipes from T2