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Today’s miso soup features Shabu Shabu pork and leafy green lettuce. Shabu Shabu pork is paper-thin pork loin (or even pork belly), cooked by swishing it in the miso soup. Because the pork is very thin, it cooks through quickly. Rich umami flavor from the pork enriches the soup, giving it a wonderful taste. Lettuce adds a nice crunchy texture to the dish, so try not to cook it too long. Although this is another super easy miso soup, you still get a hearty and delicious result that pairs well with any meal or stands strong on its own with steamed rice. Hope you give it a try!

Chopped salad is a salad where ingredients like vegetables, fruits, meats, and nuts are chopped into cube shapes and tossed with dressing. It became hugely popular in the US, particularly major cities like New York and LA first, before its popularity spread to Japan, where chopped salad specialty stores have started opening as well today.

This simple Yakisoba noodle dish features a whole head of iceberg lettuce and chicken. Iceberg lettuce is most commonly eaten as salads, but its crisp texture also works well in stir-frying. One whole head of lettuce seems like a lot, but it shrinks to about half of the volume when it’s stir-fried. Crisp texture somehow remains, and the lettuce leaves also soaks up the flavors from the chicken and sauce quite well.

Yakisoba is a popular Japanese stir-fried noodle dish, usually cooked with sliced pork, cabbage, and bean sprouts. While Worcestershire-based Yakisoba sauce seasoned version is most well known, Yakisoba noodles that are simply seasoned with salt and soy sauce such as Shio Yakisoba are also popular. While ingredients are super simple, we added sweet and salty oyster sauce for adding richness and umami to the dish.

Black Tea Pork is pork tenderloin cooked in black tea and then marinated in Japanese seasonings. One of the polyphenols in black tea, tannin, tenderizes the meat, eliminates its odor and greasiness, and results in a light and delicious dish. Cooking pork in black tea is a practical method and a great choice to make pork tasty.

Today’s miso soup features imitation crab. While imitation crab may not sound like a high-quality ingredient, it has a lot of umami flavor that enhances the base of the miso soup. Imitation crab, or Kanikama in Japanese, is made from fish paste (primarily pollock) that resembles crab meat. It contains no fat and is high in protein, making it an ideal ingredient for those on a diet. Additionally, it’s rich in calcium, which is an added bonus. Combined with cabbage and eggs, this makes for a delicious and filling miso soup suitable for any meal of the day. Hope you give it a try!

Sauce katsu-don is a local delicacy of Fukui Prefecture, consisting of pork loin or fillet coated in panko breadcrumbs, deep-fried to crispy perfection, and served over steamed rice. Sauce Katsudon differs from regular Katsudon, which is Tonkatsu (deep-fried pork) and eggs cooked in a sweet and salty broth placed over rice. In Sauce Katsudon, the hot cutlet is dipped in a savory sauce and then served over a bowl of rice. The Worcestershire-based sauce flavor pairs so well with the steamed rice that this dish has been beloved by people in Fukui for over 100 years. Today, the fame of Sauce Katsudon has spread across the country, and it is enjoyed at many restaurants and homes in Japan.

Miso Grilled Pork is marinated pork loin in miso paste and pan-fried. It’s succulent, tender, and delicious, yet so easy to make. The pork chops are marinated in a storage bag with all the seasonings, kneaded well together, and left to rest for 1 hour to overnight. Once the preparation is done, the cooking part goes fast. Pan-fry both sides until nicely browned, and that’s it. The only tip to keep in mind is to cook at a lower heat to avoid burning. The seasonings contain sugar, which can burn beyond caramelization if cooked too high. Prep the night before or in the morning, and you can cook the meat in just 10 minutes. Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. It’s easy to multiply the recipe if you’re serving a crowd. Serve with salad and miso soup for a delightful dinner! I hope you give it a try!

Today’s miso soup features mushrooms, spinach, and melting cheese. Miso and cheese are surprisingly good together since both are fermented foods. The umami flavors from the ingredients enhance each other, allowing you to achieve a rich and deep taste with little effort. Mushrooms and spinach add even more flavor and nutrition. This creamy miso soup is perfect with toast in the morning or sandwiches for lunch. It’s super quick to make and delicious! I hope you give it a try.