Updates

Well I was originally planning to put together a big blog update, relating the adventures of last weekend. In fact I started writing it at work (my replacement has started so I have some spare time on my hands), but in the end I finished the week going from one thing to another (e.g. attempting to close a bank account) and did not finish the entry. Maybe next week.

This weekend Sonia is in Bangkok, and I have spent the today sorting through the accumulated junk from the past year. It needs to fit into suitcases, with the exception of the computer and screen. Everything else is going to be carried on planes back to Bangkok and Hong Kong. We shall see.

Right now I am cooking (in between writing parts of this) Dashi, which is used as part of making miso soup and dipping sauce for cold soba noodles. You start with a piece of dried konbu (a type of seaweed) about 4-6 inches long. After wiping it (not sure why), put it into 7.5 cups of cold water and bring to a simmer.

Then add about 15 grams of bonito flakes. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add another 10 grams of bonito and take off the heat. Let it settle, then strain. And that's it. Pretty simple, although it makes the kitchen smell a bit.

Well I have just finished the dashi, strained, and the remnants disposed of in a sealed plastic bag before being thrown in the rubbish bin.

For miso soup, I need to mix dashi with red miso paste, simmer (with optional piece of leek), and then eat with cubes of silky tofu or pieces of some sort of fish.