5 Spice Shitake Patties with Sunbush and Plum Puree, Toasted Sesame Baked Croutons and a Ginger and Plum Froth
03/04/10 03:28 Filed in: Umami
5 Spice Shitake Patties with Sunblush Tomato and Plum Puree, Toasted Sesame Baked Croutons and a Ginger and Plum Froth.
This is a lush, umami rich dish with strong oriental influences and a couple of small twists on expected flavour combinations and textures. But vitally it tastes fantastic and is incredibly moreish (partly due to the umami taste) and has rich, very intense flavours, a beautiful mouth feel and makes an amazing main course with a clean, fresh finish provided by the plum and ginger froth that unites the various elements of the dish and keeps the course light but abounding with flavour.
Serves 2 with left over puree (which you will be happy for having in the fridge as a condiment)
The Shitake Patties –
25g dried shitake rehydrated in 600ml boiling water – reserve the rehydrating liquid
250g plain tofu
2 tsp finely diced plum
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 shallots chopped
1 deseeded chopped green chilli
1 tsp smoked chipotle Tabasco
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tsp Ume plum seasoning
2 tsp 5 spice
4 spring onions diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
Mushroom salt for seasoning
Sunflower oil for frying
First rehydrate the dried shitake mushrooms by pouring 600ml of boiling water over them and leaving them to soak for about half an hour. Drain the Mushrooms and squeeze out any excess liquid then strain and reserve the liquid they were rehydrated in, this liquid is rich in umami, especially so when reduced and concentrated, and will be used later. Now fry the mushrooms in a little vegetable oil for 2/3 minuits and set to one side.
Now drain the tofu and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Fry the garlic shallots and chilli for 2 mins on a medium heat then crumble the tofu into the pan and cook for a further 2 minuits. Place the mushrooms and tofu in a blender and blitz for a minuit to break down.
Now combine in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients (the diced plum, diced ginger, Tabasco, soy, ume plum seasoning, 5 spice, spring onion lemon juice and egg) and 2 table spoons mushroom salt (use normal salt if you can’t get mushroom salt), and check seasonings.
Bring the mix together and form into small patties and fry in a little sunflower oil on a medium heat for about 2 minuits on each side until just crisp on the out side. Rest on kitchen towel, to absorb excess oil, for a minuit before serving.
Sunbush tomato and plum puree –
Reduce 200ml of the reserved shitake liquid to 25ml
150ml red wine (I use merlot for this)
2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
3 plums chopped
100g sunblush tomatoes roughly chopped
1 tablespoon smoked salt
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
1g citric acid
1 tablespoon tomato puree
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
4 drops Tabasco
Tiny pinch smoked paprika
In a small pan bring it all to the boil for a couple of minuits until the liquid reduces and begins to thicken, lower the heat right down and cook for a further 20 min, blitz with immersion blender, pass through a fine sieve then blitz again until you have a smooth puree. Allow to cool before serving
Ginger and plum froth –
2 tablespoons dried lemongrass
150g water
35g lemon juice
60g ginger juice (extracted by grating ginger then squeezing out the juice through muslin)
100g plum juice (puree chopped plums and squeeze juice through muslin)
20g caster sugar
4g Lecite (soy lecithin)
Pinch salt
Add the dried lemongrass, 15g lemon juice and the sugar to the water and bring to the boil, simmer for about ten minuits until the liquid has reduced to 140g. Set aside to cool and infuse, then strain and remove the lemongrass.
Mix the Ginger juice, plum juice, rest of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt with the infused water and mix the liquids together with an immersion blender. Add the lecite and froth with the immersion blender in a wide shallow bowl. Collect the froth from the top of the liquid.
Sesame toast –
White bread – sliced about 1 ½ cm thick
Toasted sesame oil
Sesame seeds
A little warmed honey.
Cut 6 7cm circle of the bread with a pastry cutter. Coat each side of the circles with toasted sesame oil and bake in the oven at 200C for 5 minuits. Remove from the oven and brush with a little of the warmed honey on the top side of the disks and sprinkle with sesame seeds and return to the oven for two minuits.
Garish-
One bunch spring onions
One bunch coriander
Top and tail the spring onions and cut in half length ways. Slice into thin strips and immerse in iced water and leave to curl up.
Wash the coriander and keep fresh in cold water.
Putting it together –
For each plate place three of the shitake steaks ontop of a sesame crouton each and lay them overlapping in a row in the centre of the plate. Place drops of the sunblush tomato and plum puree around the edge of the plate and sit a spring onion curl ontop of each one. Place a little of the fresh coriander over the shitake steaks and finally delicately spoon a little of the ginger and plum froth over the coriander.
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