Tag: Korea

Shiitake and Lion’s Mane with Udon

13 August 2026

The combination of Lion’s Mane and Shiitake brings lots of umami. It pairs wonderfully with the aromatic ginger, the udon and the soy sauce. The Lion’s Mane is fried and slightly crispy. The overall flavour of the dish is long and complex. The Shiitake is essential in the sauce and the fried Lion’s Mane brings depth and texture. Simple and delicious!

Udon is very popular in Japan and Korea. It’s made with wheat flour, water and salt. It can be served hot or cold. Different from Italian pasta, you don’t need to add salt to the cooking water. Furthermore the noodle has to be rinsed with cold water before using it in a dish, which is an absolute no-go in Italian cuisine.

Wine Pairing

The obvious choice would be a white wine, one with some floral notes and sweetness. However, the taste of the fried lion’s mane allows you to serve a red wine. We enjoyed a glass of Bardolino, made by Monte del Frà from Italy. The grapes used are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. It is a well-balanced, vibrant red wine with lots of fruit and a hint of spices. Medium acidity.
In general, you’re looking for a refreshing red wine with lots of fruit that should be served slightly chilled (15°C – 17°C  or 59°F – 63°F).

What You Need
  • 75 grams of Shiitake
  • 75 grams of Lion’s Mane
  • 1 bunch of Udon (90 grams)
  • 2 cm fresh Ginger
  • 2 teaspoons of Soy Sauce (reduced salt)
  • 1 teaspoon of Oyster Sauce
  • Vegetable Stock
  • 1 tablespoon of (Marukin) Concentrated Dashi Stock
  • 2 teaspoons of Sesame Oil
  • (Olive) Oil
  • Black Pepper
What You Do
  1. Clean the shiitake with kitchen paper and remove the stems
  2. Slice the shiitake
  3. Clean the lion’s mane by removing discoloured and/or soft parts
  4. Slice the lion’s mane (1 cm or 0.5 in)
  5. Peel the ginger and chop finely
  6. Cook the udon according to the instruction on the package in boiling water (no salt needed)
  7. Heat a heavy iron pan, add some oil and fry the shiitake, reduce heat
  8. Add ginger
  9. After a few minutes add vegetable stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce and concentrated dashi stock to the pan with the shiitake
  10. Add oil to a second heavy iron skillet and fry the lion’s mane until golden
  11. When the udon is ready, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water
  12. Add the udon to the pan with the shiitake and the sauce, combine and adjusts
  13. Perhaps you need to add some extra vegetable stock
  14. Warm through and through
  15. Add black pepper
  16. Taste and adjust
  17. Just before serving add some sesame oil
  18. Plate up and serve the lion’s mane on top of the dish
PS

We love using Marukin Concentrated Dashi Stock in combination with udon and mushrooms. You can make your own by adding some mirin and soy sauce to a cup of strong dashi.

Shiitake and Lion's Mane with Udon ©cadwu made with ginger, soy sauce, dashi, mirin and sesame oil
Shiitake and Lion’s Mane with Udon ©cadwu

Panna Cotta with Yuzu

13 March 2025

When you shop at an Asian supermarket, you will see many products with yuzu: ponzu, yuzu dressing, jelly with yuzu flavour, yuzu marmalade, yuzu soy sauce, yuzu tea and even yuzu skincare. Probably the shop will also sell fresh yuzu juice. And if you’re lucky, they will have the real thing: yuzu!

Yuzu (Citrus Junos) is a citrus fruit and it looks like a small lemon or clementine, with an uneven skin. It is of Chinese origin and it was introduced in Japan during the Nara period (710-794). It’s expensive (we saw them on the market for 5 euro a piece), they have lots of seeds and very little juice. The flavour is tart but gentle, very aromatic and will make you think of mandarin, only different. The peel is as delicious as the juice. The combination of flavors and fragrancy makes it a unique citrus. Not a fruit to eat on its own. Use it to add freshness and aroma to a dish or sauce.

Yuzu juice costs between 30 and 100 euro per liter (because of the small amount of juice per yuzu) and therefore products with yuzu tend to be expensive. If not, check the label and make sure it contains yuzu. Especially ponzu shoyu (made with mirin, rice vinegar, katsuobushi, kombu, yuzu and soy sauce) is often made with lemon.

We also noticed the term ‘yuzu style’ which is a clear indication no yuzu is used. We spotted a bottle of Yuzu Style Dressing. It contains mandarin, lemon, apple, vinegar and lots of other ingredients, but no yuzu.

We bought our yuzu at a farmers’ market and on our way back home we thought about things to make with it. Perhaps our own yuzu kosho (a paste made with chili, yuzu and salt)? Or combine it with miso and cod? Or yuzu syllabub (with cream and sugar)?

Why not panna cotta?

What You Need
  • 500 ml Cream
  • 30 ml Yuzu Juice
  • 10 ml Lemon Juice
  • Yuzu Zest
  • 25 grams of Sugar
  • 3,5 leaves of Gelatine (5,25 grams)
What You Do (for 4)
  1. Slowly bring the cream to the boil.
  2. Keep close to boiling for 15 minutes. Stir when necessary.
  3. Add the juice and some of the zest.
  4. Remove from the heat and while stirring add sugar until totally dissolved.
  5. Follow the instruction of the gelatine and add the leaves.
  6. Stir well until homogeneous.
  7. Cool the liquid somewhat before filling the forms. We used a silicone mold. Nice and easy! The only thing you need to do is to make the mold a bit moist with water.
  8. Let the panna cotta cool and then store in the refrigerator until set.
  9. Don’t forget to seal with cling foil, otherwise your panna cotta will absorb aromas from other food in the refrigerator.
  10. Decorate with yuzu zest.
PS
  • If you can’t find yuzu or find them too expensive, then use 30 ml Lemon Juice and 10 ml Mandarin (or Clementine) Juice.
  • The amount of gelatine you need is a bit tricky. The acidity of the yuzu will thicken the cream and it will reduce the gelling effect of the gelatine. We decided to use the normal quantity.
Panna Cotta with Yuzu ©cadwu
Yuzu ©cadwu

Inari Sushi

25 August 2022

Sushi has become such a mainstream product! We all seem to enjoy Nigiri (sushi rice topped with fish or egg, sometimes held together with a ribbon of nori), Maki (rice and stuffing rolled in nori), Uramaki (as maki but with rice on the outside), Temaki (in the shape of a cone) and Oshi (pressed rice, in the shape of a block).

Inari and Nare sushi are clearly the less known kinds of sushi.
Nare Sushi is made with fish and is fermented for 6 months. Impossible to buy where we live.

Inari Sushi is made with a pouch of deep-fried tofu (inari age) and sushi rice, originally without a topping. The tofu pouch is fried in oil, then cooked in water to remove excess oil, then cooked in dashi with soya, squeezed to remove most of the cooking liquid and then stuffed with hand-warm sushi rice. Fortunately, the pouches you can buy are ready to be stuffed, so making inari sushi is not too much work. The challenge is of course in cooking the rice and turning it into shari (the vinegar seasoned rice that is the key to tasty sushi). Another challenge is eating Inari Sushi because the pouches tend to be rather oversized.

The art of cooking rice, regardless if you make risotto or sushi, starts with the right rice. Cutting corners will lead to a disappointing result. You need short grain Japonica rice (uruchimai) when making sushi.

Drink Pairing

A dry, cold, crisp sake will be very nice with your Inari Sushi.

Choosing the right wine is not straightforward. You could think of a sparkling wine (great with the sweetness of the sushi), for instance a prosecco from Italy. We would suggest a prosecco produced by Corvezzo. An affordable, vegan, organic wine with just a touch of sweetness.

Another approach is to serve a sweeter wine, for instance a glass of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh from the Southwest of France. Wine that comes with aromas of fruit and honey. The wine has freshness and is well balanced.

What You Need

  • Tofu Pouches
  • Sushi Rice
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • (optional) Topping

What You Do

Gently wash the rice, until the water is clear. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the package but use less water. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
Make awasezu by adding some salt and sugar to the vinegar. If it doesn’t dissolve, heat the mixture gently.
Now transfer the rice to a low bowl (a hangiri) and add the vinegar to the rice. After 30 seconds use a broad spoon (or spatula) to combine the rice and the vinegar. This is the moment to use a fan. According to some this is to cool the rice, according to others it should be done to remove excess vinegar. Leave the rice to rest at room temperature under a damp cloth for one hour.
Depending on the package you may want to wash or squeeze the pouches. Stuff them with rice, serve on a plate with the open side down and enjoy your traditional Inari Sushi.
We love to combine the rice with some sliced kimchi, stuff the pouch and top it with fish eggs.

PS

Ratios are very important when preparing shari. We suggest using the following:

  • 1 cup of rice
  • 1 cup of water (or a bit less, depending on the instructions)
  • 30 cc of rice vinegar
  • pinch of salt
  • ½ – 1 tablespoon of sugar (depending on your taste)