I have limited space in my fridge, so I try not to store it with too many unnecessary items such as leftovers, that only means I have cooked or bought too much.  Some simple planning is all I need to keep the fridge neat and tidy, filled with the likes of fresh ingredients, just enough till my next marketing trip.  Do you know that you are suppose to keep the chiller section of the fridge as ’empty’ as possible for keeping good air circulation within.  Therefore our fridge is not a storeroom to hoard ingredients that we use only once a year.

Seaweed is one of the most convenient item I use to add nourishment to a meatless meal.  Although dried seaweeds can be kept at room temperature, given my humid environment, I occasionally find them turning soft after a few weeks in the pantry, so I prefer to get them in small amount that I can finish up with a meal or two. Same goes for dried mushrooms and fungus.

Here are some simple single serving dishes that I have cooked with the 10g dried seaweed mix from Daiso.  To prep seaweed, simply reconstitute them by soaking in a bowl of water for 5 minutes, drain and squeeze out excess water with hands.  Proceed to cook them in various dishes.

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Somen miso soup

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1 serving of somen**
1 tablespoon vegetarian miso
1 slice of ginger
1 shitake mushroom
1 hardboil egg
wakame seaweed***
1 large sheet nori seaweed

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** Udon or soba can also be used.

*** I picked out only the wakame seaweed from the assorted pack.

Cook somen according to package instructions, set aside and prepare miso broth.

Boil a small pot of water, enough to yield a bowl of soup for the somen, once the water starts to boil, add fresh shitake mushroom to cook.  Fresh shitake mushrooms cook very fast, once cooked, turn the heat down to low , and stir in the miso paste, ginger and wakame seaweed.  Taste to see if more miso paste is required since saltiness level of miso paste differs from brand to brand.

To assemble, place a large sheet of nori seaweed inside the serving bowl, leaving a corner of it jutting out of the brim of the bowl for ornamental purpose.  Add the cooked somen.  Transfer the miso broth to the serving bowl, and top with hardboil egg sliced into half.  Serve immediately.

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Seaweed Salad

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1 tomato, cut into wedges
1/2 Japanese cucumber, sliced
assorted seaweed
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
white sesame seeds

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To make salad dressing, combine rice vinegar, sesame oil and honey in a small bowl.

To assemble, arrange cucumber slices and tomato wedges in a serving bowl, top with reconstituted assorted seaweed, sesame seeds and drizzle dressing over the ingredients.  Toss to mix well before eating.

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Cold Somen

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1 serving somen
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoons honey or date syrup
juice from 1 teaspoon grated ginger
5 ice cubes**
scallions and kelp powder, optional

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** Instead of waiting for the dipping sauce to cool, I omitted water during cooking and cool it down faster with ice cubes instead.

Cook somen according to packaging instructions.  Drain and rinse in a bowl of filtered water to wash away excess starch.  In a another bowl fill with ice water, put in the somen and leave to stand.

To make dipping sauce, put soy sauce, syrup, ginger juice in a small pot and boil.  Once the mixture starts to boil, remove from heat, add in the ice cubes to cool down and dilute the sauce.  Taste test the sauce, if it is too salty, add more ice cubes or water.

To assemble, drain somen thoroughly and place on serving plate, top with reconstituted seaweeds.  Transfer sauce to a dipping bowl, add chopped scallions and sea lettuce/kelp powder if using.  Serve immediately.