‘Mood diet’ to set your mood right

Himanshu Taneja, culinary expert, shares a mood bowl that you could add to your menu

Not Just The Poke Bowl – DIY Style

What’s in the bowl?

Low pH value fermented Napa cabbage kimchee, hass avocado, sea salt edamame beans, shaved radish, sticky aromatic rice bowl and black sesame dressing.

Napa cabbage kimchee

Ingredients

1 Napa cabbage, large

1/2 cup Korean coarse sea salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup shredded carrot

5 scallion, diced

2 tbsp kimchee sauce base

For Kimchee sauce base

1 garlic, peeled

1 ginger

10 Korean chillies

1/2 tsp dried brine shrimps paste

1/2 tsp fish sauce

Method

For the sauce: grind all ingredients together in a food processor.

Clean and dice the Napa cabbage, season it with sugar and salt. Rest it overnight at room temperature for the vegetable to lose 40% of its water.

Take dice scallion and shredded carrots in a separate bowl and add kimchee sauce base and cured cabbage, mix thoroughly.

Store it in a clean jar and let it ferment for a month.

Black sesame dressing

Ingredients

2 1/2 tbsp black sesame

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp dashi

1 1/2 olive oil

Method

Dry toast the sesame seeds and immediately place them into a food processor and grind into a smooth paste. Add sugar, dashi and soya sauce into the mixture.

Next, add water to adjust the consistency and add olive oil.

Poke bowl and salmon

Ingredients

180 gm aromatic rice- 180 gm

3 tbsp rice vinegar- 3 tbsp

1 tsp caster sugar- tsp

1 tsp sea salt

10 ml honey

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp tamari soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic, chopped

1 tbsp mirin

1 salmon fillets (120 gm)

2 tsp sesame seeds

4 spring onions

150 gm edamame beans

1 avocado

1 shaved radish

Method

For the poke bowl: cook the aromatic rice in a rice steamer. In a clean bowl, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together till sugar is dissolved properly.

Once the rice is cooked, pour the sugar vinegar mixture in it, stir to coat it well. Toast sesame seeds separately and blend it well with the rice.

Dice the spring onions and set aside.

For teriyaki marinade: mix honey, sesame oil, tamari, garlic and mirin together in a small dish. Dice salmon and add teriyaki marinade to it.

Split the rice between two serving bowls.

For salmon: heat the frying pan, add the marinated salmon to the pan and turn the heat back up to high. Toss the salmon for a min or two till it’s cooked and then sprinkle the spring onions on top.

Don’t overcook the salmon; let it be pink from inside.

Assemble shelled edamame beans and sliced avocado over rice along with fermented Napa cabbage kimchee and shaved radish.

Remove salmon from the pan and scoop the teriyaki salmon onto the aromatic rice bowls and drizzle spring onions and black sesame dressing on top.