I am taste testing some of the different fried #tofu - see pic in thread.

If I am using them in soups or curries I usually dunk in hot water to remove some of the oil, and throw them into the wet dish where they can soak up the flavours.

This time I pan fried them after dunking in hot water.

Fried soft tofu - thick slabs - I pan-cooked some before dunking in how water and some after. Both were good, but omg the ones without dunking get such a crispy outside yet the tofu inside is so soft. MY FAVOURITE

Tofu puffs (labelled Fresh Bean Curd) -individual small squares - I didn't enjoy these. They were a bit tough, and I think they need a wet dish to soak up (with or without pan-cooking) to really shine.

Fried tofu - thinner slabs of a firmer tofu - nice. I think they might has been better without the hot water bath.

Meanwhile I've put chickpeas on to soak and will make chickpea sprouts over the next few days.

I love chickpeas roasted with mixed veg and a few spices or other flavourings. It is so easy to make and delicious.

Last night I took cooked chickpeas direct from the freezer, broke them up and scattered them, still frozen, over the veg.

It worked a treat! Maybe better than waiting till halfway through cooking and adding defrosted chickpeas. I did stir them all at half way.

So I am sprouting some chickpeas to freeze for the same use #AddedNutrition

Easy to make the sprouts, just takes time for soaking then sprouting.

The only thing I would have changed, besides a larger mixing bowl, is to have more alcohol wipes on hand. You can use vinegar, but alcohol wipes are easier. Maybe keep some 70% isopropyl on hand.

You use more equipment than you think - all of a sudden you need a measuring spoon and it is not on the list of equipment and it needs to be wiped down. Also a strainer for the beans once they are cooked - not on the supplied list of equipment.

All right! The miso is made - I just have to find some cloth to wrap around the container to keep dust out while letting air flow. And decide which shelf it is going onto. It took about 3.5 hrs once the soy beans were soaked (18 hrs) including cooking the beans in the Instant Pot. Add a couple of hours if you are cooking on the stove.

The soy beans were a little softer than I would have liked, and softer than the test with the round soybeans that I did a few days ago. However they mashed easily and nicely, with a texture like soft peanut butter.

Then you wait for it to cool to 35C-40C before adding the koji. I mixed the mash every 5 mins by hand (with those thin gloves) so there were no hot or cool spots.

Then the koji/salt mixture was added and mixed well, and the texture was perfect - like perfect peanut butter, as my instructions described.

I could have done with a bigger bowl for the mixing, even tho I have large Asian style mixing bowls. But I managed.

Then the koji and soy bean mixture is shaped into tennis balls, a lot of fun.

Even more fun, you *throw* each of these into the miso container, compressing each one before adding the next The aim of forming the balls and throwing them is to remove air pockets, thus helping to prevent mold and strange fermentations (asaik).

A little salt over the top, covered with parchment, a bag of salt as a weight on top of the miso, aaaaaaand we are done

It requires airflow, so the container is not capped off - the lid is rested loosely on top and material will be tied around the container.

for a good result. Lots of fail points

See you in 3 months for the checkin and stirring of the #miso.

The soy beans are almost done, just waiting for the pressure to release.

Everything is meticulously sterilised.

The koji is rehydrated and I am adding the salt.

If the beans are cooked ok (able to be squashed with finger and thumb), they are mashed and cooled to the right temp before adding the koji.

This is a pic from their website of soy beans.

The first hurdle in the #MisoMakingJourney is that the soy beans are different to the ones that I bought from the shop for the Miso Trials.

The ones from the shop are pea-shaped, and increased in size enormously after soaking. Both attributes seem inline with online sites. It was easy to see, when cut in half, that the beans were soaked to the core.

The ones with the Miso Kit are bean shaped which is different to what they show on their website. They increased somewhat in size when soaked. When I cut them in half, it was difficult to tell whether they are soaked to the core.

So what has been supplied in the kit, I muse.... Perhaps a different variety of soy bean?

Confused.

Pic shows an unsoaked soy bean I purchased recently, 2 soaked beans provided with the kit, and a bean cut in half.

I'll let it soak another hour then proceed and see how it turns out. There is a chance the pressure cooking results will be different to the ones I trialled the other day.

How to select soy beans: https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2012/10/soybean-buying-guide.html

In other kitchen news, I have been using Sela Basmati rice lately and love it. It is a gorgeous golden in colour. Sela rice is a par-boiled rice - it is steamed or boiled prior to milling, which retains a lot of its goodness - far more then white rice.

It is often called "easy rice", despite it being a little harder than white rice and taking longer to cook. It is because it is a forgiving rice, staying perfect under quite a number of cooking conditions.

It is also beautifully aromatic.

Look for some Sela Basmati in your Indian shop.

Between work and messing in the kitchen, it was a busy day that began at 4am. I'm pretty pooped now, and just want to clear up and settle down for the evening. I foresee an early night.

Some mustard leaves were successfully turned into a ferment which now adds a delightful green colour to the red and white on the ferment bench. This one can ferment for any where between 5 and 20 days.

Lots more of the mustard greens went into a whole mung bean dal via Instant Pot. Whole mung beans have a specific taste - green and earthy - that I love. And I always find mung beans (and the split dal) very relaxing. Some leftovers for tomorrow, and the rest of the mustard greens in the fridge. For 1 bunch for a couple of , it contributes to quite a few meals.

More mung beans are now soaking to use for bean sprouts (the ones I used with the mustard greens were originally destined for sprouts).

Successful trial of the #InstantPot for cooking soya beans for miso - 20m is enough for the miso, 50m has a fabulous taste for eating.

There are now 4 bags of soya beans in the freezer for future meals. There are not many soya bean recipes but I have found a nice looking curry for future me.

I finished the Cultured Cabbage Juice this morning, so I'll try to grab a cabbage and put some more on to ferment, while I drink the carrot and beetroot kaanji. Or maybe I'll just do Beet Kvass again as I have beetroot.

The fennel kimchi will be tasted tomorrow - I thing it will be fermented enough - it's longer than I usually ferment it for.

Good healthy eating today. Lots of protein - 2 types of tofu, two types of beans (soy, mung beans) - and lots of

A mountain of work things done, moving Project 3 along nicely. I am very pleased with it

#MisoJourney

I thought it might be a good idea to test some things prior to making the miso for real. I picked up a bag of soy beans and put them on to soak early yesterday afternoon.

The aim is to soak them to the core.

I checked the beans before I went to bed last night, about 9 hours into their soak, and they were nowhere near soaked to the core.

I checked this morning as I made my cuppa and YES they are soaked to the core. Very exciting. They've been soaking around 17 hrs.

I'll put them on to cook once I've had my cuppa.