Layered Stew and Clear Fish Soup for Days When You Feel a Bit Tired, Gentle Comfort Food

Layered stew and clear fish soup to make on days when you feel a bit tired.
Gentle comfort food to restore yourself.

On those days at the end of the fiscal year when you feel a bit tired, or on spring days when your mood feels unsteady.

These are the dishes I want to make on such days:
Layered stew and salmon clear soup.

Just chop, layer, and put on the heat.
Yet, it becomes a flavor that brings relief to both body and soul.

◯ Layered Stew
Layered stew is simply about layering vegetables in a pot in order.
The flavors of each ingredient harmonize,
creating a surprisingly gentle sweetness.

This is how I layered them this time.

From the bottom:
Onion
Cabbage
Carrot
Taro
Salmon
A small amount of water
After a while on the heat,
even with almost no water added,
it cooks down moistly using the vegetables' own moisture.
The onion had broken down and turned almost entirely into soup, but
the soft aroma the moment I opened the lid brought me relief.

◯ Clear Fish Soup (Ushio-jiru)
This time, I made clear fish soup using sea bream scraps.

As a preparation step, if you coat the scraps with salted rice malt (shio-koji) and let them sit for a while before cooking,
it removes any fishy odor and brings out the umami significantly.

Make a light broth with kombu,
add the sea bream, and just season with salt.

By not adding anything unnecessary,
you can feel the pure umami of the fish.

One sip,
and it is a deeply nourishing flavor that seems to soak into every corner of your body.

In the midst of busy days, meals that highlight the ingredients themselves really sink into the body.

◯ Spring restoration from the perspective of medicinal cooking (Yakuzen)

Spring is said to be a season when the function of the 'liver' increases,
and the flow of 'qi' (energy) tends to stagnate.

The ingredients used this time have the following functions:

Onion: Improves the flow of qi
Carrot: Replenishes blood and gently supports the body
Cabbage: Regulates the digestive system and eases excess heat
Taro: Aids digestion and provides moisture to the body
Salmon: Replenishes qi and blood, and warms the body
Sea bream: Regulates the digestive system and aids digestion

Also, salted rice malt uses the power of fermentation to aid digestion,
and gently regulates the intestinal environment.

Harmonizing their respective powers through layered stew,
and incorporating them simply through clear soup.

Both are combinations that gently support the 'easily unsteady body' of spring.


◯ A kitchen that connects to the next morning

And the next morning.

I added milk and miso to the leftover layered stew to make a gentle stew.

The umami from the previous day melted in slowly,
creating a different kind of deliciousness.

I served it with a sandwich filled with hummus.

It was a breakfast that was satisfying without requiring too much effort.

Especially when the seasons change,
you want to eat 'gentle things,' don't you?


#LayeredStew
#KitchenCare
#MedicinalCooking
#Fermentation
#SaltedRiceMalt
#HomeCooking
#Soup
#FishDish
#SeasonalHandiwork
#MindfulLiving