Kansha Club May 24, 2008

Simmered ganmodoki tofu dumplings with vegetables

I was offered a great opportunity at my tofu cooking class with Elizabeth Andoh in April, and I jumped at the chance to become a part of it. Ms. Andoh is working on a new book on Japanese vegetarian cuisine called Kansha, which means appreciation in Japanese. I will be working with a group of women (the Kansha Club), most of whom are based in Tokyo, coordinating groups of volunteers around the world who are evaluating some of the recipes. I am really excited to have a chance to learn more from Ms. Andoh, and also to get a view into the process of creating and publishing a cookbook. Of course, I’m also excited to be able to try some yummy new recipes too. I can’t share them here, but I hope that seeing some finished dishes will inspire you to check out the book when it’s published! Look for it in 2010 from Ten Speed Press.

We recently had a meeting/lesson where we made udon noodles from scratch, along with some yummy myoga pickles and marinated kampo. For lunch, we enjoyed a vegetarian version of fuku-bukuro (simmered tofu pouches filled with vegetables and shirataki), simmered ganmodoki tofu dumplings with vegetables, spinach ohitashi with tofu shira-ae, and simmered kabocha. Later we also ate our udon with a “neba-neba” (a Japanese word that basically means “slimy textured”) topping of okra, natto, sliced green onions, and a tangy mustard-soy dressing. We also each made and tasted a pickled myoga temari-zushi (hand-pressed rice ball with myoga topping).