Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

6 oz Cake fresh, canned or Msg
Instant tofu (soybean curd), 6 Spinach leaves
Cut into 6 equal parts 6 Medium sized shrimp (16 to
1 2" square kombu (dried kelp) 20 per pound), shelled and
Cut with a heavy knife from De-veined.
A sheet of packaged kombu 1/4 c Cornstarch
And washed under cold 6 c Sumashi
Running water. 2" piece lemon peel, cut
Salt Into long,very narrow strips

PREPARE AHEAD:

1. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a simmer over high
heat. Add the cubes of tofu and the square of kombu and let the water
return to a simmer. Then immediately remove the pan from the heat
and set it aside until ready to serve.

2. In another saucepan, bring 2 cups of lightly salted water to a
boil. Drop in the spinach, sprinkle lightly with MSG, and let the
water return to a boil. then remove the spinach with a slotted spoon
and run cold water over it. Squeeze the spinach t remove its excess
water and dry on paper towels. Reserve the pan of cooking water.

3. To butterfly the shrimp, first cut them three quarters of the way
through along the length of their inside curves. Then spread them
out and gently flatten them with the side of a cleaver or the flat of
a large, heavy knife. Dip the shrimp one at a time into the
cornstarch to coat them lightly and evenly, then shake off any excess.
Bring the reserved pan of spinach water t a boil over high heat.
Add the shrimp and boil them briskly for about 30 seconds. Drain
them through a sieve and set them aside.

TO COOK and SERVE:

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the Sumashi to a boil. Add the shrimp,
return to the boil, boil about 15 seconds, and drain.
Arrange 1 shrimp, a spinach leaf, a cube of tofu and a thin strip of
lemon peel in the bottom of each soup bowl. fill each bowl
three-quarters full with the hot soup, pouring it carefully down the
side of the bowl to avoid disturbing the decorative arrangement.

Alternate garnish: 1/2 pound ground white meat of chicken 1 tb
Japanese all-purpose soy sauce 1/2 ts sugar A dash of kona sansho
(Japanese pepper), or substitute freshly ground
black pepper. 1 egg yolk 1 tb sake (rice wine) A 2" square kombu
(dried kelp), cut with a heavy knife from a sheet of
packaged kombu and washed under cold running water

The Alternate Garnish for the Sumashi Wan is a chicken ball instead
of the butterflied shrimp. Prepare the chicken balls as follows:

Combine the 1/2 pound of ground chicken, 2 ts of the soy sauce, 1/2
teaspoon sugar, a dash of knon sansho (or finely ground black pepper)
and 1 egg yolk in a suribachi (mixing bowl) or mortar and mix
vigorously with a pestle until the mixture is smooth. With lightly
moistened hands, roll the mixture into 6 small balls.

In a 1-quart pan, combine 1 cup of cold water, 1 tb sake, 1 ts soy
sauce and a 2 inch square of kombu, and bring to a simmer over
moderate heat. Drop in the ground chicken balls, lower the heat, and
poach gently for about 6 or 7 minutes or until firm. Place 1 chicken
ball in each soup bowl in place of the shrimp, add the spinach and
lemon, and fill the bowls as described before.

Time/Life 'Foods of the World', Recipes: The Cooking of Japan

Earl Cravens earl.cravens#mgmtsys.com From: Earl Cravens (Gourmet)
Submitted By LINDA SHORT On 09-01-95

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