Tsumire to retasu no nimono / fish dumplings and lettuce simmered in broth

This resembles a nabe hot pot but is cooked in a stronger broth. Soft and fluffy tsumire fish dumplings crumble in your mouth, while lettuce gives some crispiness. As with any item made with surimi ground fish paste, these dumplings by themselves contain a relatively high amount of sodium, but the sodium is released into the broth while simmering, and you can comfortably enjoy the gentle taste tsumire offers -- one of the great advantages of nimono simmered dishes, where the broth is often left behind in the pot or untouched in bowls.

196 calories (1/2 of recipe); 12.6 g protein; 8.2 g fat; 14.6 g carbohydrate; 13.0 g net carbs; 250 mg sodium (with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce); 79 mg cholesterol; 1.6 g fiber


<Ingredients>

For tsumire fish dumplings
130 g surimi ground fish paste (132 g surimi made of dover sole in photo)
1 tsp shrimp flakes
1 tbsp katakuriko potato starch
1 1/3 tbsp (4 tsp) tamago no moto egg yolk emulsion

Other goodies
2 large or 3 medium leaves of lettuce (3 leaves, 127 g in photo)
4 shiitake mushrooms (30 g in photo)
1/2 (8-10 cm) carrot (35 g in photo)

For broth
400 cc dashi
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 knob ginger

<Directions>
1.

In a pot, put all ingredients for broth, except for ginger, and bring to boil.

2.

Put surimi ground fish paste in suribachi mortar, and mix in potato starch well.

Add egg yolk emulsion, and mix well. 

Add shrimp flakes, and mix well.

3.

Cut lettuce into somewhat wide strips.
Cut carrot crosswise in half, and slice somewhat thick (5 mm).
Remove stems of shiitake, and make crisscross cuts on umbrella (optional).
Grate ginger.

4.

When broth boils, spoon in tsumire.

Put carrot, cover, and simmer on medium low heat for 10 minutes or until carrot becomes tender.

Flip tsumire once while simmering for even flavoring.

5.

Add shiitake, and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.

6.

When shiitake is about done, add lettuce, and continue simmering for another few minutes.

7.

Juice in ginger, and stir gently.
Ready to serve.

<Notes>

• Shrimp flakes are optional. If not at hand, sakura ebi dried shrimp or chopped raw shrimp works great. Adding some crunchy ingredients such as chopped renkon lotus root is nice, too.
• Tamago no moto egg yolk emulsion adds a rich note to tsumire dumplings. It works great when fish used for the paste is lean, but the emulsion is not essential and can be skipped, especially if cholesterol is a concern (skipping it would reduce the above cholesterol figure by 35 mg).
• For tamago no moto emulsion, I mix one egg yolk with 3 tablespoons of canola oil.
• When made on a cold day, thickening the broth by adding potato starch and water mixture at the end would be a nice touch. If you do, somewhat reduce the amount of soy sauce for the broth (as individual goodies would be coated by more broth, broth would taste stronger and you would also take in more sodium).
• The above nutrition data is based on an assumption that 50% of broth is consumed with goodies. The sodium figure is calculated based on the sodium content in leftover broth.

(Last updated: May 15, 2016)