Tempura Tuesdays!

Here at Four Root Farm we take dinner very seriously. Even if it means eating at 9:00 pm (or 9:30... or 9:45...) we all sit down together to eat a hearty meal almost every night, and those meals are almost always almost entirely veggies just pulled from the field. And we don't take any day more seriously than Tuesdays - affectionately known as Tempura Tuesdays!!

This time of year our weekly tempura adventures get more and more exciting as we have more crops to add to the pile, but really we will tempura almost anything that can be sliced and won't disintegrate in steaming hot oil. We recommend you take the same approach - the more creative the better, you won't be sorry. We harvested our very first summer squash on Tuesday specifically for tempura, and also included bok choi, hakurei turnips, carrots, broccoli raab florets, and squash blossoms. 

Here's what you do to make the tempura batter - the rest is up to you.

1. Slice whatever veggies you're experimenting with into manageable bite-size pieces. If they're too small they'll fall apart and if they're too big they'll be hard to bite.
2. Mix together:
   1 egg
   250 ml cold beer (PBR is our prefered lager)
   salt and pepper
   100 g flour
3. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan that's deep enough to submerge the veggies you've prepared. You can test the temperature of the oil by dropping in a drip of batter - if it sinks to the bottom and then rises up, the oil is hot enough. 
4. Once the oil is the right temperature, coat the veggies in the batter and deep fry them for 3 - 5 minutes, or until they're golden brown. 
5. Eat SOON! Tempura is best when it's just cool enough to eat.

Spring Noodle Soup with Bok Choi

This may seem like a complicated recipe, but once you do it a couple times you’ll find that it’s really quite simple, and ripe for endless variation. It has become one of our go-to quick and easy meals, nourishing and healing after a long day of work in the summer, and warming against the chill of winter. Use whatever fresh seasonal vegetables you have on hand in the stir-fry. In the spring you might go for asparagus, snow peas, and broccoli raab. In the summer: Asian eggplants, zucchini, peppers. In the fall and winter, broccoli, bok choi, carrots, and thinly sliced sweet potatoes.

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Noodle Soup with Seasonal Vegetables
Makes 2 servings

2 bundles soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles)
5 C water
2-3 Tbsp miso paste
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
½ block of firm tofu
4 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
¼ C fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 large onion, cut into chunks
4 C seasonal vegetables, in bite-sized chunks.
1-2 minced hot peppers (optional)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into 4 or 5 slices on the long axis

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add noodles. Cook 3-5 minutes until just al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups water to a boil and then remove from heat. Using a coffee mug, scoop up about ½ cup of the hot water. Add 2 tablespoons of miso paste to the mug and stir until it is fully dissolved. Pour mixture back into the remaining pot of water and stir to mix. Taste the broth and add more miso if you’d like it stronger.

2. Cut tofu into cubes, about 1 inch square, and press gently between paper towels to remove excess water. Heat oil in a wok over high heat and add tofu. Let the blocks fry undisturbed for about 3 minutes, or until they are golden brown (not moving tofu too early is the secret to keeping it from sticking), then flip the cubes with a fork and let them brown on the other side. Remove tofu from pan with fork or slotted spoon, leaving oil behind.

3. Return wok to the stove and add the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring almost constantly, until fragrant and just starting to brown, about one minute. Add onion and vegetables and stir-fry on high heat until softened, 3-8 minutes depending on how hot your stove gets and the vegetables you are using. Add the optional hot pepper and cook one additional minute. Pour soy sauce and fish sauce over and stir quickly for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and drizzle on the sesame oil.

4. Divide the noodles between two large soup bowls, and top each with half the stir-fry. Arrange the tofu cubes and slices of hard-boiled egg on top. Pour miso broth over to cover. Serve immediately, with hot sauce on the side for those who want more spice. 

Bok Choi

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Care & Storage

For Eating Fresh: Store bok choi in a perforated plastic bag in your fridge's crisper for up to a week.

Availability

June - July, September - November

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Varieties of Note

Purple
Green
White stemmed

The purple and green varieties are more delicate then the larger white stemmed varieties, and are often grown for baby bok choi. All three varieties, but especially the purple and green should only be cooked lightly, and are best added to soups or stir-fries at the very last moment.

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