Previously, on tastingmenu.wordpress.com –
* https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/reproducing-michibas-miso-cheese-stew-pt1/
… I hope to get to Part II of this write up with pictures in the near future…
So I chose to re-make the dish for two people, rather than four, and the resulting ingredient list became:
2 cups dashi
1 1/2 Tablespoons miso (I use Yamajirushi shiro miso here)
3/8 cup (3 oz) mascarpone
3/8 cup (3 oz) broccoli florets (I used about 4 oz (by weight) here)
3/4 lb king crab meat (with half the shell removed)
12 littleneck clams cleaned, well scrubbed
chives (for garnish)
king crab for the dish
So the first thing I did was break down the king crab legs; and this time instead of taking the meat out of the shell, I left half the shell on.
king crab broken down
Next, I cleaned, trimmed and separated about 3-4 ounces of broccoli florets for the stew.
Broccoli for the stew
…And even though Wegmans seafood department said it was unneccesary, I gave the littlenecks a quick rinse in case there was still any dirt/grit on the shells. I think, if I do this dish again in the future, I’d use the smaller manila clams (and perhaps more of them) for this dish.
littlenecks for the stew
So with most the of the ingredients prepared, I warmed my dashi and filtered in 1 1/2 teaspoons of Yamajirushi shiro miso….
Getting the miso ready for the dashi base
Filtering in the miso
I then brought the dashi/miso up to a simmer and then measured in 2 oz and then one more ounce of mascarpone cheese which I whisked into the stew.
first 2 oz of mascarpone for the stew
last ounce of mascarpone for the stew
Once the mascarpone was blended in, I brought the stew up to 50% max power and then added the clams and let them cook for about 5 minutes (at which point, they basically opened). In went the broccoli florets for another 5 minutes and then in went the partially shelled king crab legs. Since the crab legs were at least parboiled, I covered the pot and them cook for about 2-3 more minutes just to warm through and let their juices blend into the stew.
the stew assembled, ready for the last two minutes of cooking
While the stew was in the finishing stages of the cooking, my wife indicated that she could smell the stew all through the apartment. The aroma of the stew did smell pretty good to me too. So when the stew was ready, I dished out two bowls….
Iron Chef Michiba’s Miso Mascarpone Stew
And how did the final product taste?
While the stew was still good, I didn’t get quite the strong ‘exotic new england clam chowder effect’ this time around, so it may just be that I really need to use the recipe I’ve been using in part I (e.g. the larger version provides enough miso and mascarpone to get that bold taste). All in all, this is still a keeper in my book. Michiba-sama – if you and your staff read this, could you provide any corrections? ありがとうございます(arigato gozaimasu).
Resource
King Crab Legs – Wegmans, Chestnut Hill, MA
Littleneck Clams – Legal Seafood, Chestnut Hill, MA
Marscapone – Whole Foods, Newtonville, MA
tastingmenu 