Valentine’s Day Recipe Ideas

Valentines day is just around the corner!

Here’s a few Japanese recipes you could try to show your love on his special day. Here at cottage foods, we’re excited to try these recipes and so should you!

Spring mix salad with Miso dressing

spring salad

A bright refreshing Spring Mix Salad with Miso Dressing. It has creamy avocado, heirloom tomatoes, sliced radishes and fresh mint leaves in it too. A sure win salad for your grilling menu. 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups spring mix salad

  • 1 avocado (sliced)

  • 1 red radish (sliced)

  • 3 cherry tomatoes (sliced)

  • 4 mint leaves (hand torn)

  • 1-2 radish sprouts (discard the bottom, optional)

Sweet Miso Dressing

  • 2 Tbsp liquid Miso (can be substituted with 2 Tbsp miso + 2 tsp mirin or honey)

  • 2 Tbsp rice vinegar

  • 1 Tbsp roasted sesame oil

  • 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds

Instructions

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk all together.

  • Rinse the spring mix salad and dry completely. Toss the salad, avocado, radish, heirloom tomatoes, mint leaves, and radish sprouts in a large bowl.

  • Drizzle the dressing and toss gently. Serve immediately.

Japanese Sake-steamed Clams

clams

Japanese Sake-Steamed Clams made in 10 minutes with just 5 ingredients! A favorite of izakaya, this seafood fare exudes a fun casual vibe when enjoyed with chilled beer. Expect minimal fuss and maximum flavors!

Ingredients

  • Manila clams, or clams of your choice

  • Sake

  • Ginger

  • Dried red chili pepper

  • Green onion

Instructions

It’s really a 2-step recipe, and here it is!

  1. Clean clams – SUPER important, see below.

  2. Steam clams in sake, ginger, chili until the clams are all open.

  3. Garnish with green onion and enjoy!

Important: How to Clean Clams

When you use fresh clams, don’t forget to clean the shellfish before you cook. Cleaning will help to draw out any dirt, sand or seaweed from clams.

Chocolate Souffle

chocolate souffle

Make a soft and fluffy homemade chocolate soufflé dusted with powder sugar, simply delicious and heavenly!

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp Unsalted butter (to coat the ramekins)

  • 2 Tbsp sugar (to coat the ramekins)

  • 3 oz bittersweet chocolate (next time I'll use really good chocolate)

  • ⅓ cup half-and-half (an American dairy product of equal parts whole milk and cream that contains 10.5-18% milkfat; Substitute 1: Mix 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk + 1 cup (240 ml) light cream (18-30% fat). Sub 2: Mix 1 ½ cup (360 ml) whole milk + ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream (36-38% fat). Sub 3: Mix 1 ⅓ cup (320 ml) low-fat milk + ⅔ cup (160 ml) heavy cream.)

  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  • ⅓ cup water

  • 8 large egg white

  • ½ cup sugar

  • confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).

  • You will need 6 4-oz (½ cup, 120 ml) ramekins. With a pastry brush, coat the inside souffle ramekins with softened butter.

  • Put some granulated sugar in the ramekin and cover the opening with your hand and circulate. Once sugar is attached to the ramekin, remove the excess to the next ramekin and continue this process until all ramekins are coated with sugar.

  • Chop the chocolate into small pieces.

  • Pour the half-and-half into a saucepan and heat over medium high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan.

  • Remove from the heat and make a ganache by adding the chopped chocolate. Stir well until combined and all of the chocolate has melted.

  • Make a double-boiler by setting a large mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water. Place the ganache in the mixing bowl.

  • Add the cocoa powder and water, and mix until very hot. Remove from the heat and set aside.

  • Place the egg whites in a stand mixer and whip on medium speed until foamy.

  • Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and make a meringue. Add 1 Tbsp sugar at a time and whip the whites till stiff but do not over whip the egg whites.

  • Use a rubber spatula to gently fold about half the meringue into the warm chocolate mixture.

  • Then fold (not mix) the chocolate mixture into the remaining meringue in a standing mixer bowl. Do not deflate the batter. It’s okay if you still see streaks of meringue in the batter.

  • Use a large spoon to gently place the souffle mixture in the ramekins. Fill to about 1/4 inch below the rim of the ramekin. Run your thumb around the rim to remove the excess butter and sugar. Place the ramekins in a baking pan (for easy transfer to and from oven).

  • Bake at 375°F (190°C) until the souffle has risen to about 1 ½-inch over the rim and starts to brown on top, about 11-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust the top with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Nama Chocolate

nama chocolate

Rich, smooth, and decadent homemade Nama Chocolate! Made with quality dark chocolate and fresh cream, this ROYCE’s copycat chocolate is truly a special treat. It’s one of the most popular gifts from Japan, but you can easily make it at home.

Ingredients

  • 14 oz good quality dark chocolate (70% cacao) (use semisweet for less bitter taste)

  • ¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream (36% or more milkfat) (38% fat; ¾ cup + 1 Tbsp to be precise)

  • 1 Tbsp liqueur of your choice (optional)

  • Dutch-processed cocoa powder (to coat the chocolate)

Instructions

  • With a sharp knife, chop the chocolate into smaller pieces so that they will melt faster and more evenly.

  • Line an 8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm) baking dish with parchment paper. Choosing the right size tray is important for the height of chocolate (If you use a bigger tray, the chocolate will be flatter).

  • Add the heavy cream into a small saucepan and bring it to ALMOST boil over medium heat. Whisk to evenly distribute heat and keep an eye on the cream.

  • When you see small bubbles around the saucepan, remove from the heat.

  • Add the chocolate into the heavy cream and stir to combine with a silicone spatula.

  • Mix the chocolate and cream and make sure there is no lump. The chocolate should be completely smooth.

  • If you like, add liqueur of your choice.

  • Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth the surface with the silicone spatula. 

  • Tap the baking dish onto the counter a few times (to make sure the chocolate is evenly distributed). Refrigerate until firm, about 4-5 hours.

After Chilling 4-5 Hours…

  • Remove the chocolate from the baking dish.

  • Cut the excess chocolate around the edges to have nice sharp corners.

  • Warm up the sharp knife with a hot towel, and cut the chocolate into 1” strips. Make sure to clean/warm the knife before each cut to achieve a nice sharp cut.

  • Depending on your baking dish, the 4 sides of the chocolate may not look good (mine has curved edges and corners). If that’s the case, save these chocolate pieces for yourself to enjoy.

  • Then cut the strips into cubes. Remember to clean/warm up the knife before each cut. 

  • Sprinkle the cocoa powder on the top. Optionally, if you prefer all sides to have cocoa powder, you can dip in cocoa powder to coat all sides.

    To Serve

    • Serve Nama Chocolate on a plate, or put it in a box as a gift. If the chocolate just came out of the refrigerator, I recommend waiting for 5-10 minutes before serving so it’s soft enough to melt in the mouth instead of chilled and hard chocolate.

Riane Brown