Zousui

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Zousui Wednesday March 15

(1) chicken breast, (2) mixed egg,
(3) soup base, (4) chopped mitusba
This recipe is simple, fast, and delicious. Moreover, since it eats like a soup, it's probably a great thing to eat if you have a cold or need to warm up from the inside out.

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggs
• 200g skinless chicken breast
• 100g parsley/chives/scallions* (US)
• 1/3 pack mitsuba (Japan)
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• soy sauce
• dashi †

Be careful not to boil the mixture,
as the rice has already been cooked
Preparation

1. Cook rice, set aside.
2. Chop fresh herbs, set aside.
3. Mix eggs in a bowl until the yokes are completely mixed.
4. Over medium heat, simmer 300-400mL of water; add 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce and dashi to taste (1 teaspoon should be sufficient).
5. After dashi is fully dissolved, spoon cooked white rice into simmering pot, mix.
6. Cut chicken into small bite-sized chunks, add to pot.
7. Mix in herbs.
8. Using a pair of chopsticks or a fork, dribble egg mixture into pot while continuously stirring. The key here is that the egg goes in slowly enough to not make large globs of egg.
9. Stir well, simmer for 3-4 minutes.
10. Serve.

Notes

* I'm pretty sure that you can't buy mitsuba in the States; it's a fragrant, refreshing herb. Thus, my recommendation is to use an herb that has similar qualities that you enjoy. Scallions will certainly work, but something a little more chive-like and less onion-like will taste better, I think. Feel free to experiment on this point.

† In the States, there's a product called "Hon-dashi" which are tiny fish pellets used to make soup stock. The container is white, blue, and orange, and you will find it at most supermarkets and all Asian supermarkets. It's used in most Japanese cooking, so I recommend buying some if you don't have any.