Miso Soup Risotto

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30. Fusion Challenge! 

So..... fusion...... what is fusion? What exactly counts as fusion? I mean - is the spaghetti Bolognese 'fusion' food because it's not authentic - because I made it with British wheat spaghetti? The Chinese stir fry fusion because I use basmati not japans sticky rice?

Or the soup with apple as well as veggies ... is that fusion food because it combines the traditionally 'sweet' and the traditionally 'savoury'.

So.... what is fusion?

Basically - I have NO IDEA.

Wikipedia (the fount of all knowledge- obviously) states that:

"Fusion food is a general term for the combination of various forms of cookery and comes in several forms. Regional fusion combines different cuisines of a region or sub-region into a single eating experience"

So basically..... I can pretty much count anything I want as fusion food - because even steamed carrots can count as fusion food- because you're 'fusioning' chopping and steaming- so various forms of cookery - right? 

Totally. But don't worry- I'm not going to bore you in this post with pictures of steamed carrots. Because bowls of steamed carrots is totally boring........ (i like steamed carrots) 

No. Instead I have decided to give you pictures of miso and rice. Miso - from Japan. Rice - from many places including Japan. So that's totally fusion food - right? 

Well- it is actually because it's not Japanese rice. I actually mixed Japanese miso and Italian risotto rice. So totally fusion. 

Yeah. I made fusion food. 

Aren't I clever? :P 

Miso Soup Risotto
Serves 1

• 1/3-1/2 cup risotto rice
• 1/2 small onion or 2 spring onions (a few tablespoons when chopped) 
• 1 Tablespoon miso paste
• 1 teaspoon oil (I used vegan margarine because I don't have any cooking oil yet) 
• 1 cup (plus extra) boiling water
• Optional: Strips of seaweed (nori, seaweed snacks etc) 

• Dice up the onion REALLY fine, and heat the oil in a pan
• Cook the onion for a few minutes, then add the risotto rice. Cook for a few minutes- stirring constantly till everything is coated - then turn down the heat as low as it will go- and wait till the pan has cooled down slightly - but keep stirring so that the rice and onion doesn't burn. 
• While this- whisk the boiling water and miso paste together and place in a saucepan on a low heat- if possible the same heat as the frying pan. 
• Add a tiny bit (about a Tablespoon) of the hot miso 'stock' to the frying pan. If it spits and burns off - wait a bit longer and try again in a few minutes. If not- start the process of adding the stock to the rice pan. Do this slowly at first (1-2 tablespoons at a time) then work up. You're gonna have to be stirring pretty constantly - so don't plan to make this if you want to do other things (doing it whilst revising WILL result in burnt risotto - just working ya). Wait until all the liquid has been absorbed before adding more. This whole process should take about half an hour. 
• When all the miso stock has been absorbed- test the rice- if it is done.... well then it's done. If not - boil the kettle and add a few more tablespoons of water to the risotto - and carry on the process with boiling water. If you have to do this with a lot of water- you may also need to add a bit more miso. If it's not burning- you may not have to add more water but just let it cook. Every time I try and make risotto- it always goes slightly different. But it always ends up okay in the end. Apart from the time that I completely burnt it because I got distracted by the workings of electron microscopes. 
• When all the stock is dissolved and/or the rice is cooked- transfer it to a bowl. If you want- you can top/stir in some seaweed. Because it's yummy. 

Now- obviously I am all up for eating this with chopsticks - but it's up to you weather you serve this with green tea and.... I don't know..... hello kitty shaped mochi......  or with gelato, amaretto biscuits..... and..... I don't know wine? Maybe it's safer just to have it with water.