Easy Recipes from Rice & Miso, Manhattan’s New Japanese Lunch Spot

The Japanese philosophy kaiseki, which translates to “warm stones in the breast pocket,” comes from a Buddist ritual dating back to over 600 years ago, in which monks placed heated stones in their pockets to warm themselves at cold monasteries. During these long periods of meditation, their empty stomachs were soothed. The principles of kaiseki have since been a staple for Japanese food, appreciated worldwide: an approach to cooking and eating that respects the ingredients, the surroundings, the host and the guests.

For Mika Hatsushima, the founder of restaurants Rice & Miso, a kaiseki approach to simplistic Japanese dishes has earned her culinary respect and a sense of community. First served at Brooklyn Flea, Hatsushima’s menu is now available at three locations, where carefully constructed lunch meals are served using combinations of proteins, vegetables, rice (and miso) in healthy bento boxes and soups.

Today, Rice & Miso opens their doors on Forsyth street, its first Manhattan outpost. “My focus is to keep introducing well-balanced, safe and tasty Japanese home style food that people want to eat everyday. And when they don’t eat here for a while and come back, they come up with tears—just like I do when I have my mom's rice ball. Maybe that's my goal!” As Hatsushima was busy working through the logistic challenges of opening her first storefront in 2012, her mom often babysat her first daughter, Reika. When it finally opened, “she was so proud of me, talking about how I started from nothing. I said, ‘Mom, you gave me everything!’”

Here, recreate the Hatsushima family’s string bean dish, called Gomaae, and a Rice & Miso-style Soba Noodle salad. Great for healthy weekday lunches, these recipes are emblematic of Hatsushima’s desire to bring the un-fussy food that makes her and her family happy to the plates of New Yorkers, and readers everywhere.

Gomaae (serving 4)

Ingredients;

200-250g French green beans (haricot vert)

1/4 cup soy sauce (or Tamari)

80g ground sugar

75g ground white sesame

pinch of salt

Boil beans for 3-5 minutes. Shock in cold water and drain until the beans are dry.

Put soy sauce, sugar, white sesame and salt in a bowl and mix them well.

Add beans, mix well, and eat!

Soba Salad (serving 4)

Ingredients:

Dried soba 230-250g

30g Lettuce

30g Red Cabbage

1/2 Hot house Cucumber

½ Pack Firm Tofu, drained for a few hours

12-15 Cherry Tomatoes

40g Wakame Seaweed

Chopped scallion for topping

Dressing:

2oz Ground sesame 
2oz tamari soy sauce

1.5oz cane sugar

1oz sesame oil

1oz yuzu juice

Pinch of salt

Boil soba noodles according to the instructions on the package.

Cut all vegetables in shredded shapes and small sizes.

Soak dried wakame into water for 5 mins, wash and rinse, then squeeze to dry.

Mix all the dressing ingredients and shake them well.

Drain soba and wash with cold water until the noodles get cold. Drain well.

Put all vegetables and tofu on top of the soba, mix dressing well, and eat!

You can top with Nori seaweed, and put some wasabi or shichimi (Japanese hot peppers) on top to enjoy additional flavors.