Sesame and Soy Dressing for Cold Noodles 冷やし中華だれ

This simple dressing from NHK's cooking site is a version that we use in our house for cold noodles, either somen or soba.

150 ml soy sauce
90 ml rice wine vinegar
5 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil

Mix the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the sesame oil. Will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Gazpacho Somen from NHK Asaichi

This morning on NHK's Asaichi TV program was a recipe for Gazpacho Somen. It looks so good I can not wait to make it. I have translated the recipe here below.

Serves Two

・I/4 onion
・1 Japanese cucumber
・1 red bell pepper
・1 stick celery
・2 tomatoes
・1/2 garlic clove
・150 ml. extra virgin olive oil
・50 ml. vinegar
・salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

・100 grams somen (somen for two people)

For the somen topping, mince some cucumber, red bell pepper, celery, and tomatoes and set aside.
The unused vegetables can be rough chopped and put into a blender or food processor with the garlic.
Add the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar and mix until smooth.

The gazpacho sauce can be used immediately, or for better results, let it rest in the fridge for two to three days. Will keep for about a week. At the very least the gazpacho should be chilled before serving.

Prepare the somen as directed on the package.

Top with the gazpacho and toppings.

Salmon and Potato Hash Browns

We often have salted salmon filets in our fridge on hand for Japanese breakfasts. One morning I was craving hash browns but also wanted to use the salmon. I cooked the salmon first and then broke it apart into smaller pieces. I then made the hash browns as normal, julienned potatoes in a saute pan with extra virgin olive oil. While I usually add salt and pepper I avoided the salt this time as the salmon was quite salty. After the potatoes were cooked through and I added the salmon and then seasoned with pepper. A satisfying way to start the day.

Natto & Pork Sake Bites

We love natto and can't get enough of it. Our favorite way of eating it is simply over a bowl of hot rice. Other options include serving it with some tuna sashimi or grated yamaimo.

I had this particular dish out at a restaurant, I think it might have been En Japanese Brasserie in New York City's West Village. I recreated it at home and loved the results.

2 packs natto
1/4 lb. ground pork
1 Tbsp. miso
1 tsp. kochujan
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil

Saute the ground pork in a little bit of oil until cooked through. Add the natto, miso, kochujan, sugar and sesame oil. Cook until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Also adjust other seasonings as you like. Serve with lettuce.

Perfect with sake or shochu.

Fried Fish Japanese Style (Buri no Tatsuta Age) 魚の立田揚げ

I am addicted to chicken tatsuta age, Japanese-style fried chicken and have been making it at home for years. The same process can be used with seafood, in particular meaty or fatty fish like buri, katsuo, or maguro.

Cut the fish into bite size pieces.
In a ziplock bag marinate the fish with:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch chunk ginger, grated and squeezed for its juice (discard the pulp after squeezing)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin
1 Tbsp. sake

Marinate for 30 minutes or one hour.

Heat some oil for frying.

Before frying dredge the fish in some katakuriko.

Fry until cooked through.

Uni Pasta うにパスタ

Uni pasta is one of the most sensual dishes I know. But getting it just right depends on the quality of the uni. It just has to be fresh. Whenever we go out to eat and it is on the menu we always order this dish. Recently we had it and Shinji loved it as it tasted just of fresh uni, the minerality of the sea and the rich umami of the uni lingered on our palates.

While I prefer this dish with tomato paste (see the link below for another version) this dish was simply the uni and pasta simply seasoned with good quality extra virgin olive oil and salt.

Uni pasta with tomato paste:
http://tokyostation-yukari.blogspot.com/2009/04/uni-pasta.html

Sea Urchin

Kabocha Soup かぼちゃスープ

For a dinner party recently I served this kabocha soup cold and it was a huge hit. It really is so easy, can be made in advance, and will keep for a few days in the fridge so worth making a big batch. It is good hot or cold, and even better when a bit of heavy cream is poured in at the last minute before serving.

Cut kabocha into small pieces, be sure to remove the green rind and all seeds.
Steam in a steamer until tender.
Smash with a fork or a masher.
Return smashed kabocha to a soup pan and add chicken stock until desired consistency.
Season with salt as needed.
Allow to cool in the fridge or serve immediately.

Crunchy Japanese Salad

A simple salad topping that adds both calcium and soy to your greens are chirimenjako (tiny sardines) and abura-age (deep-fried tofu). I like to fry the chirimenjako in a tiny bit of olive oil and then crisp the abura-age in a non-stick pan. Cut the abura-age into strips and top onto greens with the chirimenjako. Our favorite salad dressing for this is either a ponzu dressing (yuzu, soy sauce, mirin and olive oil) or a Chinese-style dressing of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Both the abura-age and chirimenjako bring a nice texture to the salad.

Shortlist of Kanbutsu Dried Goods 乾物

The photos above are of hijiki and kiriboshi daikon .

KANBUTSU 乾物

Kanbutsu, the dried goods of both the sea and land, are key elements of the Japanese pantry. With a long shelf life, most are natural, without any added preservatives, and simply need to be reconstituted in water.

Here is a shortlist of essential kanbutsu items for your Japanese pantry.

Aonori – dried laver, often sprinkled on okonomiyaki
Aosa – dried laver, good in miso soup
Goma – sesame seeds
Irigoma – roasted sesame seeds
Kurogoma – black sesame seeds
Shirogoma – white sesame seeds
Surigoma – crushed sesame seeds
Hijiki – black sea vegetable rich in minerals and protein
Hoshi shiitake – dried shiitake mushrooms
Hoshi warabi – dried bracken, a type of sansai (mountain vegetable)
Hoshi zenmai – dried royal fern, a type of sansai (mountain vegetable)
Kaisou – generic term for sea vegetables, good for incorporating into salads
Kanpyo – dried gourd strip
Kanten – agar-agar made from tengusa (a sea vegetable), used as a gelatin
Kikurage – dried wood-ear mushroom
Kinako – flour made from dried soybeans, popular ingredient for wagashi
Kiriboshi daikon – dried strips of daikon
Kombu – sea vegetable, essential in making dashi
Koya dofu – freeze-dried tofu
Kuzuko – starch made from the kudzu plant, a thickening agent and popular ingredient with top chefs
Mame – generic term for beans
Azuki – little red beans, popular in wagashi
Daizu – soybeans
Kintoki – kidney beans
Kuromame – black beans
Men – generic term for noodles
Soba – buckwheat flour noodles
Soumen – thin wheat noodles
Udon – thick wheat noodles
Nori – dried laver, often used for rolled sushi
Wakame – sea vegetable, popular in miso soup and salads

Natto 納豆

NATTO 納豆

Natto, fermented soybeans known for its stinky aroma and slimy texture, is one food that may be hard for non-Japanese to appreciate. Popular at breakfast in Japan natto is stirred using chopsticks until it is thick and sticky. Soy sauce and Japanese mustard may be stirred in to the natto before it is spooned over a bowl of rice. Condiments-such as grated daikon, leeks, bonito flakes, sea vegetables, pickled apricots (umeboshi), Japanese basil, and in some parts of Japan, apples or sugar-may be added. Dried natto with nori and other seasonings (furikake) is often sprinkled over hot rice. Dried natto beans are a popular beer snack.

Not all natto is the same. It varies according to the size of beans: large, medium, or small; whether the beans are choppped or not; the type of bean used. Most natto is sold in plastic containers, but natto wrapped in straw will have a richer aroma, texture and flavor.

Natto can also be used as a topping for pasta, or as a filling for deep-fried tofu parcels, or as an addition to fried rice or an omelet. In another dish, called bakudan (literally, “bomb”), natto is mixed with a raw egg yolk, okra, slimy potato, squid, and raw tuna resulting in a very healthy, very slippery, very slimy mixture that is eaten over rice.

Devotees of natto use special natto chopsticks that are designed to make the natto stickier when stirred.

Shortlist of Sansai 山菜

SANSAI (Mountain Vegetables) 山菜

There are over 200 varieties of sansai, the mountain vegetables that spring forth from the ground in the spring. When sansai arrive at the market, you can overhear customers talk about the arrival of spring. It is served many ways including ohitashi (simmered), sunomono (vinegared), tempura, aemono (dressed with a sauce), and kinpira (julienned and stir-fried). Over a bowl of soba noodles the bitterness of the sansai is a nice contrast to the earthy buckwheat noodles. There is something special about the bitter vegetables when served up in tempura.

Here is a shortlist of some popular sansai:
あさつき 　　　Asatsuki – asatsuki chives
ふき 　　　　　Fuki – Japanese butterbur
ふきのとう 　　Fuki no to – unopened bud of Japanese butterbur
片栗 　　　　　Katakuri – dog’s tooth violet
こごみ 　　　　Kogomi – fiddlehead of ostrich fern
のびる 　　　　Nobiru – red garlic
せり 　　　　　Seri – water dropwort
たらの芽 　　　Tara no me – shoot of the angelica tree
つくし 　　　　Tsukushi – field horsetail shoot
ウド 　　　　　Udo - udo
わらび 　　　　Warabi - bracken
よもぎ 　　　　Yomogi - mugwort
ぜんまい 　　　Zenmai – royal fern