I had this dish once before at one of my elementary schools. It was pretty good then, but I had no idea how to make it at the time. When I read this recipe I was amazed at the simplicity and lack of ingredients!

かぶ – Kabu is Japanese Turnip, you can find it at some Asian markets. The one I go to was out, so I substituted it for a normal Turnip and could not tell the difference.

がんもどき – Ganmodoki is kind of a tofu fritter. It is tofu with other ingredients like carrots and other vegetables that is chopped up, formed into a ball and deep fried. If you cannot find these at an Asian market, you can substitute with deep fried tofu.

The stock with its dashi base, enhanced with soy sauce and mirin is very tasty and pairs very well with the Kabu and Ganmodoki.

So lets start!

You will need:

4 Small Ganmodoki

2 Small Japanese Turnips

1/2 a bunch of Shimeji Mushrooms

2 cups of dashi

2 tsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Mirin

1 Tbsp Soy sauce

Start by rinsing the Ganmodoki with hot water and setting aside to dry.

Peel and chop the turnip into large chunks and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, set aside. Cut the roots off the mushrooms and divide into 2 bunches.

In a pot, mix the dashi, mirin, sugar and soy sauce and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Add the turnip to the pot and lower to Medium low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the Ganmodoki and Shimeji and simmer for 5 more minutes.

And you are done!

Definitely eat it with rice on the side

Critical Result:

Jon – Oishii – was very comforting, like something your Asian Grandma would make on a cold rainy night!

Me – Oishii as well – I like the broth, its sweet salty taste complimented the root vegetables and tofu.

We have the holidays encroaching on us and next week we are going to be surprising my family with a Japanese dinner night!

For my holiday special I will be making お好み焼き (Okonomiyaki). This is one of my all time favorite dishes and my family will be in for quite a treat!

See you then and Happy Holidays!

Oden is pretty simple and can be found just about anywhere in Japan this time of year. Street vendors, specialty shops, even the 7-11 across the street! It is composed of 2 main components: the broth and everything else…. the ingredients vary greatly from shop to shop, house to house. Usual staples of the dish consist of hard boiled egg, potatoes, daikon, konnyaku, and fish cakes (of which there are a great many varieties), but can also include octopus, squid, taro, tofu, bean curd and so much more.

Most of the core ingredients are easy to find, but sadly the mixed fish cakes, which help enhance the dish’s flavor, may be tough to get. You can find them at many Asian markets in the freezer section, usually in an “Oden” pack, or get online at shops like JapanSuper. If you do get the Oden package, they sometimes come with a soup base… throw that away! The one I tell you how to make will beat it hands down!

If you have to substitute the fish cakes, I would at least put fried tofu, bean curd, and if you can squid or octopus for the flavor. You can just omit, but I think the flavor would be kind of bland

Since Suyong and Eric were coming over, I doubled the recipe and added a few extra’s of ingredients I know everyone liked. If you just want to make for 2 people and have left overs, split this recipe in half.

You will need:

2 Packs of Frozen Oden assorted items. I bought 2 different assortments, which gave us a wide variety including come fried tofu. *

1 Large Daikon Radish

3 Russet Potatoes

1 Block of Konnyaku

12 Ginko Nuts (these can be omited, I did not care for them as they were little pockets of ear-wax bitter taste)

8 Hard Boiled Eggs

12~14 Med. Sized Dried Anchovies

8 Inches of Kombu kelp

1/4 Cup Sake

1/4 Cup Mirin

2 Tbs Salt

2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce**

4 tsp Dark Soy Sauce**

Prepared Japanese Spicy Mustard (からし-Karashi) (Can use Chinese mustard here too)

*The recipe actually called for 2 bags of your favorite fish cakes PLUS specifically: 焼きちくわ (yaki-chikuwa) which is a kind of fish cake tube that has been grilled, and はんぺん (hanpen) which is a yam+fish cake, but the oden sets I got had them in it. If this is your first time just get the Oden kits and don’t worry about the specifics, since this is a ever-changing dish

**This is not “Light” as in low sodium, Light Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce are a bit different than normal soy sauce. Light is a bit lighter in color but a bit more salty and what is labeled as Dark Soy Sauce is the normal Kikkomen sauce we find here in the states. If you do not want to shop for the different kinds, you can just do 3 Tbs + 1 tsp regular soy sauce.

Now lets start!

Place the Kombu sheet in a large pot and fill it with 16 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Tie up the dried anchovies in a herb pouch, tea bag, cheese cloth sachet.

Once the water is boiling turn off the heat and add the dried anchovies in the sachet. Cover with a lid and let steep for 1 hour.

Take the frozen assorted Oden stuff and place in a colander. Run warm water over them to rinse off any grease or oil, about 1~2 minutes.

Slice the konnyaku into roughly 1/2 inch slices.

With a sharp knife make about a 1 inch slit in the middle of the slice of konnyaku.

Push one end of the slice through the hole and pull it out the other side, this should twist the konnyaku and make a nice pattern.

Now Peel the Daikon and Potatoes. Slice the Daikon into thick slices and cut the potato into large chunks.

If you decided to add the Ginko nuts, shell them peeling off the brown papery skin and stick them on toothpicks, 2~3 per toothpick.

Peel the shells off the hard boiled eggs and set the eggs aside.

When the broth has finished steeping, remove and discard the kelp and the fish sachet.

Bring the broth up to a boil over high heat. This will cause a foam to rise to the surface.

Reduce heat to low and with a ladle or spoon, skim this foam off the broth and discard. As I have mentioned in a previous recipe, this is called アクをとる (aku o toru) in Japanese.

Add the Mirin, Salt, Sake and Soy Sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Add everything else! The Oden Stuff, Eggs, Potatoes, Daikon, Konnyaku and if you are adding them, the Ginko Nuts.

Cover and let simmer over Medium-low heat for at least 1 hour.

Serve with rice and the Spicy mustard for dipping.

So easy to make something SO delicious!

Critical Result:

Suyong – MAIU! As I mentioned before, this is her ultimate comfort food and I did not fail at giving her just that. She loved every bite!

Eric – Wavering between Umai and Maiu. I think his Oden loyalties lie with Suyong, but a fantastic rating nonetheless!

Jon – MAIU! I finally got a Maiu out of Jon! I am sooo 嬉しい (happy) I was finally able to make something that sent him into that wonderful state of deliciousness!

Me – Can you guess?! MAIU! This recipe was just fantastic. Definitely worth making the broth from scratch and getting all the lovely fish cakes. Sure warmed me up on this cold winter’s evening!

Next week I will make がんもどきとかぶの煮物 boiled turnip and tofu!

And stay tuned for a special Christmas post in 2 weeks! I will be spoiling my family with a very special dish!

See you later~

So かやくごはん (Kayaku Gohan) is a pretty simple dish. You can just put all the ingredients into the rice cooker and walk away for 20 minutes! Its a pretty good winter dish, its warm, contains many root vegetables and well.. you can spend the time you would be cooking snuggled under a blanket!

Now… rant on! SO living in Japan introduced me to how real rice taste. The less-than-appealing stuff we get in ginormous bags here is pretty terrible once you have tried good rice. Now you might say “Rice is rice, how can there be that much difference?” Well, it is a two part explanation… First off, Japanese short grain rice is a slightly fragrant slightly sticky rice that has a very unique taste. However the main reason stems from age.

Rice in Japan is treated kinda like we treat dairy products, in that it has an expiration date. Rice can dry out and loose much of its flavor very very quickly. The main sources of rice we can get in large bags here in the US have been sitting in a warehouse for god-knows-how-long and is dessicated and flavorless. Additionally the large bags, as economic as they seem, allow the rice in a residential setting to get even more tasteless faster!

You can buy Japanese style rice here in the US, most common it is Tamanishiki, which you can buy at many stores in the Seattle area, and you should be able to find at your local Asian market, or online at stores like this Marukai E-Store or other distributors of Japanese foods.

Keeping this in mind, if you even try to use something like Uncle Ben or any form of instant rice with this dish, not only will you be disappointed, but I will crawl out of the computer like the girl in the Ring and smack you with a spoon! Rant off…

So lets get cooking!

to make 4 servings you will need:

2.5 cups of GOOD rice…

3 cups of Dashi

1 Chicken Thigh, Skin on.

4 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Large 油揚げ (Abura-Age) – deep fried bean curd. It can be found either near the tofu or in the freezer of most Asian food markets

1/2 a brick of Konnyaku – if you recall it is a hard jelly like brick made out of Konjac. Find at a Asian market

4 inches of Burdock root (About 1/4 cup peeled and cubed)

1/2 of a Carrot (About 1/2 cup peeled and cubed)

2 Tbs Soy Sauce

2 Tbs Sake

1 Tsp Salt

Begin by soaking the Shiitake in a bowl of boiling water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes

Rinse and drain the rice. You always want to rinse rice with cold water and until the water runs clear.

Place the Abura-Age in a colander and run hot water over it. This rinses of any excess oil and loosens it up. Let sit to dry.

Peel the Carrot and Burdock root.

Now cut the Burdock, Carrot, Abura-Age, Konnyaku, Shiitake and Chicken into small cubes, about 1 cm.

Place the rice in the rice cooker and add the Dashi, Soy Sauce and Salt.

Stir the rice and add the rest of the ingredients while stirring.

Now for the really hard part… cover and turn the rice cooker on… Phew!

When the cooker clicks, take the lid off and stir the rice. Put the lid back on and let sit for 10 more minutes.

And that’s it! So easy and so comforting!

So lets see… Critical Result:

Jon: Oishii! He really liked the mix of textures and all the different flavors, but he felt it was kind of bland.

Me: Oishii as well. It hit the spot, it was delicious and warm, but I feel it would have been awesome if it had been accompanied by another dish.

So a decent dish and super EASY!

Next week　おでん ~ its a Wonderful Japanese Soup with tons of little surprises in it! SO Yummy!

See you then!

Washington weather continues to get colder and wetter! Some people find this discouraging, but being a Washingtonian born and bred, I look at the silver lining of all this. The colder and more miserable it gets outside, the more warm comfort foods, like soup, I can make!!!

This week I am making かき揚げそうめん (Kakiage Sōmen) Kakiage is kind of a tempura or sorts… it is generally a combination of deep fried vegetables and shrimp.

Sōmen is a very thin wheat noodle. It is a traditional noddle dish, sometimes eaten cold, but most often eaten with a warm broth. You can vary the toppings greatly. In the dish I present to you it has the tempura on top, but you can add anything; a fried egg, thin sliced pork, OR since many of us are having turkey tomorrow… thinly sliced turkey breast! (hint hint!!!)

One thing to note about this recipe; it calls for めんつゆ (Mentsuyu). Tsuyu is a noodle sauce, it comes in different … functions… in this case you want one for Sōmen, hence Men-Tsuyu. You can get buy with just about any Tsuyu sauce for this, it is a very thin liquid, should be salty and sweet. However, if you have been keeping up with this blog, you know I prefer to make things from scratch. I found a good recipe I use for it on another blog, and as such will not be instructing on the preparation post, but you can find it here.

Now onto the makings!
For the Kakiage you will need:
1/2 a Carrot
1/2 an Onion
3 Tbs Sakura Shrimp – These are small dried shrimp. They are not as scary as they sound! When fried they have a very subtle flavor.
1 cup of Flour
1/2 Cup Water
Cooking Oil

For the Sōmen you need:
200 g of Sōmen, they typically come in 100g bundles, so its easy peasy!
3 Cups of Mentsuyu
Green Onion
Sesame Seeds
Red Pepper

Okay, lets start with the Kakiage!

Start by thinly slicing the onion and the carrots.

Next in a bowl mix together the flour, a pinch of salt and the water. The mixture should resemble a dough. Don’t worry, once you add the vegetables the water from the onion will loosen it up and be more batter like.

Add the vegetables and the shrimp to the batter and mix to coat.

In a pan, heat up about 1.5~2 inches of oil.

Using your hands, remove about 1/2 cup of the mixture and put it on a flat wooden spoon. With a fork or chopstick slowly slide it into the oil. Cook on one side until light brown and then flip to cook the other. Remember not to over crowd the pan!

As they finish cooking set them on a paper towel to drain and set aside.

For the Sōmen:

Bring a pot of water to boil on high heat.

Once boiling, add the Sōmen and reduce the heat. Cook for 2 minutes and immediately remove from the heat and strain the noodles. Run cold water over them to halt the cooking process.

Warm the Mentsuyu to just below boiling. In another pot or kettle, heat 2 cups of water.

Split the noodles, Mentsuyu and Hot water between 2 bowls. Place 2 of each Kakiage on top. Garnish with green onion, sesame and red pepper!

So easy!

Critical Result:

Jon: Umai, except he felt it was a bit too salty and the shrimp in the kakiage was overpowering.

Me: Umai, I agree it was too salty. The above recipe has compensated for this with additional hot water added. I liked the shrimp!

Next week… hmm かやくごはん – Its a savory rice dish with vegetables and chicken.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

That said, when I started doing the translation work for this Curry recipe I balked when I came across the line: トマトケチャップ (Tomato Ketchup). At seeing these most foul of words, I began to seriously doubt the validity of this recipe. However, I did promise a curry recipe, and far-be-it from me to deny anyone reading this the satisfaction that comes from Japanese Curry.

Japanese Curry is a very common food in Japan, usually sold as カリーライス or Curry and Rice, it is served in a plethora of restaurants, in schools, pre-made, or at fast food joints. Like the Croquettes, Japanese curry is a dish with its roots elsewhere. Utilizing many of the flavors of Indian Curry, Japan has localized this dish to be slightly sweeter with a potent curry powder taste.

Now, as I hint at above, there is a difference in Japanese Ketchup versus American. One day for lunch, at one of my schools, we were served a tiny cheese omelet with a packet of Japanese Ketchup. The Kids went CRAZY over the ketchup and I thought; Well, Japanese Mayonnaise has a very distinct taste that I fell in love with, so I may as well try Japanese Ketchup, maybe I will like it! NOOOOOOooooooo! It is somehow sweeter than the vile American concoction and defiantly a slightly different taste, but still one I despised.

So now that I have gone through my Anti-Ketchup propaganda, let me share with you this weeks really good Recipe: Pork Curry!

You will need:

1/2 lbs of Pork Shoulder, trimmed of Fat
3 Tbs Curry Powder
1 1/2 Onions
1 Carrot
2 Baking Potatoes (Russets are good) Peeled
2 Stalks of Celery
1/4 of an Apple Cored and peeled
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Cube of Boullion (I used chicken, cause it was what I had on hand, but feel free to use Pork, Beef or Vegetable)
5 Tbs Flour
1 Tbs 中農 Sauce (Chuno Sauce is a fruit + vegetable sauce… it has a slightly tangy taste. You can probably replace it with Worcestershire sauce for the flavor.)
1 Tbs … Ketchup…. (Yes yes I put it in to be true to the recipe…)
Vegetable oil

Take 1/2 an Onion and finely dice it. Thinly slice the Garlic. Rough chop the Pork, Potatoes, Apple, Carrot and Celery into easy to eat chunks. Slice the Remaining 1 Onion.

In a small bowl, Mix 1 Tbs of Curry Powder with 1 Tsp of Salt. Add the pork and coat completely. Set this aside for about 15 minutes.

In a large pot, heat 1.5 Tbs of oil over Medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the Sliced Onion, Celery, Apple and Pork. Cook until the pork is slightly seared stirring occasionally.

Now add the Carrot and Potato. Stir over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Dissolve the Boullion Cub in 3 cups of hot water and add to the pot. Stir in 1 Tbs of curry powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes, reduce heat to low. In a separate pan, heat 2 Tbs of oil over Medium Heat. Add the Diced Onion and cook until the onions start to turn translucent. About 3~5 minutes.

Add the Flour to the pan and stir to heat the flour and absorb the oil. Add 1 Tbs Curry Powder to the pan, stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes. Add 1.5 Cups of warm water to the pan. Stir constantly over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Add the above mixture to the pot along with the Chuno Sauce, Ketchup and 1 tsp Salt. Stir to combine and heat over medium low heat for about 5 minutes.

Serve over Rice.

Critical Result:

This week, our good friends Kevin and Michelle had just gotten back into town and I felt so bad for the empty fridge they came home to that I invited them to partake in this delicious dish.

Kevin – Oishii. Kevin thought this was a good dish, with good flavor, but he is not a big curry fan beyond certain Indian Masala.

Michelle – Umai. Michelle really liked this dish. She appreciated the subtle spiciness to it and the overall penetrating flavor of the sauce and the soft fall apart vegetables and meat.

Jon – Umai. Loved this flavor, he wants me to turn it into Curry Udon, Curry Katsu, Curry anything!

Me – Umai. I do love when these recipes send me on a trip back to my days in Japan. This curry recipe, even with the hated ketchup, was fantastic. I highly advise making this.

Sticking with the cold weather theme, next week I will be making かき揚げそうめん　Ramen with Fried Vegetables.

See you then!

Like most nabe (hot pots), these recipes are winter comfort foods in Japan. My one winter in Toyota city really made me yearn for them as well! The summers are HOT and MUGGY and the winters are toe nipping cold! So you can imagine how these hot soups with protein and fall vegetables hit just the right spot!

Sukiyaki (すき焼き) is one of the first forms of Japanese cuisine I ever had (not counting oodles of sushi of course!). I distinctly recall being a bit shocked by the raw egg (we will get to this!), but being the ever adventurous eater I dove into the dish and fell madly in love.

This is a rich hot pot, with a full slightly smokey taste from the dashi and soy sauce and a light sweetness that pairs oh-so-well with all of the ingredients.

Lets see what we will need:

1/2 lbs Beef roast, thinly sliced

1 small pkg Shirataki (about 200g)

1/2 brick Firm Tofu

4~6 Green Onions

4 fresh Shiitake Mushroom

1 pkg Enoki Mushroom

1 Bunch Chrysanthemum Greens, May also be labeled as Crown Daisy. These have a very specific taste, you can replace with spinach if you cannot find, but do look for it.

1/2 Cup Dashi

1.5 Tbs Sugar

1/4 Cup Sake

1/4 Cup Mirin

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

Small Piece of Beef Fat

2 Eggs (optional)

Start by draining the liquid from the tofu and put on a baking sheet. Turn your oven onto the hottest broil setting and put the tofu in the oven on a low rack. This process makes 焼きどうふ, or grilled tofu. This will slightly brown the outside of the tofu and remove more liquid, helping to firm the tofu up even more. Keep an eye on the tofu while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, you want a light brown color on each side, so flip it when one side is done.

Next take the Shirataki and put it in a strainer, rinse it with water and cut with kitchen scissors a dew times to make smaller, easier to eat pieces.

If you need to slice the beef yourself, you can freeze if for 30 mins ahead of time to get thinner slices. Slice the beef into thin wide strips and set aside.

Slice the Green onion diagonally into slightly large pieces. Start at the white end of the onion and stop just at the dark green leafy section.

Cut the stems off the Shiitake and cut the Enoki about 1/2 up the stem from the base to the cap.

Cut the stems off the Chrysanthemum Greens (or spinach), you only want the leafy part.

At this point the Tofu should be done, remove it from the oven and let cool a few minutes. Cut into 8 slices.

Mix the Dashi, Sugar, Sake, Mirin and Soy Sauce together.

You should now have all the prep work done! Lets cook!

Heat a pot or deep pan (you will want something wide, ideally you will have 1 layer of ingredients on top to avoid overcooking. I used a wok) over Med-High heat. Add the beef fat and using chopsticks coat the pan in the melting fat. Remove and discard the remaining fat once the pot is seasoned.

Add the beef to the pot and cook for about 2 minutes until the beef starts to slightly brown.

Add the dashi mix and bring to a slight boil.

Set the Eggs aside, and add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.

Cook for about 2~4 minutes.

Remove from heat and divide into 2 bowls.

NOW, the Eggs… So traditionally you have a raw egg, scrambled, in a separate dish and you dip the tofu and beef from the soup into it. Now obviously raw egg is not for everyone. You can add the egg to your bowl of soup and stir it in, the heat from the soup will help slightly cook it. Or you can omit this all together.

I personally love the raw egg. It adds a certain fullness in the taste of the dish that is unbeatable. Jon and I both dip the Tofu and Beef, one at a time, then add the remaining egg to the soup once all the tofu and beef is gone.

Critical Result:

Jon: Umai! He loved the balance of flavors this recipe produced. He admits, however, that he greedily wanted more mushrooms!

Me: Umai! We have made this dish before from a different recipe which was too sweet and nor quite right. This was, by far, the best and closest to the Sukiyaki taste I know and love.

As long as the weather stays cold and we keep craving warm food, next week will be another special treat!
ポークカリー or Japanese Style Pork Curry!

See you then!

This recipe is a pretty simple one, and everyone should be able to very easily find the ingredients at any store.

You will need:

2 Med. Baking Potatoes. (Russet for example) I only could find large ones, so I used 1 1/2 Large Potatoes.

1/4 lbs ground beef (About 1/2 cup or 100 g.)

1/2 a white onion

1 Tbs Butter

Salt

Pepper

1/2 Cup + Flour

1 Egg Beaten

1/2 Cup + Panko – Japanese Bread Crumbs, almost any store will have them nowadays. Can use normal breadcrumbs, but I would not.

Vegetable Oil

Start by peeling the potato and chopping into medium sized chunks.

Put them in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook until they are tender, about 10 minutes.

While the potatoes ate cooking, dice the onion into small pieces.

When done cooking, strain the potatoes and put them back into the pot. With a Potato masher or fork mash the potatoes and set aside.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent and the beef is brown. Season with Salt and pepper.

Pour the beef and onions into the pot with the mashed potatoes. I had lean beef, so I just added the small amount of grease to them as well.

Mix the potatoes to incorporate the beef and make a smooth mixture.

Put some vegetable oil on your hands and lightly coat them. This will help the potato mixture not stick to them while forming the croquette.

Divide the mixture into equal portions. The recipe called for 4, but I felt they turned out too large. I suggest 8 smaller ones.

With your hands, form each portion into a kind of cylinder.

Start heating about 2 inches of oil in a deep pan on medium heat to bout 330~340 F.

Put the Flour, Egg and Panko in 3 different bowls.

One at a time, dip the croquette first in the flour, coating it.

Next move it to the egg bowl, coating the croquette in egg.

Now move it to the Panko bowl, use your hands to gently coat it in bread crumbs, making sure it is completely covered.

Gently add the croquette to the hot oil. Repeat with the rest of the croquettes, adding extra flour and panko to the bowls as needed.

Make sure you do not over crowd the pan! you want the oil to stay hot and have lots of room to make the croquette crispy! I only cooked 2 at a time.

Cook the croquettes, turning with a slotted spoon, until the whole thing is a nice brown color. About 10 minutes.

Plate up and enjoy! Usually it is served with a sauce. Most often in Japan it is a Tonkatsu sauce, but you can eat it with whatever you want!

Critical Result:

Jon and I both felt the same way about this recipe. The croquettes were too big! The yummiest part was the fried outside and the size of them overshadowed that too much! So I strongly advise making them smaller, in this case just making 8 instead of 4 would have done the trick.

That said its a Maa~Maa from both of us, but a Oishii if they had been smaller!

Next week I will take a break from fried foods. With the weather turning cold and wet here in Washington, I will give you all a special treat! すき焼き Sukiyaki is a classic Japanese dish and is basically a beef hot pot soup! See you then!

My good friend Suyong grew up in Japan and squealed when she ran across this recipe. I have never had this dish before, but saw it on a few menus in Japan and always wanted to try it.

揚げ出しどうふ (Age-Dashi-Doufu) is a elegant and surprisingly easy to make. It combines some of the best tastes of Japanese cuisine in a simple yet tasteful presentation.

You will need:

1 Block of Silken Tofu (the softest kind)

1/2 a bunch of Shimeji mushrooms – Sold in stores usually in tight bunches if bought loose, its about 24 ~ 40 stalks

1 Tbs of Potato starch – Corn or tapioca starch will substitute for this

1 Tbs flour

1 Tbs Sake

1 Tbs Mirin

1 Tbs Soy Sauce

1/3 Cup Water

6 g of Bonito Flakes – This is about 1/2 cup tightly packed, but since bonito comes in different sizes and is so light, weight seems best.

1/4 Cup Finely grated Daikon – Japanese Radish

2 Inch section of fresh Ginger, Finely grated

Crushed Red Pepper

1 Lime

Start by cutting the block of tofu into 2 large pieces. Gently wrap each piece in a paper towel and place in a colander. Let sit for about 20 mins.

This step helps absorb some of the moisture from the tofu and will allow for a better fry.

While the tofu rests, Finely Grate the Daikon and Ginger. Use the finest grater you have. One that is used for hard cheeses or chocolate is best. You want your end result to be almost a paste.

Next take the Shimeji clumps and cut the roots off, trimming part way up the stalk.

Heat the oil in a wok or deep pan to about 330~340 F.

Remove the paper towels from the tofu.

Mix the Potato starch and flour on a plate and gently roll the tofu in the mixture to coat.

Gently add the tofu to the oil, by hand if you are brave, or with a slotted spoon.

With a ladle spoon hot oil over the tops of the tofu and gently turn them every 3~5 minutes.

Continue the process until the tofu is golden brown, about 20~25 minutes.

Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and put them on the plate.

In a small pan add the Sake, Soy Sauce, Mirin, and water. Bring to a boil, add the mushrooms and blanch for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the plate with the tofu.

Bring the pan back to a boil and add the Bonito Flakes.

Remove from the heat and let sit for 1 minute. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve.

Pour the sauce over the Tofu and mushrooms.

Add a pile each of ginger and daikon to the tops of each tofu. Sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes.

Garnish with 1/2 a Lime.

I was quite please with how this dish turned out, the combination of all the tastes was very Japanese. Simple yet flavorful and the pepper added just the right hint of spice.

Critical Result:

Jon – Umai. He loved the way the flavors mingled, the umami from the sauce with the tangy from the lime.

Joel – Umai. I really liked this dish!

All in all a wonderful pick Suyong!

Next week: ポテトコロッケ or Potato Croquette

See you then!

This did bring up the problem of the amount of food. Last week I said I was going to be just making 茶わん蒸し. Now for just Jon and I, my simple easy Japanese dishes are all we need, usually accompanied with a bowl of rice and a nice side salad, But for company I needed another dish! So this week you all get the treat of 茶わん蒸し (Chawan Mushi) and から揚げ (Karaage).

I doubled both of these recipes to make 4 servings of each, feel free to adjust them as you need.

茶わん蒸し – Steamed Tea Cup

Chawan Mushi is a delicate dish. It is a light, slightly sweet and savory egg custard with chicken, shrimp and Ginko nuts which is… guess what? Steamed in a tea cup!

For this you will need:

4 Large Japanese Style Tea Cups. You want them to be about 1~1.5 cups in size… if you do not have use small high edged bowls.. or a mug….

2 Eggs

2 Chicken Breasts, skinned and fat trimmed. (I used 4 Chicken tenders, since that is what I had in the freezer)

8 Large Shrimp; Shelled and cleaned

4 Small Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms

12 Ginko Nuts; Shelled and outer skin removed. ぎんなん or Ginko nuts are a tender slightly bitter nut. If you cannot find them just omit them.

2 Cups of Dashi

1 Tbs + 1 Tsp Sake

1 Tbs + 1 Tsp Sugar

1 Tbs + 1 Tsp Soy Sauce

Start by cutting the chicken breast into small easy to eat pieces. Put the Shrimp and Chicken in a bowl and add the Tsp of Sake, Sugar and Soy Sauce. Set aside and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Slice the Shiitake and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the dashi with the Tbs of Sugar, Sake and Soy Sauce.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they are a light yellow. With a fine sieve, strain the beaten egg into the dashi mixture and stir.

Divide up the Shrimp, Chicken, Shiitake and Ginko nuts between the tea cups (or mugs…).

Gently ladle the egg mixture into the tea cups, making sure to not over fill them.

Twist the corner of a paper towel so it bunches up. Use the paper towel to gently pop or absorb any bubbles on the surface of the dish.

Place the tea cups in a large pan and fill the pan with water up to about 1/2 the level of the dish.

Wrap a clean dish towel on the inside of the lid of the pan and put it on the pan. The lid will absorb any condensation so you do hot have water pooling inside the cups.

Bring to a boil on high heat for about 1 minute then turn down to med-low with the lid on for 15~20 minutes and let it steam.

You can use a tooth pick to test to see if they are done. You should have a nice custard like egg topping and a soupy broth underneath.

Done!

から揚げ – Fried Chicken

Fried chicken in Japan is a bit different than in the US. They season differently and prefer mostly dark meat. But OH boy is it good!

You will need:

2 Chicken Thighs, De-boned, Skin on

2 Tbs Soy Sauce

2 Tbs Sake

1/2 Tsp Fresh grated Ginger

1 Egg

2 Tbs Flour

2 Tbs Potato Starch – Most starch will work as a replacement. Corn starch may give you a different texture however. Tapioca Starch is also a good replacement

Cooking Oil

Start by trimming any excess skin that may overhang the thighs.

Now cut the thighs into easy to eat pieces.

Put the chicken into a bowl with the Sake, Soy Sauce and Ginger and mix.

Let this marinate for 20 minutes, turning the chicken half way through.

Next, remove the chicken from the marinade and with paper towels, dry off each piece individually. This step helps the next mixture stick to the chicken and gives you the nice crusty outside.

Place the dried off chicken pieces into a bowel.

Wisk the egg in a separate bowl, when done add the beaten egg to the chicken.

Combine the flour and starch in a small bowl and add to the chicken. Mix well.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium to med-hi heat. You want enough oil to be able to cover the chicken, so about 1~2 inches should do.

With the oil hot, slowly add the chicken to the pan. You do not want to crowed them so only do about 4 pieces at a time. Let them cook for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally so both sides brown evenly.

And Viola! we have 2 new dishes!

On the Left is the 茶わん蒸し in the tea cup. On the lower right is the から揚げ with a root salad (Thanks Suyong!) and on top there is a nice bowl of 発芽玄米 (Brown Rice)

Critical Result:

Lets start with our guests (didn’t think they would get a free meal did you!?)

Dr. Susu: 茶わん蒸し：　MAIU!
　　　　　　　から揚げ：　Umai! She had never made this with egg before and was very surprised at the taste and juiciness.

Maru-chan: 茶わん蒸し：　MAIU!
　　　　　　　から揚げ：　Umai!

Jon: 茶わん蒸し：　Umai.
　　　　から揚げ：　Oishii. Felt the Chicken itself was good, but it needed a sauce.

Me: 茶わん蒸し：　Maiu! I loved the bitter taste of the Ginko and how it balanced out the sweetness of the custard.
　　　 から揚げ：　Maiu! I will never forget how I would go to 7-11 for this almost every night when in Japan… this brought back memories…

All in all a great meal and a big hit!

Yay! I passed the test! A Japanese person liked my Japanese food!

Since they were our guests, I let Dr. Susu pick next weeks dish: 揚げ出しどうふ or Fried Tofu with sauce.

See you then!

Japan, being an island nation, has an abundance of sea life to draw off. So it was only time before we breached the fish category. As I mentioned in the post before last, there is not a lot of beef in Japan due to growing restrictions. The same can be said for most land based meats. However with as much sea-life as Japan has access to, the Sea’s the Limit!

That brings us to this weeks treat さばのみそ煮 or Mackerel with Ginger and Miso. Mackerel is in the same family as Tuna and Bonito, giving it’s meat a slightly fish taste and firm texture.

Finding fresh Mackerel may be difficult. I have, in the past, used salted frozen Mackerel… but I feel that brined Mackerel is too salty for this dish, since we add Soy Sauce and Miso. I found fresh Mackerel, but it required me filleting the fish myself! This cookbook assumes you are able to find only a single fillet of Mackerel, but since I had to buy a whole fish I went ahead and doubled the recipe. If you are able to find just half a fish, feel free to halve the recipe.

Now on to the dish:

2 Mackerel fillets

6 Thick slices of ginger

6 Tbs Sake

2 Tbs Mirin

2 Tbs Sugar

2 Tbs Soy Sauce

2 2/3 Cups Water

2 Tbs White Miso

Start by cutting each fillet into two pieces. Mackerel is not that large of a fish so each piece should be a portion.

With a sharp knife, score the back of each piece with an X shape.

Next take the ginger slices and with the flat of the blade of a large knife, gently crush them.

In a large pan, bring the Sake, Sugar, Mirin, Water and Soy Sauce to a boil over medium high heat.

Once it begins to boil, add the ginger slices and cook for 3 minutes.

Gently add the Mackerel, skin side up, to the pan and reduce the heat to Medium-low, retaining a simmer.

Simmer this for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid starts to reduce. Keeping the fish skin side up the whole time, occasionally spoon the liquid over the fish.

Put the Miso in a separate dish and add some of the liquid from the pan, stirring until the miso and liquid have incorporated.

Add the Miso mixture to the pan and gently stir to combine and spoon over the Mackerel.

Let sit on Medium-low heat for another 2~3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Serve with Rice.

Very simple but flavorful dish tonight, I do hope if you can get your hands on some Mackerel you will try it.

Critical Result:

Me: Umai. This dish was exactly how I remembered glazed mackerel to taste like in Japan.

Jon: Umai as well. He felt it was the perfect blend of sweet and salty for Mackerel, well rounded.

Well that’s it for my first fish dish. Next week I think we will be doing　茶わん蒸し – Literally steamed tea cup. In this case it will be a traditional Japanese egg dish with shrimp and chicken steamed in a tea cup!

じゃ～まったね！
(This means “Later!”)