Thanks for the Meal

Category: Traditional Grandma’s Cooking

  • Salad Dressing Recipes

    Salad Dressing Recipes

    I love salads and of course, Japanese salad dressings!

    Salad dressings play a large role in any Japanese culinary repertoire. The composition of salads and dressings are an area of great versatility and creativity in Japanese cuisine. If your pantry is equipped with a couple of Japanese standards, you too can whip up or pound up in a mortar and pestle a tasty dressing very quickly.

    Japanese Salad Dressing Recipes

    Japanese salad dressing Goma-ae Sesame Recipe

    Japanese dressings come in various guises – basic, aemono (dressed) and sunomono (vinegared). Generally, aemono dressings tend to be thicker, often including miso, egg yolks, pounded sesame seeds, nuts and even tofu. Have all ingredients cooled before combining for any Japanese style dressing.

    Aemono – Dressed Salads can be used for raw or cooked, and then cooled vegetables, poultry or fish that are mixed with dressing and served in small individual portions.  It is also good with parboiled green vegetables, including cabbage, green beans or spinach.

     

    Goma-ae (Sesame Dressing) Recipe

    Goma-ae (Sesame dressing)

    Lucy Seligman
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    Course Salad
    Cuisine Japanese

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon white sugar or mirin (sweet sake)
    • 1 to 2 tablespoons dashi fish stock, cooled*

    Garnish: Optional, Choose one

    • toasted white sesame seeds, to taste
    • katsuobushi, to taste

    Instructions
     

    • Grind sesame seeds until flaky.
    • Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Combine with preferred salad ingredients and serve in individual portions. If desired, garnish with additional toasted white sesame seeds and or katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).

    Notes

    *Follow directions on dashi container for how to make stock.
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    Traditional Japanese salad dressings guideHow to Make Traditional Japanese Salad Dressings

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  • Chawan-Mushi: Japan’s Savory Custard

    Chawan-Mushi: Japan’s Savory Custard

    A Savory Surprise from Japan

    Until I began my love affair with Japanese food, at the age of fifteen, I wasn’t very thrilled to be served custard of any form or flavor. For me, the word “custard” conjured up a vile, sickeningly sweet concoction that was best consigned to the garbage. But chawan-mushi, Japan’s delectable savory version, expanded my horizon—at least regarding custard.

    It’s hard to categorize chawan-mushi: it can be classified as a soup, or a custard, or both. Although the egg mixture forms a custard, there is a noticeable amount of the soup in it as well. Delicious eaten hot, it is equally good as a chilled summer dish. For a slightly sweeter version, increase the amount of mirin (sweet sake). With a little imagination, numerous other variations can be created—in season, for instance, I would replace the shiitake mushroom with a sinful and expensive slice of matsutake, Japan’s premier and delicious mushroom.

    The hardest part of making chawan-mushi is the cooking time; it will take a little practice to get it right. It’s not only a matter of steaming until the custard sets, but the steaming time also depends on the type of container used and the amount of bubbles in your custard. As far as possible, eliminate those bubbles so that your custard is smooth and silky.

    Cup Custard

    Lucy Seligman
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    Ingredients
      

    • 3 oz. chicken breast meat boned and skinned
    • 1 tablespoon sake
    • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
    • 4 eggs
    • 2-1/2 cups cold dashi* fish stock
    • 2 teaspoons mirin sweet sake
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 4 small raw shrimp shelled and de-veined
    • 8 uncooked gingko nuts shelled and peeled or 2 uncooked chestnuts, shelled, peeled, and halved
    • 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms halved
    • 8 fresh green peas parboiled, or 4 snow peas, strings removed, parboiled and halved
    • 4 thin slices kamaboko steamed fishcake

    Instructions
     

    • Cut the chicken into eight pieces and marinate for 15 minutes in the sake and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Drain.
    • Beat the eggs and add the dashi, remaining soy sauce, mirin, and salt. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Try to avoid making bubbles.
    • Distribute marinated chicken, shrimp, ginkgo nuts, mushrooms, peas, and fishcake among four custard cups. Pour the strained egg-dashi mixture over it until the custard cups are almost full. If there are any bubbles, prick them with a toothpick.
    • Preheat a steamer. Cover the cups with plastic wrap and steam for 15-20 minutes over medium heat. Check doneness by sticking a toothpick through the center; if egg sticks to the toothpick, continue steaming for a few more minutes. The top of the custard should be smooth and jiggle slightly if touched.
    • When cooked, remove the plastic wrap and place chopped trefoil or spinach in the center. Top with a few slivers of yuzu or lemon peel.
    • *Japan’s basic fish stock made from dried bonito shavings, kelp, or a combination of the two.

    Notes

    To garnish:
    3 tablespoons chopped fresh mitsuba (trefoil) or parboiled spinach leaves
    A few slivers of yuzu (Japanese citron) or lemon peel
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    Japanese salad dressing recipes
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    chawan-mushi Japanese cup custard