Thanks for the Meal

Tag: abura-age

  • Kishimen Noodles from Nagoya

    Kishimen Noodles from Nagoya

    This month’s recipes are typical Nagoya fare: kishimen, a flat, wide quick-cooking udon noodle called hirauchi; and misonikomi (in next blog post), a dish of thicker handmade udon noodles in a hearty hatcho (red miso) broth.

    Kishimen noodles
    Kishimen Noodles from Nagoya

    If you don’t like noodles, you could never be happy in Nagoya. Happily, I love noodles, and loved my years of living in Nagoya and sampling and cooking many of their regional dishes. If you can’t get the right sort of noodles. Western-type pasta such as fettuccine can be used instead.

    Although there are few ingredients in this classic Kishimen recipe, don’t be deceived. It packs an intense wallop of flavors and taste sensations, especially the abundant topping of katsuobushi.

    A Nagoyan friend recently told me that Fried Ebi (shrimp) Curry Kishimen is a modern twist to this traditional kishimen recipe I am posting about and becoming popular. Of course, fried shrimp is a favorite Nagoyan dish too!

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    Kishimen japanese recipe

    Kishimen Noodles from Nagoya

    Lucy Seligman
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    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Japanese
    Servings 4

    Ingredients
      

    • 14 oz. fresh or dried kishimen noodles
    • 3 ½ oz. fried tofu (abura-age) cut into triangles or squares
    • 5 tablespoons mirin, sweet rice wine
    • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
    • ½ cup water

    For the broth:

    • 5 cups strong dashi, fish stock
    • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
    • 1 teaspoon sake rice wine
    • 1 ½ teaspoons mirin
    • ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

    To garnish:

    • 2 cups lightly packed dried bonito shavings, katsuobushi

    Instructions
     

    • First, make the broth: in a large saucepan, combine the dashi, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and salt. Heat through and set aside.
    • Place the fried tofu in a separate shallow saucepan with the mirin, soy sauce and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer, turning occasionally, until the tofu has softened, plumbed up, and takes on a deeper brownish color – roughly ten minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the tofu in the saucepan to keep it warm.
    • Cook the kishimen according to the directions on the package, but take them out while still chewy. Add to the dashi broth and mix for a minute or two.
    • Pour the kishimen broth mixture evenly into four large soup bowls, distribute the abura-age between them, and top with generous mounds of bonito shavings. Eat at once.
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  • Bamboo Shoot, Chicken and Fried Tofu Mixed Rice Recipe

    Bamboo Shoot, Chicken and Fried Tofu Mixed Rice Recipe

    Bamboo Shoot rice japanese recipeWe know spring is here when fresh bamboo shoots start popping up from the ground. In keeping with the traditional Japanese concept of enjoying food during its peak season, why not try this tasty and easy version of bamboo rice to celebrate spring, the season of renewal. I know I am ready for spring….aren’t you?!

    My very first blog posting two years ago was a bamboo shoot recipe, and so is today’s.  This is one of my favorite mixed rice recipes. And if you can’t buy fresh bamboo shoots, this can still be delicious using precooked peeled and or canned bamboo shoots.

     

    Bamboo Shoot rice japanese recipe

    Bamboo Shoot, Chicken, and Fried Tofu Rice

    Lucy Seligman
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    Servings 4

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 piece of abura-age (fried tofu)
    • 7 ozs. fresh*, precooked peeled or canned bamboo shoots, thinly sliced
    • 3 ½ ozs. chicken breast, skinned and cubed
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • ½ cup dashi (fish stock)
    • 3 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce, or to taste
    • 4 tablespoons sake
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 3 cups Japanese white rice, washed and drained
    • 1 piece of kelp, wiped with a damp cloth

    To garnish:

    • Dried seaweed, cut into thin strips

    Instructions
     

    • Before starting, immerse the fried tofu in hot water for 10 minutes to get rid of the oil. Squeeze out excess water and slice into strips. If using canned bamboo shoots, boil for a minute or two and then rinse.
    • Sauté the cubed chicken and fried tofu in oil. Add the sliced bamboo shoots, dashi stock, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of sake. Cook until all the liquid evaporates, roughly 10 minutes. Set aside.
    • Place the rice in an electric rice cooker or large saucepan. Add the remaining soy sauce and sake, and salt. Place the piece of kelp on top. Add water and cook according to rice cooker directions or, if using a saucepan, until the water is fully absorbed. When the rice is done, remove kelp, add the chicken and vegetables and stir well. Cover and let sit a further 10 minutes before serving.
    • Place in rice bowls and top with a generous amount of dried seaweed. Serve immediately. Clam soup makes a nice accompaniment.

    Notes

    *If using canned or precooked peeled bamboo shoots, drain and rinse them thoroughly in cold water before preparation. If the shoots are fresh, cut off the hard bottom part and boil them in their husks – water left over from washing rice or rice bran is best for this – with a dried red pepper for about one and a half hours to remove bitterness. Let cool, then peel off the husks. Wash well in cold water and continue with recipe preparation.
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  • Miso: More than just a Seasoning

    Miso SoupMiso (fermented soybean paste) is not only considered a condiment, spice, and seasoning in Japan but a way of life as well. I can think of no equivalent food in Western cuisine that has had such a powerful impact on culinary culture, not to mention societal relations.

    Miso is believed to have been created in China, brought to the Korean Peninsula, and then introduced to Japan – the same route taken by many of Japan’s fermented and preserved condiments, including soy sauce. By the Nara era (710-84), miso was being made and sold in the city of Nara, and was even being taxed. The Engishiki, compiled in 927, was the first historical document to mention miso. A popular form of miso among aristocrats during this period was name (“licking”) miso, a form of highly spiced and salted miso mixed with pickled vegetables that the nobles enjoyed while drinking sake.

    By the Kamakura era (1185-1333), Buddhist strictures were influencing everyone from the higher classes and samurai down to the peasantry. Zen monks, highly experienced at making miso because it was one of the key components of shojin ryori (vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) helped introduce the flavorful paste throughout Japan.

    Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) did much to popularize miso soup as the first Japanese power breakfast. He recognized that miso would assist warriors during times of battle by supplying them with the necessary protein they needed to fight on. By 1600, a typical breakfast consisted of miso soup, rice, and pickles, which to many Japanese constitutes the perfect breakfast even today.

    Currently there are several hundred types of miso being sold, each made according to the climate and taste preferences of the region in which it is produced. Miso can range in color from a rich brownish-red to light yellow; typically, the darker the miso, the higher the salt content. It is often said that hatcho miso, made in Aichi Prefecture since the early 1500s, is one of the few remaining traditionally made kinds of miso in Japan, and one of the most flavorful. Try some of this delicious deep red miso in your next bowl of miso soup as a variation.  If you prefer a milder version, then use white miso.

    Miso Soup

    Basic Miso Soup

    Lucy Seligman
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    Course Soup
    Cuisine Japanese
    Servings 4

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 1/3 cups hot dashi fish stock (can be made from kombu kelp, katsuobushi [dried bonito flakes], or a combination of the two; instant dashi granules or powder also acceptable)
    • 4 tbsps miso (use red, white, or light-colored miso or a combination thereof)

    Instructions
     

    • Place the stock in a saucepan and heat until very hot. Add whatever ingredients you are planning to use (see recipe notes for 3 of my favorite variations), and cook until done.
    • Place the miso into a small bowl and mix with a little of the stock, using a miso muddler to make a thick paste. Just before serving, add the miso paste to the soup; reheat it if necessary, taking care not to boil the soup after adding the miso, since this will make it taste bitter.
    • Ladle the soup into soup bowls – lacquerware ones not only retain heat well; they also add a touch of authenticity – then garnish and serve immediately.

    Notes

    Some Favorite Combinations:

    Tofu and Wakame Miso Soup – Use ½ block of silky tofu, cut into small cubes, and 1 ounce (30 grams) of rinsed and chopped raw wakame kelp. Garnish with mixed green onions or negi (Japanese leeks).
    Clam and Trefoil Miso Soup – Soak 1 ¼ cups of small clams for 30 minutes in a bowl of cold salt water to rid them of sand and impurities. Drain and rinse well. Place in the hot stock and bring to a boil, discarding any clams that don’t open. Turn heat down to a simmer and add 4 tablespoons of akadashi (a type of mixed miso) to the soup. Garnish with chopped mitsuba (trefoil) or seri (Japanese parsley).
    Pumpkin and Abura-age Miso Soup – Cut up 2 ounces (60 grams) of unpeeled kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) and ½ sheet of abura-age (fried tofu). Prior to using the fried tofu, pour boiling water over it to get rid of any excess oil. Garnish with minced Japanese leeks or green onion (white part only).
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    Photo attribution: Copyright: jedimaster / 123RF Stock Photo

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    miso

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  • Oden: Japanese Hodgepodge Stew

    Oden: Japanese Hodgepodge Stew

    oden japanese stewWhen I was a college student in Tokyo, I would often pass mobile food stalls, called yatai, late on blustery winter nights and be completely overwhelmed by the powerful aroma of oden, or Japanese hodgepodge stew. Oden’s pungent smell and taste have made it a perennial favorite with drinkers, no matter the season.  It is definitely a comfort food in Japan and can be enjoyed anytime by everyone.

    The oden is derived from dengaku–grilled, skewered tofu topped with miso. The dish got its start in the late Edo era (1603-1867) when the people of old Edo (now Tokyo) began cooking many ingredients stuck on bamboo skewers in one pot. They used soy sauce as a base, which accounts for the murky darkness of the stock and the uniformly brownish color of the ingredients. Called Kanto-daki (Kanto-style oden), this dish was passed down to the Kansai area. There the people of Osaka changed the stock, taking out the soy sauce and substituting salt and kelp, or sometimes chicken stock or  even white soy sauce, to create a clearer, more delicate broth. The variation, known as Kansai-daki, reached Tokyo and influenced the original oden. In fact, traditional soy sauce-based oden has become a rarity, even in Tokyo.

    My version of Kanto-style Oden is slightly unorthodox, as it includes a relatively small amount of processed fish paste products. You are welcome to add as much as you like. The secret to making a great oden? Time (it definitely improves with age), a variety of ingredients, and the all-important condiment, karashi, spicy Japanese mustard. This Kanto-style recipe is just one of the collection of regional dishes featured on Thanks for the Meal.

    oden japanese stew

    Kanto-Style Oden

    Lucy Seligman
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    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Japanese
    Servings 4 persons

    Ingredients
      

    • 24 ounces (685 grams) daikon radish, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch (2-1/2 cm) rounds, simmered over low heat in water for one hour
    • 5-1/4 ounces (150 grams) fresh shiitake mushrooms, washed, stemmed, and placed on bamboo skewers (three per skewer)
    • 1-1/4 lb. (600 grams) white potato, peeled, and cut in half, simmered in water for 30 minutes and drained

    To make Fukuro (stuffed, deep-fried tofu):

    • 5 large pieces abura-age (deep-fried tofu), dipped in boiling water for 2 minutes to get rid of excess oil, squeezed to remove excess water, cut in half, then opened to create little sacks
    • 3-1/2 ounces (100 grams) mochi (pounded rice cakes, cut into 3/4 ounce (approx. 20g) slices
    • 8 ounces (225 grams) shirataki (devil’s tongue noodles), cut in half, parboiled, and drained
    • 3 raw eggs
    • 10 8-inch (20cm) long kampyo (dried gourd strips), washed and drained, to tie up the sacks
    • 8 ounces (225 grams) konnyaku (devil’s tongue jelly) cut into triangles, parboiled, and drained
    • 2 chikuwa (fish paste rolls) cut on the bias into thick slices
    • 1 cake tofu, drained and cut into 8 thick squares
    • 4-6 chicken drumsticks
    • Assorted cut-up fish paste products such as kamaboko and satsuma-age, optional

    Dashi Fish Stock:

    • 1 ounce (30 grams) konbu (kelp) wiped with a damp cloth and lightly slashed
    • 8 cups water to soak the kelp in for 30 minutes; retain the water
    • 2 small packets (1/5 ounce or 6g) katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings)

    Prepared Dashi Stock:

    • 2 tbsps sake
    • 1/4 cup light soy sauce or to taste
    • 2 tbsps mirin (sweet sake) or to taste
    • 2 tsps salt or to taste

    Condiment:

    • spicy Japanese mustard (karashi) to taste

    Instructions
     

    • Place the kelp and water into a soup pot over medium heat. Just before it boils, take out the kelp (which can be cut up and added to the oden) and add the bonito shavings. Boil for a minute or two, then strain. Return the stock to a clean soup pot. Add the remaining stock ingredients, adding salt little by little until the flavor is to your liking. Keep the pot simmering.
    • To make fukuro, carefully stuff each pocket with either shirataki, pounded rice cake, or a shelled raw egg. Tie each pocket up with a dried gourd strip.
    • To make oden, place all the ingredients into the simmering prepared stock and cook for at least one hour. Bring the pot to the table and serve communally. Place a selection of the cooked ingredients in shallow bowls, serving the fiery mustard separately. If refrigerated, oden will be even tastier the second day. Reheat, adding more ingredients if desired, and serve.
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     Photo © Pelican

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    oden Japanese Hodgepodge Stew

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