Thanks for the Meal

Tag: sweet sake

  • 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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  • Tofu: Skewered, Grilled, and Garnished (Part 1)

    Tofu: Skewered, Grilled, and Garnished (Part 1)

    Tofu DengakuA move to Aichi Prefecture when I lived in Japan prompted a visit to Kikuso, one of the area’s most famous regional-food restaurants. Kikuso’s specialty is dengaku nameshi, a savory combination that has been served since the place opened sometime around 1820. Dengaku is a seductively simple, even primitive, dish, made of small squares of pressed tofu that have been grilled, topped with pungent miso, lightly grilled again, and then garnished with everything from spicy Japanese mustard to poppy seeds. Nameshi is vegetable rice; Kikuso’s is made with chopped, spicy daikon radish leaves, the perfect counterpoint to the dengaku. I have never forgotten Kikuso, nor its incomparable dengaku nameshi.

    Dengaku has been around for centuries. It was already being mentioned in shrine diaries in the mid-fourteenth century, and by the Muromachi period (1392-1573) was a well-known dish throughout Japan. Dengaku takes its name from dengaku hoshi (Buddhist priests), who would dress up in colorful costumes and cavort and dance on single stilts during public entertainments and festivals to pray for a good harvest. Two-pronged skewers are traditionally used for grilling dengaku, and these are said to represent the stilts.

    By the late seventeenth century, a variation of dengaku appeared that used a root, konnyaku (devil’s tongue), instead of tofu. By the eighteenth century, dengaku was being served throughout the nation at way stations for weary travellers, at tea shops in pleasure quarters, and at post stations. Although dengaku is not an expensive dish, it was considered a delicacy in the Edo period (1603-1867), and was often served with vegetable rice as is done at Kikuso.

    By the Meiji era (1868-1912), however, the original version of dengaku had declined somewhat in popularity, and with each subsequent era contemporary variations of the dish were devised. Fish, eggplant, chicken, and sato-imo (field yams) are just a few of the ingredients that replaced tofu in dengaku. Although dengaku is usually eaten by itself as a snack or served as an hors d’oeuvre, the addition of soup, rice, and pickles can make it the main course in a filling lunch or dinner.

    Tofu Dengaku

    Tofu Dengaku

    Lucy Seligman
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    Servings 4

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 blocks fresh momen (cotton) tofu

    Red miso topping:

    • 1/2 cup red hatcho miso
    • 2 tbsps white miso
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tbsp sake
    • 2 tbsps mirin (sweet sake)
    • 4 tbsps white sugar
    • 1/4 cup dashi fish stock
    • 2 tbsps water
    • 1/2 tsp grated ginger (or to taste)

    Garnishes (choose any three):

    • Japanese mustard (karashi)
    • Ground Japanese pepper (sansho)
    • Sprigs of fresh Japanese pepper (kinome)
    • Slivers of fresh Japanese citron (yuzu)
    • White poppy seeds
    • Toasted white sesame seeds
    • Toasted black sesame seeds

    Instructions
     

    • Pierce each piece of tofu with either a two-pronged skewer or two skewers so that it won’t fall apart when turned over. (The Japanese traditionally use bamboo skewers.)
      2. Make the red miso topping by mixing all the ingredients, with the exception of the ginger. Place the mixture in the top section of a double boiler. Simmer over boiling water, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, which takes about 10 minutes. Stir in the ginger. Let the mixture cool prior to spreading it on the tofu.
      3. Lightly grill or broil the tofu on both sides until it is slightly browned and hot. Spread a thin layer of miso on one side and grill for a minute or two to heat the miso up. Remove from heat, sprinkle with the desired toppings, and serve immediately, leaving the tofu on the skewers.
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    Photo attribution: Copyright: paylessimages / 123RF Stock Photo

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    tofu Dengaku

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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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  • Delicious Tenpura Recipe (Tempura)

    Tempura recipeWith a light, crispy, oil-free coating enveloping a perfectly cooked and succulent piece of seafood or vegetable, tenpura (also written tempura) is considered a quintessentially Japanese food. Both the word and the dish, however, are almost certainly of foreign origin. The source: Spanish and Portuguese missionaries called nanbanjin (southern barbarians) who came to Japan to convert the heathen masses toward the close of the sixteenth century. Prohibited from consuming meat on Fridays, they substituted batter-fried fish.

    There are several theories on where the name came from. Templo, meaning temple or church in Spanish, and tempero, which in Portuguese means cooking, are two possible roots. The Chinese characters can also be read as follows: ten meaning up, pu for flour, and ra for thin silk, the latter most likely a reference to the thin coating of batter.

    By the middle of the Edo era (1603-1867), tenpura, inexpensive and considered relatively low-class, was a popular offering at open-air food stalls. Only in recent years has the dish risen in both price and public esteem to its exalted culinary status in high-class establishments. With a little preparation and practice, it is surprisingly easy to make equally good tenpura at home. Keep the oil at a constant temperature; use ice-cold water to make the batter; and, perhaps most important of all, leave the batter lumpy.

    Tempura recipe

    Tenpura

    Lucy Seligman
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    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Japanese
    Servings 4

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 medium or 4 large shrimp washed, shelled, and deveined, with tails slightly trimmed
    • 4 small kisu Japanese whiting fillets (or other small white-fleshed fish), washed and with tails left intact
    • 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms trimmed
    • 4 thick rounds of sweet potato peeled
    • 4 shiso perilla leaves, washed and patted dry
    • 2 Japanese eggplants trimmed and halved lengthwise, with skin lightly scored for quicker frying
    • 4 string beans trimmed and halved lengthwise
    • Sesame oil and vegetable oil for deep-frying half and half is best
    • Dipping Sauce:
    • 1 cup dashi fish stock
    • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
    • ¼ cup mirin sweet sake
    • ¼ cup sake
    • Dash of salt
    • 1 cup daikon radish peeled, grated, and drained
    • 4 teaspoons fresh ginger peeled & grated
    • Lemon wedges & coarse salt optional
    • Batter: Double quantity if necessary
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 cup ice water
    • 1 cup all-purpose white flour sifted

    Instructions
     

    • Prepare the shrimp and other items as instructed above, then place them on a large plate. Bring the dipping sauce ingredients to a boil in a pan, stirring well; remove from heat and pour into four small serving bowls. Let cool. Put the daikon radish, ginger, and lemon (if used) in separate bowls. Prepare a rack for draining the tenpura, and line your serving plates with paper napkins.
    • While you are heating the oil in a wok or other large large, deep-sided pot, lightly mix the egg and ice water in a bowl. Add the flour all at once, stirring only briefly with chopsticks or a fork to create a lumpy, nonsticky batter. Place the bowl of batter in a large bowl filled with ice water near the stove. When a dab of batter is dropped into the oil and rises to the surface and sizzles, the oil is ready.
    • Fry the fish first. Dip them briefly in the batter and then drop into the oil, use
      cooking chopsticks to turn them rapidly.
    • (To preserve their delicate flavor, the perilla leaves should be dipped on their "back" side only.) Then proceed with the other items. If space permits, fry all similar items together. The tenpura is ready when it turns golden brown and floats. I like to drain tenpura using a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet for easy clean up.
    • Remove any excess fried batter with a slotted spoon.
    • Tenpura should be served immediately and eaten piping hot. It could also be made at the dining room table by the guests, using fondue pots. Dip into the sauce, add grated radish and ginger as desired, or sprinkle with lemon and dip lightly in salt.
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    tenpura recipe

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  • The Art of Ramen: Soy Sauce Flavoring for Ramen Soup

    The Art of Ramen: Soy Sauce Flavoring for Ramen Soup

    This is a traditional, yummy and simple Soy Sauce flavoring for Ramen noodles.

    This is part of the “Art of Ramen” series. The basic chicken stock for ramen that’s used in this recipe is also part of this series.

    Ramen noodles

    Soy Sauce Flavoring for Ramen Soup

    Lucy Seligman
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    Ingredients
      

    • 2 large garlic cloves peeled
    • 2 knobs ginger peeled
    • 1 Japanese leek white part only
    • 4 tablespoons mirin sweet sake
    • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
    • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sake
    • 5 cups strained chicken stock

    Instructions
     

    • Mash the garlic, ginger and leek together. Mix together the mirin, soy sauce and sake. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and let cook slowly, over low heat, for five minutes. Combine the soy sauce flavoring with hot stock.
    • Place garnishes on top of the cooked noodles in the soy sauce flavored soup. Add ½ teaspoon lard to each serving and serve piping hot.

    Notes

    Garnishes:
    Manchurian wild rice stems, (menma or shinashiku) to taste
    4 slices fishcake (naruto)
    8 leaves parboiled and trimmed spinach, cut into thirds
    2 teaspoons lard
    Minced green onion or Japanese leek to taste
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    Soy Sauce Flavoring for ramen

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