Homestyle Japanese Cooking (6 page)

125 ml (½ cup) water

1
If using dried mushrooms, soak in hot water for about 15 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out any excess water before use.

2
Arrange prepared ingredients on a serving platter. Break 1 egg each into 4 small serving bowls.

3
Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Arrange ingredients in four small batches—mushrooms, beef,
shirataki
noodles or glass noodles, tofu and spinach—into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate.

4
Heat the oil into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate. Stir-fry the ingredients in batches, stirring continuously until foods are cooked to desired doneness.

5
Diners can then remove cooked meat or vegetable from the hotpot, using the egg as a dipping sauce for the hot food. If you prefer, use
ponzu
dipping sauce instead.

6
Replenish the cooking hotpot with remaining ingredients as needed.

Serves 4

Preparation time:
20 mins

Cooking time:
20 mins

Sliced Beef Hotpot
(Shabu-Shabu)

250 g (8 oz)
shirataki
noodles or glass noodles

500 g (1 lb) beef tenderloin, thinly sliced

300 g (10 oz) firm tofu, cubed

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded

4 leaves Chinese cabbage

120 g (4 oz) spinach leaves, rinsed and stalks removed

2 small leeks, rinsed and thinly sliced diagonally

Sesame Sauce (see box)

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 quantity of
ponzu
dipping sauce (page
3
)

120 g (4 oz) daikon, grated

4-in piece
konbu
, wiped and cut in 4 strips

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups cooked udon noodles (optional)

1
Blanch the
shirataki
noodles or glass noodles for 1 minute, drain, and cut into 10-cm (4-in) lengths. Arrange beef,
shirataki
noodles, tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, spinach, and leeks on a platter.

2
Pour Sesame Sauce into a small bowl and garnish with spring onions. Set aside.

3
Pour
ponzu
dipping sauce into a small bowl and garnish with grated
daikon
. Set aside.

4
At the table, place
1
¹
/
₂
liters (6 cups) water and
konbu
into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate and bring to a boil over medium heat, and just before it boils, remove and discard
konbu
.

5
Pour enough liquid over the ingredients in the casserole to almost cover and it let cook over low heat. Keep remaining liquid mixture hot over low heat.

6
Arrange ingredients in four small batches—vegetables,
shirataki
noodles, and tofu—into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate. Each person cooks his or her own beef by holding a slice with chopsticks or a fondue fork and swishing the beef in the simmering stock for 10 to 20 seconds, dipping the cooked beef in the sauce of choice and seasoning with salt, as desired. As the other ingredients cook, people help themselves from the cooking pot, dipping the hot food into the sauce of their choice. Replenish the platter with more ingredients as required until all food is cooked.

6
If serving udon noodles, when all the other ingredients are used up, cook them in the simmering liquid for 3 minutes. Ladle noodles into individual serving bowls.

Sesame Sauce
is made by blending 100 g (¾ cup) toasted white sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon miso, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons mirin, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sake, 6 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon prepared Japanese mustard and if desired, 3 tablespoons Basic Dashi Stock (page
4
). Stir well to mix.

Serves 4

Preparation time:
30 mins

Cooking time:
20 mins

Chicken One-pot
(Mitzutaki)

2 tablespoons uncooked rice grains

1 kg (2 lbs) chicken, debone and cut into bite-sized chunks

10-cm (4-in) piece
konbu
, wiped clean and cut into 4 strips

1 tablespoon sake

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 liters (8 cups) water

2 cups
ponzu
dipping sauce (page
3
)

120 g (½ cup) grated daikon

Pinch cayenne pepper

4 leaves Chinese cabbage, cut into small squares

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and tops scored

2 small leeks, rinsed and sliced diagonally

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

250 g (8 oz)
shirataki
noodles or glass noodles

300 g (10 oz) firm tofu, cubed

3 liters (3 quarts) water

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Seven-spice chilli powder (page
3
)

2 cups udon noodles (optional)

Kitchen string

Small piece of muslin or cheesecloth

1
Wrap rice in 10-cm (4-in) square piece muslin or cheesecloth and secure with string.

2
Place rice bag, chicken,
konbu
, sake, salt and sugar and the 2 liters (8 cups) water in a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. Just before it boils, remove and discard the
konbu
. Reduce heat to low and cook, occasionally skimming the surface to remove foam or debris, for about 20 minutes.

3
Meanwhile, divide the 2 cups
ponzu
dipping sauce into four small serving bowls. Mix daikon and cayenne pepper together and place in small bowl to serve as garnish. Arrange prepared vegetables,
shirataki
noodles and tofu on serving platter.

4
Remove and discard rice from the broth. Strain, reserving the liquid. Put the chicken into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate and pour the reserved broth over the chicken.

5
At the table, heat the chicken and broth until boiling. Arrange ingredients in four small batches—vegetables,
shirataki
noodles and tofu—into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate. When the ingredients in the hotpot are cooked, diners can remove cooked meat or vegetables from the hotpot.

6
Replenish the hotpot with remaining ingredients as necessary. Serve with seven-spice chilli powder, daikon, cayenne pepper mixture and lemon wedges to garnish. If serving udon noodles, when all the other ingredients are used up, cook them in the simmering liquid for 3 minutes. Ladle noodles into individual serving bowls.

Serves 4

Preparation time:
30 mins

Cooking time:
40 mins

Japanese Mixed Grill

For a successful grill, combine various types of meat—such as chicken, beef tenderloin, boneless lamb, calf, or chicken livers, and pork tenderloin, with seafood and vegetables.

4 large mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

500 g (1 lb) boneless beef, pork, or lamb, cut into cubes

8–10 prawns, peeled and deveined with tails intact

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded

2 bell peppers, seeds removed and cut into long strips

2 small leeks, rinsed and sliced

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in wedges

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced

2 ears corn, husked and quartered

1 eggplant, sliced

1 tablespoon oil

Sesame Sauce (see box)

1 quantity
Ponzu
dipping sauce (page
3
)

120 g (½ cups) daikon, grated

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons Seven-spice chilli powder (page
3
)

60 ml (¼ cup) prepared Japanese mustard

1
Arrange ingredients in four small batches on a serving platter, grouping meats and vegetables together.

2
At the table, brush the oil onto a flat heat-proof tabletop grill over medium heat, and add about one-quarter of each of the ingredients from the platter. Cook until desired doneness, 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Diners may use chopsticks to remove cooked meat or vegetable from the table-top vessel.

3
Replenish with remaining ingredients as needed. Serve with choice of sesame sauce,
ponzu
dipping sauce, grated daikon, spring onions, seven-spice chilli powder and mustard.

Sesame Sauce is made by blending 100 g (¾ cup) toasted white sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon miso, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons mirin, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sake, 6 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon prepared Japanese mustard and if desired, 3 tablespoons Basic Dashi Stock (page
4
). Stir well to mix.

Serves 4 to 6

Preparation time:
5 mins

Cooking time:
15 mins