Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional (23 page)
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Authors: Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner
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BOOK: Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional
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Stewed Daikon with Sweet Miso Sauce
Furofuki Daikon
Miso Dengaku
cup mild white or light brown miso (not dark red or dark brown)
Abura-age to Daikon no “Happa no Itamemono
cup
dashi
(stock)
U-no-hana
Enoki no Saka-Mushi (or) Enoki no Shiro-Wine Mushi
¾ to 1 whole, very thick, foot-long daikon (Skinny daikon will not do.)
Water from rinsing white rice (Oh, well, it won’t hurt to have white rice once in a while!)
Cut the daikon into 2-inch-thick rings. With a sharp paring knife, peel each ring. Place in a pot and cover completely with the milky white water from the first rinsing of white rice. (This is most convenient if you will be cooking rice for dinner too). Cover tightly and simmer gently for 1½ to 2 hours. (The fatter the daikon, the longer you will want to cook it.) When the daikon rings are absolutely tender, remove and place in individual serving dishes. Top with
Miso Dengaku
(Sweet Miso Sauce, next page) and serve immediately.
Miso Dengaku
(Sweet Miso Sauce, next page) and serve immediately.
This is a classic example of a wonderful Japanese dish that is made with the simplest and fewest ingredients, and yet succeeds in celebrating the virtue of a particular vegetable. Thick rounds of daikon radish are simmered for a couple of hours in the milky water from washing white rice. This renders them tender to the point of practically melting in your mouth. The rounds are topped with dengaku, a sweet miso sauce that is featured in other dishes as well. This is definitely cold weather food.
Yield: 6 servings
Sweet Miso Saucecup mild white or light brown miso (not dark red or dark brown)¼ cup FruitSource, evaporated cane juice, or sugar
1 tablespoon sake
¾ cup Konbu
Dashi
(Konbu Stock), page 54 or water
Dashi
(Konbu Stock), page 54 or water
Combine all the ingredients and stir. If using evaporated cane juice, I recommend that you combine it with the stock or water and heat it briefly to dissolve it first before combining with the other ingredients.
Yield: about 1
¼
cups
Braised Daikon Greens with Aburage¼
cups
1 tablespoon sesame or canola oil
Approximately 3 cups thinly sliced daikon greens (a healthy bunch from 1 daikon)
2 pieces
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), thinly sliced
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), thinly sliced
cupdashi
(stock)
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the daikon greens and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), and continue to saute. When it begins to stick to the pan, add the
dashi
(stock), soy sauce, and sake, and simmer for a few minutes until tender.
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), and continue to saute. When it begins to stick to the pan, add the
dashi
(stock), soy sauce, and sake, and simmer for a few minutes until tender.
The tops of daikon radishes are quite tasty and nutrient-rich if you are lucky enough to find them—perhaps at a farmers’ market or Asian grocery store.
Yield: 4 servings
Stewed Okara with Vegetables1½ cups
dashi
(stock)
dashi
(stock)
¼ cup or more soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sake
2 teaspoons brown rice syrup, FruitSource, maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, or sugar
1 tablespoon oil
½ leek, or 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
3 cups packed okara
1 cup green peas
5 to 6 dried shiitake, reconstituted and thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks ½ inch long
1 piece
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), thinly sliced
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), thinly sliced
Combine the
dashi
(stock) with the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sweetener. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the leek and saute momentarily. Add the okara, shiitake, carrot,
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), and the
dashi
(stock) mixture, and stir well. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
dashi
(stock) with the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sweetener. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the leek and saute momentarily. Add the okara, shiitake, carrot,
abura-age
(fried tofu pouches), and the
dashi
(stock) mixture, and stir well. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The flavors should be well combined. Most of the liquid will evaporate so that the okara will have about the same moisture level as it did at the start. Add more soy sauce or mirin to taste. (It should be savory with a touch of sweetness).
Okara, the fluffy white by-product of tofu production, is largely used to feed livestock. If you ever end up with any from making your own soymilk or tofu, or are able to procure it from a tofu manufacturer or Japanese grocer, try making this traditional Japanese country-style dish.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Enoki Mushrooms with Sake or White Wine3½ ounces enoki mushrooms
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dry sake or white wine
Salt, to taste
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Trim the bottom ½ inch off the enoki mushrooms. Break into 2 or 3 clumps, and place in a small baking dish. Drizzle on the olive oil and sake, and sprinkle with salt. Cover with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
A simple appetizer popular in Japanese drinking establishments, delicate enoki mushrooms are baked with a sprinkling of sake or white wine, and traditionally, butter. I have substituted extra-virgin olive oil. A dry sake is preferable to a sweeter one for this dish
.
Yield: 2 servings
Meals in a Bowl
Donburi
D
onburi
covers a class of filling, homey dishes that are all constructed in large, individual bowls. (
Donburi
means bowl.) Colorfully decorated bowls are filled with rice and topped with a range of savory toppings. They constitute a one-bowl meal accompanied by a smaller bowl of miso soup and are generally very simple to make. Many classic dishes have a donburi counterpart—sukiyaki can top a donburi of rice to form
sukiyaki-donburi
, or tempura can be transformed into
tendon
. Even raw tuna can top rice to become
tekka-don
. (Of course there is no vegetarian counterpart to this one!) One of the most famous is
oyako-donburi
, which means “parent and child” donburi. It is made with chicken and egg. In this chapter, I’ve replicated it with a delicious vegan version and present it along with a few other interesting bowls of rice.
onburi
covers a class of filling, homey dishes that are all constructed in large, individual bowls. (
Donburi
means bowl.) Colorfully decorated bowls are filled with rice and topped with a range of savory toppings. They constitute a one-bowl meal accompanied by a smaller bowl of miso soup and are generally very simple to make. Many classic dishes have a donburi counterpart—sukiyaki can top a donburi of rice to form
sukiyaki-donburi
, or tempura can be transformed into
tendon
. Even raw tuna can top rice to become
tekka-don
. (Of course there is no vegetarian counterpart to this one!) One of the most famous is
oyako-donburi
, which means “parent and child” donburi. It is made with chicken and egg. In this chapter, I’ve replicated it with a delicious vegan version and present it along with a few other interesting bowls of rice.
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