Japanese Oishii Food

Tokyo Style Zoni (Mochi Soup)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:53:00 +0000

Zoni is mochi (rice cake) soup commonly eaten on New Year holidays.
Ingredients and cooking method of zoni differ from region to region.
This time, I show you Tokyo style zoni.
We place toasted mochi in small bowls and pour soy sauce tasted clear hot soup.

Ingredients ( for 4 )
-----for making dashi (soup stock)-----
5 cups ( 1 liter) water
10 g kombu (kelp) , wiped with damped kitchen towel
20 g katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
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4 blocks mochi
150 g boneless chicken thighs , cut into bite size and blanched in boiling water
150 g komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) , washed
(you can cook spinach instead)
8 slices kamaboko (steamed fish paste)
a tablespoon soy sauce
a tablespoon sake

Direction
-----(making dashi soup stock)-----
Bring the kombu and water to a saucepan.
Heat them at medium heat.
Remove kombu just before the water comes to a boil.
When the water comes to a boil , stop heating.
Add the katsuobushi to the water and restart heating.
When the water returns to a boil, stop heating.
Wait until katsuobushi start to sink.
Strain contents of the pan with kitchen paper , and reserve the liquid.
------------------------------------

Boil the komatsuna in boiling water with a pinch of salt.
Put the komatsuna in cold water too cool.
Squeeze out excess water from the komatsuna and cut into 4 cm length.
Heat the dashi at medium heat in a saucepan.
Add the chicken thighs to the dashi.
When the dashi comes to a boil, turn the heat to low.
Add the soy sauce and sake to the dashi.
Simmer them until the chicken thighs are cooked.
Toast the mochi with a oven toaster(or pan-fry with a non-stick pan without cooking oil) until the mochi puff up.
Place the mochi,chicken,komatsuna,kamaboko on each small bowls, and pour the soup on them.

Oyakodon

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:53:00 +0000

Oyakodon is a bowl of rice topped with simmered chicken and egg.
Japanese word, "Oyako,親子" means parents and child.
In the name of the dish, chicken is compared to parents, and egg is compared to child.

We usually simmer bite-size cut chicken and sliced onion in mildly sweet soy sauce based broth.
Add beaten egg to them, and simmer until egg start to harden.
Put them on hot rice in a bowl.
Finally, put nori or mitsuba-leaf on it.

Hina arare

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Hina arare is a traditional sweet for Japanese Girl's day (March 3rd).
On that day, families who have girl set dolls in their house and prepare special food to celebrate in hope of growth of girl in healthy.

Hina arare is popped rice coated with sugar.
Those colours, pink, white, and green are compared to peach blossom, remaining snow, and young grass ( fresh leaf) each.

Nabeyaki Udon

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:09:00 +0000

Udon is a Japanese noodle made from wheat flour.
Nabeyaki udon is a hot type udon dish made by simmering udon noodles with other ingredients in soy sauce taste broth.
Usually those are simmered in an earthen pot, and served.
Popular ingredients are shrimp tempura, kamaboko, egg, spinach, shiitake-mushroom, carrot, green onion(Japanese leek), etc.
Nabeyaki udon is popular in cold winter.

Horenso no Gomaae

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Horenso means spinach.
I have already introduced you "Horenso no shiraae" as a dressed food.

In this time, I introduce you other dressed dish of spinach.
This is boiled spinach dressed with sesame sauce.

We usually boil spinach in hot water.
Put it cold water.
Squeeze it, and mix it with sesame sauce which is made by mixing grounded sesame seeds, soy sauce, and sugar.

Hiyamugi

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:28:00 +0000

Hiyamugi is a Japanese thin noodle made of wheat flour.
Hiyamugi noodle is similar to "Somen noodle".
But hiyamugi noodle is slightly thicker than somen noodle in size.

HIyamugi is usually served in cold water with ice and some vegetables.
We take a bite full of noodles and dip in the dipping sauce, and eat.
Hiyamugi is nice in summer.

Yomogi Mochi

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Yomogi mochi is a traditional Japanese sweet which is also called "Kusa Mochi".

It is a mochi (glutinous rice cake) flavored with Japanese mugwort.

Usually it is stuffed with sweet red bean paste.

Yomogi is a Japanese herb.

It has a nice fresh fragrance.

Sekihan

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:11:00 +0000

Sekihan (赤飯) literally means red rice.
Sekihan is steamed mochi rice (glutinous rice) mixed with red beans.
Usually it is sprinkled with sesame seeds and salt after it is steamed.

Originally it is made by steaming with bamboo basket.
But, if we cook it at home, we usually cook it with rice cooker.

Sekihan is usually served on celebratory and congratulatory occasions.

Takenoko no tosa-ni

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:18:00 +0000

This is a simmered bamboo shoot with dried shaved bonito.
Takenoko means bamboo shoot.
Spring is nice season to have takenoko in Japan.
Tosa-ni is a type of simmered dish which has rich flavor of dried bonito.
Takenoko has nice texture and plain taste.
Dried bonito has rich taste.
This combination makes wonderful taste.

Sakura mochi (Domyoji mochi)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:39:00 +0000

I have already introduced you Tokyo style sakura mochi.
In this time, I introduce you kansai-area style sakura mochi.
It is called "Domyoji mochi.

Sweet red bean paste is covered with dough which is made from domyoji flour, sugar, food red and water, and wrapped with sakura (cherry blossom) leaf which is pickled in salt.
Domyoji flour is made by steaming mochi rice, later dried, and ground coarsely.

Sakura mochi (Chomeiji mochi)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:04:00 +0000

This is a Tokyo style sakura mochi.
Sakura means cherry blossom.
Sakura mochi is a Japanese traditional sweet.
It is pink dough and sweet red bean paste wrapped with sakura leaf.
We have two style of sakura mochi.
One is Tokyo style, and another is kansai area style.

In this time, I introduce you Tokyo style sakuramochi.
It is also called chomeiji mochi.
Sweet red bean paste is wrapped with fried dough and wrapped again with sakura leaf.
The dough is made from mochi rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, food red, and water.
The sakura leaf is pickled in salt, it has nice fragrance.

Rakkyo

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Rakkyo (rakkyo-zuke) is pickled Japanese shallots.
(We also call Japanese shallot "Rakkyo" )
Cleaned rakkyo(shallots) are pickled in the sauce which is made from water ,vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper.
usually, those are pickled around three weeks.
Rakkyo is well known healthy food.
Personally, I eat a few piece of rakkyo every day.
It is rich in mineral.
And, allyl sulfides which is included in rakkyo aid the absorption of vitamin B1.

Goma Dofu (Sesame Tofu)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:11:00 +0000

This is a traditional vegetarian dish (shojin-ryori).
Goma dofu looks like tofu.
"goma dofu" literally means sesame tofu.
( "goma" means sesame )
It is not made from soy bean.
Goma dofu is made from sesame seed , arrowroot flour, dashi-soup.

It has a rich taste and smooth texture.
We usually dip it with wasabi-jyou ( soy sauce mixed with wasabi ) and eat.

Aji no Nanban-zuke

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:47:00 +0000

"Nanban-zuke"(nanbanzuke) is a type of marinated dish.
It is made by marinating deep-fried fish ( or meat ) into vinegared sauce.

"Aji" means Japanese horse mackerel.
It is rich in DHA and EPA, it is a healthy food.

Cut filleted aji into around two bite size.
Coat them with wheat flour slightly, and deep-fry them.
marinate deep-fried aji into sauce which is made by mixing vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, dashi-soup, and red pepper.

Ikura no Gunkan-maki

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:43:00 +0000

This is a salmon roe sushi.
Ikura means salmon roe.
It has a rich taste.

Gunkan-maki(gunkanmaki) is a style of nigiri-zushi.
Hand formed sushi rice is surrounded with nori.
And Ikura is toped on the rice.
Nori works just like a wall, so ikura is set on the rice.

Kazunoko no Nigiri-zushi

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:32:00 +0000

Kazunoko means herring roe.
It is dried under the sun, or pickled in salt.
Those roes are very small, but adheres and became lump.
It has a pleasant unique texture.

This photo is herring roe sushi.
Herring roe is put on oblong shaped sushi rice which is formed by hand.
And those are bound with nori.

Hishi mochi

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Hishi mochi is a lozenge mochi (rice cake) which is prepare for girl 's day.

March 3rd is girl's day in Japan.

We call it "hina matsuri".

It is an event to celebrate in hope of the growth of girl in healthy.

Hishi mochi is formed three layers.

The third layer( green ) is kusa-mochi which is a rice cake flavored with mugwort.

Those three colours, pink, white and green , are compared to peach blossom, remaining snow and young grass( fresh leaf) each.

Buri no Teriyaki

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:28:00 +0000

This is a teriyaki buri (yellowtail).
Buri is a oily fish, so it is good for teriyaki.
Teriyaki buri has rich taste.
It is still delicious even it become cold.
So it is also good for bento.

In this time, I show you the way to cook teriyaki buri with frying-pan.
We usually marinate filleted buri in teriyaki-sauce which is made by mixing soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar.
Take buri and drain excess liquid.
Heat some salada oil in a frying-pan, and fry buri both side.
Pour teriyaki-sauce and simmer in low heat.

Mame Daifuku

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:05:00 +0000

Daifuku is a traditional Japanese sweet which is also called "Daifuku Mochi".
Daifuku is a mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet red bean paste.
It has rounded shape and usually slightly coated with potato starch.

Mame daifuku is a one of variety of daifuku.
It is a daifuku which mix beans with mochi.

Chikuzen ni

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:02:00 +0000

This is a regional simmered dish of kyusyu region.
But in these days, it is cooked all over Japan.

Chikuzen-ni is also called "Gameni".
It has rich taste.
Because many vegetables are sauteed and simmered with chicken.

We usually heat a little of oil in a pan.
Put bite size cut chicken pieces , and stir-fry them.
Put vegetables (carrot, lotus root, burdock, taro, shiitake etc.) and konnyaku, and continue to stir-fry them.
Put soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and dashi-soup.
Simmer them with skimming scum that rise the surface.

Tori no Tatsuta-age

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:53:00 +0000

This is a Japanese deep-fried chicken.
("tatsuta-age" means a Japanese deep-fried technic.)

It is similar to "Tori no kara-age".
Different point of them are
(1) In case of tatsuta-age chicken, chicken pieces are soaked in sauce, before those are coated with potato starch.

(2)In case of tatsuta-age, chicken pieces are coated with potato starch.
In case of kara-age, chicken pieces are coated with potato starch or wheat flour.

(3)tatsuta-age chicken is not cooked with garlic.

So I think tatsuta-age chicken is more Japanese.

We usually cut chicken leg into bite size.
Put chicken pieces into sauce which is mixed with soy sauce, sake and grated ginger( or ginger juice), and keep it around in 20 min.
Take chicken pieces out, and dry them with paper towel.
Coat them with potato starch, and deep-fry.

Unohana (Sauteed Okara)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:05:00 +0000

Okara is a left after making soy milk.
But it is a nutritious food.
Okara is also known as excellent diet food.
Because it is low in fat and rich in fiber.

We usually stir-fry okara in a pan without oil, and take out okara from the pan.
Heat a little of salada oil in the pan.
Stir-fry some vegetables and other ingredients such as carrot, shiitake-mushroom, spinatch, green beans, aburaage , konnyaku and sakuraebi(small dried shrimp) in the pan.
Add okara(stir-fried), soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, dashi-soup to the pan.
And simmer them with stirring until liquid is gone.

We usually have it as side dish.

Hoshigaki (Dried persimmon)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Hoshigaki is a traditional Japanese dried fruit.
It is very sweet and delicious.
Astringent persimmon can't be eaten as fresh.
But astringent persimmon becomes very sweet by drying it.
And it is not astringent after drying.
White powder on the surface is a crystal of glucide of the persimmon.

Ｔori no Teriyaki (Teriyaki Chicken)

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:01:00 +0000

Teriyaki chicken is a popular teriyaki dish.
It is loved by wide generation.
And I think it is good for bento, because it is still delicious even if it get cold.

We usually marinate chicken in teriyaki sauce which is made by mixing soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar.
Fry marinated chicken on frying-pan until brown.
Pour teriyaki sauce and cook chicken in low heat.
( Personally, I like to sprinkle white sesame seeds on chicken.)

Buri no Sashimi

noreply@blogger.com (nobu) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:50:00 +0000

This is a yellowtail ( Japanese amberjack ) sashimi.

Name of yellowtail in Japanese changes as it grows up.
Actually, the name of the fish are diffirent with size.
We usually call yellowtail "Buri" when it is more than 80cm long.

Buri is oily and has rich taste.
Especially, It is very oily and delicious in winter.
Buri is good for sashimi.