HAPPY DONABE LIFE - Mrs. Donabe's Rustic Japanese Kitchen

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Take out foods from Kyoto

2013-06-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

(Friday, June 7)

I checked out the hotel in the morning, and spent some time for grocery shopping before taking a Shinkansen express train back to Tokyo.

Back home with family, we enjoyed my food souvenirs from Kyoto for dinner. The traditional pressed sushi by Izuu since 1781. They were saba (mackerel) and tai (snapper). The vinegar-seasoned kelp is used for preservation purpose without refrigeration. To eat, you remove the kelp wrap and just bite into it. Old wisdom makes wonderful flavored sushi.

Grilled and seasoned hamo, yuba (tofu skin) sashimi, and Kyoto-style kamaboko (fish cakes).

They were all really nice with 2010 Simon di Brazzan, Blanc di Simon (Friuli). 100% Friulano.

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Private "kaiseki" cooking class at 350-year-old restaurant

2013-06-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

(Thursday, June 6)

While Kyle had a full day "stage" at Kikunoi today, I had a special private cooking class at a traditional Kyoto kaiseki restaurant.

　　　
Harise in Gojo District was established in 1659 during early Edo Period. Now the restaurant is run by 12th generation owner chef, Morimoto-san.

　
I thought I was going to have to put on an apron and start cooking as soon as I arrived. But instead, I was taken to a private room for a full kaiseki course meal to enjoy before the cooking class!

First courses were all very classic Kyoto-style dishes, including poached hamo (pike eel) and sashimi, etc.

Then, there were also dishes with some Western essence. Foie gras and avocado egg custard, and steak with black vinegar sauce.

Back to very classic Kyoto dishes...Kamo-nasu (Kyoto's traditional eggplant) light stew was followed by grilled ayu fish. Ayu was so fresh, and I enjoyed from head to tail in such a short time. The final savory course was "suppon zosui" (soft shell turtle porridge). There were generous chunks of suppon in the soup. So flavorful.

Desserts. After the fruits, I had cold "kuzu manju" (dumpling of arrow root dough, filled with sweet azuki bean paste), and "usu-cha" (whisked hot matcha drink).

Wonderful lunch!

I could've totally just taken a nap after such a luxurious meal, but with a little rest the cooking class has began in a room next door.

The first thing I learned was hamo (pike eel)! It's Kyoto's very seasonal delicacy. The 12th generation chef owner, Morimoto-san, first showed me how to clean the hamo (pike eel) fish. He said the fish was alive just 10 minutes ago, so it was extremely fresh.

Hamo is known for many, many tiny bones. Therefore, you need to do "hone-kiri", which is to slice the bones by making tiny incisions (at about only 1 mm apart intervals!). It was such a delicate and tedious work, but I really enjoyed and learned so much. As soon as I finished "hone-kiri", the fish was cut into smaller pieces and poached for 10 seconds. My first poached hamo fish tasted so wonderful!

The next technique was to skewer hamo (after "hone-nuki") and broil it. After the chef showed me how, I did the whole process myself. It came out really nice!

The vegetable course was Kyoto's traditional Kamo nasu (eggplant). They were so round and firm. He showed me how to make traditional stuffed "dengaku" (miso flavored) Kamo nasu. I did it myself after his demonstration. Because this particular eggplant is so firm, the process of slicing the eggplant meat out was quite difficult and nerve-wracking especially with the super sharp chef's knife!

Kamo nas was deep fried, stuffed, and baked in the oven. The dish was ready and tasted so nice!

Morimoto-san was so kind and I really enjoyed learning from him. He even gave me 20 pages of printed out recipes of different sauces and dishes, which have been passed on in the restaurant. This packet is going to be my bible!!

After I said good-bye, I walked to Ginkaku-ji temple to renew my good luck charm ("omamori").

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Wild plant kaiseki dinner at Sojiki Nakahigashi

2013-06-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

(Wednesday, June 5)

Just a stone-throw away from Robert-san's home was a restaurant we had a reservation at near Ginkakuji.

It's Sojiki Nakahigashi, which is one of the hardest restaurants to book a table in Kyoto and known for its unique "kaiseki" cuisine made from wild plants and flowers.

The owner chef, Nakahigashi-san, goes to a mountain every morning to harvest seasonal wild plants and herbs to use in his dishes. His culinary skills, concept, hospitality, and sense of humor (!) are all top notch.

Dishes with all the seasonal sensitivity. I was totally blown away.

Nakahigashi-san cooks rice in donabe set in a large "kamado" stove. He is probably the only chef in the world who let each customer taste "nie-bana" rice right out of the pot right at the moment. "Nie-bana" is the stage where the firm rice grains just turns to soft "al dente" texture. What a great experience.
After the "Nie-bana", we waited for a little while for the rice to be fully cooked and served with grilled sardine, etc. At the end of the rice course, he even gave us "okoge", which is the crust part on the bottom of the pot!

We enjoyed both sake and wine selections at Nakahigashi. They don't have a written list, so it's good to ask Nakahigashi-san for his personal recommendation to pair with coming dishes. Domaine Taillandier's Savennieres was special barrel select for Sojiki Nakahigashi, and Muscat Bailey-A from Yamanashi was also a special selection for Sojiki Nakahigashi and the label was designed by Nakahigashi-san.

We left the restaurant with the ultimate satisfaction in both body and mind. As we were walking out of the restaurant, Nakahigashi-san ran after to catch us and gave us a little packages of sweet snack, made from soba. How sweet!!

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Kaikado tea caddy and Robert Yellin "Yakimono" collection

2013-06-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

(Wednesday, June 5)

Our next stop was Kaikado, which is the oldest tea caddy producer in Japan and the family has been specialized in artisan tea caddies over a century.

Taka-san, the family’s youngest generation caddy master kindly hosted our visit and first showed us their product lineup in their showroom.

We were guided to their back entrance to visit and have a tour of their workshop. It was very interesting to see and learn the process of making traditional caddies.

We also met Taka-san’s father, who was busy working on his masterpiece. To make each caddy, there are about 130 steps in the process. Taka-san said they produce average only 60 caddies per week. He also said if they finish 10 in one day, it’s their lucky day. Wow. True pieces of art!

Taka also took us to a cookie shop right around the corner from there. It's a tiny shop called, Miyake Seika, situated right by Takasegawa River, and two ladies make very rustic cookies (raisin kind and soba flour kind) all day. They don't even have a shop front. So, we just knocked on the door and bought directly from their kitchen. I got Raisin Pasan. "Pasan" a type of traditional Japanese-style hard cookies, and the name is derived from English "buns". How cool, and the cookies were so rustic and tasty.

From Gojo district, we took a taxi all the way near Ginkakuji, to visit Mr. Robert Yellin, who is a renowned pottery (“yakimono”) collector in Japan and owns a gallery of true artistic pieces. He and his wife live in a beautiful historic house on the hillside. Originally from Southern California, Robert-san has been living in Japan more than 3 decades.

He kindly showed some of his pottery collection. These are all one-of-a-kind hand-crafted potteries from premium pottery-making regions all over Japan. His knowledge and passion for Japanese pottery were so incredible!

We had a wonderful time talking about many things with him.

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Making traditional "Kyo-gashi" at Kameya Yoshinaga

2013-06-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

(Wednesday, June 5)

In the afternoon, we arrived at Kyoto's artisan "Kyo-gashi" (Kyoto-style confectionary) maker, Kamaya Yoshinaga.

We met Yoshimura-san, who is the master "Kyo-gashi" artisan of this historic producer since 1803. In front of the entrance, there is a well. Over 200 years, Kameya Yoshinaga has been using the pure water from underground for confectionary making.

We put on their uniform and entered the production area.

He gave us a special private lesson of "Kyo-gashi" making. He showed us the finished samples of the items we were going to make. I was fascinated by all the artistic details in these almost simple looking pieces.

We started with "Kizato" (pure sugar confectionary) making. Master Yoshimura-san first demonstrated the process. All his precise hand movements were just so impressive.

After his demonstration, Kyle and I tried to make each other's own from scratch. It required so much focus and I started to sweat! Eventually, I finished. The top piece is Master Yoshimura's piece, and the bottom two are mine. The difference between the master and amateur is too obvious. But, I enjoyed it a lot.

The next one was "Joyo Manju", which is a traditional sweet dumpling to be served at a tea ceremony. First, we made the dough from scratch. We used Kyoto's local "Tsukune Imo" (type of mountain yam), which was like a thick solid rock. We grated peeled "tsukune imo" until very fine. It was a lot of work. Then, the yam was mixed with sugar and pounded intensively. Once the texture was smooth enough, the gooey piece was picked up and stretched by hands over and over. It was a fun part.

We got the sweet azuki bean paste ready by dividing into small pieces. Each piece was 25 grams. The dough was further knead by mixing with rice flour. We wrapped each piece of azuki bean paste by the finished dough.

We painted the surface of the dumplings and they were ready to steam for 9 minutes.

Once the dumplings were out of the steamer, bottom of each was quickly baked in a copper pan. 3 different kinds of iron stamps were heated over the burner. We branded these dumplings one by one.

Finally ready! What a challenging process, but it was so much fun. We got to take home all the dumplings we made.

After the apprenticeship session, we were treated to beautiful Kyo-gashi and usu-cha for a break.

Great experience!

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)..."Fu" experience at Fuka

2013-06-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

(Wednesday, June 5)

It was another hot sunny day in Kyoto.

We walked to FUKA, which is an artisan "Fu" producer of 6 generations near Kyoto Imperial Palace. They have been making "Fu" over 130 years at the same location and also caters to the Imperial Court since before it shifted from Kyoto to Tokyo. We met Mr. Shuichiro Kobori, who is the present master of this artisan "fu" family, and he gave us a tour of the production.

"Fu" is a Japanese traditional wheat gluten food, and it's a traditional ingredient in Kyoto cuisine. While "Fu" has been important part of the high culture of Kyoto's unique cuisine, and gives elegance and flavor to "Kaiseki Ryori". It also have been used in "Shojin" (Buddhist-style temple vegan) cuisine as well as in traditional tea ceremony.

To make "nama-fu", sweet rice flour is added to pure gluten, so the texture is smooth and chewy, rather than spongy like 100% gluten "fu".

When we got there, they were in the middle of making yomogi (mugwort) nama-fu.

Kobori-san let us try making "fu" manju, which is red bean paste stuffed "nama-fu" dumpling, with them.

Fried and braised "fu" was so meaty.

Decorative "nama-fu" was cooked and removed right out of a mold.

We walked around to the other entrance to their guest room.

These are the "fu manju" dumplings which I made, and they were just cooked, quickly chilled, and wrapped in bamboo leaves. They tasted so nice!

Fuka also owns Kajitsu in NYC. It's my favorite shojin (Japanese temple-style vegan) restaurant, so Koborisan travels to NYC at least once a year. We had a nice time talking with him about his restaurant as well as his historic shop.

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Dinner at Kikunoi

2013-06-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

(Tuesday, June 4)

Our second night in Kyoto was a special dinner at Kikunoi.

At the foot of Higashiyama Mountain Range, this world-famous Kyoto kaiseki cuisine restaurant has its main house.

We were escorted to a beautiful private room with a wide window. The owner chef, Murata-san, came to our room to personally welcome us! He is a very good friend with Kyle and also his mentor. Kyle gave a gift, which is a beautiful yuzu chocolate by Hudoson Chocolates. Murata-san loved it. He sat with us to chat before dinner. He was so sweet, funny, and charismatic.

Our special seasonal kaiseki dinner began.

Assortment of appetizers: glazed Kamo river goby; flowering cucumber, barley miso; egg yolk pickled in white miso; octopus roe; brook shrimp; Wakasa tilefish and cucumber roll; jade eggplant

Wine-poached green ume plum, white wine sorbet

Sashimi of tai snapper and prawn, yellow Chinese chive, curled cucumber, wasabi
Sashimi of blanched hamo (pike conger eel), pickled ume puree

Hiryozu (tofu dumpling) stuffed with anago (sea eel), lily bulb, wood ear mushroom and carrot, green beans, kinome herb sauce
Tomato sorbet, aloe

Salt-grilled ayu (sweetfish), sauteed fuki (coltsfoot stalk), water grass vinegar

Duck breast, taro, blanched taro stalk, baby okra, mustard

Chilled turtle custard, turtle soup gelee, poached shrimp, cucumber, thread-cut green onion, thread-cut fresh ginger

Abalone, uni, and wakame seaweed baked in salt, abalone liver sauce, salted sudachi lime juice

New ginger rice with fried tofu and mitsuba herb; pickled radish and sesame seeds, cucumber and eggplant pickled in rice bran; new onion soup, red Manganji pepper, baby onion, shichimi togarashi (seven spice) powder

Agar jelly, rice flour dumplings, azuki beans, musk melon, pelican mango, cherries

The real elegant kaiseki cuisine...we enjoyed every moment.

Walking after dinner felt so nice.

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Unagi lunch to miso tasting

2013-06-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

(Tuesday, June 4)

We walked down to Gion for a quick lunch.

The gate of the pathway to the entrance was so tiny and easy to miss. But, once we got to the door, I could smell the appetizing grilled eel.

Fresh eels are fabricated and cooked to order. They do the traditional Kansai (western Japan) style grilled eel - i.e. an eel is sliced open from the belly side, and not steamed prior to getting grilled. I had a grilled eel rice bowl, topped with thinly-sliced egg crepe. I enjoyed the simple and rustic dish.

In the afternoon, we visited Honda Miso Honten and met Junya-san, who is the 5th generation of the family-owned miso maker. Honda Miso's history is the history of Saikyo Miso, which is Kyoto's traditional sweet white miso.

They gave us tasting of different kinds of miso they make. Simply fantasting. Junya-san told us for their "su-miso" (vinegar-seasoned miso), they use Murayama Zosu's Chidori-su!

Wonderful elegant Kyoto experience.

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Vinegar experience at Murayama Zosu

2013-06-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

(Tuesday, June 4)

We started our day at Murayama Zosu, which is a traditional rice vinegar maker since early 18th century. Their vinegar, "Chidori-su", is used by a number of top level Kyoto restaurants including Micheline 3-star Kikunoi Honten.

As soon as we got to their building, we could smell their vinegar!

The president, Murayama-san, kindly hosted our visit during his busy schedule. He gave us a presentation about their vinegar making.

Then, he gave us a tour of the production area. I got to taste their vinegar in different stages of production. I learned so much in this visit and had a great time.

Now I see why Chidori-su vinegar tastes so special!

Back in Japan (Kyoto - June 2013)...Wild first night in Kyoto

2013-06-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

(Monday, June 3)

From Iga via Sugi Gohei farm in Osaka, we arrived in Kyoto safely.

After dropping off stuff at the hotel, we visited Kochosai Kosuga shop to meet Kosuga-san. It's a traditional Kyoto-style bamboo craft producer for 5 generations. He showed us beautiful products...I wanted everything!

The first night in Kyoto in this trip was my regular spot, which is an old house-turned-restaurant by Takasegawa Canal. The chef and my friend, Matsumoto-san, gave us a wonderful hospitality again.

I don't remember how many courses we had...we enjoyed seasonal Kyoto-style dishes. Fried ayu fish was especially nice.

It turned out to be a fun party night. One of his long-time patrons invited shamisen player and geisha. We had a toast with Champagne and their performance started.

Such a fun time with traditional entertainment.

The night didn't end at the restaurant. Afterwards, we went out with the performers to a bar in Gion.

We had a private party there! What a crazy night...we partied until 2 am.

Back in Japan (Osaka - June 2013)...Farm lunch at Sugi Gohei in Osaka

2013-06-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

(Monday, June 3)

After spending a night in Iga, we rented a car and headed to Kyoto in the morning. We drove through countryside with the beautiful mountain and river.

On our way, we stopped by at a historic farm, called Sugi Gohei, for lunch.

This widely spread hillside land in a quiet suburb of Osaka has been cultivated by farmers since late 15th century. The current generation owner of the farm focuses on organic sustainable farming, and he also started serving meals for visitors by using all the ingredients grown in the farm about 40 years ago. Back then, there was no such concept of "farm restaurant" in Japan, so Sugi Gohei is the pioneer of it and the real "farm to table" restaurant with the sustainable farming.

A farm's staff member kindly gave us a tour of the farm. It was so nice to walk around the farm and see all the fruits vegetables grown there. "Gumi" (silver berry) was just in season, and we got to taste them right out the the tree. So sweet and tangy, and very nice.

I was truly fascinated by all what I saw.

Donkeys are the core of the sustainable farming cycle at this farm. Compost to grow vegetables is made from donkeys' feces.

After the tour of the farm, it was lunch time. We sat right by the window above a pond.

"Oyaki" buns were first brought to our table. They are made from rice flour. We had bamboo shoot and burdock leaf stuffings. Then our main plates arrived...they were basketful of all the seasonal vegetables and fruits, grown in the farm. The plate was so satisfying, but that was not the end! The main plate was followed by the "Onishime" buffet-style rustic cooked items in a separate room. Any leftovers are collected in a separate bucket to be used as feeding for donkeys.

The very rustic and simple dishes gave me such a luxurious experience...because it was like experiencing the entire farm by taste.

Very natural and very special experience.

Back in Japan (June 2013)...Special Donabe Night in Iga

2013-06-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

(Sunday, June 2)

My trip to Iga & Kyoto started today.

To go to Iga from Tokyo, first I took Shinkansen (bullet train) "Nozomi" from Tokyo Station to Nagoya Station. I picked up yuba (tofu skin) & long hijiki seaweed salad, and "katsu sando" (pork filet cutlet sandwich) to eat in the train for lunch. This very simple "katsu sando" by Maisen has been a popular take out sandwich for more than 4 decades and always has a soft spot in me. Oishii~. Once I got to Nagoya Station, I walked to a express bus terminal and took a bus to Iga.

In Iga, I met Kyle, who just flew from New York to Osaka yesterday and took a morning bus to Iga today. He has been a great friend of mine since I moved to LA 12 years ago. He is a super talented and internationally respected chef. Our special visit to Nagatani-en in Iga was going to begin.

Here we are. We arrived at historic Nagatani-en, home of the most authentic Iga-yaki donabe. It's been almost 2 years since my last visit, and I was so excited to see the family. For Kyle, it was his very first time to come here, so his excitement was sky high!

No matter how many times I come here, it makes me feel like I time travelled to a sacred place in a historic time. The view, smell, and all the nature surrounding Nagatani-en's property is so precious and timeless.

The entire Nagatani family welcomed us...It was so wonderful to be back and see them again! They are like my second family. The chairman, Mr. Yuji Nagatani, and his wife, Takako, looked great and even younger than 2 years ago. The family invited us to a family-style donabe dinner at their 200-year-old "Omoya" house.

Dinner was made mostly with local ingredients. The first course included squid and ikura with okra salad, and donabe-smoked Iga pork. Sizzling tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", was big clams, seasoned with sake.

Kenken Katsuo (bonito) sashimi came straight from Kishu, Wakayama. Super fresh and tender.

With donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", seasonal pike eel ("hamo") was steamed along with local sweet onion, Kyoto carrot and cabbage.

With Iga-yaki grill, "Yaki Yaki San", we grilled Iga Beef...one of my local favorites! What's so special about Iga Beef is it's so tender and perfectly marbled with so much flavor, while it's not too fatty.

Iga Rice, cooked in double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san". Two kinds of rice was served...one was plain, and the other was cooked with green myoga, chicken, and abura-age. The rice was just perfectly cooked and each grain was so shiny and so perfect. The rice course was served with clam miso soup, made in soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe", and light pickles. I forgot to take a picture of the miso soup! It was so good that I had a second serving of it. The rice course was followed by seasonal cherries and loquat.

We also shared a surprise dessert, which Kyle brought all the way from New York. It was a beautiful chocolate in a shape of whole yuzu. Inside was yuzu cream. Everybody gathered around Kyle and watched him doing the slicing with curiosity and excitement.

The most amazing, and true Iga-style "omotenashi" donabe dinner. It's all about sharing. We were so honored to be there to spend time with Nagatani family.

Extremely happy donabe life.

Back in Japan (June 2013)..."Evolve with the Forest" lunch at Narisawa

2013-06-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

(Friday, May 31)

I came back to Tokyo Thursday evening.

The next morning, I was feeling great with little jet lag. I was very excited, because my sister had made a reservation for her, mom, and myself at Narisawa in Aoyama for lunch. I had a very small lunch and was ready to enjoy the special meal there. Since the beginning of this year, they serve the same tasting course for lunch and dinner. So, I was excited to experience the real "full version" for this lunch.

The tasting course was titled as "Evolve with the Forest". Our tasting adventure of the "forrest" began. We had a toast with Vilmart, Champagne Grand Cellier Brut, "Selection Narisawa" Premier Cru. It was a special cuvee, made especially for Narisawa (2 barrels/ year). 70% PN, and 30% Ch. Very elegant.

The first course already and completely blew my mind. The dish was named "Essence of Forest".

I thought this was a mousse at first. It was actually bread dough including kinome herb and slowly heated to rise. Once the dough was almost overflowing from the glass cup, it was time to bake.

It was baked in a hot stone pot at the table and served with a "moss" butter (coated with black olive dust and sprayed with parsley chlorophyl, along with two other kinds of bread.

Ayu fish and onion fritter in charcoal crust. They were followed by "Spring garden" with asparagus and butter sautéed oyster...super plump and sweet.

Charcoal-grilled squid with red bell pepper "ash" sauce, flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. The cold powdered "ash" starts to marry with the other sauce on the bottom and it created such a beautifully mysterious effect. Fried blowfish ("fugu") from Hagi, Yamaguchi...very Japanese-style dish.

"Luxury Essence 2007" Lobster in a broth, which was infused with Chinese jinhua ham and pork shoulder for 6 hours. Ama-dai snapper from Hagi, Yamaguchi, with butterbur stalk sauce.

"Charcoal 2009" Hida Beef. One of the best beef dishes I had in my life. It was served with Junmai Daiginjo sake granita.

Salty dog and kudzu-mochi dessert with sake-kasu sauce.

Last dessert selection.

Wine selection was superb, too.

With my limited English vocabulary, all I can say is that the entire 3.5-hour meal was shockingly amazing. I think while the expression of "taste with five senses" has been overly used lately, this meal was what this expression is truly worth or even beyond. Every dish, every bite, and every moment was real joy and wonderful surprise. I want to repeat this experience over and over if I could!

Santa Maria BBQ Grill Kick-off…Memorial Day Salmon Dinner Party

2013-06-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

A few friends came over and we hosted a dinner party on Memorial Day last Monday.

It was also the kick off dinner of ouf Santa Maria BBQ grill this year.

One of our friends made an awesome crostini combo appetizer. They were edamame-miso hummus topping and goat cheese strawberry topping. Perfect start. Then, we also had my creamy corn & kabocha potage, which was made in soup & stew donabe, “Miso-shiru Nabe”. I served it chilled this time in the patio.

Since I got half of a super fresh 21-pound (about 10 kg) fresh Atlantic salmon from a fish market, I decided to do "Salmon 3 Ways" this time. So, here are my 3 salmon courses.

Salmon gravlax...I cured a thick block in salt-dill marinade for 48 hours and thinly-sliced to serve on a bed of donabe steam-roasted (in tagine style donabe, "Fukkura-san") kabu (Japanese turnip) and shaved fennel bulb.

Salmon "toro" (fatty belly) was marinated in my homemade 2-year aged miso & amazake based paste for 2 days. Very nicely marinated.

The salmon belly was wrapped in foil with Kujo negi (Kyoto-style green onion with large tender green part), shimeji mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and a little butter.

Then, it was cooked on Santa Maria BBQ Grill until just done. Wow...quite decadent and super rich and nice.

With a thick cut, I seasoned it simply with yuzu shichimi salt and cooked on a cedar plan on the grill. Very nice.

Along with a power salad dish, I also grilled asparagus and satsuma sweet potato. Main courses were also served with (of course!) donabe rice. I made brown and black rice mix in double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".

Another friend of mine brought a special dessert. She made pinapple mousse cake...unbelievable! It had a subtle scent of thyme, and so delicate and elegant.

What a perfect way to kick off our Santa Maria BBQ Grill season with the best company.

Donabe Soup Recipe...Creamy Corn and Kabocha Potage (vegan recipe)

2013-05-31T22:05:00.001-07:00

As the summer is getting closer, I find more fresh and sweeter corn in the market.

With fresh corn and kabocha, I like making simple potage. It’s a complete vegan dish and I make it with my soup & stew donabe, “Miso-shiru Nabe”.

After sautéing sweet onion, ginger and garlic in olive oil, cubed kabocha pumpkin is added, followed by vegetable stock. Once the broth starts simmering, corn is added (save some to add later).

When kabocha becomes tender, the entire components in donabe are transferred to a blender (I like to use Vitamix for the very smooth result), and pureed along with some Saikyo miso (sweet white miso), shio-koji, and white pepper.

The soup is transferred back to Miso-shiru Nabe, and saved remaining corn is added and heated through. That’s it. To serve, just drizzle a small amount of very fine olive oil and sprinkle some white pepper.

The flavor is so pure, sweet, and just wonderfully packed with corn and mild kabocha. You can serve it hot or cold. Here’s my recipe.

Creamy Corn and Kabocha Potage

Ingredinets: (serve 8 – 10)

1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ medium sweet onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small knob, ginger, minced
1/6 medium kabocha, peeled and cut into cubes
3 cups (750 ml) vegetable stock
4 ears corn, sliced off from cobs
2 tablespoons Saikyo miso (sweet white miso)
1 tablespoon shio-koji (can be substituted with 1 teaspoon salt)
some white pepper
some very fine olive oil

Procedure:

In “Miso-shiru Nabe”, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until the onion is very soft (about 5 minutes). Add the kabocha and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the vegetable stock. Turn the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer.
Add all the corn except for 1 cup (240 ml). Simmer until the kabocha is cooked through (about 5 minutes). Turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Transfer the content to a blender. Add the miso, shio-koji, and some white pepper. Blend until smooth.
Transfer the blended mixture back to “Miso-shiru Nabe”. Add the remaining corn and bring to simmer over medium-heat. Simmer for a few minutes.
Serve into individual soup bowls and with some drizzle of fine olive oil and sprinkle of white pepper.

*You can also transfer to a different container and refrigerate to serve it cold.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe temple-style hot pot dish..."Shojin Nabe"

2013-05-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

With just two main ingredients...mushrooms and friend tofu pouch ("abura-age"), you can make a wonderful healthy one pot donabe hot pot meal.

This is a "Shojin", or buddhist temple-style vegan dish. It's a regular dish at my home, because it tastes so soothing and nice. For this dish, I use Kyoto-style shallow donabe, "Kyoto Ame-yu".

Just combine the ingredients in the donabe and heat.

Add some kabu or other green leaves right before serving.

With the remaining broth and components, I like making finishing ("shime") udon noodle course. So good.

Shojin Nabe with Mushrooms and Abura-age

Ingredinets:

2 1/2 C (600 ml) water

1/4 C (60 ml) sake

2 pieces 2" x 2" (5 cm x 5 cm) dry kelp ("dashi kombu")

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")

4 medium shiitake mushrooms, cut in half

5 oz (150 g) shimeji mushrooms

2 rectangular pieces fried tofu pouch ("abura-age"), blanched and cut into 4 strips each

5 oz (150 g) Tokyo turnip ("kabu") leaves or mizuna leaves, cut into 1" long

1 serving udon noodles, optional

Suggested condiments: ground roasted sesame seeds, yuzu kosho paste, etc.

*I sun-dry mushrooms half to full day before use, so that the mushrooms will release more umami flavor to the broth.

Procedure:

In the donabe, combine the water, sake, and dashi kombu. Let the kombu soak for 30 minutes.
Add the mirin and soy sauce, followed by both kinds of mushrooms and abura-age.
Cover and set the donabe over medium heat. Bring to simmer.
Once the broth starts simmering, let it continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms are very tender and the broth is richened. Add the kabu leaves and simmer for 1 more minute.
Serve with your choice of condiments. Leave half of the content, if you want to make udon noodle course.
Heat the leftover broth and ingredients over medium-heat. Add the udon noodles and simmer until your desired doneness. Serve with your choice of condiments.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Bento

2013-05-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

I was invited to a pot luck brunch at a friend's house in Hollywood last Sunday.

We did a nice outdoor meal in the balcony with the nice urban view.

I made two donabe dishes and packed in my picnic bento 2-tier boxes.

With double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", I made green tea onigiri (rice balls). I mixed in coarse ground "tencha" (very delicate baby green tea leaves used for making matcha powder) and plum kombu tea powder. Combination of green tea and plum kombu tea flavors bring the nice aromatic character to it.

With donabe smoker, "Ibushi Gin", I smoked salmon filets with Japanese apple wood smoke chips, and served with baby kale and kumquat salad in apple cider vinaigrette.

I'm glad everybody enjoyed my dishes.
Happy donabe life.

Shiitake, Haricot Vert & Bacon Rice with Yuzu Shichimi Salt

2013-05-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

We had extremely warm couple of days last week, and I wanted to make something with stamina and nice spicy kick.

So, I decided to make mixed rice dish with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", and season with this really tasty Yuzu Shichimi Salt I brought back from Japan. t's a mixture of shichimi togarashi (mixed pepper spice) with powdered yuzu rind, dry shiitake mushrooms, dry kelp, dry scallop, etc. So, it's like ultimate umami-packed spice salt.

If you don't have yuzu shichimi salt, for this recipe, you can substitute its recipe amount below it with 2/3 teaspoon of each salt and shichimi togarashi.

Just sauté the ingredients while the rice is cooking.

Once the rice is ready, just mix together and serve. It's so good!

Shiitake, Haricot Vert & Bacon Rice with Yuzu Shichimi Salt

Ingredients: (4-5 servings)
2 rice-cups (360 ml) short grain rice
360 ml water
3 slices (about 3 oz/ 100 g) bacon, sliced into thin strips
1 Japanese green onion ("Tokyo negi") green part only, thinly-sliced crosswise
1 clove garlic, coarsely minced
4 medium shiitake mushrooms, thinly-sliced
4 oz (120 g) haricot vert, cut into 3/4" (2 cm) long
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons yuzu shichimi salt (by Rokusuke) or 2/3 teaspoon each salt and shichimi togarashi

Procedure:

In "Kamado-san", combine the rice and water, and cook according to the basic plain rice instructions. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, sauté the bacon over medium-heat. Once the bacon is almost cooked through, add the Tokyo negi (save some for garnish) and garlic. Sauté until aromatic (1-2 minutes).
Add the shiitake mushrooms and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the haricot vert and sauté for additional couple of minutes. Add the sake to deglaze. Once the sake is reduced down, add the soy sauce and yuzu shichimi salt. Stir. Once Haricot vert is cooked to crisp tender, turn off the heat and set aside.
When the rice is ready, add the sautéed ingredients to the rice and mix. Garnish with the remaining Tokyo negi.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe "Takenoko Gohan"...Sweetshoot Bamboo Rice

2013-05-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

With the rest of the California bamboo shoots from Penryn Orchard, I knew what I was going to make.

I made "Takenoko Gohan", it's bamboo shoot rice and my favorite bamboo dish! When I was a child, I always requested my mom to make Takenoko Gohan over and over in the spring season.

And, with doubld-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", I make almost as delicious Takenoko Gohan as mom's.

Bamboo Shoot Rice ("Takenoko Gohan")

Ingredients: (5-6 servings)
2 1/2 rice-cups (450 ml) short grain rice (I use partially-polished brown rice), rinsed and drained
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) dashi stock
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 medium-size shiitake mushrooms, thinly-sliced
1 rectangular piece fried tofu pouch ("abura-age"), blanched and thinly-sliced
7 oz (200 g) pre-cooked bamboo shoot, sliced into bite-size pieces
5 shiso leaves, thinly-sliced

Procedure:

In "Kamado-san", combine the rice, dashi stock, mirin, soy sauce, and salt. Let the rice soak for 20 minutes.
Spread the shiitake mushrooms over the rice, followed by "abura-age") and bamboo shoot in layers.
Cover "Kamado-san" with both lids and cook over medium-high heat for 13-15 minutes, or until 2-3 minutes after the steam starts puffing out of the top lid. If you want the nice crust ("okoge") on the bottom cook for extra 1-2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let Kamado-san rest (with both lids on) for 20-30 minutes.
Uncover and fluff the rice. Garnish with some sliced shiso leaves.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe "Wakatake-ni"...Classic Simmered Bamboo Shoot

2013-05-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Pre-cooked packaged bamboo shoots are available all year round. But, they are nothing compared to freshly-foraged bamboo shoots, which are only available in the short window of the spring time.

So, now is the time...with Penryn Orchard's bamboo shoots...fresh from their farm in California.

I decided to make "Wakatake-ni", which is an extremely classic bamboo shoot dish. To best showcase the fresh and pure flavor of bamboo shoot, making the rich pure broth is extremely crucial. So, I shaved a generous amount of my special "honkare-bushi" dry bonito to make dashi stock. It was the end of this piece, so shaving a little piece was quite tough and time consuming (because you don't want to shave off your skin!). At the end, instead of cutting my finger with the bonito shaver's blade, I had a small blister in my finger and a part of skin peeled. I've been through so many dry bonito pieces over years and it happens every time I deal with a last leftover piece. But, it's worth it.

Once you make nice dashi stock. Making "Wakatake-ni" is very easy.

Combine the ingredients for the broth with cut bamboo shoot (and abura-age). Simmer with additional shaved bonito flakes ("katsuobushi"). This process is called "Oi-gatsuo", or literal translation is "chasing with more bonito". When cooking ingredients with very clean or less strong flavor, dashi stock is further fortified with additional bonito flakes for more umami flavors and most importantly for the aroma. I used a large tea bag and put freshly-shaved bonito flakes to infuse in the broth.

Once the bamboo is simmered and seasoned long enough, "katsuobushi" bag is removed and wakame seaweed is added to finish.

The simple and classic "Wakatake-ni" is ready. Traditionally, the dish is garnished with "kinome" leaves, but it's hard to find them in Los Angeles. So, no garnish:-)

For this dish, I used a mini-size classic-style donabe, "Yu Kizeto". Here's my recipe.

Simmered Bamboo Shoot in Dashi Broth ("Wakatake-ni")

Ingredients:
8 oz (240 g) bamboo shoot, cut into smaller pieces
1 rectangular piece fried tofu pouch ("abura-age") blanched and cut into strips
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) dashi stock
1 tablespoon sake
1/2 tablespoon raw brown sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/6 oz (5 g) dry bonito flakes ("katsuobushi")
2 oz (60 g) fresh wakame seaweed, cut into bite-size pieces (or you can use rehydrated dry wakame)

Procedure:

In the donabe, combine the bamboo shoot, "abura-age", dashi stock, sake, sugar, and mirin. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add the soy sauce and salt. Put "katsuobushi" in a sachet and add. Put a drop lid ("otoshibuta") on the surface, cover with lid, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the sachet of "katsuobushi". Add the wakame seaweed. Simmer for a couple of minutes.
Turn off the heat and let it rest for 15-30 minutes. You can enjoy it at a hot, warm or cool temperatures.

Happy donabe life.

How to Prepare Bamboo Shoot in Donabe

2013-05-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

I got a really great gift the other day.

It was a package of extremely seasonal, bamboo shoots...these are grown by Penryn Orchard (yes, the same grower who makes awesome hoshigaki) in California.

For (almost) any Japanese people, bamboo shoot is one of the most highly-praised seasonal ingredients in the spring. During the season, in Japan, we eat tons and tons of bamboo shoot. As I had never tried California bamboo shoot, I was so thrilled to cook it myself. These American bamboo shoots are much smaller than regular Japanese bamboo shoots, yet they look really fresh and pretty.

Because freshly foraged bamboo shoot contains toxic hydrocyanic acid, before it's ready to be used in cooking, bamboo shoot needs to be pre-cooked with rice bran flour ("nuka") to remove the toxin. By cooking bamboo shoot with rice bran, bran's starch removes the toxin from bamboo shoot and absorbs it. Also, by adding dry red pepper, it helps removing bitterness from bamboo shoot. It's a traditional simple process, which we still practice every time we get fresh bamboo shoot. And, every time, I feel high respect for our ancestors with such wisdom. It's also very important to do this process as soon as you get the fresh bamboo shoot, whether you use it soon or not. The longer you keep it (without pre-cooking), the more the bitterness in bamboo shoot increases.

Here's how you can prepare fresh bamboo shoot in donabe. For this process, I needed a large-size donabe, so I used donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe" without the grate as a classic-style donabe.

How to Prepare Fresh Bamboo Shoot

1. Cut off a tip from each bamboo shoot at an angle. Slash to make an incision just deep enough to barely touch the tender part lengthwise.

2. Combine the bamboo shoots, and enough amount of water to cover them in the donabe. Add a big handful of rice bran ("nuka") and a couple of dry red peppers. Bring to simmer and put a drop lid ("otoshibuta") on the surface. Simmer over low heat until the thick part of a bamboo shoot is just tender when inserting a skewer. (35-40 minutes for a small to medium-size bamboo shoot.) Turn off the heat and let it cool down completely.

3. Peel the tough leaves of each bamboo shoot to reveal the tender interior. Cut off the firm tip and bottom parts. Also, shave off the bumpy part from the bottom part's outer layer.

4. Once all the bamboo shoots are peeled out of tough leaves, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes to remove any excess bitterness. Pre-cooked bamboo shoots can be kept in water and refrigerated for up to 1 week. Meanwhile, water needs to be replaced once a day.

Because, I couldn't wait until I use the freshly prepared bamboo shoots for cooking later, I sliced and ate one of them just as is. The tenderness, sweetness, and all the natural pureness of the bamboo shoot was just so special. Amazing.

In the next postings, I would like to introduce a couple of donabe dishes with bamboo shoot.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Cooking Class Report...Spring Nourishing Dishes

2013-05-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

On May 4 and May 11, we hosted donabe cooking classes with the new theme, "Spring Nourishing Dishes".

We had wonderful guests who brought really nice energy both dates.
In this class, we made 5 different dishes with many seasonal ingredients. All dishes are made in donabe!

Steam-roaste kabu and asparagus with yuzu-kosho vinaigrette. The texture of donabe steam-roasted vegetables are always so special. With the sauce made from yuzu-kosho and yuzu juice, the dish brought a nice refreshing accent.

Stewed hijiki salad. We used long hijiki seaweed ("naga hijiki") in the class, and cooked with burdock root ("gobo"), dry shiitake mushrooms, fried tofu pouch ("abura-age") and carrot. This dish tastes wonderful whether warm or cold.

Sake-steamed clams. I got really big and beautiful clams which came from Washington State. The broth was rich in sake and all the juice from the clams and finished with white soy sauce ("shiro-shoyu"). Everybody drank up the last drops of the broth!

Simmered chicken and tofu in daikon sauce. Organic jidori chicken was marinated in shio-koji overnight and pan-fried before being added to the sauce. The sauce is mostly grated daikon and a little dashi stock. For the seasoning, I also used rice vinegar for accent.

"Shirasu" baby fish and wakame seaweed rice. Very seasonal Japanese dish. Baby anchovy ("shirasu") came from Shizuoka, Japan. The dish was finished with sliced shiso leaves...shirasu, wakame, and shiso are golden combo.

Here's the full menu.

Theme: Nourishing Spring Donabe Meal

Menu

Steam-roasted kabu and asparagus with yuzu-kosho vinaigrette

Stewed hijiki salad

Sake-steamed clams and broccolini

Simmered chicken and tofu in daikon sauce

“Shirasu” baby fish and wakame seaweed rice

Wine Selection

2011 Weingut Salomon – Undhof, Stein.Terrassen, Riesling (Kremstal, Austria)

Happy donabe life.

Crab & Napa Cabbage Donabe Stew

2013-05-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

I was in a mood for crab meat tonight.
So, I decided to make a donabe hot pot dish with crab, napa cabbage, and some bacon!

Bacon was sautéed with ginger and garlic. Wood ear mushrooms and abura-age (fried tofu pouch) slices are added.

A big amount of napa cabbage was added, and sautéed until wilted.

Vegetable stock was added and simmered for about 15 minutes. Then, crab meat was added and stirred.

That's about it, and really nice hearty stew was ready. The broth came out so flavorful. Napa cabbage was really soft and delicate. Crab added the nice pure flavor. The wood ear mushroom gave nice crunchy texture. This dish was great with plain donabe rice!

To make this dish, I used medium-size classic-style donabe, "Hakeme".

Crab & Napa Cabbage Stew

Ingredients: (4 servings)
3 slices (about 3.5 oz or 100 g) bacon, cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 knob ginger, thinly-sliced into shreds
1/3 cup wood ear mushrooms, thinly-sliced
1 rectangular piece, fried tofu pouch ("abura-age"), blanched and thinly-sliced
19-20 oz (about 500 g) napa cabbage, thinly-sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) sake
2 cups (480 ml) vegetable stock
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
6 oz (180 g) crab meat
2 teaspoons potato starch ("katakuriko") plus 1 tablespoon water
some black pepper
some thinly-sliced scallion

Procedure:

In the donabe, sauté the bacon over medium heat until it's mostly cooked through.
Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté until aromatic. (1-2 minutes.) Add the wood ear mushrooms and "abura-age" and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add the napa cabbage, and stir until it's slightly wilted.
Add the sake, followed by the vegetable stock, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Cover and bring to simmer. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until the napa cabbage is very soft. Add the crab meat and stir.
In a small cup, dissolve the "katakuriko" with the water. Drizzle in to the broth and stir gently until the broth is slightly thickened.
Adjust the flavor by adding a pinch of salt, if necessary. Sprinkle some ground black pepper and scallion and serve.

Happy donabe life.

Iga-yaki Grill Recipe...Grilled Seafood with Ponzu Sauce

2013-05-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

After the meaty "yakiniku" night, we decided to do grilled seafood.
With Iga-yaki grill, "Yaki Yaki San", we can enjoy table-top grilled seafood dinner with very easy preparation.

Here's how we do our Yaki Yaki San seafood.

First, get the ingredients to cook on "Yaki Yaki San" ready. Sashimi grade salmon (sliced and seasoned lightly with salt), jumbo shrimp (tail on), calamari legs, cut asparagus, baby bell peppers, and enoki mushrooms.

Sauce and condiments. Homemade yuzu ponzu with grated daikon, lettuce wrap, sliced scallion, daikon sprouts, garlic, and lemon wedges. Very simple.

Get "Yaki Yaki San" ready by pre-heating and brushing oil on, and start grilling. Lightly-seasoned jumbo shrimp.

Calamari legs and vegetables.

Salmon sashimi slices are grilled to rare. It's good in a lettuce wrap.

This Iga-yaki grill, "Yaki Yaki San", which is made from ancient clay doesn't release smoke, and it does a nice and calm grilling. I love it so much.

Happy donabe life.

Home "Yakiniku" Dinner with Iga-yaki Grill

2013-05-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

A friend came over and we did a family-style grilled meat ("Yakiniku") dinner at home. With our Iga-yaki grill, "Yaki Yaki San", we can do smokeless table-top "Yakiniku" dinner at home. It's so easy and so much fun.

We got 4 kinds of meat ready...beef tongue (lightly marinated in salt, pepper, sake, and sesame oil), prime "kalbi" short rib slices (seasoned with salt and pepper), beef tri-tip slices (marinated in soy-honey sauce), and pork belly slices (marinated in salt, pepper, and sake).

Different kinds of sauces (apple miso sauce, ssamjang, and sesame soy sauce) and condiments were prepared.

Once some oil was rubbed on the grill top, we just kept grilling and eating. This grill is made of 100% historic Iga-clay, and it does a quiet and effective cooking while releasing virtually no smoke. You can find my basic "Yakiniku" recipe with "Yaki Yaki San" here.

To keep the grill top clean (and for easy cleaning at the end), between every batch, I just place a few ice cubes on the grill top and wipe with a paper towel. That's it.

We had a nice big meal.
Happy donabe life.