Vegetables

Simple Hourensou Salad (Spinach Salad) 05/10/2010

Hourensou is the Japanese word for spinach. This recipe is very simple, but it is my favorite way to enjoy this healthy vegetable. Popeye is a very famous cartoon in Japan. When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me to eat more spinach to be strong like Popeye.

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 bundle of spinach
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 pinch of katsuobushi

Preparation

Add spinach leaves to boiling water, and cook for 2 minutes
Remove, strain, and pat dry on paper towels. Cut into 2″ pieces
Put cooked spinach on a plate and sprinkle with katsuobushi, then add soy sauce

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Posted in Vegetables | 5 Comments

Kinpira Gobou 03/26/2010

Kinpira is a Japanese cooking style in which strips of ingredients are stir fried and seasoned with sugar and soy sauce. Kinpira gobou is the most popular kinpira dish. I made potato kinpira before. This is popular item for Japanese bento (lunch boxes).

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 20 minutes

Spices

1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Ingredients

2 oz sliced carrots
4 oz sliced gobou
2 tsp sesame seeds

Preparation

Mix spices together in a small bowl (sake, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin)
Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan then stir-fry gobou and carrot for 2 minutes over medium heat
Add mixed spices in the pan, and cook for 2 minutes on low heat
Sprinkle sesame on top and serve!

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Koyadofu no Tamagotoji 03/17/2010

“Koyadofu” is the Japanese word for dried tofu. “Tamago” is egg. And “toji” refers to preparing a dish mixed with egg. Koyadofu no Tamagotoji. It’s a healthy, filling dish that is great if you’re on a diet. When I was a child, my obaachan (grandmother) made this for me whenever she came to visit. Reminds me of her so much!

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

5 pieces of koya tofu (4 oz)
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 lb green peas
1/2 onion (sliced)
1/4 lb carrots (chopped small)

Spices

3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp sake
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup dashi soup (1.5 tsp dashi powder & 1.5 cups water)

Preparation

Put koyadofu a water for 5 minutes to soften, then squeeze to remove water and cut into bite-sized squares.
Boil dashi in a saucepan, then add sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, onion, carrot and koyadofu. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low
Add peas, replace the cover, and continue cooking for 5 minutes
Drizzle egg on the mixture, add a dash of salt, then turn off heat and steam, covered, for 3-4 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

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Nanohana no Ohitashi 03/10/2010

The nanohana plant is entirely edible, and the plant it is also the source of healthy Canola oil. Nanohana is a springtime flower, and in some areas of Japan you can find fields of the flower formed into mazes so visitors can wander through the blossoms and enjoy their beauty. Nanohana bloom just before sakura here in Japan, so they are kind of a prelude to spring, even though they are beautiful in their own right.

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 oz nanohana (not blooming)
1 cup dashi soup (or 1 cup water with 1 tsp hon-dashi)
1 tbsp soy sauce

Preparation

Boil nanohana for 2 minutes then submerge in cold water
Strain and blot with a paper towel to remove any excess water
Chop nanohana into 2″ pieces
Mix dashi and soy sauce in a bowl and marinate nanohana for 15 minutes (this is called “ohitashi”)
Remove nanohana and serve as a side dish or light snack!

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Yasai Yaki Udon (Vegetable Stir-fry Udon) 03/07/2010

“Yasai” is the Japanese word for vegetables, and “Yaki Udon” is stir-fried udon. If you are on diet or want to eat low calorie food, you can add more cabbage or beans sprouts and add less sugar.

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 packages of udon noodles
1/4 sliced onion
2 oz sliced carrots
4 oz cabbage, chopped

Spices

1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp okonomiyaki sauce
1 pinch of red ginger (optional)
1 pinch of katsuobushi (optional)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation

Mix soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar in a small bowl
Put fresh udon noodles in boiling water for 1 minute (follow package instructions for dried udon)
Heat sesame oil in a frying pan and cook onions for 2 minutes
Add carrots and cook for an additional 2 minutes
Add cabbage and cook for 2 more minutes
Add salt and pepper
Add udon noodles and soy sauce/sake/mirin/sugar mixture and stir
Add okonomiyaki sauce and stir, then transfer to a serving dish
Top with katsuobushi and red ginger (optional)

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Posted in Vegetables | 9 Comments

Tempura 03/04/2010

Tempura is a very popular Japanese dish all over the world. Basically it is battered and fried seafood and vegetables. We have been eating tempura over 300 years and there are many traditional, high quality tempura restaurants in Japan. This is simple dish but it takes a bit of work, and can be dangerous, so if you are not used to cooking with oil, please be careful!

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

10 shrimp
1/2 lb sweet potatoes
4 oz eggplant
4 oz king trumpet mushrooms
8 long Asian green beans
4 pieces of chikuwa
1 small sweet green pepper (shishitou)
1 shiso leaf
5 oz lotus root

Spices

5 oz ground daikon (for sauce)
1 tsp ground ginger (for sauce)
1 1/4 cups dashi sauce (1 1/4 cups water with 8g hon-dashi)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake
2 cups of tempura powder

Tempura Sauce

Mix dashi, sake, soy sauce, and mirin in a saucepan and boil. Add a little ground ginger.

Tempura

Cut vegetables into 1 or 2 inch pieces
Put 2 green beans in a chikuwa and slice in half
Mix tempura powder with water (please follow the package information)
Pour oil in a deep frying pan and heat to 375°F (190°C)
Dip ingredients into tempura butter and deep fry in oil until it browns (the Vegetables cook very fast (shiso = 10 seconds!), so watch them closely!)
Transfer fried vegetables to a dish covered with paper towels to soak up the excess oil
Serve with tempura sauce sprinkled with a bit of daikon

Modifications

You can use many vegetables and meats for tempura: chicken, fish (white meat), onion, asparagus, pumpkin, zucchini, broccoli, etc!

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Posted in Seafood, Vegetables | 3 Comments

Spinach Tofu Salad (Shiraae) 02/28/2010

Japanese: hourensou no shiraae. This is a very common side dish in Kyoto home cooking. We call side dishes “obanzai”. In Kyoto you’ll find many obanzai buffets and restaurants, where the items on the menu are served in small portions and are usually a mix of vegetables and fish. This dish is great for your health, and a perfect side if you are dieting!

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

7 oz tofu
10 oz spinach
2 oz carrots (cut into thin squares)
3 oz konnyaku (cut into 1/4″ rectangles)

Spices

2 tbsp ground white sesame
1.5 tbsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
dash salt

Preparation

Boil water in a medium sized pot, then add salt
Add spinach and boil for 2 minutes
Strain spinach, pat dry with a paper towel, and set aside
Wrap tofu in paper towel and microwave for 1 minute to remove moisture
Remove tofu and discard paper towel, then wrap one more time and repeat
Place konnyaku in boiling water and cook for 1 minute (to remove strong smell)
Remove konnyaku and boil carrot in a fresh pot of water for 1 minute
Place tofu in a large bowl, add sesame and sugar, and mix
Add spinach, carrot, and konnyaku, then mix
Add soy sauce and salt to taste
Enjoy!

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Posted in Vegetables | 7 Comments

Pasta Yakisoba 01/17/2010

Yakisoba is a popular Japanese fried noodle dish. We typically use yakisoba (chuka) noodles for the recipe but I used angel hair pasta instead and it turned out really well!

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb angel hair pasta
1/4 onion (sliced)
1 cup cabbage* (chopped in large pieces)

Spices

3 tbsp Okonomiyaki Sauce** (add more for thicker yakisoba)
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp sake
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Boil 5 minutes pasta and strain
Heat oil in a frying pan, cook onion, beef for 4 minutes over medium heat.
Add cabbage cook for 1 minutes then add pasta.
Add sake, mix then add okonomiyaki sauce and oyster sauce.
Sprinkle salt and pepper then serve!

Modifications

* Substitute chicken, beef or sausage, and any type of vegetables in your Yakisoba.
** Instead of Okonomiyaki sauce you can use the powdered sauce that comes with the noodles or Worcestershire sauce.

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Posted in Vegetables | 2 Comments

Agedashi Tofu 12/13/2009

Agedashi tofu is common tofu dish served in dashi sauce. Many Japanese restaurants in foreign countries serve this dish. It’s simple and very tasty. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 package of tofu (cut into 8 pieces)
1/8 cup green onions (chopped)
1/8 cup daikon (grated, optional)

Spices

1 cup dashi soup or 1 tsp hon-dashi (soup stock powder) in 1 cup water
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp katakuriko (for tofu)
1 tsp katakuriko mixed with 1 tbsp water (for sauce)

Preparation

Sprinkle katakuriko on tofu
Heat 1/4 inch oil in the frying pan then fry each side of tofu until golden brown
Remove oil with paper towel
Boil dashi, mirin, sake, soy sauce in a sauce pan, then add katakuriko (in water) and mix until it is sticky
Serve tofu in a bowl then add sauce, and sprinkle green onion on the tofu
Add daikon on top if you like

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Posted in Vegetables | 7 Comments

Tamago Zōsui 12/02/2009

Zosui is Japanese rice soup made from pre-cooked rice. When we make Nabe (japanese hot pot), we make zosui after with the hot pot soup. It good to eat when you are feel sick or have a hangover and is also easy on the waistline.

Yield: 2 servings

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 bowls of steamed rice
2 beaten eggs
chopped green onion (handful)
chopped seaweed (optional)

Spices

8g hon-dashi (soup stock powder)
1 tsp soy sauce
dash salt

Preparation

Boil 3 cups water and steamed rice in a sauce pan for 15 min on low
Add hondashi and dash of salt
Drizzle egg over mixture in rice, then add soy sauce and green onion
Serve in a bowl and add seaweed on top (if you like)

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Posted in Vegetables | 3 Comments

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