Edamame-- A 'Recipe' for Summer or Beer

枝豆　Edamame... "twig beans", immature soybeans still on the twig

The first time I ate Edamame at a friend's house, I was very rude.

I think I snarfed nearly the entire bowl down all by myself.

Those were some *good* beans--still slightly warm, salty, and my friend's mother gave us all glasses of cold beer to go with.  It doesn't get much better on a hot summer day, let me tell you:-)

See how hairy they are? 

I can buy them still on the branch in the store, or picked off and bagged, or already prepared in the deli section.

If you're fixing them yourself, just pick them off, rinse them well, and throw them into a pot of boiling saltwater for eight or ten minutes (take one out, run it under cold water, and bite out a bean to check whether it's done or not).

We had these for pre-supper munchies while I was making dinner and the kids were working on homework.

All gone!  Gochisousama deshita!  (It was a feast:-))

Cheery, And Violent-- A Recipe for Cucumber

Japanese cucumbers are rather smaller than the ones I always see in the US, but no matter.  I think this can be made with either kind, though you may need a little more oomph and/or a heavier rolling pin.  Shovel would work fine, too.

A shovel for... what??

"Cheery... and violent"  (why do I hear that in Terry Jones' voice in my head?  Was it in a Python sketch that I can't quite remember?)

...For making a very quick sort-of pickle out of cucumbers without any tedious marinating, nor canning.  This is a marvelous recipe for anyone who's had a bad day at work, a fight with an SO, or who is suffering from PMS. 

You see, to 'soften' up the kyuuri (cucumber) just a little, yet retain crunch (which is, after all, the defining characteristic of a 'pickle'), grab your rolling pin and beat that cucumber to within an inch of its life. 

Then break it apart into bite-sized pieces with your hands, into any serving dish you like, and pour the dressing over.  Toss.  *Excellent* replacement for potato chips. 

The sauce (assuming you can't get it as-is, in that bottle up in the top photo) is basically:
1) sesame oil
2) salt (*little*)
3) garlic
4) *little* sugar
5) toban jan (that really hot, red paste that you use to make Mabo Dofu)
6) tsp or so of soy sauce
7) red karashi peppers (the small, very hot ones)

Itadakimaa---su!

Sauce is somewhat spicy, but my kids *love* this (those in the photo lasted about 3 minutes this evening--I got one bite:-((... "Mama!  Oishiiii!" 

Gosh, I love to see my kids snarfing down vegetables like candy:-)

Beyond Plain Rice II--A Recipe for Take No Ko Gohan

You know what that dark brown thing is... right?

It's Take No Ko... a bamboo shoot.  A baby bamboo (or, well... maybe an elementary school bamboo, judging by the size).

You can cook with these-- I got one of these once a year after Koshi started kindergarten, as the third year kids were taken out to dig bamboo shoots.  The first time he came home with a large something wrapped in newspaper, I'll admit, I panicked slightly.

I knew that it could be cooked with, though, since I'd seen them at our Daiei packaged with what looked at the time like sawdust (couldn't imagine what *that* was for).

That one ran me about Y498-- not bad.

Yes, it's fuzzy.  See?

You don't eat that part, though.

Chop off a big hunk of the bottom and peel off several of the thick outside layers
(I know-- I see you all.  Racing to your local Asian market to get bamboo shoots as is, right from the ground.  Rest assured that you can make this with the kind that's already sliced and boiled;-)

Use your Big Knife and put a slice into the center, top to bottom, so that it will finish cooking in your lifetime.

Put the Take no Ko (Bamboo's Child, literally) in your Big Pot, and fill with water 'til it's covered.  Dump that little pack of sawdust nuka (rice bran--it's *very* good for you, and it figures as an ingredient in lots of Japanese facial skin care products.  Ever notice how Japanese tend to look a lot younger than they really are?  This may well be one of the reasons.)

Simmer it for an hour, then turn off the fire and let it just sit there in the pot for two more hours.  That way, it won't be over-boiled, and will also be easier to peel away the rest of the fuzzy layers when it's cooler.

Always ends up *much* smaller than what you thought it would be..

Make sure to take off all the fuzzy-- it's nice to pet, but not to eat.

Slice it in half, then into smaller, bite-sized pieces (not too thick).

Other ingredients (though this can vary) are:

1. One piece of aburage (bean curd) cut into four pieces then sliced.
2. About half a carrot, thinly julienned.
3. Konnyaku (solidified jelly made from the rhizome of Devil's Tongue), cut small.  Or, use the noodles (about 50g).  I cut them in two places so they wouldn't be too long.

San go of rice... three of those cute little wooden measuring boxes if you have one.  If not, 450g of rice (in ounces?  *No* idea.  But I think that's a pound.), rinse it well and put it into the rice cooker and fill to the line for 3-go of rice (or 450g).

Dump the vegetables on top.

For the soup, you need:

1. Light (Usu-kuchi) Soy sauce, 1Tbsp
2. Cooking Sake, 2Tbsp
3. Hon Dashi (powdered stock--in the box on the left), 1 Tbsp
4. Shio (salt), 1tsp

Put all that into the water in the Kama (you can see my rice-cooker pot on the right) and mix it all up.

 
Put the Kama into the rice cooker and hit Go!  This rice is fairly filling (or maybe my kids just like it a lot, and eat more of it than usual), so you don't really need to have a huge meat dish with this.  Bamboo Rice is nice to have with tofu and miso soup and a couple of vegetables for a vegetarian dish that I never notice is vegetarian.  Just Japanese.  Take no Ko Gohan also makes *great* onigiri the next day (if there's any left over;-))

Itadakimaa---su!

Enjoy!

Mata asobou, ne!

Roots and Shoots--A Recipe For Gobo Salad

Gobo (Burdock Root...Arctium lappa) and Asparagus

A recipe today for one of my favorite vegetables--Gobo, Burdock root in English.

Kinpira Gobo (I'll post that recipe the next time I make it:-)) is the most common way to eat that looong brown root, and it's also my kids' favorite.  But I was making Gobo and Ham Salad today, so I'll just put this up first.

"So what's the asparagus in there for?"  It's in there because the first time I made this recipe, I had already made up the dressing for it and tasted it.  Oooh!  Yum!  And when I went to Daiei to get the gobo, there was the asparagus right there... so I decided to throw some of that in, too, since I like it and thought it would taste good with the dressing.  Also, my friend Diana just got four pounds of asparagus for *free* (yes, that's a note of jealousy you detect there;-)).  I figure she could use a couple of extra recipes to use up all that asparagus...

Greater, or Edible, Burdock (A. lappa)

Back to Gobo-- what is it, exactly?  Well, it's Burdock Root in English, and frankly I went for years knowing it only by it's Japanese name (which is conveniently shorter anyway).   I loved the taste of it from the first because it reminded me of the taste of artichoke (which is impossible to get here).  Now I read on Wiki:

"The taste resembles that of artichoke, to which the burdock is related."

Figurez-vous...  The photo to the left is the plant itself, which I've never noticed before (but will keep my eyes peeled for now that I know what to look for).  That's not the bit you eat, though-- you eat the tap root, which can be a meter long.  Sticks right up out of any shopping bag you care to put it in.

In any case, rinse it once you've got it home, then scrape off the brown with the edge of your big knife.  Cut into pointer-finger length pieces (making sure that your own finger is not mixed in), then julienne.



Go to the store and pay a dollar for five stalks of asparagus.  And get some thin, sliced ham, too (any kind you like).  Cut the asparagus stalks into about four pieces and steam (I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes).  Cut the ham into strips.

Saa....tto yudete!  (Parboil)

Parboil the julienned Gobo (say, oh, a minute or a minute and a half) and drain.  Set aside.

Now comes my favorite bit-- the dressing!  *So* easy, and tastes good with practically everything (including your finger dunked in there).

Ingredients:  Mayo, soy sauce, and white sesame seeds.  That's it.  I happen to be able to buy sesame already ground up, which is a time-saver, but it's not hard to buy white sesame seeds and grind them up yourself (with a mortar and pestle, which makes you feel like a chemist, or in a food mill).

1 1/2 Tbsp mayo (any kind you like)
2tsp ground white sesame
1tsp soy sauce
Put all that into a small bowl and mix it up.  Lick finger.  Done.   Well, almost--now you have to put it on your vegetables...

The original recipe called only for Gobo and ham--but I love asparagus, too, so I threw in some of that.  Either way--suit yourself:-))

Itadakimaa---su!

Dump the dressing on top and toss until everything is coated.  Feel free to make extra dressing to put in the fridge for dippy vegetables (carrots, broccoli, kyuri, peppers, anything you like).

Dozo!  Ippai o-meshiagatte kudasaimase! (Please eat lots!:-))

SpyShopper-- Vegetables for Spring

Fuki no Tou (Petasites japonicus, left)  and  Kogomi (Matteuccia struthiopteris, right)

Oooh!  It's springtime and all the interesting, "what-on-earth-is-that?" vegetables are appearing in amongst the usual broccoli and green peppers. 


The one on the left I may just go ahead and buy, since Cici will be thrilled.  Or at least interested.  The very first story in the second grade language textbook is a sweet little tale called "Fuki no Tou"...the vegetable (flower head, really) on the left in the photo above. 

I just realized that this photo I took of "something" growing in a neighbor's backyard... is in fact Fuki, also called Giant Butterbur or Bog Rhubarb (seriously, who thinks of these names?).  Both the unopened flower buds (in the top photo) and the stalks are edible. 

The Fuki stalks (which aren't too expensive, and can be purchased peeled and parboiled) I have cooked with before.  They taste nice simmered with sliced bamboo shoot in a cup or so of water with a tablespoon each of light soy sauce and sugar.  Sprinkle katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) on top for a rather elegant-looking spring dish which is also filling (lots of fiber).

The other vegetable, Kogomi, looked to me rather like the fiddlehead of a fern.   Come to find out... it *is* the fiddlehead of a fern!  Well!  Who knew?   The fiddlehead of the ostrich fern, in fact, which my mother had planted in abundance on the shady north side of our house.  I had no idea you could eat those!

Y498?  Yikes...

I'd like to cook something with the Butterbur flower heads (just like in the second grade story-- I *think* all three kids would try it, since they've all read that story...).


Bit on the pricey side, though (Y498!! Holy Butterburs, Batman!)...


Itadakim....maybe!

Tsukushi-- Miso Soup for Spring

Tsukushi means Spring! (Field Horsetail)

If you happen to have any of this growing in the backyard or a nearby field... did you know you can eat it?  I'd never seen it before we moved down here to Yokohama, and at first I only saw the children playing with it, in mud pies, peeling off the little skirts and such.  It wasn't until a year or two later that I noticed H-kun's mama (Koshi's friend) picking it with her son.  I asked her what she was going to do with it, and she told me how to make Miso soup with it.

picked....

...oooh!  Cooking with weird stalks picked out back--exotic!








I immediately set about picking some myself, and enlisted the kids' help.  The first time we made this, we picked *way* more than we needed...

cleaned...

...which made the cleaning part rather tedious.  Breaking off the tip (which my friend told me she did) is easy enough, but the hakama ("skirt"--the dark-tipped leaves at each node, called such because of their resemblance to traditional Japanese formal wear)...those take rather more time to get off.

into the pot...

I made mine with tofu and aburage (fried bean curd, made--like tofu--from soybeans), but you could just as well put in naga-negi (long onion, like a leek) or wakame (edible seaweed).
Use your ladle to scoop out a tablespoon or so of miso paste (I'm not sure exactly how much I put in since I always just eyeball it.  My ladle had markings for 1T and 2T, and I scoop out what I imagine to be about 1T...)

*A note on adding the Miso paste...
I searched for some time on YouTube for something I'd seen on TV about how it can be dangerous to just dump a bunch of Miso into a pot and put the lid on.  The show I remember watching, in fact, experimented with why that was supposed to be the case... and showed the pot exploding.  Apparently heat and/or pressure or steam can become trapped below the miso, which then explodes outward all over the kitchen.  And since I forgot to have Koshi video me dissolving the miso into the hot water, I found a video of somebody else doing that.  Watch how she uses her ladle and o-hashi (at the 2:00 mark)to dissolve the miso--that's just how my mother-in-law showed me how to do it:-))

Itadakimaaa---su!-- Oishikatta! (It was delicious--a nice, light taste:-)

More on Tsukushi tomorrow--it's fascinating stuff...;-))


Mata asobou, ne!

Hinamatsuri--A Recipe for Chirashizushi

Itakima---su!

Chirashizushi is what everybody eats on March 3--Hinamatsuri.  That's Koshi up there holding the Shamoji (rice spoon) getting ready to dish some up for himself and Cici.  Chirashizushi is sushi...with sprinkles!  No--not chocolate sprinkles, nor sugar sprinkles.  Egg sprinkles, ikura sprinkles, sakuradenbu sprinkles (I'll explain in a sec)...and something green, too, so you get those nice pink-white-green spring colors.  My kids *love* Chirashizushi.  What I made today (fills up a ni-dan--two level-- o-bento box) is nearly gone, and I guarantee they'll get up in the morning and polish off the rest for breakfast.

"Chirasu" is a verb--it means scatter, distribute, spread.  I like to translate it as "sprinkle", because for food that's what you do--sprinkle on top.  Chirashizushi is simply sushi rice with certain vegetables mixed in and several other things sprinkled on top.

Full disclosure:  I don't make it entirely from scratch!  I use a package that contains the vinegar/sugar liquid for the rice (because I never can get the ratio of vinegar to sugar right), and the vegetables already cut and cooked to mix in, and the nori/sesame for final sprinkles.  I also don't own one of those huge wooden tubs to put the rice in while mixing in the vinegar/sugar (steps 1 & 2 in the photo).  Not that I don't want one of those, just that they're really big and hard to store in a teeny kitchen.  If I made this more frequently, I'd probably get one, though.  As it is, I just use my big tray (I wash it well first, of course).  So don't be put off making it yourself just because you don't have one of those nifty wooden tubs.  If you find a package version in an Asian market, then all you need are a couple of eggs, soy sauce, sugar, ikura (salmon roe), snow peas (saya ingen), and if they have it at your Asian market, sakuradenbu (explained below).

First things first--make 3 "go" (cups) of rice in the rice cooker.  You can make that ahead and leave it in the rice cooker 'til you're ready to use it.  When you're ready to start, make the Tamagoyaki first (kind of like an omlette).  One egg, beaten, add just a wee bit of shouyu (soy sauce) and a teaspoon of sugar, then pour the mixture into a pan and cook it the same way you do an omlette--letting the uncooked egg flow under the cooked edge 'til it's mostly cooked, then flip it over.  Shape is not important--I use my little rectangular Tamagoyaki pan for this, but any frying pan will do.

...don't have the flame up too high (oops!).  But it was rescued in the nick of time...

I make two eggs like this.  It's fairly thin--cut in half, then into  thin strips for sprinkling.  This tastes like sweet scrambled egg (well--sweet/salt, because of the soy sauce and sugar).  There are invariably little fingers stealing bites while I'm cutting up the egg...

Set aside.  Destring and briefly boil the snow peas, slice diagonally, and set aside.

Get out the rice--put it into a wooden tub if you have one, or just use a nice big tray with a lip.  A very large piece of wax paper would do, too, in a pinch.   Pour on the vinegar/sugar mix (if you're making it from scratch--1/2 cup vinegar, 2Tblsp sugar, 1tsp salt) and cut it in using the shamoji (rice scoop) or a wooden spoon.  Fan the rice at the same time.  This is surprisingly hard to do--like patting your head and rubbing your tummy.   I generally get one of the kids to do the fanning (that's Cici's hand holding the Uchiwa fan up there in the photo).

Next, dump on the vegetables (thin sliced carrot, shiitake,  lotus root, bamboo shoot, kampyou if you can get it--this is why I like to use the package version).  I've also seen the relevant vegetables available in a jar version, sliced and cooked and in the dressing ready to go.  Either way--it's easier and faster that way.

These are what come in the package version--vinegar/sugar mix on the left, vegetables in the middle, sesame/nori sprinkles in the small silver pack.

Once you've got the vegetables well cut in, put the mixture into what ever container you're going to use.  I've used my ni-dan (two level) o-bento boxes, but Tupperware works just fine, too.  The first time I ever ate Chirashizushi, my friend brought some over in a big Tupperware box.  I loved it the first time I had it!

On to sprinkles...

I sprinkle the thin-sliced Tamagoyaki (egg sheet) on first...

Ikura comes next...

...then the Sakuradenbu (Denbu is pressed, finely shredded fish and shrimp that's had sugar added and some food coloring to make it pink--hence the "sakura" appelation.  It's the same color as cherry blossoms:-))

And on top of the pink, put some green--I used snow peas, briefly boiled and sliced diagonally.  I've also seen Mitsuba (chervil) used, which is pretty also.

Final sprinkle is the nori and white sesame seeds.  Dekiagari! (Done!)

Itadkimaa---su!

...and if you're still feeling adventurous, you can try Amazake--very sweet, thick, milky-looking sake.  It's basically sake in the very early stages of fermentation, so it has less than one percent alcohol.  People let kids drink small amounts of it.  Actually, I think everybody only drinks small  amounts of it (I can't imagine drinking more than about half a cup of it).  Teddy liked it--Koshi and Cici....not so much:-))  I noticed my husband making a face, too--there are plenty of Japanese who don't care for it.  So don't feel bad if you try it and aren't crazy about it.

So next time you're up for a Kitchen Adventure--head over to your nearest Asian supermarket and see if they stock the things for making Chirashizushi!

Ip---pai tabenasai! (please eat a lot!)
Mata asobou, ne!