Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional (17 page)

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Authors: Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner

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BOOK: Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional

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1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon mirin (optional)

Cornstarch or arrowroot for coating

Oil for frying

Karashi
(Japanese hot mustard) (optional)

Soy sauce (optional)

Slice the tempeh

-inch thick. Combine the soy sauce with the garlic and optional mirin, and marinate the tempeh in it for at least 20 minutes. Remove the tempeh and drain. Heat the oil until a little piece of tempeh dropped in rises quickly to the top, about 375°F. Coat each piece of tempeh in cornstarch, and fry in the oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately as is or with a little karashi and shoyu.

Kara-age is actually a method of frying rather than a particular recipe. The item to be fried—usually chicken, fish, or vegetables—is coated with cornstarch or flour and deep-fried until crispy. In my family, kara-age chicken was a favorite (until I became a vegetarian at age 12, of course, although the rest of my family continued to eat it). Although tempeh is not a Japanese food (it is not even sold there), I find that it makes a tasty substitute for chicken. If desired, “chicken-style” seitan sold in stores can be prepared the same way.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Salads and Cold Vegetables

T
he Japanese frequently prepare cooked vegetables in a fashion that can be enjoyed cold. Along with some traditional preparations, I have introduced a few more recent concoctions on the order of salads with dressings.

Spinach with Sesame Sauce

Horenso no Goma-Ae

2 medium bunches spinach, thoroughly rinsed in water until no trace of sand or dirt remains (Try to keep the bunches together.)

cup white sesame seeds

2 to 3 tablespoons granulated cane juice, FruitSource, brown rice syrup, or sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Add the spinach, and cook only for a minute, just until the spinach wilts. Do not overcook! (The spinach can be steamed, although this is not the traditional manner of preparation.) Holding the bunch neatly, run under cold water until thoroughly cool, then squeeze well to remove the excess water. Place on a cutting board, and cut into 1-inch lengths. Place in an attractive dish or bowl.

In a small skillet, toast the sesame seeds over medium heat until they make a crackling sound. Remove immediately; do not allow them to color or burn, as this renders a bitter flavor. Place the sesame seeds in a suribachi, a mortar, or a blender. If using a suribachi or mortar, grind and pound the sesame seeds with the pestle until they begin to release oil, but stop short of producing a paste or butter. If using a blender, grind them briefly until they begin to look oily, but do not over blend. Add the sweetener and soy sauce, mix well, and pour over the spinach.

This is one of my favorite ways to serve spinach. It happens to be a hit with my young son, too, who usually has to grin and bear his veggies. Ideally, the simple sauce is best ground in a Japanese suri-bachi, a mortar with grooves. It can, however, be made in a blender if one is very careful not to overblend. If the sesame seeds are blended too long, they will turn into sesame butter.

Yield: 4 servings as a side dish

Blanched Spinach or Greens

Horenso no Hitashi

1 bunch spinach, kale, mustard greens, chard, or if available, komatsu-na or shun-giku

Soy sauce

Wash the vegetables thoroughly. In Japan where aesthetics mean almost everything, a cook would be careful to keep all the root ends together so that after cooking, rinsing, and squeezing, the vegetables could be cut in an extremely neat fashion, with all the strands together as in a rope. Blanch the greens in the pot of boiling water just until they wilt and are tender. The amount of time will depend on the greens used; spinach will take but a moment, whereas kale will take a few minutes. Remove the greens from the water and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out all the liquid. Place the strand of greens on a cutting board, and cut into 1-inch segments. Place in individual bowls and serve with a little soy sauce poured on top.

This is a basic method of preparing leafy greens that can be served cold or at room temperature. Most frequently, spinach or a spinach-like vegetable called komatsu-na are used, but greens more commonly found in the United States, such as kale or mustard greens, can be used as well. The preparation is extremely simple and the flavor very clean.

Yield 2 to 6 servings

My Mother’s Simple Spinach with Sesame Oil

Horenso no Goma-Abura-Ae

1 bunch spinach

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

Salt, to taste

Blanch, steam, or microwave the spinach until just wilted. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. (It does not have to be completely cold as with
Horenso no Hitashi.
) Squeeze until fairly dry, and cut into 1-inch lengths.

In a bowl, pour in the sesame oil and a few sprinklings of sea salt. Stir to dissolve the sea salt, then add the spinach and mix well. Serve at room temperature.

This is truly a simple side dish, and yet so tasty! It is a slightly richer variation of Blanched Spinach or Greens (Horenso no Hitashi), opposite page.

Yield: 2 to 4 as a small side dish

Japanese Style Salad Dressing

Wa-Fu Dressingu

Scant ½ cup soy sauce

cup fruit juice concentrate or Fruit Source, or ¼ cup sugar

¾ cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Whisk all the ingredients together.