Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional (28 page)
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Authors: Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner
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BOOK: Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional
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2 carrots, cut into 1-inch circles (optional)
1 cup water for cooking
4 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sweetener of your choice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
Soak the soy protein granules in the boiling water to reconstitute for 10 minutes. Place the potatoes, carrots, and 1 cup water in a pot, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the reconstituted soy granules and the seasonings, partially cover, and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve hot.
Textured soy protein is employed here to create a vegan version of a popular dish where ground beef and potatoes are cooked together with slightly sweet and savory seasonings. This is popular with both kids and adults.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Nouvelle Japanese Cuisine
T
he Japanese are famous for their ability to adapt to or accept input from other cultures. Although they may not consider themselves a highly original people, the Japanese are very good at incorporating just about anything from other countries and cultures and adapting, emulating, and improving upon them. This extends to food as well. Tokyo thus abounds with ethnic restaurants—not only those that cater to Chinese and Italian cuisines which are so popular world-wide, but also highly sophisticated French or French-influenced cuisine. The most remarkable restaurants are those where creative Japanese chefs have borrowed from the traditions and techniques of other cultures, married them with their own cuisine and ingredients, and produced something entirely new. This, I call “nouvelle Japanese,” and here I happily introduce a few simple recipes that replicate some of the flavors I have tasted at some of these eateries.
Pasta with Shiso Pestohe Japanese are famous for their ability to adapt to or accept input from other cultures. Although they may not consider themselves a highly original people, the Japanese are very good at incorporating just about anything from other countries and cultures and adapting, emulating, and improving upon them. This extends to food as well. Tokyo thus abounds with ethnic restaurants—not only those that cater to Chinese and Italian cuisines which are so popular world-wide, but also highly sophisticated French or French-influenced cuisine. The most remarkable restaurants are those where creative Japanese chefs have borrowed from the traditions and techniques of other cultures, married them with their own cuisine and ingredients, and produced something entirely new. This, I call “nouvelle Japanese,” and here I happily introduce a few simple recipes that replicate some of the flavors I have tasted at some of these eateries.
10 bunches shiso (100 leaves; there are usually 10 leaves to a bunch)
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic
¼ cup pine nuts
2 to 3 tablespoons mild miso
2 teaspoons
ume
(salted plum paste) (optional)
ume
(salted plum paste) (optional)
Pasta of choice, cooked al dente
Place all the ingredients, except the pasta, in a blender, and blend until finely chopped or until smooth, whichever you prefer. Toss with hot, drained pasta, and serve immediately.
Shiso is a fragrant Japanese herb which is sometimes referred to as Japanese basil. Its large, beautiful leaves make an appearance in a variety of Japanese dishes, often paired with ume (salted plum)
,
but it lends itself beautifully to a pesto sauce. If you are lucky enough to find yourself with a big harvest of shiso leaves (it is actually quite easy to grow yourself)
,
here is what to do with some of it. This makes enough sauce for about a pound of pasta, enough to serve about eight people. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated for two to three weeks or frozen.
Yield: 8 servings
Spaghetti with MushroomsHave ready:
1 cup cooked spaghetti, vermicelli, or angel hair pasta, cooked al dente
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 enoki mushrooms, separated
2
shimeji
or regular oyster mushrooms, separated
shimeji
or regular oyster mushrooms, separated
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon white wine
cupKonbu
to
Shiitake no Dashi
(Shiitake Stock), page 54
1 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 to 5 shiso leaves, slivered (stack them, roll them, and sliver with a sharp knife or pair of scissors)
½ piece nori, slivered (cut in half, stack, and cut in slivers with a pair of scissors)
Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a saute pan, and saute the mushrooms over high heat until they wilt slightly. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the sake and white wine, then add the shiitake stock, mirin, and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then toss in the cooked pasta, and heat for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and shiso, and put into individual bowls. Top with a mound of slivered nori. Consume immediately.
Mushroom lovers will appreciate this flavorful dish abounding with three kinds of mushrooms in a fragrant broth with a hint of shiso and topped with slivers of nori.With this dish, it is best not to make more than 2 servings at a time.
Yield: 1 serving
Steamed Kabocha with Lemon Crème Fraîche½ medium-size kabocha, unpeeled, either sliced into ¼-inch slices or cut into large chunks (the latter is for mashing)
Steam the kabocha until tender. If you are serving slices, place the unpeeled slices on individual plates. If you are mashing, scoop the orange meat out, and discard the skin. Mash with a whisk, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper if desired. Place a mound of kabocha in small, individual dishes. For either method, top the kabocha with Lemon Crème Fraiche, and serve.
Lemon Crème Fraîche
5 to 6 ounces firm silken tofu (½ of an aseptic package)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons salad oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fructose, sugar, FruitSource, or fruit juice concentrate
Combine all the ingredients in a blender until absolutely smooth.
This very simple and unique dish is a vegan replication of something I tasted at a progressive nomi-ya (a Japanese drinking establishment serving a variety of tapas-style delectables). In the original version, heavy cream was used. I have substituted silken tofu with excellent results. This can be served two ways; you can pour the crème fraîche over sliced, steamed kabocha, or you can mash and whip the kabocha and pour the crème over that. Served at room temperature, this can be either an appetizer or side dish.
Yield: 4 servings
Daikon Salad with Lime-Ume Dressingcup freshly squeezed lime juicecup fructose, sugar, or FruitSourceOther books
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