115 replies to this topic

[Hiroyuki]

The Takara Hon Mirin is a good choice, and readily available.

And Hiroyuki, if you ever buy that 10 year old mirin, I should hope you don't bury it in equal quantities of soy sauce!

I remember an Ariyoshi Sawako novel where the rather vain elderly mother insists that buying a good mirin to pat on her face and neck is as important as buying food, in postwar Tokyo.

Don't worry. If I ever buy it, I think I'll drink most of it as an aperitif and try only a small amout of it in cooking.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

So, everyone likes beef nikujaga?   Don't tell Kanto people about this, or you will get a    or  look.

My mom makes beef nikujaga, but in her defense, her family is from Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kagoshima.

I didn't know it could be made from pork until I started reading Japanese cookbooks.

Speaking of home cooking... Hiroyuki, I made your foolproof takikomi gohan recipe tonight, and it's very good. I used white buna shimeji mushrooms instead of oyster mushroom.

3 of my 4 kids cleaned their bowls entirely.

[Hiroyuki]

So, everyone likes beef nikujaga?   Don't tell Kanto people about this, or you will get a    or  look.

My mom makes beef nikujaga, but in her defense, her family is from Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kagoshima.

I didn't know it could be made from pork until I started reading Japanese cookbooks.

Speaking of home cooking... Hiroyuki, I made your foolproof takikomi gohan recipe tonight, and it's very good. I used white buna shimeji mushrooms instead of oyster mushroom.

3 of my 4 kids cleaned their bowls entirely.

Thanks! The beauty of my recipe is that you can keep the mushroom fragrant and firm by not cooking the mushroom in the rice cooker.
My recipe is based on this one, if you are interested and can read Japanese, which uses four different mushrooms, maitake, buna shimeji, fresh shiitake, and enoki. As for me, I don't like to use that many types of mushroom in takikomi gohan. I'd rather use enoki in miso soup together with tofu, and pan-fry buna shimeji and fresh shiitake or heat them in a toaster oven.

[Hiroyuki]

Forgot to mention:
Ask people in Aichi prefecture in Central Japan what meat they use to make nikujaga, and some (many?) of them will answer, "Chicken". As you may know, Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, is famous for the chicken variety called Nagoya Kochin.

[nakji]

Beats cutting frozen meat with my hand powered meat slicer.

I'm glad I don't have to face that at the end of a long day. I want to make some of these recipes for my family when I go home for christmas, but you made me realize that it might be difficult to get the right cut of meat.

nakji, I can't recommend a good brand, but Takara produces a wide selection of mirin and mirin-like products, like this one:
http://www.takarashu...irin/index.html

Thanks! I'll look for it at the supermarket. I wouldn't feel so bad about spending that much on mirin - I bought a bottle of marsala last week for the same price, and I'm sure I use that much less often. Chicken nikkujyaga sounds delicious, is the meat thinly sliced as well, or do they use cubes?

[Hiroyuki]

Beats cutting frozen meat with my hand powered meat slicer.

I'm glad I don't have to face that at the end of a long day. I want to make some of these recipes for my family when I go home for christmas, but you made me realize that it might be difficult to get the right cut of meat.

nakji, I can't recommend a good brand, but Takara produces a wide selection of mirin and mirin-like products, like this one:
http://www.takarashu...irin/index.html

Thanks! I'll look for it at the supermarket. I wouldn't feel so bad about spending that much on mirin - I bought a bottle of marsala last week for the same price, and I'm sure I use that much less often. Chicken nikkujyaga sounds delicious, is the meat thinly sliced as well, or do they use cubes?

I have never made or had chicken nikujaga, but as long as I look at these photos, I think the latter is true. Besides, thinly sliced chicken doesn't sound very appetizing, does it?

[nakji]

Well, I may just have to try that. I can nikkujyaga my way through all the major meats. Has anyone ever attempted a lamb nikkujyaga?

[helenjp]

Yes of course, but once you get lamb and potato together, you are halfway to Mongolia, and rapidly leaving Japanese cooking behind you! Add cabbage or hakusai, nira, and some fat udon, flavor the broth with salt and ginger...

[shinju]

smallworld: Is there another full picture of your tofu salad? It looks really delicious from the little that I can see of it (on the left right?). How'd you make it?

Not from that meal, but this one is pretty much the same:



The base is spinach (as you can see, Japanese spinach has smaller, flat leaves) and wakame seaweed dressed with ponzu, ground sesame and sesame oil. Next is tofu, topped with katsuobushi and drizzled with a bit more ponzu.

This is my standard salad, with the greens and dressing changing depending on what's available (ponzu and olive oil is also a really nice dressing for tofu salad or hiya-yakko).

It's important to use good tofu-- here I've used one from my favourite tofu maker, Otokomae Tofu, called Masahiro:



The bottom of the package is stamped with the kanji for "otoko", or man. The tofu retains the stamp when out of its package, which looks pretty cool when splashed with soy sauce as for hiya-yakko but is invisible when covered with katsuobushi!

I just saw these tofu at Nijiya Market here in Mountain View CA and purchased one. They come in small three pack, one pictured in your post, and larger one. I can't wait to try it. And of course for comparison too!

[nakji]

I can get that tofu at my local shop, but my husband doesn't like tofu. Anyone have any recipes for converting tofu haters? One of my favourite ways to make tofu is korean style - plopped on a plate with sesame oil, gochugaru, sesame seeds, and chopped green onion sprinkled on top.

[shinju]

So many wonderful and delicious looking dishes from all.

I had quite a bit of leftover filling from the gyoza and used that to make wafu style cabbage roll. I also added leftover rice and tofu.

[nakji]

Can you tell me what the sprouts in the picture are? I bought a bag of them last week and love them! I've been sprinkling them on everything!

[shinju]

Can you tell me what the sprouts in the picture are? I bought a bag of them last week and love them! I've been sprinkling them on everything!

It's kaiware - sprouted daikon. I really like them as topping for many dishes especially on salads and soups.

[sanrensho]

Anyone have any recipes for converting tofu haters?

Mapo tofu.

[torakris]

Anyone have any recipes for converting tofu haters?

Mapo tofu.

I second this, this is the dish that turned me onto tofu and the only one I make for my tofu hating family in the US.

[nakji]

Do you make it with soft or firm tofu? And do you use one of the mixes you can buy in the supermarket, or do you make yours from scratch?

[torakris]

Do you make it with soft or firm tofu? And do you use one of the mixes you can buy in the supermarket, or do you make yours from scratch?

I prefer firm tofu in mine but I know many people who prefer the softer type. It is just personal preference. There is nothing wrong with the packs if you are only cooking for two and pressed for time. If you want to try it at home I highly recommend Ah Leung's ma po dofu, the pictorial can be found here. (Here is the list of all of his pictorials, many of these can be made with ingredients easily found in Japan)

If you do try a package one, I recommend any of the Cook-Do ones. This is my favorite. The package says it is good for 3 to 4 people but I find this serves about 2....

[Hiroyuki]

Do you make it with soft or firm tofu? And do you use one of the mixes you can buy in the supermarket, or do you make yours from scratch?

Personally, I like to make it with firm momen dofu (= tofu). Check out the China... Forum, and you will find a thread on mapo tofu, where some say they like to use soft tofu. So, that's really depends on your preferences.
I used to use a premade mix (Marumiya's) for decades, but now I prefer to make it from scratch. Again, check out the China... Forum, you will find a nice thread on making mapo tofu.

[sanrensho]

I prefer firm, too, although soft tofu will disintegrate more easily and may be less "intrusive" for the purposes of convincing your husband to eat tofu. We usually make ours from scratch.

[shinju]

I tried the tofu Smallworld used for her salad. This tofu is new to me and new to our neighborhood Japanese market, Nijiya. The only difference between her package and the one I purchased was the writing. The one being offered here in Mountain View CA shows the kanji Otoko.

I was very surprised at how they packaged the tofu inside. It was wrapped neatly in paper and as soon as I sliced into it I knew it was going to be very creamy. Not only creamy, but very, very rich and pleasantly sweet. It wasn't quite kinugoshi/silken, but not quite regular/momen either because the texture was too smooth for momen. I really like it, but I did find it very filling - much more so than regular tofu. Not sure how they make this, but I can tell from the taste that they used very, very rich soy milk.

[Hiroyuki]

I tried the tofu Smallworld used for her salad.  This tofu is new to me and new to our neighborhood Japanese market, Nijiya.  The only difference between her package and the one I purchased was the writing.  The one being offered here in Mountain View CA shows the kanji Otoko. 

I was very surprised at how they packaged the tofu inside.  It was wrapped neatly in paper and as soon as I sliced into it I knew it was going to be very creamy.  Not only creamy, but very, very rich and pleasantly sweet.  It wasn't quite kinugoshi/silken, but not quite regular/momen either because the texture was too smooth for momen.  I really like it, but I did find it very filling - much more so than regular tofu.  Not sure how they make this, but I can tell from the taste that they used very, very rich soy milk.

John and I talked about our experiences with Otokomae tofu in the tofu thread.
Their tofu has become so popular. I can find some of their products even in my small city. But, they are so expensive that have bought one only once.

[shinju]

I tried the tofu Smallworld used for her salad.  This tofu is new to me and new to our neighborhood Japanese market, Nijiya.  The only difference between her package and the one I purchased was the writing.  The one being offered here in Mountain View CA shows the kanji Otoko. 

I was very surprised at how they packaged the tofu inside.  It was wrapped neatly in paper and as soon as I sliced into it I knew it was going to be very creamy.  Not only creamy, but very, very rich and pleasantly sweet.  It wasn't quite kinugoshi/silken, but not quite regular/momen either because the texture was too smooth for momen.  I really like it, but I did find it very filling - much more so than regular tofu.  Not sure how they make this, but I can tell from the taste that they used very, very rich soy milk.

John and I talked about our experiences with Otokomae tofu in the tofu thread.
Their tofu has become so popular. I can find some of their products even in my small city. But, they are so expensive that have bought one only once.

Although the texture is very creamy I haven't quite made up my mind whether I like this tofu over others. It is sweet to my taste (maybe too sweet for my taste) and the mouthfeel is crazy as it seem somewhat similar to panna cotta.

I threw away the package, but I wonder if they add anything to their tofu other than what's standard. Having said this it's very possible I may end up liking this tofu over others.

[The Blissful Glutton]

When I was in Tokyo I had the most amazing menchi katsu at a katsu place. Anyone have a recipe? I have made tonkastu but never the minced pork cake version. Thanks in advance!

[torakris]

When I was in Tokyo I had the most amazing menchi katsu at a katsu place. Anyone have a recipe? I have made tonkastu but never the minced pork cake version. Thanks in advance!

I actually prefer menchi katsu to other kinds, I rarely make them as they are really cheap to buy in the supermarkets here. Here is some more information and a recipe. The recipe (with step by step photos) is on the second page. My favorite version of menchi katsu is actually half ground pork and half shredded cabbage, it is really wonderful.

[Hiroyuki]

Like Kristin, I make it a point NOT to make korokke and menchi katsu at home.
I like menchi katsu, particularly those with a lot of cabbage in them.
Here is a recipe IN JAPANESE, but you can view a video by clicking PLAY, on the right near the bottom. The recipe is basically the same as that linked to by Kristin, and calls for cabbage cut into 1-cm squares.

[_john]

Speaking of korokke I made a korokke that turned out particularly well recently. I sautéed minced cabbage in butter and then added some apple juice and cooked it until it became soft and the liquid was almost evaporated. Then I let it cool and formed small patties of the cabbage mixture and froze them. After they were frozen I covered them in mashed potatoes mixed with some milk and fried them like regular korokke. My friend dubbed them とろけるキャベツコロッケ melting cabbage korokke. I have since used the same freezing technique to make other unique korokke. Maybe I should put this in the urawaza thread.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

Last night I bought a big pack of boneless pork loin chops (1" thick) at Costco, and as I was prepping some for the freezer, I decided that I wanted shogayaki tonight. I found an easy looking recipe on about.com (3 tbsp shoyu, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 3 tbsp freshly grated ginger to 1 lb of pork).

The kids ate it all before I had a chance to take a picture... I guess they liked it.

[torakris]

Last night's dinner was sanshoku don 三色丼, sanshoku means three color. The topics can vary but you need to have 3 different colors. I made it with salmon flakes, nanohana (broccoli rabe) and iritamago (slightly sweetened scrambled eggs).

[nakji]

That looks delicious. The bowl really brings out the colours! Very spring-like.

I received Elizabeth Andoh's "Washoku" for Christmas, and I've been cooking my way through it. I've made Hiroyuki's nikomi hamburg recipe before, but the sauce requires ketchup, which I usually don't keep on hand. In Washoku, there's a recipe that only calls for soy sauce and sake, so I tried that. It was a hit, and I made my hamburgers a bit smaller than she calls for so I'd have some meatballs for the next day's bento. It came out perfectly, and I was quite proud of myself!

[Hiroyuki]

I bought one pack of ama ebi (sweet shrimp) heads for 50 yen today, and put them in miso soup for supper tonight. A photo of the heads can be found here.