Komatsuna

[BarbaraY]

I planted komatsuna and now it's burgeoning! I have made oshitashi with it and it was very good but would like some other ideas for preparation.

[Hiroyuki]

Besides ohitashi (not oshitashi), it's good in miso soup, nibitashi (simmered with abura age in broth (for example, 8:1:1 ratio of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce), and goma ae (simply replace spinatch with komatsuna). It's also good in stir-fried dishes.

[torakris]

Besides ohitashi (not oshitashi), it's good in miso soup, nibitashi (simmered with abura age in broth (for example, 8:1:1 ratio of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce), and goma ae (simply replace spinatch with komatsuna).  It's also good in stir-fried dishes.

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Hiroyuki has pretty much covered it all, you can use it any place you would use spinach. I think it really goes well with any type of deep fried tofu, like aburage (thin pockets) and astuage (the thicker blocks). I tend to season it a little more heavily added garlic and a little more soy sauce. The atsuage and komatsuna also make a great stirfry with some oyster sauce.

The baby leaves are also great raw in salads.

[BarbaraY]

Thank you both very much.

I wonder why most of my books call it oshitashi?

[torakris]

Thank you both very much.

I wonder why most of my books call it oshitashi?

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I have only ever heard it called ohitashi, but it seems to a regional difference, this link (in Japanese) shows a Japanese person asking the same question and basically learning that either pronunciation is okay.

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you both very much.

I wonder why most of my books call it oshitashi?

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I have only ever heard it called ohitashi, but it seems to a regional difference, this link (in Japanese) shows a Japanese person asking the same question and basically learning that either pronunciation is okay.

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Ohitashi is still a standard term because it comes from the verb "hitasu" (to soak). Part of the problem is that Edokko (people born and bred in Edo, i.e., former Tokyo) were unable to pronounce hi and replaced it with shi. Even today, many older people living in Tokyo have difficulty distinguishing between hi and shi and/or pronoucing hi. To tell you the truth, my mother, who is in her 70s, is one of such people!

Interestingly, just the opposite can happen in Kansai (Western Japan). They call a shichiya (pawnshop) a hichiya, shichi (seven) hichi, and shiku (to lay or spread) hiku.

[BarbaraY]

Now I think I have figured it out. Restaurants often have it listed as oshitashi, however I looked over some of my books and had been reading it as I had seen it on menus.