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Japanese foods--nimono

torakris

By torakris
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

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torakris

torakris

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What's the difference, if any, between "nabemono" and "nimono"?  What does the suffix "-mono" mean?

Just want to know, before I answer the question and make myself look like a fool.  :blink:

Soba

mono just means "thing"

therefore:

yakimono (grilled thing, yaki =grilled)

nimono (simmered thing ni = simmered thing, actually the verb is niru)

sumono (vinegared thing, su=vinegar)

etc

etc

nabemono (pot thing? nabe=pot, pan) are things cooked in a hot pot usually surrounded by broth

nimono may start out like a nabe but the sauce is usaully quite reduced so that it just coats the food or there are just a couple of tablespoons of the stuff. most nimono is either soy flavored or miso flavored.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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torakris

torakris

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one of my favorites is komochi karei nistuke a dish of flounder fillets with the egg sacs still attatched very gently simmered with soy sake and konbu.

also buta kaku-ni (kaku means angle and refers to the square shap of the buta or pork), a very long simmered dish of pork and occasionally peas (for color more than taste) that just melts in your mouth.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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One of the things that I like about nimono is that one often serves them at room temperature. With one or more nimono dishes, it's very easy to do multicourse menus.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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torakris

torakris

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One of the things that I like about nimono is that one often serves them at room temperature. With one or more nimono dishes, it's very easy to do multicourse menus.

I think this is one of the reasons this is the popular kind of homestyle cooking.

In Japanese households, most people eat at different times and this kind of food is at its best at room temperature, it can also be held for a couple of days no problem.

I also love individual simmered vegetables

kabocha

bamboo

taro

etc

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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smallworld

smallworld

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Mmm! Me too, komochi karei nistuke and buta kaku-ni are big favourites of mine. The season for karei is pretty much over, but I'm not complaining with bamboo shoots in season! Such a pain in the butt to prepare, but sooooo good!

My all time favourite is buri daikon, but it's also just out of season now.

Iri dori or chikuzen-ni (are these different names for the same dish? Or just very similar dishes? It's veggies like lotus root, carrot, burdock root, shiitake, sato-imo, usually with chicken and konnyaku) is my year-round favourite. It takes a while to prepare so I don't cook it as much as I'd like. Maybe this weekend...

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

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torakris

torakris

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Iri dori or chikuzen-ni (are these different names for the same dish? Or just very similar dishes? It's veggies like lotus root, carrot, burdock root, shiitake, sato-imo, usually with chicken and konnyaku) is my year-round favourite. It takes a while to prepare so I don't cook it as much as I'd like. Maybe this weekend...

iridori and chikuzen-ni are the same thing, it is another favorite of mine but I rarely make it because my (Japanese) husband doesn't really care nimono (except fish).....................

he also dislikes miso soup, nabe, okonomiyaki, shiitake, sometimes I wonder what he ate as a child :blink:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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smallworld

smallworld

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iridori and chikuzen-ni are the same thing, it is another favorite of mine but I rarely make it because my (Japanese) husband doesn't really care nimono (except fish).....................

he also dislikes miso soup, nabe, okonomiyaki, shiitake, sometimes I wonder what he ate as a child :blink:

Oh my God, that's so weird. Especially the nabe. I hope you're not ever tempted to ask 'What was the point of marrying a Japanese man if I can't make nabe at home???'.

I have a different problem- my husband and I both love nimono, but he absolutely can't eat any that isn't made by me, his mom, or a good restaurant. So if I want chikuzen-ni for dinner, then I've got to put in the hours and make it myself. No take-out, wether from the local grocery store or a fancy expensive shop in the basement of a fancy expensive department store. They always go too heavy on the seasonings, especially sugar and mirin, apparently. I guess that's what happens when you marry a Kansai man and live in Kanto...

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

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torakris

torakris

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iridori and chikuzen-ni are the same thing, it is another favorite of mine but I rarely make it because my (Japanese) husband doesn't really care nimono (except fish).....................

he also dislikes miso soup, nabe, okonomiyaki, shiitake, sometimes I wonder what he ate as a child :blink:

Oh my God, that's so weird. Especially the nabe. I hope you're not ever tempted to ask 'What was the point of marrying a Japanese man if I can't make nabe at home???'.

I have a different problem- my husband and I both love nimono, but he absolutely can't eat any that isn't made by me, his mom, or a good restaurant. So if I want chikuzen-ni for dinner, then I've got to put in the hours and make it myself. No take-out, wether from the local grocery store or a fancy expensive shop in the basement of a fancy expensive department store. They always go too heavy on the seasonings, especially sugar and mirin, apparently. I guess that's what happens when you marry a Kansai man and live in Kanto...

smallworld,

You might not want to make any of my recipes then, I go very heavy on the soy! and mirin! and sugar! :biggrin:

The only thing I remember about my trip to Osaka/Nara/Kyoto 12 years ago was the bland food and it is the main reason I have no interest in going back.

Lucky for me I married and Edokko (descended from a long line of Tokyoites).

I guess I am pretty lucky that even though he doesn't care for it he will eat it without complaining! :wub:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Bigfoot

Bigfoot

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I guess that's what happens when you marry a Kansai man and live in Kanto...

Smallworld,

Ha ha hah! I *so* know what you mean! I went out with an Osaka guy for 5 years and moved to Tokyo with him -- he started cooking like a fiend and we put on like 20 pounds! He would call the factory that made Asahi Ponzu and beg them to sell us a case wholesale as he was Osaka umare sodachi (born & raised) and "couldn't live" without Asahi Ponzu for nabe! Made regular calls to his mom for Osaka & Kyushu recipes (family was a mix). I think that contributed greatly to my interest in food, actually -- they really take their food seriously.

a.k.a. Biggie

Speedy packed lunch blog: Lunch in a Box (Building a Better Bento)

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smallworld

smallworld

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Interesting. I think for this reason nimono was (is?) the hardest Japanese food for me to perfect. I'm not used to using any kind of sugar or sweet seasoning in non-dessert cooking, and as for salt I'm used to adding the minimum amount. There's always salt, pepper and other seasonings at the table so if someone wants a little more salt they can just add it themselves.

It's so hard to get used to perfecting the balance of soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, dashi etc, and making sure it's perfect before it gets to the table.

My husband wasn't aware that it's OK to add your own seasonings at the table, so when we were first married and I'd cook something 'Canadian' he'd just eat it as is, poor guy. He must have thought I was a terrible cook and it took a while for him to realize it wasn't an insult to add salt and pepper to a meal I cooked. (Funny, he never had a problem piling on the parmesan cheese, shichimi or chili sauce!)

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

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torakris

torakris

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nimono is very difficult to perfect, at least it is pretty forgiving and you can taste as you go along. Unless you really mess up! :blink:

For example my simmered kaboch recipe uses 2 cups of dashi and 2 teaspoons of soy and 5 to6 tablespoons of sugar, while the same amount of taro takes 1 1/2 cups dashi, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 5 tablespoons of soy and 5 tablespoons of mirin.There is no one basic recipe for all simmered vegetables.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 4 months later...
Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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What cut of beef is that, Kristin?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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torakris

torakris

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What cut of beef is that, Kristin?

this one!

japan001_DCE.jpg

this was packaged just as usu-kiri (thinly sliced) there is no specification as to what part of the cow it came from (which is quite common with Japanese packaging), it did come from a black haired born, raised and slaughtered in Japan wagyu. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Jason Perlow

Jason Perlow

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one of the most well loved simmered foods

nikujyaga!

fb47c8d1.jpg

coming soon to eGCI Japanese cooking class

That looks like a Passover or Rosh Hashanah dish that my grandmother used to make.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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  • 7 months later...
torakris

torakris

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I made a ground chicken meatball and green bean nimono last night very simply seasoned with dashi, soy, mirin and some sugar, no recipe I just tasted as I went and my husband said it was really wonderful (he normally dislikes nimono) and went through 4 bowls of rice because the "sauce" was just so good. :biggrin:

It has been almost 10 years in Japan and I feel like I have finally gotten the nimono thing down! :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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