Japanese Ingredients in Non Japanese Recipes

[GlorifiedRice]

(Note: If this isnt appropriate then delete it, but I thought it would be fun)

I always have alot of Japanese food stuffs at my house. Some make their way into other favorite recipes. Of course Soy Sauce and Sesame is widely used in lots of other non Japanese recipes and foods. What Japanese ingredients do you cook with or use in NON Japanese ways?

Gari is one of those ingredients that I do other things with alot.

This is what I make often with Gari

Chicken Apple Salad w/ a Creamy Honey Ginger Dressing

Dressing

1 6 ounce container Plain or Vanilla Yogurt

2-4 Tablespoons minced Gari (Pickled Sushi Ginger)

4 Tablespoons Honey

Whisk the dressing, pour it over the following:

2-1/2 cups diced cooked chicken

3/4th diced Granny Smith Apple

3/4th diced Gala Apple

1/3 cup Roasted Chopped Almonds

Mix and eat.

YUMMMMMY!

[shellfishfiend]

I think miso is an ingredient that lends itself to non-Japanese dishes. It is great for marinating fish (although that is a Japanese technique). I also think it is good to use as a base for just about any type of soup. The soup ingredients don't have to be japanese at all. Just stir a little miso in at the end and you will have a wonderful soup with real depth of flavor.

[srhcb]

I think miso is an ingredient that lends itself to non-Japanese dishes. It is great for marinating fish (although that is a Japanese technique). I also think it is good to use as a base for just about any type of soup. The soup ingredients don't have to be japanese at all. Just stir a little miso in at the end and you will have a wonderful soup with real depth of flavor.

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I've thought about this subject a lot while watching Iron Chef.

Do you think misoshiru (did I get that right?) would make a good braising liquid? Which type of miso would you use with beef, pork, or chicken?

SB (knows next to nothing about Japanese foood and cooking)

[Hiroyuki]

Do you think misoshiru (did I get that right?) would make a good braising liquid?  Which type of miso would you use with beef, pork, or chicken?

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You got it right. Miso shiru.

Any type of miso, red like Shinshu miso or white like Kyo miso. I prefer red to white because white miso is too sweet for my taste.

Haccho miso, a specialty of Aichi prefecture, is especially suitable for long-time simmering, but it's an acquired taste for me because of its distinctive flavor.

***

Instant dashi powder!

I can use it for recipes that call for chicken stock.

[srhcb]

Do you think misoshiru (did I get that right?) would make a good braising liquid?  Which type of miso would you use with beef, pork, or chicken?

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You got it right. Miso shiru.

Any type of miso, red like Shinshu miso or white like Kyo miso. I prefer red to white because white miso is too sweet for my taste.

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Thanks! I'm going to try using some red miso shiru for cooking a good old American Pot Roast!

SB

[OnigiriFB]

I tend to use panko instead of breadcrumbs. They are lighter.

[Pan]

I tend to use panko instead of breadcrumbs. They are lighter.

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Also much better quality than typical breadcrumbs sold in American supermarkets, which tend to contain all kinds of extraneous and artificial ingredients and just plain don't taste as good.

Edited December 7, 2006 by Pan (log)

[JasonTrue]

Miso is used in some braised dishes like nasu-no-miso-ni (it's closer to a braise than the ni suggests), an eggplant dish.

I like miso and butter together to season some simple vegetable and mushroom dishes.

I've thought about this subject a lot while watching Iron Chef.

Do you think misoshiru (did I get that right?) would make a good braising liquid?  Which type of miso would you use with beef, pork, or chicken?

SB (knows next to nothing about Japanese foood and cooking)

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[SuzySushi]

Oh, geez, where do I start???

Soy sauce... miso (good in dressings & marinades)... panko in place of Western breadcrumbs for almost every application.

Wasabi is also good in dressings & marinades, as well as in mashed potatoes.

I love ponzu sauce and a splash of that often makes its way into salads. Soba sauce is good as a dip for cold leftover plain spaghetti!

Matcha as a flavoring for baked goods like cookies or cakes.

I'm sure I'll think of a dozen more in the morning when I'm more lucid!

[BarbaraY]

One thing I tried that really didn't work was miso in stuffed or deviled eggs. I thought it would be good but believe me it wasn't.

[smallworld]

Great topic!

I use bottled mentsuyu and ponzu in all kinds of sauces, marinades and dressings. Ponzu and olive oil go really well together and make a great dressing for salads or cooked vegetables, especially potatoes and broccoli.

Shiso is nice in fresh spring rolls, and mitsuba and mizuna are great in salads and sandwiches.

Shelled edamame replace peas in soups and rice dishes. I substitute cooked soy beans for other beans in minestrone, chilli and the like.

I also use Japanese rice to make risotto. It has the right amount of starch and the final result is not all that different from arborio. It is also cheaper and a heck of a lot easier to find than imported Italian rice.

[SuzySushi]

I also use Japanese rice to make risotto. It has the right amount of starch and the final result is not all that different from arborio. It is also cheaper and a heck of a lot easier to find than imported Italian rice.

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Japanese rice also makes for decent paella.

[anzu]

Miso stirred into risotto instead of Parmesan cheese.

Discovered when I found that the hunk of Parmesan I was sure I had in the fridge had mysteriously disappeared. But repeated since then since it tastes so good.

Wasabi in mashed potatoes, why didn't I think of that! DH is a wasabi freak, this is going to be on the menu in the very near future.

[SuzySushi]

Miso stirred into risotto instead of Parmesan cheese.

Discovered when I found that the hunk of Parmesan I was sure I had in the fridge had mysteriously disappeared. But repeated since then since it tastes so good.

Wasabi in mashed potatoes, why didn't I think of that! DH is a wasabi freak, this is going to be on the menu in the very near future.

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Well, now it's my turn to have an "aHA!" moment. I have to try the miso in risotto!

[helenjp]

Miso is great in all kinds of things...out front in cakes (OK in cookies too, but inclined to burn easily), especially good in mellow, rich tasting spice cakes or fruit cakes. Good in pumpkin pie, ice cream, custard (anything rich, that is),and as you might imagine, good in hamburger or meatball mixtures too.

[GlorifiedRice]

Okay, my mom is a prize winning cook (and I grew up around the restaurant biz) I dont think Im that great of a "cook", but I grew up having to "think up" recipe ideas all the time for the myriad of contests my mom would enter.

The last idea I gave her netted her a trip to NYC...

Here are a few ideas for Japanese ingredients in other cuisines recipes that I thought up:

Japanese "Polenta" -- Make polenta with ground Japanese rice (easy to make if you have a Vita-Mix) or Cream of Rice cereal instead of cornmeal, flavor it with Miso or sesame oil and Shiitake . Serve surrounded by chunks of Teriyaki Chicken.

Breakfast mush-- Same thing, but pour the mixture into a loaf pan and refrigerate and slice, fry slices in a sesame/canola oil mix and serve with grilled mackeral and miso soup for breakfast...

"Split" Edamame soup- puree cooked Edamame with cream and onions and top with Katsuo Bushi in place of smokey ham...

These and more swim around my head...

Edited December 9, 2006 by GlorifiedRice (log)

[ogkodansha]

Anyone interested in unusual ways to use Japanese ingredients might want to check out the Breakaway Japanese Kitchen by Eric Gower, he also has a new book coming out soon, I believe it is called The Breakaway Cook. He uses a lot of Japanese ingredients in ways that look startling to me, but people rave about his recipes. He also has a blog on the yahoo food site.

[helenjp]

Glorified Rice, instead of rice "polenta", you might want to try other grains such as hie (barnyard grass, barnyard millet, Japanese millet, echinochloa esculenta) it has a good flavor and texture cooked polenta-style.

[GlorifiedRice]

Glorified Rice, instead of rice "polenta", you might want to try other grains such as hie (barnyard grass, barnyard millet, Japanese millet, echinochloa esculenta) it has a good flavor and texture cooked polenta-style.

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Are those Japanese ingredients? I know that they make a "mochi" from a type of millet...

When I was growing up we had puffed millet cereal. It was good.

[Shalmanese]

I use miso in chicken stocks to give it a boost.

[Hiroyuki]

Have any of you ever used furikake as toppings for spaghetti and pizza?

[JasonTrue]

No, but I use nori furikake (and occasionally additional salt) or sometimes umejiso-furikake plus sugar ground with a suribachi for popcorn.

Have any of you ever used furikake as toppings for spaghetti and pizza?

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Edited December 12, 2006 by JasonTrue (log)

[SuzySushi]

I use nori furikake (and occasionally additional salt) or sometimes umejiso-furikake plus sugar ground with a suribachi for popcorn.

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Furikake popcorn is very popular locally in Hawaii, where it's marketed as "Hurricane Popcorn." Some people even mail packages to friends and relatives on the mainland!

[helenjp]

Awa-mochi is usually just a thick polenta/porridge made of Awa (foxtail millet, italian millet), though it is sometimes mixed with mochi rice and made into mochi cakes.

I think you could use Kibi (proso millet) though it isn't as glutinous.

Popcorn: use sesame oil to pop the corn.

[JasonTrue]

Yes, that's where I stole the idea from. Someone gave me a few packages once, around 1998. Since Hurricane's microwave popcorn goes for about $4.50 a package in Seattle, I started making my own on the stove. I think the same company started selling pre-popped bags, at least around Portland, which seems to have a larger Hawaiian population than Seattle.

The sesame oil idea sounds nice, though I think it needs to be balanced with a higher smoke point oil to keep the flavor from burning away.

I use nori furikake (and occasionally additional salt) or sometimes umejiso-furikake plus sugar ground with a suribachi for popcorn.

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Furikake popcorn is very popular locally in Hawaii, where it's marketed as "Hurricane Popcorn." Some people even mail packages to friends and relatives on the mainland!

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