Spinach with sesame paste

Ingriedents: bunch of spinach, Tablespoons sesame paste (neri-goma), 1/2 teaspoon sugar, Tablespoons soy-sauce, a little sake.

How to make: First wash spinach in a bowl of water and rinse. if the stem is thick cut an X through the bottom. Second in a lot of boilng water add a pinch of salt, boil spinach standing up, push down as roots soften, boil for 1 min. Third strain, wash with cold water soon. Then squeeze excess water by lightly wringing with the all stems together, cut into 3-cm length pieces. After that grind sesame seeds. Next mix sugar and soy-sauce with ground sesame, add a little sake. Finally mix together with spinach.

Rice

How to cook: Wash rice 30 minutes prior to cooking. First add rice to a large bowl full of water. Rice bran will be easy to remove by doing this. Second mix 2 or 3 times, discarding whitish water quickly to avoid bran odor. Third Wash rice in clockwise circular motion. Press down on rice once then discard water. Repeat 3 or 4 times. Strain rice, let it sit for 30 minutes. Then put rice in rice cooker. Add approximately 1.2 cups of water per cup of rice depending of desired firmness of rice.

Zoni

Ingredients: Pieces of cut mochi, chicken leg meat, bunch komatsuna, 3-4 cm carrots, 3 cups of dashi (ichiban dashi), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon usukuchi (light flavored) soy sauce, yuzu (citron).

How to make: First, mix and heat up dashi, salt and soy sauce. Second, wash komatsuna, boil stems down, cut into 3 cm pieces. Third, divide meat into 4 pieces. Then lightly peel carrots. In intervals cut 5 triangular pieces out of the carrot lengthwise. Slice into 7-8 mm flower-shaped pieces. After that grill mochi on broiler net until toasted and inside is puffy. Finally gently pour dashi over mochi, meat, and komatsuna and carrots. Garnish with yuzu peel.

Zoni is traditional Japanese food. We eat it first day of the year.

Chawan mushi

Ingredients:eggs, dashi, salt, usukuchi, soy sauce, sasami chicken meat, shrimps, shimeji mushrooms, kamaboko

Preparation:First break eggs in a large ball. Draw the letter Z on the bottom with the tip of the chopsticks, do not foam. Second little by little, add cooled dashi and then salt, soy sauce. Third to improve texture, strain egg through a net.

Fillings

First remove white sinewy tissue from sasami chicken meat. Cut into bite size pieces. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Second remove black vein from shrimps. Devine except for tail. Third remove roots of shimeji mushrooms, tear into easy to eat pieces.

How to cook:First prepare Chawan mushi serving cups. If serving cups with lids are not available, use tea cup covered with aluminum foil. Second divide fillings into 4 except for mitsuba and yuzu strips, neatly place filling and kamaboko slices in individual cups. Pour in egg mixture. Use a double-boiler pan (mushiki) half full with water and boil cups. Heat about 15minutes.

Chawanmushi is one of the traditional Japanese food. Please enjoy it.

Tenpura

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I don't have have any class on Wednesday, so I tried to make Tenpura.

Ingredients: shrimps, kisu (white sillago fish), squid, pumpkin, small eggplants (nasu), gobou (burdock root), shiitake, shishito (spicy green peppers), small lotus root (renkon), oba (beefsteak leaves). Batter; egg, cold water, flour, tuyu (sauce of Japanese)

Preparation: Pumpkin: remove seed, peel skin, cut into bite size peices.

Eggplant: without removing the skin, cut tip off, cut lengthwise. Cut halves into strips.

Gobou: Clean well. Remove skin with the back of a knife. Cut in strips. Soak in water to remove aku.

Shitake: Remove stem, Score a X on the inner side.

Shishito: To prevent them from exploding, cut hole.

Wash beefsteak leaves and dry.

Shrimp: remove shell, head, spine.

Kisu: Remove skin and bones.

Squid remove skin, score back a few times cut into 4 to 5 cm pieces.

How to cook: First, mix egg add ice water to insure crippiness. Use 1:5 ratio, egg to water. Mix in sifted flour light but not completely with chopsticks. Make batter immedietly before cooking.

Second, in a heavy pan, fill pan to about 75% capacity with oil.

Third, heat oil 160 to 180C .

Then, fry harder vegtables first. Avoid using too much batter. Only fry the inner side of shitake and shiso. Fry all other items on both sides. Fry 3-5 strips of gobou together.

Next, when the outer edges look cooked, turn over. Remove completed tempra and place on rack to drain oil.

Cook vegatables first, then seafood. Before dipping fish in batter, dust with flour. Hold shrimp and fish by the tail when dipping. Turn over as each piece floats to the top.

Remove to rack and eat.

Sukiyaki

image from: item.rakuten.co.jp/car-ni-val/029-001/

Ingredients: thinly sliced beef , onion, green onion, fresh shiitake mushrooms, itokonyaku, yaki-tofu, bag of fu, Beef lard, sake, sugar, soy sauce, konbu dashi, eggs

Preparation: 1. Cut beef into 5-6 cm strips. 2. Cut onion in half. 3. Cut green onion. 4. Remove stems from shiitake. 5. Boil itokonyaku and cut into an easy to eat size. 6. Cut yaki-tofu. 7. Soak fu in water.

How to cook: First heat pan or skillet. Second, briefly cook beef evenly on both sides. Third, add sake, sugar then soy sauce. Then add 1/2 of the ingredients except for the fu. When water level increases, add fu. If desired, put raw egg in small bowl. Dip sukiyaki in it. And eat it.

Yakitori

image from www.okaimonogekijo.com/item/1430071/index.html

Ingredients; chicken thigh, long green onions, sauce, Bamboo skewers.

Preparation; mix soy sauce, sake, ginger juice. And cut chicken into bite size pieces, marinate in sauce. Cut green onions into 2-3cm pieces.

How to cook; First remove chiken from sauce allow excess sauce to drain. Second alternately skew pieces of chicken then onion. Third boil remaining sauce. If desired, add a dash of sugar and crushed red pepper. Then grill on a low fire. Make sure it does not burn and the inside of the meat is well done before serving. Brush on sauce frequently while grilling.