FIVE TYPICAL JAPANESE RECIPES

FIVE TYPICAL JAPANESE RECIPES

 

Teriyaki chicken skewerwith rice salad

Ingredients:

• 50g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 cup sushi rice, washed, drained
• Rice bran oil spray
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pickled ginger
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Pinch caster sugar

Method

1.      Make teriyaki marinade: Combine garlic, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a bowl until sugar dissolves.

2.      Combine marinade and chicken in a glass bowl. Cover, refrigerate overnight.

3.      Place rice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups cold water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Set aside for 10 minutes. Stir rice with a fork. Rinse under cold water. Drain. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4.      Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Thread chicken onto prepared skewers. Spray skewers with oil. Heat a barbecue chargrill or chargrill pan on medium heat. Cook skewers, turning and basting with reserved marinade, for 10 to 12 minutes or until browned all over and cooked through

5.      Meanwhile, place rice, onion, sesame seeds, carrot, cucumber and ginger in a bowl. Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar together. Pour over salad. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine

6.      Serve skewers with rice salad.

 

Chicken Tatsuta-age

Ingredients:

·         1 1/4 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into about 1 inch pieces

·         3 Tbsp soy sauce

·         2 Tbsps sake

·         1 Tbsp mirin

·         2 tsp fresh ginger juice

·         katakuriko or corn starch for coating

·         vegetable oil for deep-frying

Preparation:

1.      Mix say sauce, sake, mirin, and ginger juice in a large bowl.

2.      Marinate chicken in the sauce for 30-60 minutes.

3.      Take out chicken from the sauce and dry lightly with paper towels.

4.      Preheat oil in about 330 degrees F in a deep pan.

5.      Lightly coat chicken with katakuriko and deep-fry them until done.

6.      Remove the chicken and drain on paper towels.

 

           

Meaty Simmered Eggplants

Ingredients:

·         4 Japanese eggplants, cut in half lenghthwise

·         1 1/3 cup dashi soup stock

·         2 Tbsp soy sauce

·         2 Tbsp mirin

·         1 Tbsp sugar

·         1 Tbsp katakuriko or corn starch, mixed with 1 Tbsp water

·         1 tsp grated fresh ginger

·         *vegetable oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1.      Make diagonal incisions on the skin side of eggplants. Heat oil to 360 degrees F in a skillet for deep-frying.

2.       Deep-fry eggplants until softened. Drain.

3.       Combine dashi soup, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a medium pan. Bring to a boil on high heat and turn down the heat to low.

4.       Simmer fried eggplants in the soup for about 10 minutes. Remove the eggplants into a serving plate. Bring the soup to a boil and add the katakuriko mixture.

5.       Stir quickly and stop the heat.

6.       Add grated ginger in the soup and pour it over simmered eggplants.

7.      Makes 4 servings

 

 

 

Simmered Tsukune

Ingredients:

·         1 lb ground chicken

·         1/4 onion, finely chopped

·         1 small egg, beaten

·         2 Tbsp katakuriko starch or corn starch

·         2 tsp fresh ginger juice

·         1/2 tsp salt

·         2 1/2 cup water

·         3 Tbsp mirin

·         4 Tbsp soy sauce

Preparation:

1.      Put chicken, onion, salt, egg, fresh ginger juice, and katakuriko starch in a large bowl

2.      Mix until combined.

3.      Boil water in a large pan and season with soy sauce and mirin.

4.      Add chicken in the soup, shaping into small dumplings with a spoon.

5.      Simmer until cooked through, skimming off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface.

Satsuma-age (deep-fried fish cakes)

Ingredients:

·         1 lb. (450g) aji horse mackerel fillets, bone and skin removed

·         1/2 lb. (230g) cod or pollock fillets, bone and skin removed

·         2 oz. (60g) gobo burdock root, shaved as if sharpening a pencil

·         All-purpose dashi stock (happo dashi) (see below)

·         Seasonings

·         1/3 cup (80ml) dashi stock (see below)tsp. sake

·         1 tbsp. granulated sugar

·         1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce

·         1 1/4 oz. (40g) white miso

·         Tamamoto (mix 1 large egg yolk and 1 tbsp. vegetable oil in a ramekin ahead of time)

·         Vegetable oil for deep frying

·         Grated ginger and grated wasabi as condiments

·         Soy sauce for dipping

Preparation:

1. On a paper-lined sheet pan, lightly salt the mackerel fillets, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. In a food processor, pulse and grind the fillets into a coarse paste. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

3. Blanch the shavings of burdock root in the all-purpose dashi stock, drain and set aside.

4. Pulse the cod or Pollock in a food processor, gradually adding 1/3 cup of the dashi stock. Add sake, sugar, soy sauce and white miso, and then give a few more pulses. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl. Add the aji horse mackerel paste, the egg-oil mixture (tamamoto) and the burdock shavings. Mix well with rubber spatula. Make 12 oval cakes, about 2/3 inch (1.5cm) thick. Lay on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

5. to deep fry: In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil to 340° F (170° C). Deep fry the cakes until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain excess oil.

6. To serve: Cut each cake into quarters and arrange on a plate with the grated ginger and wasabi on the side. Serve soy sauce in individual small dishes for dipping the cakes.