Japanese Furikake Seasoning

Furikake is our favorite Japanese seasoning but utill now we used it very sparingly because it is so expensive and we have to drive over one hour to buy it. We use it on fish, rice, cucumber salads, noodles etc.

There are few rough recipes on Internet but for me the biggest stumbling block was how to chop nori (dry seaweed) into small pieces. With the knife it is very tedious and messy job – the nori flakes fly all over the kitchen. When I tried food processor or mini chopper it was a failure as I was left with mix of powder and some large chunks, there was no consistency at all

Then, I had an idea: why not to use spaghetti attachment on my pasta machine? Today I gave it a try and it is a winner!!! It is so fast and easy I couldn’t believe it!

Here is my version of Furikake and my technique to chop nori. You can adjust ratio of ingredients to your taste, add some more or omit some. Just use your imagination.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. toasted white sesame seeds

2 Tbs. black sesame seeds

2 Tbs. bonito flakes

2 dried shiitake mushrooms

1 tsp. Dashi soup base powder or 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1 tsp. dried mandarin or tangerine peel, cut into small pieces

1/2 tsp. chili powder or to taste

4 sheets toasted nori, chopped (see tip at bottom)

Instruction:

Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms, chop into smaller pieces and grind in coffee or spice grinder into powder consistency. Add orange peel and grind till fine. Add bonito flakes and pulse couple times to break larger pieces.

Empty grinder contents into mixing bowl, add sesame seeds, Dashi, chili powder and nori flakes and mix till well combined.

Tip: How to chop Nori into flakes using pasta machine.

Take 4 nori sheets and cut into 4 equal pieces.  You will have 4 piles with 4 small sheets.

Take each pile and run through spaghetti attachment of pasta machine. Keep strands running in same direction.

When all piles are cut into strips, place them across cutting roller and cut them into flakes. If you want longer flakes use fettuccine cutting roller.

All done and no mess.

Japanese Seven Spice Blend

Shichimi Togarashi

photo by george billard

Togarashi, the Japanese word for “chiles,” is a group of condiments always including chiles that bring out the clean, simple flavors of Japanese food. Shichimi togarashi is also called seven spice (shichi is “seven” in Japanese), because seven ingredients are generally used. It works well with fatty foods such as unagi (broiled eel), tempuras, shabu shabu (small bits of food cooked in rich broth), noodle dishes, and yakitori (grilled dishes). Nanami togarashi is a close cousin, with a slightly different proportion of ingredients emphasizing citrus zest.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sansho (or 1 tablespoon black peppercorns)

1 tablespoon dried tangerine peel

1 tablespoon ground red chile pepper (or less to your taste)

2 teaspoons flaked nori

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

2 teaspoons white poppy seeds

2 teaspoons minced garlic

To make shichimi togarashi:

Combine 2 tablespoons sansho (or 1 tablespoon black peppercorns), 1 tablespoon dried tangerine peel, 1 tablespoon ground red chile pepper, 2 teaspoons flaked nori, 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds, 2 teaspoons white poppy seeds and 2 teaspoons minced garlic. Grind together to a chunky consistency.

Makes 1/2 cup.

Store refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.

From Chowhound

Sunomono

Sunomono is Japanese cold noodle salad made with somen (buckwheat) noodles, served with rice vinegar dressing and topped with cooked cold shrimp, crab meat, daikon, shiitake mushrooms and cucumber. Very much a summer favorite.

3 bundles of Somen Noodles

Cook somen:
Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a rolling boil in a 4-quart saucepan over moderately high heat. Add noodles and 1 cup more water. When water returns to a boil, add 1 cup cold water and bring back to a boil. Simmer noodles until just tender and slightly translucent, about 2 minutes. Test noodles for doneness by dipping 1 strand in cold water and sampling. If noodles are not tender, add 1 cup more water and return water to a boil. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold water. Return to saucepan filled with very cold water and rub noodles till all starch is removed. Drain again and keep noodles cold.

Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup Mirin (or 2 Tbs. honey dissolved in 2 Tbs. sake)

1/4 cup Kikkoman soy sauce

1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients and adjust to your taste. Sauce should taste sweet and sour.

Toppings:

Sliced cucumber

Sliced daikon radish

Cooked shrimps

Crab meat or imitation crab meat (processed Pollock)

Sliced Shiitake mushrooms braised in teriyaki sauce

To serve:

Place somen in chilled bowls, drizzle with 1/4 cup of dipping sauce and top with seafood and vegetables of your choice. For little bit of kick I add 1 tsp. of wasabi paste to my dipping sauce.

Yakitori Chicken – My Way

For a while now I was craving Yakitori Chicken after reading about this traditional

Japanese street

food. If done right, the meat is tender, juicy, sweet and salty with crunchy green onions.  When Yakitori is eaten with rice and cucumber salad on side, it turns the street food into good dining. Since I was at Poultry Specialties two days ago I picked up some chicken thighs, besides couple of bags of chicken feet for my Ultimate Stock that I have posted earlier.

Unfortunately, when I have decided to finally make it, the BBQ was out of question because of 40km/hour wind and I didn’t want to use broiler for 6 short skewers. Then it hit me: I’ll do it just like duck breast in cold skillet. If it works for duck with skin then why not for chicken thighs? The meat was already cut into strips and lightly marinated (just a 1 Tbs. of Yakitori sauce for 4 thighs). I coated bottom of a skillet with 1/2 tsp. of peanut oil with few drops of sesame oil, put the thigh strips skin side down in a skillet, placed the pan on my large gas burner and turned the heat on medium high. I shook the pan almost continuously to make sure that the skin doesn’t stick to bottom. If it does, just move it with spatula.

When the skin got nice color, turn over and cook for another 4 – 5 minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of Yakitori sauce, move the meat around and reduce the sauce until it is thick.  Never raise the heat above medium hot. Remove to serving plate and enjoy.

Yup, it was that good!

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

This is so easy and fast to make that it will be my favorite standby on a busy days in any season. When I say fast I mean fast, provided that you have teriyaki sauce on hand.

Ingredients:

4 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces

4 green onions (scallions) cut into 1” pieces

4 fresh or 8 canned water chestnuts, halved and sliced

3 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce.

2 cups rice

Directions:

Marinate the chicken pieces in teriyaki sauce and keep refrigerated.

Steam the rice, fluff it up and keep warm.

When rice is ready, heat up dry wok or non-stick frying pan and when very hot drop in marinated chicken. Stir to cook on all sides for 2 minutes.

Add green onions and water chestnuts and stir fry for additional 3 minutes.

Remove to preheated plate or bowl and serve with rice.

Nice addition to this meal is simple cucumber salad consisting of 1/2 an English cucumber sliced thin and tossed in dressing made with 1 Tbs. Mirin and 1 Tbs. seasoned rice vinegar.

Japanese Egg Custard - Chawanmushi

Very first time we ate this dish in our favorite sushi restaurant we felt in love with it. It is the lightest egg custard you can imagine and so easy to make. As far as what goes in beside egg and dashi stock is up to you. The classical version has just shrimp, shitake mushroom, ginkgo nuts and sometimes piece of chicken breast. I didn’t have gingko so I substituted with sweet fresh water chestnut and instead chicken I used ham. Also I didn’t have fresh shitake so I soaked dry mushroom and then simmered in sweetened teriyaki sauce for 15 minutes. I have also added parboiled green beans. If you don’t have a special Chawanmushi bowl with lid you can use coffee mug and cover it with aluminum foil. For each cup, mug or bowl you will need:

Custard:

1 egg

1 cup dashi or chicken stock

Ingredients:

1 shitake mushroom, sliced into strips

2 large raw shrimps,  peeled and each cut into 4 pieces

2 green beans, parboiled and cut in half

Small piece of cooked chicken breast

Directions:

Beat the egg in a larger bowl and then add cool stock.

Place all other ingredients in individual bowls and pour egg mixture on top leaving about 1/2” space from top.

Cover the bowls and place in a steamer and steam for 15 – 20 minutes or till custard is set but still moist.

Serve immediately.

Ready for egg and stock mixture.

Sushi Roll

When I bought whole side of salmon I saved tail end for sushi roll and sashimi. I do not use ton of ingredients that you will see in California roll. For us it is just sushi rice, nori (sushi seaweed), cucumber or avocado, salmon, wasabi paste and sesame seeds. There is a website dedicated to sushi making called Sushi Encyclopedia that has very detailed instructions so there is no point for me to go into a great detail.

Here is how I did it.

Clockwise from top left: rice, salmon, sesame seeds, cucumber, wasabi and nori.

Sesame seeds are sprinkled on rice, then salmon a cucumber goes on top and wasabi paste on top of salmon. Ready to roll.

Roll is ready to be cut first in half, then clean cut the ends and finally put 2 halves together and make 3 equal slices. You have 6 slices ready to be served with soy sauce and pickled ginger.



Teriyaki Sauce

This is most versatile of all Japanese sauces. Great with fish, meat, poultry and vegetables. Make larger amount and keep in refrigerator for later use. If you reduce it by half through slow simmer it will become a teriyaki glaze.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine) or 1/3 c. honey and 1/3 c. sake

1 cup soy sauce

4 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/3 cup white sugar

7 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 dash red pepper flakes

Method:

Bring Mirin or honey-sake mixture to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar. Season with garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and black pepper; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Strain and store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.