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VEGETABLES
BACK | SIMMERED DAIKON | SPINACH WITH SESAME DRESSING | SHOYU SIMMERED VEGETABLES
Fresh vegetables have always been important in Japanese cuisine, with meals representing the seasonal changes of the country. When preparing these dishes it's important to select the freshest produce available from your grocer, try not to use frozen or canned vegetables.
the humble daikon radish
DAIKON NO SAKE-NI (Daikon simmered in sake)
The sharpness and natural bite of this gigantic white radish is tamed by a slow, gentle stewing in sake. The result is a mild, tender, delectable
vegetable dish.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium sized daikon radish weighing about 1 1/2 pounds
(see illustration above)
4 triangles of
deep fried tofu
1 1/2 cups of o-sake
1 teaspoon of sugar
4 tablespoons of shoyu
4 tablespoons of mirin

Wash the daikon and cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch segments. Cut off the outer skin from the radish chunks with a heavy knife, leaving the round segments as hexagonal shapes. Place the daikon into a medium sized pot and fill with just enough water to barely cover the radish, bring to a boil over high heat (skim off any foam that may appear). Discard half the boiling water and then add the sake, mirin, shoyu, sugar, and deep fried tofu, reduce the heat to very low, cover and let simmer for fifteen minutes. Serve hot in
small bowls.
HORENSO NO GOMA AE (Spinach with sesame seed dressing)
Spinach (horenso), has long been a favorite green vegetable in Japan and this classic way to serve it is a standard in Japanese homes and restaurants. You can also make an alternate of this dish by replacing the spinach with 2 cups of fresh string beans (lightly steamed and still crip, cut into 1 inch segments).

INGREDIENTS
1 small bunch of fresh spinach
3 tablespoons of white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons of shoyu

Thoroughly wash and pat dry the spinach, remove the stems and wilted leaves from the bunch. Put the clean spinach into a large pot of boiling salted water until the leaves barely wilt. Immediately transfer the spinach into a colander and place under cold running water. Squeeze out the excess water and pat dry.

Place the sesame seeds in a small dry saucepan and heat over a medium flame (be sure to constantly move the pan so as not to scorch the seeds, the object in dry roasting is to release flavors). Transfer the warm seeds to a suribachi and crush them using the wooden pestle. Add the sugar and continue grinding until the mix has become a paste, add the shoyu and blend well. Place spinach (or beans) into a serving bowl, add the sesame-shoyu dressing, toss well and serve chilled.

UMA-NI (Vegetables simmered in shoyu)
This is a classic way of cooking vegetables. Whatever fresh vegetables are available can be used, so feel free to alter this recipe to suit your tastes. This is an excellent dish to serve with fish or rice. You can also choose to simmer nothing but mushrooms or water chestnuts in
this manner.

INGREDIENTS
2 whole boiled bamboo shoots, cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges
1 carrot, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch segments
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms (or dried shiitake reconstituted in water), cut in half
1/4 block of konnyaku, cut into 1 inch cubes
12 fresh snow peas
2 cups of dashi
(see basics for preparation method)
1 teaspoon of o-sake
1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons shoyu
1 teaspoon mirin

Combine the dashi, o-sake, shoyu, mirin, and sugar in a small pot and bring to a boil. Add the vegetables and konnyaku, cover and allow to simmer over a low flame for 20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. Transfer the vegetables into small bowls, ladle a bit of the broth over
them and serve.
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