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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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