Food
There is a lot more to Japanese cuisine than sushi and instant noodles, as a new book of authentic recipes shows.
There is a lot more to Japanese cuisine than sushi and instant noodles.
Fans of Japanese cuisine will appreciate the daunting task author Nancy Singleton Hachisu faced in recording that cuisine’s myriad recipes and techniques, yet Japan: The Cookbook is a triumph. Packed with hundreds of authentic, carefully researched recipes, from the complex to the simple, it also includes a history, a glossary and a section featuring leading Japanese chefs from around the world, who have shared contemporary recipes from their restaurant menus.
Born and raised in the US, Hachisu travelled to Japan in 1988 and married an organic-egg producer, whose family farm is west of Tokyo. The acclaimed writer, who is widely respected for her knowledge of food traditions, also produced the award-winning Japanese Farm Food and Preserving the Japanese Way.
For this hefty volume, she travelled extensively over three years, gathering recipes from revered chefs and
traditional cooks. She says in her introduction, “Like everywhere, modern-day Japanese rely on convenience foods and instant preparations. Part of why I immerse myself in Japanese cuisine is to advocate for a look back at traditional foods and artisanal ingredients that have not yet been lost.”
Having spent time with this clever cook in her home, I can attest to her enthusiasm. She also took me to visit several growers and markets, including Yamazaki Jozo, an artisanal organic soy, miso, tofu and pickle company, before cooking me a simple lunch that included eggs that had been buried in miso paste, and small fish she’d dried in the sun.
The recipes in the new book are organised by method and techniques, and range from zensai (pre-meal snacks) to dressed, raw, vinegared, simmered, steamed, fried or grilled dishes, as well as noodles, rice, pickles, one-pots and sweets.
The ingredients are also authentic and some may be hard to find here, although many supermarkets now have a Japanese section. Her advice is to skip hard-to-find ingredients, substitute where possible and generally use a light hand when seasoning. She says, “Less is more with Japanese food.”
The following recipes from the book use katsuobushi dashi, an easily made fish stock. The soup is a fine comfort food for a winter’s day. The savoury custard is a bit of an acquired taste, as we are not used to the texture of slithery egg, but be assured it’s great. It has become one of my favourite Japanese foods. Feel free to substitute or omit the fish cake, gingko nuts and mitsuba (Japanese parsley).
MISO SOUP WITH POACHED EGG
4 small eggs, at room temperature
600ml katsuobushi dashi (see recipe below) 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp dried cut wakame, soaked in cold water
for 20 minutes
4 tbsp brown rice miso
Break each egg into an individual bowl.
In a medium saucepan, bring the dashi to a simmer over a medium heat, then add the onion slices. Lower the heat, then simmer until soft – 2-3 minutes.
Drain the wakame. Dollop the miso into a soup ladle and whisk in a little dashi to emulsify. Stir the miso and wakame into the dashi.
Return the soup to a gentle simmer, then slip in the eggs, one by one. Cover and cook at a bare simmer for 1 minute, swirling the pan a little to encourage the soup to wash over the egg to aid cooking. Remove the soup from the heat. Allow the egg to “cook” by the heat of the covered saucepan until partially set – 2 minutes. Ladle gently into 4 bowls, then serve immediately.
Serves 4.
SAVOURY EGG CUSTARD POTS (CHAWANMUSHI)
400ml katsuobushi dashi (see below) 2 tsp mild soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 / tsp fine sea salt 4
2 eggs, at room temperature
3 small shiitake, stems discarded 100g boneless, skinless chicken breast 2 tbsp soy sauce
6 prawns, peeled and deveined
4 6mm slices kamaboko (fish cake),
halved crosswise
12 ginkgo nuts, shelled and skinned 1 small handful mitsuba, sliced crosswise into 2cm pieces
1 / tsp finely slivered yuzu zest 2
Add the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and salt to a saucepan, then stir over medium-low heat until the salt has dissolved. Cool.
In a large glass measuring cup with a spout, whisk the eggs, without letting them foam, then slowly whisk in the cooled dashi.
In a small saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the shiitake for 30 seconds. Pat the caps dry in a clean tea towel, then quarter.
Cut the chicken on the bias into 6mm-wide strips. Toss with the soy sauce, then blot dry with paper towels.
Divide the shiitake, chicken, prawns, kamaboko, ginkgo nuts and mitsuba (reserving a few choice leaves for garnish) among
4 x 200ml chawanmushi bowls or tea cups, preferably with lids.
Give the egg mixture an extra quick whisk, then pour into the cups, leaving 12mm free at the top to allow for expansion. Cover the cups with lids or plastic wrap.
Set up a steamer and bring the water to a boil. Arrange the cups in the steamer basket, cover, then steam for 20-25 minutes. Uncover the cups, then sprinkle with the zest and a few mitsuba leaves. Serve hot.
Serves 4.
KATSUOBUSHI DASHI
10cm square konbu
500ml water
1 handful shaved katsuobushi
(or bonito flakes)
Place the konbu and water in a small saucepan. Bring it to a near simmer over medium heat. Remove the konbu. Add the katsuobushi, then simmer gently for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 8 minutes.
Strain the dashi through a sieve before using.