This is kind of like a grand finale, except it's not the end.... Oh never mind. First things first, I'm just warning you that this recipe takes quite an effort and is perfect for a weekend project. Since tempura is best eaten right away, I stood up from the dinner table very now and then and made several batches. This recipe is totally worth it, the tempura was so good. Now, it wasn't exactly like the restaurants, but the batter left a thin crispy coating and the vegetables were tender and delicious. Onto the recipe (which is adapted from japanese farm food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu)!
Another tsukemono recipe. I might even like this one more than the last one. Crisp cucumbers, with kombu adding a seawater taste. Yum! Here we go... Okay guys, confession time. I don't like red bean paste and unfortunately, it is in almost EVERY Japanese sweet known to man. And when I ordered the chocolate filled manju (I'll explain later), I felt like such a tourist in Japan. But, I probably already looked like a tourist... Tsukemono are Japanese-style pickles that you can find all over Japan with any meal-breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are many types of tsukemono, dry pickled and wet pickled and vegetables such as, plums, cucumbers, daikon, and even eggplant. The recipe I will be sharing with you today is for a vinegar, wet-pickled daikon and carrot tsukemono. The recipe I used was originally from Japanese Cooking 101, but I have altered it a little. Enjoy! Japanese using chopsticks is like us (Americans) using fork and knives; we just do it. Most Japanese food is meant to be eaten with chopsticks; the rice is very sticky, meat is in big enough pieces to pick up and they drink soup right from the bowl- no spoons required. But the reason why they use chopsticks is because bamboo is plentiful in Asia and the early Japanese made simple eating utensils, chopsticks, that we can still use today. Dashi is a Japanese soup stock, flavored by bonito and kombu, and used as a base for many dipping sauces and soups of Japanese cuisine.The ingredients you will need to make homemade dashi are... Miso soup is just so good. And simple, too. Topped with silky tofu and green onions that add a little kick, it's perfect. Below is some information on bonito and miso. Yum! If you live in Japan and don't like rice, you are out of luck. Rice is literally eaten every day, at every meal. Japanese people take their rice very seriously, and take great pride in growing their own rice. When I was in Japan, I was able to try some homegrown rice and IT WAS AMAZING. It tasted so fresh and delicious. If all rice tasted like that, I would literally become a grain of rice from eating it so often. First of all, I have some things to tell you. I have sushi plush toys. They are possibly the best thing in my room. And in case you were wondering, I didn't buy them with my own money (they were a gift, though I did ask for them...) and I have had them for a couple years now. Another thing, I don't like raw fish. It just has no appeal whatsoever, and why should I eat something I don't want, even if it does have a big role in Japanese cuisine. But now for the main event, soy sauce and wasabi. Although only recently, the fifth flavor umami has been making big news in restaurants and cookbooks all over the world, it really was first introduced in 1908. For those of you who haven't heard of umami, it is now known as the fifth taste, after sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. It is a savory taste that plays a role in rounding out and blending flavors. In other words, it makes the food delicious. :) |