Okonomiyaki (Japanese-style Pancakes)

Okonomiyaki

This recipe is for the simpler, easier to make type of okonomiyaki found in the Kanto (Eastern) area of Japan. However Hiroshima is the home of okonomiyaki in Kansai (western Japan) and I recommend visiting an okonomiyaki restaurant in Hiroshima city if you get the chance.  It's a memorable experience full of local colour and flavour. You sit at a bar which is a huge teppan (BBQ) plate, and watch as the cook makes your pancake to your liking. "Okonomi" means "as you like it" and "yaki" means "cooked". Many different fillings are possible and the sauce is delicious. In Hiroshima a fried egg and udon or soba noodles are also added to one side of the pancake making it very filling.

To make this recipe as easily as possible use frozen seafood marinara mix and chop it finely while still half frozen.

1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
¾ cup milk (water can be used instead)
3 eggs
120g (4 oz, about 1 cup) diced seafood; squid, octopus, prawns etc OR pork or chicken
500-600g cabbage finely chopped (5- 6 cups)
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil

to serve:

1 cup “okonomi” sauce*

4 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise

powdered nori (or nori snipped from a large sheet)

katsuobushi flakes

1.       Place flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and mix in the eggs and milk with a wooden spoon working from the centre until all the flour is incorporated.

2.       Stir the cabbage and seafood into the batter until well mixed.

3.       Heat a little of the oil on a hot BBQ plate, or in a large frypan. Pour ¼ of the mixture onto the hot surface and shape into a round “pancake” about 15cm (6in) across and flatten the top so that it is about 2cm (1/2 in) thick.

4.       Cook both sides for about 5 minutes each on medium-low heat until golden brown. Repeat until 4 pancakes are made.

5.       Place cooked pancake on serving plate. Spread with some mayonnaise and liberally pour over the okonomi sauce. Sprinkle with nori and katsuobushi.

Serves 4

Okonomi sauce

*okonomi sauce is available from Asian food stores. It tastes like a mixture of fruit relish, BBQ sauce and soy sauce, and has a very smooth and easy to pour texture. 

 

Oyako Domburi

Oyako Domburi

This chicken and egg domburi is a very popular dish in Japan. It is made at home and easily found in restaurants. Oya means parent and ko means child, which is the relationship between the chicken and egg. It is made it in four batches as described below, in Japan, which isn’t really as tricky as it may sound. To do that you need to find a small frypan that is a similar width to the domburi or other large individual serving bowl, so that it will fit when placed over the rice. However I prefer to make it in a large frypan all at once, see the note below.

Serves 4

2 chicken thighs (400g to 500g, 1/2 pound), skinless and boneless, sliced and chopped
1 ½ cups Japanese stock (bonito dashi)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (or white sugar)

1 small onion, halved and sliced lengthways
4 eggs, lightly beaten
8 sprigs trefoil (mitsuba), or substitute Italian parsley, cut into 1 inch (3cm) pieces.

6 – 8 cups hot cooked rice

1.       Divide the rice evenly into four domburi or other large individual serving bowls.

2.       In a large saucepan gently heat together the stock, salt, soy sauce and mirin. Add the chicken and onions and gently boil until cooked.

3.       Ladle a quarter of the chicken and stock mixture into a small frypan, then pour a quarter of the eggs into the mixture, add the trefoil (or parsley) and cover the pan, simmering until just set.

4.       Slide the egg mixture onto the rice in the domburi. Repeat for 3 remaining serves. Eat at once.

Note: If step 2 and 3 sound too fiddly, or you don’t have the right sized frypan, just use a large frypan. Tip, to make it easier, ladle all of the chicken and onion into the large frypan but reserve about ¾ cup liquid (half of it). The egg will set easier this way. Then cut the oyako into 4 quarters, and slide each onto a different domburi bowl of rice. Pour over the reserved liquid and sprinkle with the trefoil or parsley.

Variations:

Beef and Egg; Tanin domburi uses beef instead of chicken. Tanin means people who are unrelated. Cows (beef) and eggs are not related.
Oysters and Egg domburi; Subsitute oysters for the chicken, I once ate this at Miyajima Island, the oysters there are famous and very good, being fat and mild in flavour, they were excellent in this dish.
Mushroom and Egg domburi; Subsitute mushrooms for the chicken, I once I ate this at Nikko, near the famous red bridge. It was delicious and very reasonably priced. I can’t remember what type of mushrooms it had but I think any would work well.
Vegetable domburi;  English spinach or peas can also be added, to the egg mixture with or without the chicken.
Chicken only domburi; omit the egg. Peas can be added to the chicken mixture.

Eggplant (Nasu ) with Miso or Ginger Soy

Eggplant with 2 dressings, miso and ginger soy

I fondly remember eating eggplant in a rustic restaurant in the countryside (inaka) in Japan with an Australian friend.  The restaurant was called “Ai”, which means “indigo”, the blue used to dye traditional Japanese clothing worn by the working class in Edo Japan. Coincidentally another meaning of “ai” in Japanese is love.
The restaurant had large roughly hewn wooden beams typical of farmhouses in traditional Japan. The food was served on rustic plates on solid wooden tables. Among the local dishes that we ate was an excellent eggplant one. My friend and I discussed the ways that eggplant is cooked in Japan and the flavors that it is combined with. Our favourites are eggplant with soy sauce and ginger and eggplant with miso dressing. See the recipes below.  

Eggplant with a Miso dressing

Eggplant with a Miso dressing
Serves 4

4 small (Japanese) eggplants OR 1 or 2 large western ones , remove tops and sliced lengthways for small eggplants and diagonally for larger ones, then cut in half lengthways

1/4  cup vegetable oil
For the miso dressing:
3 tablespoons white miso (soy bean paste), it is a light brown colour

1 tablespoons mirin  (Japanese cooking sake)1 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water or bonito dashi

Soy sauce to serve

1.     Heat the  water/stock, miso, mirin and sugar together in a small saucepan.   
2.  Heat half of the vegetable oil in a frypan add half of the eggplants and sauté the eggplant till browned and soft. Set aside on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining oil and eggplant.

3. Spread the miso mixture thinly on the eggplants to serve, or serve on the side. 

Variation: For sesame miso dressing: Omit water/stock and mix in a few tablespoons of ground sesame seeds  Eggplant with Ginger Soy
Serves 4
4 small (Japanese) eggplants OR 1 or 2 large western ones , remove tops and sliced lengthways for small eggplants and diagonally for larger ones, then cut in half lengthways

1/3 cup vegetable oil

½ teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon root ginger, freshly grated

¼ cup bonito flakes

Soy sauce to serve

1.       Heat half of the vegetable and sesame oils in a fry pan, add half of the ginger and eggplants and sauté the eggplant till browned and soft.

2.       Repeat with the remaining oils, ginger and eggplant.

3.       Sprinkle on bonito flakes and pour over a little soy sauce to serve. 

 

 

Green Beans with a Sesame dressing and Spinach Rolls

Beans with goma-ae

Green beans with a sesame dressing (Ingen goma-ae)

handful (about 200g) fresh green beans, trimmed

30g sesame seeds (1 to 2 tablespoons), toasted and ground
10-20g (2 to 4 teaspoons) sugar
a little soy sauce (1/4 to ½ teaspoon)

1.       Boil, microwave or steam the beans until just cooked.

2.       Refresh under running cold water in sieve so that the cooking process is halted and the lovely green colour is retained. Set aside

3.       Mix the sesame and sugar in a small bowl. Add the soy sauce little by little to just wet the dry ingredients and make them come together. This mixture is called “goma-ae”.

4.       Toss the beans in the goma- ae or sprinkle with beans with the goma-ae. Serve heaped up in “mountain” shaped piles on plates.

Variations: goma-ae can be used with other cooked green vegetables such as cabbage and asparagus



spinach rolls

Spinach rolls handful fresh English spinach (about 200g)
To Serve:
sesame seeds, toasted
katsuo bushi (dried bonito flakes)
soy sauce

1.       Boil, microwave or steam the spinach until just cooked.
2.       Refresh under running cold water in sieve so that the cooking process is halted and the lovely green colour is retained. Drain.
3.       Place spinach on a chopping board and roughly form into a log shape. Then using a sushi rolling mat, roll it tightly to remove excess moisture. Cut log of spinach into shorter lengths.  
4.       Serve heaped up on little dishes, with sesame seeds, katsuo bushi and soy sauce as desired.
Variations: other vegetable rolls can be made the same way, eg cabbage with carrot and spinach inside. 

 

Yakitori Chicken



Yakitori chicken

 

Yakitori is chicken (tori), cooked in a teriyaki sauce. Add the ginger if you like that flavour, otherwise omit.

4 boneless chicken thighs (about 500g), skin on
2 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, optional
spring onions (naga-negi), finely sliced to serve

1.       Heat oil in fry pan. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until skin is browned.

2.       Mix together the soy sauce, mirin and ginger (if using) to make the teriyaki sauce, and pour over the chicken pieces. Turn heat to medium low and cook chicken on both sides.

3.       When cooked, remove from pan and cut into thick slices with a sharp knife, so that it can be easily eaten with chopsticks.  Serve with rice, miso soup and a salad or vegetables.

Cooked yakitori on a chopping board ready to be sliced into thin strips before serving

Variation 1: Add a handful of sliced mushrooms (western or shiitake) to the pan in step two.

Variation 2: The yakitori can be served over a large bowl of rice "domburi" style.
Variation 3: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and thread onto skewers, marinate with the sauce and grill or BBQ.  This kind of yakitori is often sold at street stalls and fairs.

 

 

Nabe (Japanese Hot Pot) and Udon noodles

Nabe ingredients are cooked at the table over gas burners

A nabe in Japan is a pot used for cooking a meal which is also called a nabe. The pots can be ceramic or cast iron. The origin of this cooking process goes back to cooking over a hearth "irori" style, of Japan of the old days. This simple shared meal is cooked as you eat it, with each diner cooking their own. It is popular in the cold winter months. I remember eating one once in  Nagano in a ski lodge surrounded by deep snow, when it was -17 C degrees outside. There would be 100's of variations of nabe. The first recipe given here would classify as a "yose" nabe, or all thrown in mixed nabe.

Serves 6 to 8

1 piece piece kelp (konbu), about 10cm x 10cm, or 2 teas kelp (konbu) dashi, or bonito dashi

500g chicken thighs (skinless and boneless)

500g firm white fish fillets (such as hoki)

8 large prawns

8-10 scallops (optional)

250g tofu, cut into cubes

¼ Chinese cabbage (hakusai), chopped into bite size pieces

2 long onions (naga-negi), or use leeks or spring onions, cut into 5cm (2in) lengths

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

100g fresh shiitake mushrooms

50g shimeji mushrooms

50g enoki mushrooms (if available)

50ml soy sauce

1 lemon, quartered

Small piece daikon (Japanese radish), finely grated

800g pre-cooked udon noodles, or cooked rice

nabe platter ready to be cooked

 

1.       Prepare the nabe ingredients and arrange on a platter. Set aside.

2.       Place cold water in the nabe pot, filling to about 2/3’s full.

3.       Add the kelp and bring to a gentle boil, to just a simmer.

4.       Remove the kelp (or add dashi powder if using that instead).

5.       Add some of each of the nabe ingredients, to begin cooking them.

Cooked nabe ingredients

6.      Place a little grated daikon, soy sauce and lemon juice in dinners bowls, and add some broth from the nabe pot, to use as a dipping sauce for the nabe ingredients.

7.      Diners can take what they like from the nabe pot, using the other end of their chopsticks, and dip it into their individual dipping bowl before eating it.

Cooked nabe ingredients in a small dipping bowl

8.     Refill the nabe pot with the nabe ingredients and keep cooking and eating, until little is left. 

9.  At this stage rice or udon noodles can be added to the broth to finish off the meal.

Note: Any recipe for udon noodles in a broth is a variation on a nabe (hot-pot) style meal, in terms of ingredients. It does not have to be cooked at the table little by little.

Udon noodles, broth and vegetables

 

 

 

 

Japanese Salads




A variety of Japanese salads

Japanese salads range from the delightfully simple, to ones with lots of ingredients. Seafood features prominently, but there are also plenty of vegetable only options. I love using white radish daikon in salads. Daikon are mild flavoured very large radishes that are readily available in Japan. I used to walk by fields of them growing on my way to the local shops where I lived in Japan. Here in Australia they are sometimes available in supermarkets and farmers markets. As with all salads getting a good balance of colour, texture and flavour is key, as is presentation. I hope you find a salad or two in this selection that you like. Rather than giving quantities for the main ingredients, I have just given the ingredient list in most cases as it depends on how much you want to make.

Prawn and daikon salad

Dressings The same kind of range of dressings that we have here are available in Japan, but they also have a soy based dressing which they call wafu dressing (“wafu” means “Japanese-style”) some of which have flavours like seaweed and shiitake mushrooms added to them. I have provided a simple wafu recipe below. Another type of delicious salad dressing that they have in Japan is a creamy sesame (goma) flavoured dressing.  Mayonnaise When choosing a mayonnaise to use with Japanese salads use a whole egg mayonnaise. Kewpie mayonnaise (available in the Asian section of supermarkets) is very mild and creamy and widely used in Japan.
Oil and Vinegar The vinegar used in Japan is rice vinegar, but any white vinegar can be substituted. Light salad/vegetable oils eg sunflower oil are used in the dressings.
Note: Although I have made small individual side-plate salads, any of these salads can be scaled up to larger share plates (or bowls) of salad if you prefer. Double (or triple) the dressing quantities to suit. 

 

Bean sprout salad

Beansprout Salad
tomato wedges, bean sprouts, capsicum (green pepper), thinly sliced
Dressing: 2 tablespoons salad oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, ½ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon crushed garlic, pinch salt
Shake the dressing ingredients together in a jar and set aside. Toss the bean sprouts and capsicum together, add the dressing and toss through. Serve with a wedge of tomato on top.

Scallop, asparagus and daikon salad

Scallop, Asparagus and Daikon Salad

scallops (with or without roe), allow 3 or more per person

butter

1 teaspoon soy sauce

small bunch asparagus

daikon, cut like matchsticks or grated into long threads

cucumber, cut like matchsticks or grated into long threads*

whole egg mayonnaise (Kewpie is a popular brand in Japan)

1.       Pan-fry the scallops in the butter, add the soy sauce and turn once during cooking. Cook until just cooked through, set aside.

2.       Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus and snap into short lengths. Blanch, boil, or steam asparagus until just tender, refresh under cold water and set aside

3.       In a bowl mix the daikon and cucumber together, add mayonnaise and S&P and stir to combine. Gently add in the scallops and stir through.

4.       Serve topped with asparagus spears. I suggest using the non-spear pieces of the asparagus in the base of the salad, reserving the spears for the top.

* This cutting method approximates the Japanese cutting technique called “sengiri” (literally 1,000 cuts) which cooks in Japan use. The sound of rapid cutting done this way with a big knife on a chopping board could be heard in neighbourhoods as I walked home when I lived in Japan.

Carrot and daikon salad

Carrot and Daikon Salad

English spinach
daikon, cut like matchsticks or grated into long threads*
carrots, cut like matchsticks or grated into long threads*
dried bonito flakes (katsobushi)
nori, snipped
Wafu dressing: 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 tablespoons salad oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, black pepper, roasted sesame seeds.
Shake the dressing ingredients together in a jar and set aside. Place the spinach on a serving plate, top with daikon, carrot, bonito flakes and nori.  Serve with the wafu dressing and one other dressing such as a French dressing (vinaigrette) to give diners a choice.  
Note: The original recipe for this salad did not include spinach, I added it so that the colour of the daikon would contrast well with the white plate colour that I used, you can omit the spinach if you have a coloured plate (blue, black or grey plates would work well).

Prawn and daikon salad

Prawn and Daikon salad
English spinach leaves (optional)
daikon, cut like matchsticks or grated into long threads*
cooked prawns (shrimp), tails on
To serve:
Your choice of salad dressings, soy sauce, mayonnaise, or sanbaizu dipping sauce (see below)
Place the spinach on a serving plate, top with daikon and prawns. Use dressings of your choice, and/or soy sauce and mayonnaise to serve. Alternatively provide a dipping sauce for the seafood.
Sanbaizu dipping sauce for seafood: 3 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoons soy sauce. Mix the ingredients together and set aside. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved.
Note: Any seafood served on a bed of shredded daikon looks wonderful; crab claws, oysters and so on.

Parsnip and prawn salad

Parsnip and Prawn Salad

1 or 2 parsnips, cut into chunky match sticks

lemon juice

small prawns, cooked

spinach leaves OR a perilla leaf aojiso
mustard dressing: 3 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Boil parsnip for a few minutes and then drain and refresh under cold water. Sprinkle (or squeeze) a little lemon juice over it, set aside. Mix the mayonnaise and mustard together, add the parsnip and prawns. Serve with a perilla leaf on the side if available, or on spinach leaves.
Note: The original recipe for this salad did not use parsnip. It used burdock gobo (a white root vegetable that is available in Japan), parsnip is somewhat similar and makes an interesting combination with the prawns.

Seafood salad

Seafood Salad
lettuce (2 or more types)
tomatoes, diced
cooked seafood of your choice; squid rings, small prawns, scallops

lemon wedges

Place the lettuce on a serving plate, top with the tomato and seafood, piling the tomato and seafood in the centre. Serve with a Wafu or French dressing.
Wafu dressing: 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 tablespoons salad oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, black pepper, toasted sesame seeds. Shake the dressing ingredients together in a jar and set aside.
Variations: Add a little fresh wakame seaweed to the bed of lettuce, if available. Or use a seaweed flavoured wafu dressing.

Wafu Salad

Wafu Salad (Classic Japanese Salad)

Like a classic obento that has little bits of many different ingredients, these salads also feature a quite a few ingredients. Note the variety of colours and textures, giving a variety of nutritional benefits, and the addition of corn. Ready-made salads like this are available in Japan at supermarkets and convenience stores. I think of them as little salad pots of goodness.

lettuce

cabbage, shredded

green capsicum (green pepper), diced

carrot, grated

tomatoes, diced
canned corn kernels, drained

Arrange salad ingredients in a small bowl, serve with either wafu or your choice of dressing.

Homemade Japanese-Style Wafu dressing: 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 tablespoons salad oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, black pepper, roasted sesame seeds. Shake the dressing ingredients together in a jar and set aside.

Commercial Japanese-Style salad dressings, delicious!

 

Prawn and daikon salad

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Shio-yaki (Salt-grilled) Fish



Shio-yaki fish on subtle wave design plate

 Salt-grilling is a wonderful Japanese way to cook fish resulting in very moist and tasty fish. Apparently the salt works on the fat under the skin during cooking to melt it and ensure succulent fish flesh.




the lovely salt crust

4 hoki fillets (or other firm white fish), skin on, about 500g (1 lb)

daikon (for garnish)*

1/4 cup soy sauce

 a few tablespoons of salt

To serve: soy sauce, handful snipped chives

1.      Prepare daikon, peel and cut off a small chunk, grate it finely, gently squeeze out excess moisture, set aside.

2.      Sprinkle salt over the skin side (only) of the fish pieces, set aside for 30 minutes.

3.      Heat your griller and line with foil. Brush sparingly with oil. (I made the mistake of using too much oil and then it soaked into the salt when I turned the fish over).

4.      Place fish on the grill plate, skin side up, cook until it looks cooked and a nice salt crust has formed, about 5 minutes. Then turn it over and cook the other side, until it is just done, avoid over cooking or it will be dry and tough. Fish is done when tested with the point of a sharp knife, it flakes easily.

5.      Serve with a little daikon oroshi (finely grated white radish) to garnish, snipped chives and sesame seeds.

6.      To eat, pour a little soy sauce over the daikon and add it to small bite-sized pieces of the fish that you break off with your chopsticks. Note: You don't have to eat the skin and salt crust. 

 

Shio-yaki with daikon and soy sauce

 

*Daikon is called white radish in English and means “large root”. They are sometimes available in Australian supermarkets and farmers markets. Omit if not available. A lemon wedged can be used instead.

Teriyaki Salmon

The fish pictured here is Australian Ocean Trout served on a classic Japanese wave design fish plate, on a tenugui cloth.

This recipe is easy and delicious, take a little care with the teriyaki, don't have it too hot or it will burn.

4 salmon (or ocean trout) portions, skin on*, about 500g (1 lb) in total
piece daikon, grated (for garnish)*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin

  To serve: soy sauce, handful snipped chives

1.      Prepare daikon, peel and cut off a chunk of daikon, then grate it finely, gently squeeze out excess moisture, set aside.

2.      Mix soy sauce and mirin together to make a teriyaki sauce, (I do this in a glass measuring jug), then microwave it long enough to heat but not boil.

3.      Heat your griller and line with foil. Brush with the oil.

4.      Place fish on the grill plate, skin side up, and brush with the teriyaki sauce*. Slide it under the grill. Every minute or so, brush a little more teriyaki sauce over the fish. turn it over and cook the other side, brushing with the teriyaki sauce, until it is done. About 5 minutes each side. Fish is done when tested with the point of a sharp knife, it flakes easily.

5.      Serve with a little daikon oroshi (grated white radish), shaped like a little yama (mountain) to garnish, and snipped chives.

6.      To eat, pour a little soy sauce over the daikon oroshi and add it to small bite-sized pieces of the fish that you break off with your chopsticks.

soy sauce, daikon and chives are added while eating 

Variations: If you like ginger add a little freshly grated ginger to the teriyaki sauce, and a tiny bit to the top of the daikon "mountain".
If preferred pan fry skin-on or skin-off fillets in a fry pan, but keep ladling over the juices as it cooks.

*Daikon is called white radish in English and means “large root”. They are sometimes available in Australian supermarkets and farmers markets. Omit if not available or use onion instead. See my previous blog post to learn more about daikon.

*teriyaki tends to burn easily because of the sugar content of the mirin, a little chicken or Japanese stock dashi can be added to the teriyaki sauce help avoid this. Note that this authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce is thin, if you want a thicker glaze add a little cornflour mixed with water to thicken it (over heat) before using. Both the thin and thick style are used in Japan.

*Japanese cook fish with the skin on to keep it moist. If you can’t get “skin on” fish, this recipe will work with fish fillets that have the skin removed.