Girls Day Party for March 3rd (Hina Matsuri)

Girl’s Day in Japan is on March 3^rd. It is a special day for girls. Parents pray for their daughter’s health, happiness and well-being. Hina dolls, featuring a Prince and Princess are displayed and special food is eaten. The girls may dress up and wear kimono. I was fortunate to be invited to my friends the Masuda's, a family of 3 girls, to have a Girl’s Day lunch with them, when it was my daughter’s first Girl’s Day. I remember the whole occasion fondly, and still remember the chirashi zushi that we ate for lunch. It was topped with egg like my recipe but had salmon roe rather than smoked salmon on it.

Here is my suggestion for a Girl’s Day party menu for lunch or dinner:

 

 Girl's Day Party food
 

·         Sushi Rice topped with Egg and Smoked Salmon (chirashi zushi)

·         Teriyaki Meatballs

·         Teriyaki Chicken Wings

·         Red Cabbage Salad

·         Pastel coloured lollies (candy/sweets) or mini fruit salads (for a healthier option)

·         Coconut Ice (or any diamond shaped sweets to imitate “hishi mochi”), other suggestions include sponge cake with jam and cream cut into diamond shapes, or even jam sandwiches, or red jelly topped cheesecake.

To be really authentic a soup and Japanese pickles should be added.

 

Table setting ideas for Girl’s Day (Hina Matsuri)

Set the scene by displaying some flowers. Peach blossoms are used in Japan, (Girl’s Day is before the cherry blossoms come out), but use whatever you have. I used gum blossoms as they were blooming in my garden even though it is autumn in Australia.

Then for some extra colour and prettiness I used a piece of Japanese silk fabric with a blossom print on it, however a few pieces of patterned origami would also look good. Alternatively cut flat fan shapes from pastel coloured paper, or concertina fold some fans to decorate the table. Hexagons instead of fans would lend a more contemporary Japanese look.  Blossom and butterfly shapes cut from paper scattered over the table would be pretty and have the springtime look.

The colours are soft pastels, particularly pale pink and green (the colours of blossoms and new green foliage in spring) with perhaps the addition of some hot pink and red.

It is a good chance to use any Japanese style dishes you may have but if you don’t have any just use whatever you have. It doesn’t have to be fancy, the main thing is that girls are honoured and the food enjoyed.

Sushi Rice with Egg and Smoked Salmon (Chirashi zushi)

Chirashi zushi is simply sushi rice with toppings scattered over it and is traditionally eaten on girl’s day as well as at other times. I like this simple combination of egg and smoked salmon.    

1 quantity of sushi rice (see recipe below)

2 egg omelettes, sliced (see recipe below)

100g (3½ oz) smoked salmon, torn into strips

 1 nori sheet for garnish

 

Make sushi rice, mix in about half of the smoked salmon, and place in a serving dish. Top with a layer of sliced egg omelettes, and add salmon either piled up in the centre or scattered more evenly. Cut a few thin strips of nori using scissors to garnish.

Variations: Small cooked prawns or canned pink salmon could be used in place of smoked salmon. Green vegetables such as blanched snow peas finely cut on the diagonal or peas can be scattered over the egg or mixed into the rice.  

 

 



Sushi rice with egg and smoked salmon



 

Sushi rice

3 cups uncooked rice

100ml (3 fl oz) rice wine or white vinegar (ordinary white vinegar is fine)

2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1.      Wash rice and cook in rice cooker, or by absorption method on stove top.

2.      Mix together the salt, sugar and vinegar and leave to dissolve together while cooking the rice. 

3.      When rice is cooked and still hot, transfer it to a large bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over the rice. Stir in the vinegar mixture as you fan the rice. Have someone fan for you with a hand held fan or stand in front of an electric fan if that is easier. The goal is to encourage the excess liquid to evaporate off the rice as the flavours soak in.

Japanese Style Thin Omelettes

Beat two eggs well and add a pinch of salt. Mix together 1 teaspoon cornflour* (corn starch) with 1 tablespoon of water and mix it with the eggs. Lightly grease and heat a fry pan. Test by dropping a little egg in the centre. It should sizzle. Pour ½ of the egg mixture into the pan and tilt to ensure a thin layer spreads quickly over the base. Cook over low heat, and when surface of egg mixture is dry, remove from pan and lay on a dry chopping board to cool. Regrease pan and make another omelette. When cool roll up and slice thinly with a sharp knife. Use the cut egg “curls” to top the chirashi zushi.

*Note that the corn flour can be omitted with pleasing results, which is good for those on a gluten free diet.

Teriyaki Meatballs

Chicken meat balls are popular in Japan, but I decided to make beef ones. Use chicken mincemeat if you prefer.

500g (1 lb) minced beef (hamburger)

½ onion

1 tablespoon soy sauce (use a Japanese one such as Kikkoman)

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon corn flour (corn starch)

1/3 cup panko* breadcrumbs or any dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon oil to cook the meatballs

1 cup teriyaki sauce (see recipe below or purchase it ready-made)

To serve: sesame seeds, spring onions or shallots finely chopped to sprinkle over the meatballs

1.      Make meat balls by combining meat, onion, soy sauce, egg yolk, cornflour and panko in a bowl. Mix well together and then roll small balls, placing them on a plate or chopping board.

2.      Heat oil to medium high in a large frypan. Add meat balls but don’t over crowd the pan so that it will be easier to turn them over. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes on each side and using 2 forks to turn them over.

3.      Pour over the teriyaki sauce and watch until it bubbles. Then turn heat down to medium low, so that it is just simmering nicely. Cook for another 10 to 20 minutes during which time the sauce will reduce and thicken slightly. If you want a thicker sauce, add some cornflour mixed with water and stir it through until it boils and thickens.

4.      Serve with sauce poured over the meatballs. Add garnishes as desired.

*panko are Japanese breadcrumbs, the word panko means breadcrumbs in Japanese.

Teriyaki chicken wings and beef meatballs

 Teriyaki Chicken Wings

500g (1 lb) chicken wings

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ cup teriyaki sauce (use ¼ cup for a milder flavour)

To serve: sesame seeds and thinly sliced spring onions or shallots to sprinkle over (optional)

Method: Traditionally the wings would be glazed (brushed) with the teriyaki sauce while being cooked over a charcoal brazier or grilled under a griller. 

Choose a cooking method that suits you:

Grill Heat griller to medium high. Line with foil for easier clean up. Grill chicken pieces turning regularly and brushing with the teriyaki sauce.

Frypan Heat oil and lightly brown the wings a few minutes on each side, then add the teriyaki sauce to combine. Turn down heat so that it is just bubbling nicely and leave to cook through for 10 to 20 minutes.

Oven Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).  Grease baking dish, add chicken and teriyaki sauce. Stir together. Place in oven, stir once or twice during cooking. Cook for 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Slow Cooker Place ingredients in your slow cooker, follow manufactures directions.

You could even microwave it.

Teriyaki Sauce
Teri means shiny and yaki means to cook, broil or grill, the teriyaki glaze/marinade is shiny thanks to the sugar content.

A Japanese friend gave me the following recipe for teriyaki sauce:

4 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sake, 2 tablespoons mirin, 2 tablespoons sugar

To make teriyaki sauce place ingredients in a saucepan. Heat together stirring to dissolve sugar but do not boil it.

To make a larger quantity:

1 cup soy sauce, ½ cup sake, ½ cup mirin, ½  cup sugar

(this quantity is enough for both the meatballs and chicken wings recipes)

Alternatively just soy sauce, mirin and sugar can be used, in which case you would use equal parts of soy sauce and mirin (eg ½ cup of each) in a saucepan and add a tablespoon or two of brown or white sugar. Heat together stirring to dissolve sugar but do not boil it.

If you don’t have mirin use equal amounts of soy sauce and sugar. Using mirin will result in a shinier sauce. Using honey and soy sauce is another option.

Mirin is a sweet sake low in alcohol for cooking available at most supermarkets.

Note that Japanese teriyaki sauce is thin (watery). If you wish to thicken it add a tablespoon of corn flour (corn starch) mixed with water in the final stages of cooking.

Red Cabbage Salad

The use of red cabbage looks strikingly pretty in this salad and contrasts well with the yellow of the egg in the chirashi zushi.

½ oak lettuce

8 cucumber slices

4 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup shredded (finely chopped) red cabbage

Make one large salad to share or small individual salads by topping lettuce leaves with the cucumber, tomatoes and red cabbage. Use your preferred salad dressing.

Coconut Ice

This confectionary is not at all Japanese but has the right look to imitate “hishi mochi”, the traditional cakes eaten for Girl’s Day in Japan.  Hishi means diamond and mochi is a kind of soft glutinous rice dough, used for traditional sweets in Japan, make by pounding glutinous rice.

125g (4 oz) cohpa

500g (1 lb) icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

250g (1/2 lb) desiccated coconut

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg whites

2 drops pink food colouring

 

1.      Line a 16 x 26 cm (10 ½ in x 7 in) baking tin with baking paper (parchment).

2.      Melt copha in a saucepan over gentle heat.

3.      Mix together the icing sugar, coconut, vanilla and egg whites in a bowl.

4.      Pour over the melted copha, mix well.

5.      Press half of the mixture into baking tin pressing down firmly.

6.      Add pink food colouring to the remaining mixture. Mix well then spread over the white layer pressing down well and smoothing the top. Allow to cool to set.

7.      Cut into diamond shapes using a sharp knife.

Coconut ice cut into diamond shapes for Girl's Day

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