Free Cooking & Recipes

Archive for July, 2009

Miso Shiru (Miso Soup with Bean Curd and Spinach)

Source: World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey (Clarkson/Potter Publishers)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 24 well-washed spinach leaves
• 1/2 pound soft, medium or firm bean curd, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 scallions, cut into very fine rings (use both white and green portions)
• 2 1/2 to 4 tablespoons miso
• Pinch of cayenne

Preparation:

1. Put the stock into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Add the spinach leaves and bring to a simmer again. Cook until the leaves wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bean curd and scallions. Simmer for 30 seconds. Reduce heat to low.
2. Put the miso in a small sieve and lower it into the soup (you may have to move the bean curd pieces aside). Push the miso through with a spoon.
3. Turn off the heat, stir once, sprinkle with cayenne and serve.
4. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Approximate values per serving: 144 calories, 5 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 20 g protein, 47 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 1,410 mg sodium, 15 percent calories from fat

Marinated Ginger Shrimp

This Japanese dish can be prettily arranged on a serving plate. Sweet sherry may be substituted if the sweet sake is not available.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds frozen shrimp, shelled and de-veined
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 ounces ginger root, chopped
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons sweet sake
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion

Preparation:

1. Cook shrimp as directed on package; drain. Arrange shrimp in single layer in glass or plastic container. Heat soy sauce to boiling; add gingerroot. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, sugar, sake and salt; pour over shrimp. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2. Remove shrimp from marinade with slotted spoon; arrange on serving plate. Garnish with scallion.

Japanese Shrimp Sauce

From the kitchen of GrannyB

This is the shrimp sauce found in Japanese steakhouses. It is sweet and pinkish-orangish in color. You can substitute fat-free mayo, butter, and 0-calorie sugar, and it still tastes great.

Ingredients:

Makes 1 1/4 cups (12 servings).

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons melted butter

3/4 teaspoon paprika

3/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation:

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, granulated sugar, rice vinegar, melted butter, paprika and garlic powder. Mix well, cover and refrigerate.

Japanese Rice Crackers

Source: Another Taste of Aloha – the Junior League of Honolulu, Hawaii – 1994

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups mochiko (sweet rice flour)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 cup water
• Vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Preparation:

1. Combine flour, mochiko, sugar, sesame seeds, baking powder and water. Add more water if needed to make dough stick together. Divide dough into 4 parts and roll each paper thin on floured board. Cut into 1-inch squares.
2. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fry crackers in batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
3. Glaze: Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
4. Combine corn syrup, sugar and soy sauce and bring to boil. Cook glaze until it falls thick from spoon. Pour on cooled rice crackers and mix. Place crackers in a single layer on cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until dry.

Japanese Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds chicken wings
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 1 cup oil

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons low salt soya sauce
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup white vinegar

Preparation:

Cut wings into pieces. Dip in slightly beaten egg, then in flour. Fry in oil until brown and crisp. Put in shallow roasting pan. Heat sauce until boiling. Pour over wings. Bake at 275 degrees F for approximately 1 hour. Sauce thickens and coats wings.

Japanese Chicken over Rice (Yakitori Domburi)

Yakitori is a sauce usually made with poultry, and it requires no marinating time. Domburi means that the dish is served over rice.

Ingredients:

• 6 large chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup mirin or sake
• 1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 scallions (with tops), cut diagonally
• into 1/4-inch slices
• 3 cups hot cooked rice

Preparation:

1. Remove bones and skin from chicken breast halves. Mix soy sauce, mirin, gingerroot and garlic in medium glass or plastic bowl. Place chicken in soy mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Drain chicken, reserving soy mixture. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet until hot. Cook chicken over medium heat until brown on both sides and done, about 15 minutes.
3. Heat water, sugar and reserved soy mixture to boiling in 3-quart saucepan; boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in scallions.
4. Cut each chicken breast half into 6 diagonal slices by holding the knife or cleaver at a 45 degree angle to the cutting surface. Place 6 slices on rice in soup bowl. Spoon hot liquid over chicken.

Hiranaka Sukiyaki

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water or mushroom stock
• 3 onions, sliced thin
• 4 stalks celery, sliced thin
• 1 can bamboo shoots
• 2 bunches green onions, tops, sliced
• 1 pound beef, cut into strips
• 1 can mushrooms
• 2 bunches watercress
• Small amount shiratake (translucent rubbery noodles)
• 2 teaspoons MSG

Preparation:

1. Brown meat in vegetable oil. Add soy sauce, MSG, stock, and sugar. Allow meat to cook in sauce for about 2 minutes.
2. Add onion and celery and let cook for a couple more minutes.
3. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and green onions and cook from three to five minutes.
4. Push food to side of pan and add shiratake. Cook until shiratake absorbs some of the juice.
5. Add watercress and cook for one minute. Stir well and serve with rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 1/2 ounce) package soba granules (buckwheat noodles)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon hon-dashi (dashi granules)
• 1 scallion (with top), thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger root
• 1 tablespoon wasabi powder
• 1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

1. Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Heat water, soy sauce, sugar and hon-dashi to boiling; remove from heat. Cool; stir in onion and gingerroot. Mix wasabi powder and water to a paste. Divide noodles among 8 small bowls. Pour soy mixture into 8 small dipping bowls.
2. Serve with wasabi paste. Stir small amounts of wasabi paste into soy mixture to taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatine*
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 3/4 cups strong, hot coffee
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whipped cream
• Finely ground coffee (optional)

* For a firmer jelly, use 1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatine.

Preparation:

1. Soften gelatine in cold water. Add coffee and stir until gelatine is dissolved. Stir in sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Pour into 8 x 4-inch loaf dish and chill until firm.
2. Cut into cubes and spoon into small dessert glasses. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with finely ground coffee.

“Dangaku” is the Japanese name for a sort of fair, and it refers to a number of different foods, all of which are skewered before cooking. It refers both to street foods and to the stilts on which fair performers entertain the crowds.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sake
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame paste
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)
• 1 teaspoon grated gingerroot
• 1 pound firm bean curd (tofu)
• Tempura Sauce, Hot Mustard Sauce
• or Teriyaki Sauce

Preparation:

1. Mix sake, soy sauce, sesame paste, mirin and gingerroot in ungreased 10 x 6-inch baking dish. Cut bean curd into 1-inch cubes; arrange in sake mixture. Cover; refrigerate, turning bean curd once, 1 hour.
2. Soak six 8-inch bamboo or wooden skewers in water. Thread 4 bean curd cubes on each skewer.
3. Set oven to broil or 550 degrees F. Broil bean curd with tops about 4 inches from heat until light brown, 2 to 3 minutes; turn. Brush with marinade; broil 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with Tempura Sauce.