Free Cooking & Recipes

Cucumber Namasu

Ingrediens:

• 2-3 cucumbers
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Preparation:

Place the cucumbers by slicing them in half. Remove the seeds if they are large. Slice in thin diagonals. Sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon of salt and place in a bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes. Rinse, drain, and remove excess water by putting the cucumbers in a kitchen towel and squeezing out the water. Combine the sugar, vinegar, remaining salt, and ginger. Pour over the cucumbers and chill.

Beef Misoyaki

Ingrediens:

• 2-1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup light miso
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon MSG (optional)
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1 pound beef, ribe eye roast, very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil

Preparation:

Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan. Cook only until a few pop and the rest turn golden brown. Grind with a mortar and pestle or tun through a food blender. Do not gind too fine.
Add the miso to the sesame seeds and mix well. Add the soy sauce, sugar, optional MSG, and sake. Spread 1/2 of the mixture on a platter and place the beef slices in the marinade. Brush the remaining marinade on top.
Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the beef from the marinade, scrape off the excess marinade, and reserve.
Broil, or pan-fry with a little oil. Heat the leftover marinade and serve with the beef.

Okinawan Sweet Fritters (Sato Dango)

Ingrediens:

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chunky or smooth Japanese bean paste     6 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)

Preparation:

In a small bowl, combine egg and milk. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the egg and milk to the flour mixture; stir until blended. Stir in bean paste. In a wok or shallow pan, heat oil to 350 F (175 C). Drop batter into the hot oil by the tablespoonsful. Fry fritters 3 to 5 minutes, turning often to brown evenly. Cut open one fritter to be sure the batter is cooked inside, Roll hot fritters in sugar or serve plain.

Takuan (Pickled Daikon)

Ingrediens:

• 5-6 medium daikon, peeled, sliced, and placed in clean canning jars
• PICKLING BRINE: 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup pickling salt (no iodine)
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon yellow food coloring
• 1 dried red chile pepper, chopped (optional)

Preparation:

Prepare the daikon. Boil all the brine ingredients together to dissolve the sugar. Cool the liquid. Pour over the sliced daikon and place the sealed jars in the refrigerator. Shake the jars occasionally. The pickle will be ready to eat in 2 days.

Tonkatsu Sauce

Ingrediens:

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

Peparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Cover and let stand 30 minutes for flavors to develop.

Wasabi

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon wasabi powder
• 3 teaspoons water or sake
• 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

Preparation;

1. Place wasabi powder in a small dish. Add remaining ingredients; blend until a thick paste forms. Cover and turn bowl upside down. Leave for 10 minutes for flavors to develop. Wasabi should be thick enough to be molded in a small cone shape. Use sparingly.
2. Wasabi Leaves: Prepare wasabi. Press into a sheet, about 1/4 inch thick. Using a tiny leaf-shaped cutter, cut out leaf shapes. Lift onto serving plates with a small narrow spatula. Or cut and score with a small knife.

Sunomono

Ingredients:

• 1/2 English cucumber
• 12 oz medium raw shrimp
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Preparation;

1. Halve cucumber lengthways and remove any seeds with a teaspoon; remove skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut flesh into very thin slices, sprinkle thoroughly with salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Rinse to remove salt; pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place the shrimp in a pan of lightly salted boiling water and simmer for 2 minutes, or until just cooked. Drain and plunge them into cold water. Allow the shrimp to cool and then peel and devein them, leaving tails intact.
3. Place the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and ginger in a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the shrimp and cucumber and marinate 1 hour.
4. Arrange on serving plates, sprinkle with seeds and serve.

Kamaboko Butterflies (Cho Cho Kamaboko)

Ingredients:

• 1 (6-oz) pkg steamed narutomaki or kamaboko (pinwheel design or plain)
• green onion stems
• soy sauce
• Wasabi to taste

Preparation:

Slice fish loaf into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Slice each piece through the middle to within 1/8 inch of base without cutting all the way through. You will have 2 attached flaps of fish loaf. Place each piece on a cutting surface with uncut side to your right. Make a short diagonal cut on uncut side in lower half. Slant-cut downward at a 45 degree angle. Spread flaps to make wings and tuck cut-off section inside flaps. Decorate each butterfly with green onion pieces to resemble antennae. Serve with soy sauce and Wasabi.

Teriyaki Spareribs

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 3 pounds pork spareribs, cut into 1-rib pieces
• 1/2 cup Lite Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
• 3 tablespoons minced green onions
• 1 clove garlic, pressed

Preparation:

Combine 3 tablespoons lite teriyaki sauce, vinegar and 2 cloves garlic in 13×9 inch microwave-safe baking dish. Add ribs, turning over to thoroughly coat all pieces well. Arrange ribs, meaty side up, in same dish. Cover dish loosely with waxed paper. Microwave at medium for 10 minutes. Turn ribs over; rearrange in dish and brush with pan juices. Cover and microwave at medium 10 minutes longer. Remove ribs and place on rack of broiler pan. Combine 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce, green onions and remaining 1 clove garlic; brush on ribs. Broil 4 to 5 minutes from heat about 16 minutes, turning over and brushing occasionally with remaining teriyaki sauce mixture.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 salmon steak
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1 1/2 tsp sencha, bancha, or hojicha [green tea]
• 1 bowl warm cooked rice
• 2-3 trefoil (mitsuba), cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) lengths
• 1 tbsp croutons or any crunchy cereal
• Japanese horseradish (wasabi), optional

serves 1

Preparation

1. Season the salmon with salt and leave for 10 minutes. Broil or grill 5-6 minutes, until slightly brown. Remove the skin and bones, if any, and break up the flesh into flakes.
2. Make the tea broth by adding hot water to the tea leaves.
3. Place the rice in a large bowl and sprinkle salmon flakes over the rice. Add the trefoil, croutons, and, if you wish, a dab of horseradish.
4. Pour as much hot tea as you want onto the rice and eat immediately.

Note: Ochazuke tastes even better when accompanied by good-quality Japanese salted pickled vegetables or any Western-style pickles. Cold ochazuke is recommended for summer. For this, use iced sencha, mizudashi-sencha, or any type of green tea that has been cooled down.