Soshoku: Traditional Breakfast

For Sunday brunch, we made traditional Japanese breakfast:

Rice, Miso soup with Daikon raddish, Komochi Shishamo(Grilled smelt), Mentai(Spicy cod roe), Natto(Fermented soybeans) and egg.

Traditional Japanese meal is very simple, and it usually contains rice, soup and one or few side dishes.

We call this style of the meal Soshoku 粗食(Frugal food), and menu is descriped as Ichiju Issai 一汁一菜（One soup, one dish） or Ichiju Sansai 一汁三菜（One soup, three dishes) depending on the number of side dishes.

The word Soshoku originally means the meals for Buddhist monks in Zen temples, but the tradition of simple meal can be traced back to really, really long time ago.

People in Yayoi period(300 BC to AD 300) were reported to eat cooked sticky rice, soup and dried fish. Hmm, almost the same as what we had for brunch.

Soshoku is widely popular in Japan as a balanced diet which is low in fat, high in fiber, less-processed and nutrition-packed, and helps to prevent lifestyle diseases associated with eating habits.

 Also, probiotic foods such as miso, natto and pickles contains powerful bacteria beneficial for building strong immune system and maintaining better digestion.

Besides great health benefits, it is absolutely delicious. It's surprising to see how simple things can work in harmony and create such good flavors.

Enjoying Soshoku -- Simplifying our meal, decorating nicely, eating slowly to appreciate the aroma, colors and taste of each bite will give good rest to our digestive system, and probably, calmness to our minds.

I still want to explore diverse culinary culture in NYC or indulge myself with ice cream, and occasional soshoku helps me to balance my diet, overall health of my mind and body.

Gochisousama!

Recipe: Marinated Fried Salmon and Vegetable

Look what we got from farmer's market in Brooklyn last week..

It's so pretty. I would like to thank farmers for bringing those fresh veggies to our table.

As the lady of the store recommended, we made pesto sauce from carrot green which I usually discard. It was my first time to use carrot green for cooking, and it came out very well. Nothing to waste :)

And now we have plenty of carrot and leek.. it seems like it never finishes!

Today's recipe is Sake Nanban: Marinated Fried Salmon and Vegetables. And I am using carrot.

It's a delicious pickled fried salmon in Japanese style seasoning. It's got lovely colors, not only delicious to the eyes but also packed with nutrition.

What does Nanban mean?

Nanban originally means people from Portuguese, Netherlands and Spain, who arrived Japan during Nanban trade periods in the 16 centuries for trading or missionery. Later, it became the words to describe something brought by them.

Onion, peppers and deep-frying methods are the things brought from those countries in the period and become popular among Japanese people, that's why the word Nanban(Zuke means marinade) is used as a name of the dish.

The ports for Nanban trade were located in the northern area of Kyusyu island, where my hometown is, and we still see great cultural influence from the countries.

So that's the history and now, recipe!

鮭の南蛮漬け: Sake no Nanban Zuke
Marinated Fried Salmon and Vegetable
Cooking time: 40 minutes(Plus 2 hours of refrigeration)

Ingredients:

• 2 Salmon fillet
• 1/2  medium yellow onion: Thinly Sliced
• 1 Carrot: Thinly sliced
• 1/2 large bell pepper : Thinly Sliced
• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 2 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Rice Vinegar: 3 tbsp
• Katakuriko(Potato Starch)
• Salt and Pepper
• Vegetable oil: 2tbsp

Steps:

1. Salt and pepper the salmon on both sides and leave it for 10 minutes
2. Make marinade: mix soy sauce, mirin, sugar and vinegar in a dish
3. Cut the salmon into bite size and dredge them in Katakuriko 
4. In a nonstick pan over medium heat, stir-fry onion and carrot(No oil needed)
5. Add bell pepper and keep stir-frying until cooked
6. Add 5 to marinade
7. Clean the pan, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat and fry salmon until both sides are cooked and the crust become light brown
8. Add 8 to marinade
9. When it's cooled, let it rest in refrigerator for 2 hours
10.  Serve warm or cold

Good thing about this dish is, we can save it in the refrigerator up to 5 days. 

Instead of salmon, chicken, mackerels or sardines can be used and they taste great as well.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Grilled Onigiri

Today's recipe is Yaki Onigiri :)

Yaki means Grill, Onigiri is riceball. Simple! It's grilled seasoned rice ball.

Yaki Onigiri is also served in Izakaya(Japanese pubs) in Japan and here in US. Everyone loves the aroma of caramelized soy sauce and the crunchy rice crust.

I remember my mother made yaki onigiri for me when I was studying late at night for exam, and I had it at my study desk.. Onigiri on the left hand, and pencil on the right, in front of hisotory textbook.

Traditional way to make yaki onigiri is to form onigiri using unseasoned white rice, and grill over chacoal using brush to apply soy sauce.

Here I am using difference method which is popular in Japan these days. Mix the rice and the sauce before frying, so onigiri will be seasoned inside as well.


焼きおにぎり
Yaki Onigiri : Grilled Seasoned Rice Ball

Ingredients

• Cooked Japanese Rice (from 2 cups uncooked rice)
• Soy sauce : 2 tbsp
• Mirin : 1 tsp
• Dashi powder :1tsp
• Pinch of salt
• Sesame Oil(Or butter) for greasing pan

Steps

1. Mix soy sauce, mirin, dashi powder and salt in a bowl
2. Add cooked rice and mix well 
3. Form Onigiri using cling wrap *
4. Heal Sesame oil in a pan over medium heat and cook rice ball until the surface gets crisp and brown. Cook all sides evenly.

SInce soy sayce and mirin browns fast, please keep your eyes on your onigiri. I like crunchy crust, so I usually cook slightly longer.

Yaki Onigiri can be made on a BBQ grill, and if you do, your guests would be happy for sure. You can replace sauce for BBQ sauce. And try wrapping with Nori(seaweed sheet) or fresh lettuce. It's a great to-go snack as well!

*If you are curious how to form nice triangle shape, here is a link of youtube video I found is useful: How to make Onigiri　

Recipe: Mentai omlette

Today I am sharing this famous Tamagoyaki recipe. Fluffy!

It's a small omelette with bright yellow color, cute shape and neat layers.

Tamagoyaki is a super popular side dish in Japan, and can be a star player in bento box.Every household has different mother's recipes, and all testes delicious.

In this recipe, I use one of my favorite ingredient "mentaiko", spicy cod roe.

Mentaiko is a sack of marinated cod roe, and it's a staple for our tables.
It's got very rich flavor and paste-like texture, can be served as side dish, or condiments or seasoning.

This is how it looks.. it's delicious

Mentaiko is originated in Korea, and introduced to Fukuoka in 20th centuries. Since then,  Fukuoka, my hometown, became the place known for great mentaiko selections. Mentaiko can be purchased everywhere in Japan, and Japanese grocery stores in the US.

I loved mentaiko since I was little, and if I did not see it in the fridge, I always asked my mother to get me some. Even now, the combination of mentaiko and white rice is what I miss the most about Japanese food.

Mentaiko is good with many things..  rice, pasta, toast, noodles, salad or just by itself. Grilled mentaiko goes very well with sake. Too good.

明太卵焼き：Mentai Tamagoyaki
Omlette with Cod Roe

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 Pieces Mentaiko 
• Mirin: 1tsp
• Dashi stock powder : 1/3 tsp
• Water: 2 tbsp
• Pinch of salt
• Butter for pan

Steps

1. Crack the eggs into bowl and mix gently(do not whisk hard)
2. Add mentaiko, mirin, dashi, water and salt,  and mix
3. Heat butter in a pan with low heat. Pour 1/3 of egg mixture and cook until the bottom is cooked but top is still uncooked
4. From the top of the pan, roll the omlette toward the other side of the pan(See the pic 2)
5. Push the omlette to the other side of the pan
6. Add butter to the pan, and repeat 3,4 and 5

To shape tamagoyaki, I used rectangle tamagoyaki pan which my fiance brought from Japan.. if you don't  have it, you can cook in the way you cook regular omlette. Follow step 1&2, then heat the butter and cook it the way you like.... and maybe sprinkle with chopped scallions or Parmesan cheese  ;)

Step 3 : Heat the butter and cook the egg mixture

Step 4: Roll down the omlette to the bottom

Step 5: Push over the omlette to the other side, add egg mixture and cook

Some recipes use sugar to make it sweeter, but I skipped it in this recipe and added mentaiko. If you like sweeter tamagoyaki, you can add 1 tbsp of sugar in the mixture.

Please be sure to cook with low heat, it takes time to cook throughly but it prevents omelette from burning. If you try using tamagoyaki pan, it needs a bit of practice, but you will enjoy it. Good luck!

Recipe: Soboro Gohan

Another day for Obento, I made Soboro Gohan, shown in the box with egg piggie.
This sweet and savory soboro is one of the easiest dish to make, but it's definitely delicious and you would like to make it again.

(Please excuse me for the blurry photo, I made it before sunrise and no natural light...)

It's a common dish for bento since it tastes good even if it gets cold. Using a microwave is not popular in schools in Japan, so it's important to choose what to put in the bento box.. it still  has to taste good when lunchtime comes!

Also soboro stays good for up to 5 days(when cooked well) in refrigerator and a month in freezer. Sometimes I make in larger batch, let it sit until it gets cool, separate it in small portions, seal tight with cling wrap, put in a ziplock and save them in the freezer so I always have something quick to eat :)

(Make sure it's completely cooked and cooled before wrapping, if not it gets spoiled faster)

It's so quick and easy but tastes absolutely delicious.

そぼろご飯

Soboro Gohan : Flaked meat over rice

10 minutes

Ingredients for 4 

• Ground beef/pork/chicken : 10 oz
• Sugar: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 2 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp
• Soy sauce: 3 tbsp
• Grated ginger: 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, and cook the meat until almost cooked through
2. Add sugar, sake and mirin and mix for one minute
3. add grated ginger and soy sauce
4. Stir fry until most of the liquid is gone, breaking meat into small pieces

Best served over warm white rice with scrambled eggs. 

You can also adjust the amount of sugar and soy sauce for your taste.. or skip ginger, add garlic or chili, etc. 

Enjoy!

Onigiri Action Project 2016

Today I am sharing cute photos of my little Onigiri...

Onigiri(riceball) is a Japanese soul snack. It can be quick breakfast, picnic lunch, or power snack for hiking. Many of us grew up with memories of Onigiri made by mothers(Secret ingredients of homemade Onigiri is love)

I am posting this to be a part of Onigiri Action led by the World Food Day Campaign in Japan.
If you post  pictures of Onigiri on instagram or facebook and tag #onigiriaction, five meals will be given to children in hunger, in African and Asian countries.

Someone here is hungry and waiting for onigiri..

For the detail of the project: Tablefortwo

Obento Lunch Box

Today's post is not a recipe, but please allow me to show you my little creation :)

Here is obento(lunch box) I made last week!

So my fiance is generous enough to let me make this obento for his office lunch.

Obento Menu: Tako-san(Octopus-shaped) sausage, panda onigiri(rice ball) and Gudetama Tamagoyaki(Omlette) , Sesame marinated Mizuna, Soy Mirin Tebasaki(Chicken wings), and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts.

Does it look like panda?

Panda onigiri is made of rice and seaweed sheets. Inside rice ball is seasoned katsuobushi(bonito flake). Hardest part was to cut seaweed into small pieces to look like a panda.

It was the first time for me to make this kind of unique obento with animals or characters (called Charaben in Japan, usually made for kids in kindergarten or elementary school) . It was challenging but absolutely fun.

The morning I woke up at 5am and started cooking, and it took an hour to finish. It would be much shorter if I prepared seaweed in advance.

Usually, in Japan obento is made very quickly in the morning, because it wouldn't be convenient if we take too long every morning when we are busy getting ready for the day. The best way to make obento is to prepare the night before, or use leftovers.

Here is the picture he sent me from his office -- It survived subway ride in the morning rush hour in New York and still in great shape! Hope he enjoyed the meal.

I would make normal obento next time but hope he allows me to make another charaben sometime.