Tag Archive for 'nameko'

Crab and bamboo rice (Kani takikomi gohan)

Published
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marc
on March 20, 2008
in Japanese and Seafood
. 0 Comments

Crab and bamboo rice (Kani takikomi gohan)

Takikomi Gohan (also known as Gomoku Gohan) literally translates to “cooked with rice”. It’s basically rice cooked in stock with stuff in it, like a pilaf. In Japanese groceries you’ll usually find a whole section of instant packets that you just add to rice before you cook it, but they often contain loads of MSG. It’s fairly simple to make from scratch and you can add all sorts of things like burdock, carrots, wild mushrooms, etc.

The key to it’s light flavor is in the dashi, and while hard to find, Mitsuba adds a nice woodsy dimension. It does look a bit like parsley or cilantro but it doesn’t taste anything like either of those. If I had to go out on a limb and suggest a substitute, it does taste a tiny bit like carrot leaves, if you’re feeling daring, give it a go and let us know how it turns out in the comments. I’m pretty sure carrot leaves are a lot stronger though so you might wanna go light at first.

I strongly suggest you use a rice cooker to make this. While you could make this on the stove in theory, I’m so reliant on a rice cooker I’m not sure how much liquid to use or what heat to cook it over, so you’re on your own there. If you’ve cooked rice on a stove before please do post your tips in the comments.

360 ml of short grain rice rinsed (2 rice cooker cups, or about 1 1/2 regular cups)
1 Tbs sake
1/4 C canned crab meat crumbled, liquid reserved (see tofu with crab sauce for more info)
dashi, about 2 cups
1/4 C chopped bamboo (I prefer the whole vacuum sealed ones if you can find them)
1/4 C chopped nameko or enoki mushrooms
Salt to taste

1/4 C mitsuba leaves and stems roughly chopped

salmon roe as garnish (optional)

Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear, then drain as much of the water out as you can.

Add the sake and reserved crab liquid. Fill the rice cooker bowl up to the “2″ mark with dashi.

Add the crab, bamboo, and mushrooms. Stir the liquid and taste for salt. It should taste like a slightly watery soup. Add more salt if needed.

Run the rice cooker according to directions. When the rice is done and has had a chance to steam, add the mitsuba and gently fold into the cooked rice.

Garnish with salmon roe and serve immediately.

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Red miso soup

Published
by
marc
on March 15, 2008
in Japanese and Soups & Stews
. 1 Comment

Red miso soup with mushrooms and fried tofu

Miso soup is a staple of the Japanese table eaten with meals from breakfast to dinner. Depending on the region of Japan you’re in, you might find yourself starring down at a steaming bowl of white miso soup with okra and taro, or a heady bowl of dark miso soup with deep fried tofu, bamboo and wild mushrooms. Growing up in California, I always looked forward to Saturday morning breakfasts because it meant my mom was making Japanese food for the two of us and western food for my sister and step-father.

As I mentioned in my last post, the dashi (stock) that you use to make miso soup is what makes or breaks the soup. There’s a recipe below for the dashi, or you can opt to use one of the 2 kinds of instant dashi.

I vary the ingredients based on what I have in my fridge, but you can put just about any veggie into this soup from carrots, to potatoes, to cabbage to bean sprouts.

For Dashi
2 C water
10 niboshi with heads removed
1 3″ long piece of dried konbu

For Soup
1 Tbs + 1 Tsp red miso paste
1 Tsp Mirin
Handful of Nameko mushrooms (or Enoki)
2″ x 2″ piece of Abura Age (deep fried tofu) cut into small squares
1 scallion sliced thin

mitsuba (optional garnish)

For the dashi, simmer the ingredients over low heat for 10-15 minutes. If you have a teaball, or disposable tea bags, I like putting the niboshi in one so they’re easier to retrieve when the stock is done. Make sure it does not boil as this could make the soup cloudy or bitter. Taste it… it should be deep, slightly smoky and full of umami. Now just fetch all the floaties and your done with the dashi (you might need to run it through a strainer).

To make the soup, put the miso and mirin in a bowl and add some dashi to help disolve the miso. Put this mixture into the pot and bring it to a light simmer. Make sure it does not boil as this will make the miso separate.

Add the Aburaage (pronounced Abura-a-ge the middle “a” sounds like the “a” in “amish” and the “ge” sounds like the “ga” in “Gary”) and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle the scallions in at the very end just before you serve the soup.

Once it’s in the bowls you can add some Mitsuba. It’s a bit hard to find (you’ll have to go to a japanese grocery store), and there isn’t really a suitable replacement, but it adds a wonderful cedar aroma to the soup that carries you away to a misty evergreen forest.

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