Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi Page A
Authors: Victoria Abbott Riccardi
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remain, add the udon to the remaining cooking liquid (adding more if necessary to the fondue pot) and simmer until tender. Divide the noodles and broth among six soup bowls.
Makes 6 servings
In Japan, dried kelp and large bonito flakes (not the small thin bonito curls used to garnish dishes) briefly simmer in water to create a delicate amber broth called “first” or “primary” dashi, which is the basis for most clear soups. To make “second” dashi, the kelp and bonito flakes are added to a new pot of water (like a used tea bag) to make a weaker stock for more boldly seasoned dishes, such as miso soup. Although instant dashi granules and bottles of concentrated dashi are terrific timesaving substitutes, their taste is less subtle and refined than dashi made from scratch.
FOR FIRST / PRIMARY DASHI
1½ ounces dried giant kelp (konbu)
1½ ounces (or approximately 7 cups) large bonito flakes
Place 6 cups cold water and the kelp in a large saucepan over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, immediately remove the kelp (if it boils it can turn the broth bitter) and reserve it for the second dashi.
Add ½ cup cold water (to cool down the stock) and then the bonito flakes. When the mixture has returned to a boil, immediately turn off the heat (the fish flakes can also turn the broth bitter if boiled). Let the broth rest for 2 minutes, then pour through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, making sure to avoid pressing down on the solids (which will turn the dashi cloudy). Save the fish flakes for second dashi.
Makes 5 cups
FOR SECOND / SECONDARY DASHI
Place the reserved kelp and bonito flakes in 8 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pushing down on the solids before discarding them.
Makes 6 cups
To grind seeds, nuts, and herbs into a fine paste, the Japanese use a suribachi, a ceramic bowl with an unglazed fine-combed interior, and a special wooden stick with a rounded end. A small food processor is a fine substitute (and much less work!).
½ cup toasted unhulled white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sweet white miso (shiro miso)
2 tablespoons mirin
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1½ teaspoons sugar
½ cup dashi ( page 48 )
Place the sesame seeds in a suribachi and grind until very flaky. Alternatively, place in a food processor and process until pasty. Blend in the miso, mirin, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until smooth. Blend in the dashi. Transfer the sauce to six small decorative bowls.
Makes enough for 6 sauce bowls
Sansho is a tongue-tingling spice made from the ground seedpod of the Japanese prickly ash. We have no Western equivalent of this aromatic ingredient, which often pairs with fatty foods, such as beef, to cut the richness.
½ cup soy sauce ¼ cup yuzu (available bottled in Japanese markets), or fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated daikon radish
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch hot pepper flakes
Pinch sansho
Combine the soy sauce, yuzu or lemon juice, grated radish, sesame oil, pepper flakes, and sansho in a small bowl. Transfer the sauce to six small decorative bowls.
Makes enough for 6 sauce bowls
5.
oon after arriving, I realized the Tourist Information Center (TIC) in downtown Kyoto was the place to find answers to any questions I might have about the city. Run by the Japan National Tourist Organization, the small office had scores of pamphlets and desk clerks to guide visitors to Kyoto's finest ryokan (traditional inns), the sake breweries in the southern district of Fushimi, and numerous other delights, including choice places to sample authentic Kyoto cuisine.
This last category, I discovered, consists of four distinct styles of cooking: Buddhist vegetarian food (called shojin ryori ); tea kaiseki (an offshoot of shojin ryori); restaurant kaiseki (a variant of tea kaiseki); and Kyo-ryori (literally, “Kyoto cooking”), known for its delicately seasoned
Makes 6 servings
In Japan, dried kelp and large bonito flakes (not the small thin bonito curls used to garnish dishes) briefly simmer in water to create a delicate amber broth called “first” or “primary” dashi, which is the basis for most clear soups. To make “second” dashi, the kelp and bonito flakes are added to a new pot of water (like a used tea bag) to make a weaker stock for more boldly seasoned dishes, such as miso soup. Although instant dashi granules and bottles of concentrated dashi are terrific timesaving substitutes, their taste is less subtle and refined than dashi made from scratch.
FOR FIRST / PRIMARY DASHI
1½ ounces dried giant kelp (konbu)
1½ ounces (or approximately 7 cups) large bonito flakes
Place 6 cups cold water and the kelp in a large saucepan over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, immediately remove the kelp (if it boils it can turn the broth bitter) and reserve it for the second dashi.
Add ½ cup cold water (to cool down the stock) and then the bonito flakes. When the mixture has returned to a boil, immediately turn off the heat (the fish flakes can also turn the broth bitter if boiled). Let the broth rest for 2 minutes, then pour through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, making sure to avoid pressing down on the solids (which will turn the dashi cloudy). Save the fish flakes for second dashi.
Makes 5 cups
FOR SECOND / SECONDARY DASHI
Place the reserved kelp and bonito flakes in 8 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pushing down on the solids before discarding them.
Makes 6 cups
To grind seeds, nuts, and herbs into a fine paste, the Japanese use a suribachi, a ceramic bowl with an unglazed fine-combed interior, and a special wooden stick with a rounded end. A small food processor is a fine substitute (and much less work!).
½ cup toasted unhulled white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sweet white miso (shiro miso)
2 tablespoons mirin
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1½ teaspoons sugar
½ cup dashi ( page 48 )
Place the sesame seeds in a suribachi and grind until very flaky. Alternatively, place in a food processor and process until pasty. Blend in the miso, mirin, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until smooth. Blend in the dashi. Transfer the sauce to six small decorative bowls.
Makes enough for 6 sauce bowls
Sansho is a tongue-tingling spice made from the ground seedpod of the Japanese prickly ash. We have no Western equivalent of this aromatic ingredient, which often pairs with fatty foods, such as beef, to cut the richness.
½ cup soy sauce ¼ cup yuzu (available bottled in Japanese markets), or fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated daikon radish
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch hot pepper flakes
Pinch sansho
Combine the soy sauce, yuzu or lemon juice, grated radish, sesame oil, pepper flakes, and sansho in a small bowl. Transfer the sauce to six small decorative bowls.
Makes enough for 6 sauce bowls
5.
oon after arriving, I realized the Tourist Information Center (TIC) in downtown Kyoto was the place to find answers to any questions I might have about the city. Run by the Japan National Tourist Organization, the small office had scores of pamphlets and desk clerks to guide visitors to Kyoto's finest ryokan (traditional inns), the sake breweries in the southern district of Fushimi, and numerous other delights, including choice places to sample authentic Kyoto cuisine.
This last category, I discovered, consists of four distinct styles of cooking: Buddhist vegetarian food (called shojin ryori ); tea kaiseki (an offshoot of shojin ryori); restaurant kaiseki (a variant of tea kaiseki); and Kyo-ryori (literally, “Kyoto cooking”), known for its delicately seasoned
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