Recipe: Apple compote with red wine and vanilla ice cream
How bout them apples?
Most people are familiar with the pear compote. A simple dish consisting of pears slow cooked in sugar, water, wine and spices, it’s a dessert which never goes out of date.
What people may not know, however, is that apples work just as well as pears. Here, we’ll be preparing a version which makes use of Japanese apples.
These come in many varieties: Fuji, Kogyoku, Tsugaru and Jona gold. For the purposes of this dish, use a Fuji apple. Its sour flavor will better compliment the sweetness of the syrup and whatever creamy goodness you serve alongside it.
Apple compote with red wine and vanilla ice cream
Ingredients (serves two people)
- 1 apple (400g)
- 100g sugar
- 250 ml water
- 100 ml red wine
- 1 clove
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 liter water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ice cream/yogurt/marscapone
Method
Peel the apple and then slice it into 4 – 6 wedges, disposing of the core. Add the teaspoon of salt to the half-liter of water, then place the apple pieces into the liquid.
Pour the sugar into a pan together with 250 ml of water. Place the pan on a low heat so that the sugar dissolves. Next, put the apples into the pan, and gently cook for 15 – 20 minutes.
Add the clove, the cinnamon and the red wine and stir. Cook the mixture for a further 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. After 12 to 24 hours, the apples should have absorbed the red wine and changed color. When you’re satisfied the apples are ready, take them out of the pan and slice them again (optional).
Place the an back onto a low heat and warm it slowly. Once it has thickened, it can be used as a sauce.
Plate the apples and serve with a dollop of ice cream, yogurt or marscapone. Pour a tablespoon of the sauce over the apples.
Recipe: Piman no jakoitame (stir-fried peppers with crispy young anchovies)
Vibrant color, crispy texture.
In many ways, this pepper and anchovy dish is the perfect otsumami (tapas-style dish). For starters there’s its vivid color – bold red, yellow and green. Then there’s the texture – the slightly crispy anchovies balancing the sauteed peppers. Finally, there’s the flavor of the mentsuyu (a dashi-based sauce usually used for soba and udon noodles).
Stir-fried peppers with crispy young anchovies
Ingredients (serves 2 people)
- 200g green pepper (4-5 green peppers)
- 50g red pepper (1/2 a red pepper)
- 50g yellow pepper (1/2 a yellow pepper)
- 20g dried young anchovies
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons of mentsuyu
Method
Pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil into a frying pan and place on a low heat. Add the dried young anchovies and slowly saute them for 3-4 minutes, so that they become crispy.
Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds, then slice them into strips. When the anchovies become crispy, add the peppers to the pan and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes over a high heat.
Finally, add two tablespoons of mentsuyu and coat the peppers. If you live in Japan, you should be able to find this at any supermarket or convenience store.
If you live overseas and have trouble finding the sauce, however, add the following to the fry pan:
- 2 tablespoons of dashi soup (or water)
- 1 tablespoon of sake
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
It’s also worth noting that were you to make 2-3 times the sauce, you would have the perfect soup for soba or udon noodles.
Recipe: Aona no norimaki (boiled greens wrapped in seaweed)
Norimaki needn’t always come as sushi.
So you’re looking for that perfect appetizer – something that looks great, is dead simple to make, and can be enjoyed by omnivores and vegetarians alike. Well look no further. This recipe for aona no norimaki (boiled greens wrapped in seaweed) is all of the above. Not only that, but its about as healthy an appetizer as you can get.
Aona is the Japanese word for green leaf vegetables, which includes such things as spinach, komatsuna and canola blossoms. Spinach and komatsuna were once winter vegetables, but are now available in Japan all year round. Canola blossoms are only found during springtime.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 200g spinach or other aona
- 1 sheet toasted nori seaweed
- A handful of bonito flakes (optional)
Method
First wash the spinach, especially the roots, and then drain. Bring 1 liter of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of salt.
Place the spinach into the boiling water, roots first, then boil for 30 seconds so that the leaves turn a bright green. Rinse under cold water. Next, separate the spinach into two equal portions and squeeze well to remove any moisture. Cut off the roots.
Slice a sheet of nori in half, placing it on the maki-su (bamboo mat). Place the first half of the spinach on the nori, leaving 2 cm uncovered at the bottom of the sheet. Now lift the nearest edges of both the maki-su and the nori, and roll away from you. To seal the nori, dip a finger in water and moisten the top edge. Repeat for the second nori roll.
Finally, cut into 2-3 cm portions and serve on a bed of bonito flakes (optional).
Japan Booze Blind: Baird Summer Beers
Host Christopher Pellegrini discusses summer beers with the Baird Nakameguro Taproom’s Marco McFarren.
Baird Beer’s Nakameguro Taproom is a shining beacon for beer-o-philes around Tokyo and is doing its best to broaden that group, not only through events such as tastings and seminars, but through serving some of the best beer in the country.
There are currently 28 beers on tap, all but a few Baird’s own. The few guest beers are also high-quality microbrews. Most beers are 900 yen a pint, with some at 1000 yen and some in slightly differently-sized glasses (depending on type). Smaller sizes and tasters are available. Read more
Recipe: Hiyashi soumen
With the arrival of summer, Japanese are increasingly looking towards light meals at lunchtime. A bowl of soumen (cold noodles) is one of the most popular ways to relieve the summer heat.
Soumen is traditionally served with a large variety of yakumi, or condiments. While it may be tempting to cut back on the number of different garnishes, it’s worth trying all of the yakumi listed below at least once so that you can better judge which you prefer.
Serve the noodles on ice in a wooden bowl. Pour a little soup into each guest’s bowl and allow them to choose their own condiments, which they mix into the soup. Finally, guests add noodles which they should mix together with the yakumi.
Itadakimasu!!
Soumen
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 3 bunches of dried soumen
- 1-1.5l water
Yakumi (condiments)
- 1-2 mioga (mioga ginger)
- 10 asatsuki chives
- 4-5 green shiso (green perilla) leaves
- 1 package of kaiware daikon (radish sprouts)
- 1 deep-fried tofu pouch
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sake
- 1 teaspoon of shichimi togarashi (a mixture of red pepper and six other spices)
- 1 clove of ginger
Tsuyu soup
- 2 cups of dashi soup
- 1/2 a cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 a cup of mirin
Method
First prepare the tsuyu soup. Pour the mirin into a pan, place it onto the gas table and bring it to the boil. Add the dashi soup together with the soy sauce and bring it to the boil again. Once boiling, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.
Now for the yakumi (garnishes). Cut the mioga in half lengthwise and then again into thin strips. Rise in a bowl of cold water for a minute then drain.
Cut the asatsuki chives into thin round slices.
Slice the green shiso leaves into julienne strips, rinse them in a bowl of cold water and drain.
Peel the skin of the ginger grate it.
Cut off the root of the kaiware daikon, then cut into halves.
Toast one deep-fried tofu pouch for about one minute. Mix a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of sake and a teaspoon of shichimi togarashi and spread onto one side of the tofu pouch. Toast it again for about one minute until it becomes crispy. Finally, cut the pouch into bite-sized rectangles (12-16).
Bring a bowl of water to the boil and cook the soumen noodles for roughly two minutes (refer to the cooking instructions on the package). If the water rolls up to the edge of the pot, add a half cup of cold water. Once the noodles are ready, rinse them in running fresh water.
Place water and ice in a wooden bowl and arrange the noodles so that they don’t stick together.
Serve the noodles with the tsuyu (soup) and condiments in individual plates or bowls.
Recipe: Suage yasai no okaka itame (deep fried vegetables)
Eggplant, peppers, pumpkin and string beans: a light vegetable dish fit for summer
Summer time is (almost) upon us. In Tokyo, the rainy season (June/July) gives way to days which are long, hot and humid – the perfect time for salads and light vegetable dishes.
Here is an extremely easy deep fried vegetable dish which would suit any summer menu. It only requires a handful of ingredients, and these can be adjusted according to taste. Vegetarians take note: simply skip the bonito flakes and add a little more flavor with a fresh sesame seed garnish.
Deep fried vegetables
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1/4 pumpkin
- 1 red pepper
- 100 g string beans
- 300 – 400 g eggplant
- 600 ml vegetable oil for deep frying
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 – 10 g bonito flakes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- fresh sesame seeds
Method
First remove the pumpkin seeds and cut the pumpkin into wedges 5 – 6 mm thick.
Cut away both ends of each string bean. Next, slice each pepper in half and remove the seeds together with the stems. Slice the peppers lengthways into wedges 1 cm thick.
Now remove the stems from the eggplant and cut into wedges 1 cm thick.
Heat the vegetable oil to 170 degrees centigrade. Deep fry all of the ingredients (without adding butter) until they have turned golden brown.
Remove the cooked ingredients from the deep fryer and drain away any remaining oil.
Now for the sauce. Pour the sesame oil and thinly chopped garlic into a fry pan. Place the pan on a very low heat. Once the garlic has become light brown, add the bonito flakes and soy sauce to the oil and garlic. Mix rapidly and turn off the heat.
Finally, place the deep fried vegetables into the pan and coat them with sauce. Serve with a garnish of fresh sesame seeds.
Japan Booze Blind: Oktoberfest
Host Christopher Pellegrini samples some of the many beers on offer at the 2010 Oktoberfest in Hibiya Park, Tokyo. But which was his favorite?
Tokyo Bites: Oktoberfest
Despite some unseasonably wet weather, Christopher Pellegrini joins in the revelry at this year’s Oktoberfest in Hibiya Park, Tokyo.
Recipe: Negitoro maki
An easy recipe for negitoro maki that can be adapted to suit your own taste.
Norimaki is the ever-popular type of sushi which comes wrapped in nori (seaweed). This particular recipe has tuna inside, but you could just as easily fill your norimaki with other ingredients. Indeed, the American California roll is essentially norimaki with avocado.
For this version you’ll need a makisu (bamboo rolling mat). Naturally, makisu are easy to come by in Japan (here they’re available from supermarkets and even 100 yen shops). Elsewhere, you should be able to buy one from any good Asian grocery store.
Negitoro maki combines the sweetness of maguro (tuna) with the sharpness of asatsuki chives.
Ingredients
- 2 go sushi rice (refer to the chirashizushi recipe)
- 5 to 6 sheets of nori (seaweed)
- 400g of (preferably fatty) tuna
- 10 asatsuki chives
Method (makes 5 -6 rolls)
First, prepare sushi rice according to the chirashizushi recipe. Next, mince the tuna with two kitchen knives until it becomes a rough paste and thinly chop the asatsuki chives.
Toast a sheet of nori by passing it over a high flame to make it crispy and dry.
Set the makisu (bamboo rolling mat) onto a flat space. Place the sheet of nori onto the mat and then gently spoon some of the sushi rice onto the seaweed. Spread it over the sheet, leaving 3 cm uncovered at the top and bottom.
Place some of the minced tuna and a pinch of the chopped asatsuki onto the rice (if you’re worrying about quantity, aim for roughly 1/5 to 1/6 of each ingredient per roll). Now dab your finger in water and run it along the edge of the seaweed (the area that isn’t covered). Lift the edge of the bamboo mat and the nori sheet together nearest you, and bring over to meet the far edge of the sheet. Gently press the bamboo mat around the roll to shape it.
Finally, slice the roll into 6 – 8 equal pieces. Use a moistened cloth to clean the knife after each use.
Repeat this process 5 – 6 times.
Tokyo Bites: 2010 Thai Festival
Rachael White reports from the 2010 Thai Festival in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo.
