Whether it’s as an ingredient in miso soup or as a wrapping for onigiri, seaweed is synonymous with Japanese cuisine. Kombu (kelp) is best known as one of the main ingredients in dashi, but is equally good served as part of salads or stews. It’s loaded with umami, and therefore dishes in which kombu is an ingredient don’t require added flavor. Kizami-kombu is dried kelp which is shredded to produce a stringy texture. Usually it’s simmered with thinly sliced vegetables or used in asazuke (Japanese pickles) to add umami.

Satsuma-age (fried fish cakes) add volume to the stew. Made from ground fish, flour and seasoning, satsuma-age originate from southern Kyushu, but are found throughout Japan.

Thinly sliced deep-fried tofu pouches, shiitake, boiled edamame (soy beans) are also nice additions to this dish.

Kizami-konbu to satumaage no nimono

Ingredients (for 6 – 8 people)

• 25 g of kizami-kombu
• 80 g of carrot
• 2 sheets of satsuma-age (120 g)
• 400 ml of dashi soup
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce

Method

In 1 liter of cold water, rinse the kizami-kombu and soften for 5 minutes (refer to the instructions on the kizami-kombu’s package) before draining.

Next, place the satsuma-age in a colander and pour 100 ml of hot water over the fish cakes to remove any excess oil.

Cut the carrot into 4 – 5 cm long square strips so that they resemble matchsticks

Place a saucepan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil on a medium heat, and sauté the carrot for 2 minutes. Add the kizami-kombu, mix well and sauté  for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the satsuma-age and mix again.

Pour in 400 ml of dashi soup, 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of sugar and soy sauce. Turn the heat down low, simmer for 15 – 20 minutes with the lid on and serve.

Several episodes of Japan Booze Blind actually predate the JapanEats.tv website. They were uploaded to YouTube, then pretty much ignored… until now! We recently raided the archives and will be posting the shows here over the coming weeks.

Marvel at the shaky camerawork! Thrill to the fuzzy audio! Gasp at Chris’s ever-changing facial hair! As always, we welcome your comments on these early efforts.

In this episode, Chris has guests Duncan Sculpher (proprietor of Kokubunji’s Lighthouse) and Albrecht Stahmer (notorious reprobate) blind-taste three wheat beers: Baird Brewing’s Wheat King Ale (Japan), Hitachino Nest’s Weizen (Japan) and Paulaner (Germany).

Hijiki is a well known seaweed in Japan. There are two kinds: me-hijiki, (hijiki buds) which is relatively easy to prepare, and naga-hijiki, the stem of hijiki seaweed. Naga-hijiki takes longer to soften but has more texture.

Hijiki no nimono is considered to be “mother’s home cooking” (“ofukuro no aji“) and is rich in fiber, iron and calcium.

This dish usually contains carrots and deep-fried tofu pouches. Small pieces of chicken, shiitake mushrooms and edamame (boiled soy beans) can be added to the recipe.

This is a dish is good on the day it is prepared and even better the next.

Hijiki no nimono

Ingredients (For 6 – 8 people)

• 25 g of me hijiki (dry)
• 1 deep-fried tofu pouch
• 80 g of carrot
• 80 g of burdock roots
• 80 – 100 g of boiled soy beans
• 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of sake
• 1 tablespoon of mirin
• 3 and a half tablespoons of soy sauce

Method

Fill a bowl with 1 liter of cold water and soak me hijiki for 15 – 20 minutes (refer to the me hijiki‘s package) before draining the seaweed.

Cut the carrot into rectangular strips 4 – 5 cm long and 2 mm x 2 mm wide.

Fill a small bowl with 500 ml of cold water and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Wash the burdock root and cut it into long thin strips, shaving it as though sharpening a pencil. Soak in the bowl of cold water to remove any bitterness and drain.

Pour 100 ml of hot water onto the deep fried tofu pouch and remove the excess oil. Cut into pieces 5 mm thin and 3 – 4 cm in length.

Place a pan on a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the carrot and burdock root, then sauté for 2 – 3 minutes. Add the me-hijiki, mix the ingredients well. Sauté  for a minute more. Finally add the aburaage.

Add 200 ml of dashi soup,and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once it comes to the boil, turn the heat back down to medium-low and add 1/2 table spoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of sake, 1 tablespoon of mirin and 3 and a half tablespoons of soy sauce.

Simmer until the liquid is almost gone and serve.

The Japan Eats Podcast is presented by Garrett DeOrio, Marcus Lovitt and Christopher Pellegrini. To listen, click play on the audio player below:

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Here are some links to what we discussed this week:

• CAST page on Meetup.com
• The Tokyo Beer Meetup
• Total spirit consumption (most recent) by country
• TokuriKampai! Shochu Group (Stephen Lyman’s group in NYC)

You can e-mail us at lovitt@japaneats.tv

Follow us on the Japan Eats Twitter feed. And please “Like” Japan Eats on Facebook.

Nanohana (or rape-blossom in English) is representative of spring. Like wild vegetables such as fuki (butterbur), taranome (the buds of Japanese angelica) and udo, nanohana is a seasonal vegetable with a slight bitterness. For this reason, nanohana goes well with two of the dish’s other ingredients: butter and bacon. These add a sweetness that offsets the initial bitterness of the vegetable.

I recommend adding a little butter to the olive oil (or vegetable oil) to sauté the nanohana.

Nanohana and bacon pasta

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 80 g of bacon (thinly sliced)
• 140 – 150 g of rape blossom (canola)
• 150 – 160 g spaghettini
• 2 tablespoons of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 dried whole chilli pepper
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 10 g of butter

• 4 tablespoons of spaghettini‘s broth
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

Method

Place a large saucepan with 2 liters of cold water on a high heat and bring it to the boil. Add 20 g of salt, then cook the spaghettini.

As soon as you start to cook the spaghettini, you should also start preparing the sauce. Cut the bacon into slices 3 – 4 cm wide. Remove 1 – 2 cm from the bottom of the nanohana‘s stem, and cut into pieces 3 – 4 cm wide. You don’t need to remove the bottom of the stems if they are fresh and still soft.

Break the dried chilli pepper into 2 – 3 pieces and remove the seeds. Place a frying pan with olive oil, butter, finely chopped garlic and dried whole chilli pepper on a low heat and sauté the mixture until it produces an aroma.

Next add the bacon and sauté for another 1 – 2 minutes on the same low – medium heat.

Add the nanohana (stems first, then the leaves) mixing and softening them quickly.

Turn the heat down to low, and add 4 tablespoons of the spagettini‘s broth, mixing well. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, mix again and turn off the heat.

Add the spaghettini, coating the pasta with sauce. Serve.

The Japan Eats Podcast is presented by Garrett DeOrio, Marcus Lovitt and Christopher Pellegrini. To listen, click play on the audio player below:

NB: Due to unforeseen circumstances (specifically very loud background music during the recording) this episode’s audio quality isn’t ideal, particularly at the start of the show. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the conversation and hope you do too.

You can also subscribe to the fortnightly Japan Eats feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed.

Find the Japan Eats Facebook page here. Have something to say? Drop us a line.

Here are some links to what we discussed this week:

• Ochazuke, rice with tea
• Japanese Hangover Cures
• David Chang Demonstrates Instant Ramen Hangover Cure On ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’

You can e-mail us at lovitt@japaneats.tv

Follow us on the Japan Eats Twitter feed. And please “Like” Japan Eats on Facebook.

Fried dumplings (yaki gyoza) are one of Japan’s most beloved dishes. They’re most commonly found as a side order in Chinese restaurants, as a beer snack at izakaya or even as the main meal at so-called “gyoza parties” held at people’s homes.

There are a number of variations on the recipe given here. Suigyoza are boiled gyoza, often added to Japanese nabe (hotpots) during the winter months. And there’s no reason you can’t alter the recipe to make the dish vegetarian.  Experiment with different fillings and let us know your favorites!

The yield for this recipe is 50 gyoza. That may seem like a lot, but you can always freeze them for cooking at a later date.

Fried gyoza.

Ingredients (for 6 – 8 people; makes 50 gyoza)

• 400 g of pork mince
• 400 g of cabbage
• 70 g of Chinese chives
• 6 tablespoons of green onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons of ginger (finely chopped)

Sauce for the filling

• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 – 3 pinches of black pepper
• 2 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sake (紹興酒)
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons of cold water
• 50 gyoza skins (10 cm in diameter)

Dipping sauce

• 100 ml vinegar
• 100 ml soy sauce
• A few drops of rayu (spicy sesame oil)

Method

First prepare the filling. Place a bowl (20 cm or larger in diameter) and place the finely chopped cabbage, add 1 teaspoon of salt (not included in the ingredients) and mix well and leave it for 10 minutes. Then squeeze the water out.

Slice the Chinese chives 5 mm thin.

Folding gyoza. Try to pleat each skin 5 times.

Place a large bowl (26 cm or larger in diameter) with 400 g of pork mince, add all of the sauce for the filling except for the 3 tablespoons of cold water and mix them well for a minute. Add the 3 table spoons of cold water at the end, then mix well.

Add the finely chopped squeezed cabbage, chopped Chinese chives, finely chopped green onion and ginger and mix roughly, then rest the mixture for 10 minutes.

Prepare a cup of 150 ml of cold water (not included in the ingredients), divide the filling into four. The basic idea is to shape 15 – 17 gyoza from 1/4 filling.

Place a sheet of gyoza skin on your palm place a heaped teaspoon of filling onto the center of the skin using a butter knife or teaspoon. Dip a finger into a cup of water, wet it and coat the whole edge of the skin with the water. Now fold the skin in half, shaping the gyoza by making 4 – 5 pleats on one side (refer to the photograph on the left). Don’t worry if you mess up the first few – after 50 gyoza you’ll be much better!

Gyoza made with shop-bought skins. These are thin and best for frying. Homemade gyoza skins are usually thicker and better for making boiled gyoza (suigyoza).

Pinch the skin together securely, otherwise you will lose the juice when you cook them.

Once you have shaped the gyoza, line them up on a dry plate or cutting board. Repeat the procedure until you use up either the skins or the filling.

Now it’s time to cook the gyoza. You’ll need a frying pan which has the perfectly matched size for the number of gyoza as well as a transparent lid.

Place a frying pan (20 cm diameter) with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on a medium heat and move the pan so that it’s surface is coated in oil. Once the pan is warm, place the gyoza base-down in the pan. Usually 8 – 10 gyoza will fit inside a fry pan 20 cm in diameter, but if you have a larger pan, add more vegetable oil (perhaps 2 tablespoons) and cook 15 – 18 gyoza at once.

Fry the gyoza until the base of the gyoza tuns brown. Check the color by picking one up with your fingers.

When they have turned brown, turn the heat up high. Add 1/2 cup of water (not included in the ingredients) and close the lid immediately. The water-level should reach a third of the height of the gyoza.

While the gyoza cook, prepare the dipping sauce. Pour both the soy sauce and the vinegar into a small dish. Add a little rayu for spice.

Before adding water, make sure the base of each gyoza is dark brown.

When almost all the water in the fry pan is gone, open the lid. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (not included in the ingredients) and extend to add the aroma and make the base crispy again.

Turn off the heat and use a spatula to serve.

Tarako (salted pollack roe) is often used as an ingredient in onigiri (Japanese rice balls). If you visit a Japanese supermarket, you’ll find a similar product called mentaiko. It’s also salted pollack roe, but is seasoned with tougarashi – red chili powder.

Tarako spaghetti is a dish that’s easy to make and is particularly popular with children. The saltiness of the tarako is a good match for the sweetness of the butter, together producing a wonderful flavor. I recommend a garnish such as shiso or radish sprouts to add a sharpness to the dish.

Tarako butter spaghetti

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 160 – 180 g of spaghettini (1.7  mm)
• 160 – 180 g of tarako
• 60 g of butter
• 1 sheet of nori ( 20 cm x 20 cm dried sea weed)
• 10 sheets of shiso (green perilla)

Method

Place a large pot with 2 liters of cold water on a high heat. Once it comes to boil, add 10 g of salt and cook the spaghettini based on the introductions on the package.

While you’re cooking the spaghettini, prepare the sauce and the garnish. Cut the butter into 1 cm square cubes and put these in a large bowl.

Next, place the tarako on the cutting board and cut the skin. Use the back of the knife to scrape the eggs into the bowl.

Cut the nori into pieces 3 – 5 cm wide, then place these in a stack and cut into 1 – 2 mm strips with scissors.

Slice the shiso leaves 1 mm thin.

Once the spaghettini is cooked, drain and quickly add them to the bowl, mixing well so that the butter melts with the heat of the spaghettini. Make sure that you keep a little hot water when you drain the noodles – it can be used to adjust the sauce. If you think it needs to be more smooth or still has lumps of butter, add 1 – 2 tablespoons of hot water to the bowl.

Plate the pasta, garnish and serve.

This is a popular (and inexpensive) dish usually eaten during the colder months in Japan. It can be served as either an appetizer or as a main course.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the browning of the chicken wings is important in giving the dish it’s deep and savory smell. I recommend you to adopt a similar approach when cooking thick negi (spring onions) or deep-fried tofu to be used in nimono or nabe.

Add the kurozu (black vinegar) to the chicken stock at the very end when cooking the chicken.

Tebasaki to daikon no kurozuni (simmered chicken wingtips with daikon)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 600 g of chicken wings
• 500-600 g of daikon (Japanese radish)
• 30 g of ginger
• 4 boiled eggs

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 6 tablespoons of sake
• 4 tablespoons of soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of mirin
• 2 tablespoons of black vinegar
• 2 cups of cold water

Method

First, prepare the chicken wings. Cut off the very tip of the wings tips. Use the knife and cut the gristle, then break it with your hands. This is both for looks and to make the wings easier to eat.

Next, prepare the daikon. Peal it and slice into pieces 2 – 3 cm thick, then cut into half rounds or quarters. Now peal the ginger and cut it into 1 mm slices.

Place a casserole dish on the gas table, pour 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pot and warm it on the low to medium heat.

Remove the liquid on the chicken wings with a paper towel and then sauté with the skin face down until they are browned.

Be patient and don’t turn them around often so as to brown them. Don’t worry – the skin won’t stick to the bottom of the casserole if you brown them enough.

Add all the ingredients for the sauce  except the kurozu (black vinegar). Next, drop the ginger and daikon into the casserole dish and turn up the heat to medium-high.

Once the liquid comes to the boil, turn it down to a low heat and put the lid on. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the daikon becomes soft.

While you’re cooking the soup, prepare the boiled eggs. I am sure that everybody knows how to do that…!

Once the eggs are cooked, move them to a cold bowl of water and let them sit in the bowl for 2-3 minutes, then remove the shells.

Confirm the daikon is soft and add the kurozu and the boiled egg. Cook for another 10 minutes with an otoshibuta (a drop lid made from paper) over the ingredients. For instructions on how to prepare one, click here.

Serve the chicken wings, daikon and egg halves, taking care to arrange the ingredients so they look good on the plate.

The menu features a wealth of choice pork and beef cuts for the grill.

Upmarket yakiniku on Tokyo’s east side.

Located about a three minute walk from the south exit of JR Kinshicho station, Suehiro is a superior choice for anyone looking for yakiniku in eastern Tokyo.

There are a number of sets and course meals to choose from, and they range in price from 3,980 yen to just over 13,000 yen per person. The circular grills are embedded in the tables, and you cook the meat yourself just like at most yakiniku restaurants.

The restaurant itself has a chic modern feel to it with low lights and lots of two and four-person booths and rooms. There are about 50 seats in total, so be sure to reserve a table if you’ll be dining at peak ours on a weekend.

You can also order as you go from an extensive a la carte meat menu. The karubi-shio (￥1,050) and hotate (￥880) are tender and excellent when grilled lightly. The tokusen harami at ￥1,800 per serving is some of the best we’ve tried.

There’s also a decent selection of sides such as kimuchi (￥480) and chapuche (￥750). We recommend leaving some room for a post-grilling bowl of cold reimen (￥1,000) or hot buta kimuchi chige (￥1,300) depending on what the weather’s like outside.

Throw some fish on there as well.

Draft beer is ￥490, and Suehiro has an izakaya-level selection of everything else that you’d expect to find. Everything from wine by the glass to shochu to highballs are priced at about 500 yen each, and all-you-can-drink plans are available.

Suehiro is the newest of a family-run, two-shop chain. The original restaurant is on the north side of the station, and the shop detailed here was opened a few years ago. Both are excellent, but we prefer this one because the service is quick and courteous, and the kimuchi moriawase is delicious.

All in all, you can expect to spend between four and six thousand yen per person at Suehiro.

Tel: 03-5669-1529
Sumida-ku Edobashi 3-8-12
Kinsia Annex 2F
Hours: Mon – Sat 17:00 to 7:00 (L.O. 6:30)
Sun/Holidays 16:00 to 7:00 (L.O. 6:30)

Note: Check Suehiro’s listing on Guru Navi and Hot Pepper before you go. They often have coupons for freebies and discounts on course meals.

Map:

View Sumibi Yakiniku Suehiro (炭火焼肉　すえひろ) South Gate Shop (南口店) in a larger map