Rare tastes 珍味

A Japanese word "chinmi" 珍味 is often used to describe food items which are rare and/or limited to certain regions of Japan. You can assemble these rare tastes more easily nowadays by mail order and because of many special sales featuring these rare and regional food items (usually held in department stores in Japan). Even in the U.S., more and more of these "chinmi" items are becoming available, albeit much more limited compared to Japan. Tonight, we had an assortment of these rare tastes with sake.

Dried "Shishamo" fish 寒干しししゃも　

This small fish called "Shishamo" ししゃも or 柳葉魚、Spirinchus lanceolatus, is harvested only on the southern pacific coast of Hokkaido. I grew up with this fish and they are very popular drinking snack items especially in Hokkaido. These are usually semi-dried and we get them frozen in the United States. My mother sent these to us. They were (supposedly) "fully dried" in the cold northwind of Hokkaido. They can be eaten as is but I grilled them briefly over the gas fire and served them with grated daikon 大根おろし and soy sauce. They are a bit chewier than semi-dried (which has to be more thoroughly grilled) but they are very flavorful. To my surprise, even my wife liked them.

Raw  Octopus marinated in wasabi sauce たこぶっかけ (lt)、Salmon roe with grated daikon いくら甘酢大根おろし (ctr)、Raw Squid mariated in hot red peper sauce イカぶっかけ (rt)

My wife and I love "squid and guts" or squid "shiokara" いかの塩辛. This is definitely an acquired taste but most people who love sake will love this as well because both go together so well. Shiokara is made from fresh squid which is salted and slightly fermented with squid innards (mostly liver). The homemade variety made with a light amount of salt (this kind does not last long) is the best. Many commercial ones are too salty but more recently, we can get a less salty kind in a small plastic pouch in the frozen case of the Japanses grocery store. Last time we were in Hakodate we had commercial but local "shiokara" which was excellent. Another similar preparation is called "okizuke" 沖漬け. "oki" in Japanese means "far-away from the shore". Supposedly, fishermen start marinading the freshly caught squid (sometimes other fish or shell fish) while in their boat and by the time they come back to shore (overnight or one day), the dish is done. Once in a blue moon, Chef Kudo at Tako Grill makes squid okizuke which is exquisite.  Last time we were in Kanazawa, a small fluorescent squid called "hotaruika" 蛍イカ or firefly squid was in season. We really enjoyed "okizuke" of this small squid. Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to get a fresh squid suitable for making these dishes in the U.S. What we have here is the closest substitute.

In the above image, from left to right are raw octopus with wasabi sauce たこぶっかけ、salmon roe with grated daikon いくら大根おろし (grated diakon is seasoned with sweet vinegar which is only item I prepared)、and raw squid with hot sauce イカぶっかけ. These squid and octopus dishes are variations of "shiokara" and "okizuke" and are called "bukkake" ぶっかけ in which small pieces of raw octopus or squid are marinated in a spicy sauce. Here, the octopus is marinated in "wasabi" sauce and squid in red pepper sauce. Both come in a small plastic pouch and bought frozen. These are perfect accompaniment for sipping sake.

Cheese stuffed squid チーズいか

This is another item, my mother sent us. A Japanese word "Ikomi" 射込み means to "insert" or to "stuff" and this one is a type of "ikomi" squid. This is a commercial product in which a small squid was stuffed with cheese and cooked. This is eaten as is. Interesting combination of tastes. I served one for each of us but my wife went back and got another one. She must have liked it.

Smoked scallop 帆立ての薫製

This is a smoked whole scallop from Lake Saroma 佐呂間湖 in Hokkaido. To us, it is a bit too smoky and chewy.

Cornmeal Parmesan Chicken tender with crispy skin 鶏の笹身のパルメザンコーンミール焼きとカリカリ鶏皮

This is a variation of my previous post. The chicken tender was cooked the same. I seasoned the chicken tenders with salt and pepper, dredged them in a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese and yellow cornmeal (equal amount) and cooked with a small amount of olive oil. This time, I added the crispy skin of chicken and served them with a Dijon mustard honey sauce.

We love a crispy skin, either chicken, fish or pork. To make chicken skin very crispy, I parboil the chicken skin in water with salt and sake for 10 minutes until the fat was rendered. Then, I patted them dry and placed them (no oil needed) in a frying pan and put another identical frying pan on the top to press down. Cook it for 5-8 minutes on low heat and turn over and cook another 5 minutes until the skin is very crispy. You may still have to remove some excess fat from the pan using a paper towel during the cooking. Sprinkle on a bit of salt while it is hot.

For dipping sauce, I made a mixture of Dijon mustard and honey (about equal amount or less honey depending on your taste). Honey will melt easily and changes the consistency and color of the mustard. This one goes well with any drink.

Simmered "kiriboshi" daikon 切り干し大根の煮物

"Kiriboshi" daikon is an old fashioned preserved vegetable in which daikon is cut into thin, long strands and dried. I bought a package some time ago in the Japanese grocery store. Obviously I had forgotten about it but found it while I was going through my Japanese food items in the pantry. I decided to make some dishes using this. It is rather odd looking and it doesn't smell particularly pleasant (all cruciferous vegetables appear to have similar smell but drying makes it stronger). The drying, however, does add more sweetness. To use this, wash briefly in cold running water and rehydrate in enough water for 20-30 minutes.

Simmered "kiriboshi" daicon 切り干し大根の煮物

This is a very typical way of using "kiriboshi" daikon. After re-hydration, I squeeze water from it and set aside. I thinly slice carrot and julienne. I also julienne abura-age 油揚げ or deep dried tofu pouch. The amounts are totally arbitrary. You could also add shiitake mushroom (dried and re-hydrated shiitake is the best for this but I did not have enough time to re-hydrate dried shiitake this time). In a pan, I add a small amount of vegetable oil and a dash of dark roasted sesame oil and add few flakes of dried red pepper. I then sauté daikon and carrot. When the oil has coated the each vegetable pieces, add abura-age and enough "dashi" stock to cover (In my case,  I used about 200ml). I place an "otoshi buta" and simmer for 10-15 minutes. "Otoshi buta" 落とし蓋 or "drop lid" is frequently called for in Japanese simmered "nimono" 煮物 recipes. It is a lid (often wood) that is smaller in diameter than that of the pan used. This way, the ingredients will cook evenly while allowing evaporation of the simmering broth. Instead, you could use a kitchen parchment paper cut slightly smaller than the opening of the pan (called "kami buta" or paper lid). You do not need a special wooden lid (I have one but it was too big for this pan). A plate or a regular metal lid smaller in diameter than the pan's opening will do as shown here.

After coming to a boil, simmer for 10-15 minutes. For seasoning, I add 3 tbs of mirin and 2-3 tbs of soy sauce (for 200ml of dashi). I add soy sauce in two increments, tasting each time, to adjust the seasoning. Addition of soy sauce just before completing cooking gives fresh soy sauce flavor as well. If you are having this dish with sake, I use less soy sauce and for rice condiments, I use more soy sauce. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes and cut the flame and let it cool in the broth. I garnished with snow peas blanched, shocked in cold water and then julienned.

"Kiriboshi" daikon and celery in vinegar dressing 切り干し大根のハリハリ

This is another classic way of using this ingredients. "Harihari" is a Japanese word to indicate "crunchy".  Beside dried daikon, this dish usually calls for julienned cucumber. While I was making this, all the mini-cucumbers I had (although I bought them just few days ago) had brownish discoloration around the seeds and did not taste right (This appears not to be the usual brand I get. It said "seed-less" but it definitely had seeds). So after cutting all 5 cucumbers, I had to discard all of them.  Without cucumbers, I rummaged in the refrigerator and found celery. 

After re-hydration, I squeezed out the excess water and put the "kiriboshi daikon" in the bowl. I sliced a celery stalk diagonally and thinly. I mixed a small amount of Chinese red pepper paste "Toubanjan" 豆板醤 (1/5 tsp), sushi vinegar (3 parts)  and mirin (1 part) and dressed.

The kiribishi daikon definitely has a crunch as name "harihari" indicates. It is a very simple (especially if you have a cucumber) and refreshing dish. Even with substituting with celery, it was not so bad.

Fried Oyster カキのフライ

Fried oyster is by no means a traditional Japanese dish but  Japanese appear to like it very much. This item appears on Izakaya menus as well as family style Japanese restaurants called "taishu shokudo" 大衆食堂 or similar low-key restaurants. the Japanese modification must be the use of Japanese "panko" パン粉 for breading. Thinly cut raw cabbage キャベツ is served as an accompaniment as well as "tonkatsu" sauce (often).

We used to be able to get nice plump Pacific oysters when we were in California. Here, oysters are mostly small (especially the ones from the Chesapeake). This time, I got oysters already cleaned in a jar (probably pasteurized) and not really big. I toyed with an idea of making them into an oyster stew but decided to make fried oysters. The recipe I used here is not that different from a typical Western recipe. Wash the oysters gently in cold water, pat them dry using paper towels, dredge them in flour, egg water, and then "panko" bread crumbs. Deep fry (I may have used oil that was too hot for this batch) for a few minutes until the outside is nicely crispy. I served this with wedges of lemon, green beans (simply boiled) and shredded cabbage and julienned carrot dressed in my mustard honey dressing.

Classically, this is perfect with cold beer but we do not drink beer anymore so we had this with cold sake.

Ramen noodle ラーメン

Ramen is now popular all over the world. Although it originated from China, Japanese really developed it into their own and now, I hear that Japanese-style ramen is popularized even in China. Especially after the invention of the "instant" and "cup" ramen, it became one of the very popular late night snacks in addition to lunches in Japan as well as in the world. Many people are really into it, as you could see in the old classic movie, Junzo Itami's "Tampopo" and more recently, a Hollywood ramen movie, "Ramen Girl". I am originally from Sapporo 札幌 and ramen noodles from Sapporo have been famous in Japan for some time. In my college days, we often stopped at the original "Ramen alley" ラーメン横町 in Susukino すすきの after bar hopping and drinking. Many serious individuals as well as chain ramen restaurants have developed in Japan since then, even here in the U.S., especially in New York and Los Angeles. Many regional ramen dishes also have developed and "instant" ramens have become more sophisticated and gourmet. 

I just made this ramen noodles out of whatever was in our refrigerator and dried ramen noodles that I had (I already mentioned that I like frozen "raw" noodles from the Nishiyama seimen the best). This is not the usual way I make Ramen especially since I often make "Yakibuta" 焼豚 or Sino-Japanese pot roast of pork, separately and ahead of time. I use "Yakibuta" slices as a topping for the Ramen noodle as is often done. But I had only uncooked pork and this is how I made it this time.

I used one serving of dried noodles for two small servings. I had the trimmings of a pork tenderloin which I just sliced very thinly (whatever amount). I also used onion (1 small), "nappa" Chinese cabbage (2 leaves), fresh shiitake mushroom (3-4 small), baby spinach (1 small handful), and thinly sliced scallion for garnish (2, white part only). You could use any vegetables and proteins you may have. I minced ginger (1/4 tsp) and garlic (1 clove) and sautéed in a sauce pan in a small amount of vegetable oil (2 tsp) and a dash of roasted sesame oil for 30 seconds. I added the pork slices until the color turns white. Before garlic burns, I added mirin (1 tbs) and soy sauce (1 tbs) and braise until the meat is cooked and liquid is almost all gone. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, I add vegetable oil (2 tsp) and sauteed sliced onion and thinly cut white bottom part of the nappa cabbage. Brown bits or "fond" will accumulate on the bottom and the side of the pan because of the sugar in the mirin and in the onion. After the vegetables wilt, I de-glaze with Chicken broth (I used low-fat, low-sodium Swanson chiken broth in a box), add more both (about 200ml) and 100ml of water (amount of the water depends on the saltiness of broth). I then add sliced shiitake and green part soft parts of nappa cabbage and simmer for few minutes. I add spinach which will wilt in 30 seconds. There should be enough saltiness but taste and adjust by adding soy sauce. Meanwhile I cook the noodle for 3-4 minutes to desired doneness, drain and place it in the bowls. Pour the broth in the bowls leaving the vegetables in the pan. Then I arrange the pork, vegetables, and garnish with scallion and cracked pepper. The color of broth is mostly coming from de-glazing. This is a rather healthy version of Ramen but it is not bad for a quick dish.

We usually do not like to use "seasoning packets" that come with gourmet instant ramen noodles, since it often contains a large amount of animal fat as well as salt. Fortunately you could just buy noodles either dry (not pre-deep fried) or raw "frozen".

Cucumber salad with smoked scallop and poached chicken breast with black vinegar sauce きゅうり、貝柱、鶏肉のサラダの黒酢ソース和え

This is another small dish you make from whatever you have at hand. Since at our Home Izakaya, I usually make one dish, eat that dish with some sake and then make another, sometimes, making a small dish quickly from nothing is very necessary. In any case, this night, I found leftover poached chicken breast in black vinegar sauce, fresh American mini-cucumber and the New Year care package we just received from my mother which included semi-dried lightly smoked Hokkaido scallops 貝柱の薫油漬. Of course, you could omit the scallops or substitute with finely chopped smoked ham or salami.

For two small servings, thinly slice one mini-cucumber and salt lightly, mixing well or "knead" lightly and let it stand for 5 minutes on the cutting board. Then, squeeze out excess moisture. I also skinned and cut 2 Campari tomatoes into quarters. I crumbled one semi-dry scallop into small pieces and mixed the pieces into the cucumber and tomatoes then dressed with sushi vinegar. I sliced the chicken breast paper thin, placed the slices on top of the cucumbers and drizzled the black vinegar sauce over everything.

It is interesting that the black vinegar sauce congealed to a thicker gelatinous consistency since it contains protein/collagen from the chicken skin. When I was growing up in Sapporo, even inside our old house, it got very cold in winter especially at night without any source of heat. When my mother made a simmered fish dish in soy sauce flavored broth or "nizakana" 煮魚 and the leftover was kept in a kitchen cabinet, the sauce congealed in the bottom of the plate into jello next morning. This is called "nikogori" 煮凝り. It is a natural equivalent of making a fashionable "gelée" sauce by adding gelatin into a sauce. In any case, as a child, I really liked this "nikogori" on hot rice (it melted quickly). The reduced black vinegar sauce indeed attained a similar consistency (in the refrigerator not in the room, though). This dish is definitely best with sake, since it has a vinegary taste.

Potato salad with cod roe, black olive and Cornichons タラモサラダ

Potato salad is not really Japanese or Izakaya food, yet, it is definitely very common home cooked food in Japan. Last time we were in one of our favarite Izakayas in Kyoto, "Akagakiya" 赤垣屋, the first appetizer or "Otoshi" おとうし was potato salad which was excellent. There is always something different from usual American-style potato salad in Japanese versions. Mark's book has a rather sophisticated version of potato salad (p81).  One of more common Japanese variations is called "taramo" which is a made-up word from "tara-ko" (cod roe) and "imo" (potato). I made my variation of "taramo" salad since I had "tarako" I did not use after making other dishes. I added black olive, finely sliced French Cornichons (tiny cucumbers, gherkins, pickled in a tangy marinade), and instead of using just mayonnaise, I used an equal mixture of plain yogurt and mayonnaise, which is bit better fat-wise and also add a slighly sour tangy flavor to the dish. An addition of yogurt, however, makes the salad a bit watery, so it is important to use white potatoes and cook them whole and remove the skin before mashing to make sure the potato is rather dry to begin with.

I used two large white potatoes which were boiled in salted water whole (you could microwave, also) until a skewer goes through easily. Remove skin using a towel and mash with 1 tbs of butter and a pinch of salt (be light on salt since "tarako" is also salty) and let it cool to a room temperature. Meanwhile I remove the pits from 7-8 black oil cured olives (I am not sure which kind we got here from a local gourmet grocery store) and coarsely chop. I usually use thinly sliced fresh cucumbers (salted and then vinegared) but the mini-cucumbers we got this time did not taste particularly good, so I used pickled French Cornichons finely sliced (4-5). Add 2 tbs each of mayonnaise and plain yogurt and one large sac of tarako (which was removed from the sac and mixed with 1 tsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of sake). Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper). This "taramo" salad tastes better after leaving it overnight in the refrigerator (especially the textures improves).

Please note that the size of Cornichons I used for a garnish is only 1 inch in length and the tomato is cherry tomato in the above picture. I served this as an "otoshi" for our Home Izakaya à la "Akagaki-ya". Although sake will be a safe choice, It went surprisingly well with an inexpensive everyday Australian Shiraz "Red Dust" 2007.