White asparagus with cream sauce ホワイトアスパラガスのクリームソース

Although I grew up in Sapporo, Hokkaido 札幌, 北海道 where asparagus are produced, my memory of white asparagus is a soft, limp, and overcooked white substance that came out of a can which was served cold with mayonnaise. I never liked it. (This comment is not meant for this particular brand in the image. It  appears that there have been some improvement in the quality and taste of canned white asparagus in recent years, especially in Japan, but I have not tried them.) I do not recall my mother ever cooking or serving fresh white asparagus. Later, green asparagus became more popular and fresh green asparagus sauted in butter seems a much better choice to me. In many European countries, especially Germany, we noticed that people cherish white asparagus when in season. Recently, fresh white asparagus became available even in our neighbourhood grocery stores. This is a very simple dish I make from white asparagus and it is much better what I ate in my childhood.

To cook white asparagus (I am not sure about the plural form; asparagus, asparagi or aspraguses??) requires some preparation. After washing, I peel them, except for the very top, using a potato peeler. You could get a special asparagus peeler, if you so wish but a regualr potato peeler works except that you have to place the asparagus on a cutting board and roll it while you are peeling. If you just hold it in your hand and try to peel it like a carrot, you will break the asparagus in half since it is rather brittle. After peeling, cut off or break of the hard bottom portion. You need to reserve all the peels, whatever portions broken off and the bottoms. I place these asparagus scraps in the large saute pan and place the prepared asparagus on the top and add water to cover (see picture below). The idea here is to extract as much asparagus flavor as possible into the cooking liquid. This flavored liquid is used as the basis of the sauce.

I simmer the asparagus for 10-20 minutes with the lid on (I like them throughly cooked). When they are cooked remove the asparagus carefully to a papertowel lined plate to drain. I then reduce the liquid by turning the flame to high for 10-15 minutes and strain, retrun the liquid to the pan or remove the asparagus bits and peels. Only a small amount of the liquid covers the bottom of the pan. If too much liquid remains, reduce further. I add 1/4 cup of cream and reduce briefly to a saucy consistency and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper, if you like, use white pepper which looks better). I used light cream here and the sauce broke a bit. If you use heavy cream, the chance of breaking the sauce is less. I garnish with chopped chives (or parsley or tarragon if available). This is 100 times better than the canned white asparagus. You can serve it as a side dish or Hors d'œuvre for Home Izakaya. You could serve this with Bernaise sauce or mustard sauce (Dijon mustard, lemon juice, tarragon, and olive oil) or even store-bought mayonnaise (I would add fresh lemon juice, mustard, and fresh chopped tarragon or other herbs to spruce it up). If you have given up on white asparagus, this is worth a try.

Cherry blossom gazing 花見

Cherry trees in our backyard are in full bloom!

This winter was very hard with very unusual (for DC area) heavy snow. As a result, a little like Hokkaido, all the spring flowers are blossoming at the same time. Cherry, Magnolia, and Bradford pear trees are all in bloom. We have three cherry trees in our backyard two are ornamental which we planted and one is "wild" meaning somehow rooted when the land was still pasture. In regular years, the wild variety blooms about one week after the ones we planted but this year both are in full bloom at the same time. Our trees usually bloom about 5-7 days after the trees at the tidal basin but this year they are all in full bloom at the same time. In any case, the hard winter made this eagerly awaited spring all the more enjoyable. It is time for "Hanami" 花見 or Cherry blossom gazing.

Cherry blossoms are the national flower of Japan and the progression of cherry blossoms across Japan, from south to north has been reported daily and is called "cherry blossom front" or "sakura zensen" 桜前線. In Japan people celebrate cherry blossoms by having "Hanami" or a drinking party under the cherry blossoms. The parties generally consist of people from the same work place, and can become quite noisy spectacles. This week was the conjunction of spring break for most local schools, cherry blossoms in full bloom and exquisitely beautiful spring weather. My wife's family came for a visit and they went to see the cherry blossoms at the tidal basin.  They  reported back to me that it was a "mad house", "way too crowded", "couldn't even see the trees for all the hoards of people". So it is nice to have a quiet Hanami in our own backyard.

We did not have anything special ready for the occasion. So I served whatever was in the freeezer and refrigerator. We started with tuna sashimi arranged in a flower shape, Monk fish liver or "ankimo" 鮟肝 and cucumber with moromimiso.

The left is graded daikon with sweet vinegar and salmon roe or "ikura". The right is store bought (frozen) squid and guts or "shiokara" 塩辛. For the occasion, using a very small cutting mold (from Kappabashi), I made cherry flowers from carrot, lemon peel and the skin of cucumber.

This is a small salad consisting of cooked chicken breast, seaweed salad, blanched broccoli rabe in my usual sesame dressing.  Our Hanami went on until it got dark. We tunrned on the lights and then we were doing "Yozakura" 夜桜 or "night time cherry blossoms" gazing.

Tuna carpaccio まぐろのカルパッチョ

Raw beef and raw tuna have some similarity in terms of color and texture. As a result, it was easier to be accepted by Westerners if tartar was made with raw tuna instead of beef and call it tuna tartar. Carpaccio is another very common Western adaptation of sashimi. Instead of using thinly sliced raw beef, you use thinly sliced raw fish, especially tuna. You can also make carpaccio using white meat fish such as Japanese snapper or tai 鯛, halibut or even scallops. I understand that, now in Japan, carpaccios of raw fish are very popular.

 I first sprinkle a small amount of sea or Kosher salt on the plate, drizzle good extra-virgin olive oil and a good aged balsamic vinegar. I slice chutoro tuna into thin (1/4 in or 5 mm) slices and neatly arrange on the plate in a single layer. I again drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the top and also soy sauce. You can use your imagination and try different things here (for example, ponzu, lime or lemon juice, grated garlic, roasted sesame oil, ground black pepper etc in different combinations but I will not omit olive oil). I garnish this with thin slices or shavings of a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (using a potato peeler), thinly sliced red onion rings, separated, kinshiran 金糸卵 or golden egg thread, roasted white sesame seeds and chopped chives. Again, you could use any combination of garnish here. This will give a bit different twist to tuna sashimi. Like beef carpaccio, this could go well with red wine or sake. We had this with 2007 Joseph Phelps Cabernet which we just received. "Shime" 締め or 〆, the last dish (usually starch) was Uni-Ikura donburi 雲丹いくら丼 tonight so we switched to cold sake, what a decadent night.

Tuna sashimi with natto マグロ納豆

We got a 2 lb of block of fresh tuna, sashimi grade, from Catalina Offshore Products (2 lb is the minimum you can order for sashimi-grade fresh tuna). It has ootoro 大トロ, chutoro 中トロ, and a portion called 'chiai" 血合い. You have to first remove the skin and chiai, and then, block out these portions to rectangular blocks called 'saku" 冊 from which sashimi pieces can be cut. In other words, you have to know how to separate these portions to prepare the tuna block from Catalina. After I make the sashimi blocks, I wrap it using kitchen parchment paper, then using a paper towel. I put them in a Ziploc bag and put them back in the Styrofoam container in which the tuna came, add more ice gel packages, which I keep in the freezer, on the top. I put the entire Styrofoam box in our spare refrigerator. This appears to be the best way to keep these sashimi and the ice gels will not totally melt for 5 days or more. I can safely keep them up to 3 days. You could get frozen toro instead, which is easier to prepare since only toro is included, although you have to thaw it. We also tried the frozen toro and the quality is very good.

Chiai is at the edge of chutoro and looks very dark red. If you taste it as sashimi, it has an unpleasant bitter taste. Rather than throwing away this portion, it can be made it to a dish you can enjoy. I decided to make, maguro-natto using natto 納豆; one of the dreaded among Japanese food items.

I cut the chiai portion into small (1/2 to 1/3 inch) cubes and marinated in soy sauce, sake, and mirin mixture (2:1:1). You could add grated ginger (which I did not). I got enough chiai from the 2 lb block for two servings (probably about 100 grams or a bit less than 1/4 lb). I marinate over night in the refrigerator.

Next day just before serving, I prepare a small package (individual serving) of natto as I described before with a sauce and mustard included in the package and using my special mixing apparatus. Add thinly sliced scallion (1/3 to 1/2 scallion) and keep mixing (the longer you mix, the less the odor).

I place the cubes of marinated (excess liquid drained and pat dry) chiai in the bottom of a small bowl, top them with natto and garnish with thin strips of nori. It is rather strong flavored but it is good. This is not a high class food but it is perfect for Izakaya. You have to have this with sake.  Again, even my wife enjoyed this dish. Of course you could make this dish using a regular akami 赤身 (red) tuna or, for that matter, any parts of tuna. I would not marinate or marinate for a shorter time if you use better quality portions of tuna.

Mini Udon Hotpot ミニ鍋焼きうどん

This is another one of those dishes with which you conclude your Izakaya feast. Last time we were in Kappabashi district in Asakusa 浅草合羽橋, we found this mini-donabe ミニ土鍋, measuring a bit less than 5 inches in the outside diameter, in one of numerous restaurant supply shops which line the streets there. Since we are not big eaters, this is a perfect size for us to have a very small individual nabe dish. Tonight, I made a tiny "nabeyaki udon" ミニ鍋焼きうどん. 

Udon noodle is a thick (as compared to soba), white Japanese noodle made of wheat flour, which can be made at home (I have not tried it), bought frozen or dried. I almost exclusively use dried udon noodles just because it will keep a longtime in the pantry and is convenient. You can get quite a number of different kinds of dried udons from thin to thick. You could use udon like soba (especially thin ones). If you serve it in a warm soy sauce flavored broth, it is called "kake udon" かけうどん and by adding different toppings, it changes its name (this is exactly same for soba). For example, if you add a whole (raw) egg, it is called "Tsukimi Udon" 月見うどん or moon gazing udon (equating an egg yolk for a full moon). You could eat udon with a dipping sauce, called "Tsukeudon" 付けうどん, which is a rather recent invention. One dish in which you almost exclusively use udon noodle but not other noodles is this dish "nabeyaki udon" or udon hotpot. If you make it in a standard individual sized pot (see picture below), it is a classic whole-meal-in-a-pot dish.

I had already cooked udon (I prepare it as per the package instruction, it will keep several days in the refrigerator. This was leftover from making a tarako pasta dish). I place enough to fit in this small donabe pot (probably 1/4 of one standard serving). I use a bottle concentrated noodle sauce diluted in hot water to taste (use hot water to dilute as per instructions on the bottle label but make sure you taste it and adjust the strength). Of course, you could make this from scratch using dashi, mirin, sake, sugar, and soy sauce. I poured the diluted sauce to just cover the noodles. I added fresh shiitake mushroom (use small ones), two shrimp (I used frozen ones), greens (spinach is traditional but you can used anything such as snow peas, green beans, even green asparagus etc.  I used baby arugula here. You could pre-cook them before putting in or, like I did, just put it in over the top of the noodles and put on the lid. After it wilts and decreases in volume, you can rearrange the greens) and scallion sliced on an angle. Put on the lid and simmer for 10 minutes on a very low flame (be careful, it will boil over very easily). I finish the dish by adding half a beaten egg, put the lid back and let it stand for 5 minutes until the egg sets. 

Serve it with Japanese seven flavored red pepper powder or "shichimi togarashi 七味唐辛子 (red cylinder in the picture above). The sake cup is hand cut crystal by Kitaichi glass in Otaru, Hokkaido 北一ガラス、小樽、北海道. When you pour sake into this cup, the cherry blossoms etched on the bottom "float". Since Cheery trees have been in blossom in Washington DC, this is perfect.

Comparison of a standard one-person donabe on the left (about 7-8 inches in diameter) and our mini-donabe on the right.

Amaebi head miso soup 甘エビのみそ汁

Heads of amaebi are most commonly deep fried but another popular way to serve them is to make a miso soup. Some Japanese restaurants may ask you how you want to have amaebi heads cooked after you consume amaebi sashimi or sushi (with heads as decoration). Since our shipment of amaebi from Catalina Offshore Products included rather large shrimp with roe, I decided to make their heads and roe into a miso soup.

First, I removed the heads and roe and used the tail meat as sashimi, which was excellent. I trimmed the antennae and placed shells and heads in a 400F oven for about 10 minutes. This is a similar process to making broth from any crustacean carcasses. Before you put the carcasses in water, they should either be sauteed or baked which reduces any fishy flavor they may impart which would occur if the raw carcasses were placed directly in water to make broth. 

For two generous  servings, I put about 500 ml (or 2 cups) of water in a pot and place the baked amaebi carcasses and heads (4 large). When it comes to a boil, skim off any scum that may form on the surface and reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. You could remove the heads and strain the broth but I just removed the shells and solids but did not strain. I added the roe and small cubes of tofu (optional). I dissolved the miso (I used red miso about 1.5 - 2 tbs) using a misokoshi みそこし or a small strainer and spoon. You must taste and adjust the amount of miso. Since, the broth is very flavorful you may not need as much miso as usual. When it comes back to boil, I add thinly sliced (on an angle) scallion for garnish and turn off heat. To eat, you have to use your fingers. Pick up the head and suck on the end to extract all the goodies including the liver. Or, like my wife who did a better job than I, you could also dismantle and extract all the small flavorful bits. Although we felt bad about eating the roe (these could have become millions of shrimp), they were also wonderful.

Sweet shrimp sashimi and deep fried shrimp head 甘エビの刺身と頭の唐揚げ

I am not sure exactly which species of shrimp is called "amaebi" 甘エビ or sweet shrimp. As opposed to the regular shrimp you eat at sushi bars as sushi, served butterflied and boiled, "amaebi" is served raw. As a result, any kind of shrimp which is served raw appears to be called "amaebi". In the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido 北海道 where I am from, our "amaebi" was much larger than those in the rest of Japan.  I am not sure if they are a different species or just larger versions of the same species. I initially thought that most of what is called "amaebi" in Hokkaido could be a type of "botanebi" ぼたんえび．
But I found the picture on the left in a Japanese mail order place describing shrimp from Hokkaido and the caption read "...on the left are amaebi and on the right are botanebi..." and, further states "...many people mistake their amaebi as botanebi, since our amaebi are so big..." So, it appears that they are different when amaebi is more narrowly defined. I remember eating amaebi sushi in Tokyo for the first time (when I was in college). They put 2 or 3 amaebi shrimp to make one sushi. I was amazed since I was used to have one shrimp on one sushi; shrimp was more than big enough for one sushi in Hokkaido. In the U.S., there are at least two kinds of shrimp which are being distributed as "amaebi". We used to get "amaebi" from Alaska, twice a year. In spring, we got larger ones with spots on the side which must have been "spot prawns" (similar to "bontan-ebi") and, in fall, we got much smaller shrimp, which may have been "pink shrimp" (similar to "ama-ebi" in the narrow definition described above). We stopped getting these from this particular vendor in Alaska, though. The amaebi came in a plastic container already head removed. Sometimes they were good but many times they were just barely fresh enough to be eaten raw. Now, through Catalina offshore products, we, for the first time, got their "amaebi" or "spot prawns".  Again, I am not sure if this is similar to what is called "botanebi" in Japan but they must be very simialr. Certainly, the size appeared very similar as well as the spots on the both sides of the body. They also look similar to what we used to get form Alaska in spring. According to Catalina, their spot prawns are caught in the water off San Diego and was kept alive in a tank until just before shipping, although they do not guarantee the shrimp to be alive upon receipt. They are large and quite fresh (they were not alive when we received them). So, we enjoyed them as a small sashimi and the head was deep fried. I trimmed the antennae and legs with a pair of kitchen scissors and dryed the head with a paper towel (it can splatter badly when deep fried). I deep fried them as is (without any flour or batter) in a medium hot (about 350F) oil for 5-7 minutes. I salted them lightly while they were hot.

This is excellent. The meat is fresh tasting and nicely sweet. The deep flied heads are a bit too large but crispy. Although you have to be careful how to chew this to avoid mouth injury, it was mighty good. With the delicate flavor of the shrimp, you have to have a cold sake.