"Yamaimo somen" Mountain yam noodle in cold broth 山芋ソーメン

Recently I was introduced to several very interesting food blogs on Izakayas through "Izakaya Sanpo", which I listed in my favorite links. One called "Eating out in Tokyo with Jon" is quite amazing as he is very prolific (eating out and blogging) and his writing very informative and interesting. I was reading one of his posts on a quaint drinking place in Takasaki, Gunmma 群馬県高崎市 called "machiya" 待家. This reminded me of the last time we were in Maebashi 前橋-Takasaki 高崎 areas in Gunmma prefecture, my friend and his wife took us to a very fancy and excellent French restaurant which we enjoyed enormously (including a bottle of Chateau Lynch-Bages -- 2001, I think), but if I had known of this place we would have begged my friend to take us there instead. In any case, he was describing a mountain yam or "yamaimo" dish called "Yamaimo somen". Since I am trying to reproduce Izakaya food at home and blog about it, I wanted to reproduce this dish based on the picture and his description.

I peeled "Nagaimo" (it is the cultivated variety of "yamaimo") and then using a Japanese mandolin (the "Benriner", which we have been using for almost 25 years but still has very sharp blades), I made thick (using the most coarse julienne blade) juliennes, which are rather fine, actually. I think that, depending on what kind of texture/sliminess you like, one can change the treatment of the "Yamaimo somen". We rather like some slimy texture as well as crunch, so we would use these juliennes as is.  If you would rather reduce the sliminess, then, I would soak them in vinegared water, drain and wash them in running water to remove the surface slim before putting them in a bowl. Judging from the picture and the delighted expression by Jon, they must have washed the slim out somehow. For us, I just placed the "yamaimo somen" into a bowl and poured in a cold noodle sauce (I used a bottled concentrate with strength weaker than for dipping but stronger than for hot noodle dishes). I garnished with chopped scallion and nori with a side of "real" wasabi. This was quite a new (at least to us) way of enjoying this slimy potato. I have posted several other ways to enjoy this slimy potato (mostly grated, Sorry, Jon). Certainly, we can serve this to our Western guests with much less problem. Another idea I have is to mix this with juliennes of daikon which may add another type of crunch to this dish.

Deep fried fish and mountain potato dumpling 薩摩揚げ(もどき)

"Satsuma-age" 薩摩揚げ is a deep fried fish cake which originated from the "Satsuma" 薩摩 region of Kyushu 九州, the southern island of Japan. This is often served in Izakaya. We occasionally have this as a "robatayaki" 炉端焼き item at Tako Grill. At home, I, like most people, ususally buy pre-made and frozen fish cakes. Just before serving, I thaw and grill (or toast them in a toaster oven). We eat these with grated ginger and soy sauce, which is pretty good. Another common use is to put them in "oden" おでん.

Since I bought a whole red snapper, I ended up with small bits of fish meat as well as meat I scraped off the bones after I filleted the fish. If this had been a salmon, I could have made a "salmon" cake in a very similar manner to "crab" cake. Although I never made this type of fish cakes before, I decided to make these fish meat scraps into a "Satsuma age". Mark's book p44 has a rather sophisticated version of this dish. I decided to use a simpler recipe which was in one of my cookbooks. In any case, I had only fish meat from red snapper but, typically, you should have a combination of two or more fish, usually cod plus some other white flesh fish to achieve good texture and taste according to these recipes. So, I knew mine would not be great before I even started making it.

I first, slice and julianne small carrots and burdock root or "gobo" 牛蒡 (gobo was soaked in vinegared water for 10 minutes) and cooked it in a small amount of "dashi" broth (I used Kelp broth since I was making something else with it) for 5-10 minutes or until the vegetable is soft.  I got about 150gm of fish meat, I added salt (1/3 tsp), 2 tsp each of sake, soy sauce and mirin and made a paste using a small bowl food processor. I was supposedly to use 1/2 egg white but entire thing (one egg white) went in before I could stop it. This recipe also calls for 10grams of grated mountain yam. I substituted it with "nagaimo" 長芋 but "nagaimo" is more watery than "yamaimo" 山芋 and the resulting paste became a bit softer than I intended. I added the drained vegetable and made 5 flat oval shaped disks (I put some vegetable oil on my hands so that the paste would be manageable.) I covered them with plastic wrap and let them rest to firm up in the refrigerator for 1 hour before deep frying.

First, I should have used a lower temperature oil and I should have used more fish meat or less egg white, liquid and grated nagaimo. Although this was quite edible (and my wife said it was even good) it is not "Satsuma age"--the consistency is totally wrong, much lighter and fluffier. I would call this "fried fish and nagaimo dumpling". I do not think I will make this one again. Store bought frozen ones are just fine.

Hummus フムス

Izakaya food consists of small dishes. I mentioned other types of small dishes from different cultures such as Spanish Tapas. A relatively new restaurant, Zaytinya in Washington DC specializes in small dishes from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East called Mezze (Meze and other spellings). These dishes are quite different from Japanese style Izakaya food but the ideal is the same and my wife and I really enjoy their small dishes. We usually start with some of their spreads or dips with small wonderful hot (temperature) flat bread they serve (a type of pita or pide). Hummus (it appears that there are some spelling variations since the original name حمّص‎ is Arabic-obviously I just copied from Wikipedia-) is one of these and is very easy to make. Here I made Guacamole and Hummus, a bit of ethnic mix but work well together.

Again, there are some variations on a Hummus recipe but this is the way I make it. I make this either in a small bowl food processor or using an immersible blender with a mixing cup (this time I used an immersible blender). The ingredients are canned chickpeas (16oz), garlic (2-3 cloves, skin and root end removed), lemon juice (2-3 tbs), tahini or Japanese neri-goma 白練りごま (2 tbs), salt (1/2 tsp), and ground cumin (1/2 to 1 tsp). (We like cumin but some may not like it at all, you do not have to use cumin). You could mix in olive oil rather than using it as a garnish.

I first drain the chickpeas reserving the liquid. I then process all the ingredients plus 1/4 of the reserved liquid (or use lukewarm water) until a nice smooth paste is formed. If it is too thick add more liquid, if it is too soupy add more chickpeas. Taste and adjust salt, lemon juice and cumin to taste. I garnish with sliced black olive and extra-virgin olive oil. Any chips, pita bread, cracker will go wonderfully with these dips.

Roasted rack of lamb ラムのオーブン焼き

Some years ago, we visited "Hagi city" 萩市, which is located in the "San-in" district 山陰地方 (meaning "shade of the mountains"), the southwest portion of mainland Japan or "Honshu" 本州. After reading the wonderful books "Tales of the Otori" 鳳物語 written by an Australian author Gillian Rubinstein using the pseudonym of Lian Hearn, we decided to visit Hagi. Although this story takes place in an imaginary place, it closely resembles "sengoku" or the civil war period 戦国時代 of Japan. The author reportedly got inspirations from Hagi and the surrounding countryside and, actually, wrote her stories while she were staying there (at least portions of it). She used names of the places such as "Hagi" 萩 and "Tsuwano" 津和野, which are actual names of the cities in the area. In addtion, my wife has been a big fan of "Hagiware" 萩焼 pottery for some time and collected quite a few pieces. It was not easy to get there as compared to cities along the bullet train lines. We ended up taking a tour bus from the New Yamaguchi station 新山口駅. This worked well providing us a guided tour of the beautiful country side as well as a visit to Tsuwano and Hagi.

We stayed in a hotel/Japanese inn at Hagi, which I found through the Internet. This inn had been a grand and traditional Japanese inn some time ago but, now, under the management of the 2nd or 3rd generation owner, it was not doing well and the "new" building looked run down (their web site was very well done and consequently "misleading"、this is a picture from their web site of the very room we stayed. Looks very nice in the picture).  It appears that we may have been the only guests. They had a restaurant next door and our first night dinner was served there but we were the only customers. The decor had a 1960's kitschy look; Under the curving central stair case, there was a small fountain with a fake Greek goddess statue and few turtles crawling about in the water surrounding the base of the statue. They gave us a quite spread totaling 10 or 12 separate dishes all displayed on the table. As we started eating, Don Ho's "Tiny bubbles" wafted across as background music. We looked at each other and started laughing. In any case, although it was raining the next night, we said we did not need dinner at the Inn (the proprietor wanted to know why but we weren't telling). We took off to a small drinking place we had found through an internet search. It should have been within walking distance. We entered a small bar/Izakaya type place. (Later we found out this was not the one we had meant to go). Two young girls were serving at the counter and the small kitchen in the back was totally closed off from view. It was essentially a Japanese style drinking place but some of the menu items are more Westernized. Since my wife is fond of lamb, we ordered lamb chops (This is where this long preamble will connect to the dish for this posting). As my wife always complains, Japanese do not like the taste of lamb and tend to cover it up with soy sauce and other flavors. This lamb was no exception. It was a bit over cooked as well. Overall, this night's experience was not too bad. Certainly it was much better than staying at the Inn for dinner. 

Now this long story is over, we can talk about how I prepare a rack of lamb. I sometimes serve several ribs as a dinner with vegetables, rice or couscous or serve only one rib as a dish with a drink.

Depending on how you get the rack of lamb, you may have to do some additional preparation. This rack of lamb was very well-prepared and came in a vacuum-sealed pack. The ribs were nicely Frenched, the fat cap was only present between the meat and the bone (see below). The only thing I needed to do was score the fat cap in a cross hatching pattern, so that the fat would render and baste the meat.

I used a classic French method of cooking (based on Julia Child's "The way to cook"). This way, the lamb flavors are not masked by any means.

Marinade:  Dijon mustard (smooth kind) (4tbs), lemon juice (4 tbs), herb (finely chopped fresh rosemary is most classic, thyme or oregano will also do, I used 1/4 tsp of dried thyme since I did not have any fresh herbs), good olive oil (1/4 cup or more), salt and black pepper. I mix the all ingredients except for the olive oil. While mixing it with a whisk, I drizzle in the olive oil like I am making mayonnaise until the consistency of soft mayonnaise is reached. I brush the marinade all over the meat including the fat cap. I place it in a preheated 480F oven for 10 minutes on a metal rack in a roasting pan.

Crumbs: I put enough "Panko" bread crumbs in a small bowl (about 1/2 cup or more) and add about 2-3 tbs of olive oil and rub between your fingers to distribute the oil and make the bread crumbs moist. After about 10 minutes, I quickly spread the bread crumbs over the top of the meat and fat cap and place it back in the oven with the temperature lowered to 400F. I cook for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the internal temperature reaches 125F.  This results in a nice rosy medium rare (see below). Let it rest for 10 minutes and cut between the ribs.

Since the meat is flavorful with the mustard marinade and bread crumbs, I did not add any sauce and served it with simply boiled and sautéed (in butter) broccoli. Although this can go with sake or any other drink, we are partial to a good red wine for this, especially Syrah or Shiraz. John Duval Wines Entity Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 was perfect for this. I noticed that, although I gave my wife the largest end piece, she went back for more, I assume she liked it.

Green asparagus with sesame dressing グリーンアスパラのごま和え

This is a very simple dish but it is a healthy alternative to sauting them in butter. It is a good small dish perfect with a drink.

First, the hard bottom part of green asparagus are removed (I just bend the very bottom until it snaps) and I only peel the skin on the bottom hard part using a potato peeler.  I blanch/boil the asparagus in lightly salted water until it is cooked but not too soft (it takes about 3 minutes for the asparagus above but the time it takes depends on the thickness of the asparagus) and then shock it in ice cold water to stop the cooking and keep it a nice green color. Dry on paper towels and cut into 2-3 inch long segments. I put the bottom parts on the plate first and place the tips on the top. (It looks like you got all tips....not!)

For sesame dressing, I first roast white sesame (1-2 tsp) on a dry frying pan for 4-5 minutes or until fragrant. Although white sesame I buy from a Japanese grocery store are already roasted, this will bring up the fresh taste. I started adding this extra step recently but it is worth the effort. Setting aside a small amount for garnish, tip the rest into suribach すり鉢 and grind coarsely using surikogi すりこぎ. I add Japanese white sesame paste or shiro neri-goma 白練りごま (1 tsp), sugar (1/2 tsp), soy sauce (2-3 tsp). Depending on the taste and consistency, add more soy sauce, sake, mirin or dashi to get desired consistency and taste. Pour it over the asparagus and garnish with the reserved sesame seeds. This is very nice small dish and could be served as a side dish or as a stand alone small dish.

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.