Soft shell crab tempura ソフトシェルクラブの天ぷら

When I posted the crab cake, I promised a soft shell crab tempura. It must be getting into summer since my wife found live soft shell crabs in the fish monger's case at our neighborhood gourmet grocery store for the first time this year. Regardless of what we already planned for dinner tonight, it is time for soft shell crab tempura! 

I never saw soft shell crabs until I came to Baltimore (which was the first city I lived in after I left Japan). Soft shell crab sandwiches are famous in Maryland and look very strange at first. It consists of two pieces of bread with a large flat arachnoid looking creature between them; spider legs sticking out all over. Despite its appearance, both my wife and I independently developed a liking for soft shell crabs. The most common way to cook soft shell crabs is either battered and deep fried or dredged in flour and sauteed in clarified butter. We first encountered tempura soft shell crabs at one of the sushi bars we used to visit. With just a light tempura crust, it is our favorite way to eat this specialty--with crispy outside and juicy sweet meat inside. Actually, many sushi bars even make a "soft shell crab roll" which is not bad but we like to just eat the crab as is.

First, you have to clean the critters. If you are not up for this task, especially if they are still moving and alive, it is best to ask the fish monger to clean them for you. You need to take off the eyes/head portion, bottom apron, and gills. I sandwich the cleaned crabs between paper towels and press lightly to remove any excess moisture.

Tempura batter: I used to use whole eggs or egg yolks in my tempura batter but, more recently, I just use cake flour and potato starch mixture without eggs. I do not use any leavening agents such as baking powder. Using egg yolks makes a richer batter but I like the simple light texture of a crust made from the batter of just flour and water. Here, I used about a half cup of cake flour (the reason for the cake flour is that you do not need gluten which will make a tough crust) with 2 tbs of potato starch or corn starch and add ice cold water and mix lightly until a desired consistency is reached. Depending on what you are frying, the thickness of the batter should be adjusted. For soft shell crabs, I like a very light crust so I use a bit runny or thin batter.  

Oil: For tempura, you need to use fresh oil. I use peanut oil since we like the peanutty flavor it imparts and its high smoking point. The temperature should be around 170C (340F) but, as usual, I use the dropping-bit-of-tempura-batter method of judging the temperature. I use the shallow frying method with about half an inch deep oil. Since it splatters a lot, I took some precautions (see picture). I turned over the crabs once the bubbles around them get smaller (after 5 minutes) and fried another 5 minutes until the surface is lightly brown and crispy and bubbles around the crabs get smaller and "quieter" for the second time. I also made fresh Shiitake and asparagus tempura as accompaniments.

Green tea salt: Tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon will go well with this but we decided to eat simply with lemon wedges and green tea salt for our season's first catch. To make green tea salt, I add 3 tbs of Kosher salt and 1/3 tsp of "maccha" 抹茶 green tea powder in a small plastic sealable container and shake well to mix. It will keep for a long time in a freezer.

I cut the crab into 4 pieces for easy handling and serve. What a treat! I assume it will go very well with cold beer but I seldom drink beer nowadays. Cold sake is called for.

Browned rice with miso おこげと味噌

Last time I made "Browned crispy rice with Parmesan cheese", I longed for more authentic Japanese flavors like I remember from my childhood; just "okoge" おこげ and miso.  So I tried to reproduce this taste without using any oil or cheese and just miso.

I used cold leftover rice (not frozen). I added about one cup of rice to a dry non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Using a silicon spatula, I spread the rice thinly like a very thin pancake. I browned one side for 5-7 minutes (Please turn on an exhaust fan, it will smoke) and flipped it over and browned the other side (another 5 minutes) as well.  I then spread miso (about 1 tbs) thinly over the surface and flipped it again to make the miso slightly charred and fragrant (30 seconds). I flipped it again and slid it onto a plate. I garnished it with thinly sliced scallion. This really tastes like genuine "okoge" with miso. The one with Parmesan cheese has nice flavors but it is a bit oily. My wife suggested combining Parmesan cheese and miso without using oil. I will try that next time.

Morimoto, Philadelphia, April 23, 2010. レストラン森本、フィラデルフィア

(from http://www.top-hotels-restaurants.com/files/morimoto-restaurant/5.jpg)

We finally made an excursion over the weekend to dine "omakase おまかせ menu" at Morimoto in Philadelphia. From the hotel, we walked to Morimoto down Chestnut street. The walk was an interesting mix of inner city decay amid the former splendor of old Philadelphia and the inspiration of new businesses taking root. The block on which "Moriomoto" is located may need more time to fully recover its former glory. Opening the semi-transparent door, the inner decor is certainly not Japanese in any way. The space is deep and narrow with a tall undulating ceiling. In the back, there is a large square counter and the open kitchen and further back the closed main kitchen. Both sides of the main floor are slightly elevated and it is one step up to the tables for two. The center booths are divided by semitransparent Plexiglas low partitions back lit by blue and red neon in the bottom of the partition.  The color of the neon changes every-now-and-then but mostly stays blue giving an impression of the bottom of the sea. We were seated at a table for two on the elevated portion. For us, "midgets", the chairs were too tall--for the first time since childhood, our feet did not touch the ground, and it was not really comfortable. We weren't entirely sure about this interior decor but it does indicate things to come in term of the cuisine. 

The sake selection was very limited (disappointing). We chose a bottle of Akita Komachi Diaginjo 秋田小町大吟醸 from "Yuki no bosha" 雪の茅舎 brewery in Akita 秋田 prefecture of northern mainland Japan. As I tasted it, however, I regretted that I did not order "Wakatake Onigoroshi" 若竹鬼ころし Junmai Daiginjo from Shizuoka 静岡 prefecture which was also in the short list. Akita Komachi was nice enough with a smooth mouth feel with subtle pear and melon notes but it was a bit too sweet for our taste. It reminded me of Kanbara 蒲原 Bride Of The Fox from Niigata 新潟. It appears that both are specifically bottled for export, I wonder the importers must think that most American like this type of sake. We rather prefer a dry, fruity and crisp sake. Their own "Morimoto" branded sake and beer are also available but we did not try.

(Sake bottle image from http://www.jotosake.com/?p=226)

After conferring with our server, we decided to order the $120 "Omakase" menu. The dishes came at a good pace--not too fast and not too slow. 

(from https://images.anidori.com/xl/895_3605.jpg)

The first course was a rather mundane "Toro tartar" with crisp fried shallot, chive topped with caviar and a small amount of broth in the bottom made of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce. The wasabi that accompanied it appears to be from a real wasabi daikon 山葵大根. The toro was too finely mashed and we would have preferred finely diced instead. The crispy fried shallot was very nice. The sauce was too sweet. The caviar must have been North American (may have been even Paddle fish caviar) and did not add much. They gave us a small stainless steal spoon but we would have preferred non metal spoon for this dish.

Next came three "Kumamoto oysters on the half shell", with three different toppings; momiji oroshi 紅葉おろし, which is daikon and hot red pepper grated together, ceviche sauce with cilantro, Yuzu soy sauce with a thin slice of Jalapeno pepper. Kumamoto is one of our favorite oysters (eaten raw). It was excellent and we liked it very much. 

This must be meant as a "salad". Several nice slices of "Kanpachi" (young Hamachi) sashimi with micro greens" dressed in yuzu vinaigrette.  The Kanpachi slices were placed on a wasabi cream sauce. It was nice but I was not sure about the wasabi-cream sauce. 

We must be moving toward cooked items on the menu and as a liaison between "raw" to "cooked", we got "Tile fish carpaccio topped with uni, chives and tarragon and heated sesame oil yuzu dressing". (When it was served, the dish was cold.) Tile fish or "amadai" 甘鯛 is rather delicate and the hot sesame oil cooked the fish just a little. We found the sauce to be too overwhelming for this delicate fish.

At some point (unfortunately, neither of us can remember exactly when) but most like between the raw and cooked courses we were served a "palate cleanser". It was a small tall glass of carbonated beverage with a sweet mildly rose flavor. 

We were now deeply into the "cooked" course which consisted of half a small "Baked or sautéed Lobster with spicy rub and vegetables. Instead of butter for dipping, it was served with a creme fraiche and Yuzu mixture. One of the characteristic ways Japanese serve lobster, Japanese "Iseebi" prawn, or crab is so that you do not have to struggle trying to remove the meat from the shell. In the presentation at Morimoto, although the claws were cracked, we had to use our fingers and chopsticks to dig the meat out. In the end fingers and chopsticks were not the most appropriate utensils for the task and we were forced to leave some of the meat behind. Although the server warned us that the lobster may be very spicy, it was not. While the Yuzu-flavoured creme fraishe was nicely inventive, it clearly had been put into the ramekin the night before. Taste-wise it did not do much to me. I rather prefer simple melted butter and lemon. At the completion of the course we were presented with a "hot towel" to clean our hands. It was in the style of a Japanese "oshibori" おしぼり but was much larger and bulkier--essentially an American washcloth.  It had a rancid moldy smell that certainly did not add to the dining experience. 

The turf part of Moromoto "Surf and Turf" entree consisted of "Wagyu" Fillet mignon.  It was totally unmemorable and a bit over cooked to my taste.

Now comes "shime" 締め or ending dish which is 5 pieces of "nigiri sushi". Our sushi rice connoisseur (my wife) immediately said "not enough vinegar in the rice". Chu-toro was good but not exceptional. Raw octopus was nice since it is difficult to have in the U.S. but not the best we had.

Desert (strawberry mousse with chocolate cake) is more mundane American; not bad especially since it was not overly sweet but hardly creative.

We are glad we finally dined at Morimoto. We had been looking forward to it for quite some time. The food can best be described as a very good fusion with a heavy Japanese influence--we definitely would not describe it as a "Japanese" restaurant. At this price point, we were not particularly impressed but that could be because we were expecting something else. We had the same feeling after eating at "Nobu" in New York where Morimoto used to be an executive chef. We are not into Japanese fusion dishes that much, I guess. 

The sake tasted better with the food since the sweetness was dampened by the sweet taste of the sauces. After checking out the price at which I could have bought this sake at home (which I will not do), however, I found that, at $160, the mark up was over 150%--that is somewhat steep. 

Rice porridge with salmon roe and grilled tarako お粥とイクラ、焼き鱈子

This is another example of "shime" 締め or 〆, an ending dish. I just made simple rice porridge using leftover cooked rice. I add about twice the amount of water ("dashi") to cooked rice (if you start with raw rice, add volume of water 5 times the volume of rice) in a pot (I use ceramic "ukihira" 雪平／行平 or single handled lidded ceramic pot specifically designed for making rice porridge but any pot will do). I did not make "dashi" from scratch this time and used granulated instant dashi. I simmered for 15-20 minutes in a very low flame. Toward the final 10 minutes, I added sliced fresh shiitake mushroom. When the porridge is done, I add thinly sliced scallion and a beaten egg and mix, let it stand for 1-2 minutes and serve. I intentionally did not add any salt since the condiments are rather salty. 

The condiments are salmon roe (ikura), beer marinated daikon 大根のビール漬け, blanched broccoli rabe or rapini (taste similar to "annohana" 菜の花), and broiled cod roe. This partially cooked tarako is a rather classic way of serving tarako called "yakitarako" 焼き鱈子. For adding to a bento box or to rice balls or "onigiri" おにぎり, you almost always use "yakitarako" rather than raw tarako. I use a toaster oven and place a sac of tarako on aluminum foil and "toast" as though you are toasting slices of bread. I repeat the process after turning the tarako 90 degree. You have to have all the sides cooked but the center should be uncooked. Somehow, partially cooking the tarako will add another dimension and texture contrast. Feel free to put these condiments into the porridge and enjoy.

This is a very comforting dish to end your Izakaya feast.

Omelet with semi-dried baby sardines シラス卵焼き (Mark's book P116)

Japanese like this salty, semi-dried tiny hatchling fish called "shirasu" シラス or "chirimen jako" 縮緬雑魚. The difference between these two may be regional and/or degree of dryness but they appear to be essentially very similar. This is based on the recipe on Mark's book p116 but to make two small servings from two egg omelet, I used a Japanese rectanglar frying pan (for making "dashimaki"  だし巻き Japanese omelet). Please see the picture below. This is a home-use version of a rectangular pan and has a non-stick surface. I should have taken pictures while I was making the omelet to be more informative but this was an afterthought.

I essentially followed the recipe but I made a slight modification and made it like "dashimaki" or Japanese sweet omelet, which I may be able to post in near future. First, I beat two large eggs, and added one package of shirasu (about 2 tbs), one chopped scallion (about 2 tbs), dashi (2 tbs, I added it as though I was making "dashimaki" but it is optional), ground pepper (I use white pepper just for esthetics). I did not add salt or sugar. I heated the frying pan on a medium-low flame and added a small amount (1 tsp) of vegetable oil. I poured 2/3 of the egg mixture in the pan and scrambled the eggs using a silicon spatula. When the eggs were semi-cooked, I pushed all the eggs to one of the narrow ends of the frying pan to make 1 inch wide

rectangle, leave it for 10-20 seconds and then flipped it over using a spatula. I added the remaining egg mixture and spread it in the empty part of the pan and then lifted the rectangle of omelet, so that the egg mixture went under the rectangle. I waited 10 seconds so that the bottom of the new egg mixture is set but the surface is still runny. Again using a spatula (or kitchen chopsticks if you so prefer), from the end where you made the rectangle of omelet, turn it over several times (wait few seconds at each turns) so that the surface is covered with the final layer of omelet. When the surface of the omelet is cooked (you may have to push the sides of the omelet to the sidewalls of the frying pan and flip over once to make sure all the surface is set and the final layer of the omelet is adhering to the center), take it out on a cutting board and cut into six equal pieces. Serve it with grated daikon or "daikon-oroshi" 大根おろし and soy sauce. The small fish add saltiness, as well as interesting flavor and texture.

Duck breast with red onion, grated daikon and Ponzu Soy sauce 鴨の胸肉ポン酢大根おろし赤タマネギ添え

This is a variation of serving duck breast and similar to the one in Mark's book p143. I made some modifications to most traditional way of serving duck breast and served the duck breast slices on a bed of thinly sliced red onion. This time, I slightly over cooked the breast (not intentionally) but it still tasted OK. The ways I cook the duck breast is the same as before.

I sliced the red onion into very thin slices, lightly salted, mixed and let it stand for 5 minutes. After ringing out the extra moisture, I soaked it in ice cold water (with ice cubes) for 5 minutes--ringing out the water in a paper towel. I then dressed it with a small amount of ponzu shoyu ポン酢醤油 and extra-virgin olive oil. Meanwhile I grated daikon and added ponzu shoyu. I sliced the cooked duck breast into thin pieces.

To assemble, I spread the dressed onion on the plate, layer the sliced duck breast and made a linear mound of the dressed grated daikon and garnished with thinly sliced (on the bias) scallion. I added a wedge of lime (in lieu of yuzu 柚子) and also a dab of Yuzukosho 柚子胡椒 just in case some more kick was needed. To eat, I usually make a small roll of the duck slices using chopsticks with the grated daikon and scallion in the center. You could enjoy this roll with a little of the red onion and with or without Yuzukosho. I sort of like eating the duck breast this way. With Ponzu, we had this with cold sake (our house sake Yaegaki "mu" 八重垣『無』).

Browned crispy rice with Parmesan cheese おこげのパルメザンチーズ

Although automatic rice cookers made cooking rice very easy and consistently successful, one major drawback is not having the burned or browned crust that formed on the bottom of the pot or "okoge" おこげ. As a kid, I remember "okoge" was a good snack. My mother used to make rice in a traditional Japanese pot called "okama" お釜 with a heavy wooden lid when I was a little kid. After the rice is cooked, rice has to be transferred to a wooden vessel called "ohitsu" お櫃 (see the image) leaving a charred crust on the bottom of the pot. This crust is called "okoge" and it was nicely crunchy and flavorful. With just a small amount of miso, you could have the entire meal just eating "okoge". 

This dish is trying to recreate this "okoge" with some Italian twists. I must have seen it in one of the many Japanese drinking food cook books that I have. I did not find or check the original recipe this time and I may have changed something but it is a simple preparation of leftover rice rather than a recipe.

I use leftover frozen rice (about one cup for two servings). I defrost it in a microwave oven so that rice grain can be separated but still cold. I add the rice and 1-2 tbs of chicken broth (my usual Swanson no-fat, low-sodium) to a small pan on a medium flame and mix them with a silicon spatula until the rice gets heated up and absorbs the broth and becomes somewhat sticky. Remove from the heat and place the rice in a metal bowl and let it cool down a bit. I then grate a good amount of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3 tbs but the amount is arbitrary) and mix it in the rice.

Using a non-stick frying pan (on a medium flame), I add a very small amount of light olive oil (1/2 tsp) and add back the rice-cheese mixture. Using a silicon spatula, spread the rice mixture in a thin layer and brown (5-6 minutes on one side) and then flip over (either by siding it onto a plate and then transfering it back to the pan or just flipping it like a flapjack - remember "its all in your wrist!").

I browned the other side for another 5 minutes. When desired brownness and crispiness are attained, take it out and break it into small manageable pieces. I served this as the last shime 締め dish with sautéed (in butter) broccoli rabe (pre-blanched) seasoned with salt and pepper, which sort of matches the Italian aspect of this dish. To me, I still like just simple "okoge" and miso better but this is close albeit a bit "oily".