"Futomaki" roll sushi 太巻き

For the New Year's soup, I usually make mochi kinchaku 餅巾着 or square mochi encased in deep fried tofu pouch or abura-age 油揚げ and tie it off with kanpyou かんぴょう. Since I had extra kanpyou, I decided to make a rolled sushi or "futomaki" 太巻き. Futomaki is a fat roll as compared to "hosomaki" 細巻き which is a thin roll. Futomaki uses a whole sheet of nori instead of a half sheet used for hosomaki.

The regular futomaki roll uses only one whole sheet of nori which is rolled with the rice side in. The version I did here was shown to me by a sushi chef, Hajime はじめ, who worked at a long defunct Japanese restaurant "Mikado" in Tenley town which we frequented in the early years after we moved to DC. Hajime told me that when he makes futomaki in a sushi bar, he first makes an in-side-out roll or uramaki 裏巻き and then wraps it with an additional nori sheet. He said this makes the roll more substantial and sets it apart from homemade rolls. So, I am following his suggestion here.

What should be included in the center of futomaki rolls is debatable but the must-have items include an omelet, seasoned kanpyou and shiitake mushroom. Vinegared ginger is also a usual item and traditionally red ginger or beni-shouga 紅ショウガ is used but I used "gari" or the kind which is usually served at a sushi bar. Other items may include some kind of protein such as seasoned chikuwa 竹輪 fish cake strips or grilled anago 穴子. Many more modern variations exist including using cooked meat (either pork, beef, chicken, or even Spam - not junk email but Hormel's mystery meat which is called a "luncheon meat", obviously an euphemism, in Japan for some reason). There is pink (artificially dyed) and sweet (almost pure sugar) fish meat product called "sakura denbu"  さくらでんぶ, which may be also used (not by me for sure). For greens, I often used pickled cucumber (kasu zuke) but this time I used cooked baby spinach.

Kanpyou: Kanpyou comes dried (sometimes, dried and frozen). I washed it in running cold water. I then rubbed it with Kosher salt in my hands. After washing away the salt, I soaked it in cold water over night in the refrigerator (or several hours at room temperature). If I am going to use it to tie off something, which will be later be further cooked, I do not cook the kanpyou. For a sushi roll however, I simmered it in just enough water to cover with a lid on for 10-20 minutes and seasoned it with mirin and soy sauce. I simmered it until the liquid had almost completely evaporated (another 20 minutes) and let it cool down. I then wrung out the excess liquid.

Shiitake mushroom: You must use dried mushroom, which has more "umami" 旨味 than fresh ones. For sushi roll or scattered sushi or chirashi-zushi ちらし寿司, you need to use dried shiitake. Dried whole mushrooms need to be redydrated in cold water over night or warm water with a pinch of sugar for several hours. After removing the stem, I sliced it thinly. I cooked the sliced re-hydrated mushroom in the soaking liquid for 10-20 minutes and again seasoned it with mirin and soy sauce, simmered it to reduce the liquid to almost nothing, and let it cool. You could also get pre-sliced dried shiitake mushroom, which is a bit more convenient.

Japanese omelet: This is made exactly like a dashimaki だし巻き and then I cut into long strips appropriate for a sushi roll.

Ginger: I just used vinegared ginger root like you'll see ar a sushi bar. I just squeezed out the excess liquid and cut it into strips.

Spinach: I put baby spinach in a dry wok on medium heat with a lid. I turned the partially cooked spinach over a few times until it was completely wilted and seaseon it with salt. I let it cool and squeezed out the excess moisture.

After all these preps were done, I just arranged everythig on a plate (image below #1). I also arranged everything I needed to make a sushi roll, including the sushi vinegar (I could make it from rice vinegar but I ususally use bottled sushi vinegar), "hangiri" or wooden bowl to make sushi rice (#2 right upper corner), nori sheets and sushi mat (#2).

My wife made fresh rice perfectly (slightly dry) and I could use a good amount of sushi vinegar.  She also fanned the rice while I mixed in the vinegar. I let it stand for 5-10 minutes. I placed the nori sheet with a long axis vertically and spread it with sushi rice (3#). I moistened my hands with slightly vinegared water to prevent the rice from sticking to my hand.

I ususally use a moistened tea towel to make uramaki but, somehow, we could not find it this time. So I used a plastic wrap to cover the rice side (#4). After flipping it over, I placed all the ingredients on the edge closest to me (#5) and started rolling (#6) with the help of a sushi mat and plastic wrap.

As the rice surface was about to meet the nori sheet, I grabbed the edge of the plastic wrap and lifted it as I was rolling so that the wrap will not be rolled into the sushi roll (Below image #1). Now I have an inside-out roll wrapped in plastic wrap (below image #2). I removed the plastic wrap (below image #3) and place the roll on another nori sheet and rolled it to cover (image below #4).

Here is the end product with both ends already cut off (#5, the ends were a nice snack for my wife and I). With a sharp thin blade, moistened with vinegared water, I sliced the roll (above image #6).

I recruited my wife as a photographer but she complained that I did not pause at the crucial moments for her to take good pictures. In any case, this was a shime dish on a weekend evening. This combination of sushi rice, nori, shiitake, kanpyou and omelet is somehow very comforting and satisfying. I also made a lunch box from the left over for the next day.

Marinaded Hamachi Sashimi ハマチの漬け

Since we had a block of frozen hamachi (1.6 lb), I had to come up with some other ways (besides straight forward sashimi) of enjoying it. Marinated tuna sashimi or "zuke" 漬け is much more common than marinated hamachi but "hamachi no zuke" ハマチの漬け is a very interesting dish and the effect of marination is quite different from tuna.

Here I served hamachi zuke in a bed of baby arugula.

Marinade: This is very similar to one I use for tuna sashimi. I have made several variations of the marinade for tuna. This time, I made it a bit differently. I first put an equal amount of sake and mirin in a small sauce pan (about 3 tbs each) and let it boil so that the alcohol dissipated (no lid) and the mixture reduced to nearly half. I then added, a 1 inch square of kelp and soy sauce (2 tbs). When the mixture returned to a boil, I shut off the flame and let it cool down. Meanwhile, I dry roasted white sesame (2 tbs) in a dry frying pan until fragrant. I tipped it off into a Japanese mortar or suribachi すり鉢 and coarsely ground the sesame which I added to the marinade (leaving 1-2 tbs aside for garnish). I placed the marinade in the refrigerator to completely cool. 

I sliced the hamachi sashimi rather thinly (3-5 mm) and placed the pieces in the cold marinade for 1 hour in the refrigerator. The length of marination is up to you but I marinated the pieces for  beween 15 minutes to one hour. 

I removed the hamachi pieces and put them in a separate bowl preserving the marinade. I mixed in chopped scallion. I placed the marinated hamachi on the greens, garnished with crumbled seasoned nori ("ajitsuke nori" 味付け海苔 from a package), the roasted white sesame seeds which were previously set aside, and a dab of wasabi. I also served the marinade on the side side just in case.

Although I made the marinade a bit on the sweet side for my taste (probably too much reduction of the sake and mirin), it is mellow and nice. The texture of the hamachi became firmer and really looked like a piece of beef. The taste and texture are very nice but the effects of marination are different from those of tuna. We like this very much.

Hamachi Yellow tail and avocado sashimi ハマチとアボカドの刺身

Hamachi ハマチ or yellow tail amberjack is young buri ブリ. This is one of the fish which get promoted or "shusse-uo" 出世魚 as it grows up. There are somewhat different definitions and names according to the regions (Kantou 関東 such as in Tokyo vs. Kansai 関西 such as in Osaka) but a fully grown specimen is called "buri" 鰤 ぶり in either region. It is always difficult to find the exact English counter part to Japanese fish names. "Kampachi" カンパチ is another one belonging to the amberjack family and is a very popular sashimi item (most available here is farm raised in Hawaii. Actually, wild caught Kampachi is reportedly not suited to eat as sashimi because it is often infested with parasites). This fish may be different from Hamachi but I am not sure how similar or different taxonomically. (If this sounds confusing because it is.)  Kampachi appears to be less fatty but has a more delicate flavor. The majority of hamachi you see at sushi bars are also aqua cultured. In general, we are usually more interested in tuna and uni but this time, I got frozen sashimi block of hamachi from Catalina Offshore products.

Here is the hamachi sashimi I served with a "sashimi" avocado, Campari tomato with moromi miso もろみみそ and quickly made daikon namasu 大根なます(daikon in sweet vinegar). Wasabi is, as usual, real wasabi from the tube but this time, I had to perform a surgery (C-section) and take out the wasabi from the tube and mix the liquid and solid together to reconstitute (This is one of the problems of real wasabi in a tube--the water gets squeezed out but not the solids). It does have a nice smell and flavor very close to real grated wasabi rhizome, though.

　

Some times, Catalina does carry fresh hamachi but we have not tried it yet. This one was from Kyushu 九州, farm raised and flash frozen in minus 50C judging from what the package stated. It was treated with carbon monoxide (like a frozen tuna sashimi block) for retention of the color (it does not change the taste, is not preservative and is not harmful to your health). This package was rather large (long) and I had to soak it for several hours in the kitchen sink filled with cold water reinforced with ice cubes to thaw it. (They recommend using ice water rather than running water because, I suppose, the running water thaws the fish too quickly and unevenly). After it is thawed and out of the package the sashimi block looks like seen on the right below.

We really enjoyed this hamachi sashimi. It is as good or even a bit better than what we get in regular sushi bars (Many sushi bars also serve previously frozen hamachi). Since I did not have any other sashimi items, I also served sliced ripe avocado as a sashimi. You would be surprised at how well avocado slices go with wasabi and soy sauce. According to my wife, avocado served this way should be classified as fish.

Yuzu-koshou mayonnaise 柚子胡椒マヨネーズ

Yuzu-koshou 柚子胡椒 is one of the most useful and versatile Japanese condiment/seasonings. It is a mixture of salt, chopped  peel of a Japanese citrus called "yuzu" 柚子 and chili pepper (usually green chili pepper but it could also be red chili pepper). Chili peppers are called "koshou" in Kyushu Island 九州. In the rest of Japan, "koshou" usually means either ground black or white peppercorns and chili peppers are called "Tougarashi" 唐辛子. One could make this from scratch if yuzu is available but, yuzu, even if available, in the U.S. is too expensive to attempt this.

The next best thing is to buy ready-made yuzu-koshou in a tube as seen in the left. This will keep at least a few weeks or more in the refrigerator after opening. Yuzu-koshou is usually used as a seasoning or condiment for Nabe dishes, noodles in broth, and cold cubes of tofu but it could be used in any dish. I use it to season meat mixtures for hamburgers or Japanese "Tsukune" dishes.

Another way to use yuzu-koshou is as a dressing. The easiest combination is to mixed it with mayonnaise. Like wasabi-mayonnaise, you could add quite a bit of yuzu-koshou, since the mayonnaise dampens the heat. I usually make it with a ratio of almost 1:1 of mayo and yuzu-kosho but this is totally up to your taste. You could also add soy sauce in addition.

Here are two examples of how I used yuzu-koshou-mayonnaise.

The first one below is steamed haricot verts dressed in mayo-yuzu-koshou. This was served as a side for Paprika-cumin rubbed low-temperature (350F) baked pork tenderloin slices, homemade cranberry sauce, my wife's mushed potato seasoned with soy sauce and butter.

On another occasion, I served curry flavored chicken wing and drumet with steamed broccoli dressed in yuzu-koshou-mayo.

The mixture of yuzu flavor and spiciness really adds even to store-bought mayonnaise.

Hanpen fish cake dressed in wasabi sake lee ハンペンの山葵漬け和え

This may look like cubes of tofu but this is a type of fish cake called "hanpen" ハンペン. I posted a few items using this. This fish cake is made of white fish meat and egg white and looks snow white. In shizuoka 静岡, "kuro hanpen" or black hanpen is famous in which sardine meat is used and dark colored.  Instead of being deep fried, hanpen is usually steamed. As a result, it is soft and very mild in taste.

In the U.S., the best hanpen available is the "Kibun" 紀文 brand which comes frozen (see below).

I happened to have "Wasabi zuke" 山葵漬け which came in a plastic tab frozen (image below left). I am sure it is not as good as the ones available in Japan especially in Shizuoka 静岡 but this has to do in the U.S.. You could just add soy sauce and nibble it as you sip sake or use it as a condiments for cold tofu, "Chikuwa" 竹輪 fish cake or anything else. Since I found hanpen in our freezer (from the New Year's purchase I am sure), I decided to have this as a drinking snack. I first defrosted it in a microwave oven and then grilled it in a toaster oven to make it plump up and very slightly brown the surface. I cut the hanpen into small cubes (image below right). I then made a mixture of wasabi zuke and soy sauce and dressed the hanpen cubes.

My wife was surprise by the texture since she thought this was tofu. It is a bit spongy in texture but it has a nice gentle taste. The taste was enhanced by the wasabi zuke which has a slight sweetness from the sake lee with a tang from the wasabi plants (stalks and leaves). A simple and good starter dish in a home Izakaya.

Herring roe and cream cheese with wasabi 数の子クリームチーズ和え

Whenever we get herring roe or Kazunoko 数の子 for New Year, we have to finish it by the end of the first week of the year before it gets spoiled. Eating it just "as is" sometimes gets old so I tried to come up with different ways to serve kazunoko. Apparently other people think along similar lines as evidenced by this recipe.

The recipe calls for small cubes of kazunoko and cream cheese served on the bed of greens. For greens, I used baby spinach slightly sautéed (wilted) in butter and seasoned with salt and black pepper. I am not sure if the cream cheese (American invention) in Japan is different from the U.S. version--Philadelphia cream cheese, but my version was soft even straight from the cold refrigerator. As a result, I could not make neat cubes from it. I added a dab of real wasabi but did not add any soy sauce since the kazunoko had enough saltiness.

This is a nice small dish which goes well with sake. The combination of crunchy kazunoko and soft cream cheese gives a nice contras

Norio on wine and food cookbook 2011

We just received copies of NOWAF cookbook 2011 edition. This is the first time that one of the NOWAF cookbooks contains the posts of an entire year--2011 from Jan 1 to Dec 31.

If you are interested in browsing through, it is on the NOWAF cookbook section of this blog.

As we said before, having a hard cover copy in our hands feels more substantial than seeing it on the screen. In any case, thumbing through it brings back memories associated with the food and reminds us of some dishes we completely forgot. I am not sure how long I can keep this up. I may have to slow down or be more selective about what I post but as long as I can come up with another Izakaya dish, I will share it with you. Some people eat to live but how boring is that? I'd rather live to eat.