Julienned vegetable salad 刻み野菜サラダ

I got the idea for this salad of julienned vegetables from two separate sources. One was a segment on a food blog I follow about a tempura restaurant in the Ginza called “Ten-Asa 天あさ” which serves a julienned vegetable salad. The other was a YouTube episode by Chef Kasahara describing a similar salad. I am not sure how the salad dressing was made at Ten-Asa but from the description, it must contain  “shio-kombu 塩昆布” julienned “salted kelp”. In addition, this kelp was also used in Kasahara’s recipe.

Since I was planing to make “smelt fry ししゃものフライ” and “arancini”, I thought this type of salad, made without any oil in the dressing, would be a perfect salad accompaniment (#1). I think any vegetable can be used. Ten-Asa clearly included cabbage. I used what I had on hand which included carrot, cucumber and wood ear mushroom. Besides the salted kelp, I also used re-roasted and coarsely ground white sesame seeds for seasoning following chef Kasahara’s example. This turned out to be a very refreshing salad. We felt it was a healthy offset to the fried food we were eating .

Ingredients (for two servings) (see picture #2)
2 American mini cucumbers, “Katsura-muki 桂剥き” roll-cut making thin sheets and then finely julienned or using a mandolin with a julienne attachment.
2 scallions, white parts, cut lengthwise on one side (not through), opened like a book and then finely julienned called “shirakami-negi 白髪ネギ or white-hair scallion”*
4-5 fresh wood ear mushrooms, blanched and washed, cut into thin julienne (optional, I happened to have them on hand. They added a nice crunch)

(I am not sure if the two ingredients listed below would be considered seasoning or salad ingredients. They impart a very unique flavor and aroma)
4-5 green perilla “aojiso 青紫蘇” leaves, stacked, rolled and cut into thin julienne.
1 “Hojiso 穂紫蘇” flower and seed pods (optional**)

Dressing (seasoning)
2 tbs “shio-konbu 塩昆布” salted kelp
1 tbs coarsely ground white sesame

*This is easier if using a Tokyo “Negi” scallion which is much thicker than spring onion/scallion.
** This is the top of the plant in autum developing flower/seed pods. Our perilla started blooming so “hojiso” was available. But this is totally optional.

Directions:
Soak the julienned vegetables in ice water for a few hours and drain (#2). Let them dry on a paper towel. Just before serving, add the shio konbu and the sesame and toss. Taste and if not salty enough, add more shio-konbu or add “Konbu-cha 昆布茶” powder.

Besides the taste, the major factor of this salad is texture or “shokkan 食感”. For crunch, Chef kasahara suggested pickled young gobo or pickled “takuwan 沢庵” daikon.

Funny cake ファニーケーキ

My wife grew up in rural Pennsylvania and although she is not Pennsylvania Dutch herself. She is very fond of the many Pennsylvania Dutch dishes that she ate as a child. Among these were “Shoo-fly pie” and “Funny cake”. For many years, she had to bake them herself, if she wanted them, since they are strictly Pennsylvania regional specialties not available elsewhere. Especially funny cake which is unique specifically to the area where she grew up. (Even a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty food store in a nearby town in Maryland said they never even heard of it when we asked if they had funny cake.) Then she discovered that a bakery near where she grew up made these pies. They were extremely good quality. (“Probably better than what I was making,” she claimed). (This was her assessment not mine). In addition, joy-of-joys, she found she could mail order them. So for quite some time this was her source of these delicacies and she didn’t have to bake them herself. But during and after COVID, the bakery stopped their mail order service. After some hiatus she decided that if she wanted these childhood favorites, like the “old days” she would again have to go back to making them herself.  We naturally assumed, we posted the recipes for funny cake and shoo-fly pie before but to our surprise we have not posted either. So my wife sprang into action and made a funny cake (picture #1). Although we usually do not partake of substantial desserts like cake, in this case we clearly had to make an exception.

One interesting thing about this cake is that the chocolate “goo” layer is made by pouring the liquid chocolate mixture over the batter in the pan before going into the oven. Then during cooking it forms a chocolate jelly-like layer on the bottom while the batter forms a cake layer above the chocolate (picture #2). Hence the name funny cake. But this is actually a cake/pie since it is made in a pie crust.

The recipe is based on the recipe on-line at “Serious Eats” but a modification was made to increase the chocolate “goo” on the bottom.

Ingredients

1 store-bought pie crust or any recipe you may have for pie crust.

For the Cake:
144g all-purpose flour (15 ounces; 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
56g unsalted butter (2 ounces; 4 tablespoons), softened
150g granulated sugar (about 5 1/4 ounces; 3/4 cup)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk

For the Chocolate Sauce: (for less sweet goo reduce the sugar to taste) 
200g granulated sugar (7 ounces; 1 cup)
52g unsweetened cocoa powder (about 2 ounce; 2/3 cup) (Since this is Pennsylvania Dutch in origin the chocolate has to be Hersheys). 
2/3 cup (160ml) boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Pie crust: On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll pie crust into a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inches thick. Transfer to 8-inch pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F (175°C).

For the Chocolate Sauce: 
In a 2 cup heat-proof spouted measuring cup, whisk sugar and cocoa powder to combine. Add boiling water and vanilla extract and whisk until sugar and cocoa powder dissolve and no dry bits remain in the bottom of the cup, about 20 seconds. Sauce will be very fluid. let it cool somewhat.

For the Cake: 
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. Place butter in a separate medium bowl and, using an electric mixer fitted with beaters, whip butter on high speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute more. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix on high speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Using a flexible spatula, scrape down sides of the bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter- egg mixture, then start mixer on low speed and gradually increase to medium speed, until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds. On low speed, add half of the milk and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, mixing until pale and creamy with no visible pockets of flour, about 1 minute. Do not overmix. Set aside.

Assembly: Spoon batter into prepared pie crust in 3 to 4 large dollops. Do not spread. Using a butter knife, swirl batter. Briefly whisk chocolate syrup to recombine, then pour over batter, beginning around outer edge into the middle. Bake until the crust and cake are a deep golden brown, cake is risen with a few cracks, and a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Remove cake from oven and cool on wire rack.

Oh the joy of a childhood favorite rediscovered. (My wife decided her home baked funny cake, of whatever quality, was infinitely better than no funny cake). This is truely unique but extremely good. Not to be missed.

Hiyaoroshi Sake and Matsutake ひやおろし酒 “如空”と松茸

We almost missed out on getting some “Hiyaoroshi 冷やおろし” sake to celebrate autumn this year. We posted about “Hiyaoroshi or Akiagari 秋上がり” sake before, but to reiterate, it is a seasonal sake brewed the previous winter, bottled in the spring then cold-aged until autum or “Aki 秋”. The type of sake used for this treatment is usually “Junmai 純米” class sake.  Belatedly we tried to get some hiyaoroshi sake from Tippsy sake and almost all were sold out except one. It was from Hachinohe 八戸, Aomori 青森 brewed by Hachinohe Shurui 八戸酒類 called “Jyoku 如空”. I assume the name means  “like sky”. The sub-title for the sake is “Risu no Shukakusai sake リスの収穫祭酒” meaning “Squirrel’s Harvest Festival Sake” (right panel of picture #1). The label (left panel picture #1), shows the kanji character “aki 秋” meaning autumn and shows two squirrels having a party partaking of the bounty of autumn i.e drinking hiyaoroshi sake and eating nuts. Too cute! This sake is made from “Hanfubuki 華吹雪” sake rice and table (or eating) rice produced in Aomori prefecture. We really like this sake. It is rather complex with umami and some savory flavors and fruitiness. We thought the ultimate autumnal delicacy “matsutake 松茸” would go well with this sake so we got some.

In the past, we have gotten North American or Mexican matsutake from several sources. For the last few years, however, we have been getting it from Weee. It comes from the North West (probably Oregon or Washington state). We like the quality, and the amount while smaller than from other sources is more manageable for us. One box contains about twice as much matsutake as shown in picture #2. This time, following the suggestion of Chef Kasahara on his YouTube channel, I quickly washed the mushrooms in water. (This is contrary to the common culinary wisdom of: “do not wash/soak matsutake in water”). Then using wet paper towels, I wiped the dirt off of the matsutake. I blotted them dry with another paper towel and let them air dry for 10-15 minutes before cooking. This worked very well. The matsutake did not absorb the water and they were much easier to clean.

Our favorite way of eating matsutake is “Touban-yaki 陶板焼き” (Picture #3). Which is matsutake grilled on a lidded earthen plate. I also cooked ginko nuts or gin-nann 銀杏 to complete the autumnal scene.

Next we had grilled autumnal eggplant or “aki-nasu 秋なす” (picture #4). Autumn is supposedly when eggplant is at its finest. I grilled it in the toaster oven, after piercing the skin generously to prevent it from exploding when heated. (Which has happened to us when we forgot to pierce the skin.) I cooked it until the skin blackened in a few spots. I cut off the stem end and peeled the skin. I served it with soy sauce and topped with bonito flakes or “katsuobishi 鰹節”. This is one of the simplest and best ways to enjoy this peak season eggplant.

Finally, we had a “matsutake chawanmushi 松茸茶碗蒸し” (picture #5). I did not add too many additional items so the matsutake could take “center stage”. I added some shrimp, ginnan, shelled edamame in addition to the matsutake. I semi pre-cooked the shrimp by poaching it gently in its shell. Then I removed the shell and cut it up into smaller pieces before adding it to the chawanmushi.

So, this was our harvest festival featuring the special autumnal sake from Aomori. No squirrels were invited, however.

Scallion Cheese Pinwheels ねぎとチーズの渦巻き

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. This could be eaten as a part of breakfast or appetizer. Nice slightly sweet biscuits with layers of cheese and scallion is a good combination. (#1) The picture below shows a sliced cross section of the of the pinwheel (on the left and in the middle) and the whole baked pinwheel (on the right).

Ingredients:

Ingredients for the cream biscuits dough 
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (130 grams) cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons fine salt, divided
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) heavy cream

Ingredients for the pinwheels 
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups (165 grams) coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (or any combination of cheese you like)
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus more for garnish (We used chopped scallions.) 
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (We used 1/8th tsp of cayenne instead ) 
1 large egg, 1/8 teaspoon fine salt for glaze. 

Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Directions for Biscuit dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add the cream and stir with a flexible spatula until no loose flour remains. (If the dough is too loose to work add more flour until a smooth dough is formed.) 

Directions for pinwheels:
Transfer the biscuit dough to a generously floured work surface and knead it a few times until it comes together and is smooth. 

With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a rough 14-by-10-inch rectangle with the long side facing you, and spread the mayonnaise over the dough, leaving a 1/2- to 1-inch border at the edges. 

Evenly sprinkle the cheese, chives and pepper over the mayonnaise, pressing down lightly with your hands to help it adhere.

Starting from the long edge of the rectangle closest to you, begin tightly rolling up the dough, until a 12-inch long log is formed. Pinch the dough with your fingers to seal the seam and the ends. (#2)

Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into 16 equal pieces (each about 3/4 inch long) — the dough will be sticky — and place them on the prepared baking sheet. (#3) Transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes. (I didn’t do this and it didn’t seem to make a difference.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and salt until combined. Using a pastry brush, brush each pinwheel with the egg wash and transfer to the oven.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms of the wheels are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. (#4)

These pinwheels are very good. The dough is very soft and almost has the texture of a dough made with yeast. The mayonnaise makes the filling very rich. The flavor of the cheese and scallions comes through very nicely. This is a great appetizer to go with a glass of red wine.

Dishes from Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi Block キハダマグロ刺身の柵

We had a fairly large sashimi block of yellowfin tuna in our freezer from Great Alaska Seafood and time had come to finish it.  I planned to have the tuna 4 different ways. So we had the three dishes shown below one evening and had the fourth dish the next evening (tuna and avocado cubes).

#1: I made a portion of the block into a cutlet. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and breaded it in the usual way (flour, egg, and panko). I shallow fried it until the surface was all golden and crispy but the center was still raw. I did not make any special sauce and had it with Japanese mustard and tonkatsu sauce. I served it with baby arugula and some baby artichoke I prepared a few days ago dressed with olive oil. This was quite good and rather filling.

#2: Marinated “zuke” tuna and sashimi with Yuzu zest since we had one more “ao-yuzu 青柚子” we got from Suzuki Farm. For “zuke”, I did “yubiki 湯引き” (briefly plunged the tuna block into boiling water). This prevents the surface from becoming “soft” or “sticky and also slippery” during the marinating (Japanese call this “nettori ねっとり” . It may also reduce any fishiness if present. For the marinade, I took a short cut and just used x4 Japanese noodle sauce and marinated for 30 minutes. Besides yuzu zest, I served it with “yuzu kosho 柚子胡椒” and wasabi (both are from a tube). I served this with “cucumber and nappa cabbage asazuke きゅうりと白菜の浅漬け”. On the right, I served three slices of the tuna sashimi as is.

#3: Pseudo “negitoro ネギトロ” served with Korean nori seaweed. The addition of mayonnaise and soy sauce and finely chopped scallion make this tuna taste more like fatty tuna . I previously pontificated about negitoro. We like Korean-style seasoned nori with this dish. If I had it I served it with slices of fresh cucumber but we were all out of cucumber. (How did that happen?)

At this point, we were quite full and a ended with a piece of focaccia bread that I had baked few days ago, toasted and dipped in our favorite Spanish olive oil. Not quite a Japanese  “shime” ending but since we started with small snacks including cheese with red wine, this was a perfect ending for us.

Moon gazing 10/6/2025 月見

Mid autumn full moon or “Chushu-no-meigetsu 中秋の名月” happened this year (2025) on October 6. As usual, to celebrate, I made “moon gazing” mochi rice balls “Tsukimi-dango 月見団子”. In addition, I re-discoved that we had a rectangular plate that was decorated with hand-drawn “Kikyo 桔梗” flowers (shown in the picture below). Kikyo* is traditionally associated with “Tsuki-mi” because its buds are round like the moon and it’s blue flowers are star shaped. So this was the perfect plate on which  to serve the “Tsukimi-dango”. By the way, the autumn full moon this year was spectacular. It was a super moon.(This seasonal moon is called the Hunter’s moon in U.S.). It was big and bright even when in mid sky. Unfortunately, it was also a late riser this year not reaching its Zenith in the mid sky until 3AM.

*I learned that the English name for this flower which is balloon flower or “Platycodon”

As usual, we warmed up these dango in the microwave oven and served it with the traditional “mitarashi sauce” as a dessert.

This year, we also celebrated using the special sake glasses we got from Kitaichi Glass 北一グラス in Otaru 小樽, Japan. These may not be meant for drinking cold sake but for us they are perfect. As you can see they are nice deep blue with the traditional Japanese symbols for the moon; rabbits, falling stars and cherry blossom motifs on the sides.

The other side has a round transparent moon-like window from which you can see the rabbits with the shooting star on the other side of the glass. 

And rabbits with cherry blossoms.

And in the bottom of the glass you can see the rabbits running aroung the “moon”. (Too cute) 

While folks in the west typically refer to the figure seen in the moon as the  “man-in-the moon” according to Japanese folklore the figure is referred to as a rabbit pounding mochi. Therefore, rabbits are the symbol associated with the moon. So we thought it was entirely appropriate to use these glasses depicting rabbits for the moon gazing occasion.

Cucumber with Miso Sauces 味噌胡瓜

As far as we are concerned the best way to enjoy the fresh Japanese cucumbers we got from Suzuki Farm (see picture), is to eat the chilled fresh Japanese cucumber sticks with miso 味噌. Typically, the special miso called “Moromi-miso* もろみ味噌” is used and the entire dish is called “Moromi-kyuri もろみ胡瓜 or often abbreviated as “Moro-kyu” もろきゅう which I posted previously.

*Moromi-miso is meant to be eaten as a condiment rather than to be used for cooking or making soup. It has a liquid component mixed with ingredients such as soybeans and barley which are still visible in it.

I had some moromi-miso but it was fairly old. Upon tasting, I found it had oxidized so I couldn’t use it. Since I had already made two kinds of flavored miso from other ingredients we got from the Suzuki Farm, I used those flavored miso instead. On the left side I served “Yuzu” miso (dark) and “Kinome” miso (light). Although many Izakaya cut the cucumber into fancy shaped pieces for this dish (to justify the higher charges?), I just made it into sticks. One of the secrets to making this dish great is to chill the cucumber throughly in ice water before serving.

I served one cucumber between the two of us. It was extremely good and quite filling. The two kinds of miso I prepared were a great accompaniment. I thought the flavored miso tasted a bit better than the traditional moromi miso.

By the way, you can tell if a cucumber is fresh if the skin still has small prickles.

Although American mini-cucumber is a good substitute for Japanese cucumber, it is no comparison to a genuine Japanese cucumber. We were so happy to get these fresh Japanese cucumbers from Suzuki farm.