Soba noodle in hot broth かけそば

This is again is a dish with which to finish your home Izakaya feast. This is a very simple soba noodle dish. We had this when I made "age-dashi tofu". This was a perfect dish to make since I wanted to finish the broth I made for the tofu dish. I simply dilute it further to the strength appropriate for this soba dish. Soba そば 蕎麦 is very popular even here in the U.S. and it is easy to get high-quality dried noodles. Of course you can make the noodles yourself. We have a soba cook book which describes how to make soba from buckwheat flour. I tried it once but, it is too difficult to make for an amateur like me and the dried variety is just fine. 

There are two major ways to serve Soba; cold soba with a dipping sauce or "mori soba" もりそば and warm soba in broth or "kake soba" かけそば. There are many variations of both types of soba preparation depending on the condiments or toppings. For example, if you add tempura (usually shrimp), it is "tempura soba", if you add an egg  it is "Tsukimi soba" 月見そば meaning moon-gazing soba since the egg yolk looks like a full moon. If you add seasoned fried tofu pouch (abura-age), then it is called "fox" soba きつねそば. You may ask why this is called "fox" soba. "Inari" shrine 稲荷神社, one of the many Japanese shrines, considers the white fox as a messenger of the deity or god it enshrines. Later, probably through misunderstanding, people started believing that the fox was the deity itself. It is also believed that the fox deity loves "abura-age" or deep fried tofu pouch. Thus, any dish which includes "abura-age" has "kitusne (fox)" or "inari" somewhere in it's name. Another common soba topping is "tenkasu" 天かす or small bits of cooked tempura batter that you scoop up while you are making tempura (this can be stored frozen for later use), then, it is called "tanuki" soba たぬきそば. There is a play on words here. "Tanuki" is a Japanese badger or more like a raccoon which is always compared to "kitsune" or fox since both animals are believed to use "magic" (mostly transmogrification) to mislead humans in Japanese folklore. It is said that "kitsune" is always very cunning and successful in her magic but "tanuki" is always comical and failing in his magic. For the name of the noodle dish, "ta-nuki" also means just temprura batter without other ingredients of tempura  - "ta" means "other" and "nuki" means "missing" or "without".

We occasionally go to a small but elegant Japanese restaurant called "Makoto"  in Washington DC, where they serves an excellent course menu おまかせ in the "kaiseki" style 懐石 or 会席. After 7-8 small exquisite dishes, the last dish they offer is soba in warm broth. There are some choices of toppings and we always go for "sansai" 山菜 or mountain vegetables. The soba dish I made here is a simplified version of this. I just put sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms in the broth and cooked it for a few minutes. I poured the hot broth over cooked soba noodles in a bowl and finished with chopped scallion and nori. If you like, sprinkle on the Japanese 7 flavored red pepper "sichimi tougarashi"  七味唐辛子.

Spaghetti with cod roe たらこスパゲティ

The night after making "julienned potato with spicy cod roe", we decided to make this classic Japanese pasta dish. Reportedly, it was invented in a small pasta restaurant called "hole in the wall" or 壁の穴 in Shibuya, Tokyo around 1967. (Now this restaurant has expanded into a company running multiple Italian and noodle restaurants). The original recipe was supposedly made with softened butter and lemon juice mixed with cod roe.  This was placed in the bottom of a pasta plate. Hot pasta was mixed in and finished with a garnish of nori. This dish appears to have started an entire genre of Japanases-style pastas 和風パスタ. This dish has become a favorite home cooking dish and many variations have developed. I am not sure how we came up with our own variation but I have a feeling that caramelized onion may have been my wife's idea.

My wife does not particularly care for spaghetti, which I suspect, is possibly due to the childhood "trauma" of eating canned spaghetti which many children face in the U.S. So instead of spaghetti, we use udon noodles (dried thin variety such as "sanuki" 讃岐 or "inaniwa" 稲庭) which has a nice firm texture. For us, we need only two small servings (as a last starch dish). So, we use one serving or bundle of dried udon noodles (cooked as per the package instruction) and one large sac of cod roe or tarako. After removing the roe from the sac, I mix in a small amount of lemon juice and sake to make it a smoother consistency. Meanwhile, in olive oil, I saute and caramelize one small onion cut into thin strips (this may take 10-15 minutes). I do not add salt since the tarako can be salty. I add the cooked noodles to the onions and continue sauteing to warm up the noodles. I then add the tarako mixture and remove from the heat. Mix well so that all the noodles are coated with tarako which turns white from the heat of the noodles. Taste and if needed, add salt. Plate, and garnish with thin strips of nori, perilla, and freshly cracked back pepper. Squeeze lemon on the pasta just before serving.

Julienned potatoes with spicy cod roe ジャガイモの明太子和え

Julienned potatoes with spicy cod roe ジャガイモの明太子和え (Mark's book p24)

We have to agree with Mark that this dish is excellent and definitely joined our list of favorites. I have to admit first that I deviated a little from the original recipe but it tasted very very good. I should have made the dish, at least once, according to the original recipe before modifying it. First, we did not have the spicy cod roe or "karashi-mentaiko" 辛子明太子 and we had all other kinds of potatoes except Russet. Substituting for the spicy cod roe, after removing the roe from it's sac, I added Tabasco and a bit of sake to make regular "tarako" たらこ cod roe spicy and the right consistency. For my wife, the spicy cod roe is too spicy and this way, I can control the spiciness. Instead of Russet, I used a large red potato which has less starch than Russet. For the rest, I followed the recipe. To reiterate, thinly julienne the potato and soak it in water to remove excess starch, drain and pat dry. Saute in small amount of oil in a hot frying pan for 2 minutes or so without browning until softened but still bit crunchy. Serve on a plate, top it with a pat of butter and the spiced-up cod roe. Add freshly cracked black pepper. Mix and enjoy.

This is somewhat reminiscent of a classic Japanese pasta dish, "Tarako spaghetti" たらこスパゲッティ. We often make a variation of this spaghetti dish.  In the current dish, potatoes are used instead of noodles. The potato strips are al dente but have a different texture as compared with noodles. The mixture of tarako, spiciness from, in my case, tabasco and cracked black pepper, and butter is wonderful. As in tarako spaghetti, it is natural to think adding julienned nori and perilla to this.

Chicken tender tempura with perilla and pickled plum 笹身の梅肉とシソ入り天ぷら

I mentioned this dish in the previous post of Ume-Shiso Rolled Chiken 梅しそ巻き. Finally, I had a chance to make it. This is a classic flavor combination of chicken, pickled plum "umeboshi"  and perilla or "shiso" 青じそ. This is such a perfect combination of the flavors. You need a cold sake for this dish.

I use chicken tenders. Remove the sinew which runs on one end in the center from the tender. From the side, cut a slit which encompasses 60-70% of the length of the tender (make sure not to cut through). Remove the meat (or fruit) from "umeboshi" and chop it finely to make a kind of paste ("bainiku" 梅肉). Spread the the paste inside the slit your made in the chicken tender. Cover the open side with one or two perilla leaves (depending on it's size). Dip it into tempura batter and deep fry until done (2-3 minutes). For tempura batter, I just used cake flour with cold water. I also made Perilla tempura by dipping only one side of the perilla leaf in the tempura batter (it just looks better this way) for garnish. You do not need any sauce with this dish since it has the strong flavor of the pickle plum but I served this with a lemon wedge and a powdered green tea/salt  mixture 抹茶塩 (green stuff on the right in the above picture).

Braised burdock root きんぴらごぼう

This dish definitely qualifies as a Izakaya dish especially as "tsukidashi" 突き出し or "otoushi" お通し, the very first small appetizer in Izakaya which is served without your asking for it as soon as you sit down at the counter. Again you can find extensive discussions about this subject (in Japanese).

This is a very homey dish that you can only have in an Izakaya or at home but not in a fancy restaurant. It goes well with a glass of cold sake or with white rice. The root vegetable used here may not be very familiar in the U.S. but it is very popular in Japan. It is called "gobo" 牛蒡 or burdoc root. It has lots of fibers and is believed to have some medicinal properties. It has a nice crunch and a nutty, distinctive flavor. Among the gobo recipes, this dish, "kinpira gobo" きんぴらゴボウ, is by far the most popular and also our favorite gobo dish. "Kinpira", allegedly, is named after the character "Sakata Kinpira" 坂田金平, who was said to be a very strong and brave worrier, as told in a traditional story telling with songs and music called "joururi" 浄瑠璃 in Edo time. It requires a certain preparation which is the most labor intensive part needed to make this dish. The burdock is rather ugly, very thin long (few feet long) dark brown root vegetable. It is available in most Japanese grocery stores.

First prepare a large bowl of cold water with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice (acidulated water). Cut the "gobo" root into shorter segments, so that they will fit into your bowl with the acidulated water. Under running water, scrape off the brown skin using the back of your knife exposing the white underneath.  Since it will discolor very quickly, place these segments in the acidulated water immediately after the skin is removed. Take out one segment at a time from the acidulated water, cut thin ovals by slicing it diagonally using a sharp heavy knife (the root is fibrous and hard). Spread them overlapping like a stack of cards and then julienne them into match sticks. Immediately put them back in the acidualted water and repeat the process until all are julienned. I usually soak julienned burdock root for 10-15 minutes in the acidulated water (the water will become dark grey), then I wash them in running water and drain. If needed, spread them on paper towels and blot dry. Meanwhile, I peel and cut 1-2 medium size carrots (the amount of carrots to the burdock root is totally up to you) in the same manner as the burdock root and set aside.

In a  large saute pan like the one shown below or a Chinese wok on a medium high flame, add 1 tbs of vegitable oil and 1 tsp of dark sesame oil. I add red pepper flakes to the oil (the amount is totally up to you). When the oil is hot, add the burdock root and saute for 1-2 minutes so that all is coated with oil. Add carrots and saute another minute or so. Most recipes use sugar and soy sauce which, to me, will make this dish too salty and too sweet. In stead, I use 3 tbs of mirin, 3 tbs of sake and 2 tsp of soy sauce (I add bit more soy sauce later) and braise (you need to keep the ingredients moving using, in my case, long bamboo kitchen chopsticks as seen below, until most of the liquid has evaporated (10 or more minutes). I taste and add a small amount of soy sauce toward the end if necessary. When the liquid is almost all gone, turn off the flame and mix in white sesame. This dish gets better after one day. Serve at room temperature with extra sesame on the top.

Mountain yam wrapped in bacon 長いものベーコン巻き

I am not sure where I first had this dish. Wrapping vegetables in thinly sliced meat or bacon is a favorite Japanese cooking technique. Classic examples of this type of dish include: scallion wrapped with thinly sliced beef or pork called "negimaki" 葱巻き, as well as burdock root and asparagus wrapped the same way. They are ususally sauteed and then braised in the usual sauce of mirin or sugar and soy sauce.  In this dish, I used a mountain yam 長芋 and bacon. Cut yam into small rectagles (I should have cut it smaller here), wrap them in bacon and saute with the seam side down in a dry frying pan. Turn and make all sides of the bacon nicely crispy. I happened to have some very nice and sweet mission figs so I sauteed the cut surface of the figs briefly in the bacon grease. I served this with reduced balsamic vinegar and grated dikon to cut the grease. It has a very interesting texture and flavor combination. This dish can go with sake or wine. My wife must have liked it, since two pieces that I left in the pan because the bacon wrapping unraveled during the cooking, disappeared while I was not looking. I am not sure if it was just the bacon she really liked or the entire dish. (She said it was the entire dish...but you can't go wrong with anything including bacon!)

Deep-fried pork and onion skewer 豚肉とタマネギの串揚げ

Deep-fried pork and onion skewer 豚肉とタマネギの串揚げ (Mark's book p60)

This is also a very popular item either in Izakayas or restaurants specialized in "kushiage" 串揚げ.  Kushiage ("kushi" means a skewer and "age" means to deep fry) is skewered small pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables, breaded and then deep dried. My wife and I are getting too old to have an entire meal of deep dried food either kushiage or tempura. But we enjoy few deep fried items in Izakayas. This combination of pork and onion is very common and very good. We mentioned "Muroran"-style yakitori with this exact combination. Onion and pork cooked together impart some synergetic enhancements of each flavor.

Here, I used pieces of pork tenderloin and onion skewered alternately on bamboo skewers.  Some commercial establishments (not good Izakayas) may use a batter (water and flour) to coat the skewers before breading but this will usually make a very thick and oily crust. I use a more traditional method of dredging the skewered meat and onions in flour (AP flour), dipping it in an egg wash, and finally coating it in Japanese Panko crumbs (as described in the recipe in Mark's book). I deep fry using a low-meidum temperature since it will take some time to cook the pork through (15 minutes or more depending on the size of the pork). I sliced along the skewer to show the pork onion layering as it was done in the Mark's book illustration but, of course, you should just serve the skewers without cutting it. Serve this with a Japanese hot mustard and "tonkatsu sauce". The usual accompaniment is a thinly shredded cabbage but I lightly dressed the cabbage with my version of honey-musdard dressing as per my wife's request (she said she can not face a mound of a raw shredded cabbage). This dish can go with sake, beer, or red wine. We had this dish with a nice California Cabernet Sauvignon Flora Springs 2005.