Japanese Cuisine Highlights - sushi, teriyaki, yakitori, tempura, miso soup, shabu shabu and sake
Sushi
Japan is an island nation, its surronding seas warmed by Kuroshio, the plankton-rich Japan Current, and abundant with an astonishing variety of fish and shellfish. The islands themselves are moutainous, and what little arable land exists is terraced and carefully cultivated to coax rice and a few other crops. Japan has always fed its dense population from the sea and the rice fields, its cuisine emphasizing what nature provides. Sushi, the combination of raw fish and seasoned rice that seems so exotic to foreigners, is a supremely logical food in Japan.
Sushi began centuries ago in Japan as a method of preserving fish. It is told that the origins of sushi came from countries of Southeastern Asia. Cleaned, raw fish were pressed between layers of salt and weighted with a stone. After a few weeks, the stone was removed and replaced with a light cover, and a few months after that, the fermented fish and rice were considered ready to eat. Some restaurants in Tokyo still serve this original style of sushi, called narezushi made with freshwater carp. Its flavor is so strong that it obscures the fish's identity altogether, and narezushi is somethig of an acquired taste.
It wasn't until the eighteenth century that a clever chef named Yohei decided to forgo the fermentation and serve sushi in something resembling its present form. It became very popular and two distinct styles emerged Kansai style, from the city of Osaka in the Kansai region, and Edo style, from Tokyo, which was then called Edo. Osaka has always been the commercial capital of Japan, and the rice merchants there developed sushi that consisted primarily of seasoned rice mixed with other ingredients and formed into decorative, edible packages. Tokyo, located on a bay then rich with fish and shellfish, produced nigirizushi, featuring a select bit of seafood on a small pad of seasoned rice. Although the ornamental sushi of the Kansai region is still very popular, it is nigirizushi that foreigners are familiar with.
Two important accampaniments that sushi are served with are wasabi and gari. Wasabi is Japanese horseradish and it is made from a knobby green root. It is one of the most important seasonings for sushi, put in between sushi rice and the topping. Some restaurants serve it separate to allow customers to decide how much horseradish they want in their sushi. Gari is pickled ginger and a condiment of sushi. Freshly pickled ginger is marinated in seasoned vinegar to give it a delightfully pungent taste.
Tepanyaki and Hibachi Tables
Tepanyaki is teryaki prepared on a tepan or hibachi table where the Jananese chef prepares teryaki meat together with shrimp, rice and vegetables and right in front of the customers on metal table. This creates an amazing dining experience, which combines both the dining and entertainment values in one.
Beef Teriyaki Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/2 kilo lean beef(cut into stripe 1/2 x 2)
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 2 cloves mince garlic
- 2 Tbsp teryaki sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/8 tsp ground black peper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/8 msg
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/4 cup shallot(cut into 1 1/2 stripes)
- 1/2 cup onion (cut into stripes)
- 1 cup chicken or beef stock
- 1 tsp flour disolve in 3 tbsp of water
Directions:
In a wok or stir fry pan heat oil on high.
Stir in garlic(around 10 second) followed by beef for one minute.
Add oyster sauce, peper, salt, sugar, and paprika.
Cook for 1 minute.
Add stock and msg let it boil for 5 minutes.
Add shallot and onion .
Cook for 1 minute.
Add disovled flour, and stir until thickened.
Tempura
As with so many Japanese products, what we admire is not a native Japanese invention, but rather an import which Japanese techniques and ingenuity have perfected. Tempura, or batter-coated deep-frying of fresh fish and vegetables, was introduced by Portuguese missionaries in the late 16th century. But it is the Japanese who have elevated this type of cooking to the subtle art of locking the natural flavors of fresh ingredients into a lacy golden coating. No wonder the Japanese have written the word for this heavenly dish with the character for "heaven".
Tempura in Japanese History
Although the derivation of the word tempura is unclear, whether from tempora (the day of abstinence on which Portuguese missionaries ate fish) or the artist's pallet of temperas, historians agree that the addiction to the food changed the course of Japanese history. The first Lord of all Japan, Shogun Tokugawa Leyasu, who lent his name to the three centuries called the Tokugawa Period, was fond of sampling new food delicacies. When a cook, coming all the way from Kyoto, arrived in the capital of Edo and claimed to have a new tempura concoction, the ailing lord insisted on trying some.
Despite the warnings of his physicians not to aggravate his stomach condition, he overstuffed himself since he found the tempura so delicious, and died several days later.
Tempura was originally a delicious between-meal snack. However, in the hands of Japan's master chefs, tempura developed into the art of making non-greasy, crisp, deep-fried morsels. The cheap tempura snacks and lunches are still available, but only tempura boasts the lacy texture and subtle taste which has won the acclaim of gastronomes the world over.
Gourmet Tips
The secret to tempura's crispiness is in its batter coating or more precisely, the lumps, which are apt to form in the tenuous mixture of egg, ice water and flour. Because these ingredients remain unmixed, each morsel dipped to the bottom of the batter is coated in an egg-water-flour sequence. The batter must be made in small batches and not left to stand. If the flour is mixed too thoroughly moreover, the result will be an armorlike pancake casing, rather than the crispy coating the Japanese call a "cloak" or koromo. The Japanese claim that they can tell the difference between tempura made by a five-year "novice" and a 20-year veteran, so subtle is the chemistry at work in the tempura chef's powdery-ringed batter bowl.
Yakitori (grilled chicken)
Skewers of succulent chicken dipped in barbecue sauce, grilled to perfection over hot charcoals, then washed down with cold beer -- it's easy to see the appeal of yakitori after a hard day's work. Not surprisingly, yakitori-ya (yakitori restaurants and stands) are popular early-evening gathering places, filled with office workers stopping off for a quick snack before the train ride home.
Yakitori stands are far from fancy; often they'll consist of just five or six stools pushed up against a counter. Clouds of aromatic smoke waft off the grill and into the street to lure hungry passersbys. Even at the "nicer" places, the emphasis is less on decor and more on providing good food and a convivial atmosphere.
Yakitori-ya can be recognized by small red lanterns out front, with the character for "tori," or bird. Another clue to finding a yakitori-ya is the clouds of fragrant smoke coming from the vent.
Two of the main factors that set one yakitori-ya apart from the next are the ingredients in the tare (the sauce used to baste the chicken) and the quality of the charcoal used for grilling. Hard, aromatic charcoal produces the best results, better than cheaper charcoals and far better than gas or electric grills. Some places use free-range chicken (jidori), which is tougher than ordinary chicken but also more flavorful.
Yakitori Dishes
Although other foods are served, chicken is the mainstay of the yakitori-ya. Morsels of chicken are skewered by themselves or interspersed with pieces of leek or other vegetables. Other dishes include chicken wings, tender white-meat chicken breast fillets (sasami), dark-meat chicken-leg chunks, chicken livers and other organs, ground-chicken meatballs (tsukune), and even chicken skin. Non-chicken items include large shiitake mushrooms, green peppers, ginkgo nuts and small quail eggs.
Food in yakitori-ya usually comes on skewers, with a minimum of two skewers per order. Before it's grilled, the food is dipped into either a sweetish soy-based sauce (tare) or salt (shio) -- sometimes you get a choice, but often one or the other is the specialty of the chef. You can also sprinkle your chicken with shichimi (a mixture of red pepper and six other spices). There's usually a handy receptacle on the counter where you can deposit your used skewers.
Some fancy places have a wider variety of choices, with more exotic delicacies like asparagus, rabbit or sparrow, but generally smaller restaurants and stands limit themselves to the basics. Most patrons drink beer with their yakitori, although soft drinks are also available. After you've had enough chicken, chazuke (a soupy mixture of tea and rice) is a very filling way to top off the meal.
Miso Soup
This soup is served every morning in Japan, with the flavors of seasonal vegetables. There are several different kinds of miso paste available in North America. Shiro-miso paste is a mild one and is low in salt. On the other hand, aka-miso is very salty and has a different, stronger fragrance than shiro-miso. Miso soup base is made out of a fish stock called dashi. You can purchase dashi at any Oriental food shop. You can enjoy almost any vegetable with this soup, from lettuce to snow pea pods. Here's a list of vegetables you might want to try in the miso soup.
Types of vegetables and preparation suggestions:
- Chinese cabbage, cut into bite-size squares or triangles
- Cabbage, cut into bite-size squares or triangles
- Lettuce, cut into bite-size squares or triangles
- Green onions, sliced
- Onions, sliced
- Leeks, sliced or chopped
- Okra, chopped
- Butternut squash*, thinly sliced
- Snow pea pods
- Green beans*
- Daikon*, thinly sliced
- Potatoes*, thinly sliced
- Sweet potatoes*, thinly sliced
- Mushrooms, sliced
- Bean sprouts
- Tofu, cut into small cubes
- Wakame seaweed
- Natto beans, minced
* These hard vegetables must be cooked for ten minutes or so. Not recommended: green pepper, celery (vegetables with strong flavor)
Here is a recipe that uses tofu, green onions, and mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- about 30 half-inch cubes tofu
- 4 mushrooms, sliced
- 2 stalks green onions, chopped
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons dashi (nomoto)
- 3-4 tablespoons miso (adjust to taste)
Directions:
Boil 4 cups of water and dashi. Add tofu and mushrooms, simmer gently about 3 minutes. Add miso and dissolve completely. Immediately turn off the heat and add chopped green onions, then serve.
Note: You have to cook the hard vegetables longer. If you have a combination of soft and hard vegetables, add the soft vegetables later. The miso flavor will weaken if you overcook the miso.
Shabu Shabu
Tradition and folklore tell us that Shabu Shabu cooking dates back to the 13th Century and Genghis Khan. As he built his power and became ruler of Mongolia, Khan assembled a massive and highly-organized army.
As he widened his domination throughout China and Eurasia, his army was constantly on the move. He developed "hot pot" or Shabu Shabu form of cooking as a way to feed his troops. The hungry troops would gather around a large pot of boiling water and dip their thinly sliced meat into the pot.
Purpose of the "hot pot" was to feed the troops efficiently, nutritiously, and to save on the army's limited fuel resources. By using thinly sliced meat, troops were able to cook the meat very quickly and efficiently absorbing all of the nutrition of the meat.
The "hot pot" method of cooking survived over the centuries in different regions of China and went through many changes as time passed on.... In 1948, a small restaurant owner in Osaka, Kansai introduced Shabu Shabu cooking to Japan, and within few years Japan introduced Shabu Shabu cooking to the world, today it has gained immense popularity throughout the world.
Sake
Any traveller worth his mettle should sample the local food and drink. If you're in France, you try the local wines, in Holland the cheeses, in Russia the vodka. In Japan your visit won't be complete without stopping by at an "izakaya" (local sake bar) to try the best sake in the world. In Japan's highly structured and conformist society, sake provides an opportunity to relax. The young executive forced to apologize for some rowdy behavior in a bar need only write "I was drinking sake..." Few people in Japan would need to read more! Sake, Japan's famous rice wine, is as steeped in history as Sumo or the Samurai.
History of Sake
Dating back to the 3rd century, the first sake was called kuchikami no sake, or "chewing-in-the-mouth sake." Happily sake today isn't made this way but back then, rice, chestnuts and millet would be chewed by the whole village and then spat out into a tub to ferment. It was an important part of Shinto religious festivals who've protected the fields are offered sake after the harvest, and wedding celebrations and New Year's festivals aren't complete without sake on hand to bestow a benediction. Today's sake has changed much from early times. It was centuries before they discovered yeast, which greatly increased its alcohol content. The second World War also altered the recipe. Rice shortages forced brewers to develop new ways to increase their yields. By government decree, pure alcohol and glucose were added to small quantities of rice mash, increasing the yield by as much as four times. 95% of today's sake is made using this technique, left over from the war years, though connoisseurs say that the best sake is still made with just rice, koji rice and water only.
Sake Tasting for Beginners
If you thought sake was only served warm in expensive Japanese restaurants, then think again. There's a lot more to it than that. Yes, sake is often served warm but warm does not mean hot, but the temperature of the human body. The most common crime committed by those serving sake in the North America. In fact, drinking sake cold is becoming increasingly popular, and you would be advised to learn from the official sake tasters in Japan who taste sake at room temperature.
Sake tasting in Japan is just as complex and ritualistic as the most snobbish of French wine-tasting gatherings. In many ways, the practice is similar. First the appearance is viewed in the special "snakes-eye" cups, when tasters check for colorlessness and perfect clarity, highly prized qualities. Next they check the smell for which ninety different words can be used to describe the aroma. Finally, and most importantly, the ultimate test of taste is taken.
Like wine, the sake is slurped to allow air in, pushed around the mouth and spat out. To achieve the best results, experts "push the sake into the nose". Suck in a little air, then slowly breathe the air out through your nose. This puts the taster in sake heaven when the most fully experiences the sake's full flavor. Sakes can be swallowed to test the nodokoshi ( how it passes down the throat ), and they're described in a myriad of different ways, the basic of which are 'dry', 'sweet' and 'having a tail'.
Aside from getting lessons from a master, the best way to learn is to get drinking. Why not try one of Japan's most popular brands, Tamanohikari, drunk cold (50°F), or (10°C), which is the same as the temperature for a chateau white wine, and described as "superb sake". "Kanpai", that's Japanese for cheers!