NOTE:    7-Spice     (cayenne, poppy, mustard, hemp, sesame, shiso seeds, sansho, pepper leaf, seaweed, dried orange peel, dried tangerine peel, dried lemon peel )

RECIPES:

Sunomono        1 large English cucumber or 2 to 3 Japanese cucumbers ~ 1 ts salt ~ 2 Tb rice wine vinegar ~ 1 Tb sugar ~ 1 drop soy sauce.

Peel and slice cucumbers into very thin slices. Sprinkle sliced cucumber slices with salt and let stand a few minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture. Combine vinegar, sugar, and soy in a bowl and mix well. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumber slices, toss in a pinch of toasted sesame seeds (black would be great too!) and mix well. Serve in individual dishes, chilled. Make it more of a meal with Wakame (seaweed), crab, scallops and shrimp. Try adding a 1/2 tsp of sesame oil for a toasted and smoky flavour.

Osaka-style Okonomiyaki     Makes 4-6 sheets.                 2 cup all purpose flour ~ 1 1/4 cup dashi soup stock or water ~ 4-6 eggs                 (Or use Pancake mix)        1 - 1 1/4 lb cabbage ~ 6 Tb chopped green onion ~ 2/3 cup tenkasu (tempura flakes) ~ 12 - 18 strips of thinly sliced pork or beef.  

Pout dashi soup stock in a bowl. Mix the flour in the soup stock. Rest the batter for an hour in the refrigerator. Chop cabbage finely. Take about 1/2 cup of the batter (to make one sheet of okonimiyaki) in another bowl. Mix chopped cabbage (about 1/4 lb), chopped green onion (about 1 tbsp), and tempura flakes (about 2 tbsps) in the batter. Make a hole in the middle of the batter and add an egg in the hole. Stir the batter. Heat an electric pan and oil slightly. Pour the batter over the pan and make a round. Fry meat or your choice of toppings on the side. Cook 5-7 minutes and place meat (toppings) on top of the okonomiyaki. Flip the okonomiyaki and cook for 5-7 more minutes. Flip the okonomiyaki again and spread mayonnaise on top.         Other Suggestions:   Ham & Pineapple / Cooked Chicken & Peach

Udon or Somen Noodle Soup     w/Vegetables, Meat and/or Seafood           1 Lb. Udon Noodles ((futonaga--fat and long) ~ 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups of warm water for about an hour, reserving liquid ~ 2 ts. soy sauce ~ 1 Tb. sugar ~ 6 cups dashi, seasoned with 6 Tb. soy sauce and 3 Tb. mirin ~ 4 leaves fresh spinach with stems ~ 2 leeks ~ 1 chicken breast ~ salt ~ sake (just a sprinkle--you can substitute beer or mirin in a pinch) ~ 4 eggs ~ (Carrots, Bokchoy, Napa, BBQ Pork, Egg Drop etc.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the udon noodles as follows (sounds complicated, but it's not): bring a really big pot of water to boil. Add the noodles bit by bit, stirring, so they don't stick to each other. Bring to a rolling boil, then pour in 1 cup of cold water. Allow to return to a rolling boil, then pour in a second cup of cold water. Again, allow to return to a rolling boil, then pour in the third cup of cold water. Taste for the noodles to be firm but cooked through. Likely you'll want to repeat with a fourth cup of cold water. When the noodles are al dente, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for 10 minutes. (At the end of this time, drain them, rinse them in cold running water, and scrub them against each other by hand to remove all the surface starch. Drain, rinse, and let sit til you're ready to assemble the soup.) Cut a deep cross into the tops of the hydrated mushroom caps (throw out the stems) and cook them uncovered in a small pot with the reserved mushroom liquid, the soy sauce, and the sugar on medium heat until tender and the liquid is absorbed--about 10-15 minutes. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer. Bring water to a boil in a small pan, then blanch the spinach leaves for 30 seconds, remove, and let drain. Cut the spinach into 2-inch pieces; the leeks into 1-inch diagonal slices; and the chicken breast into 4 equal slices, sprinkling with salt and sake. To assemble the soup: Divide noodles into the 4 large bowls (preheated in the oven). Arrange the spinach, leeks, chicken, and mushrooms on top of the noodles, around the sides (leaving the center clear for the eggs). Pour the boiling stock equally into the bowls. Make a nest into the center of the noodles and break an egg in the middle of each bowl. Cover and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately. Pass the shichimi or red pepper separately. Garnish: sprinklings of shichimi (a 7-spice mixture with inactive marijuana seeds in it!) or crushed red pepper.

Chicken or Beef Teriyaki        1/2 cup. soy sauce ~ 1/4 cup. brown sugar ~ 1 clove garlic, crushed ~ 1 Tb. ginger ~ 1 Tb. vegetable oil ~ 2 Tb. sherry ~ 2 Lb. deboned chicken breast.

Mix all your ingredients in a large bowl, add the chicken and chill for 4 hours. Take a shallow baking pan and place the chicken and liquid in it. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for about an hour and chicken is done.

Tempura      Servings: 4             A long time ago (about 400+ years back), when Japan was trading with Portuguese and Dutch merchants, tempura was introduced to the country as the style in which these merchants cooked vegetables and fish. Tempura was not popular among Japanese people until the late Edo era. A tempura street vendor started to serve tempura-fried fish caught fresh from Tokyo Bay, and it became popular with the common people. Sesame seed oil was mainly used in those days. It seems very hard to learn the knack of tempura frying. With a little help, though, tempura deep frying can be so simple that you will want to show off to your friends. The main ingredients are vegetables and fish of your choosing. There are a few points that you have to remember: 1) slice the vegetables thin so they can be fried in a short time; 2) you will need a deep, thick-walled pan (a wok is OK) filled about 1 inch deep with peanut oil (try other types of oil if you like, but never add lard or shortening); 3) deep-fry in small batches so you can maintain the temperature of the oil; and finally 4) tempura-fry vegetables at 340F and fish at 360F.           Koromo (batter)] Using cold water (about 40F) is a must. This keeps the batter from becoming sticky. When you add the flour, whisk quickly just to mix it in evenly. Sticky batter results in oily tempura.

2 egg, beaten ~ 2 egg yolk ~ 2 cup ICE COLD water or more ~ 2 cup flour

Beat the egg and mix with water. Add flour and whisk quickly.

Tentsuyu (tempura dip)]     1 Tb. dashi no moto in ~ 1 cup of water, boiled for two to three minutes ~ 2 Tb. mirin.      You can replace this with 1 Tb. sugar ~ 2 Tb. sake or dry white wine ~ 1/4 cup soy sauce ~ ginger root to taste, freshly grated (optional).

After you boil the dashi, turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Heat the oil to 340F or 360F. Dip the vegetables or fish in the batter and place them in the oil. If it is difficult to handle the vegetable chunks, you may use a tablespoon to drop them in. Do not fry too much at a time, in order to maintain the temperature. Take the tempura out of the oil just when the batter gets SLIGHTLY brown. Vegetables usually take less than two to three minutes. Remember: the thinner the vegetable, the faster it cooks. For fish, the time to pull it out is when the batter turns very slightly brown. It is good idea to do trial frying in the beginning. Taste it and decide how long it will have to be fried. Once you get the timing right, the rest is simple. Serve with tentsuyu. Tempura is also served with rice. This is called ten-don. Put warm rice in a bowl or on a plate and place tempura on top of the rice. Pour on two or three tablespoons of tentsuyu. Another popular way of serving tempura is over a bowl of noodles. This is called tempura-udon or tempura-soba, and it is traditional Japanese fast food. There are many variations in tempura frying. You can mix two or three vegetables and fry them together. This is called kakiage style. So be creative and invent your own style. Vegetables & Fish (ingredients and preparation suggestions) Carrots, cut into thin sticks (i.e. 1 1/2 inches long)*** Onions, sliced *** Green pepper, cut into rings or any way you want *** Eggplant, thinly sliced *** Broccoli, prepared as for a for salad *** Green onions *** Zucchini, thinly sliced *** Mushrooms, halved, or whole if small *** Green beans, halved lengthwise, or whole *** Asparagus, bite-sized (deep-fry 3 or 4 sticks together) *** Butternut squash, bite-sized thin slices *** Okra , halved lengthwise *** Snow pea pods, whole *** Cod, bite-sized *** Shrimp, peeled, whole. Dip shrimp in the batter by holding the tail fin, and fry two or three at a time *** Scallops, whole if small *** Crab, break shell and expose meat before dipping in batter *** Squid, sliced into rings or strips. Dredge fish in flour before dipping in batter.

"Shabu-Shabu" the hot pot meal 6 servings        12 to 16 ounces rib-eye steak, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices ~ 2 cups Napa cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces ~ 4 large shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, quartered ~ 2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices ~ 1 12-ounce container extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes ~ 2 cups fresh spinach leaves ........... Ponzu Sauce (see below) ................ Sesame Sauce "Goma-Dare (see below)

Arrange steak on large platter, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Arrange cabbage, mushrooms, leeks, tofu, and spinach on another large platter, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. In large pot, bring 8 cups water to boil on stove, then transfer to tabletop stove. Place meat and vegetables in pot and swish around until meat is cooked through, about 15 seconds.

Sesame Sauce ( Goma-Dare)     makes 2 1/2 cups      3 oz. white sesame seeds ~ 3/4 cup dashi (Japanese broth) ~ 6 Tb dark soy sauce ~ 2 ts mirin ~ 1 Tb sugar ~ 1-2 Tb sake

Toast the white sesame seeds over medium heat. Be careful not to burn. Looking for brown color. Grind toasted seeds in a suribachi (Japanese grinding bowl), or coffee grinder. Add the remaining ingredients, and dilute with dash (chilled or room temperature, not hot). Stir well as you are adding each ingredients. Smooth out sauce with a spatula. It may be stored up to 3 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. However, it is best with it is fresh. Stir before serving, since some of the sesame seeds may settled to the bottom.

Ponzu Sauce      makes about 2 1/2 cups         1 cup lemon juice or combination of lemon and lime juice ~ 1/3 cup dark soy sauce ~ 1/3 cup rice vinegar ~ 1 cup dark soy sauce ~ 2 Tb tamari sauce ~ 3 Tb mirin

Mix all ingredients together. Taste to adjust the proportion of ingredients.

Yakitori       2 Lb filleted Chicken Tights and enough Bamboo skewers to (assemble 3 pc meat and 2 pc spring onion each) ~ 4 cleaned spring onions ~ 4 ounces sugar ~ 1/2 cup mirin (or sweet sherry) ~ and ~  Yakitori sauce:     2 cups dark soy sauce ~ 1 cup chicken stock ~ 1 cup sake.

Mix the ingredients for the yakitori sauce in a pan and let it boil for 5 minutes. Let it cool down to room temperature. Pour sauce in a high small jug.(This amount of sauce is sufficient for a number of meals, keep it good shut in the refrigerator). Cut chicken in pieces of 1 inch and spring onion in pieces of 1 1/2 inch. Prepare skewers by alternating pieces of chicken and spring onion to it. Then grill them over a very hot heat source. When liquid pours out of the chicken pieces, dip skewers in sauce and continue grilling. Repeat this until chicken is just done.(Not too done, or it'll be dry). Serve chicken as hot as possible, and pour yakitori sauce over. Customary yakitory is sprinkled with seven spices-pepper and consumed by hand.

Makizushi       Makes 2 sushi rolls, about 12 - 16 slices.          about 4 cups of sushi rice ~ 2 nori seaweed sheets (about 20 × 20 cm in size) ~ cooked crabmeat or surimi sticks (imitation crabmeat) ~ 1 ripe avocado or Crab meat, ~ cucumber sticks, ~ poached carrot sticks, napa etc. ~ 1/4 peeled, fresh hothouse cucumber, cut into thin strips (black or roasted white sesame seeds or vendace roe)

Cut the surimi sticks in half lengthwise or cut or shred the crabmeat in smaller strips or pieces. Halve the avocado, remove the seed and detach the flesh from the skin. Cut the flesh in long, thin strips. Prepare the sushi rolls by first covering the bamboo mat - makisu - with a sheet of plastic wrap. Place the lightly toasted nori sheet on the plastic and cover about ¾ of it with a 1 cm thick layer of sushi rice. To decorate the rice, you can sprinkle it with sesame seeds or vendace roe, or use the more authentic flying fish roe (tobiko) or smelt roe (masago). (Outside the Nordic countries, vendace roe can sometimes be found sold under the name "golden caviar".) Cover the rice layer with another sheet of plastic wrap. With the help of the bottom plastic wrap, lift the nori sheet with the filling and turn it over, so that the rice side faces the bamboo mat. Remove the top plastic wrap and place the crabmeat and the vegetables at the lower end of the nori sheet. With the help of the bamboo mat and the plastic wrap, roll up the nori with the filling, like in making a jelly roll, and press firmly to seal. Cut the sushi roll in 6 to 8 slices using a sharp knife dipped in vinegar before every cut. Repeat with the second nori sheet and the rest of the rice and the filling.

How To Make Sushi Rice        3 cups (750ml) sushi rice ~ 3 1/3 cups (830ml) water ~ 1/2 cups (120ml) rice vinegar ~ 1/4 cups (60ml) sugar ~ 1/2 ts salt ~ 1 Tb dashi- concentrated or powdered fish stock

Rinse the rice Put the three cups of rice in a large bowl. Lightly rinse by adding enough cold water to half fill the bowl and swill it around with the rice. Pour the water off. Scrunch the rice about in the bowl with your hand. Then rinse, swill and drain again and repeat the scrunching action. Keep following this pattern until the water is almost clear - this could take 3 or 4 attempts. Transfer the rinsed rice into a large saucepan. Pour in 3 and a third cups of water and leave it to soak for at least 30 minutes. As it soaks, the rice will become whiter, and the water will appear clearer. Put the pan on the hob with the lid securely on top, and turn the heat to high. Avoid lifting the lid at all times through out the cooking process as this will allow the steam to escape When the rice begins to boil reduce the heat and leave to simmer for fifteen minutes. After the fifteen minutes are up, turn off the heat and leave the rice to stand for another 15 minutes.

Prepare the sushi vinegar Put half a cup of rice vinegar, quarter of a cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of powdered Dashi into the small saucepan. Heat gently and stir to ensure that the sugar and salt dissolve. Don't let the mixture boil as this will impair the flavour, only heat long enough to completely dissolve all the ingredients. Then turn off the heat, and leave it to cool while you prepare the rice.

Stir in the sushi vinegar Transfer the rice into a large wooden bowl. Pour over the sushi vinegar. Use the spatula in a cutting motion to fold the mixture into the rice. While you are folding use your other hand to fan the rice. Keep fanning and folding until the rice has reached room temperature. This could take up to 10 minutes.

It's best to use the rice immediately. It should be shiny and sticky, with each grain separated and not mashed together. It should be used at room temperature. If you don't need it straight away, cover the bowl with a damp cloth. This will prevent it from becoming too hard.

Blossom Cherry Jubilee    Makes 8 servings.        2 Tb. Butter ~ 1/2 cup granulated sugar ~ 1 Tb cornstarch ~ 1/4 cup each water and orange juice ~ 3 cups pitted can sweet cherries ~ 1/2 ts grated orange peel ~ 1/4 cup brandy, optional ~ 1 quart vanilla ice cream

Combine sugar and cornstarch. Blend in water and orange juice. Cook and stir until thickened and smooth. Add cherries and orange peel; return to boil and simmer 10 minutes. Gently heat brandy, pour over sauce and flame, if desired. Serve over ice cream.