Simple Japanese Recipes

Tamago (japanese omelet).

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 4 Eggs, 1/4 cups stock (dashi),
  • Mixture: (1/2 table spoons soy, salt, 1/2 tablespoons mirin),
  • Oil

Preparation

1. Put 1/4 cups stock into a bowl add the mixture soy-salt-mirin mixture and stir.
2. Beat 4 eggs in another bowl then add (1) to (2).
3. Thinly coat a square frying pan with oil. Wipe out the surplus oil with a cloth or paper towel. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the frying pan, and spread it evenly by jiggling the pan.
4. After the surface of (3) hardens slightly, roll it up to one end of the frying pan.
5. Move the rolled egg to the opposite side and oil the bottom surface. Add another 1/3 of (2) into the pan, and roll it up after the surface of (3) comes has hardened.
Repeat (5) with the last 1/3 of the mixture.
6. Pick (6) up and let it cool and cut.

A number of Simple Japanese Recipes will include rice or noodles, similar to the dishes used in other parts of south east Asia, such as China, Korea, and Vietnam.

A popular Japanese tofu dish, hiyayakko, is simple to make, and is a wonderful appetizer in summer.

To make 4 servings
Ingredients:

* 2 blocks chilled silken tofu
* For Toppings:
* Dried bonito flakes (skipjack tuna)
* Chopped green onion
* Grated ginger
* Myoga ginger
* Soy sauce
* Mustard
* Sliced okra

Preparation:
Cut tofu into halves. Serve tofu in individual bowls. Put grated ginger, dried bonito flakes, and chopped green onion on top of tofu as much as you like. Pour some soy sauce before eating. Put some karashi mustard if you would like.

Steamed rice is the staple food for Japanese, and a number of Simple Japanese Recipes will include some kind of rice, even for breakfast.

Onigiri are rice balls, which are usually molded into oval, round or trianglular shapes by hands. They are very popular with the Japanese, and are frequently stocked in stores in Japan.

For 8 rice balls
Ingredients:

* 4 cups steamed Japanese rice
* 8 strips of dried nori (seaweed)
* Salt to taste
* For fillings:
* Ume (pickled plum)
* Grilled salted salmon
* Kombu
* Tarako

Preparation:
Cook steamed rice. Put about a half cup of steamed rice in a rice bowl. Make a dent in the center of the rice and place fillings, such as ume (pickled plum), kombu, and grilled salmon chunks. Wet your hands in water so that the rice won’t stick. Rub some salt on your hands. Place the rice in the rice bowl on your hands. Form the rice into a round or a triangle, by pressing lightly with your both palms. Wrap the rice ball with a strip of nori.

Satsumaimo Amani is a simmered sweet potato dish.

4 servings-
Ingredients:

* 1 satsumaimo (about 1/2 lb), sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
* 1 1/4 cup dashi soup stock
* 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
* 2 tsp soy sauce

Preparation:
Soak satsumaimo slices in water for about 10 minutes and drain. Put dashi and satsumaimo in a medium pot. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Add sugar and soy sauce and turn down the heat to low. Put a drop-lid or a sheet of aluminium foil on satsumaimo and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the liquid is almost gone.

Bukkake Udon uses udon noodles, which are used a lot in Japanese cooking. Many simple Japanese recipes involve the use of some kind of noodles. Whether they are served cold or hot tends to depend on the season. Toppings too vary according to the season.

To make 4 servings
Ingredients:

* 4 portions udon noodles
* 4 Tbsps dried bonito flakes
* For sauce: 1/2 cup soy sauce / 2 cups dashi soup stock / 3 Tbsp mirin

Preparation:
Mix dashi soup stock, soy sauce, and mirin in a small pan. Put it on high heat and bring to a boil. Stop the heat. Cool the sauce. Boil lots of water in a large pan. Put udon noodles in the pan and boil, following package instructions.
Drain and cool udon in cold water quickly. Drain again and divide into four bowls. Place bonito flakes and other toppings on top. Pour the sauce over the noodles right before eating.

Nobu-sushi

Ingredients
  • 3 1/2 oz Japanese red vinegar
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbsp mirin
  • 4 tbsp plus 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 11/2-in square sheet of konbu (Japanese kelp)
  • 31/4 cups short-grain sushi rice
  • 4 cups cold water, plus more for rinsing
  • 1 tbsp prepared wasabi
  • 2 lbs sashimi-grade fish of choice
Preparation

To prepare the vinegared sushi rice:

Preparing the rice is the single most important element in the whole sushi experience.

Bring 2 ½ oz of the red vinegar to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat with the salt, mirin and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Do not allow the vinegar to boil. Add the konbu, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. When it’s cool, add the remaining vinegar (this is done because the heating tends to destroy the bouquet of the vinegar). This will give enough sushi rice vinegar to make two batches of sushi rice of the size given here.

Thoroughly rinse the rice in repeated changes of cold water. When the water is no longer cloudy, the washing is complete. Once the rice is clean, soak it in cold water for 30 minutes in the winter and 15 minutes in the summer. Drain in a sieve.

Transfer the rice to a heavy sauce pan and add 4 cups of fresh cold water to the rice. Bring to a boil over high heat, and allow to boil for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 more minutes. Then increase the heat to high again for 10 seconds only. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the cooked rice to sit, covered, for about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess water.

While the rice is still hot, wipe the inside of a rice tub or similar wide, shallow container thoroughly with a piece of konbu that has been soaked in the vinegar mixture. Next, spread the cooked rice over the bottom of the tub in a thin layer. Using a slicing motion, mix the rice with a rice paddle or flat wooden spoon as you sprinkle half the prepared vinegar evenly over the rice. When slicing with the rice paddle, the action should be swift and rhythmic. Be careful not to overstir, as this will make the rice sticky.

Cut through the rice from the bottom up so that it is well turned over. Continue to blend in the vinegar, slicing diagonally and moving the rice to one side of the tub. Cover with a well-wrung damp cloth until ready to use (but use the rice before it becomes too hard).

To prepare the sushi:

With one finger, press about a tablespoonful of vinegary sushi rice into a firm oval in the palm of your hand. Spread with wasabi as desired and place the slice of fish, about 3 cm thick, over that to cover the rice fairly neatly.

Serving Size

Serves 6