Even before I open my eyes in the morning, when senses are at their dullest, the first thing I’ve been noticing lately is the pungency of ramps. I’m not sure whether it’s my breath, clothes, or skin pores, but I’m guessing that pouring a boiling red pepper broth over wild leeks is enough to trump Febreze freshness.

Did it sound like I was complaining? I’d pickle a truckload of ramps in this way if I could. The smell isn’t anything that Axe and Listerine can’t fix anyway.

The sweet, sour, and spicy pickling brine retains the crispness of the ramps from leaves to bulb. Most of the heat comes from shichimi togarashi, an aromatic Japanese seasoning comprised of seven ingredients. The particular blend I used, one of many variations, had orange peel, black and white sesame seeds, red peppers, sansho (better known as Sichuan peppercorns), ginger, and seaweed.

As fiery as the Korean crushed red pepper (gochugaru) looks, it’s actually rather sweet. It gives the pickling brine a menacing kimchi-red hue even if it barely adds any heat. Any of the milder ground red peppers, such as unsmoked Spanish paprika, will do in a pinch.

recipe adapted from David Chang
Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Mele Cotte

David Chang’s Pickled Ramps
with Japanese and Korean Seasonings

A 9 x 13-inch baking dish is not the best container to use. I had to double the pickling brine.

Ingredients:

1 pound ramps, trimmed and cleaned

For the Pickling Brine:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon Japanese seven spice (shichimi togarashi)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Korean crushed red pepper (gochugaru)

What’s that smell?

Directions:

1. Place the trimmed and cleaned ramps in a large nonreactive container (such as stainless steel or glass).
2. Combine all the pickling brine ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Immediately pour over the ramps.
3. Let the ramps and pickling brine cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate at least overnight before serving.

Tsukemono or kimchi?

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Pickled Ramps, Japanese and Korean Flavors

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Green tea and red rice add more than color and an East Asian twist to this soft bread loaf. Lightly enriched with sugar, butter, and an egg yolk, the subtle tastes of both ingredients pull through along with their many nutritional benefits.

The health benefits of green tea are well-documented, but red rice may be a bit unusual depending on your location. It is mainly used as a natural coloring agent in Chinese cuisine and as a dietary supplement known to control cholesterol. I consider this bread a tasty way to recover from sugar and chocolate eating sprees.

I meant to join Boaz’s Bread Baking Day for colorful breads but it got buried under a ton of unfinished posts. All three of them. I’m blaming all that sugar I’ve been having lately.

recipe adapted from Youko Yamane (in Japanese)
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Green Tea and Red Rice Swirl Bread

makes one 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf

Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
all-purpose or bread flour    2 1/3 cups         10.6          300
instant yeast                 1 1/2 tsp            .2            5
granulated sugar                  2 tbsp + 1 tsp  1.1           30
kosher salt                       1 tsp            .1            4
egg yolk                          1                .7           20
water, lukewarm                 2/3 cup           5.6          160
unsalted butter, melted           2 tbsp           .8           24

For the Green Tea and Red Rice Pastes:

1 tablespoon powdered or finely ground green tea leaves + 2 teaspoons hot water
1 tablespoon ground red rice + 2 teaspoons hot water

Instructions:

Mix             Mix all of the ingredients except the green tea and
                red rice pastes until a shaggy ball of dough is formed.

Knead           5 to 6 minutes

Divide          2 pieces

Knead           Smear the green tea and red rice paste to each of the
                two pieces of dough. Continue kneading each piece of
                dough separately until a smooth and pliable ball of
                dough is formed and the pastes are thoroughly
                incorporated, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Bulk Ferment    1 hour at room temperature

Shape           Stretch each piece of dough into a rectangular shape
                and place one on top of the other. Roll tightly
                beginning from the short edge of the rectangle, as
                illustrated in this recipe for Frisian sugar bread.

Preheat Oven    350ºF/175ºC

Final Proof     60 to 90 minutes at room temperature, or until
                almost doubled in size

Bake            Bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 350ºF/175ºC, rotating the
                loaf halfway through baking if necessary.

Cool            At least 30 minutes

Green tea and red rice swirl bread crust.

You are relaxed. You are getting very relaxed.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Green Tea and Red Rice Swirl Bread

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Since the Japanese have high life expectancy, it follows that this braised pork belly recipe is health food, doesn’t it? Green vegetables are also involved and a hefty portion of the fat is melted away through slow cooking, so the corollary holds true so far.

A few glasses of Japanese green tea or red wine can help negate the unsavory effects of rich foods anyway, so there’s absolutely no reason to worry. Right?

pork belly braising instructions adapted from Tom Colicchio’s Think Like A Chef
adapted from the Nagasaki-Style Braised Pork recipe in Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Pork Belly Braised in Soy and Dashi
Served with Simmered Snow Peas and Pearl Onions

makes 4 servings

Snow peas and pearl onions.

For the Braised Pork Belly:

2 pounds skin-on pork belly, preferably including the ribs, cut into 4 square pieces
kosher salt
vegetable oil

3 1/2 cups dashi
1 cup sake
2 tablespoons mirin
6 tablespoons dark or regular soy sauce
6 tablespoons sugar
6-inch knob of ginger, peeled and crushed

For the Simmered Vegetables:

a handful of pearl onions, peeled
a handful of snow peas, trimmed

1 1/4 cups dashi
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons light or regular soy sauce

For Serving:

2 tablespoons Japanese or Dijon mustard

Notes:

• If using bone-in pork belly, have your butcher cut the pork belly into square serving pieces, unless you like wielding huge meat cleavers.
• Use instant dashi granules, also known as dashi-no-moto or hon-dashi, for convenience. It takes about 1 teaspoon of instant dashi for every 3 cups of water.

To Braise the Pork Belly:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 177ºC. Pat the pork belly dry with paper towels and season lightly with kosher salt.
2. In a large container, mix together the dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Brown the pork belly pieces, skin side down, until well-browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the pork belly pieces from the skillet.
4. Add half of the dashi-soy mixture to the skillet. Stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon or spatula.
5. Return the pork belly pieces to the skillet, skin side up. Add the necessary amount of the leftover dashi-soy mixture to immerse about two-thirds of the pork belly. Add the peeled and crushed ginger.
6. Bring to a boil over high heat. Place the skillet in the 350ºF / 177ºC oven and braise while uncovered for about 2 hours.
7. Allow the pork belly to cool in the braising liquid. Alternatively, you can also cool the pork belly to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.

How to give the impression that you know what you’re doing: use an old cast-iron skillet.

To Serve:

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF / 205ºC.
2. Using a small knife, remove the skin by lifting it gently from the layers of fat underneath. Score the fat with a cross-hatch pattern and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook until the pork is heated through and the fat is browned, about 20 minutes.
3. While the pork belly is in the oven, simmer the vegetables.

Scored fat on the braised pork belly.

To Simmer the Vegetables:

1. Mix together the dashi, mirin, and soy sauce for simmering the vegetables.
2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
3. Parboil the snow peas in the lightly salted water for about 2 to 3 minutes. Wash the snow peas with cold water to stop the cooking.
4. Parboil the pearl onions in the lightly salted water until slightly translucent. Wash the pearl onions with cold water to stop the cooking.
5. Discard the lightly salted water and replace with the dashi, mirin, and soy sauce mixture. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
6. Simmer the snow peas and pearl onions until heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Discard the simmering liquid.

Place the snow peas and pearl onions in a shallow bowl. Place the heated pork belly on top with a few tablespoons of the braising liquid. The braising liquid will be strongly flavored — a little goes a long way.

Serve with a dab of Japanese or Dijon mustard.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Pork Belly Recipe – Braised in Soy and Dashi

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There are many things that look more exciting than the beige stick facade of burdock roots but few have the appealing crunchiness it is prized for. Resembling a lengthier anemic carrot, it takes well to braising, retaining its crispness where other root vegetables turn mushy, and stir-frying, where its appetizing aroma is drawn out. Both cooking techniques are used in this traditional Japanese dish, serving as a good introduction to gobo cookery.

Although Kinpira is usually associated with spicy root vegetables that are stir-fried and glazed with soy sauce, sake, and sugar, its origin has little to do with culinary techniques. Kinpira originates from the name of a mythical character in musicals from feudal Japan. The dash of heat from shichimi togarashi, a bright orange spice blend containing seven ingredients, represents the hero’s strength and fortitude.

Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once

recipe adapted from Elizabeth Andoh’s Washoku: Recipes From The Japanese Home Kitchen

Stir-Fried Spicy Burdock Root
きんぴら牛蒡(Kinpira Gobo)

makes 4 servings as a side dish

1 medium burdock root (gobo), about half a pound
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7-spice blend) or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
white sesame seeds, toasted, for garnishing (optional)

Notes:

• Shichimi togarashi is a piquant Japanese spice blend that has many variations. Red peppers, sansho peppers, dried orange peel, hemp seeds, poppy seeds, dried seaweed bits, and sesame seeds are some of the most commonly used ingredients.
• Substitute carrots, parsnips, or other crisp root vegetables for some of the burdock root.
• Avoid using a peeler when preparing burdock root — the nutrients and flavor are concentrated in the outer layers.

Instructions:

Rinse the burdock root under cold running water. Using a stiff brush or the back of your knife, lightly scrape the burdock root, carefully removing any rootlets and trace amounts of dirt.

Julienning the burdock root is not fun if your knife skills are as pitiful as mine so use a cutting technique where the burdock root is sharpened like a pencil to produce thin slivers.

Sasagaki cutting technique: like sharpening a pencil.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over high heat.  Stir-fry the burdock root until slightly softer, about 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the sake, sugar, and soy sauce. Continue simmering over medium heat until the liquid is almost completely reduced to a glaze.

Add the shichimi togarashi or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste.

To Serve:

Serve hot or at room temperature. Sprinkle with additional shichimi togarashi and garnish with toasted white sesame seeds.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Kinpira Gobo – Burdock Root, Stir-Fried and Spicy

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Sweetened azuki bean paste opens the door to East Asia, where it is widely used in a variety of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sweets. Whether used in bread or pastry fillings, sweet soups, pancakes, or ice cream, the essential azuki bean is usually highlighted as the main flavor. Its assertiveness is best complemented with neutral ingredients, or my personal preference, enjoyed on its own with a splash of milk or cream and a cup of green tea.

Store-bought azuki bean paste, convenient though it is, can be tooth-achingly sweet to the point of inedibility. Making your own unsweetened bean paste gives you the flexibility to adjust the sugar amount depending on the recipe.

Azuki bean paste generally comes in two consistencies: chunky (tsubushi-an) and pureed (koshi-an). The following methods for both types should cover the majority of your red bean paste needs. You’ll be relieved to know that soaking and pressure cookers are optional — azuki beans are a relatively quick-cooking legume.

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art
My Legume Love Affair hosted by Lucy of Nourish Me

2 Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste Variations – Chunky and Pureed

makes about 2 cups (450 grams)

1 cup (6.35 ounces / 180 grams) azuki beans

To Prepare the Azuki:

Wash the azuki beans and place in a large pot filled with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, drain, and discard the water. Continue with the instructions for either chunky (tsubushi-an) or pureed (koshi-an) azuki bean paste.

For the Chunky Azuki Bean Paste
つぶしあん (Tsubushi-An)

1 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
pinch of salt

Instructions:

Add about 3 cups of water to a pot containing the par-boiled azuki beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot, and simmer the azuki beans until soft, approximately 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. The water should be almost completely absorbed by the time the beans are done. Add water as needed while simmering to prevent the beans from scorching.

Add the sugar, stirring gently until the azuki bean paste is heated through and glossy. Season with a pinch of salt and mix well. The paste should be thick with some whole and half-crushed azuki beans.

For the Pureed Azuki Bean Paste
こしあん (Koshi-An)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, or to taste
pinch of salt

Equipment:

sieve or fine mesh strainer
cheesecloth or cotton bag

Instructions:

Add about 5 cups of water to a pot containing the par-boiled azuki beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook the azuki beans until soft, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. There will still be a considerable amount of liquid at this point.

Place a sieve over a bowl. Pour the beans and liquid into the strainer, such that the bottom of the strainer is partly immersed in the liquid.

Using a wooden spoon, spatula, or the palm of your hands, mash the beans through the sieve into the simmering liquid so that the bean skins stay on the sieve.

Pour the mashed beans and simmering liquid into a cheesecloth or cotton bag and squeeze out all the water. Put the unsweetened bean paste in a saucepan, add the sugar, and cook over low heat, stirring gently until the azuki bean paste is heated through and glossy. Season with a pinch of salt and mix well. The paste should have the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Related Links:

• Not-so-sweet Tsubu-An by Maki of Just Hungry
• Wikipedia entry for red bean paste

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Sweet Azuki (Red Bean) Paste – East Asian Dessert Introduction

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This Japanese treatment for eggplants turns the spongy fruit — I thought it was a vegetable — into creamy morsels that lend itself well to the simplest of seasonings. Serving as its own cooking vessel, the purple berries are grilled until charred while steaming from the inside. The whole eggplants will expand and sputter as it releases steam through its pricked skin. It’s done just as it collapses into a wrinkled mass looking black as charcoal on the outside but smooth as custard on the inside.

Slice the peeled eggplants so that it resembles sashimi or eel from 10 feet away to alleviate boredom and ensue hilarity. Depending on who’s around, reactions can range from delight to disgust, culminating in either disappointment or sighs of relief once revealed that it’s just frickin’ eggplant. I know I’d think twice about having raw fish from someone’s apartment kitchen.

Weekend Herb Blogging hosted this week by Katie of Thyme for Cooking

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Grilled Japanese Eggplants
焼きなす (Yakinasu)

serves 2 as a side dish

2 – 3 whole Japanese eggplants (or any varietal), about 1 pound
vegetable oil
soy sauce
juice of freshly grated ginger or lemon wedges
dried bonito flakes /katsuo-bushi (optional)

Instructions:

Prepare a grill or preheat a broiler. Brush the eggplants with vegetable oil and prick the skin with a fork or skewer to allow steam to escape. Prepare a large bowl filled with cold water.

Grill or broil the eggplants for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently until the eggplants are charred and slightly wrinkled.

Remove from the grill and plunge in the bowl of cold water briefly. Peel the eggplants and discard the skin.

Cut the eggplants into bite-sized pieces.

To Serve:

Serve with soy sauce with either the juice of freshly grated ginger or lemon wedges. Garnish with dried bonito flakes if desired.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Grilled Eggplants, Japanese-Style (Yakinasu)

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Pureed corn miso soup and a poached egg served with Tofu Dengaku – broiled tofu with sweet miso topping and toasted sesame seeds.

Click: the photo event hosted by Jugalbandi

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Click – Yellow for Bri

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Dotted with tiny bits of yellow, it looks like any other corn soup but one taste and you’ll know it’s unmistakably Japanese. Pureed corn kernels are seasoned with dashi, miso, and soy sauce to create a soup that can be enjoyed hot or cold. Served with tofu, a poached egg, or shredded crabmeat, it can be a light meal by itself.

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Pureed Corn Soup
とうもろこしすり流し汁 (Tomorokoshi Surinagashi-jiru)

makes 4 servings

1 cob fresh corn or 1 cup frozen corn kernels
5 cups dashi
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
3 tablespoons white miso
1/4 teaspoon Japanese or Dijon mustard

Optional:
1/2 cake tofu, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
4 eggs
cooked shredded crabmeat

Notes:

• I prefer white miso for soups for its lighter taste but red miso will also work nicely.
• I used instant dashi granules, also known as dashi-no-moto or hon-dashi. I used 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of instant dashi to make 5 cups.

Cook the corn on the cob or frozen corn kernels in lightly salted boiling water for about 1 minute. Strip the kernels from the cob and chop coarsely on a cutting board. Press the corn kernels through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. Discard the pulp.

Bring the dashi to a boil then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Add the salt and light soy sauce.

In a small bowl, mix the miso with a half cup of the simmering dashi broth to dissolve, making sure that the miso is thoroughly incorporated with the dashi. Do not add the miso directly to the pot since it will be more difficult to evenly disperse.

Mix in the miso-dashi mixture and the pureed corn and heat until the soup comes to a simmer. Add the Japanese or Dijon mustard and stir well.

To Serve:

With tofu: Add the tofu cubes to the simmering soup and cook just until the tofu is heated through.

With eggs: You can either break the eggs directly in the simmering liquid to poach or beat the eggs in a bowl beforehand.

With cooked shredded crabmeat: Top a bowl of pureed corn soup, hot or cold, with cooked crabmeat.

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Pureed Corn and Miso Soup

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There are two major categories in Japanese salads — sunomono (“vinegared things”) and aemono (“dressed things”). This crisp asparagus salad falls under aemono where a simple dressing of Japanese mustard, egg yolk, and soy sauce is applied sparingly, just enough to provide that distinctive mustard heat.

Weekend Herb Blogging hosted this week by Joanna’s Food

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Asparagus with Mustard Dressing
アスパラガス辛子あえ (Asuparagasu Karashi-Ae)

20 asparagus spears, trimmed and pared
salt

For the Mustard Dressing:

2 teaspoons Japanese mustard powder + 2 teaspoons water
1 egg yolk
1 tsp soy sauce
dried bonito flakes /katsuo-bushi (optional)

Notes:

• Substitute 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard for the Japanese mustard powder  mixture.

Cut the asparagus into 1 to 2-inch lengths. Prepare a bowl filled with iced water.

Blanche/parboil the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Shock the asparagus in the bowl of iced water to stop the cooking and lock in the bright green color.

If using the Japanese mustard powder, mix with 2 teaspoons of water in a bowl to make a paste and let stand for about 10 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and the soy sauce with the mustard. Sprinkle the mustard dressing with dried bonito flakes if using. Toss the asparagus in the bowl with the mustard dressing and serve at room temperature.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Asparagus the Japanese Way

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This is a refreshing and simple recipe for the ubiquitous Japanese side dish that seems to go well with anything. The sanbaizu, or “three flavors vinegar” dressing, is a delicate balance between sweet, sour, and salty but doesn’t overwhelm the clean and mild flavors of cucumber.

Salad Spinnin’ hosted by Joelen

recipe adapted from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Vinegared Cucumber
きゅうりの酢もみ (Kyuri no Sumomi)

Cucumbers, in paper-thin slices
salt, to taste

Notes:

• I tried to bring out my inner Morimoto but uniformly slicing cucumber into paper thin slices is more difficult than it seems. My trusty Benriner Mandoline will have to do for now.

Season the cucumber slices and knead lightly for a minute. Let stand in a bowl while preparing the sanbaizu.

Three Flavors Vinegar Dressing
三杯酢 (Sanbaizu)

1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup dashi
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar

Notes:

• If you plan to cook Japanese dishes frequently, consider getting instant dashi at your local Asian grocery store. A teaspoon of this granulated bonito flake and kombu seasoning will be enough to make 3 to 4 cups of fully flavored stock in minutes. Instant dashi is also known as dashi-no-moto or hon-dashi.

Combine all the sanbaizu ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer while mixing. Once the sugar is dissolved, cool the dressing rapidly by pouring into a bowl set in a larger bowl filled with ice water.

To Serve:

Drain the cucumbers. Pour enough sanbaizu to moisten the cucumber slices. Gently squeeze and drain a second time to eliminate excess wateriness. Serve at room temperature and add more sanbaizu if desired.

This is a post from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pate
Japanese Vinegared Cucumber

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