Appetizer – Page 3 – Goboroot.com

Furofuki Daikon, the Memory of Tenderness

I recently received the sad news of my dear friend’s mom’s passing. Mrs. W has helped care for me for many years. After all, she was my Chinese grandmother in Canada, helping compensate for that fact that I have been far away from my own family for so long.

It’s odd but I felt that somehow certain people would live for a long time, and she was one of them along with my own grandmother who was born in the same year as Mrs. W, the year of rooster in the Chinese/ Japanese zodiac. Years ago, Mrs. W gave me a family of little rooster figurines made of crystal. She had kept them for a long time, ever since the time she and her husband owned an antique store, and one day asked me to give it to my grandma as a gesture of their friendship before I left for a visit to my hometown. Although they had never met, my grandma really appreciated the gift, and understood how well I was taken under Mrs. W’s wings.

As I have not lost anyone close to me in my life, I did not know how to cope with the news. So I went into my kitchen, just wanting to slow down to discern the situation. It felt appropriate and comforting to make this dish due to its required finesse, which would allow me a good length of time to cope with my feelings. Simple, calm, warm, reminiscent, tender yet strong, and indeed, deep and complex in flavour; something that resonates with my version of Mrs. W.

Trimming the sharp edges of daikon helped settle my panting heart. The golden colour of dashi stock calmed my mind. I stared at the gently swaying daikon pieces in the simmering pot of water for a long long time, and faded into many fond memories of Mrs. W.

Furofuki Daikon

Serves 4

1 large organic daikon

2 tablespoons of Japanese rice grains

1 large sheet of kombu (about 6 x 8 inch), wiped and cleaned with a wet cloth

11/2 cups tightly packed bonito flakes

1 large package of Enoki mushrooms

3 tablespoons of soba sauce

Or a combination of

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

Salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Scallions, finely chopped

In a large pot, place 7 cups of water. Make slits in the kombu with scissors, submerge in the pot and set aside for about 20 minutes. This will permit the kombu to emit the flavour necessary to make good dashi.

Peel the daikon and discard the ends. Slice into 1 inch thick pieces and trim the sharp edges with a peeler.

In a large pot, place the daikon and rice grains, and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer until a skewer can easily go through, for about 40 minutes.

In the meantime, set the pot of kombu over medium heat, and just before the water starts rolling, remove the kombu and discard. *Do not let it boil, as the kombu will start to give off an unpleasant flavour.

Throw the bonito into the kombu stock and bring it back to a boil for a few seconds. Turn the heat off and remove from heat. Let stand until the bonito flakes sink to the bottom of the pot. This will let the gentle umami emit into the dashi stock as well as make the dashi stock golden in colour.

Remove the daikon from the cooking liquid and rinse as gently as possible so as not to scar. Discard the rice and cooking water, and clean the pot.

Drain the dashi stock using a fine mesh into the cleaned pot, reserving 1 cup separately to make sauce. Place the daikon back in the dashi stock and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for another 40 minutes or so until they are very tender.

While waiting, make sauce. Place 1 cup of the reserved dashi stock in a medium saucepan with Enoki mushrooms over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, skim if necessary, and add the soba sauce and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, for about 7 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and whisk into the sauce. Continuously stirring, bring to a boil to thicken. Remove from heat.

Serve each daikon piece with the sauce and a sprinkle of scallions. If you have any leftovers, keep them in the dashi stock and refrigerate.

Kuri Gohan & Tonjiru

After my mom left, many kind hearts looked after my sister and me. We were consoled by my grandma, our aunties and uncles, and my father’s colleague Mrs. Tajima. We were about 8 years old and Mrs. Tajima had children who were in junior high, so sometimes she came to our apartment to help us with chores or brought us to her house after school. This was when I discovered a love of chestnuts. Boiled, steamed or roasted, I loved eating these nuts, as to me they encompassed a whole autumn season on a plate.

Mrs. Tajima’s children taught us how to spoon the nutty dense meat out of the steamy hot chestnuts. My fingernails ended up all yellow and sweet, with hard brown shells piled up on a table. After working hard to extract the chestnut meat, we happily ate the delicious chestnuts with a glass of milk. Today, when I close my eyes and discern the flavour of each chestnut in the rice, I wonder how Mrs. Tajima is doing, and suddenly remember the way she wiped my wet hair in the evening light with me burying my head around her tummy and wondering if this was how my mother would smell. Cooking chestnuts always brings back this memory and the warmth of Mrs. Tajima.

Kuri Gohan (Chestnut Rice)

Serves 6

30 plump chestnuts

1¼ cups white rice

1 cup (250ml) brown rice

2½ cups water

2 tablespoons sake

½ teaspoon salt

For sprinkling

Roasted black sesame seeds

Sea salt

Rinse the chestnuts, place them in a large bowl, and cover with cold water over night.

Next day, rinse the chestnuts and place them in boiling water for a few minutes. Let them cool off in the water. Peel the skin with a small knife, being careful not to break the chestnuts. Soak them in water for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash the rice well and change water a few times until water becomes clear. Place in the bowl of a rice cooker with 2½ cups water.

Rinse the chestnuts and drain well. Place the sake and salt in the prepared rice and stir to mix. Lay the chestnuts on top of rice evenly and cook (If you don’t use a rice cooker, you can cook the same way you normally cook the rice in a pot).

Combine the sesame seeds and salt in a small bowl. Serve immediately with sesame mixture lightly sprinkled on top.

Tonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup)

I always make a plenty of this dish because the flavour gets even better the next day!

Serves 6-8

1 large gobo, skin removed and cut lengthwise and then, into 1 inch pieces

6 inch daikon, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

1 lb pork centre loin chop, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups water

2 sheets abura age, cut into ½ inch strings

2 leeks, cut into ½ inch pieces

1/3 cup to ½ cup red miso and white miso (I like mixing half and half)

Soak the gobo in cold water, changing the water a couple of times until it becomes clear, about 20 minutes. Drain well.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and sauté gobo. Then, add daikon, carrots and pork until they are nicely coated with oil, for about 15 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Skim occasionally and simmer for 30 minutes.

Rinse the abura age by pouring boiling water to remove the excess oil. When cool, squeeze the moisture out and add to the soup.

Add the leek and cook further, about 10 minutes or so.

Turn the heat down to low heat, place the miso in a ladle and melt gradually into the soup. Never boil miso soup, as this will destroy the subtle umami flavour.

Gentlly simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve while hot.

Ohitashi with Cabbage

½ head of cabbage

½ organic lemon

1 Thai pepper, chopped thinly

2 tablespoon dashi stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Boil water in a medium pot and submerge the cabbage for about 5 minutes. Drain well.

In the meantime, extract lemon juice for about 1 tablespoon. Peel the rind and cut into thin strips for ½ tablespoon. Combine the juice, dashi and soy sauce in a small bowl.

When cabbage is cool, squeeze the moisture out and cut into ½ inch pieces.

Mix the cabbage, lemon rind, pepper, and lemon juice mixture and serve immediately.

Shiso Croquette

One of dishes I clearly remember eating in my grandma’s kitchen as a child is croquettes. They were always made of ground beef, seasonal vegetables and, of course, potatoes all year round. A heap of cabbage, sliced paper thin, a few croquettes drenched with BBQ sauce and a bowl of white rice: this combination is a winner in every household in Japan.

As my garden has started to wind down, I have found a way to incorporate more shiso into my recipes. Shiso, as you may recall, is commonly served underneath sashimi at decent Japanese restaurants. It boasts a distinctive fragrance and flavour, and supposedly also possesses antibacterial properties. As such, I think it’s no coincidence that shiso has been served together with raw fish like sashimi for decades in the Japanese culinary world. I feel it is my job to bring more attention to this wonderful plant here in my blog! The characteristics of shiso can be easily recognized even after it is mixed into the potatoes in a croquette: in fact, shiso would be a good substitute for the ground beef, as it would still keep the flavour interesting.

With nostalgic, fuzzy memories on my mind, I recently made grandma’s croquettes and savoured the moment when the shiso and creamy potatoes burst out of the crispy deep fried skin all in one in my mouth. Don’t forget to grab a bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce!

Shiso Croquette

Makes about 15 golf ball size pieces

1 ½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and mashed with a dash of salt

1 large carrot, cut into ¼ inch cubes

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

15 shiso leaves and extras for decoration, rinsed and pat dried

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ all purpose flour

1 egg + a little bit of water, beaten well

1 cup freshly ground Panko (bread crumbs)

Vegetable oil

In a medium pan, stir-fry the carrot and onion with the oil until nicely browned, and then adjust with salt and pepper.

Combine the stir-fried carrot mixture and the potatoes with the nutmeg. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the shiso leaves into thin strips and stir gently into the potatoes.

Divide the potato mixture into golf ball sized pieces or smaller if you prefer.

In a well organized breading station (see a picture above), flour the ball lightly, then dip in the egg mixture, and coat with the Panko. Form by gently pressing with both hands.

You can cover and rest the breaded balls in the refrigerator until cooking time. Or, if you want to eat them right away, warm the oil to 340F (170C) in a deep frying pan with oil about 1/2 inch high.

Deep fry them by turning all around until golden brown. Rest on a paper towel for a couple of minutes to remove excess oil.

Serve immediately with BBQ sauce.