Mikan みかん

Right now it's peak season for mikan, those little citrus fruits that I could eat by the dozen if I'm not careful.  In English they're known as clementines or satsuma oranges depending on where you live.  I've heard the term satsuma orange has to do with one of the areas where mikan are grown in Japan, but the only place I know of where mikan are worth their snuff is Wakayama.  Like most citrus, mikan are packed with vitamin C so grab a couple if you want to ward off the scurvy, yarr!

How to Prepare
One of the best things about mikan is they're so easy peel.  I actually loath dealing with navel oranges now after having lived with mikan so for long.  The peel of mikan is also great for cooking and especially baking, so don't let it go to waste!

Easy Mikan Recipe

This may sound like a funky combo for a salad but it's actually delicious!  As an added bonus, endives are one of those random vegetables that for some reason are cheaper in Japan than in the US.  I don't really get how that one works.

Citrusy Endive Salad

Makes 4 servings

Prep Time: About 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 to 5 mikan, peeled and segmented
• 2 to 3 endives (エンダイブ or チコリー)
• 2 inner ribs of celery (the pale white looking ones), including leaves
• 1/4 cup black olives, pitted and cut into slivers
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley or loosely packed flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:
1. Whisk together vinegar, honey, and salt in a small bowl until salt are dissolved, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking well. Season with pepper.
2. Remove the pith from your mikan segments but don't worry about being anal retentive, just remove the biggest chunks.
3. Halve endives lengthwise, then cut out and discard the cores. Cut endives diagonally into 1/2-inch-wide strips and put in a large salad bowl.
4. Separate celery leaves from ribs and cut ribs diagonally into very thin slices.
5. Roughly chop the celery leaves.  Add the leaves, ribs, olives, onions, parsley, and mikan to the endives.
6. Whisk dressing, then gently toss salad with enough dressing to coat.
7. Finished!

An easy salad for a light weeknight meal!

Shishito ししとう

Shishito, the longer, skinnier cousin of the green bell pepper. Shishito also happen to be much tastier than Japanese green bell peppers and I use them whenever I can in recipes that call for bell pepper. The most famous of the shishito are manganji tougarashi. These are shishito grown exclusively in Kyoto, so lucky for you if you're in the Kyoto area. Other shishito are just as tasty and can be readily found at the farmers' markets. For those outside of Japan, you can try looking in Asian supermarkets, or standard green bell peppers are a close enough substitute. And like bell peppers, shishito are a great source of vitamins C and A.

How to Prepare
With the smaller shishito, you can cook them whole, which is what I usually do because I'm lazy. Even the stems of shishito can be eaten so simply cut up the shishito however you want.

Easy Shishito Recipe

The snow-filled winds are encroaching on Shiga so pots of hot, tasty goodness are where it's at!

Jambalaya


Serves 4-6

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 package of shishito, chopped or 1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 celery stocked, diced
• 3 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 1 small package sausage, cut into bite-sized slices. (For people in Japan, I recommend going to Amica or the Brazilian market to buy sausage. Otherwise, the "chorizo" at the regular supermarket will do the trick)
• 1 chicken breast, skin removed and chopped
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can beans, drained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 1 package medium sized shrimp, peeled
• 2 cups chicken broth

Preparation:
1. Add oil to a large saucepan.
2. Over medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery until onion is translucent.
3. Add parsley, sausage, chicken, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes (with juice), tomato sauce, and 2 cups chicken broth. Gently simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
5. Pour rice and beans into the pan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 45 minutes or until rice is cooked and absorbs most of the liquid.
6. Stir in shrimp and cook 5 minutes more.
7. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.
8. Finished!

Maitake 舞茸

You've probably noticed that the supermarkets have stepped it up in the mushroom department recently.  Fall means shrooms in Japan and the variety here is impressive.  This week we'll talk about maitake, which has weird, gross-sounding names in English like "Sheep's Head."  I don't know what kind of sheep the guy hangs out with that came up with that name but my sheep tend to be less mutated.  Like most mushrooms, maitake is a good source of selenium, B-vitamins and potassium.  It's also been shown in studies to help boost the immune system of cancer patients, so if you think you might have cancer stock up on maitake!

How to Prepare
Cut off the base of the mushroom where it still has some growing medium left on it (yuck).  After that, do whatever you feel like with it!  Chop, dice, shred, boil, steam, grill, the possibilities are endless.

Easy Maitake Recipe

One of my favorite recipe for autumn.  It's easy to modify with whatever you have on hand.

Mushroom Barley Soup


Serves 10 bajillion people (seriously, you'll get 8-10 servings easy from this)

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 ribs celery with leaves, diced
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small package maitake mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small package enoki mushrooms, bottom 1/3 removed
• 1 small package shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 8-10 cups water
• 2 beef or vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1 cup whole barley

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a stockpot and sauté the onion, celery, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, carrot, garlic, thyme and fresh mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Lower the heat and add the flour, stirring every 30 seconds for about 5 minutes or until thick.
3. Add the water and bouillon cubes to the pot, constantly stirring, until vegetables are immersed.
4. Turn the heat to high, and add the barley. Stir well and add salt to taste.
5. Simmer, covered, for about an hour or until the barley is tender and the soup is thickened, stirring often.
6. Add additional chopped parsley, mix thoroughly, and adjust seasonings.
7. Finished!

You can add and subtract just about anything from this recipe.  I often like to skip the carrots and add zucchini when I can findthem on sale.

Daikon 大根

The giant white radish you find in so many dishes here in Japan.  Daikon can sometimes have a strong sulfury taste, particularly when raw, but when cooked most of that taste goes away.  Daikon is rich in vitamins A, C, and E, and supposedly helps cure hangovers.  I don't know if that last part is true, but next time you pull an all-nighter in Osaka eat a cup of shredded daikon in the morning and tell me how it goes.


When buying daikon, choose ones that are firm and on the smaller side.  Sometimes you'll find daikon that are lavender or bright pink in color.  I have no idea what the difference is between those and regular daikon other than their psychedelic tendencies.


How to Prepare
First you'll want to scrub the outside of the daikon to get rid of any dirt that's hanging out.  Chop off the top 2 inches of the daikon as that part is very tough and not worth eating.  Slice the daikon into large section and use a peeler or knife to take off the outer skin of the daikon.  Then soak the daikon in ice water to get it nice and crispy.  You can also just shred the daikon, dice it, etc at this point.

Easy Daikon Recipe
This is my own take on borscht, the Eastern European soup that usually incorporates beets.

Daikon Winter Soup

Serves 4
Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped leeks
  
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  
• about 1/2 of a small daikon, peeled and shredded
  
• 1 cup chopped celery
  
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
  
• 1 cup diced beef
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 small potatoes, diced
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
  
• sour cream for garnish
  

Preparation:
1. Heat oil and butter in a saucepan.  Add leek and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes.
2. Add vegetables except cabbage, sugar, vinegar, tomatoes, beef and salt.
3. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes.
4. At the same time, add potatoes, water, and boullion to the soup pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are just tender.
5. Add cabbage and vegetables from the saucepan.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20-30 minutes.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Serve garnished with sour cream.
9. Finished!