Seri セリ

Man have I gotten bad about updating.  I apologize.  If anyone can figure out a way for me to be able to post from work I'm all ears!

Seri, known as Japanese parsley or Chinese celery, is a springtime vegetable found for only a few short weeks here in Japan.  Seri is high in vitamins C and A as well as potassium.  It tastes great fresh just thrown in a salad and can also be used in stews, stir-fries, and soups.

How to Prepare
Make sure to select seri that is bright in color and not wilted or musty looking.  It should look similar to cilantro or other leafy herbs.  From there just chop it up and throw it in your recipe!

Easy Seri Recipe

While seri is best known for its role in the traditional spring dish nanakusa no sekku, all seven of those vegetables can kind of be a pain to get a hold of.  Instead will make a tasty fresh salad with our seri!

Seri and Chicken Salad
Makes 4 servings

Prep Time: About 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of seri
• 300 grams chicken breast
• 1/2 a red onion
• 40 grams harusame (super thin rice noodles)
• 4 tablespoons peanuts, crushed
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons and 2 tablespoons vinegar, divided
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon or lime juice
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce (also known as nam pla)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 togarashi pepper, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried togarashi
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

Preparation:

1.     Roughly chop seri.  Thinly slice the red onion and place into cold water.
2.     Cook harusame according to package directions, then place in cold water to stop from cooking further.  Drain and chop into bite sized strands.
3.    Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Season with pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons vinegar.  Cook in microwave for two minutes or until cooked through.
4.    Mix together remaining vinegar, lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, togarashi, garlic, and ginger.
5.   Drain red onions.  Toss together seri, onion, harusame, chicken, and dressing.
6.  Place into small bowls and garnish with peanuts.
7.  Finished!

Ninniku no Me にんにくの芽

Ninniku no me is the Japanese name for garlic sprouts.  These greens are super tasty with a light garlic flavor.  They are usually sold in packs in the refrigerated section and are a versatile vegetable.
How to Prepare
Garlic sprouts are similar to asparagus in texture and can be used in the same ways.  Simply cut them down to whatever size you want and start cooking.  Garlic sprouts can be a little tough when raw so it’s best to cook them first, though if chopped finely they can be thrown in with salad or fresh spring rolls.  I most often use them in stir fries and sautés cut into bite sized pieces.

Easy Garlic Sprouts Recipe

Garlic sprouts are easy to include in just about any recipe.  This stir-fry recipe is super easy and only takes about 45 minutes to make including marinating time.

Garlic Sprouts Stir-fry
Makes 2-3 servings

Prep Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar　米酢
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil　ゴマ油
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper とうがらし
• about 200 grams chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch　コーンスターチ

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
• 6 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered
• 1 colored bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1/2 package garlic sprouts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup matchstick sized carrot strips
• 1/2 cup broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

Preparation:

1.     Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.
2.     Add chicken and stir to coat; let marinate 30 minutes.
3.     Drain, reserving marinade in small bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup water and cornstarch into marinade.
4.     Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
5.     Add chicken and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to plate.
6.     Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet.
7.     Add mushrooms and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes.
8.     Add carrots, broccoli and garlic greens; stir-fry 2 minutes.
9.     Add bell peppers; stir-fry 2 minutes.
10.  Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry 30 seconds.
11.  Return chicken to skillet; drizzle reserved marinade mixture over everything.
12.  Stir-fry until marinade thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
13.  Finished! 

Konnyaku こんにゃく

Konnyaku is a curious thing.  Is it a vegetable, an animal, an amorphous blog of atoms?  Turns out it actually is a plant, and an ugly one at that.  I'd be curious to know why the first human who ate it decided to even approach the thing.  Maybe he was starving and delirious in the jungle.  Apparently it's called konjak in English, but as I've never heard that word in my life, I'm content to call it konnyaku.  Konnyaku doesn't have much of a taste and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, all of them gelatinous in nature.  You can also get konnyaku that has been infused with such things as mushrooms and cayenne pepper.  My favorite is the spicy konnyaku, particularly the noodle shaped one.

As far as nutrition goes, you know the cabbage diet?  The one where you eat lots and lots of cabbage because it has very little calories or nutritional value  so you can eat as much as you want?  Konnyaku is Japan's answer to the cabbage diet.  It's fat free, contains next to nothing in calories, and has lots of fiber.  So it's a great filler food but don't rely on it as your sole sustainance.  Probably the greatest thing about konnyaku is it's cheap, so you can throw it in to just about any recipe to bulk it up without affecting its flavor.

How to Prepare
Konnyaku comes packed usually in fish broth so you'll want to drain that.  You can find varieties that are packed in water as well.  Once it's drained it's ready to go!  If you buy a big block you can cut it into any shape you want.  Or you can buy ones shaped as noodles, balls, on a stick, if you can imagine it, konnyaku has been shaped into it.  Konnyaku can be eaten hot or cold, stewed, steamed, boiled, frozen, just about any way you want.

Easy Konnyaku Recipe

My favorite way of eating konnyaku is in nabe, but you can also throw it into stir-fries and other dishes easily.

Pork and Konnyaku Miso Stir-fry

Makes 4 servings

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of konnyaku, cut into triangles
• 150 grams pork, cut into 4 cm strips
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 small pack shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and cut into halves
• 2 green peppers, cut into strips
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups cabbage, chopped
• 3 tablespoons cooking sake, divided
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoons ginger paste
• 1 teaspoons togarashi
• 1 tablespoon water
• 30g miso paste 味噌

Preparation:
1.  Mix together 2 tablespoons sake, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, miso paste, sugar and water.  Add pork and konnyaku to the marinade.  Allow to marinate for about 20 minutes.
2.  In a frying pan, heat sesame oil over medium high.  Add onions to frying pan.  Saute until starting to become translucent.
3.  Add green peppers, cabbage and mushrooms to frying pan.  Saute for 3-4 minutes, or until green peppers being to soften.
4.  Add garlic, ginger, togarashi, remaining sake and soy sauce.  Saute for 1 minute or until fragrant.
5.  Add pork, konnyaku, and sauce.  Saute until pork has browned and sauce has begun to thicken.
6.  Serve with rice.
7.  Finished!

Kaki 柿

If you're in Japan, by now you've seen a bajillion persimmon trees around town and if you're lucky you'll start seeing the fruit appear on your desk too.  Persimmons have a thick skin and sweet, almost creamy inside that lend themselves well to dessert dishes.  They're also a nice accompaniment to braised pork, salads, and other savory dishes you would put apples or cherries in.  Traditionally in the US persimmons would be used to make a baked pudding, similar to fruitcake.  Japanese persimmons are high in vitamin C and fiber so they make a good breakfast choice.

How to Prepare
You can just bite into one like an apple or slice it up and enjoy the slices if you want a fast snack.  Otherwise you treat it the same as an apple in cooking.  Most persimmons you buy in the store will be seedless or have tiny seeds, so you generally don't need to worry about deseeding them.  Just cut off the top and start cooking!

Easy Persimmon Recipe

This is a recipe that a middle school girl I used to tutor many years ago taught me.  I'm amazed I was able to find it again!  To make your pudding extra fancy, cut off the tops of the persimmons and hollow out the insides so that they become little cups.  Fill the cups up with the warm pudding and place in the fridge to set.  Impressive presentation that takes little effort!

Persimmon Tapioca Pudding

Serves 4-6

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 cup small tapioca pearls
• 4 cups milk or coconut milk
• 2 large, ripe persimmons, the insides scooped out and chopped (or peeled and chopped if you're not making the cups)
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• pinch turmeric (for color) OPTIONAL

Preparation:
1. In a large pan, soak the tapioca pearls in the milk for about 40 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, add the cut persimmon, cinnamon powder, ginger and 2 tablespoons honey, and place the pan over heat. Stir well, cover and cook on low till the fruit softens. Remove from heat and put aside.
3. Place the pan with the tapioca soaked in milk over heat along with 2 tablespoons honey and the cardamom.  Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, stirring all the time.
4. Add 3/4 of the cooked persimmons along with the turmeric and continue to cook till the tapioca pearls are completely done and the mixture has thickened. Keep stirring frequently.
5. Spoon into bowls or persimmon cups. Top with the reserved cooked persimmons. Serve warm or chilled.
6. Finished!

Nashi 梨

Asian pears: crispy, juicy, delicious.  And because they are much firmer than their European counterparts, can be used as a substitute for apples in most recipes.  Asian pears are high in fiber as well as vitamins K and C.

How to Prepare
You can prepare an Asian pear the same way you would apples.  Just decore and start cooking!

Easy Asian Pear Recipe

The first year I was in Japan there were some Asian pears hanging out in the clearance bin of my local supermarket.  Regardless of the fact that I had eaten Asian pears plenty of times in the States, for some reason I was under the delusion they were apples.  So I bought them with the intention of making some applesauce with them.  Even when I got home and was decoring and chopping up these "apples" I was thinking, "Gee, these are some juicy apples!"  It wasn't until I had finished making the "applesauce" that I realized they were Asian pears.  A really dumb moment in my kitchen but it turned out to be delicious!

Pearsauce

Serves 4

Prep Time: About 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 6-8 large Asian pears, peeled, cored, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom or cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Cover, bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
3. Cool slightly.
4. Smush pears with a potato masher or a pork for chunky sauce. For smooth sauce, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Finished!

One thing my great-grandmother would always do when she made homemade applesauce was to serve it warm with a dollop of sour cream on top.  It's just as delicious when done with this pearsauce.