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! 

Gobo ごぼう

Sorry I haven't posted in ages!  Things have been pretty hectic here with the end of the school year coming up.  To make up for it I'll do two posts tonight :)

Gobo is Japanese burdock and the big, dirt-covered root things you see in the supermarket.  It has a nice crunch and almost nutty flavor.  You'll often see it in school lunch and in Japanese restaraunts in various forms.  My personal favorite is fried gobo you will sometimes find in izakayas.  If you are lazy like me, you can find gobo that has already been cleaned and julienned in bags near the bean sprouts and bamboo shoots.  But it's kind of expensive to buy it that way so it's really better to buy it fresh and prepare it yourself.

How to Prepare
It's important to thoroughly clean gobo before you use it.  Scrub the gobo with hot water until you have gotten most of the dirt off of it.  Then you want to take a knife and scrap off the outer skin of the gobo to remove any remaining dirt.  Usually gobo is cut into matchstick sized pieces but you can also chop, dice, etc.  It will just take longer to cook done that way.

After you have cut your gobo up into matchstick sized pieces, it's important to allow the gobo to soak in water for at least 10 minutes.  If you don't do this, the gobo will have an overwhelmingly strong taste.  10 minutes should do the trick but it's okay to allow it to soak for longer.

Easy Gobo Recipe

There are tons of ways to use gobo, though you will usually find it in soups, stir-fries, and Japanese-style salads.  Here is a simple vegetable soup that can be made with gobo.   From start to finish, this soup takes about 25 minutes to prepare.

Kenchin Soup
Makes 4 servings

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 block tofu
• 6cm length of daikon radish
• 1/2 a carrot
• 3 shiitake mushrooms
• 1/3 stalk gobo
• 1/2 block konnyaku こんにゃく
• 1 sheet fried tofu 油揚げ
• 3 taro roots 里芋 (can substitute baby sized potatoes)
• 1/2 bundle Japanese mustard spinach 小松菜
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons dashi (fish stock)
• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sake

Preparation:
1.     Drain water from the tofu.
2.     Cut daikon and carrot into thin half moon shaped slices.   
3.     Destem the mushrooms and cut caps into quarters.
4.     Cut gobo into thin, round slices and place in water for 10 minutes. Drain water.
5.     Peel the skin from the taro roots, salt the outside of the taro, allow to sit for a minute and then wash the taro.
6.     Cut the konnyaku into large bite-sized pieces.  Wash thoroughly.
7.     Place the fried tofu into boiling water until most of the oil has been removed from the tofu.  Remove from the water and cut into bite-sized pieces.
8.     Heat oil in the soup pot over medium-high.  Add daikon, carrots, mushrooms, gobo, taro, konnyaku, and fried tofu to the pot.  Stir fry for about two minutes.
9.     Add dashi and water to the pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat so the water is simmering.  Skim the top of the soup once every couple of minutes to remove any scum that rises to the top. 
10.  While soup is simmering, cut the drained tofu into 4cm blocks.  Separate out the bunch of Japanese mustard spinach.
11.  Add tofu and spinach to the pot.  Add soy sauce, salt, and pepper to the pot. 
12.  Remove pot from heat once tofu has heated through.
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!

Renkon れんこん

Renkon is known as lotus root in English, that funky root that looks like a flower and packs some crunchy goodness.  You can do just about anything with lotus root cooking wise, just make sure to choose ones that are firm and a light brown color.  The smaller the lotus root the more tender and crispy it will be, so don't pick ones that are too big!  Lotus root is low in calories and high in vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and vitamin B6.  Right now lotus root is in season so it's the best time to try it!

How to Prepare
If you're lazy, you can buy pre-soaked lotus root in the same section of the supermarket that has the prepared bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, etc.  If you want to prepare it yourself, first thoroughly wash the root.  Then peel the outside layer of the root with a peeler.  Slice the lotus root into thin rounds and soak in a mixture of 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon vinegar for about 30 minutes.  This will cut the bitterness in the lotus root.  From there you can cut it up anyway you please and stew, stir fry, boil, fry, etc.
Easy Lotus Root Recipe

This traditional Japanese recipe is about as easy as it gets.  Chop everything up and let it stew for awhile!

Chikuzenni 筑前煮

Makes 2 servings

Prep Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a chicken breast　鶏もも肉
• 1/2 a carrot
• 4cm length of lotus root
• 50 grams soaked bamboo shoots (can buy already packed in water)　ゆでたけのこ
• 1/2 a length of burdock root ごぼう
• 2 shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and quartered
• 2 tablespoons mirin　みりん
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation:
1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
2. Cut vegetables into large, bite-sized pieces.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat.  Add chicken, carrots, shiitake, bamboo, lotus root, and burdock root.  Stir fry until chicken begins to change color.
4. Add enough water to the pot to just cover the ingredients.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
5. As scum rises to the surface of the water, use the strainer to catch the scum.
6. Once scum seems to be mostly clear, add mirin and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil once more.
7. Once liquid has reduced to about 1cm to the bottom of the pot, remove from heat.
8. Finished!

Of course you can add just about anything to this recipe, such as onions, konnyaku, etc.  Try it out!

Soba そば

Soba, those thin buckwheat noodles often seen in Japanese restaurants, are one of the foods you're supposed to eat for the new year in Japan.  They're supposed to represent a long life and considering their health benefits, that might not be far off from the truth!  Soba is basically a fat free food that is also surprisingly high in protein considering it's a noodle.  Soba is also believed to help with high blood pressure due to the bioflavonoid present.

How to Prepare
You can find dried soba noodles at almost any supermarket.  Shiga has some particularly good dried soba made in Ibuki that can be found at most Heiwados.  Fresh soba noodles taste better and can usually be found in the fridge section of the market.  In the States, you should be able to find soba at any Asian market.

If you're feeling really adventurous, make your own soba noodles!  Mix equal parts wheat flour and buckwheat flour in a bowl.  Make a small indentation in your mixed flour and add a small amount of water.  Mix the water in with the flour.  Add enough water until you can make a fairly dry ball of dough.  When you pinch the dough together it should feel like you're pinched your earlobe.  If your dough is too wet or sticky, simple add some more buckwheat flour.

You should knead the dough for a long time.  20 minutes or longer.  You want the dough to fully form its gluten chains and to have no air pockets when you form it into a ball.  When you've think you've kneaded it for long enough, knead it for another 5 minutes to make sure.

Lightly flour your counter with katakuri starch (片栗粉) or potato starch.  Flour your rolling pin with the starch as well and roll out your dough.  You want a large sheet like this:

Next you will fold the dough into third with lots of starch to make sure it doesn't stick:

On a cutting board, cut the dough into thin strips to make the noodles.  Make sure your knife is sharp!

Finally you'll boil the noodles for about two minutes, then immediately wash them in cold water to stop them from cooking further.  Your noodles are done!

Easy Soba Recipe

Here's a non-traditional take on soba noodles, salad style!

Spicy Soba Noodles


Makes 4 servings

Prep Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 450 grams chicken breast, skin removed
  
• 250 grams soba noodles
  
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  
• 3 tablespoons black vinegar 黒酢
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 6 small shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned 
• 1 bunch mizuna 水菜, chopped (can substitute arugula)
  
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cooked edamame beans, pods removed
  

Preparation:
1.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Grill chicken until fully cooked (about 8 minutes each side).  Cut into thin strips and set aside.
2. While chicken is grilling, cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold water to cool, then drain well. Toss noodles with sesame oil in a large bowl.
3.  Stir together vinegar, soy sauce, chili oil, garlic, sugar, and salt in another bowl until sugar is dissolved, then add to noodles and toss until coated.
4.  Add chicken, carrot, mushrooms, bell pepper, mizuna, scallions, and edamame to the bowl of noodles.  Toss together.
5.  Finished!

Miso 味噌

Miso isn't technically a plant, but it's made from plants, and most of us have no idea how to use it other than in miso soup.  Miso is made from soybeans, salt, and the colonel's blend of secret spices to make a versatile paste that can be added to many recipes for salty goodness.  They make white miso, red miso, chunky miso, smooth miso, miso that climbs on rocks.  They each have their own merits and it's worth trying out different kinds.  Personally I like white miso when you're looking for a subtle miso taste and the darker misos for in your face miso explosion.  Best of all, miso doesn't really seem to expire so you don't really have to worry about it spoiling on you.

How to Prepare
If you are adding miso to a sauce, marinade, soup, etc, add a small amount of warm water to the paste and whisk it with a fork until smooth.  This makes it much easier to mix into whatever your making.  Or you can be like me and just dip vegetable sticks into it for insta-dip.

Easy Miso Recipe

This recipe requires the best miso known to man, habanero miso (make sure to get the red one for this recipe).  If you don't have time to go down to Kyoto and discover the amazing habanero store, you can sub any red miso paste for the miso and chili oil for the sesame oil.  If chicken isn't your thing, I have also made these using fried tofu squares and it's just as tasty.

Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings


Serves 4 for main dish, 8 for appetizer

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 large garlic clove, crushed and minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons habanero miso + 1 teaspoon warm water to make smooth
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Pinch of togarashi
• 800 grams chicken wings or drumsticks
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 scallion, chopped 
  

Preparation:
1. Place chicken in a baking dish, evenly spread.  Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes or until mostly cooked.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.
2. Mince garlic and mash to a paste using a large heavy knife.
3. Transfer garlic paste to a large bowl and stir in soy sauce, miso, honey, oil, and cayenne.
4. Add wings to sauce, stirring to coat.  Allow to marinate for about an hour.
5. Either using your fish grill or a BBQ grill, grill wings until full cooked and sauce is just beginning to char.
6. Transfer wings to a large serving bowl and toss with sesame seeds and scallion.
7. Finished!

I have made these several times for BBQs and potlucks and they have always been a big hit!

Natto 納豆

Natto is the product of leaving your soybeans out for too long so they start to ferment and become questionable. Natto is a rich source of protein and contains pyrazine and nattokinese, thought to prevent blood clotting and thrombosis. Natto conspiracists even tried to claim natto would make you lose weight, causing the Great Natto Shortage of 2007, but it was soon found out the entire thing was made up. As many people in the Kansai area will tell you, its sticky texture and overpowering smell makes it better suited for a trashcan than your mouth but I suppose it's something everyone should try at least once.

How to Prepare
Open the package, hold your nose, and stir it up!

Easy Natto Recipe
Here is a recipe that takes care of the two issues most people have with natto, the texture and the smell.

Natto Fried Rice
Serves 2-3
Prep Time: About 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked rice or brown rice
• 1 pack (50g) of natto
• Approx. 1 cup chopped scallions
• Approx. 1 cup chopped vegetables, whatever you have on hand - peppers, carrots, greens, broccoli, etc.
• 1/4 cup shredded pink pickled ginger 紅生姜
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil ゴマ油
• 1 teaspoon togarashi
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Chop up all the vegetables.
2. Heat up a wok or large non-stick frying pan with 1/2 of the sesame oil. Add the green onions and the vegetables, and sauté until the vegetables are a little limp.
3. Add the natto and 1 Tbs. of soy sauce. Sauté until the stickiness of the natto has dissipated.
4. Add the rest of the oil, the ginger and the rice. Stir-fry until the rice and the other ingredients are evenly mixed. Push the mixture to one side, and add the rest of the soy sauce to the bare surface of the pan. Stir-fry a couple of minutes more until everything looks and smells toasty.
5. Season with pepper (probably needed) and salt (probably not needed - taste some before adding!)
6. Finished!