Brown Rice 玄米

Happy New Year!!

To celebrate the new year, my fiance and I are making a pledge to eat healthier.  People assume that Japanese food is healthy but really it can be just as junk ridden as food anywhere else in the industrialized world.  You wouldn't believe the amount of products with HFCS and the like in it.  So let the healthy eating begin!

Brown rice might seem like a lame thing to be posting about, but you still have entire nations that don't know that brown rice kicks the ass of white rice any day of the week.  White rice is just as bad as bleached flour, a bunch of essentially empty carb calories.  But with brown rice your stomach gets an instant injection of thiamine, magnesium, iron and more.   In fact, if you want to avoid Beriberi Disease, brown rice is the way to go!

So what makes brown rice brown and white rice white?  Brown rice is basically the rice straight off the stalk; just the husk has been removed.  White rice has the bran and germ removed, which is where the vast majority of rice's nutrients come from.  So why the heck do we eat white rice?  Probably for the same reasons we eat white bread and deep fried Coca Cola, we're idiots!

One important thing to remember about brown rice (and whole grains in general) is they do go rancid quickly.  If you don't think you'll use your brown rice often, keep it in the fridge or cook large batches in advance and freeze them into individual servings.

How to Prepare
Hopefully you have a rice cooker.  If you do, just fill your rice cup with brown rice, dump it in the cooker, and fill the water to the brown rice line.  Push start and you're good to go!  If you don't have a rice cooker, you should run out and buy one RIGHT NOW.  But in the meantime, boil four cups of water, throw in one cup of brown rice, cover, and cook for 40 minutes or until the water has disappeared like magic and you have fluffy rice.

There's also the GABA system, which most modern rice cookers have a button for.  You basically stew the brown rice in warm water for 20 hours before cooking, causing the rice to germinate and release more nutritional goodness.  I've never tried this since my rice cooker is ancient and needs to be put out to pasture but once I buy a new rice cooker I definitely plan on getting one with a GABA function.

Easy Brown Rice Recipe

For this recipe, we're going to cheat altogether and use puffed brown rice.  Normally a bland cereal your hippie aunt would force you to eat, we're going to transform it into magical deliciousness.

Homemade Granola Bars

Makes about 24 bars

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup wheat germ OR rice bran (if you live in Japan, you can pick this up for free at any Ookini Shokudou!) OR ground flaxseed etc etc (this is going to help act like cement for the bars)
• 1 cup puffed brown rice 玄米パフ (can find in the cereal aisle of Japanese supermarkets and Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds OR sunflower seeds OR shredded coconut
• 1 cup crushed almonds OR peanuts OR walnuts (I think you're getting the idea)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• large handful of dried cranberries OR raisins OR chocolate chips blah blah etc etc

Preparation:
1. Mix together the oats, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, and nuts in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned. (If you don't have an oven, toast them on your stove with your frying pan).
2. Line a glass baking dish with parchment paper.
3. Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.  Stirring is important, you don't want it to burn!
4. Mix everything together in a large bowl. Your toasty goods, your gooey goods, and your fruity goods.
5. Mix everything like you're making Rice Krispies Treats.  The better you coat everything with the sugar mix, the better your granola bars will hold together.  Next, put your mix onto your prepped parchment paper.
7. Just like Rice Krispies Treats, spread everything out evenly in the dish with a wooden spoon.  Then use another piece of parchment paper to press down on the bars like you're attempting to make diamonds out of them.  The tighter you press them together, the better they'll hold up!
8. Wait 2-3 hours until the bars have cooled down completely.  Remove the top layer of parchment paper, and lift the granola out onto a cutting board.
9. Cut it up into bars and wrap them up for chowing on whenever you need a snack!
10. Finished!

This recipe can be modded easily for whatever your tastes are.  I've made them with peanut butter and chocolate chips and I've made them with toasted soy nuts and dried figs.  Whatever you fancy can be done!

Bunashimeji ぶなしめじ

Sorry about the long hiatus!  I took a trip out to Saipan and then spent the past week just catching up on relaxation.  I can't remember the last time I had a week to sit around and do nothing.  I hope everyone else had a good holiday season!

Amanda requested I talk about shimeji mushrooms and here they are.  I personally love shimeji and will throw them in just about any recipe where mushrooms can be added.  They usually come in a big bunch and can be found in brown and white varieties.  Their firm texture make them perfect for stews and stir fries since they won't break up like other varieties of mushrooms tend to.  Shimeji are also low in calories and high in niacin; they're also believed to have anti-tumor agents in them!

How to Prepare
You'll want to cut off the bottom section where the mushroom was growing.  Then break up the mushroom into chunks or individual stems.

Easy Shimeji Recipe

If you've never had sukiyaki before, now's the time to start!  Sukiyaki is big in Japan, especially during the cold winter months.

Sukiyaki


Serves 4

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 300g shimeji mushrooms (1 package)
  
• 1/3 head Chinese cabbage 白菜
• 2 leeks
  
• 400g beef (ask your butcher to thinly slice the beef like deli meat, or if you're in Japan look for うす切り牛肉.  It should look like the picture)
• Shirataki, one bag drained (shirataki is a type of konnyaku.  It looks like translucent noodles before it's cooked.  It can be found at most Asian markets as しらたき.  If you can't find it, it can be omitted)
  
• 1 block grilled tofu 焼き豆腐, drained (can be found at most Asian markets.  If you can't get pre-grilled tofu, buy firm tofu and grill it yourself).
  
• 4 eggs, beaten
  

Sukiyaki Broth

• 1 package powdered kombu broth 昆布だしの素 (can be found at Asian markets and Whole Foods)
  
• 1 cup hot water
  
• 4 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon mirin
  
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the sukiyaki broth.  Set aside.
2. Cut bottom off the shimeji mushrooms and cut into small sections.
3. Cut the Chinese cabbage into bite-sized chunks.  Cut bottom and dark green parts off the leeks.  Cut into bite-sized slices.
4. Drain tofu and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Drain the shirataki.
5. In a nabe pot or medium sized heavy pot, add the sukiyaki broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Add the mushrooms, cabbage, leeks, tofu, and shirataki.  Spread everything out evenly in the pot.
6. On top of all that, spread out the slices of beef evenly. 
7. Once the beef begins to change color, add the beaten egg to the sukiyaki.  Cook until the vegetables are to your liking.
8. Finished!

Sukiyaki is a very easy weeknight meal.  Try it out!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

Beni-imo 紅芋

In Japan, schools often take their class trip to Okinawa, a subtropical island a stone's throw from Taiwan.  One of the better known vegetables from Okinawa is purple sweet potatoes, known as beni-imo or murasaki-imo in Japanese.  I found them at the market today so they're officially in season!  Purple sweet potatoes are awesome because they're bright purple.  How many natural foods can claim that?  They have a milder taste than orange sweet potatoes but can be used in all the same ways.  I've even made purple sweet potato pie from these potatoes which made the pie look like it was radioactively glowing.  Kick ass!

Outside of Japan, I have heard more and more markets are carrying purple sweet potatoes.  So take a look around or ask your local farmers at the farmers' market.  Maybe if you pique their interest enough they'll look into growing them!

How to Prepare
Same way you would any potato:

Easy Beni-imo Recipe
When your star ingredient is such a cool color, you want a way to showcase it!

Jazzed Up Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2-3

Prep Time: About 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 large purple sweet potatoes, either roasted in the oven or cooked in the microwave
• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon togarashi
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1.5 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro OPTIONAL

Preparation:
1. Cut open sweet potatoes and scoop out their innards into a bowl.
2. Add rest of the ingredients.  Mash together until well blended.
3. Serve!

I really like these potatoes with some pork chops or chicken that has been marinated in some sort of cumin marinade.

Kabosu かぼす

Continuing with the citrus theme, let's take a look at kabosu.  Kabosu is grown widely in Oita prefecture but more of an oddity up here in Shiga.  Kabosu is considered a sour orange and has a taste similar to limes and shikwasa.  The lighter in color the kabosu becomes, the sweeter it will taste, but when cooking you want it on the sour side so don't let them become too yellow.  If you can't find kabosu where you are (and if you're outside of Japan that's a good possibility) key limes make a good substitute.


How to Prepare
Just like any citrus, juice it and zest it!  Kabosu tends to have lots of small seeds so be prepared to fish them out of the juice.

Easy Kabosu Recipe
This recipe is about as easy as it gets!

Red Snapper with Chili Kabosu Butter

Serves 4

Prep Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh kabosu zest
• 1 teaspoons fresh kabosu juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh cayenne pepper or 1/4 teaspoon dried
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried lemongrass or fresh lemon balm OPTIONAL
• 4 pieces snapper fillets with skin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation:
1. Stir together butter, shallot, zest, kabosu juice, chile, salt, and lemongrass in a bowl.
2. Score skin of fish in 3 or 4 places with a thin sharp knife to prevent fish from curling (do not cut through flesh)3. Pat fish dry and sprinkle with salt.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over moderately high heat until just smoking, then sauté fish, turning over once with a spatula, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes, and transfer to a plate.
5. Serve each piece of fish with a dollop of chile lime butter.
6. Finished!

Serve this fish with a side of rice and some steamed veggies for a quick weekday dinner!
If you can't find snapper, any firm white fish will suffice.  Cod is a good choice here in Japan but be sure to thoroughly rinse the fish before cooking as it's usually heavily salted.

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!