Shiitake, Haricot Vert & Bacon Rice with Yuzu Shichimi Salt

We had extremely warm couple of days last week, and I wanted to make something with stamina and nice spicy kick.

So, I decided to make mixed rice dish with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", and season with this really tasty Yuzu Shichimi Salt I brought back from Japan. t's a mixture of shichimi togarashi (mixed pepper spice) with powdered yuzu rind, dry shiitake mushrooms, dry kelp, dry scallop, etc. So, it's like ultimate umami-packed spice salt.

If you don't have yuzu shichimi salt, for this recipe, you can substitute its recipe amount below it with 2/3 teaspoon of each salt and shichimi togarashi.


Just sauté the ingredients while the rice is cooking.


Once the rice is ready, just mix together and serve. It's so good!

Shiitake, Haricot Vert & Bacon Rice with Yuzu Shichimi Salt

Ingredients: (4-5 servings)
2 rice-cups (360 ml) short grain rice
360 ml water
3 slices (about 3 oz/ 100 g) bacon, sliced into thin strips
1 Japanese green onion ("Tokyo negi") green part only, thinly-sliced crosswise
1 clove garlic, coarsely minced
4 medium shiitake mushrooms, thinly-sliced
4 oz (120 g) haricot vert, cut into 3/4" (2 cm) long
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons yuzu shichimi salt (by Rokusuke) or 2/3 teaspoon each salt and shichimi togarashi

Procedure:

1. In "Kamado-san", combine the rice and water, and cook according to the basic plain rice instructions. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, sauté the bacon over medium-heat. Once the bacon is almost cooked through, add the Tokyo negi (save some for garnish) and garlic. Sauté until aromatic (1-2 minutes).
2. Add the shiitake mushrooms and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the haricot vert and sauté for additional couple of minutes. Add the sake to deglaze. Once the sake is reduced down, add the soy sauce and yuzu shichimi salt. Stir. Once Haricot vert is cooked to crisp tender, turn off the heat and set aside.
3. When the rice is ready, add the sautéed ingredients to the rice and mix. Garnish with the remaining Tokyo negi.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe "Takenoko Gohan"...Sweetshoot Bamboo Rice

With the rest of the California bamboo shoots from Penryn Orchard, I knew what I was going to make.

I made "Takenoko Gohan", it's bamboo shoot rice and my favorite bamboo dish! When I was a child, I always requested my mom to make Takenoko Gohan over and over in the spring season.


And, with doubld-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", I make almost as delicious Takenoko Gohan as mom's.

Bamboo Shoot Rice ("Takenoko Gohan")

Ingredients: (5-6 servings)
2 1/2 rice-cups (450 ml) short grain rice (I use partially-polished brown rice), rinsed and drained
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) dashi stock
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 medium-size shiitake mushrooms, thinly-sliced
1 rectangular piece fried tofu pouch ("abura-age"), blanched and thinly-sliced
7 oz (200 g) pre-cooked bamboo shoot, sliced into bite-size pieces
5 shiso leaves, thinly-sliced

Procedure:

1. In "Kamado-san", combine the rice, dashi stock, mirin, soy sauce, and salt. Let the rice soak for 20 minutes.
2. Spread the shiitake mushrooms over the rice, followed by "abura-age") and bamboo shoot in layers.
3. Cover "Kamado-san" with both lids and cook over medium-high heat for 13-15 minutes, or until 2-3 minutes after the steam starts puffing out of the top lid. If you want the nice crust ("okoge") on the bottom cook for extra 1-2 minutes. 
4. Turn off the heat and let Kamado-san rest (with both lids on) for 20-30 minutes. 
5. Uncover and fluff the rice. Garnish with some sliced shiso leaves.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe "Wakatake-ni"...Classic Simmered Bamboo Shoot

Pre-cooked packaged bamboo shoots are available all year round. But, they are nothing compared to freshly-foraged bamboo shoots, which are only available in the short window of the spring time.

So, now is the time...with Penryn Orchard's bamboo shoots...fresh from their farm in California.


I decided to make "Wakatake-ni", which is an extremely classic bamboo shoot dish. To best showcase the fresh and pure flavor of bamboo shoot, making the rich pure broth is extremely crucial. So, I shaved a generous amount of my special "honkare-bushi" dry bonito to make dashi stock. It was the end of this piece, so shaving a little piece was quite tough and time consuming (because you don't want to shave off your skin!). At the end, instead of cutting my finger with the bonito shaver's blade, I had a small blister in my finger and a part of skin peeled. I've been through so many dry bonito pieces over years and it happens every time I deal with a last leftover piece. But, it's worth it.

Once you make nice dashi stock. Making "Wakatake-ni" is very easy.


Combine the ingredients for the broth with cut bamboo shoot (and abura-age). Simmer with additional shaved bonito flakes ("katsuobushi"). This process is called "Oi-gatsuo", or literal translation is "chasing with more bonito". When cooking ingredients with very clean or less strong flavor, dashi stock is further fortified with additional bonito flakes for more umami flavors and most importantly for the aroma. I used a large tea bag and put freshly-shaved bonito flakes to infuse in the broth.


Once the bamboo is simmered and seasoned long enough, "katsuobushi" bag is removed and wakame seaweed is added to finish.


The simple and classic "Wakatake-ni" is ready. Traditionally, the dish is garnished with "kinome" leaves, but it's hard to find them in Los Angeles. So, no garnish:-)

For this dish, I used a mini-size classic-style donabe, "Yu Kizeto". Here's my recipe.

Simmered Bamboo Shoot in Dashi Broth ("Wakatake-ni")

Ingredients:
8 oz (240 g) bamboo shoot, cut into smaller pieces
1 rectangular piece fried tofu pouch ("abura-age") blanched and cut into strips
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) dashi stock
1 tablespoon sake
1/2 tablespoon raw brown sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/6 oz (5 g) dry bonito flakes ("katsuobushi")
2 oz (60 g) fresh wakame seaweed, cut into bite-size pieces (or you can use rehydrated dry wakame)

Procedure:

1. In the donabe, combine the bamboo shoot, "abura-age", dashi stock, sake, sugar, and mirin. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Add the soy sauce and salt. Put "katsuobushi" in a sachet and add. Put a drop lid ("otoshibuta") on the surface, cover with lid, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the sachet of "katsuobushi". Add the wakame seaweed. Simmer for a couple of minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 15-30 minutes. You can enjoy it at a hot, warm or cool temperatures. 

Happy donabe life.

How to Prepare Bamboo Shoot in Donabe

I got a really great gift the other day.


It was a package of extremely seasonal, bamboo shoots...these are grown by Penryn Orchard (yes, the same grower who makes awesome hoshigaki) in California.


For (almost) any Japanese people, bamboo shoot is one of the most highly-praised seasonal ingredients in the spring. During the season, in Japan, we eat tons and tons of bamboo shoot. As I had never tried California bamboo shoot, I was so thrilled to cook it myself. These American bamboo shoots are much smaller than regular Japanese bamboo shoots, yet they look really fresh and pretty.

Because freshly foraged bamboo shoot contains toxic hydrocyanic acid, before it's ready to be used in cooking, bamboo shoot needs to be pre-cooked with rice bran flour ("nuka") to remove the toxin. By cooking bamboo shoot with rice bran, bran's starch removes the toxin from bamboo shoot and absorbs it. Also, by adding dry red pepper, it helps removing bitterness from bamboo shoot. It's a traditional simple process, which we still practice every time we get fresh bamboo shoot. And, every time, I feel high respect for our ancestors with such wisdom. It's also very important to do this process as soon as you get the fresh bamboo shoot, whether you use it soon or not. The longer you keep it (without pre-cooking), the more the bitterness in bamboo shoot increases.

Here's how you can prepare fresh bamboo shoot in donabe. For this process, I needed a large-size donabe, so I used donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe" without the grate as a classic-style donabe.


How to Prepare Fresh Bamboo Shoot


1. Cut off a tip from each bamboo shoot at an angle. Slash to make an incision just deep enough to barely touch the tender part lengthwise.


2. Combine the bamboo shoots, and enough amount of water to cover them in the donabe. Add a big handful of rice bran ("nuka") and a couple of dry red peppers. Bring to simmer and put a drop lid ("otoshibuta") on the surface. Simmer over low heat until the thick part of a bamboo shoot is just tender when inserting a skewer. (35-40 minutes for a small to medium-size bamboo shoot.) Turn off the heat and let it cool down completely.


3. Peel the tough leaves of each bamboo shoot to reveal the tender interior. Cut off the firm tip and bottom parts. Also, shave off the bumpy part from the bottom part's outer layer.


4. Once all the bamboo shoots are peeled out of tough leaves, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes to remove any excess bitterness. Pre-cooked bamboo shoots can be kept in water and refrigerated for up to 1 week. Meanwhile, water needs to be replaced once a day.


Because, I couldn't wait until I use the freshly prepared bamboo shoots for cooking later, I sliced and ate one of them just as is. The tenderness, sweetness, and all the natural pureness of the bamboo shoot was just so special. Amazing.

In the next postings, I would like to introduce a couple of donabe dishes with bamboo shoot.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Cooking Class Report...Spring Nourishing Dishes

On May 4 and May 11, we hosted donabe cooking classes with the new theme, "Spring Nourishing Dishes".

We had wonderful guests who brought really nice energy both dates.
In this class, we made 5 different dishes with many seasonal ingredients. All dishes are made in donabe!


Steam-roaste kabu and asparagus with yuzu-kosho vinaigrette. The texture of donabe steam-roasted vegetables are always so special. With the sauce made from yuzu-kosho and yuzu juice, the dish brought a nice refreshing accent.


Stewed hijiki salad. We used long hijiki seaweed ("naga hijiki") in the class, and cooked with burdock root ("gobo"), dry shiitake mushrooms, fried tofu pouch ("abura-age") and carrot. This dish tastes wonderful whether  warm or cold.


Sake-steamed clams. I got really big and beautiful clams which came from Washington State. The broth was rich in sake and all the juice from the clams and finished with white soy sauce ("shiro-shoyu"). Everybody drank up the last drops of the broth!


Simmered chicken and tofu in daikon sauce. Organic jidori chicken was marinated in shio-koji overnight and pan-fried before being added to the sauce. The sauce is mostly grated daikon and a little dashi stock. For the seasoning, I also used rice vinegar for accent.


"Shirasu" baby fish and wakame seaweed rice. Very seasonal Japanese dish. Baby anchovy ("shirasu") came from Shizuoka, Japan. The dish was finished with sliced shiso leaves...shirasu, wakame, and shiso are golden combo.

Here's the full menu.

Theme: Nourishing Spring Donabe Meal

Menu

Steam-roasted kabu and asparagus with yuzu-kosho vinaigrette

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Stewed hijiki salad

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Sake-steamed clams and broccolini

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Simmered chicken and tofu in daikon sauce

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“Shirasu” baby fish and wakame seaweed rice

Wine Selection

2011 Weingut Salomon – Undhof, Stein.Terrassen, Riesling (Kremstal, Austria)

Happy donabe life.

Crab & Napa Cabbage Donabe Stew

I was in a mood for crab meat tonight.
So, I decided to make a donabe hot pot dish with crab, napa cabbage, and some bacon!


Bacon was sautéed with ginger and garlic. Wood ear mushrooms and abura-age (fried tofu pouch) slices are added.


A big amount of napa cabbage was added, and sautéed until wilted.


Vegetable stock was added and simmered for about 15 minutes. Then, crab meat was added and stirred.


That's about it, and really nice hearty stew was ready. The broth came out so flavorful. Napa cabbage was really soft and delicate. Crab added the nice pure flavor. The wood ear mushroom gave nice crunchy texture. This dish was great with plain donabe rice!

To make this dish, I used medium-size classic-style donabe, "Hakeme".


Crab & Napa Cabbage Stew

Ingredients: (4 servings)
3 slices (about 3.5 oz or 100 g) bacon, cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 knob ginger, thinly-sliced into shreds
1/3 cup wood ear mushrooms, thinly-sliced
1 rectangular piece, fried tofu pouch ("abura-age"), blanched and thinly-sliced
19-20 oz (about 500 g) napa cabbage, thinly-sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) sake
2 cups (480 ml) vegetable stock
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons light color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
6 oz (180 g) crab meat
2 teaspoons potato starch ("katakuriko") plus 1 tablespoon water
some black pepper
some thinly-sliced scallion

Procedure:

1. In the donabe, sauté the bacon over medium heat until it's mostly cooked through.
2. Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté until aromatic. (1-2 minutes.) Add the wood ear mushrooms and "abura-age" and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the napa cabbage, and stir until it's slightly wilted.
4. Add the sake, followed by the vegetable stock, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Cover and bring to simmer. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until the napa cabbage is very soft. Add the crab meat and stir.
5. In a small cup, dissolve the "katakuriko" with the water. Drizzle in to the broth and stir gently until the broth is slightly thickened.
6. Adjust the flavor by adding a pinch of salt, if necessary. Sprinkle some ground black pepper and scallion and serve.

Happy donabe life.