My Japanese Table. Debra Samuels
large eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) Dashi (Fish Stock) (p. 35) or water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 Beat the eggs, Dashi (Fish Stock), sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2 Pour the oil into a rectangular, non-stick Japanese omelet pan or a small 6-8 inch (7.5-9 cm) skillet and heat over medium low for 30 seconds. Wipe the oil out with a paper towel and set it in a dish next to the stovetop.
3 Take about 1/4 cup (65 ml) of egg mixture and pour it into the hot pan and tilt it around the pan to cover the surface. Let it set for about 30 seconds.
4 With a rubber spatula or pair of chopsticks, pick up the edge furthest from you and roll it forward forming a little log. Now push it back to the opposite side of the pan.
5 Rub the oil-soaked paper towel over the bottom of the pan. Pour in another 1/4 cup (65 ml) of the mixture into the pan. Lift up the roll and tilt the pan so the egg slides under the roll. Let it set for a few seconds and then roll the omelet forward with your spatula or chop-sticks. Your roll has gained another layer.
6 Push your roll back and repeat with the remaining batter. Continue with this until you have completely used up the eggs. This will take about 6 rounds.
7 This step is optional but helpful in giving shape to your roll. Turn the omelet onto a bamboo rolling mat (or piece of parchment paper), if you have one, and wrap the roll snugly into the mat. Set aside for 20 minutes. Remove the mat. The roll is ready to cut or to place in plastic wrap in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cut into 6-8 slices.
NOTE TO CUT FOR SUSHI ROLLS
Make long logs for sushi rolls by cutting the roll in half length-wise. Then cut each half into about four 1/4 -inch (6 mm) strips for a total of 8 strips.
Seasoned Egg Shreds
Use these shreds on Scattered Sushi Rice Salad (p. 50) or instead of the egg strips used on sushi rolls. Place a heaping line of the shreds alongside the ingredients on a maki-zushi roll.
1/2 recipe for Seasoned Rolled Omelet
1 Fry one quarter of the egg mixture in a small hot skillet that has been lightly greased. Spread into a thin crepe and cook just until bubbles appear. Turn over and then transfer to a plate and continue until all the egg is used. Stack the crepes and cut into shreds.
2 Repeat with the remaining egg mixture and stack one pancake on top of another. Cut the stack of egg pancakes into shreds. Set aside.
Seasoned Egg Wedges
Makes one 6-inch (15 cm) round, cut into 6-8 wedges
1 recipe for Seasoned Rolled Omelet
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 Add oil to a non-stick 6-inch (15 cm) skillet with a lid, over medium heat for 1 minute. With a paper towel, wipe out the oil.
2 Pour in the egg mixture and bring it to a bubble.
3 With a flexible, heat resistant rubber spatula, pull the edge of the omelet from the pan and tip the loose egg mixture over the edge of the omelet and back underneath the omelet. Continue to do this until most of the mixture is set.
4 Cover the pan with the lid and cook for 1 minute or until the egg is set.
5 With a wide spatula carefully lift and flip the omelet over and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Slide the omelet onto a plate and let stand for several minutes before cutting. Or refrigerate and cut when it's cold.
6 Cut the round into 6-8 wedges and set into individual paper or silicon cups for a bento lunch or picnic.
Sweet Simmered Mushrooms
This dish, more than almost any other, embodies the essence of Japanese flavors for me. Japanese use this tasty soaking liquid to cook the mushrooms as well as in other dishes. The classic combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake are combined with the liquid and cooked with the mushrooms until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Depending on the thickness of the mushrooms, soaking time can be between 20 minutes and 1 hour. When I first learned how to make these from my cooking teacher, Odagiri Sensei, I cooked the mushrooms whole in the seasoning liquid and then sliced them. My friend, Kyoko Wada, showed me a shortcut that is particularly useful when making sushi rolls, hand rolls, and the Scattered Sushi Rice Salad (p. 50) that uses these mushrooms. Kyoko slices the mushrooms first and then cooks them. Every crevice picks up the seasonings. They are earthy, salty, meaty, and sweet—an intense and evocatively Japanese combination.
Yield: 4 oz (125 g)
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: Approx. 15 minutes
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) water, reserve liquid
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 Place the dried mushrooms and water in a medium size bowl. Soak the mushrooms for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft.
2 Remove the mushrooms from the liquid and rinse under cold water. Reserve the soaking liquid. Cut off the stems and slice the mushrooms into 1/4-inch (6 mm) slices. The size generally depends on the recipe. Sometimes the mushrooms are left whole.
3 Carefully drain the soaking liquid.
4 Combine the mushrooms, and sugar in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, melt the sugar. Add 1 cup (250 ml) of the soaking liquid, sake, and mirin and simmer for 5 minutes.
5 Add the soy sauce, increase the heat and cook, frequently stirring until the sauce is completely absorbed into the mushrooms. This will take about 10 minutes. The mushrooms are now ready to use in recipes. They can be cooked whole as well.
NOTE I always reconstitute more mushrooms than I need for a recipe. I take the whole reconstituted, uncooked mushrooms and place 6-8 inside a plastic bag, press out the air, seal, label with the date and freeze. They are great to have on hand when you don’t have time to wait for mushrooms to soak.
Dashi Dried Katsuo Flakes and Kelp
Dashi (Fish Stock) is the cornerstone of Japanese soups, sauces, and many dishes. There are no bones to roast, no hours of simmering making it an easy and flavorful stock to make from scratch. All you need is dried bonito flakes (katsuo bushi). Ichiban dashi (“first stock”) results from the steeping of the first batch of ingredients and is good for clear soups. Niban dashi (“second stock”) is made from the left over kelp and bonito flakes that still retain some of their flavor and is good for miso and noodle soups. I generally use first stock for most recipes. Double the recipe for ichiban dashi and freeze some of it in 1-cup (250 ml) bags for soups or in mini muffin tins (about 2 tablespoons) or in ice cube trays (1 tablespoon).
The fresh Dashi (Fish Stock) will last for several days in the refrigerator. Although I have encouraged you to make this stock from scratch, most people either use convenient premeasured packets or buy the perfectly serviceable hon dashi (dashi powder) and either dilute it for soups or add it directly to dressings and sauce. These powders often include sugar and MSG.
Makes 1 quart (1 liter)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 minutes (including time for fish flakes to settle in the water)
4 cups (1000 ml) of water
Two 5 in (12 cm) strips kelp (kombu)
1 heaping cup (30 g) loosely packed bonito flakes (hanakatsuo)
1 Add the water and kelp to a medium size pan. Let the flakes settle