My Japanese Table. Debra Samuels
fish is eaten in greater volume in Japan than beef, pork, and chicken combined. The sea is also a source of one of Japan’s most popular and nutritious vegetables: seaweed, which comes in staggering number of varieties. Used to make stocks, in salads, and to wrap around rice, seaweed is high in vitamins B and C and is a natural source of glutamates.
Japanese cuisine is far broader than rice and the ocean’s bounty. Noodles have their own food culture and are often a meal of their own. Buckwheat noodles (soba) are nutritious, chewy, and simple to prepare. Their thicker, white wheat-based cousin, udon, is popular in soups and hot pots. Ramen retains its Chinese influence and has reached cult-like status, while the thin angel hair threads of sōmen are served cold and minimally adorned. Noodle stocks can range from a Fish Stock-soy based broth, to the rich ramen soup made from a mixture of pork and beef bones, often with a chicken carcass thrown in for good measure.
Beef, pork and chicken are also used in main dishes, though in lesser quantities than in Western meals. Beef is often simmered in a sweet soy stock (sukiyaki), while pork is stir-fried with ginger (shogayaki) or enjoyed as deep-fried cutlets (tonkatsu). Chicken pieces are grilled on skewers (yakitori), deep fried (kara age), and simmered to make a topping for a rice bowl (oyako donburi). Tofu and tofu products are a prominent source of non-animal protein in soups, hot pots, salads, and dressings.
Every region and, it seems, every village, town, and city is justifiably proud of its specialty dishes (meibutsu). Fukuoka and Nagasaki are famous for their Chinese influenced noodles (chanpon), while Hokkaido, to the north, is known for its salmon hot pots. My friends from the Kansai region (Osaka and Kyoto) insist that their sukiyaki is special—they add the seasonings one-by-one instead of making a sauce and adding it all at once, as Tokyoites do. A stay in the mountains of Nagano yields trout (ayu) as well as dishes rich in wild vegetables and herbs (sansai), such as bracken (warabi) and fiddlehead ferns (zenmai). And the wild boar served in other mountain regions as a hot pot meal (botan nabe), is exquisitely arranged on a platter in the shape of a peony. Can you see that preparing and serving Japanese cuisine is a thoughtful endeavor? To me this is the essence of this cuisine. The details, the flavor combinations, the concentration on eating foods for well-being, and, above all, the consideration of presentation together make it special.
Putting together your own Japanese table will be easier than you might think. Most of the tableware photographed for this book is part of my own collection, and when I serve a full Japanese meal or teach a class, I always incorporate western dishware as well. In addition to embracing the idea that everything does not have to match, you also should downsize. The western dinner plate becomes a serving platter or tray, the salads plate for the main dish, and saucers and dessert plates are perfect for side dishes. I accent the table with Japanese bowls and condiment dishes, and I follow Japanese etiquette by placing chopsticks parallel to the front of the diner’s plate or bowl, with the tips pointing to the left, set on a chopstick rest. These functional rests also add decorative elegance to the table. Although napkins are not part of a Japanese place setting, I set rolled white organdy napkins with blue embroidered flowers from my Nana’s wedding trousseau just above the chopsticks. It’s these touches that make this my Japanese table, and now, using this book, I hope you will enjoy creating your own.
A Simple Guide to Japanese Ingredients
Basic Japanese ingredients are now available at supermarkets everywhere. The international section usually has short grain rice (for sushi), roasted seaweed (yaki nori), soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. You will find fresh tofu, dumpling (gyoza) wrappers, fresh shiitake, and possibly even miso in the produce section. Edamame will be in the frozen food section. Organic markets have some of the lesser-known ingredients, such as seaweed, pickled plums (umeboshi), and miso. But, at least for the time being, you still may need to visit an Asian market or an on-line vendor for some of the dry or shelf stable ingredients like sweet rice flour (mochiko) or spring rain noodles (harusame) (p. 21). I know what it is like to buy one exotic spice for a recipe and never use it again, so I have given you multiple recipes for each ingredient. I have an extensive collection of Japanese ingredients in my pantry, but if you start with these 13 basic items—11 for the shelf and 2 for the fridge—you will be on your way to building your own collection.
For Your Pantry
Soy sauce (I use low sodium)
Mirin
Sake
Bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
Kelp (kombu)
Wakame
Roasted seaweed (yaki nori)
Roasted sesame seeds
Short or medium grain rice Sesame oil
Rice wine vinegar
For the Refrigerator
Miso
Tofu
Adzuki Beans (Adzuki) This petite red bean is high in fiber and very nutritious. In many Asian cuisines it is used mostly for making desserts. In Japan, where red and white are celebratory colors, it is also mixed with glutinous rice to make the dish, sekihan, which is eaten on special occasions. The canned beans come prepared whole and sweetened for topping fruit and ice cream and for baking in pastries. The sweetened paste (anko) comes in two textures—smooth (koshi an) and chunky (tsubu an). They are found in plastic pouches in the refrigerator section at Asian markets.
Bonito Flakes (Katsuobushi) Bonito flakes are the building block for most Japanese soups, sauces, and seasonings. They are made from dried, smoked, and fermented bonito, a large dark-fleshed relative of the tuna. The dried body of the fish is planed into papery curls that look like wood shavings. The large flakes, along with kelp (kombu), are used to make the classic Dashi (Fish Stock) (p. 35). This stock is full of natural glutamatic acid and is associated with the term umami, what we now associate with the savory “fifth taste.” The flakes also come finely shredded and are used as a topping for savory pancakes, salads, dressings, and for a filling in Stuffed Rice Balls (p. 88).
Bonito Granules (Hon Dashi) These dried granules are made from katsuo. Some may include salt, MSG, and sugar. Japanese cooks like the convenience of Bonito Granules, which they can dissolve in boiling water to make an instant stock. Use 11/2 teaspoons in 21/2 cups (625 ml) of water, although it will depend on the type of Bonito Granules used. There are other convenience products on the market called “dashi packs” that have processed bonito flakes in a square paper pouch (like a large tea bag), that drop directly into boiling water.
Chinese (Napa) Cabbage (Hakusai) This long leafy cabbage is used in stir-fries, for stuffing, to make pickles, and in hot pots. It is not usually eaten raw in Japanese cuisine and quickly cooks into a soft pliable leaf. The white stem area is edible and crunchy and has a fresh celery-like flavor.
Daikon Radish Daikon radish is a long thick white cylindrical root. The radish can be sliced and salted to make pickles. When grated or shredded for salads and sauces and consumed raw, it has a spicy bite, but turns mild when cooked.
Daikon Radish Sprouts (Kaiware Daikon) These spicy sprouts have bright green clover-like petals atop 2-inch (5 cm) long white stems. Their length makes them perfect for sushi hand rolls (p. 46). You can also use them in salads. When not available substitute watercress or spicy radish sprouts.
Edamame The fact that this entry is not in italics is testament to how much a part of the American culinary landscape edamame have become. These green beans grow on stalks in fuzzy pods and are served as a nutritious snack, boiled and salted in their pods, or folded into cooked rice. Outside Japan, they are mostly