My Japanese Table. Debra Samuels
and used in salads or used to make sauces for fancy sushi rolls and as a dip.
Garlic (Ninniku) Garlic is not a classically Japanese seasoning, but is used in Japan because Korean, Chinese, and Italian cuisines have become staples in the Japanese home. Garlic, a member of the onion family, is a strong aromatic used in stir-fries, to season ground meat for dumplings, and as a condiment.
Garlic Chives (Nira) These paper-thin, flat green chives are also known as Chinese chives and have a distinctly garlic flavor. They are used in the filling for dumplings. They are not always easy to find, so I substitute regular chives or the tops of green onions (scallions) when Garlic Chives are not available.
Ginger (Shoga) Ginger is an aromatic rhizome that grows horizontally underground in knobby clumps. It has a clean spicy flavor. The skin is peeled and the flesh is used fresh, not dried. Ginger is used in stir-fries, it is pickled for condiments, grated for seasoning, and its juice is extracted for sauces and dressings. The skin of the ginger is light tan and should be smooth, not wrinkled. Young ginger is long, thin, and very tender.
Gari Shoga This is the ginger that is served in little mounds alongside sushi and sashimi. Paper-thin slices are marinated in a bath of sweet-and-sour vinegar. Found in the refrigerator sections, it is usually light pink due to the addition of food coloring. It is made from young ginger, which is less fibrous. In sushi restaurants you may find the natural light tannish-yellow slices.
Beni Shoga These neon red shreds of salty and sharp pickled ginger are scattered atop, or mixed in with Scattered Sushi Rice Salad (p. 50) or as a condiment eaten with Japanese style curry rice (kare raisu).
Green Onions (Scallions) Green onions (scallions) most closely resemble the Japanese long onion naganegi. It is mild with a long white onion stem and green top. Both are used in soups, salads and as a garnish. Although not perfect, the tops can be used as a substitute for chives.
Hot Spices Although Japanese food is not thought of as a particularly spicy cuisine, plenty of heat is often added to cooked dishes, through such condiments as wasabi in sushi or red pepper flakes (togarashi) sprinkled on a bowl of noodles.
Dried Red Pepper (Togarashi) These dried red peppers are used whole in pickling or ground and sprinkled on cooked foods. red pepper powder (ichimi togarashi) can be part of a spicy blend called shichimi that includes seven other peppers and spices.
Dry Yellow Mustard (Karashi) Dry yellow mustard seeds are ground and mixed with flour. Dry Yellow Mustard must be mixed with water. It is also available as a paste. This very spicy mustard resembles English style mustard, but is a darker yellow. It is used for dipping fried foods, such as pork cutlets and oyster or shrimp fry, with roast pork, or steamed fish balls (oden).
Wasabi This is a fresh water root cultivated in rural Japan. Freshly grated for eating with sushi and sashimi, it was once used to mask the smell of fish and is reputed to have powerful antibacterial and anti-parasitic function when eaten with raw fish. Fresh wasabi is expensive and very hard to obtain outside Japan. Most of us are familiar with it as a paste that comes in a tube or as a powder to mix with water. Both the paste and the powder come mixed with other ingredients, such as horseradish. Combined with soy sauce, wasabi is also a dressing for vegetables.
Japanese Citron (Yuzu) This Japanese citron is prized as much for its aromatic zest as for its juice. The fruit is full of pits, and produces very little juice, so it can be quite expensive. It is rare to find this fresh citrus outside Japan, although it is sometimes available at Asian markets. The juice comes in small bottles and is highly concentrated. It is used to flavor dressings and the zest is used for soups and teas.
Miso Miso is fermented soybean paste. Soybeans are steamed with grain, yeast, and salt and then are fermented, forming a variety of pastes of varying strengths. The most common and mild miso pastes are the white ones (shiro) that are used with bonito stock to make miso soup. The darker and saltier red miso (aka) is also used for soup. A mixture of white and red pastes (awasemiso) is also very popular. Miso can be used to marinate fish and vegetables, and is a base for sauces such as Sweet Miso Sauce (p. 32). It usually comes in clear plastic containers and pouches. Be sure to check the label, as some include the stock (Dashi) for convenience.
Mushrooms There are a large variety of wonderful mushrooms available for Japanese dishes:
Enokitake These thin white mushrooms have a small smooth cap and a narrow, long 3-inch (7.5 cm) stem. They grow in a bundle and are often used in soups and hot pots and in combination with other mushrooms. They taste clean and delicate, and their texture includes a bit of a crunch. They have recently become popular and can be found in cellophane packages in many western supermarkets. They keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator. Shimeji These stumpy mushrooms grow in clumps and can have white or light brown triangular-shaped caps on a 1 or 2-inch (2.5-5 cm) stem. They have a meaty texture and must be cooked. Break up the clump into smaller sections for cooking.
Shiitake Sometimes called black mushrooms, or Chinese mushrooms, shiitake are available both fresh and dried. These mushrooms are grown in Korea, China, and Japan. Fresh shiitake are now widely available in western supermarkets and must be cooked before being consumed. They are used in hot pots, stir-fries, and soups and can be quite meaty. The cap is light brown and has a smooth soft texture. The stem tends to be woody and is not usually eaten, but saved to add to a stock for flavor. Dried shiitake mushrooms must be reconstituted and are more intensely flavorful than the fresh ones. Use the tasty soaking liquid to cook the mushrooms as well as for stocks and sauces. Dried shiitake can have thick brown caps with white cracks or can be thinner and darker with a slightly yellowish underside. The soaking time varies according to the thickness of the mushroom. They stay indefinitely on the shelf in an airtight container. Once reconstituted, you can use dried shiitake in any dish calling for shiitake. However, fresh shiitake is not suitable for all recipes.
Noodles come in a variety of flavors and shapes:
Udon These creamy, white, thick wheat noodles are used in soups, hot pots, and stir-fries. They come both fresh and par cooked in nests of single serving sizes, usually in the refrigerator sections of Asian markets. They also come dried in long cylindrical cellophane packages. Recently, I have seen some of the par-cooked variety in the Asian section of supermarkets in shelf stable packages.
Buckwheat Noodles (Soba) These nutritious noodles are made from a combination of buckwheat and wheat flours, and come in individual serving sizes packed in cylindrical bundles. They have a chewy texture and an earthy nutty flavor. In Japan, during the summer, they are often eaten cold, served simply with a dipping sauce and green onions (scallions). However, they are also cooked and served in a hot broth.
Spring Rain Noodles (Harusame) The name “spring rain noodles” is fitting for these translucent vermicelli made from either potato or yam starch. Sold dry they are re-constituted in boiled water and then used in cold noodle salads and hot pots and do not fall apart when simmered in soups or sauces. They come in cellophane packages and are sometimes referred to as saifun noodles.
Brown Rice (Genmai) Brown rice is un-polished short grain rice with the layer of bran left intact. It is more nutritious than white rice, but not that popular in Japan yet. It needs to be cooked longer, but uses the same amount of water. Although it is almost never used for making sushi in Japan it is gaining in popularity due to an increase in organic health food restaurants and stores.
Rice (Kome) Short and medium grain rice, japonica, is stickier than the long grain variety. This is the rice eaten daily and used in making sushi. Do not confuse it with the sticky rice (glutinous or sweet rice) that is used to make mochi and Japanese sweets.