Pickles are addictive. Crunchy, tangy goodness in every bite. Namasu is a simple Japanese pickle that’s ready in an hour. Not only is it quick to make, there are just 6 ingredients. It can double as a refreshing tangy-sweet salad.
The first 3 ingredients – Cucumber, Ginger & Carrot.
It’s easy to make attractive carrot florets with a knife and steady hand.
Grated ginger adds a refreshing flavor to the vegetables.
Beautiful pickles, Japanese style.
Cucumber & Carrot Namasu (Japanese pickles)
Ingredients
1 large English or 2 Japanese cucumbers
1 medium carrot
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Cut the cucumber in half diagonally and peel thin strips of skin off of each half. Cut each piece of cucumber in half, lengthwise. Remove seeds. Slice the cucumber into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.
Peel the carrot and cut into thirds. With a small, thin knife cut narrow lengthwise grooves in the carrot to make a floret shape (about 5 cuts if the carrot is thick, 4 if the carrot is very thin). Using a mandoline or sharp thin knife slice the carrot into florets.
Peel ginger and finely grate, set aside 2 teaspoons.
Mix 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt until sugar and salt has dissolved. Add 2 teaspoons grated ginger.
Combine cucumbers, carrots and vinegar mixture in medium size bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cucumbers and carrots will become delightfully crispy when chilled. The pickles will keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. These pickles go well with tofu or grilled teriyaki chicken.
A recipe named after “Granny” might not sound all that exciting but if you love homemade teriyaki sauce this is really delicious. My mom gave me her recipe card for this sauce a long time ago and she made a note on it “the best.” She was right. It’s the best teriyaki sauce I have ever had.
The secret ingredient that makes this sauce so tasty is sherry. So go ahead and buy a bottle of sherry. Not the cooking sherry they sell in the condiment aisle, decent sherry like Hartley & Gibson’s Amontillado sherry which you can find at a full service grocery store or liquor store. Stash the bottle in your cupboard until your next craving for really good teriyaki sauce, it will last indefinitely.
You can use this marinade for chicken, tofu, fish and beef. I use part of the sauce to marinate whatever I’m cooking and simmer the rest of the sauce until it becomes thick and syrupy. I drizzle this on grilled chicken, tofu or fish and finish with a few sliced green onions before serving. Really good.
Granny’s Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman recommended)
4 tablespoons sherry (Hartley & Gibson’s or similar quality)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large garlic cloves chopped
green onions, sliced (use a good amount since they tend to shrink quite a bit once mixed into the sauce)
Preparation
Combine sugar with soy sauce and sherry until the sugar has dissolved. Add oil, garlic and chopped green onions.
Use to marinate boneless chicken breasts chicken thighs, or your favorite cut of steak for about 3 hours. For tofu and fish such as salmon or ahi marinate for just one hour or so. Turn pieces occasionally.
Note: Prior to marinating your chicken, fish, beef or tofu reserve part of the sauce and simmer until syrupy, about 10 minutes on medium low heat. Watch so the sauce does not boil and burn. You can do this in advance, the sauce will thicken as it cools. Drizzle over grilled chicken, fish, beef or tofu. Sprinkle on green onions and roasted sesame seeds before serving. For a larger quantity of meat double the recipe.
With the tsunami warning taking place the other night, many of us stayed up way past our bedtime listening to updates from the Pacific Tsunami Center. Luckily there was no damage caused by the tsunami here in Hawaii. The following day was like any other Sunday, people picnicking at the beach, shopping, doing errands and going about their merry way. Since I was one of those people who didn’t get much sleep the night before, I wasn’t too keen on making anything fancy for dinner.
Mochiko Chicken Marinade
I found this recipe in our local newspaper years ago. This version of mochiko chicken is delicious. It makes a great picnic lunch along with some onigiri and Kabocha No Toroni. All of these dishes can be eaten without heating up.
Mochiko Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 eggs, beaten
5 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons mochiko flour
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup chopped green onions
few dashes of salt
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into pieces about two inches in length
canola oil for frying
Preparation
Combine the sugar and soy sauce until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients except the chicken. Mix marinade well and pour into a large bowl or Ziplock bag. Add the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours.
Pour enough oil into a large fry pan to a depth of 1/4 inch and heat over medium high heat. Fry the chicken in batches for about 3 – 4 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked through. The cooking time will depend on how thick your pieces of chicken are. I prefer to pound the chicken breasts so they cook evenly and quickly. This also tenderizes the chicken. Alternately you can use chicken tenders or if you prefer, chicken thighs.
Remove the chicken and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Serve right away or pack it up and take it to the beach.
Kabocha No Toroni (Japanese squash simmered in rice wine and soy sauce) is a simple side dish that is healthy and delicious. Some cooks prefer to create a marbled effect (above) by paring off patches of the skin. Although this is not necessary, it makes for a beautiful design. This is easily done with a vegetable peeler. The skin of the squash seems very hard, however, as the squash simmers the skin softens and becomes tender and edible.
Kabocha No Toroni
Serves four as a side dish
Adapted from Japanese Vegetarian Cooking by Patricia Richfield
Ingredients
About 1 pound Kabocha (Japanese squash)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon super fine sugar
1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
1/4 cup soy sauce
Cut the squash in half and remove seeds. You can double the recipe if you want to use the entire squash. The squash I purchased weighed about 2 1/2 pounds so I saved the other half for later use. Peel off patches of skin to create a marbled effect if desired. Cut into 2 inch cubes.
In a 3 – 4 quart sauce pan add water, sugar, mirin and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Add squash and return to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer until just tender (al dente) for approximately 10 minutes (cooking time depends upon the size of the cubed squash). Check doneness with a thin knife, don’t over cook!
Remove the squash to a serving bowl, reduce the sauce a bit then drizzle it on the kabocha just before serving and sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.
(Updated with additional photos, June 2013). My aunt Ruby was an excellent cook. You could count on having a fine meal when she invited the gang over. First class all the way. Some meals were more involved than others but even the simplest dish was so “ono!” This is one of those recipes, simple but ever so satisfying on a warm summer day. You can add any type of vegetables you desire, as long as they are finely julienned. I like to use carrots, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce and sometimes blanched bean sprouts. You might also consider celery and daikon. This is a layered salad so you should keep the julienned vegetables separate. One last note, it’s important to serve this well chilled and not at room temperature so plan to make this at least a few hours in advance.
Sometimes I find mini Japanese cucumbers at the store and will slice them into thin half moon shapes and other times I will julienne the larger cucumbers (both shown above left). The Benriner below (Japanese mandoline) juliennes carrots and cucumbers in no time. I’ve had mine for more than 20 years, a good little kitchen tool to have.
This inexpensive egg pan works like a charm when you want cook eggs in one even layer and slice into thin strips for somen salad or fried rice.
Slice the cooked egg and ham into narrow strips.
Somen noodles are super thin. Cook in boiling water for just 3 minutes and quickly drain the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking.
This grinder by Zojirushi is a tad expensive but I use it all the time so it was worth the splurge. You can also find very inexpensive sesame seed hand grinders in your local Asian stores.
Thinly sliced ham (I use Oscar Mayer packaged ham because it’s easy to stack and cut into even, thin strips). You may substitute finely sliced fishcake, char siu, thinly sliced and fried tofu in place of ham or use only vegetables.
For dressing: Dissolve sugar in rice vinegar then add soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil. Add ground sesame seeds last. If you do not have a sesame grinder, sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on the salad before serving.
Boil the noodles for 3 minutes (I use Shirakiku somen noodles, 3 bundles per package) and drain right away under cold water until noodles are cool. If you do not drain the noodles right away you risk the chance of overcooked noodles. Nothing worse than overcooked, mushy noodles!
Once the water has drained away, place noodles in large dish. It’s better to use a dish that is not too high but with sides high enough to be able to toss the salad after adding the other ingredients. Layer the veggies: Lettuce, carrots then cucumbers. Add the ham, egg, and finally a sprinkling of cilantro if using. If you don’t care for cilantro you may sprinkle finely chopped green onions on the salad.
Stir the dressing before using and add it just before serving the salad so the vegetables remain crisp and fresh looking. Once you add the dressing toss the salad and serve right away. You may not need all of the dressing.
You can prepare the salad a day in advance if needed. Cover tightly and store dressing in a separate container.
Pickles are addictive. Crunchy, tangy goodness in every bite. Namasu is a simple Japanese pickle that’s ready in an hour. Not only is it quick to make, there are just 6 ingredients. It can double as a refreshing tangy-sweet salad.
The first 3 ingredients – Cucumber, Ginger & Carrot.
It’s easy to make attractive carrot florets with a knife and steady hand.
Grated ginger adds a refreshing flavor to the vegetables.
Beautiful pickles, Japanese style.
