Japanese food,anyone?

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Japanese food,anyone?

Postby Dazzajapan » Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:22 am

after living in Japan for 14 years and with a dietician for a wife I get to eat quite a lot of it.Some faves of mine:

Saba no kizushi (vinegar marinated raw mackerel)

You want FRESH fish for a start.Can't understate that.
Fillet the fish by cutting off the head and tail and then slicing along the backbone.Remove bones (tweezers?) Leave the skin on!

put the filets in a dish and cover with salt (don't go mad..just enough)
let it sit overnight in the salt in the fridge.

cover with 100cc of rice vinegar and a dash of lemon juice, and four or five Tbsp of sugar (less if desired) let that six for six hours or so until absorbed well by the fish.

remove the fish from the marinade and then slice in 3 mm slices all along the length of the filet.You should end up with little half-moon slivers of fish.
Ready to eat.Delicious!


Okinawan Goya Champur (bitter gourd fry-up)

get some bitter melon and cut it lengthwise.Remove the white pith and seeds and then slice into crescents THINLY (the stuff is bitter)
cover the gourd with salt and let sit (the longer you do that the more bitterness will be removed.After doing so wash the gourd and dry as well as possible with a paper towel.

get some tofu (as firm as possible as you will fry it..tempeh may be ok too) and a can of Spam.Yes..Spam.Also add some nice pork!!!!!
Cut the spam up into 3-4 cm chunks and fry it with the tofu with bean sprouts,a bit of garlic,slivers of carrot etc etc and some soy sauce (try to keep the mix as liquid free as you can..fry in the gourd slices and then finally crack an egg into the mix and scramble that with the mix.

Done..stacks of vitamins and great in summer!


will get back on later with some Japanese fruit liquor recipes.
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Re: Japanese food,anyone?

Postby Spuddy » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:26 pm

Thanks Dazza, Mackeral is clearly one of few fish that even the Japanese cannot eat completely raw without treating it in some way first. Something I quickly realised after trying to replicate my first experience of a mixed sashimi some years back.

Dazzajapan wrote:will get back on later with some Japanese fruit liquor recipes.


If you've got one for Umeshu then that would be nice :)
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Umeshu was EXACTLY what I was thinking,mate!

Postby Dazzajapan » Sat Jul 04, 2009 10:19 pm

:)

OK....

Umeshu is a liqueur made from Ume (Japanese Apricot/plum/quince depending on who you ask.The Japanese use it in two ways,as umeboshi salted plum or in Umeshu..the plum is used when hard and green (not like a blood plum and the like)

You will need:
A big glass container (airtight) preferably UV resistant but no biggie.
1 kg green plums
0.5kg-0.8 kg of crystal sugar (the bigger the crystal the longer they take to absorb which is good)
1.8 Litres of any alcohol over 35% proof (Brandy is nice!!)

was the plums individually and with a sharp tool like a holepunch or icepick remove what is left of the stem.push a hole through the plum to let the booze in.Dry the plums as well as you can.

put some plums in the (already cleaned) glass container and then they the plums with sugar,more plums,more sugar....

pour the liquor on top and leave to sit.Can be drunk after 3 months,but better after a year or more.Remove the plums after 6months to 1 year...they should be a golden colour and can be eaten as is or put in trifle or jelly..or???


Here are some variations

Aloe shu (Aloe liqueur)
400 grams Aloe Vera
3-4 lemons
280 grams of Honey
1.8 L white liquor (35% proof)

what the Aloe, cut it into chunks and then dry it ooutside on a fine day for a day.
Peel the rind off the lemon and cut into 5mm circular slices.
mix with honey and Aloe in a glass container
pour on the booze.
store in the fridge for 6 months and then remove the Aloe.
remove the lemon after 2-3 months.


ichigo shu (strawberry liqueur)
1.5 kg strawberries
5-6 lemons
300-450 grams of rock sugar
2.7 Litres of 35% prrof white liquor (vodka?brandy?)

wash the fruit in a strainer and allow to dry off.
remove the stalk section
remove the rind and as much pith as possible from the lemons,
cut into 3 big slices.
put the liquor into your glass container and then add the strawberries,lemons and sugar.
keep airtight in a dark place.
Ready to drink in 2 months and fruit should be removed at this time.


for a smaller batch use 1kg berries,4-5 lemons,200-300g sugar and 1.8 Litres of booze.



happy boozing!!

:P
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oh yeah..check this out

Postby Dazzajapan » Sat Jul 04, 2009 10:27 pm

the liquor company has recipes for all sorts of weird and wonderful liqueurs.
http://www.takarashuzo.co.jp/products/s ... /index.htm

all in Japanese but if there is a recipe you want then I can certainly translate it for you.
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Postby ped » Sun Jul 05, 2009 2:10 pm

Interesting Spuddy, I think mackeral is great for sashimi, at this time of year I'll be on the beach catching them and whoofing them down with a bit of soy sauce and wasabi, wonderful, mind you I do often get some funny looks from fellow fishermen and beachgoers !!
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Postby Spuddy » Sun Jul 05, 2009 5:34 pm

Fantastic, thanks Dazza. :)
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no worries mate!

Postby Dazzajapan » Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:50 am

My pleasure.Love the stuff myself...made about 8 litres.I changed the recipe a bit by making one batch with Awamori (Okinawan jasmine rice shochu) and Australian Blue Gum Honey.Also added a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Ped,you are dead right,Mackerel is a beaut fish for sashimi,but it does tend to lend itself to parasites so you have to be careful..I think that is one reason the Japanese tend to pickle it..but the other reason is that mackerel is an (ashi hayai sakana) fish that doesn't keep fresh long,so the Japanese used to pickle it and wrap it with rice in persimmon leaves.

Personally Mackerel is my favourite raw fish.Another good one is saury.
You are lucky to live in a place where you can catch fresh mackerel, Ped!
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Postby rcww » Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:56 pm

Hi,

Where can one get fresh ume or ume tree in the uk?

Thanks
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