Read Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional Online

Authors: Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner

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Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional (18 page)

BOOK: Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional

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Here is a simple dressing that contains very little fat per serving. It is tasty over regular greens, shredded cabbage (a common component of Japanese salads), reconstituted wakame, or other delicate sea vegetables. At our restaurant, Now and Zen, we serve this over our popular “Wakame Salad,” which consists of romaine lettuce topped with delicate wakame, fresh corn, tomatoes, red onions, and cucumbers.

Yield: 1¾ cups

Wakame Salad

Wakame Salada

Per serving:

Approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons dried, chopped wakame soaked in ¼ cup of water,

or ¼ cup salted fresh wakame, rinsed, soaked, re-rinsed, and diced

Reconstitute the wakame in the water for 10 minutes. It will swell and and come to life. Drain.

Although packs of finely chopped, dried wakame contain only a few ounces, remember that you don’t need much for your salad; about 1 to 2 tablespoons per person will reconstitute into a generous portion. Some Japanese grocery stores carry fresh wakame preserved in salt in their refrigerated section. It should look tender. Be sure to rinse it thoroughly, then soak and rinse again before using it, or you will choke on the salt.

For the salad:

Any vegetables you like: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, red onions, grated carrots, fresh corn kernels, etc.

Arrange the vegetables on a plate, top with the wakame, and pour on a generous serving of Wa-Fu Dressing. Devour immediately.

Wakame salads started to appear on the Japanese culinary scene in the ’80s as the Japanese began to adopt Western foods. They added soy sauce to a basic vinaigrette and made “Wa-Fu Dressing.” Then they poured it on top of tender wakame and greens, and voilà, a new culinary tradition was established. Using the most tender wakame you can find for this dish is of paramount importance. Often, you will find chopped, dried wakame marketed as “cut wakame” in Japanese food stores. Obviously tough-looking, stringy wakame in long strands will not do the job when it comes to eating it raw and fresh.

Yield: 1 serving

Creamy Japanese Dressing

Wa-Fu Mayonezu Dressingu

½ cup vegan mayonnaise

¼ cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoons sweetener of your choice

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Mix everything together well. Combine with greens of your choice.

Here is a mayonnaise-based dressing that suits any type of greens. Feel free to use full-fat, low-fat, tofu-based, or non-fat mayo in making this. It is especially suitable for a Japanese-style cole slaw.

Yield: approximately 1 cup

Miso Dressing

Miso Dressingu

2 to 3 tablespoons light miso

2 tablespoons sweetener of choice

¼ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup salad oil

Combine the miso with the sweetener. Mix in the vinegar. Whisk in the oil until emulsified.

The type of miso you use will determine exactly how much is added to this tasty dressing. A milder white or koji miso is preferable in this dressing.

Yield: ¾ cup

Cucumber and Wakame Salad with Miso Dressing

Kyuri to Wakame no Miso Dressingu Kake

2 Japanese cucumbers

¾ cup reconstituted tender wakame, lightly squeezed

½ cup
Konbu Dashi
(Konbu Stock), page 54

¼ cup white miso

2 tablespoons liquid sweetener, such as FruitSource, rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, or sugar

2 tablespoons rice vinegar, or to taste

Slice the cucumbers as thinly as possible. Combine with the wakame in a bowl. To make the dressing, heat the stock in a small pan with the miso, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve it completely. Add the sweetener and rice vinegar, adjusting the quantity as necessary to achieve a balance between sweetness and tartness. Allow the dressing to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Combine with the cucumbers and chill briefly before serving.

Here is an interesting salad that my mother taught me.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Cucumber Salad with Wa-Fu Dressing

Dressing

cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 to 2 tablespoons frozen apple or white grape juice concentrate, FruitSource, or sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon canola oil

Several drops sesame oil

2 Japanese cucumbers, or ½ medium European cucumber, sliced as thinly as possible (paper thin is recommended)

Whisk the dressing together and pour over the cucumbers in a bowl. Toss lightly. Serve right away or allow to marinate for 30 minutes. (This will soften the cucumber slices.)

An all-time favorite of my little daughters! They will crunch away on slice after slice of this refreshing and simple salad. It is especially good as a condiment to accompany fried dishes. Most important for the salad is the type of cucumber used. Only Japanese cucumbers or the long, thin European variety are recommended, since they are not waxed nor do they have bitter skins.

Yield: Serves 2 hungry little girls or 3 to 4 adults as a condiment/salad.

Konnyaku with Sweet Miso and Citrus Sauce

Konnyaku no Yuzu Dengaku Kake

One 8-ounce package konnyaku, white or dark

¼ cup white miso

2 tablespoons mirin

1 to 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice, maple syrup, FruitSource, or sugar

2 tablespoons water

Grated zest of ¾ to 1 yuzu

Slice the konnyaku ¼ inch thick. Simmer in boiling water for five minutes; drain. Combine the miso with the remaining ingredients to form a thick sauce. Adjust the degree of sweetness and the amount of yuzu zest, depending on the type of sweetener you use and how fragrant with yuzu you would like the sauce to be.

Place the slices next to each other on a plate, and pour the sauce over them. Serve immediately. This can also be served at room temperature.