Warm Soba Noodle Bowl

Time: 40 minutes. A popular Japanese winter dish, warm soba with toppings is just the thing for lunch on an overcast day. The broth is made with dashi, a staple soup base whose delicate flavor comes from dried bonito tuna flakes and seaweed.

Yield
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 eggs
6 cups liquid dashi (or use concentrate)*
4 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
16 ounces dried soba noodles
20 thin slices daikon, peeled
1 sheet nori seaweed, cut into 1/4- by 1-in. strips
2 green onions, finely sliced diagonally

Preparation
1. Put eggs in a small pot of cold water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let sit 15 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water.

2. Bring dashi to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add mushrooms, mirin, and soy sauce.

3. Bring a 3-qt. saucepan of water to a boil. Add soba and cook, stirring to separate noodles, until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain but don't rinse. Divide noodles among 4 serving bowls.

4. Pour 1 1/2 cups of dashi over noodles in each bowl. Arrange mushrooms and daikon over noodles, dividing evenly so each bowl has a neat row of both. Peel eggs and cut each in half lengthwise, placing 1 half in each bowl. Divide nori and green onions among bowls.

Find liquid dashi in containers in Japanese groceries and some gourmet stores. It's more widely available as a dry concentrate called dashi-no-moto; reconstitute according to package directions.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories:436 (6.9% from fat)
Protein:20g
Fat:3.3g (sat 0.9)
Carbohydrate:88g
Fiber:0.4g
Sodium:1534mg
Cholesterol:106mg

Japanese cooking@home
by cooking lover

Oriental Salad

Yield
12 servings (serving size: : 3/4 cup)

Ingredients
1/3 cup rice or cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons sunflower seed kernels
2 (5-ounce) packages Japanese curly noodles (chuka soba), crumbled
8 cups shredded napa (Chinese) cabbage
2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Preparation
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon mixture into a bowl; cover and chill.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds, sunflower kernels, and noodles; cook 3 minutes or until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally. Spoon mixture into a large bowl; cover and chill. Add vinegar mixture to noodle mixture; let stand 15 minutes. Add cabbage, carrot, and onions, tossing to coat.

Nutritional Information
Calories:183 (30% from fat)
Fat:6.1g (sat 1.4g,mono 2g,poly 2.4g)
Protein:4.4g
Carbohydrate:29g
Fiber:2g
Cholesterol:3mg
Iron:1.1mg
Sodium:259mg
Calcium:68mg

Japanese cooking@home
by cooking lover

Vegetable Maki

These maki (rice rolled in nori) are easy to prepare once you master the rolling technique. Most Japanese markets sell bamboo rolling mats.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 5 maki pieces and 1 tablespoon sauce)

Ingredients
5 cups Basic Japanese White Rice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup finely chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
6 nori (seaweed) sheets
6 tablespoons Ponzu Sauce

Preparation
Place Basic Japanese White Rice in a bowl. Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt; sprinkle over rice, tossing gently with a wooden spoon.

Combine shiitake mushrooms and the next 4 ingredients (through mirin) in a small bowl; set aside.

Cut off top quarter of each nori sheet along short end. Place 1 nori sheet, shiny side down, on a sushi mat covered with plastic wrap, with the long end toward you. Pat about 3/4 cup rice mixture evenly over nori with moist hands, leaving a 1-inch border on 1 long end of nori. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons mushroom mixture over rice. Lift edge of nori closest to you; fold over filling. Lift bottom edge of sushi mat; roll toward top edge, pressing firmly on sushi roll. Continue rolling to top edge; press mat to seal sushi roll. Let rest, seam side down, 5 minutes. Slice about 1/2-inch from each end of roll; discard trimmings. Slice roll crosswise into 5 pieces. Repeat procedure with remaining nori, rice, and mushroom mixture. Serve with Ponzu Sauce.

Nutritional Information
Calories:254 (6% from fat)
Fat:1.7g (sat 0.1g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.1g)
Protein:5.2g
Carbohydrate:51.4g
Fiber:2.1g
Cholesterol:0.0mg
Iron:2.8mg
Sodium:522mg
Calcium:9mg

Japanese cooking@home
by cooking lover

Introduction

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule. In the early modern era massive changes took place that introduced non-Japanese cultures, most notably Western culture, to Japan.

Here you can learn how to cook Japanese food at home by yourself from many popular Japanese recipes. Let's do it and enjoy the great foods now!

Japanese cooking@home
by cooking lover