Cooking for Family

Posted on Jun 1, 2014 in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

nabeyaki Lianalisa sobaIn the past two days I had a great pleasure to cook with Liana and Lisa, young New York mothers, who love Japanese foods and love to cook good meals for their family. Day 1 was sushi class. Mastering the techniques of making sushi rice and several popular inside-out rolls were a piece of cake for these seasoned home cooks. When it came to nigirizushi making, which involves the use of very fresh, proper sushi fish for raw consumption, we had a bit problem. The sushi salmon, hamachi and tuna, which Lisa purchased from her neighborhood reputable fishmonger, were not at all sushi quality. Tuna was treated with carbon Monoxide – potential spoilege problem. Salmon and hamachi were wild and not properly frozen in advance – potential parasite problem. I decided to use these fish for cooked dishes on our Day 2 class. So, please make sure that when you are going to challenge on delicious sushi and sashimi meals at your home, please make sure that seafood which you use is fit for preparation. The sure place to get sushi fish? A Japanese food market such as Mitsuwa Market Place. Experienced and well-trained staffs working under the Japanese fishmonger make sure that the quality of their sushi fish is good.

Day 2 class was focused on their children’s favorites. Nabeyaki-udon (a hot pot noodle dish with a piece of chicken, shrimp tempura, mushroom and spinach), agedashi dofu (deep-fried tofu in a safory dashi broth), teriyaki salmon (not a usual too sweet & salty and starchy version), kitsune-soba (buckwheat noodle with deep-fried tofu) and quick-pickles. Lisa’s children, who came back from school, were curious to taste some of their mother’s new creations. While eating the kitsune-soba, a daughter gave us a big smile and thumbs-up nod. I admire Liana and Lisa. No matter how busy they are they take time and prepare meals for their family. They know that cooking meals from scratch assures their family’s good health. Cheers to Liana and Lisa.

Here is a quick pickles recipe which I shared with Liana and Lisa. Enjoy the radish, cucumber and cabbage which will become abundant during the summer season.

8 servings

1 pound spring cabbage or Napa cabbage
1 large Kurby cucumber
5 red radish
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 ounce salt cured shredded kelp (Optional)

Cut the cabbage or Napa cabbage into half inch thick slices. Cut the cucumber and radish into thin slices. Transfer all of the vegetables in a bowl. Add the salt to the bowl and toss it with the vegetables. Let the vegetables stand for 10 minutes.

Lightly squeeze the vegetables to remove some water and transfer it to a clean bowl. In a small cup mix the lemon juice, rice vinegar and sugar. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice mixture to the vegetables along with the cured kelp and toss.