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Hirokos Blog

Hiroko’s Kitchen made it onto CulinaryPrograms.net’s recently completed list of 100 Magnificent Sites for Chefs.

CulinaryPrograms.net says, “We built the list for the next generation of chefs who will soon be entering culinary programs and will need to stay up to date on the latest trends in cuisine, and know how to leverage the internet and other forms of media to get their work noticed. We think your site is a great example of how culinary professionals can use the web to their advantage.”

Hiroko’s Basic Sushi Class

Posted on 3:30 PM in Hiroko's Blog

Here are some of the photos from my Basic Sushi Class.  Farryn Weiner, a very successful travel writer and blogger, who attended my sushi class at at International Culinary Center (ICC), NYC, last Friday took them and shared with me so that I can post them on my blog.    Please visit https://www.jetsetfarryn.com/post/3052963888/manic-month.   Farryn is every place even on a private jet travelling….

Ramen and Gyoza class at ICC

Please join me at my next Sushi and Sashimi class (March 4th) and Basic sushi class (April 1st ) at ICC.

Making the gyoza dough

Farryn is making miso sauce for her ramen

This is our Chashu pork

Two color gyoza - pork and vegetarian

Delicious Ramen for slurp!

Ramen

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Photos from my third book recipe development and testing

Posted on 7:10 AM in Hiroko's Blog

Here are some of the photos for my file which I took during the past months recipe development.   I will post some more photos later.

Sake Braised ShortribsVarieties of Surinagashi Soups

Vegs-stuffed Okonomiyaki

Pork Shoulder the Japanese Way

Salmon Rice

Chicken Salad with Miso-Peanut Sauce

Lamb wonton in Dashi Broth

Quick New Omuraisu

Salmon, Shrimp and Veg. Agedashi

Chicken Ball Nabe Hot Pot

Spicy Miso Chicken Wings

Tofu Pattie Ganmodoki

Potato-au-gratain The Japanese Way

Yakisoba

Crisp Vegetable Tempura

Quick Miso Ramen

Hot Italian Sausage Rice

Simmerd Vegs. The Japanese Way

Stir-fried Udon with Shrimp

My next book

Posted on 1:46 PM in Hiroko's Blog

I am very pleased to write that I am now hard at work completing my next book. It will appear next year, 2012. As often happens in such projects, one of the last things to be decided is the title, so I can’t actually tell you that now.  But I would like to tell you what I am planning and hear any suggestions that you may have.

My first two books, The Japanese Kitchen and The Sushi Experience were devoted to telling my readers about the history, culture of Japanese cuisine and preparation of authentic, traditional Japanese dishes in an American kitchen using locally available ingredients and techniques familiar to American home and professional kitchens.   But there is another side of Japanese cooking that my first books did not directly address. That is the continually evolving and adapting nature of Japanese cuisine and its ready adoption of materials, techniques and recipes for other cuisines. This is an integral feature of our cooking. We took tempura from the Portuguese, kabocha squash, tomatoes and potatoes from South and Central America;  our beloved ton-katsu is easily recognized as German/Austrian wienerschnitzel; as my book relates, sushi found its way to Japan from its roots in Thailand. Of course, many of our classical noodle dishes and the art of stir frying came from China. These are NOT examples of “fusion” cooking; they are representative of the orderly growth and evolution of Japanese cuisine.  Regardless of their “foreignness” the fundamental “rules” of Japanese cooking are always strictly obeyed.  The goal of my book is to do the same thing with influences from the American way of dining and the American kitchen on the extension of Japanese cooking.

When I moved to this country in 1999, I found myself confronted with a whole new array of unfamiliar vegetables, type of fish and cuts of meat.  For a while I tried to ignore them and stuck with what I knew.  But gradually, I have incorporated these elements in to my Japanese cooking, and I have developed dishes that are much more harmonious with the American way of dining.  This includes not only the recipes, but extends to portion size (modest!) and plating. And now, in my third book, I want to share these ideas with you. So we have shortribs braised in the Japanese way, chilled smooth zucchini and celeriac miso soup; salmon, fennel and dill rice and 122 more. But I want to stress again that these are dishes that extend Japanese cuisine; they do not defile or confuse it. 

Another important feature of the book is that the nearly all of the preparations rely on one or more stocks or sauces that are presented in the book. The merit of this approach is that these materials can be prepared in advance, in quantity, stored and be ready for immediate use in cooking. Thus, preparation time and complexity for each of the individual dishes is significantly reduced. The book is, in fact, arranged by chapters that feature each of the stocks or sauces. Thus, for a start one can simply prepare one or two of the stocks and sauces and with that beginning, immediately be able to execute many of the recipes in the book.

I hope you find my idea for my third book interesting and exciting. I would be very pleased to receive any comments, questions or criticisms from my readers.  Let me hear from you.

I will post some of the photos of the dishes which were taken during the recipe tasting sessions in the past months.

A Taste of the Past by Linda Pelaccio

Posted on 7:54 AM in Hiroko's Blog

First of all I would like to let all of you know that the problem of accessing to archives was solved.  Thank you very much for your patience.

Yesterday Linda Pelaccio invited me to her show,  A Taste of the Past.   Linda discussed the tradition of “good luck round food” for the new year.  One of the topic was Japanese mochitsuki (rice pounding ceremony at the end of the year)..that’s why I was there and chatting over it.

Tuneinwww.heritageradionetwork.com/archives?tag=Hiroko…  (type Hiroko Shimbo in search box) and learn the conversation between Linda and I about mochitsuki and Japanese cuisine and food culture.

The radio studio of A Taste of the Past is located in the compound of Roberta’s restaurant.  Roberta’s is a casual and charming pizza restaurant which is equipped with a real wood burning oven.  When I asked the chef what is the temperature he can get inside the oven, the answer was 800F….very hot; pizza stays inside the oven only 50 seconds. After the interview we enjoyed the pizza – thin yet slightly chewy crust and delicious toppings.  Roberta’s restaurant is a stone thrown distance from the Morgan Avenue on L train.

Reminder: I am teaching a fun and delicious Ramen and Gyoza classes at International Culinary Center https://www.internationalculinarycenter.comon January 14th and additional fun, sticky and great Basic Sushi Class on January 28th.  See you there!!!

Osechi Ryori

Posted on 3:54 PM in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

Happy New Year!!!  Here is New Year’s Feast, Osechi-ryori,which was prepared by my sister, Keiko Arakawa in Tokyo.  Keiko, unlike her two sisters, diligently prepares traditional elaborate New Year’s meals for her family every year.  Keiko shared with us her favorites recipes and here are some of them.  Thank you, Keiko.

Recipes by Keiko Arakawa;

Tazukuri (candied baby sardine): the name of the recipe sounds a bit scary, but this is a “must” dish, which in the past promised a good harvest of rice…today it leads to to prosperity.   Tazukuri  is a dish in which baby sardines are toasted until crisp, then, cooked with sugar, shoyu, mirin and sake.  Toasting baby fish crisp in a skillet (our Mother’s way) requires patience and time, so Keiko uses modern approach – she microwaves them. 

1 1/2 ounces tazukuri (dried baby sardine)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon shoyu

1 tablespoon sake

1/3 tablespoon mirin

Place a paper towel on a microwave oven-safe plate.  Arrange half of the baby anchovie on top of the paper towel-lined plate without overlapping them.  Microwave for 1  1/2 to 2 minutes.  Check the doness by breaking it up – it should feel crisp.  Repeat the same process for the second batch of sardine.

In a skillet add the sugar, shoyu, sake and mirin and put it over medium heat.  When the mixture starts to sizzle, add the fish and turn off the heat.  Gently toss the fish wit the sauce. 

Lightly grease another plate and transfer the cooked fish onto it.  Let it stand to cool.

Nishiki Tamago (steamed layered egg cake): Nishiki means golden brocade.  This gorgeous looking egg dish reminds people of that.  I always fought with my sisters to get many portions of my mother’s Nishiki tamago.   You need a square cake mold to prepare this dish.

4 large eggs

1 1/5 ounces sugar

Pinch salt

Make hard boiled eggs.  While the eggs are hot separate the yolks and whites.  Press the egg white first through a fine sieve and transfer it to a bowl.  After finishing the egg white, press the yolk through the sieve and transfer it to another bowl.  Add 1 ounce sugar to the bowl of egg yolk, and the remaining, to the bowl of egg white.  Add pinch salt to each bowls.  With a spatula, gently fold the egg, salt and sugar. 

Cut out and pace a parchment paper on the bottom of the mold.  Place additional parchment paper on the sides of the mold.  Transfer and fill the egg white in the mold.  Press the white gently to level the surface.  Place the egg yolk on top of the egg white and, again, gently level the surface (do not press hard).

In a heated steamer cook the egg for 5 minutes.  Remove the mold from the steamer and let it stand to cool.  Remove the egg cake from the mold and cut it into bite sized squares.

Kurikinton (Sweet Chestnuts): This is a quite sweet dish.  Sweet cooked chestnuts which holds thier shape during cooking are tossed with sweet cooked and mashed Japanese sweet potato.

12 pounds Japanese sweet potato

1 jar Chestnut kanroni (cooked chestnut in syrup)

Remove thick skin of Japanese sweet potato and soak it in a cold water overnight.  Steam the sweet potato in a high steaming steamer.  Press the cooked potato through a fine sieve while it is hot.  Transfer the pressed potato to a pot and add the generous amount of chestnut syrup until the potato is lightly loosened.  Put the pot over medium heat and cook it, stirring all the time, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer the potato to a bowl and add the drained chestnut kanroni.  Let the mixture stand to cool.

After enjoyable holiday meals

Posted on 8:59 AM in Hiroko's Blog

At this very end of the year and after enjoyment of  wonderful and plentiful holiday meals, I want to share this note with you for our healthy 2011.  The fact is that the Japanese population still exceeds nearly all other people in the area of longevity – Japanese women are number one in the world, and Japanese men are in fourth position.  The country has highest number of centenarians.  We have the lowest obesity rate.  This does not, however, mean that we are not interested in foods or do not celebrate holidays with extensive excellent meals.  On the contrary, we are known to be obsessed with foods – wonderful foods, but this does not necessarily mean extremely expensive ones – and we make every excuse for celebrating an occasion in order to enjoy delicious meals with family and friends.  In Japan Bonenkai (the end of the year get together dinner) is one such occasion.  Business people attends Bonenkai dinners organized by a department, section or group to which they belong to at their company.  Business people also organizes additional Bonenkais with friends, ending up ten or dozen of Bonenkai during the last month of the year.  The purpose of Bonenkai – sharing the very end of the year with good meal and drinks with colleagues and friends – is to thank each other for their kindness shared, so that we can start a fresh year with a renewed relationship.  So, considering these similar characteristics of Japanese and American festive occasion dining, there must be some very good reasons for the Japanese population’s positive health statistics when compared to the US and other western countries.  A large contributing element to Japanese longevity comes from our food culture and its traditions.  I was born and raised in Japan, so my parents made sure that I would follow these traditional guidelines.  Here are some of those dining guidelines.

1. Eat until you are 80% full.  It takes about 20 minutes for our brain get the signal that our stomachs are full.  So, my mother told me eat slowly and enjoy conversation at the table.  This prevents over eating.  You can apply this easily at your next festive table.  ENJOY CONVERSATION!

2. Chew food well.  My father’s (serious surgeon) target number was 100 chews for each mouthful.  He was always chewing more than other member of my family, so he was always quiet… Maybe my mother appreciated this.  Chewing food contributes to slowing down our eating pace and to better digestion. 

3. Try to eat at least 30 food varieties every day in order to get a full compliment of well balanced nutrients.  With our focus in Japan on a large number and variety of smaller dishes to compose a meal, it is easier to accomplish this goal with the Japanese diet.

In addition to this I would like to add one more element.  Use smaller plate at the table, especially when you are serving foods from communal large plate and bowls.  When you have a large plate you tend to overload it and consume unnecessarily large meal.  This has already proven by careful observation at a sampling of University dining cafeterias.  When the school replaced large plates with the smaller ones, the volume of waist (garbage) at the end of the day dramatically reduced.  And the students consumed less food with fewer calories.

There was an interesting article on The New York Times.  It shows that GDP growth does not necessarily have a correlation with increased longevity.  China which witnessed the highest percentage GDP grow in the past eight years is bad shape in the area of increased longevity.  The polution and accumulated stress caused especially by rapid urbanization and industrialization is detrimental to increase in longevity.  Where is the best place to be healthy and content and have associated longevity?  According to the Times article France seems to be a wonderful place for the quality of food, food culture and long life (especially for women) even though the retirement age has just been pushed up two years from 60 to 62 for early retirement (not so bad att all).  But, it is a bit of a male chauvinistic society…so, I am happy to be where I am now in New York, where I can make my own good choices for healthy and happy dining and living.

On my next blog I will post several light meal rec pes whichi will be part of my third book (estimated publication date is spring 2012).  I will write you more about the content of the book in the New Year.  Dozo Yoi Otoshi o Omukae Kudasai.  (Have a Happy New Year!!!)

Dobin-mushi (Matsutake mushroom soup)

Posted on 7:44 AM in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

Please be alerted at the beginning of October, 2011.  Please try hard to find the mushrooms in your area – local, domestic or imported.  Finding kabosu fruit is a impossible mission at commercial base.  Use a mixture of lemon and lime juice to flavor the soup.

4 servings

1 to 2 matsutake mushrooms, soaked in salt added water for 10 to 15 minutes to remove soil and insect (if the mushroom is clean and no trace of insect, omit the soaking process)

4 tiger shrimp, shelled and de-veined

8 ounces flounder, cut into 4 pieces

2 ounces mizuna greens or arugula

4 cups dashi stock

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons sake

Shoyu to taste

A mixture of lemon and lime juice

Remove soil from mushroom and wipe dry.  Cut mushrooms into thin slices lengthwise. 

In a saucepan bring 2 cups water with 1/4 cup sake to a gentle boil.  Have a bowl of ice cold water at hand.  Add shrimp and cook until the outside turns white.  Fish out shrimp with a slotted spoon and drop them in ice cold water.  When shrimp are cool, remove them from the water and drain.  Add fish to the saucepan and cook until fish turns white.  Carefully remove fish from the hot water and lower it into cold water.  Quickly remove it from water and drain.   Enjoy!

In a pot heat 4 cups of dashi stock over medium heat to a gentle simmer.  Add salt and the remaining sake.  Add little shoyu to taste.  Add shrimp, fish and mushrooms and cook 3 to 4 minutes over low heat.  Turn off the heat, add greens and cover the pot with a lid.  Infuse the soup for a few minutes.  Divide and transfer shrimp, fish, mushroom slices and greens into four soup bowls and pour in hot broth. 

At the table each diner drops about 1/8 teaspoon of lemon and lime juice mixture into the soup.

Too late…but Matsutake mushroom

Posted on 8:22 AM in Hiroko's Blog

It’s been busy months, travelling and participating some of the most memorable Conference and events in my life both domestic and abroad, including the one at CIA’s World of Flavor Conference: Japan at Greystone, CA campus.  It was an absolute pleasure and honor to be a moderator and presenter for many General Sessions and seminars at this Conference, and work with great chefs who flew from Japan.  Now I am back to my blog page with an article which should have been posted a month ago.

 

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Why Halloween…….?

Posted on 7:07 PM in Hiroko's Blog

Today Christmas has completely blended into Japanese culture.  The triumph of commercialism is complete; there absolutely no religious aspect of the holiday except among Japan’s very small minority of Christians.  Now new culture is invading here again from the West – mainly from America.  It is Halloween.

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Misho yuzu

Posted on 4:07 AM in Hiroko's Blog

It is not just yuzu; the very best are called Misho yuzu.  There is a popular description in Japan which tells how long it takes typically for some trees to bear fruit after planting their seeds.  “Momo, Kuri San’nen; Kaki Hachinen.  Yuzu no Oobaka Juhachinen.; translated: “It takes three years for peach and chestnut trees to bear fruit from seeds, and persimmon tree, eight years.  When it comes to slow-growing yuzu , it is eighteen years”.  It takes amazing patience for yuzu farmers to harvest their first crop. 

To reduce the time many farmers today take a shortcut by grafting a baby yuzu plant to other cisrus tree.  However, yuzu harvested from grafted trees have a kind of diluted, poor flavor and aroma.  Misho yuzu is the real yuzu from a tree laden with fruit after eighteen or so year of waiting.  Farmers, who are lucky enough to have inherited trees from their previous generations (this is in the most common case), possess tremendous pride in their fruit.  The good news is that even one hundred years old trees continue to produce gorgeous fruit.  If you are planning to plant yuzu seeds, please have a long term plan in mind ….think of your succeeding generations.  And according to one Misho yuzu farmer tree bears flowers and fruit only every other year, requiring even more patience from the farmer.  This one year hibernation period may be responsible for the tree’s longevity.  At this time of the year (it is mid October, but still quite warm here in Japan) the yuzu fruit is still dark green color.  By the middle of November the fruits turn to gorgeous golden yellow.  Its highly aromatic flavor is released from the rind and juice, and is used as a garnish and flavoring in many preparations that are the highlight winter dishes.

One more note: Yuzu branches are covered with thorny needles like a rose stem.  You can see it from this photo – a growing branch with long needles.  Farmers who harvest fruits must do so with utmost caution to avoid being stung.