Awesome Shiogama Blue Fish

Posted on Oct 5, 2017 in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

The Shiogama , salt encrusted, technique is used for the remaining filleted blue fish described in my previous blog and it produced a gorgeous and delicious result. French do it. Chinese do it. And also Japanese do it. Legend has it that this particular cooking technique in Japan is said to have been developed during the civil war era of the 16th century. Before leaving for the battlefield, a prominent warrior sent his mother a whole gorgeous sea bream cooked in a solid...

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Awesome Local Blue Fish & Yuan-yaki

Posted on Sep 28, 2017 in Hiroko's Blog

No to butter. No to olive oil or any other cooking oil. Blue fish enjoys a Japanese treatment. The fish shines in the traditional Yuan-yaki style of grilling producing a dish that is moist, juicy and flavorful. The ‘Yuan-yaki’ grilling method is timeless. See my Instagram Yuan-yaki grilling video. Here you see the photos in which fish was prepared in ‘Yuan-yaki’ grilling and takikomi gohan. Blue fish from the Atlantic waters was a bit of a disappointing “oily”...

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Please Taste True Flavor of Me!

Posted on Sep 7, 2017 in Hiroko's Blog

“Don’t call me ‘fish flakes’,  Don’t call me ‘bonito flakes’. Please understand me better! Please shave me into flakes from a solid block of katsuobushi and taste the true flavor of me.” Well, if I were katsuobushi, I would be screaming at you like that. Recently my friend Chef David, brought to my kitchen a katsuobushi (block of dried and smoked skipjack tuna). David obtained it 3 months ago on his trip to Makurazaki-town – the town famous for katsuobushi in Kagoshima...

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Red Radish Chrysanthemum Flower

Posted on Aug 24, 2017 in Hiroko's Blog

On Day 2 of The Essentials of Japanese Cooking Course at International Culinary Center ( https://www.internationalculinarycenter.com/new-york-campus/amateur-classes-ny/essentials-of-japanese-cuisine-with-hiroko-shimbo/ ) we marinated cod and salmon in miso marinade. Today, Day4, we removed the fish from the miso marinade and cooked them. Rich flavor of miso marinated fish was great. In order to serve this Yakimono (grilled fish) properly we made red radish chrysanthemum...

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Rolling Cucumber on Chopping Board

Posted on Aug 17, 2017 in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

Did you watch my hands rolling cucumbers on Instagram scant video? Instagram: hirokoshimbo Technique tip: Don’t roll your eyes; let’s roll cucumber! Cucumber has rather thick skin whose taste is a sort of ‘too green’ and rather unpleasant. This is why, I think, I see most cucumbers served in America are peeled in prepared dishes. In order to tackle this problems this is what we do in Japan. Sprinkle some sea salt over the cucumber and with both of your hands, roll them...

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