guerilla shopping tactics lead to homemade Japanese dinner

After eating all of that Brisket yesterday, we decided that our original plan of going to Jake's Deli on Saturday was overkill. Instead, we went to Mitsuwa for some ramen. After lunch we braved the masses of shoppers and managed to come away with a load of Japanese booty:





I was inspired to make dinner.

Preparing dashi:
Kombu

Bonito Flakes

The finished dashi: the darker one is the primary dashi and the lighter stock is the secondary dashi.


Which I used to make miso soup:


And chawan-mushi:
Before steaming

and After I used watercress instead of the traditional trefoil, but I think it would be just as good without any greenery.


My first attempt at spicy tuna handrolls was a tasty one but a little untidy. We did riceless versions with lettuce and a little bit of oshinko. A throw back to when Pigmon and I both (unsuccessfully) tried the South Beach diet during which we ate a ton of sashimi and riceless handrolls.


Deep-Fried Stuffed Japanese Eggplant (Nasu Hasami-age) with a ginger glaze


And finally, this:


The most peculiar item we came across at Mitsuwa was a package of Lil Smokies- I grew up eating these diminutive sausages at family functions as they were always on the buffet table. The package looked exactly the same, but there was a sticker that read 'Japanese Style.' Intrigued (especially since they had no ingredient list) we wanted to cook 'em up and see what about them warranted the sticker. I guessed that maybe they would taste more like spam than anything else, so when I was deep frying the eggplant, I threw a few Lil Smokies in the oil for good measure.



I really couldn't taste any defining characteristic that would suggest, or even whisper Japanese but maybe I am just ignorant of what any sort of Japanese style sausage might taste like. Does it exist? Irregardless, they were tasty, especially with the crispy deep fried skin. I sliced them up and served them with a variety of Japanese pickles over rice. Although we didn't do it last night, a fried egg on top and some miso soup on the side would make an excellent breakfast!

Kristina

Trixie-Pea,

Your Guerrilla Shopping post is one of those posts to which I keep going back, and not just to reread your Japanese Booty pun.

The miso looks terrific, kombu/bonito flakes, take the time to do it right, but the chawan-mushi, now we're talking! Would you please post your recipe for chawan-mushi, I'd certainly like to have a proven recipe, especially one that looks so delicious.

If you have the inclination I'd also be quite interested in your preparation of the stuffed eggplant, especially what you used for filling.

Enjoy,
Gary

Your dinner looked really great. I would also be interested to know what you used in your stuffed eggplant.

One of my pet peeves is when cooks or recipe writers say that such and such a recipe is so versatile, and that you can substitute any type of meat or vegetable for the given ingredients and it will still come out just as good.

But with that being said...the great thing about this meal, is that you really can make multiple versions of the stuffed eggplant, rice bowl and chawan mushi. I don't usually have raw ginko nuts and lily root laying around my pantry--but that shouldn't stop one from making chawan-mushi.

Chawan-mushi

For those who haven't had it--it's a Japanese savory egg custard--and if prepared correctly the custard should end up floating atop a layer of dashi and shrimp/chicken juices.

Here's my ingredient list (for 4 servings)
-------------------------------------------------------
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups stock (chicken or dashi)
about a tablespoon Mirin (japanese rice wine)
about a tablespoon Soy sauce
big pinch of salt
-------------------------------------------------------
chicken breast
shrimp
water chestnuts (diced)
watercress or spinach, chopped
ginko nuts (if you have 'em)
sake

(How much of each? Enough to cover the bottom of a ramekin with a mixture of the solid ingredients)

1. Brine your shrimp in icy salt water (I almost always do this no matter what I am doing with shrimp) for about 20 min--then cut up into 1/2 inch pieces.

2. Prepare steamer. I use a bamboo steamer on top of a sauce pan, but there are many ways to rig up a steamer.

3. Cut chicken breast into 1/2 inch cubes and marinate in a tsp or 2 of sake and a tsp of soy while you assemble your custard. Drain off marinade before adding to recipe.

4. Prepare custard.
-Beat eggs, trying carefully not to beat too much air into them. They
should be well combined, but not frothy.
-In another bowl, combine dashi, salt, mirin and soy. And then pour
slowly into the egg mixture--again try not to make too many air
bubbles.

5. Prepare ramekins/chawan-mushi cups/custard cups
-Arrange chicken/shrimp/chestnuts into the bottoms of each cup--
solid mixture take up about 1/4 of the cup.
-Pour custard into cups--fill to about 1/2 inch below top.
-Sprinkle with chopped watercress (or spinach)
-Cover with plastic wrap

6. Steam cups for about 20 minutes.


Stuffed Eggplant (Nasu Hasami-age)

I used chicken to stuff the eggplants that night--but the next time I do it I will probably use pork instead. I slice Japanese eggplants on the bias into 1/2 inch slices and coat in flour. Then I make "sandwiches"--stuffing them with a mixture of ground chicken or pork, garlic, ginger, soy, sake, and white pepper.

Then I dredge the whole thing lightly in flour and deep fry in 350 degree oil for about 4-5 minutes.

I serve it with a "ginger glaze" made by just grating a bunch of ginger into a non-stick skillet and adding some mirin to cover (and a dash of dark soy)--and then slowly reducing it to a glaze. It would also be excellent with some chili oil. Traditionally it is served with a dashi-mirin-soy sauce (like the one used for tempura). Also, in the traditional recipe, there is no garlic or ginger in the stuffing. Admittedly, sometimes Japanese seasoning is a little too subtle for my palate.

These recipes are adapated from one of the great Japanese cookbooks out there-- Japanese Cooking- A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in trying their hand at Japanese cooking. It concentrates less on recipes (although their are plenty) and more on technique and ingredients.

trixie-pea

P.S. I know that I have heard murmurings over the years about Japanese restaurants in the area doing Kaiseki dinners--but have not seen it first hand. Has anyone out there had one in Chicago?

A Kaiseki at Heat, with a live rockfish and flying fish add-on, was a highlight meal for me a few years back. Haven't heard much about Heat since then....

JeffB wrote:A Kaiseki at Heat, with a live rockfish and flying fish add-on, was a highlight meal for me a few years back. Haven't heard much about Heat since then....

I've got posts stacked up like planes over O'Hare. I'll get to it.

Erik M.

Erik M. wrote:

JeffB wrote:A Kaiseki at Heat, with a live rockfish and flying fish add-on, was a highlight meal for me a few years back. Haven't heard much about Heat since then....

I've got posts stacked up like planes over O'Hare. I'll get to it.

Erik M.

I recently spoke with the folks at Heat (which I love), and they said that they were no longer doing Kaiseki dinners, sadly for lack of interest.