November Seasonal Japanese Seafood

Autumn is a great time for Japanese seafood as a lot of the fish are rich with fat. This time of year we love sanma, both as sashimi, or simply salted and grilled. Katsuo done tataki-style, seared on the outside and rare on the inside, calls out for some shochu or nihonshu. And when it gets really cold, Shinji loves kanburi, or the winter buri (Japanese amberjack) rich with fat and as sashimi. 

This list of November seafood is short as I don't have a lot of time at the moment, but I do hope to update it later this month along with links to photo of the seafood.

Akagarei - flathead flounder (Hippoglossoides dubius)

Ara – rock cod (Nuphon spinosus)

Buri – Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Chidai – crimson sea bream (Evynnis japonica)

Ginsake – coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

Hamadai – ruby snapper (Etelis coruscans)

Hokke – arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus)

Katsuo – bonito or skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Kawahagi – thread-sail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer)

Kurigani – helmet crab (Telmessus cheiragonus)

Medai – Japanese butterfish (Hyperoglyphe japonica)

Mishima Okoze – Japanese stargazer (Uranoscopus japonicus)

Mizudako – North Pacific giant octopus (Octopus dofleini)

Sanma – Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)

Shishamo – Japanese longfin smelt (Spirinchus lanceolatus)

Yanaginomai – yellow-body rockfish (Sebastes steindachneri)

Japanese Rice - Lessons from Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga

Rice is a staple of the Japanese meal, yet how confident are you when it comes to washing, measuring, and cooking rice? Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga shares with us the proper way to rinse and cook Japanese rice. The results is rice with a gorgeous sheen and each grain cooked just right.

This information is translated from the Lohas website which has given us permission to put this in English.

Washing the rice.

In a large bowl place your rice and add a good amount of cold water (about three times the amount of water to rice). With your hands mix the rice in the water and discard the cloudy water. Repeat until the water rinses clear, usually about three or four times.

POINT: Use good water, but not too expensive. Filtered or tap water is fine.

If the rinsing water is clear, put the rice in a strainer for ten minutes to rest. This allows the water on the surface of the rice to be absorbed.

Put the rice into your rice cooker. Add water. The amount of water should be one part water to one part rice. The key point here is to measure the rice after the ten minute rest in the strainer, not the original measuring before rinsing.

(Yukari's note: When we tested this recipe at home, two cups dry rice measured to about two and a half cups after rinsing and resting for ten minutes. It made a huge difference in the rice after cooking, a big improvement. The rice was fluffy and tender. Also, it was much easier to get the rice out of our ceramic rice pot. Uusally, rice is stuck to the bottom of the pot.)

Cook your rice as you normally do, or by turning on your rice cooker.

(Yukari's note: At our home we cook our rice in a donabe or ceramic pot. I let the rice soak in the water for about an hour. Turn on the heat to high for nine or ten minutes. The key is to listen for the water boiling. Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for twelve minutes. Then, I turn on the heat to high for one minute to try and make a nice crust on the bottom of the pot.)

You too will love this way of cooking Japanese rice, as taught to us by Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga.


You may also like this post on how to make dashi from Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga.

Japanese Supermarket Gotta Get - Tube Seasonings

About three or four nights a week, one of these tubes will find their way to our dinner table. On the top is neriume, then on the bottom from left to right is yuzu kosho, nama wasabi, karashi,  and yuzu kosho wasabi.

neriume - umeboshi paste

yuzu kosho - a salty and slightly spicy paste of yuzu, salt, and green tougarashi (pepper)

nama wasabi - fresh wasabi

karashi - Japanese mustard

yuzu kosho wasabi - a blend of wasabi and yuzu kosho

The neriume is used mostly for making salad dressings, mixed with some rice wine vinegar, a bit of soy sauce, and some sesame oil. It is also a nice garnish to some sashimi or steamed white fish.

I can't get enough of the yuzu kosho. We use it on everything from a garnish to pot au feu, oden stew, yakitori, and grilled fish. It can be added to any salad dressing. Most recently we had it with steamed potatoes from Hokkaido. We just mixed a bit of the yuzu kosho in with some mayonnaise as a dip for the hot potatoes.

The nama wasabi and yuzu kosho wasabi are used mostly for when we have sashimi.

And the karashi mostly for oden.

These can be found in supermarkets or even at 100 yen shops. Other flavors to be found include ground ginger, grated ginger, and momiji oroshi (grated daikon and dried red pepper). Many of these products are from the spice company, S&B, famous for its curry powder. 

These have become an essential part of our pantry. Convenient, delicious, and easy on the wallet.

Yukari Spring Rolls (Red Shiso & Ground Chicken)

I don't know what it is about harumaki (spring rolls) that I find so addictive. The crispy skins are definitely one reason I will make these. Another is that depending on the filling, it can be a quick and easy side dish to pull together at the last moment. This is also perhaps the one fall-back appetizer dish that I go to for most dinner parties.

This quick, easy, and delicious recipe is simply ground chicken and yukari (dried, red, shiso leaves). Another version I like to do that has similar flavors are fresh shiso leaves, umeboshi paste, and ground chicken. 

Two important tips to keep in mind. First, cook a small batch of the chicken and yukari mix in a pan to see if you are happy with the flavor. It is possible to add more yukari to the mix at this point if you prefer a stronger shiso flavor.

Second, as I am usually making this at the last minute, I can't be bothered with making a flour and water paste to seal the rolls shut. So I am careful to put the unsealed end down into the hot oil first so that it seals itself shut as it cooks. It works like a charm and saves time in the kitchen.

Chicken Shiso Spring Rolls

Makes eight

1 cup ground chicken
1 Tablespoon yukari
8 Tee Yih Jee spring roll wrappers
vegetable oil

Spread two tablespoons of chicken and yukari mix on one edge of the spring roll wrapper. Roll like a cigar and leave the unsealed edge face down.

Heat a small amount of oil in a large saute pan wide enough to hold the length of the spring rolls. Place the unsealed edge of the spring roll face down into the oil. Saute until light brown and chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

As the shiso brings a lot of flavor to the spring rolls these do not need a dipping sauce.

Nakamura-san's Wafu Curry 中村さんちの 和風ポークカレー

Japanese television is filled with cooking programs. Even daily variety programs often include a cooking segment. Asaichi on NHK (Japan's public broadcasting channel) is a program that I watch almost daily while having breakfast. Recently, a quick and easy wafu (Japanese-style) version of curry was shown so I replicated it at home. What makes it Japanese is its use of tsuyu, the flavors of the sweet soy broth are prevalent in the curry.

I was first attracted to the recipe because it uses curry powder and it makes a roux with flour and katakuriko (potato starch). It's quick and easy. Also, it uses no oil, so it appears to be a healthy version of curry. The original recipe has just pork and onions in the curry but I included steamed potatoes and carrots.

Here is the recipe in Japanese.

Nakamura-san's Wafu Curry
Serves four

200 grams thinly sliced pork belly
1 onion, julienned

500 ml water
500 ml men tsuyu (concentrated broth for noodles)
70 grams of Nakamura curry roux (recipe below)

optional garnish:
negi (leeks), julienned
raw egg


Nakamura curry roux
240 grams flour
50 grams curry powder (I like S&B)
50 grams katakuriko (potato starch)

In a pan roast the flour over medium high heat until it turns a light brown. Add the curry powder and katakuriko and roast over low heat and mix until combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool. This curry roux can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for up to two months.

In a large saute pan combine the water and tsuyu. (When I first made this recipe I found the tsuyu to be a bit strong so maybe start with 300 ml of tsuyu to 500 ml of water and adjust later. It will be easier to add tsuyu later than it will be to water down the recipe.) Add the onions and pork and allow to simmer.

In a bowl combine 70 grams of the Nakamura curry roux with some of the liquid from the pan and make a slurry.

Bring the pot to a boil and add the slurry. When the sauce becomes thick turn off the heat. (Do taste it to see if you want to add more tsuyu or adjust with water.)

Serve with hot rice. Garnish with negi and a raw egg.

Japanese Dashi - Lessons from Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga

Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga of Nihonbashi Yukari has some great information on basic Japanese culinary skills online. Unfortunately, it is mostly in Japanese. I am translating it into English to share his wealth of knowledge. He is a great teacher and makes learning easy with his key points. I hope this helps others out there who want to learn more about Japanese cuisine. This comes from his post on Lohas.com, a Japanese website.

Dashi 101

Dashi is the basic building block for which many Japanese recipes are based upon. There are many types of dashi, such as a kombu (Japanese kelp) dashi that is strictly vegetarian, excellent for use in delicate dishes, or ago (tobiuo or flying fish) dashi that is more commonly found in the southern island of Kyushu. This dashi from chef Nonaga is the traditional dashi made from water, kombu, and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Sometimes it is referred to as ichiban dashi (the first dashi). Niban dashi (or the second dashi) is a weaker version, made from the leftover kombu and katsuobushi from the first dashi, that is still flavorful enough to be used in some simmered dishes. Nothing goes to waste in the Japanese kitchen. Great care and attention is made to use each item to its fullest.

If you note the color of the dashi in the champagne glass you will see that it has some color to it, both from the kombu and the katsuobushi. Unfortunately you can not smell it or you would smell the minerality of the ocean and the smokiness of the bonito flakes.

1800 ml water

25 grams kombu

20 grams katsuobushi

Chef Nonaga suggests making a big batch of dashi and saving it in a pet bottle in the fridge. It will keep for up to three days.

Rinse the kombu in water. Add to cold water in a pot.

POINT - add the kombu to the water before you turn on the heat.

Turn on the heat to medium low until 60 degrees C (140 degrees F). It will take about ten minutes to get to temperature.

At this temperature the rich flavor of the kombu is released into the water.

The top photo shows water at 60 degrees C (140 degrees F). The bottom photo shows water at 75 degrees C (167 degrees F).

POINT: At 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) the color and umami from the kombu comes out. You will see the color of the water change and if you look carefully you can see tiny bubbles from the cut edge of the kombu releasing its natural umami into the water. Keep the water between 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) and 75 degrees C (167 degrees F).

Let the kombu simmer in the water for about 25 to 30 minutes and then taste the water to confirm you are getting a nice taste of the kombu. Then quickly raise the heat to 90 degrees C (194 degrees F) and remove the kombu. Before it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the katsuobushi.

POINT: At 95 degrees C (203 degrees F) the dashi may lose its aroma and bitterness may come from the katsuobushi. So be careful not to let it get this hot.

The katsuobushi will start to settle to the bottom of the pan. Once it has settled then strain using a cheesecloth.

POINT: You can squeeze the katsuobushi,  but at ryotei they do not squeeze the katsuobushi but the flavor is released naturally from gravity as it settles in the water.



You may also like this post on how to rinse and cook Japanese rice by Iron Chef Kimio Nonaga.

Furikake Popcorn ふりかけポップコーン

I am addicted to furikake. Intensely flavored flakes or bits that come in a wide variety of flavors like aka shiso, nori, or dried fish (like salmon). But in the last few years there have been so many different flavors coming out that it is hard to keep up.

This ra-yu torisoboro has to be one of my recent favorite finds. Ra-yu is spicy chili oil that we use most often as part of a dipping sauce for gyoza. The taberu ra-yu (edible ra-yu) boom has introduced a wide variety of products from ra-yu flavored salmon flakes to this furikake. Tori soboro is soy-seasoned ground chicken, most often seen over rice with slightly sweet scrambled eggs and julienned pea pods (or other green vegetable) in a dish called sanshoku gohan (three-colored rice dish).

From Marumiya, this "soft furikake" is unlike traditional dried and crunchy furikake but is soft, as you can see by the introduction video. This ra-yu torisoboro is not too hot, rich in umami, and oh so yummy. It is great over a bowl of rice and amazing over popcorn.

Marumiya's soft furikake flavors include other favorites of mine such as Chirimen Takana and Chirimen Sansho. There are also many interesting flavors yet to try include a tuna mayonnaise, an Asari Tsukudani, and Buta Shogayaki.