Kibo by Elizabeth Andoh

The food of Tohoku is near and dear to my heart as my mother is from Yamagata and I grew up eating many dishes from this region. For days after 3/11 we prayed to hear that our relatives in Sendai were safe. We count ourselves among the lucky to have finally received the good news that everyone was fine.

After the triple calamity Elizabeth Andoh took it upon herself to, in her words, "chronicle the culinary heritage of the Tohoku - especially of the three prefectures that where hardest hit: Fukushima, Miyagi, and  Iwate - before traditional foods there morphed into unrecognizable fare, or disappeared entirely". Like her other cookbooks, this is "information dense" and that is part of why this makes this a great book. Andoh goes into great detail documenting techniques, and the food culture and traditions.

Some of the dishes are already staples in our kitchen like the Salmon Rice Topped with Red Caviar, Pressed Rice "Sandwiches", Ordinary Miso Soup, and Miso-Seared Scallops.

Other dishes include Tohoku classics like Sasa Kamaboko (Fish Sausage Patties) and Shiso Maki (Walnut-Miso Stuffed Shiso Leaves) are dishes we eat from time to time, but have never attempted at home. We will now with these recipes. Other interesting recipes include a nabe hot pot of oysters and miso as well as straw-wrapped tofu.

The book includes great photos, especially helpful for those new to Japanese cuisine.

The first recipe we tried was Ika Ninjin. It uses dried squid, surume ika, and carrots in a vinegar and soy marinade. Very interesting recipe and unique as I never would think to cook with surume ika.

I contributed to the book with a short section on sake and some food and sake pairing suggestions. Having worked at Takashimaya's sake shop for two years I had the great privilege of trying many of the sake mentioned in this section.

One more good reason to invest in this eBook is that part of the proceeds go to a Tohoku charity.

Kibo "Brimming with Hope"
Recipes and Stores from Japan's Tohoku
by Elizabeth Andoh
Ten Speed Press
$3.99 in the USA

Hijiki Chikuwa Nimono ひじき竹輪煮物

One more attempt to get out of our routine of hijiki nimono made with abura-age. This time with chikuwa. Our last version was made with Satsuma-age fish cakes (recipe).

The major difference between chikuwa and Satsuma-age is that chikuwa is toasted while Satsuma-age is fried. This chikuwa comes from a popular brand called Kibun that is also sold outside of Japan.

After reconstituting the me-hijiki (bud hijiki).

30 grams hijiki
2 slices chikuwa (toasted fish cakes)
100 grams carrots, julienned

vegetable oil

broth:
2 Tbsp. sake
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. mirin
salt to taste

Rehydrate the hijiki in water for 5 minutes. Then quickly blanch in boiling water and strain. Julienne the carrots and cut the chikuwa into thin slices.

In a saute pan add a little bit of vegetable oil and cook the hijiki, chikuwa, and carrots until the carrots over medium heat until the carrots start to soften. Add the sake, sugar, soy sauce, mirin, and salt to taste to the pan. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for about ten minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Be careful to watch the pan so that the sauce does not evaporate completely. If the carrots do not soften, add a small amount of water or dashi and continue to cook.


Serve at room temperature. Will keep in the fridge for about five days.

April Seasonal Japanese Seafood ４月旬の魚

Asari clams for miso soup

Asari miso soup

April Japanese Seasonal Seafood

Many of the seafood from March are still in season in April. The cold waters still bring fish rich with fat that shines in sashimi or is nice for grilling. Asari clams are great for making into a quick vongole style pasta. Grilling salted fish heads of buri or tai is quick and simple and the perfect accompaniment to sake or shochu. Bitesize tiny hotaru ika can be quickly blanched and then served with a sweet and vinegary sumiso dressing. Nishin can be salted and grilled. And perhaps my favorite this time of year is katsuo simply seared on the edges, sliced thickly, and served with some soy sauce and garlic. Katsuo tataki is particularly nice if you can garnish it with fresh myoga. Hirame is lovely as sashimi. If we have leftover hirame sashimi Shinji likes to cure it in kombu overnight at kombujime hirame. The texture changes as the umami is soaked in from the kombu to the hirame.

Hotate we like as sashimi or cooked meuniere style. Takikomigohan of scallops is also a nice change-up. Mebaru is a light, white fish that is nice as himono. While tachiuo may look intimidating in the market, it is a delicate fish that can be grilled meuniere-style. And, for the perfect sake snack in spring, I love deep-fried wakasagi.

If you click on the Japanese name of the seafood you should be directed to a link with a photo.

Ainame -  鮎並fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

Akagai – 赤貝 ark shell (Scapharca broughtonii)

Amadai - 赤甘鯛 tilefish (Branchiostegus japonicus)

Aori ika - 障泥烏賊 big fin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana)

Asari - 浅利 Japanese littleneck clams (Ruditapes philippinarum)

Botan ebi – see Toyama ebi below

Buri– 鰤Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Chidai-   血鯛  crimson sea bream (Evynnis japonica)

Hamaguri - 浜栗 common Orient clam (Meretrix lusoria)

Hatsu gatsuo or katsuo - 鰹 skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Hirame -  鮃 olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Hotaru ika - 蛍烏賊擬 firefly squid  (Enoploteuthis chunii)

Hotate - 帆立貝 scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis)

Iidako - 飯蛸 ocellated octopus (Octopus ocellatus)

Isaki - 伊佐幾 chicken grunt  (Parapristipoma trilineatum)

Jindou ika - 神頭烏賊 Japanese dwarf squid (Loliolus (Nipponololig) japonica)

Kaki – 牡蠣 oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

Karei – 鰈 littlemouth flounder (Pleuronectes yokohamae)

Kasago - 笠子 scorpion fish (Sebastiscus marmoratus)

Katsuo- 鰹  skipjack tuna or oceanic bonito (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Kibinago- 黍魚子banded blue sprat (Spratelloides gracilis)

Kihada maguro - 黄肌鮪 yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares)

Kinmedai– 金目鯛 splendid alfonsino (Beryx splendens)

Kohada- 小鰭gizzard shad (Konosirus pumctatus)

Kurozako ebi - 黒雑魚海老 kuro shrimp (Argis lar)

Madai or tai - 真鯛 seabream (Pagurus major)

Makogarei - 真子鰈 marbled sole (Pleuronectes yokohamae)

Managatsuo - 真名鰹 silver pomfret (Pampus punctatissimus)

Mebachi maguro - 目撥 bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus)

Mebaru - 目張 black rockfish (Sebastes inermis)

Mirugai - 海松食 geoduck (Tresus keenae)

Nijimasu - 虹鱒  rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Nishin- 鰊Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

Ooasari - 蜊蝦夷忘 Japanese littleneck clam (Callista berevisiphonata)

Saba– 鯖Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

Sakura ebi - 桜蝦 sakura shrimp (Sergia lucens)

Sakuradai – 桜鯛 cherry anthias  (Sacura margaritacea)

Saragai - 皿貝 Northern great tellin (Megangulus venulosa)

Sawara - 鰆 Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius)

Sayori-  針魚  halfbeak (Hyporhamphus sajori)

Sazae - サザエ   turban wreath shell (Turbo cornutus)

Shima ebi – 島海老 pandalid shrimp (Pandalopsis japonica)

Shima isaki - 縞鶏魚 sharpnose tigerfish (Rhyncopelate Oxyhynchus)

Shira ebi - 白海老 glass shrimp (Pasiphaea japonica)

Shirouo - 素魚 ice goby (Leucopsarion petersii)

Tachiuo - 太刀魚 cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)

Tairagai - 平貝  pen shell or fan shell (Atrina (Servatrina) pectinata)

Tobiuo - 飛魚 Japanese flying fish (Cypselurus agoo agoo)

Torigai - 鳥貝 heart clam (Fulvia mutica)

Toyama ebi or botan ebi – 富山海老humpback shrimp (Pandalus hypsinotus)

Wakasagi- 若細魚Japanese smelt  (Hypomesus nipponensis)

Yamame - ヤマメ cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou maso)

Yari ika - 槍烏賊 spear squid (Loligo (Heterololigo) bleekeri)