Daigaku Imo - Candied Sweet Potatoes 大学芋

 Bite-size Daigaku Imo

This very easy recipe was on the morning t.v. program, "Hanamaru Cafe". These have become Shinji's favorite "oyatsu" or snack. And while it is sweet, it is still a healthful snack as the sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients and it is topped with sesame seeds. Best of all, it takes less than 10 minutes to make.

The top photo is of bite-size cubes, a bit more hard work, but easy for children to eat. The purple sweet potatoes came from our rooftop garden in Tokyo (if you can imagine that). The bottom photo is much easier for cutting up and more like the traditional daigaku imo.

250-300 grams sweet potato (cut into bite size pieces, rinsed of excess starch, and dried)

4 Tablespoons sugar (wasanbon if you have it, if not, regular sugar or try brown sugar)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon vinegar 

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons salad oil

a bit of water (just a tiny splash)

toasted black sesame seeds

Put the sweet potatoes, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, salad oil and water in a fry pan and put over medium high heat. Place a lid over it and after two minutes stir the mixture. After another two minutes stir again, and start to watch (and smell) that the sugar does not burn. After six minutes, check to see if the sweet potatoes are cooked, and then move to a plate to serve. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and allow for the sugar to cool a bit before serving.

The vinegar helps the sugar from hardening when it cools down.

Variations:

Cut into small cubes which is easier for kids to eat.

Use different colored sweet potatoes.

You too may become addicted to these "daigaku imo" candied sweet potatoes.

First posted 29th November 2008

Popular Takikomigohan Ranking

Takenoko Gohan 

The Asahi Shimbun ranks the most popular takikomigohan based on a recent survey. Takikomigohan is simple to make at home if you are in the practice of making rice. Simply add some ingredients to the pot, and possibly some seasonings like soy sauce and sake, and cook the rice as usual.

It's a lovely way to showcase seasonal ingredients like bamboo shoots in fall or mushrooms and chestnuts in autumn. It is notable that the most popular takikomigohan in this survey, gomoku gohan, is made with ingredients that are available all-year long.

While not on the top 20, some responders said that they liked to use unique seasonings like curry powder, sesame oil, or fish sauce.

Click on linked items below for recipes from this site.

1. Gomoku gohan (carrots, shiitake, deep-fried tofu, burdock root, konnyaku)
2. Kuri gohan (chestnuts)
3. Takenoko gohan (bamboo shoots)
4. Matsutake gohan (matsutake mushrooms)
5. Tori no takikomigohan (chicken, and vegetables)
6. Asari gohan (littleneck clams)
7. Kaki-meshi (oysters)
8. Tai-meshi (sea bream)
9. Guriin piisu gohan (green peas)
10. Sansai no takikomigohan (spring mountain vegetables)
11. Kinoko gohan (mushrooms)
12. Tako-meshi (octopus)
13. Hotate takikomigohan (scallops)
14. Satsumaimo gohan (sweet potatoes)
15. Azuki gohan (azuki beans)
16. Maitake gohan (maitake mushrooms)
17. Sake no takikomigohan (salmon)
18. Edamame gohan (fresh soybeans)
19. Shimeji gohan (shimeji mushrooms)
20. Shirasu gohan (boiled baby sardines)

Perhaps our favorite method in our home is grilled fish over rice, like this tachiuo-meshi.

Japanese Farm Food

The first things that capture your attention in this country cookbook are Kenji Miura’s photos of foody farm life. The design includes a motif of traditional blue and white Japanese textiles, giving it a rustic feel—a perfect setting for this compendium of much-loved recipes.

“Authentic Japanese farm food is uncomplicated and intuitive, with a limited number of easily learned methods,” writes Hachisu. After mastering just a few techniques, readers are equipped to prepare food in a multitude of ways. A few dressings in your repertoire, and suddenly salads and sides have a new life on the table. “Japanese farm food is both logical and simple to execute,” says the author, with many of the recipes including just a handful of ingredients. This is perfect for the novice in the Japanese kitchen but also refreshing for the seasoned cook.

One chapter defines these ingredients, including unusual items like shottsuru (Japanese fish sauce) and onigurumi (black walnuts). The glossary of Japanese produce includes tips on handling, substitutions, and serving suggestions.

The tsumami (snacks) chapter casts light on popular bites such as home-cured salmon roe, half-boiled eggs, and young scallions with miso. Hachisu’s husband, Tadaaki, includes a recipe for pickles where cucumbers are cooked three times for extra intensity.

Perhaps the best lessons come in the vegetables section. A combination of sesame seeds or walnuts, miso, and rice vinegar quickly becomes a dressing for spinach, eggplant, and other vegetables. There are simple recipes for seafood as well, such as simmering in sake—especially good with sea bass.

A chapter on dressings and sauces includes household favorites like the versatile miso vinaigrette. The country-style ponzu can accompany many different nabe hot pots (also in the cookbook). There are also recipes for condiments usually bought, such as Japanese mayonnaise, and yuzu kosho for the ambitious.

Unlike most Japanese cookbooks with a slim sweets selection, this one is filled with a dozen ice creams and sorbets. A simple brittle made with sesame and sugar is a star when mixed with ice cream.

Even those who don’t cook much will be entertained by the farm-life anecdotes that dot the book, regarding cleaning chickens, rice planting, and such. And for the kitchen-philes, Japanese Farm Food will be something to go back to again and again.

Japanese Farm Food (Andrews McNeel Publishing, 386 pp., ¥2,623). Buy here

See here for a Metropolis profile of Nancy Singleton Hachisu

This review first appeared in Metropolis on September 11th, issue #964.

Dadacha-mame Edamame だだちゃ豆

A recent article in the New York Times by Mark Bittman on edamame reminded me on what a great and simple snack this is. Mark's article talks about the frozen variety that is readily available at many supermarkets throughout the USA.

My favorite variety of edamame are called dadacha-mame だだちゃ豆. Dadacha-mame are fresh green soybeans that are harvested in my mother's hometown of Tsuruoka 鶴岡 in the Shonai 庄内 area of Yamagata 山形 prefecture. Dadacha-mame are often recognizable as the pods often have a hint of brown as well as the brown fuzzy hair on the pods. The Japan Agricultural Co-operatives of Tsuruoka registered a trademark (number 2104023) for dadacha-mame in 1997. Dadacha-mame is recognized for the large size of the soybeans and for its earthy flavor.

The perfect accompaniment to beer, sake, or shochu, dadacha-mame is in season from July to September, peaking around mid-August. This coincides with the obon national holidays when families return to their homes to pay respect to the deceased. Dadacha in the local dialect means "father". Dadacha-mame have been harvested in Tsuruoka since the Edo period (1603-1868). The name comes from long ago when a feudal lord asked, "kono oishii edamame ha doko no dadacha no mono ka?"

On this pack the name of the farmer is on the pack written on a white circle. To cook edamame:

Cook the soybeans as soon as you can after purchasing. In a large pot, bring to boil three times the amount of water to the beans. Add a generous amount of salt to the pot. While the water is coming to a boil wash the soybeans (still in their pods) in a small amount of water. Scrub the beans hard with your hands and then put in a strainer to get rid of the excess water. Add the washed beans to the boiling pot and put on the lid. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to boil too long, the soybeans should be al dente. The pods should just start to be opening up. Strain of excess water, shock in ice water, season with salt, and fan to cool down.

If the edamame will be put into the refrigerator: 

Boil the beans leaving them a little on the hard side, shock in ice water, strain of excess water, and store in the refrigerator. Consume as soon as possible.

While most people associate edamame as a savory dish, Japanese are familiar with soybeans in sweet dishes. Perhaps most famous is zunda sweets such as zunda mochi boiled and crushed soybeans with sugar over sticky rice balls. Other dadacha desserts can be seen here include pudding, mont blanc, or sandwiched between two small pancakes (dorayaki).

Dadacha-mame finds it way into lots of food, including ramen. A friend of mine worked at a ramen shop in Sendai, Miyagi, called Tsuruoka-ya. The owner is from Tsuruoka and he puts dadacha-mame into his ramen noodles. It's hard to see in this photo, but I hear the ramen is unique and good. 

The Shonai area of Yamagata is famous for lots of food products from rice, cherries, melons peaches, pears, and much more. Tsuruoka in particular is a lovely place as it is on the Sea of Japan to the West and there are mountains to the East, including the famous Dewasansan mountain, which has a historic shrine and great local jizake (sake). For me, going home is always filled with great local products.

October Seasonal Japanese Seafood １０月旬の鮮魚

As the waters become cooler the fish become rich with fat. We love sanma(Pacific saury) this time of year, both as sashimi, or simply salted and grilled. If there is a nice cup of nihonshuon the table, eating the guts of the sanmais also a treat. For miso soup a handful of shijimi(corbicula clams) into the pot brings lots of umami and flavor. A bowl asari (Japanese little neck clam) steamed in nihonshu is a perfect appetizer to dinner. While I always thought of hirame (halibut) and karei(flounder) as white fish and hence non-fatty that is not at all the case. These flatfish can take on a lot of fat - which you can actually see in the flesh. These are great as sashimi, or after a day or two we love to simmer until tender in nihonshu.

Ainame 鮎並 fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

Aka garei 赤鰈flathead flounder (Hippoglossoides dubius)

Amaebi 甘海老 sweet shrimp(Pandalus borealis)

Ankou  鮟鱇 monkfish (Lophius litulon)

Asaba garei 浅羽鰈 dusky sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata)

Asari 浅蜊 Japanese little neck clam (Ruditapes philippinarum)

Awabi 鮑 abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)

Babagarei 婆鰈 slime flounder (Microstomus achne)

Baka gai馬鹿貝surf clam (Mactra chinensis)

Benizuwai gani 紅頭矮蟹　red snow crab (Chionoecetes japonicus)

Botan ebi ボタンエビBotan shrimp  (Pandalus nipponesis)

Chidai  血鯛 crimson sea bream (Evynnis japonica)

Hakkaku or tokubire 八角 sailfin poacher (Podothecus sachi)

Hata hata鰰  sailfin sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus)

Hime ezobora姫蝦夷法螺  sea snail (Neptunea arthritica)

Hirame 鮃 olive halibut (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Hokkai ebi or hokkai shima ebi 北海海老 Hokkai shrimp (Pandalus latirostris)

Hokke 𩸽arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus)

Hokki gai (uba gai) 姥貝 hen clam (Pseudocardium sachalinense)

Hokkoku aka ebi oramaebi 北国赤蝦  Alaskan pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Hon maguro (or kuromaguro) 黒鮪 bluefin tuna (Thunus thynnus)

Hotate gai 帆立貝 Japanese scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis)

Ibodai 疣鯛 butterfish (Psenopsis anomala)

Inada いなだ young amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Itoyoridai 糸縒鯛  golden threadfin-bream (Nemipterus virgatus)

Kaki  牡蠣oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

Kamasu 大和叺barracuda (Sphyraena japonica)

Katsuo 鰹  skipjack tuna or oceanic bonito (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Kegani 毛蟹 horsehair crab (Erimacrus isenbeckii)

Kemushi kajika 毛虫鰍 sea raven or toubetsu kajika (Hemitripterus villosus)

Kinki or Kichiji 黄血魚thornhead (Sebastolobus macrochir)

Kinmedai 金目鯛  splendid alfonsino (Beryx splendens)

Kitsune mebaru 狐目張 or mazoifox jacopever (Sebastes vulpes)

Kuro gashiragarei 黒頭鰈cresthead flounder (Pleuronectes schrenki)

Kurosoi 黒曹以 jacopever (Sebastes zonatusschlegeli)

Madako 真蛸 octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

Madara or tara 真鱈 Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

Magarei 真鰈 littlemouth flounder (Pleuronectes herzensteini)

Maguro  鮪 tuna (Thunus thynnus)

Maiwashi or iwashi 真鰯 spotline sardine  (Sardinops melanostictus)

Mako garei真子鰈 marbled flounder (Pleuronectes yokohamae)

Masaba or saba 真鯖  Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

Masu 鱒trout (there are many types of trout – see nijimasu, sakuramasu)

Matara or tara 真鱈  cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

Matsukawa garei or tantaka or takanoha 松皮鰈 barfin flounder (Verasper moseri)

Meji maguro    young Pacific bluefin tuna

Mizudako 水蛸 North Pacific giant octopus(Octopus dofleini)

Muroaji 室鰺 Brown-striped mackerel scad (Decapterus muroadsi)

Niji masu虹鱒rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Nishin 鰊 Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

Numagarei or wakagarei 沼鰈 starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus)

Sake 鮭 salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Sakura masu or yamame 桜鱒 cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou maso)

Sanma 秋刀魚 Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)

Sawara  鰆 Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius)

Shako 蝦蛄 mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria)

Shiira 粃 mahi mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)

Shijimi 大和蜆corbicula clam (Corbicula japonica)

Shirauo 白魚 icefish (Salangichthys microdon)

Shishamo 柳葉魚 capelin (Spirinchus lanceolatus)

Souhachi 宗八鰈 pointhead flounder (Cleishenes pinetorum)

Sukesou dara 鯳Alaska pollack (Theragra chalcogramma)

Suna garei砂鰈 sand flounder (Limanda punctatissima)

Surumeika 鯣烏賊 Japanese flying squid (Todarodes pacificus)

Tachiuo 太刀魚 cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)

Tarabagani 鱈場蟹 Alaska king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

Tsubugai  つぶ貝 whelk  (Buccinum undatum)

Ugui 鯎 Japanese dace (Tribolodon Hakonensis)

Unagi 鰻 Japanese eel  (Anguilla japonica)

Wakasagi 若細魚 Japanese smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis)

Warasa 鰤 Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Yanagi no mai 柳の舞 yellow rockfish (Sebastes steindachneri)