In a traditional Japanese meal, it is customary to serve a soup and three other dishes (ichiju sansai) followed by rice and pickles. Since foods are generally classified according to their cooking methods, the items in a particular meal are chosen both for their seasonal availability and for the variety of cooking techniques. A typical dinner menu may include both fish and meat or several kinds of fish and vegetables prepared in different ways. The soup is often eaten near the end of the meal. There are no desserts. The meal usually ends with fresh fruit. With the exception of rice and soup, which should be served hot, most Japanese dishes are served at room temperature.
Therefore, preparing a Japanese-style meal can be done in a leisurely manner without the fear that all the dishes may not be finished at the same time. While the presentation of Japanese dishes is artful and elegant, cooking methods are simple and quick. As in Chinese cooking, everything is cooked only until it is just done; not a moment more. Most of the time is spent preparing, cutting, and slicing.
The recipes that follow are arranged as they would appear in a Japanese cookbook, according to their cooking methods. There are foods simmered in seasoned liquids (nimono), broiled foods (yakimono), steamed foods (mushimono), mixed foods with dressings (aemono), vinegared foods (sunomono), deep-fried foods (agemono), and one-pot table-top cookery (nabemono). There are also noodles (menrui), rice (gohan) and sushi, and soups (dashi, suimono, and shirumono). Mention is made whenever these dishes can double as appetizers (zensai).
Adapting Japanese Food to a Low-Sodium,
Low-Cholesterol Diet
For those on low-cholesterol diets, Japanese cooking is perfect. The proof lies in the fact that the incidence of heart disease in Japan is very low in comparison to that in the United States, although the recent popularity in Japanese metropolitan areas of hamburgers, butter, cream, and ice cream has been changing these statistics. Unfortunately, the reverse is true for those who wish to cut down on sodium. Of the three most essential of Japanese staples, all derived from the soybean—soybean curd (tofu), soy sauce (shoyu), and fermented soybean paste (miso) —soy sauce and soybean paste pose grave problems for those who wish to cut down on sodium. They are used generously in soups, sauces, dressings, and marinades, as well as in grilled foods. There are approximately 320 mg of sodium in one teaspoon of Kikkoman's standard soy sauce and 170 mg in the low-sodium product. Frequently as much as a quarter of a cup is used in a single dish (which is equal to twelve teaspoons, or 3,840 mg of sodium if you use the standard soy sauce and 2,040 mg if you use the low-sodium product). In contrast, soybean curd, a subtle tasting, custard-like food, is low in sodium and fat and rich in protein. But it is usually cooked with other foods in sauces that contain either soy sauce or soybean paste. The liberal use of these two staples, as well as salt, has affected the health of many Japanese. The incidence of hypertension is high in Japan, but it is highest in the north, where farmers preserve their food in salt.
Since authenticity is not the goal of this book, the quantity of soy sauce in all these recipes has been substantially reduced and has been limited to Kikkoman's low-sodium soy sauce, which has 40% less sodium in it than the standard product. To compensaté for this, more reliance has been placed on other typically Japanese flavors such as horseradish, ginger, and sweet-and-sour sauces. Together with these, generous sprinklings are recommended of ground sansho, a fragrant, tangy but not hot spice, and shichimi togarashi (seven-spice mixture), a powdered blend of red pepper, sansho, dried mandarin orange peel, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, nori (seaweed bits), and hemp seeds, as effective flavor additions when cooking without salt. The seven-spice mixture is available in small bottles at very modest cost. In Japan it is not uncommon to buy it from a spice merchant who will mix it in proportions to suit your personal taste. If neither of these is available to you, substitute black pepper for the sansho, and crushed dried chilies or cayenne pepper for shichimi togarashi though, of course, the flavors are not the same.
Perhaps the best way to begin cooking Japanese food is to choose a single dish that can be worked in with a more familiar menu. Don't overlook one-pot meals, which are cooked at the table, or scattered sushi, a cold rice salad with seafood and vegetables. These one-dish meals are by far the simplest to prepare and the most congenial to serve. Whatever you decide, let three words be your guide: freshness, simplicity, and beauty.
Stocks and Soups
(Dashi, Suimono, and Shirumono)
Basic Stock
(Dashi)
Dashi is a stock made from dried bonito fish (katsuobushi) and dried kelp (kombu). Equivalent to our chicken and beef stocks, it is used in the cooking of many meat, poultry, and fish dishes. It is what gives Japanese food its most characteristic flavor.
Ichiban dashi, or first dashi, is the foundation of clear soups (sumashi), to which is added a morsel of fish or chicken, a slice of vegetable or bean curd, and a decorative garnish to aesthetically complement and add fragrance to the whole.
Niban dashi, or second dashi, is a weaker stock made from the leftover ingredients of first dashi and is used as a cooking stock in place of water when preparing boiled foods.
Dashi is much easier to make from scratch than chicken broth, but just as busy Western cooks use canned chicken broth instead of making their own, so do Japanese cooks use instant dashi. Called dashi-no-moto, it comes powdered, in cubes, or in bags Jike tea bags, with instructions in English. However, it is not recommended for frequent use, because it contains added salt and monosodium glutamate. If none of these ingredients is available, you may substitute chicken stock (p. 10). It must be light, crystal clear, and without a trace of fat. If you use canned broth, use the low-sodium kind. Chill it first and skim off the fat; then dilute it with a little water. Serve the soup in a cup-like bowl, not the wide, shallow bowls in which Western soups are served. The Japanese often use a lacquered bowl with a lid, which not only keeps the soup hot but seals in the delicate aroma.
First Dashi
(Ichiban dashi)
6 cups water
2-inch square kombu (dried kelp)
1 cup flaked katsuobushi (dried bonito)
1. Bring water and kombu to a boil over high heat. Immediately remove kombu and set aside.
2. Stir in the katsuobushi flakes and turn off the heat. Let the dashi rest for 2 or 3 minutes or until the flakes sink to the bottom of the pot.
3. Strain the stock through a colander lined with 2 or 3 layers of cheesecloth. This is the first dashi.
Second Dashi
(Niban dashi)
1. Add 6 cups of water to the kombu and katsuobushi used in the first dashi.
2. Add ¼ cup additional katsuobushi flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Strain through a cloth-lined colander. Discard the katsuobushi and kombu.
To ensure full flavor, dashi is best used immediately, though it may be refrigerated for 1 or 2 days.
Note: Salt is probably used in the drying of kelp and bonito, but no figures exist for how much sodium is extracted when dashi is prepared. Therefore, whenever dashi is called for in the following recipes, the sodium count for chicken stock, its substitute, will be used in doing the nutrient analysis.
Clear Soup
(O-sumashi)