Today,there are more and more people getting interested with Japanese recipes. Why?  Because they aren’t only taste good, but they are also comparatively healthier than their American counterparts. So, if you have always think of trying Japanese food but find that taking raw meat is a bit repulsive, now below are Japanese recipes that you might wish to try out.

Yakitori (焼き鳥)

Main dish: Yakitori
This is the popular Japanese recipes especially among the children because of its sweet sauce.

Ingredients:
-    Chicken parts such as thigh meat or liver
-    Negi *
-    4 tablespoons of Japanese Soy Sauce
-    Japanese cooking wine or Japanese Sake
-    3 tablespoons of sugar
-    Honey-    Bamboo skewers

*Substitute Negi with leeks or green onion if not available

Preparation:

1.    Cut and divide the chicken into small cubes size about 2 to 3 centimeters.
2.    In a saucepan, pour in all the liquid ingredients and mix with sugar then simmer with low hear. Wait until the sugar is completely melted.
3.    Marinate the chicken with the sauce and set aside for about 30 minutes. 4.    Cut the Negi into 3 centimeters long while waiting for the marinade to seep in.
5.    When the chicken gets ready, alternately skewer chicken with leeks.
6.    Grill to perfection. Be careful not to burn them.

Gomaae (胡麻和え)

Side Dish: Gomaae
This spinach based Japanese recipes complements Yakitori.

Ingredients:

-    Fresh Spinach
-    2 tablespoons sugar
-    1 tablespoon of Japanese Rice Wine
-    2 tablespoons of ground sesame seeds
-    2 tablespoons of Miso (Soybean paste)

Preparation:

1.    Blanch the spinach.
2.    Dry out the leaves by patting them with dry kitchen cloth or paper towel.
3.    Once dry, cut them approximately 3 centimeters long.
4.    Mix with other ingredients in a different container.
5.    Toss the spinach to the mixture and serve.

The word “sushi” in ancient times referred to fish that are preserved in vinegar. As time goes by, sushi has become a complete meal in itself. Now, the staples of sushi would include readily available ingredients like Japanese rice (short grain rice type), dried seaweed and seafood. Because the seafood are locally procured some even enjoy consuming them in raw.

If you are among the few who are reluctant to prepare the traditional hand-rolled sushi, here is the the easiest sushi recipes for you – Scattered Sushi (散らし寿司) salmon and avocado. Mixing all onto the vinegared sushi rice will do.

Chirashi Sushi – Salmon Avocado

Ingredient: ( 4 servings)
-    2 cups of sushi rice
-    4 tbsp rice vinegar
-    2 tbsp sugar
-    2 tsp salt
-    150g  salmon,
-    2 avocado
-    1 cucumber
-    1 piece celery
-    2 tbsp shrimp caviar (ebiko)

Preparations:
Cut cucumber and celery into small cubes. Cut smoked salmon and avocado into bite-sized pieces.
To prepare rice, rinse rice thoroughly in a sieve. Drain well. Pour the rinsed rice into rice cooker, add 2 cups water and start to cook. When the steamed rice is ready, transfer it to a big bowl, add rice vinegar, sugar & salt and cool to room temperature.
When the sushi rice has turned cool, mix the cucumber & celery cubes, ebiko into the rice and stir well. Then, arrange avocado cubes and salmon pieces on the rice then serve.

Japanese Scattered Sushi Recipes.

Congee or porridge is a healty food for Chinese. We like to start our day off with a  hot bowl of congee for breakfast. A plain congee works well with fried dough (油条 you tiao) and others Chinese pickled dish.

In this post I am going to combine Chinese porridge with a Japanese style bonito flakes broth. And we go a bit luxurious rather than having a simple plain congee, by using Crabs as main ingredients.

Look at the picture, mouth-watering Japanese-Chinese combination with wonderful aroma from the sea. YUM

Check out the ingredients and TRY this gourmet dish at your own kitchen!! 

Ingredients :
2 cups rice.
2 crabs.
1 cup cold water, for soak rice.
1 stalk of coriander leaf, chopped for garnish.
1 spring onion, chopped for garnish.
Pepper to taste.
Low sodium soy sauce to taste.

Seasoning:
1 tsp fine salt.
1 cup Japanese rice wine.
1 tsp MSG.
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce.

For Bonito Flakes Broth:
2 litre water.
60g bonito flakes.
40g dried kelp (konbu), soak until soft.
30g ginger, crashed.

Preparations:

To prepare bonito flakes broth

Bring the water to a boill in a saucepan, pour in bonito flakes, kelp and ginger. Stop the heat immediately.
Filter off any foam and allow the bonito flakes to settle on the bottom of the pan. Strain the broth through a fine sieve paper towel. Remove from the heat.

Clean crab with a brush. Remove shell and inner organs. Chop off legs and cut the crab into 4 pieces.
Soak the rice in a saucepan with 1 cup of cold water overnight or at least 1 hour to get a softer and fluffier texture of rice.
Heat the saucepan, add prepared bonito flakes broth and bring to a boil. Add the crabs and reduce to low heat.
Continue to simmer until the rice break, thick and smooth.
Return to a boil over high heat and add all seasoning to taste. Remove from heat.
Ladle the porridge into a bowl, garnish with coriander, spring onion and pepper before dish out.

Most of Japanese recipes is using ingredients such as mirin, soy sauce, dashi stock, miso, sake etc to create traditional Japanese taste. By combining these ingredients, you can create you own favorite taste.

Most of the time Japanese Miso is used in making soup recipes. However, you can also use miso  to make miso paste sauce for marinade.

Ingredients:

600g miso paste
300g fine sugar
150g soy sauce
150g Japanese sake

Preparation:

Combine the above ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Marinade with vegetables such as radish, lettuce heart, Japanese cucumber, carrot.

You can make more miso paste marinade, store and chill in refrigerator.

In Japan, when you enter a Chuka 中華(Chinese) restaurant, sit down then look at the menu, you will find this dish – Mapo Tofu. Mapo Tofu is a Chinese well-known dish from the Szechuan province. It combine the Chinese chili-bean paste or called Tobanjiang with tofu and minced pork. Tobanjiang plays the main role in spicy flavor of the dish. Although, most of the Chinese restaurants offer this famous dish, Mapo Tofu in Japanese style is not as spicy as the origin from Szechuan. It is sweeter and milder in taste.

Remember when I ordered, I will request for more spicy mapo tofu and add more chili-oil (rayu) when serve. If you are cooking at home, you may add more tobanjiang if you prefer more spicy taste. Serve with hot steamed rice will stimulate your appetite.

Tobanjiang (豆板醬）- Chili-bean paste

Ingredients : ( 4 servings)

2 block cotton tofu (600 g), diced into bite sized cubes
250g minced pork
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 leek, finely chopped
1 tbsp tobanjiang (Chinese chili-bean paste)
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp sesame oil
For seasoning:
1 cup water
3 tbsp miso bean paste
2 tbsp sake
1 tsp chicken soup powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Preparations:

In a big bowl, combine water, miso, sake, chicken soup powder, sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.Wrap tofu with paper towel and heat the tofu in microwave for 1 minute. Drain the excess water and cut into small cubes. Heat sesame oil in a wok on low heat, add garlic, ginger, leek and hot bean paste, stir fry for 3 minutes. Then add minced pork, cook until the color changed. Pour the seasoning mixture into the wok and bring to a boil. Add tofu cubes and simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Mix corn starch with 1 tbsp water and combine it into the wok, stir gently until the sauce is thickened and smooth, remove from heat and dish out.　Garnish the tofu with some spring onion and serve with steam rice.

Japanese Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe

Wafu-Chuka, as the cuisine is known in Japan, is characterized by an elegance and style that heightens both Japanese and Chinese cooking traditions. Popular wafu-chuka dishes include mabo-tofu, hiayashi chuka, gyoza, subuta and so on. Subuta（酢豚） a sweet and sour pork dish which is one of the very popular wafu-chuka dish in Japan. The sauce is the main point of the dish. So, with a good combination among vinegar, sugar, ketcup and starch, it will determine how delicious the subuta is? Alternatively, you may replace kurosu (黒酢、black vinegar) for the dish which will increase your appetite.

Ingredients:

200 g pork tenderloin cut into bite size
1 onion cut into bite size
1/2 carrot cut into bite size
1/2 green pepper cut into bite size
1 clove garlic, minced
3 shiitake mushroom
2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup soup stock
3 tbsp soysauce
3 tbsps rice wine vinegar
4 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsps water
3 tbsps potato starch / corn starch
2 tsp oyster sauce (if you have)

Preparations:
Add in sugar, ketchup, soysauce, and rice wine vinegar to the pork in a bowl and let stand 30minutes.
Heat oil to 350F and deep-fry pork until golden/cooked. Drain oil and cook onion, garlic, carrot, green pepper, shiitake mushrooms and fried pork over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add mixture of water, soup stock and starch in the pan and stir quickly over medium heat.
Put in a plate and serve with plain rice.

Japanese Tonjiru Soup

Ton or another word called Buta which mean pork in Japanese. Thus, pork play the main role in this traditional japanese soup – Tonjiru. This a wonderful dish in winter where you can feel the touch of heart from the people who cook this. This homestyle hearty soup (Aijyo soup) is rarely found in restaurants outside Japan nowadays, though, it is easy recipe to make at home.
So, try this fabulous traditional japanese taste blended pork and various kinds of vegetables with miso flavor recipe. Enjoy and share the “Aijyo” with your family and diet with soup.
Below are vegetables* (ingredients) that mostly used in preparing this soup.

Daikon – large white radish
Carrots
Gobo – burdock root
Satoimo – type of taro
Satsuma imo – Japanese sweet potato
Renkon – lotus root
Shiitake – mushroom
Konnyaku – Konjac
Aburage – tofu pockets
Tofu cut into small cubes
Negi (Japanese leek) – garnish for the soup

Ingredients:

• 200g pork thinly sliced
• any of the ingredients listed above, cut into slices
• 5 cups of water or dashi
• 5 tbsp of miso
• 2tbsp vegetable oil

Preparations:

Cook taro into boiling water for about 10 ~ 15 minutes in a pan. Add in vegetable oil and saute the pork together with the vegetables* above. Put dashi soup stock in, bring to boil and slimmer for 30minutes in low heat. Scoop out some soup stock from the pan and dissolve miso in it. Gradually return the miso mixture in the soup. Stir the soup gently. Garnish with the thinly sliced Japanese leek.

Japanese Recipe – Zarusoba (Cold Japanese Noodle)

     I was shocked when I first see Japanese salary man stand and “slurping” Soba (Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour) within 10 minutes, and then continue to rush into a train in Tokyo. In Japan, we called it  “Tachigui” (立ち食い), literally translates as “stand-and-eat” and more loosely as fast food.　You can find stalls for tachigui include soba (Japanese noodle bowl) or gyudon (beef bowl) located at the train station. They are concentrating their service on speed rather than quality or taste. So, it is quite difficult to find a really good taste Tachigui-Soba. So, I would recommend to go to Japanese restaurant rather than Tachigui-soba stall if you not in hurry.

     This post here is to introduce my favorites Japanese Soba Recipe – Zarusoba, cold chilled Japanese soba served on a sieve-like bamboo tray called Zaru. Zarusoba is often served during summer in Japan. It garnished with bits of dried nori seaweed, with a dipping sauce known as soba tsuyu on side. With the combination of wasabi, scallions, and grated ginger mixing into the tsuyu, you will experience its’ cool and delicious Japanese recipe during hot summer.

   Ingredients:

  100g dried soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)
  100ml noodle dipping soup (mentsuyu)
  nori seaweed cut into strip
  green onion finely chopped
  wasabi paste

  Preparations:

  1. Boil water and add dried soba noodles in the boiling water with following the package instructions.
  2. Drain soba noodles and wash with cold water
  3. Put soba noodles onto the Zaru (bamboo-tray)
  4. Pour noodle dipping soup in a cup
  5. Serve finely chopped green onion and wasabi paste on a small plate

  More Japanese Recipes

    Tonkatsu (豚カツ)　has a long history since 100years ago. This Japanese style European cuisine is now popular as home cooking dish and can be found in most of the restaurant; ”katsu” came from katsu-retsu (cutlet) earlier, and become tonkatsu when using pork for the main ingredients.    

Ingredients:
       Pork Tenderloin cut into 1/4 inch slices
       2 eggs beaten
       1 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
       Flour
       Cabbage shredded
       Worcestershire sauce

Preparations:

Drain off excess water from pork with kitchen papers; make few slits in the cutlet. Sprinkle both sides of cutlet with salt and pepper, coat with flour. Dip in the beaten egg mixture, coat in panko bread crumbs. Heat oil in a wok to 350F, add in pork and deep-fry 5 to 7minutes until golden crispy on both sides. Drain on kitchen papers. Garnish with finely shredded cabbage and lemon wedges. Serve with Worcestershire sauce.

In Japan, it is very common to cook Saba (Mackerel) with japanese miso. This is because mackerel has a distinctive fishy smell and using miso can cover the smell and add in good japanese traditional flavor. Mackerel is another source that full of DHA and EPA, but, you need to consume it wisely, meaning to select the right type of mackerel to avoid from mercury contamination. Select Atlantic mackerel which is less mercury contamination and avoid King mackerel and Spanish mackerel.

Ingredients:

2 mackerels
1 tbsp sake
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp miso
1 ginger sliced
1 spring onion sliced

Preparations : (2 serving)

Cut the mackerel into half. Mix water, sake, sugar ,ginger slices and miso in a pan and heat to boil. Add mackerel and simmer it for 10 minutes on low heat. Slowly stir and pour the sauce over the mackerel. Add in spring onion and stir well. Stop the heat and ready to serve.

More japanese recipe