Osaka-style Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is said to be Japanese-style pizza. This recipe makes Osaka-style okonomiyaki. There are lots of toppings.




Ingredients:
* 2 cup all purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cup dashi soup stock or water
* 4-6 eggs
* 1 - 1 1/4 lb cabbage
* 6 tbsps chopped green onion
* 2/3 cup tenkasu (tempura flakes)
* 12 - 18 strips of thinly sliced pork or beef
* For toppings:
* Ao-nori (green seaweed)
* Okonomiyaki sauce (or tonkatsu sauce)
* Mayonnaise

Preparation:
Pout dashi soup stock in a bowl. Mix the flour in the soup stock. Rest the batter for an hour in the refrigerator. Chop cabbage finely. Take about 1/2 cup of the batter (to make one sheet of okonimiyaki) in another bowl. Mix chopped cabbage (about 1/4 lb), chopped green onion (about 1 tbsp), and tempura flakes (about 2 tbsps) in the batter. Make a hole in the middle of the batter and add an egg in the hole. Stir the batter. Heat an electric pan and oil slightly. Pour the batter over the pan and make a round. Fry meat or your choice of toppings on the side. Cook 5-7 minutes and place meat (toppings) on top of the okonomiyaki. Flip the okonomiyaki and cook for 5-7 more minutes. Flip the okonomiyaki again and spread okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise on top. Sprinkle aonori over the sauce. Sprinkle katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and beni-shoga (red ginger) if you would like.

Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki

It's a kind of okonomiyaki popular in Hiroshima, Japan. Yakisoba noodles are usually added in Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

Ingredients:
* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 3/4 cup dashi soup or water
* 4 eggs
* 2 cups finely chopped cabbage
* 2 cups bean sprouts
* 12 pieces thinly sliced pork
* 4 packages pre-steamed chucka noodles for yakisoba
* Seasonings:
* yakisoba sauce or salt
* okonomiyaki sauce or worcester sauce
* mayonnaise
* Toppings:
* chopped green onion
* aonori (dried seaweed powder)

Preparation:
Mix flour and dashi soup stock to make okonomiyaki batter. Heat and oil a large skillet or iron plate. Spread a scoop of the batter into a thin round over the pan. Place a handful of cabbage and bean sprouts on top of the batter. Place pork slices on top of the vegetables. Pour some okonomiyaki batter over the ingredients. Flip the okonomiyaki over with spatulas. Cook it on low heat until meats and vegetables are cooked. Meanwhile, fry yakisoba noodles on the side and lightly season with okonomiyaki sauce or salt as you like. Replace okonomiyaki with spatulas on top of yakisoba noodles and press on the top firmly. Fry an egg on the side an break the egg york with spatula. Replace the okonomiyaki on top of the fried egg and again press on the top firmly. Serve the okonomiyaki on a plate with the egg side up. Repeat this process to make more okonomiyaki. Spread okonomiyaki sauce or worcester sauce and mayonnaise on the okonomiyaki. Sprinkle chopped green onion and ao-nori (dried seaweed powder) on the top.

Kombu No Tsukudani

Tsukudani is a Japanese simmered dish flavored with soy sauce and sugar, and so on. It's a great side dish to serve with hot steamed rice. When you have leftover kombu from making dashi broth, try making tsukudani.
*Leftover Kombu

*Cutting Kombu
Cut leftover kombu into thin strips.
*Simmering Kombu
Put kombu, sake, and rice vinegar in a small pan. Pour some water enough to cover kombu. Bring to a boil and simmer kombu on low heat until softened.
*Seasoning Kombu
Add soy sauce and sugar and simmer until liquid is gone. Stop the heat.
*Mixing Sesame Seeds
Mix white sesame seeds in.
*Kombu No Tsukudani
Tsukudani is usually very salty, so it's commonly eaten with steamed rice. It also makes a good rice ball filling.

Setsubun Fortune Rolls

February 3 is setsubun known as bean throwing (mamemaki) festival. We throw happy beans (roasted soy beans) at home, saying "oni wa soto. fuku wa uchi" which means "go away devils and come in happiness." Then, we eat thick sushi rolls (fortune rolls), facing to the good fortune direction for the year without talking. The good fortune direction is east-northeast in 2009.
It's the day before the first day of spring on the lunar calendar.People throw roasted soybeans around houses and at temples and shrines to drive off bad luck and to bring good luck in. It's a custom to eat the same number of beans as one's age, hoping for good health and happiness.
Eho-maki (fortune rolls) are futo-maki (thick sushi rolls) eaten on the night of Setsubun. To be related with the Seven Deities of Good Fortune called Shichifukujin, seven fillings are traditionally rolled in a sushi roll. For example, simmered shiitake mushrooms and kanpyo (dried gourd), cucumber, rolled omelet (tamagoyaki), eels, sakura denbu (pink sweet powder), and seasoned kouyadofu (dried tofu) are used. These ingredients represent good health, happiness, and prosperity. So, rolling the fillings means good fortune.
Usually, sushi rolls are sliced into bite-sized pieces. But fortune rolls shouldn't be sliced since slicing indicates cutting good fortune.
To eat fortune rolls, face toward the good fortune direction of the year at first. The good fortune direction is where the fortune god, Tokutoku-shin, stays. The good fortune direction changes every year. Then, hold a sushi roll and eat it, making wishes. You shouldn't talk until you are done with eating a whole sushi roll. It's said that good fortune will be gone if you talk.
Good luck!

Kombu Chazuke Recipe

Chazuke (ochazuke) is a light Japanese rice dish. Hot green tea is poured over steamed rice and some toppings. Common toppings for chazuke are flakes of grilled salted salmon, umeboshi (pickled plum), nori (dried seaweed) strips, and lots more. It's good to use salty and flavorful toppings. Packages of chazuke seasonings are also available at Asian grocery stores.
Chazuke are often made with leftover steamed rice. Make sure to reheat the rice before pouring green tea.
Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup steamed rice
* 1 Tbsp tsukudani kombu
* green tea leaves or tea bags

Preparation:
Serve steamed rice in a rice bowl. If it's leftover rice, reheat the rice in the microwave. Place tsukudani kombu on top of the rice. Brew green tea in a tea pot. Pour hot green tea over rice.

Chawan Mushi

Chawanmushi is a Japanese custard steamed in a cup. Chawan means tea cups or rice bowls, and mushi means steaming in Japanese. Chawanmushi cups are available with lids.
Ingredients:

* 3 eggs
* 400 ml dashi soup stock
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 tsp light soy sauce
* 1 tsp sake
* 2 slice of sea bream, cut into bite-size pieces
* 5 shimeji mushrooms
* 1 oz. mitsuba (trefoil)
* 2 slice of unagi

Preparation:
Lightly beat eggs in a bowl. Try not to bubble the eggs. Add cool dashi soup stock, soy sauce, salt, and sake in the egg. Strain the egg mixture. Put shimeji, fish, and unagi in four chawanmushi cups, or tea cups. Fill each cup to third-forths full with the egg mixture. Place mitsuba leaves on top of the egg mixture. Cover the cups. Preheat a steamer on high heat. Turn down the heat to low and carefully place cups in the steamer. Steam for about 10 minutes. Poke the custard with a bamboo stick. If clear soup comes out, it's cooked.

Japanese Mother's Dishes

Japanese people celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day is called "haha no hi" in Japanese. It's common to give flowers and gifts to mothers on this day in Japan.

We tend to remember and inherit the taste of our mothers' cooking. It's called "ofukuro-no-aji" in Japanese. They are usually found in everyday cooking, such as nimono (simmered vegetables) and miso soup.

Tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki is Japanese rolled omelet. It's often served in Japanese-style breakfast and bento (lunch boxes).
Ingredients:

* 4 eggs
* 3 tbsps dashi soup stock
* 2 tbsps sugar

Preparation:
Beat eggs in a bowl. Add dashi soup and sugar in the egg and mix well. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. *Preferably, use a square tamagoyaki pan. Oil the pan. Pour a scoop of egg mixture in the pan and spread over the surface. Cook it until half done and roll the egg toward the bottom side. Move the rolled egg to the top side. Oil the empty part of the pan and pour another scoop of egg mixture in the space and under the rolled egg. Cook it until half done and roll the egg again so that the omelet becomes thicker. Cook the omelet until done. If you are using a regular frying pan, shape tamagoyaki on bamboo mat. Cut tamagoyaki into 1-inch thick pieces.

Niku-jaga

Nikujaga is one of the most popular potato dishes cooked in Japan. Niku means meat, and jaga means potatoes in Japanese. Thin slices of pork or beef are used.
Ingredients:

* 1/2 lb thinly sliced beef loin, or pork loin, cut into 1 and 1/2 inch length pieces
* 4 potatoes, cut into quarters
* 1 onion, cut into wedges
* 1/4 lb carrot, cut into bite size chunks
* 1/2 package shirataki noodles
* 2 1/2 cups dashi soup
* 2 Tbsp mirin
* 2 Tbsp sugar
* 4 Tbsp soy sauce

Preparation:
Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep pot and saute beef quickly on high heat. Add onion, carrot, potato, and shirataki in the pan and saute together. Pour dashi soup stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface. Simmer until potatoes are softened. Add sugar and mirin and put a drop-lid. Simmer for about 5 minutes and add soy sauce. Simmer until the liquid are almost gone.

Namasu

Namasu is pickled daikon radish and carrot. Since daikon and carrot express celebration colors of red and white, it's one of Japanese New Year's food.

Ingredients:
* 1 pound daikon radish
* 1/4 pound carrot
* 3/4 cup dashi soup stock
* 1/3 cup vinegar
* 3 Tbsp. sugar
* 1 tbsp sake

Preparation:
Peel and cut carrot and daikon radish into thin strips. Put a pinch of salt over the carrot and daikon and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse them and squeeze to remove excess water. Put daikon and carrot strips in a large bowl. Put dashi, vinegar, sugar, and sake in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pour the vinegar mixture over carrot and daikon strips and mix well. Leave it overnight.

Zaru Soba Noodles

Zaru-soba is cold buckwheat noodle (soba) served on a bamboo plate (zaru). It's served with dipping soup (mentsuyu) and some toppings. Add toppings in the dipping soup and dip a small amount of soba noodles in the soup to eat. Packages of dried soba noodles are availabe at Asian grocery stores. There are different kinds of soba noodles, depending on the amount of the buckwheat in the noodles. Usually, soba noodles are darker than somen noodles.
Ingredients:

* 14 oz. dried soba (buckwheat noodles)
* 2 cups - 2 1/2 cups mentsuyu (dipping sauce)
* Wasabi paste and finely chopped green onion for toppings

Preparation:
Boil water in a large pot. Add dried soba noodles in the boiling water, gently stirring noodles with chopsticks. Turn down the heat to medium. Boil soba noodles, following the package instructions. It usually takes a couple minutes to boil soba. If it's necessary, add a little bit of cold water in the pot to prevent overflowing. Drain soba and wash the noodles with hands under running water. Divide soba among four plates. Divide mentsuyu (noodle dipping soup) among four small cups. Serve finely chopped green onion and wasabi paste on other small plates.

Zoni New Year Soup

Zoni is Japanese mochi (rice cake) soup. It's a Japanese tradition to eat zoni on New Year's holiday. Ingredients for zoni vary region to region. Basically, zoni is seasoned with soy sauce in eastern Japan, and it's seasoned with shiromiso (white miso) in western Japan.

Ingredients:
* 4 cups dashi soup stock
* 4 blocks mochi (rice cake)
* 1/4 lb. boneless chicken thighs
* 2 inches carrot, cut into thin rectangles
* 4 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
* 3 inches negi, or leek, rinsed and diagonally sliced
* 1/4 lb. fresh spinach, boiled and cut into 2 inches
* 4 slices kamaboko or naruto (fish cakes)
* 1 tbsp sake
* 1 tbsp soysauce
* 1/2 tsp sugar
Preparation:
Cut chicken thighs into small pieces. Put dashi soup stock, chicken, carrot, and shiitake in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface. Turn down the heat to low. Add sake, sugar, and soy sauce in the soup. Simmer for a few minutes. Meanwhile grill mochi in the oven until softened. Add grilled mochi, kamaboko or naruto, and negi slices in the soup.

Kazunoko

Kazunoko is a herring roe. It's a japanese tratidtion to eat kazunoko on New Year. This dish usually you can find in appetizer.

RIN AUTHENTIC JAPANESE RESTAURANT

A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
The grand opening luncheon of the swanky Rin Restaurant at Nirwana Gardens in Bintan was a positive sign that the culinary scene in the island is ready to move upmarket.
BERNARD GUNARA IS A GUARDIAN OF
tradition, and this self-professed gastronome is raising the bar and sharing his passion for authentic Japanese food with the opening of his maiden restaurant, Rin, at Nirwana Gardens in Bintan, after seeing an increasing demand for fine Japanese food from Japanese tourists yearning for their native food.
The inspiration for Rin arose as a result of Gunara’s culinary experiences in Japan. “I enjoy eating traditional Japanese food and I want other people to experience what I enjoy,” enthuses the Indonesian businessman who has worked in Japan for more than 14 years. When asked the reason for setting up a Japanese restaurant in Bintan, Gunara says, “Look out at the view. It is beautiful beachfront. There is no competition here. Food-wise, this place is lacking too.
Indeed, it was the unparalleled view of the beach from the restaurant that caught the eyes of about 300 guests – made up of business associates, family and friends – who showed up in force on a Sunday afternoon for the grand opening luncheon of Rin.
“We were certainly very honoured to have guest who flew in from as far as Canada and USA, as well as Indonesian celebrities such as Dian Sastro joining us,” reveals Gunara. Invited guests were treated to a special buffet of Rin’s specialties during the informal lunch affair, which was extremely well-received with long queues along the sushi counter as well as several teppanyaki stations.
Overlooking these culinary creations is executive chef Kinoshita Tomoharu, who was flown in from Japan. Hailing from Kyoto, he has more than 20 years of experience under his belt with stints at places like the famed Kyoto Restaurant on Arashiyama where he gained a reputation for his superb kaiseki masterpieces.
To ensure the authenticity of the Japanese dining experience, every single detail in the restaurant from the presentation of the food to the cutlery was carefully sourced from Japan. “I was very hands-on in the entire process. I wanted to create a restaurant that has a contemporary feel and yet at the same time, feature traditional Japanese details. I drew heavily from the five elements of nature – earth, wind, fire, stone, and wood,”reveals Gunara.
A proof that chef Tomoharu is still on top of this game, the crowd lapped up all that was offered during the opening. “The wagyu beef and salt baked fish were well received and so was the simmered gong gong, while the teriyaki chicken and Japanese rice balls proved to be popular with the children. Other favorites include the tomato with sesame sauce and the ikura (marinated salmon roe) served in a cucumber cup,” shares Gunara.
A lengthy line for the sushi quickly formed as guests clamoured for the freshest sashimi flown in straight from the famous Tsukiji market in Japan twice a week. Besides traditional Japanese fare, the restaurant serves classical dishes with a twist by innovating and capitalizing on local ingredients a part of their cuisine. For example, gong gong, a local Indonesian shellfish delicacy prized for its sweet flesh and texture, is prepared in a traditional Japanese style as well as served raw ala sushi at the opening luncheon.
An apparent favourite , judging by the number of onlookers crowding that section of the restaurant, was the signature wagyu beef. With the chef wowing the multitude with a confident display of culinary theatrics, the highly vaunted meat, which at Rin comes at a minimum grade 8+ marbling, is grilled with salt, pepper and a touch of cognac. Served with a specially concocted fruit-base sauce designed to complement the rich flavor of the beef, one can see why this dish will please even the most demanding of palates. True to the Japanese’s fondness for fruit as a dessert option, the tray of perfectly sliced pineapple that signaled the end of our gastronomic journey at Rin was deliciously sweet without the accompanying acidity. We were amazed to hear that these saccharinely-sweet pineapples were native to Bintan, revealing once again that the incorporation of local ingredients as part of the culinary fare at Rin might just throw a surprise down your way.
Keeping the mood convivial was resident band from Nirwana Gardens. Guests were also delighted by a free flow of Hanjozo and Rin Daiginjo, the house sakes. It seems fitting indeed, in light of the restaurant’s penchant for tradition and authenticity, to be importing sake from one of the oldest sake breweries in Kyoto.
When asked why being at Rin was an unforgettable dining experiences, one guest mentioned that “the spectacular views of the beach from the restaurant certainly bring the entire dining experience to a new level. What I like most is the alfresco area where you can enjoy a pre-dinner drink, caressed by the balmy sea breeze an then followed by a scrumptious kaiseki meal inside a nice, cozy VIP room.”
At Rin, open up your senses and be willing to be pleasantly surprised.
For reservations: +62-770-692328 (direct)
+62-770-692505 ext. 1216
rin@nirwanagardens.com

Datemaki

Datemaki is a Japanese sweet rolled omelet. It's one of Japanese New Year's food.
Ingredients:

* 8 eggs
* 4 oz. hanpen (white fish cake), chopped
* 2 Tbsp. dashi soup stock
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 Tbsp. mirin
* 1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:
Preheat the oven in 375 degrees F. Beat eggs in bowl. Put eggs, chopped hanpen, , sugar, mirin, salt in blender. Process until smooth. Put a baking sheet in a rectangular baking pan. Pour the egg mixture in the pan. Cook it in the oven for 15 minutes. Put the omelet on top of a bamboo mat while it's still warm. Remove the baking sheet. Roll the omelet with the bamboo mat. Leave it until cools. Remove the bamboo mat and cut the omelet into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Kamaboko

Kamaboko are semi-cylinderical fish cakes. Pink and white kamaboko are served as Japanese New Year's food. Kamaboko are often used as toppings in noodle dishes.

Tazukuri

Tazukuri is sugared dried sardine and is one of Japanese New Year's food.

Ingredients:
* 2 oz. dried sardines
* 2 Tbsps sugar
* 2 Tbsps soy sauce
* 1/2 Tbsp mirin
* 2 tsps white sesame seeds

Preparation:
Put the dried sardines in a skillet and stir-fry for a few minutes on medium-low heat. Set aside. Put sugar, soysauce, and mirin in a skillet and put on medium heat. When it's thickened, add dried sardines. Stop the heat and stir well. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Spread it on a tray to cool.

Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き, teppan'yaki?)

Teppanyaki is a type of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle (teppan) to cook food. Although it is viewed in the western world as Japanese cuisine, it is not popular in Japan except when used for okonomiyaki.
The word "teppanyaki" is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means fried or broiled.

Typical ingredients used for teppanyaki western style are beef, shrimp, scallops, lobster, chicken and assorted vegetables; Soybean oil is typically used to cook the ingredients, and for Japanese style are noodles (Yakisoba), cabbage with sliced meat or seafood (Okonomiyaki) which are cooked using regular vegetable oil, animal oil from fat or a mixture of both. In Japan, many teppanyaki restaurants feature Kobe beef. Side dishes of mung bean sprouts, zucchini (even though zucchini is not a popular vegetable in Japan and rarely found in the market), garlic chips or fried rice usually accompany the meal. Some restaurants provide sauces in which to dip the food; usually, in Japan, only soy sauce is offered.

The originator of the teppanyaki-style steakhouse is the Japanese restaurant chain Misono, which introduced the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan in Japan in 1945.[1] They soon found that the cuisine was even more popular with foreigners than with the Japanese, who enjoyed both watching the skilled maneuvers of the chefs preparing the food as well as the cuisine, somewhat more familiar than more traditional Japanese dishes. As the restaurants became more popular tourist spots with non-Japanese, the chain introduced changes increasing the performance aspect of the chef's preparation, such as stacking round slices of onion in the shape of Mt. Fuji and lighting alcohol, usually vodka, contained within on fire, producing a flaming onion volcano. Non-tourists in Japan rarely eat at teppanyaki restaurants that feature western type of food as most of the ingredients are not part of the Japanese dietary system. The teppanyaki widely frequented by the Japanese are those which feature Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba or Monjayaki which are very popular in Japanese cuisine.

Kuromame

Kuromame means black beans in Japanese, and it indicateds simmered sweet black beans. The Japanese word for beans, mame, also means "working like a bee." So, people hope for being able to work in good health, eating kuromame on Japanese New Year. It's preferable to simmer kuromame in iron pot or add rusty nails to blacken the color of the beans.

Ingredients:
•1 cup black beans
•4 cups water
•1 cup sugar
•2 tsp. soysauce
•1/2 tsp. salt
•1/2 tsp. baking soda
•A couple of rusty nails, washed
•*A sheet of gauze

Preparation:
Wash black beans. Put water, sugar, salt, soysauce, and baking soda in large deep pot or iron pot. Bring to a boil. Stop the heat and add black beans. Leave it over night, or about 8 hours. Clean a couple of rusty nails, and wrap them by gauze. Add it in the pot. Put the pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low. Skim off any foam that rise to the surface. Cover the pot and simmer the beans on low heat for about 5 hours, or until beans are softened. When the liquid decreases, add some water. Stop the heat and let it sit until cool.

Japanese Fried Rice

Ingredients:
•2 cups cooked Japanese rice (*left over rice is the best)
•1/4 cup chopped onion
•1/4 cup chopped carrot
•1/4 cup chopped green pepper
•1/3 cup diced ham/pork
•2 eggs
•1/2 tsp garlic salt
•1 tsp chicken bouillon
•2 tbsp soy sauce
•2 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation:
Put a wok or a pan on high heat. Add oil to the pan. Wisk the eggs in a small bowl. Put the eggs in the heated pan and scramble very quickly. Stop the heat and remove the scrambled eggs from the pan into a dish. Put the pan on high heat and add more oil. Saute vegetables and ham until soft. Add garlic salt and chicken bouillon. Add rice and stir well. Add the scrambled egg that was cooked earlier to the rice mixture and mix together. Turn the heat down to low, add soy sauce and stir quickly. Stop the heat right away and serve.