Shichimi Togarashi © Denzil Green Shichimi Togarashi is a Japanese spice mixture made from 7 spices. It is not the same as Chinese Five Spice mixture. The ingredients and proportions used will vary. There are a few exclusive shops in Japan that will mix up the Shichimi to your preference for ingredients and proportions. The…
Japanese Food
Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake Mushrooms © Denzil GreenShiitake Mushrooms are one of the two most popular mushrooms in the world, the other being Agaricus Mushrooms (white button mushrooms.) Physical description The stalk of a shiitake mushroom can be 4 to 5 inches tall (10 to 12 cm.) The cap can be 2 to 4 inches wide (5 to…
Shimeji Mushrooms
Shimeji is a generic name for about 20 species of mushrooms. In Japan, where Shimeji Mushrooms are very popular, “Hon-shimeji” is regarded as the true one. In the wild, Shimeji Mushrooms grow in clusters high up in trees, often on Beech trees. They have thick stalks about 2 to 3 inches tall (5 to 7.5cm.)…
Shirataki Noodles (aka Yam Noodles)
Shirataki Noodles © Denzil Green Shirataki Noodles are Japanese noodles not made from wheat or grain. Instead, they are made from Devil’s Tongue Yam flour (aka Konnyaku Powder) and water. This makes them extremely low in calories. They can come in different shapes such as spaghetti, angel-hair, chunky noodle, etc. They can be white or…
Shiratamako Flour
Shiratamako flour is a version of sweet rice flour, milled by wet-meal-method. It is more expensive than mochiko. To make it, grains of sticky rice are first soaked in water, then the soft rice is mashed, then freeze dried. The flour is lumpy, even though the size of the powder grains is actually very fine….
Shiro Sake
Shiro Sake is very sweet white sake that is very low in alcohol. It is made from sweet sake, distilled spirits, rice malt and steamed glutinous rice. A a milder version can be made from Sakekasu (the solids or “draff” of rice left over after making sake), water and sugar. You boil it, then strain….
Shishito Chiles
Shishito are sweet, mild, slender Japanese chiles about 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) long and about 1 cm (½ inch) wide. The end opposite to the stem is squarish. The flesh walls are thin. The bumpy skin matures from light lime green to dark, wrinkled red. The chiles are harvested before they…
Shiso Leaves
Shiso is an annual herb that is a member of the mint family. It is grown throughout Asia as a crop. Some people in North America grow some cultivars as an ornamental, but otherwise, it’s considered an invasive weed. For this reason, it’s best grown in pots to contain it. The fragrance and taste somewhat…
Shizuka Apples
Shizuka are large-sized apples. They have yellow skin covered with a reddish-orange blush. The flesh has a sweet taste and good flavour. The flavour is sweeter and milder than Mutsu apples, to which this apple is otherwise similar. The fruit ripens late September to late October, depending on location. The tree needs pollination, but it…
Shochu
Shochu is a clear, distilled Japanese beverage with an alcohol content of about 25 to 42%. It can be made from short-grain Japanese rice, barley, sweet potatoes or buckwheat. Some novelty ones are based on brown sugar, foxtail millet, pumpkin, green pepper, chestnuts, shiso leaf or even milk. About 53% is made, though, from barley,…
Soba Noodles
Soba Noodles © Denzil Green Soba Noodles are noodles made from buckwheat and wheat flour — the ratio will vary by brand. Often the dominant ingredient is the wheat flour. Water is added to the mixed flours to make a dough, then kneaded, then let rest a bit. Then it is rolled out and cut…
Somen Noodles
Somen are the thinnest of all Japanese dried noodles, just over 1 mm wide. They are white, and round (as opposed to flattened.) They are sold dried, not fresh. They are a summer favourite in Japan for basing light meals on. The traditional areas of production is Harima Province. The dough is made from wheat…
Soybeans
Soybeans are rarely consumed on their own as a plate of plain, boiled beans just simply adorned with perhaps oil or vinegar, as one might do with other beans. Soybeans don’t really have much of a taste: they don’t seem to absorb taste as other beans do, nor do they have any kind of intrinsic…
Sudare
A sudare is a small, flexible mat made from strips of bamboo to help you assemble and roll up maki sushi.
Sunomono
Sunomono is a Japanese cucumber salad served at the beginning of meals. It’s made of marinated cucumber slices topped with sesame seeds. It can be served with a thin, vinegar-based sauce such as Amazu sauce or Ponzu sauce, or with a simple sauce made of just vinegar and sugar. Variations can include wakame and seafood…
Suribachi
A suribachi is a Japanese mortar. Inside the bowl, it has ridges to help grind food item more easily and evenly. The pestles are made of wood, so as to not wear down the ridges over time.
Sushi
Sushi © Denzil Green Sushi is cold, cooked rice seasoned with vinegar pressed into small cakes . The “su” in the name is the Japanese name for “vinegar.” It is either rolled up in seaweed or in very thin slices of fish, usually with a filling called “gu” in the middle, or formed into cakes,…
Sushi Press
A sushi press is a box with a lid used to make layered sushi (oshizushi).
Sweet Red Bean Paste
This is a bean paste made from red adzuki beans that are boiled, drained, then puréed. It’s called “sweet”, not because sugar has been stirred in, but unlike some other bean pastes such as Miso, it’s not fermented to make it sour. The “sweet” here means not tangy. That being said, some versions actually do…
Szechuan Peppercorns
Szechuan Peppercorns are called peppercorns because of their flavour, not because of any actual relation to pepper. They are actually dried berries from a tree (a shrub, actually) which grows in parts of Asia called the “Prickly Mountain Ash” tree.The shrub is deciduous, with brownish-black bark. It’s called Prickly because the trunk, branches and leaf…
Takoyaki
Takoyaki are Japanese dumplings that look like small fried balls of batter. Some versions are crispier than others. They are made of wheat flour batter and diced boiled octopus, along with konnyaku and scraps of tempura, flavoured with pickled ginger and green onion. Occasionally shrimp or cheese is swapped in for the octopus. They are…
Tekka-Don
Tekka-Don is a simple Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of plain, warm rice topped with pieces of raw tuna, shredded nori (seaweed), and sprinkled with soy sauce. It is sometimes livened up with a bit of wasabi.
Tenkas
Tenkas is the Japanese word for the crispy bits of batter that remain in the oil after frying tempura.
Teriyaki
Teriyaki is a Japanese dish. To make it, you start with a food item that can be meat, fish or vegetables, and slice it or cut it into shapes. You then dip the food in Teriyaki sauce to glaze it, then grill, broil or pan-fry it. In Japan, the food item used to be just…