Aemono is a Japanese cooking term that can refer either to an uncooked sauce used as a salad dressing, or to the salad itself made with it. As a dressing, it’s a thick dressing (often based on puréed tofu) to coat the food items in a salad. When used to refer to the entire salad…
Japanese
Agar-Agar
Agar-agar acts as a gelatin, but is also used as an emulsifier, thickener and stabilizer in many commercial products such as ice cream and soups. It can also be used to clarify wine and beer. It is preferred by vegetarians to gelatin which is made from animals. It is made from red and purple seaweed….
Agari
In sushi shops, “Agari” is a word used for the same hot green tea that everywhere else is called “Sencha.” Originally, the shops served Agari after the meal, but now it is served whenever the customer wishes during the meal. Language Notes Agari is that word that doesn’t actually mean tea, and that has many…
Ajisuke Nori
Ajisuke Nori is sheets of Nori that are seasoned, then toasted and dried. The seasoning is usually done with mirin, soy sauce, sugar and shrimp extract. The sheets end up a dark green colour. Ajisuke Nori is used in dishes which aren’t already seasoned, such as plain rice. It is also used in soups. It…
Amazu Sauce
Amazu Sauce is a Japanese sweet and sour sauce. It’s made from plain, unseasoned rice vinegar, water and sugar that are brought to a low boil while stirring to dissolve sugar, then removed from the heat and allowed to cool. Variations include squeezing the juice from a lemon or two into it, or letting hanakatsuo…
Arame
Arame is a variety of seaweed used in Japanese cooking. The leaves of the weed, when cooked, have a mild, sweet taste. It is steamed for use in soups and salads. The plant prefers growing in cold water. It has large, thick, dark brown leaves. The leaves are cut into thin strands when being processed,…
Asakusa Nori
Asakusa Nori is a purple variety of nori (seaweed) that is farmed in bays by the ocean shore. Because it is considered a better quality nori, it is often used in sushi where its taste and texture can be highlighted. History Notes The name “Asakusa” comes from Asakusa, Japan, which is a centre of production…
Ban-Cha Tea
“Ban-Cha” means common or ordinary tea in Japanese. It is an everyday tea, less expensive than many other Japanese teas. It is made from coarser, less tender grades of leaves harvested later (e.g. summer and autumn, as opposed to spring.) Its full flavour allows it to go well with food. It has a tinge more…
Black Futsu Squash
Black Futsu Squash are flattened, with pronounced, heavy ribbing. The rind is black when harvested, turning a chestnut brown in storage. The weight ranges from 3 to 8 pounds (1 ⅓ to 3 ½ kg.) Inside, it has golden-coloured flesh with a nutty taste. High yields, 4 to 10 squash per vine. 100 to 120…
Chiri-zu Sauce
Chiri-zu Sauce is a Japanese dipping sauce used for fried seafood, for sashimi, and for white fish. It is mildly spicy because it has Shichimi Togarashi in it. Cooking Tips 4 tablespoons lemon juice 4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari 4 tablespoons grated daikon 2 tablespoons sake ¼ teaspoon Shichimi Togarashi 1 thinly sliced green…
Daikon Radishes
Daikon Radishes © Denzil Green These are a Japanese variety of radish quite different from the red globe radish we are familiar with. It is long like a carrot and quite big (growing from 5 to 18 inches / 13 to 45 cm long), is hotter than red globe radishes, and its skin is tan…
Enoki Mushrooms
Enoki Mushrooms © Denzil Green Enoki Mushrooms kind of look like sprouts from another planet. They are small mushrooms with very small creamy white caps on very long, thin stems that look a bit like spaghetti. The cap is usually about just ¼ inch wide (60mm); the stem will be about 3 to 4 inches…
Fugu Sake
Fugu Sake is sake that is flavoured with the fins of fugu fish which has just been cut up for sashimi. The fins are roasted, then then put in cups of hot sake, which are often served flaming. Many westerners don’t like the smell of the fish and sake together. In addition to getting it…
Genmai-Cha Tea
Genmai-Cha is a very common, everyday tea in Japan. It is made from Ban-cha tea and Sancha tea blended with roasted rice gains (which are called “Genmai”, thus this tea’s name.) The aroma and taste of the roasted rice helps to mask the slight bitterness that Ban-cha tea has, and gives the brewed tea a…
Gyokuro Tea
Gyokuro Tea is a very high grade of tea made from the tips of leaves from tea bushes that have been sheltered from direct sun by bamboo screens (now, black nylon nets more likely to be used.) Growing in the shade makes the taste sweet because it inhibits chlorophyll development. The leaves are harvested after…
Hen-of-The-Woods Mushrooms
Hen-of-The-Woods mushrooms are popular in Japan. They are native to the northeastern part of Japan and North America. They are a fungus that grows on trees and tree stumps, preferring deciduous trees, particularly oaks. They don’t have caps like other mushrooms: instead, they look like petals growing off a stalk in clusters. Some people think…
Hokkaido Zai Tai Rocambole Garlic
Hokkaido Zai Tai Rocambole Garlic has large bulbs with off-white skin. Per bulb, there are 6 to 10 large cloves with purple skin. The garlic has a full, lingering, mellow flavour. It is grown in Shikoku, Japan (not Hokkaido, as the name would imply.) History Notes Hokkaido Zai Tai Rocambole Garlic was developed in Japan
Hon Dashi Recipe
A Japanese stock recipe. You can make two broths from the seaweed and the tuna.
Hoshi-Shiitake Dashi Recipe
A Japanese stock recipe. Hoshi-shiitake are dried shiitake mushrooms.
Houji-Cha Tea
Houji-Cha Tea is a green tea with hardly any bitterness in its taste. It is an inexpensive tea and very common, yet it is light, refreshing, and aromatic. To make it, tea leaves are steamed, dried, then pan-roasted at a high temperature. The leaf colour changes from green to red. The more it is roasted,…
Hukamushi-cha Tea
Hukamushi-cha Tea is sencha tea that is steamed for a long time. This reduces bitterness, and makes it milder. It is a fragrant, green tea with full flavour. When brewed, the tea will be somewhat cloudy. Cooking Tips To make tea for 5 people: use 5 teaspoons of tea to 3 cups (750ml) boiling water….
Imo
Imo is a generic Japanese word for “tuber.” It can be used to refer to potatoes (“jyaga imo”), sweet potatoes (“satsuma imo”), yams (“yama imo”) or taro (“sato imo”). History Notes Both potatoes and sweet potatoes in Japan are originally from the Americas, though many Japanese cultivars have been developed. Language Notes “Sato-imo”, means “starch…
Ito Wakame
Ito Wakame is a long, thin seaweed that can grow up to 5 feet (1 ½ metres) long. It is cultivated and used in cooking in Japan and Korea. When the seaweed is harvested, it is washed in salt water, then laid out to dry in the sun with charcoal sprinkled over it. The charcoal…
Iwa Nori
Iwa Nori is a variety of seaweed in Japan that grows in rock crevices along the shore. It was traditionally, of course, just harvested from the wild, but now it is cultivated in nets. It is dried, then rehydrated for use in soups, one-pot dishes, and particularly in dishes that have some vinegar in them….