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The “Delicious” page, published every Tuesday, introduces simple recipes, restaurants across the country and extensive background information about Japanese washoku cuisine. By uncovering the history of Japanese food and sharing choice anecdotes, we make cooking at home and dining out even more fun.

Depth and variety of Japan’s cuisine

In this column, we look back over changes in Japanese cuisine by featuring popular recipes carried in The Yomiuri Shimbun over the past century.

Preparing a meal for oneself often comes with many complaints such as, “Cooking just for me is annoying,” and “I don’t know if I can eat everything by myself.” In this series, cooking researchers share tips for making delicious meals just for you.　

In this column, Tamako Sakamoto, a culinary expert who previously wrote the column “Taste of Home” for The Japan News, introduces tips for home-style dishes typically enjoyed by Japanese families.

Our recipe columns

Taste of Japanese mom

Chikuzen refers to northwestern Fukuoka Prefecture. Although the dish is widely known as Chikuzen-ni, local people usually call the dish game-ni. There are several possible origins of the name. One idea is that it comes from “gamekomu,” a local dialect word for “bringing together” various leftover vegetables, even scraps, in a pan. Another theory is that turtle (kame) or soft-shelled turtle (suppon) were cooked together.

There are also various views about the roots of the dish. One is that it was a battlefield dish of the Kuroda clan in the Chikuzen district, while another suggests the dish was created by warriors who were stationed in Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent a large army to the Korean Peninsula in the 16th century.

According to Japan University of Economics lecturer Katsuyuki Takegawa, an expert on dietary culture in Fukuoka Prefecture, iridori — or a dish of fowl boiled down with soy sauce, which is similar to game-ni — was introduced in Ryori Monogatari, a cookbook in the Edo period (1603-1867).

When The Yomiuri Shimbun printed the Chikuzen-ni recipe, refrigerators were not yet widely available. Consequently, the dish had a strong sweet taste due to the large volume of mirin used.

Chizue Yamagiwa, 67, a cooking expert living in Fukuoka, said: “Japanese people like the dish’s soy sauce taste with some sweetness. I think the dish became popular as its preparation is not complicated, and the ingredients are easy to obtain anywhere.”

After World War II, the spread of school lunches likely boosted its popularity.

An expert said that the dish has been attracting people’s attention recently as hospital food.

Chikuzen-ni

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with Tokyo Gas Co.’s Food Communication Center

Our recipe for chikuzen-niIngredients (serves 3):180 grams chicken110 grams burdock70 grams carrot10 grams dried shiitake145 grams konnyaku jelly110 grams onion35 grams peas in pods10 grams sesame oil180 grams mirin50 ml soy sauce180 cc soup stockDash of ground sansho pepper

Directions:① Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks.② Chop the burdock and carrot, boil briefly and drain.③ Tear up the konnyaku by hand. Rub it with salt, then quickly rinse and drain.④ Soak the dried shiitake in water until soft. Cut the mushrooms into

quarters and boil briefly.⑤ Boil peas after stringing them. Set aside in a boiling basket and sprinkle

with a little salt.⑥ Cut the onion vertically into six pieces.⑦ Heat the sesame oil in a pan and fry solid ingredients well, except the

onion and peas.⑧ Add the soup stock (180 cc) and mirin, and cook for a while.⑨ Add the soy sauce and cook further. When the soup has reduced, add

the onion.⑩ Cook further until the soup is reduced to a minimum.⑪ Divide into serving bowls.⑫ Garnish with the quick-cooked peas and sprinkle with sansho pepper.

(From Feb. 10, 1923, edition)

Japan is a nation that loves custard puddings, which are called “purin” in Japanese. A variety of inventive purin products can be found on shelves at convenience stores and supermarkets.

“The texture soothes the throat and comforts Japanese people,” said Rio Hiraiwa, a journalist who covers the sweets beat. “There is no other country with as many variations of purin as Japan has, I believe.”

A recipe for “custard purin” appeared in the 1929 edition of The Yomiuri Shimbun. The purin goes light on sweetness with a pronounced flavor of eggs.

The recipe also describes how to make caramel sauce as the topping for the pudding. White sugar is put in a frying pan over medium heat and roasted until it turns reddish brown. After adding about the same amount of boiling water as the sugar, the sauce is complete.

In The Yomiuri Shimbun, purin appeared for the first time in the Taisho period (1912-1926). Since then, it has been repeatedly featured as a regular sweet.

In Britain, puddings are made by baking bread crumbs, flour, pieces of meat, eggs, and nuts.

In Japan nowadays, purin often represents a custard pudding made of ingredients such as milk, eggs and sugar. There are various opinions on the origin of purin, including that it was originally a French dessert.

After World War II, along with the spread of refrigerators among households, purin mix, which can be easily made at home, gained popularity. In 1964, House Foods Corp. launched a mix that can be made by simply adding hot water and cooling it.

In the late 1990s, there was a boom in purin with a melting texture, which is made of fresh cream and steamed at a low temperature. While soft purin has enduring popularity, old-fashioned, firm-textured ones are making a comeback.

“For about five years now, the trend has been getting back to basics,” Hiraiwa said. “Many people are surprised to experience the remarkable taste of [classic purin].”

There has been an increasing number of variations of custard pudding, such as lightly sweetened purin targeted at men and a product made of selected eggs and sugar.

Pur in

Taste of Japanese mom

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Our recipe for purinIngredients:3 eggs180 ml milk1 tbsp sugarCaramel sauceLemon essenceA small amount of butter

Directions:① Beat eggs well, add sugar and milk. Flavor the mixture with lemon

essence.② Spread butter evenly inside molds or cups, and drip caramel sauce into

center of each one.③ Gently pour the mixture from Step 1 over the caramel sauce, so that

containers are eight-tenths full.④ Steam them in a wooden container over boiling water for about 30

minutes.⑤ Remove the molds. Gently wedge a skewer between the purin and the

mold to let in air. The purin should then slide out onto the plate. Enjoy the purin before it cools.

* Although this original recipe calls for the purin to be steamed for 30 minutes, doing so will create pockmarks in the mixture. Therefore, it’s actually best to steam the purin for 15 minutes.

(From Nov. 26, 1929, edition)

Taste of Japanese mom

Salad was first introduced to Japanese tables covered in mayonnaise.Kewpie Corp. started selling domestically made mayonnaise in 1925

after founder Toichiro Nakashima tasted and liked potato salad in the United States. Japan had no custom at the time of eating raw vegetables, so potato salad made from boiled potatoes and mayonnaise was the first salad Japanese people became familiar with.

A potato salad recipe was featured on a home life page of The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1928.

The second standard salad in Japan was macaroni salad, introduced after World War II. In 1955, a series of domestic flour makers started producing macaroni in large volume, which triggered a macaroni salad boom here.

“Macaroni salad might have been inspired by an Italian dish that was similar,” said Tanio Kodate, 70, executive managing director at Nippon Flour Mills Co., which produces the Oh’my macaroni brand.

Macaroni salad was served during school lunches and was part of a typical school menu in 1963. It was also sold as a pre-made deli dish, and apparently came to be known as a run-of-the-mill item.

After World War II, raw vegetable salads began to gain popularity. Allied forces cultivated “clean vegetables” for soldiers stationed in Japan, and western vegetables such as lettuce spread around the country. In 1958, domestic dressing was launched into the market in tandem with the spread of refrigerators.

Naomichi Ishige, former director of the National Museum of Ethnology, said that salad in Western countries is equivalent to pickles in Japan, as people eat salads to cleanse their mouths after eating oily foods like meat.

“Pickles were replaced by salads,” Ishige said. “Salad became established as a side dish after it was adjusted to go well with rice through means like putting seaweed into salads and adding soy sauce in the dressing.”

Macaroni sa lad

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with Better Home Asoociation

Our recipe for macaroni saladIngredients (serves 5): 80 grams macaroni50 grams ham1 cucumber1 egg½ cup mayonnaise1 stalk parsley, finely chopped1 tbsp vinegarsalt, seasoning

Directions:① Boil macaroni in salted hot water for about 15 minutes. Rinse in water

and drain.② Cut ham into thin strips.③ Rub cucumber with salt on the chopping board and cut into thin, round

slices.④ Mix macaroni, ham, cucumber and season with a little salt, vinegar and

seasoning.⑤ Hard boil eggs and strain the yolks. Chop up the whites.⑥ Mix whites with ④ and mayonnaise.⑦ Place in serving bowl and sprinkle yolk and minced parsley over it.

(From June 4, 1962, edition)

Mabo-dofu, a spicy Sichuan dish made of tofu and minced meat, is one of the most popular Chinese dishes in Japan.

Pronounced mapo doufu in Chinese, mabo-dofu is believed to have been introduced to Japan by the late Kenmin Chin, who died in 1990. Kenmin Chin was the grandfather of Kentaro Chin, the third-generation owner-chef of Shisen Hanten (Szechwan Restaurant), in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

The first mabo-dofu recipe carried in The Yomiuri Shimbun, in 1958, was that of cooking expert Gyosai Tamura.

The flavor of mabo-dofu made from that recipe is quite different from authentic mabo-dofu. Its ingredients included miso and ginger, and the taste is spicy but not so stimulating.

Chinese dishes attracted attention in the Taisho era (1912-1926) because they were easy to cook and nutritious. However, when Kenmin Chin first visited Japan in 1952, authentic mabo-dofu was too spicy for the Japanese, so he reportedly reduced its spiciness when serving the dish.

In his book “Sasurai no Mabo-dofu” (Wandering mabo-dofu), Chin wrote: “If I season the dish the same way as in Sichuan Province, my customers will feel dizzy. I don’t think Japanese people would have come to like mabo-dofu very much if I seasoned it the Sichuan way.”

Chin later became a familiar face in Japan, as he regularly appeared on the NHK’s popular TV cooking program “Kyo no Ryori” (Today’s cooking).

“I cooked mabo-dofu many times on the program,” he wrote in his book. “I wanted to cook different dishes, but NHK received a lot of requests from housewives saying they wanted to watch how to make it again.”

Chinese cuisine expert Haruko Kimura said mabo-dofu was a revolutionary tofu dish.“Japan’s tofu dishes before the introduction of mabo-dofu were limited to boiled tofu

and cold tofu, or it was used as an ingredient in miso soup. They were all white and lightly seasoned. Compared with these dishes, mabo-dofu was spicy,” Kimura said. “I think Japanese people might have been surprised at mabo-dofu’s strong taste. But the good combination of simple tofu, meat and spices made people want to eat it again.”

Food manufacturers also started to cash in on the dish’s popularity. In 1971, Marumiya Corp. became the first manufacturer to launch a pre-mixed seasoning sauce, which it called “Mabo-dofu no Moto,” for mabo-dofu.

Marumiya decided to create a sauce product because it believed it was difficult to blend the various spices at home, according to the company.

Ajinomoto Co. also started to sell a pre-mixed sauce called “Cook Do for Mabo-dofu,” in 1978. Eventually, the individual Chinese seasoning items, such as tobanjan chili bean paste and tenmenjan sweet bean paste, became available in shops.

Tobanjan was used in the mabo-dofu recipe introduced on the lifestyle page of The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1985. Since then, it has become a regular ingredient of the dish.

Mado-dofu is one of the favorite dishes of Kumiko Hirose, a former NHK announcer known for her discussions with Chin on the cooking program. Hirose said: “Mabo-dofu goes with rice. It’s really tasty to eat it on hot rice.”

Mabo-dofu

Taste of Japanese mom

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with Better Home Association

Our recipe for mabo-dofuIngredients (serves 3):2 blocks tofu120 grams minced pork⅓ long onionPiece of gingerA little garlic2 red peppersSesame oilMisoSugarPotato starch

Directions:① Chop the long onion, garlic and ginger finely. Remove seeds from red

peppers and cut them into thin rounds.② Cut the tofu into 1-cm cubes and soak them briefly in hot water. (Note:

Soak just before cooking, otherwise the tofu will become hard.)③ Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and fry the garlic, ginger and long

onion until they are cooked to have a spicy flavor. Add the red peppers and fry minced meat.

④ Add a teaspoon of miso, the tofu, a ½ cup of soup, 2½ tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar and synthetic seasoning. When they are cooked, add 1 teaspoon of starch dissolved in water to thicken. Serve with rice.

(From Aug. 17, 1958, edition)

Tonkatsu dates back to the late Meiji era (1868-1912). Initially called pork cutlet, the dish was later renamed tonkatsu around the early Showa era (1926-89).

“When Japan began assimilating Western cuisine, Japanese cooking methods like nabe hot pot were employed in the introduction of beef as in gyunabe hot pot. As tonkatsu is deep-fried in oil, it can be considered akin to tempura,” said Prof. Nobuo Harada of Kokushikan University, who specializes in Japanese lifestyle and cultural history.

As in the case of tonkatsu, distinct wayo-setchu Japanese fusion style dishes have developed. These menu items are often categorized as yoshoku, Western-style cuisine.

The first recipe for pork cutlet carried in The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1915 does not specify the amount of meat needed. So in preparing the dish based on this recipe, about 70 grams of meat — equal to the average amount consumed by one person before World War II — were cut into bite-sized pieces and deep-fried in vegetable oil. The thinly coated batter created a crispy texture, and the meat was moist and flavorful.

However, the snow peas served as a side dish were a little greasy. It was not until 1922 that The Yomiuri Shimbun published a standard recipe for cutlet with sliced cabbage.

The dish is praised in the book “Meiji Yoshoku Kotohajime” (The origins of Meiji-era Western-style food) written by Tetsu Okada and published by Kodansha Ltd. According to the author, it “represents accumulated creative knowledge” and “deserves the title of ‘the king of yoshoku.’”

Origins of creative cuisineRengatei, a restaurant in Tokyo’s Ginza district, offered cotelette in the late Meiji

era. But the heavy dish of veal grilled with oil was unpopular.In 1899, after much consideration, the restaurant’s chef invented fried pork cutlet.

However, the sauce was changed from a rich demiglace to a light Worcester sauce. At the request of customers, it was eventually served with rice instead of bread.

By the early Showa era, pork cutlet had fully evolved into tonkatsu — a thick slice of meat that is deep-fried. According to Showagakuin Junior College President Keiko Hatae, who specializes in gastronomy, loin and some other parts of pork, unlike beef, can be served soft even when the slices are thick.

The fried cutlet is usually cut into bite-size pieces before serving and eaten with chopsticks. This style of serving has contributed to it becoming a common dish on dinner tables.

Tonkatsu can be enjoyed in a variety of ways: “katsudon,” a bowl of rice topped with pork cutlet; “oroshi tonkatsu,” tonkatsu served with grated daikon radish; and “mille-feuille katsu” made with meat from the belly of a pig that is thinly sliced, layered and deep-fried.

“Japanese people’s consumption of meat has already exceeded that of seafood, and many younger people tend to prefer meat,” Harada said. “The ways of eating tonkatsu may further expand to better suit the tastes of Japanese people.”

Tonkatsu

Taste of Japanese mom

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with Better Home Association

Our recipe for tonkatsuDirections:① Cut pork in the same manner as for hot pot cooking.② Season the cubes of meat with salt and pepper, then dust them with

flour.③ Add small amount of water to egg yolk. Dip meat in the egg wash before

coating it with bread crumbs.④ Fry the pork pieces in beef tallow.⑤ As each piece is small, it is not necessary to place a knife next to the

dish. Place about five pieces in each individual’s dish.⑥ For a side dish, boil snow peas, seasoning them with salt and pepper,

and saute with a little butter.

(From April 30, 1915, edition)

Pasta began to spread in Japan after World War II, with macaroni appearing on the market in 1955, quickly followed by spaghetti.

Japanese spaghetti today is entirely made of durum semolina flour, just like spaghetti in Italy, according to Nisshin Foods Inc. However, when spaghetti was first introduced, strong flour meant for bread was used, making the spaghetti thick, similar to udon noodles.

Naporitan (Neapolitan) spaghetti flavored with tomato ketchup and spaghetti with meat sauce were popular for some time in the nation.

Spaghetti entered a new phase with Japanese-style spaghetti, and spaghetti mixed with tarako salted cod roe was introduced in the lifestyle pages of The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1976.

In the recipe, other ingredients get mixed in with the boiled spaghetti, departing from the conventional way of cooking spaghetti at that time — frying the noodles after they were boiled.

The dish based on the recipe is good for its simple taste, but it is not entirely satisfactory as the amount of tarako called for is too small.

Japanese-style pasta became the talk of the town during the 1960s. Kabe no Ana, a spaghetti specialty restaurant that opened in Tokyo’s Shibuya district in 1963, created a number of spaghetti dishes making good use of Japanese ingredients such as natto and shiitake mushrooms. In 1967, the restaurant introduced tarako spaghetti.

“I heard the staff of the restaurant made spaghetti using caviar brought by a customer, and it was fabulous,” said Masayoshi Iizuka, an executive of Kabenoana Co. “They studied how to make similar spaghetti more easily and came up with the idea of using tarako.”

At that time, tarako was usually served after being grilled. As the new dish was made by mixing raw cod roe with boiled spaghetti, “People hated it at first,” Iizuka recalled.

Over time, however, people grew to love the flavor, and the spaghetti became one of the most popular menu items at the restaurant for its surprisingly simple but great flavor.

In the bubble economy era in 1980s, the so-called “itameshi” (Italian cuisine) boom arrived, and various authentic Italian pasta dishes came to be known here. The newspaper’s lifestyle section began to carry recipes for various pastas such as fettucine and penne.

Tarako cod roespaghett i

Taste of Japanese mom

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Our recipie for spaghetti mixed with tarako cod roeIngredients (serves 4):300 grams spaghetti1 piece of cod roe¼ onion1 tbsp lemon juicesoy sauce

Directions:① Boil a generous amount of water in a large pot.② Add a pinch of salt and put spaghetti into boiling water, spreading it

widely.③ Boil for 13 to 14 minutes, stirring with chopsticks to prevent spaghetti

from getting scorched on the bottom of the pot.④ Pull out one noodle and check its hardness. When the spaghetti feels

slightly soft, drain the water. Put it in a bowl.⑤ Remove the membrane from the cod roe, pressing down with the back

of a knife, then drag back to expose the eggs.⑥ Put the eggs in a small bowl, add lemon juice and soy sauce.⑦ Chop onion. Wrap with a dishcloth and rub them well, adding a little

salt. Wash with water and squeeze.⑧ Mix onion with cod roe, and then mix into spaghetti.

(From Feb. 25, 1976, edition)

A newlywed wife cooked okonomiyaki, a type of pancake that contains various ingredients such as cabbage and meat, for dinner one day. Her husband angrily said, “Who serves a snack for dinner?” The husband was from the Kanto region, and the wife was a native of the Kansai region. This story is often told in Osaka, where people find it amusing.

“[Okonomiyaki] used to be regarded as a snack in the Kansai region as well, but these days it is often eaten with rice as a set lunch, and with beer for dinner. It can be a main dish,” Maaya Satake, 58, who heads Wakatake Gakuen, which trains okonomiyaki chefs, in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.

The basics of okonomiyaki call for it to be crispy on the outside and soft inside.

The principle in heating is “2-5-3” minutes, Satake says. This is the allocation of time before flipping the okonomiyaki over to make sure both sides are evenly cooked.

Satake also chairs an association named Nippon Okonomiyaki Kyokai, which researches and studies okonomiyaki. According to her, okonomiyaki was a popular item called “issen yoshoku” (literally “Western food costing ¥0.01”), offered at dagashiya cheap sweet shops. The dish was made by thinly spreading flour batter on an iron plate and putting cabbage and red pickled ginger on it. As the food shortage after World War II came to an end and the nation was becoming affluent, pork, eggs and squid, among other ingredients, began to be added to okonomiyaki.

“People say Osaka is the home of okonomiyaki because ingenuity has been exercised with regard to the ingredients and such, I guess,” Satake said.

Cooking expert Chinami Hamauchi said: “Okonomiyaki is a really logical dish, based on the synergy of tastes from the glutamic acid of the cabbage and the inosinic acid of the pork. It’s easy for people to take a crack at original okonomiyaki just by adding tomato or basil sauce.”

Okonomiyaki spread among ordinary households with the appearance of handy hot plates and easy okonomiyaki mix containing dashi stock. Nisshin Seifun Group Inc., the nation’s largest flour company, put its okonomiyaki mix on the market in 1983. The product’s market has largely continued growing, and its marketing areas expanded from the Kansai region eastward.

Still, some regional characteristics remain. In Hiroshima, okonomiyaki is uniquely cooked by piling up ingredients on thinly spread batter, unlike the Kansai style in which the dish is made by mixing ingredients. Otafuku Sauce Co. based in Hiroshima, the largest producer of sauce for okonomiyaki, operates the Wood Egg Okonomiyaki-kan, a museum that introduces the history of okonomiyaki and its special sauce.

“[Okonomiyaki] is a dish that helps people communicate while cooking with families and friends, then talking about the result. That is its great charm,” Shigenori Matsumoto, director of the museum, said.

Okonomiyaki

Taste of Japanese mom

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with Akahori Cooking School

Our recipe for okonomiyakiIngredients (serves 4): 100-150 grams chopped pork 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms70 grams carrot 250 grams cabbage1 green pepper100 grams yamaimo Japanese yam40 grams red pickled ginger1 egg2 tbsp tiny dried shrimpnearly 1 cup milk

1 cup flourgreen nori flakessaltpeppercooking oilWorcestershire sauceketchupmayonnaise Leftover vegetables can be utilized.

Directions:① Cut the cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, green pepper and red

pickled ginger into thin strips. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sake onto chopped pork. Grate the yamaimo.

② Crack the egg into a measuring cup and add enough milk to make one cup. In a large bowl, combine the egg and milk mixture with the flour. Mix together while also adding yam. Season the batter with ⅓ teaspoon salt and some pepper.

③ Lightly fry the pork with ½ tablespoon cooking oil and take out of frying pan.

④ Add the cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, green pepper, pork, red pickled ginger and dried shrimp to the batter from step two and mix together.

⑤ Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in the frying pan or iron plate from step four, pour a ladleful of the batter to make pancake-like circles, and grill on both sides. Place on a dish, and sprinkle with green nori. Top with Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and mayonnaise.

(From Jan. 26, 1982, edition)

A crepe is a type of pancake so thin it resembles a piece of cloth.The sweet treat is said to originate from galettes, a staple food in

Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, which are made from buckwheat flour, eggs and salt.

In Japan, crepes were cooked in hotels as a French cuisine dessert. They were on the menu at the Imperial Hotel’s restaurant in 1937, according to the history of the hotel.

The recipe appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1965, introduced as “okonomiyaki from Paris.” Crepes apparently were not well known in Japan back then.

Unlike the current recipe using butter, the recipe from 50 years ago resulted in thick batter, making the crepes difficult to flatten. But they still look elegant when each piece is folded and lined up neatly. The crepe is seasoned with sugared lemon peels.

A new type of crepe came to Japan in the late 1970s. Iwao Kishi came back from France and launched Marion Crepes, a takeout-only shop in Shibuya, Tokyo, in 1976. In France, crepes were wrapped in newspaper to go, but Kishi prepared paper especially to wrap the crepe. Long lines quickly formed in front of the shop.

“At that time, fast food like McDonald’s was popular,” Kishi said. “Our crepes became a trend as a casual snack that was great to eat while walking around.”

The shop branched out to Harajuku, a nearby part of Tokyo, in 1977.Crepe toppings back then were simple, such as jam. But Cafe Crepe,

which opened in Harajuku in 1977, was popular for including fruit and ice cream.

“Our crepe was featured in ‘an-an’ and other cutting-edge magazines and became the iconic food of Harajuku,” said Cafe Crepe founder Mizuki Ono.

Why did crepes become so popular in Japan?“A crepe is thin, delicate and neatly served with fruits and toppings,”

said confectionery expert Minako Imada. “The food probably matched the taste and sensibility of Japanese people.”

Harajuku-style crepes have now proved popular even in France and have spread to China and Cambodia, among other countries.

Par is-sty le crepe

Taste of Japanese mom

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with the Akahori Cooking School

Our recipe for Paris-style crepeIngredients (serves 4):1 cup flour1 egg100 cc milk1 tbsp liqueur3 tbsp sugarFew drops of vanilla essence 1 lemon peel

Directions:① Sift flour twice.② Mix egg with milk, then add 2 tablespoon sugar, liqueur, vanilla essence

and flour. Leave it for a while.③ Peel lemon and cut the peel into strips. Mix with remaining sugar.④ Heat a frying pan, coating the griddle with oil. Pour the batter onto the

griddle and flatten. Roll or fold the crust and sprinkle sugared lemon peels. Following the orthodox recipe, sprinkle liqueur and heat quickly.

(From Nov. 10, 1965, edition)

Goya, or bitter gourd, originates from tropical Asia. The vegetable is said to have been introduced to what is now Okinawa Prefecture early in the 15th century.

Okinawans call stir-fry dishes chanpuru, and their famous dish called goya chanpuru is made by stir-frying goya with ingredients such as pork and tofu.

A recipe for goya chanpuru appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1990. The recipe uses only goya and tofu to keep things simple, although the Okinawan style also uses pork and eggs.

The dish nowadays is popular nationwide. Goya became well known especially after it was featured in the NHK TV drama series “Chura-san,” which aired in 2001. Goya vines have also come to be grown in many households across Japan as a “green curtain” to keep the summer sunshine from windows.

The taste of goya chanpuru has changed over the years, too. People in Okinawa saw the introduction of fatty foods under the postwar control of the United States and then salty foods after the reversion to Japanese administration. Varieties of the dish have thus come into being, such as the use of soy sauce in stir frying and the inclusion of greasy and salty canned meat as an ingredient.

“Goya chanpuru is nutritionally balanced, easy to cook and economical,” said Kayoko Matsumoto, director of the Matsumoto Cooking School in Naha.

“The dish is meant to have a light taste as pork is boiled first to help remove its fat, and then just a pinch of salt is used,” she said.

Recently, Okinawa Prefecture has seen itself falling lower in the rankings of average lifespan in Japan. The prefecture aims to regain its crown as “the prefecture where many people live to an advanced age” and currently promotes activities to review its traditional low-salt, vegetable-rich cuisine.

Chanpuru Study, a research project led by Hidemi Todoriki, an associate professor at the University of the Ryukyus, developed recipes using Okinawan vegetables with the help of dietitians. The study group holds lectures at communities in the prefecture and introduces recipes at farm stands.

“Okinawans have strong family and community bonds,” Todoriki said. “We want to preserve our recipes as staple dishes that can be shared in a group.”

Goya chanpuru

Taste of Japanese mom

The Yomiuri ShimbunA woman sells goya at a Naha market.

Photo taken by The Yomiuri Shimbun in cooperation with Ecole de Cuisine Egami

Our recipe for Goya chanpuruIngredients (serves 4):2 goya bitter gourds1 block of firm tofu5-7 grams dried bonito flakes3 tbsp oil 2 tbsp soy sauce1 tbsp cooking sake

Directions:① Cut goya lengthwise and scrape away white part with seeds. Slice into

pieces 4 to 5 millimeters thick and sprinkle with salt.② Wrap tofu with a cloth or paper towel and put a weight on it to remove

excess liquid. Slice into 3-centimeter-square pieces 1 centimeter thick.③ Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Sear both sides of tofu pieces,

then remove. Add remaining tablespoon of oil along with goya and stir-fry. Add bonito flakes. Add tofu again and continue frying. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon cooking sake.

(From July 13, 1990, edition)

In the first installment, Seiko Tanishima introduces cooking equipment that can help.

I have lived by myself for about 20 years since my sons left home. After my mother died five years ago, I moved to my current apartment. I am working to make it a place that suits the lifestyle of one person.

One benefit in just cooking for yourself is the freedom you have to make whatever you feel like. People who cook for family members can also change things a bit. For example, you can serve food directly from pots or frying pans instead of putting it on dishes and plates, which reduces the number of dishes to be washed.

Donabe earthenware pots, frying pans and grill plates make great tableware. Even a dish with few ingredients looks great on such cookware. With pots or pans, meals can be served while they still sizzle from being freshly taken off the stove.

I recommend pots and frying pans slightly larger than individual-sized plates because it is difficult to cook in small ones. Frying pans that are about 20 centimeters in diameter are nice. A pan whose handle can be removed also comes in handy as it can be put in the oven.

Donabe pots are excellent cooking utensils that can be used for simmered or steamed dishes, rice cooked with soup stock and various ingredients, and noodles. It is also possible to grill or fry ingredients in a type of donabe that can be heated with no water in it. Something similar to roast beef can be made by browning a block of meat and then steaming it. As donabe preserve the heat, food can be kept hot for a relatively long time.

I frequently use a donabe pot that’s about 20 centimeters in diameter in the shape of a shallow bowl for one or two people. It is the Iga-yaki brand, priced at about ¥3,000. The pot makes my food look even better. A donabe lid can be used as a dish for rice after cooking.

There are types of donabe pot that can be used on electric ranges, too. As one’s arms weaken with age, in purchasing a donabe, it is better to choose one at a store that can be effortlessly handled. Donabe are great to use all year round.

Making the most of donabe potsSpring cabbage in the style of sauerkraut

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Tanishima’s favorite recipe inspiredby the German staple

Ingredients:1 whole cabbage50 grams bacon2 sausages1 tbsp unsalted butter100 ml water5 tbsp vinegarPinch of salt, pepper¼ lemonMustard, if desired

Directions:① Remove the core from the cabbage and roughly chop it into 3 to

4-centimeter pieces. Chop up the bacon into small, bite-sized pieces.② In a donabe pot, melt the butter and fry the bacon. Add as much of the

cabbage as possible and mix it with the bacon. Pour 50 milliliters of water into the pot.

③ With the lid on, braise the dish over a medium low heat. When the volume of the cabbage has decreased, add more cabbage, stirring it in. If all the cabbage is too much for the pot, add it in several batches.

④ Add 50 milliliters of water, a pinch of salt and pepper, 5 tablespoons of vinegar and juice from ¼ lemon, and place the sausages on top. Simmer for about 10 minutes with the lid on.

⑤ Season with a little more salt. Serve with mustard, if desired.

When preparing a meal, many people who live alone worry about wasting what’s left over and so use few ingredients. Dried food comes in handy in cases like this, because it will keep for a long time and you can use as much or as little as you like. Cooking specialist Seiko Tanishima gives us tips on different ways to use dried food.

I live by myself, too, and when I’m having a meal, I often feel like something is lacking. For instance, sometimes I feel like some vegetable is missing, or like I haven’t eaten any seaweed for some time. You may also be bothered by the assortment of colors, or lack thereof, on the table or the variety of food. These are times when dried food can compensate for what you feel is missing.

When hearing “dried food,” many think of rehydrating a large quantity of food and simmering it. When I lived with my family, I would often make whole pots of simmered hijiki seaweed. But that would be too much for someone living alone.

Lately, I rehydrate just a handful. For example, if it were hijiki, I would season it with salt and sesame oil and make the Korean-style dish of namul. Or stir-fry it with olive oil and garlic and turn it into the Italian-style dish of aglio olio. I would give hijiki two different tastes and enjoy two separate dishes using the same main ingredient.

Dried food can be useful as ingredients in any kind of soup, including miso soup. Dried shiitake mushrooms can be used as soup stock and make the soup tastier. I often use lentils, too. They’re smaller than soybeans, so they cook quicker, making it much easier for you to include beans in your menu.

People tend to have trouble dealing with dried food, although it’s easy to store, because it’s just as easily forgotten. It’s important to keep it in sight and use it regularly.

I keep mine in small glass bottles and line it up on the shelves of my kitchen. Dried food has shrunk because of the dehydration process, meaning pretty hefty volumes can fit in small bottles.

Dried food can be homemade; I often dry leftover vegetables or organic fruit at home. Parched mushrooms and dried fruit can also look pretty and are a nice part of interior decoration.

Instead of simmering food in huge amounts to use another day, preparing it in small portions to use as an ingredient for some kind of salad, seasoned dish or soup can make you feel great. The extra dish on the table will make you think: “I can enjoy a pretty good meal even though I’m living alone.”

Preparing a simple dish with dried foodStir-fried hijiki with “masago”

Dried strips of daikon (white radish) with maple miso

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Recipe for 2 side dishes using dried food■ Stir-fried hijiki with “masago”

Ingredients:30 grams hijiki seaweed (dried)1 mentaiko (salted cod roe with red pepper)

Directions:① Soak the hijiki in water to rehydrate it, then drain it. Remove the skin of

mentaiko.② Pour a small portion of salad oil into frying pan and heat it to stir-fry the

hijiki.③ Add mentaiko and some sake and stir-fry until the mentaiko turns white.(The cod roe resembles “masago” [sand], hence the name of this dish.)

■ Dried strips of daikon (white radish) with maple miso

Ingredients:20 grams dried strips of daikonMaple and miso (mix ½ tbsp mildly hot miso with ½ tsp maple syrup)

Directions:① Soak the dried strips of daikon in water and then thoroughly press the

water out of them. Cut the daikon into bite-size pieces.② Season with maple miso.

Many people tend to not take meals they eat alone seriously, especially when it comes to breakfast, which they often skip to save time and effort. Seiko Tanishima, 67, a cooking specialist who lives by herself, loves breakfast, and introduces tips to give yourself a treat in the morning.

I eat almost the same breakfast every day: fresh brown toast, juice, and yogurt with jam. Breakfast is important to help you have an energetic and comfortable day. If you fix a basic menu with your favorite items, it becomes easy to prepare breakfast.

I usually make some changes in my lineup. For example, I add olive oil and homemade spices to the bread instead of butter. I change the flavors of the juice and sometimes use a blender to make one. I choose a different kind of jam depending on the season and my mood. Jam made of vegetables such as tomatoes gives you the feeling of eating a salad.

I do not have a toaster oven, preferring to toast the bread on a grill. My favorite tool is a footed grill manufactured by Tsujiwa Kanaami in Kyoto. I use a grill mesh so the heat is evenly distributed.

After placing the grill on the stove, I place suitably cut pieces of bread onto it. The savory smell of toasted bread comes and stimulates appetite just after waking. My favorite style is a piece of thickly sliced bread with its crust beautifully browned. I really love the crispiness on the outside of the toast contrasting with a soft core.

You can eat anytime you want, which is a great element to living alone. I usually finish my dinner at about 6 p.m., and I get hungry at about 6:30 a.m. when I wake up. The hunger helps me enjoy breakfast more.

For those who are annoyed at the thought of preparing breakfast, I suggest creating a basic menu that can help you look forward to having breakfast. Though you might worry about achieving nutritional balance, you can adjust nutrients throughout the day over three meals, sometimes plus snacks. When you believe your breakfast was unbalanced, you can simply adjust the nutritional balance for dinner.

Enjoy breakfast as you like itDhaka mix and blueberry jam

The Yomiuri ShimbunSeiko Tanishima toasts bread on a grill.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Tanishima’s favorite recipes to spice up breakfast■ Dhaka mix

Ingredients:100 grams hazelnuts (can be replaced with walnuts or almonds) 100 grams sesame seeds50 grams cumin seeds2 tsp paprika powder

Directions:① Roast all ingredients except paprika powder in frying pan to desired

level. Chop hazelnuts. ② Add paprika powder, pinch of salt and pepper, and mix all.This recipe was invented based on a flavor used in the region around Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The unique aroma and spicy taste are addictive. The spice mix can be eaten on bread or sprinkled on salad. It can be frozen for about six months.

■ Blueberry jam

Ingredients:200 grams blueberries80 grams sugarA little more than 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:① Rinse blueberries and drain. Put them in heat-resistant container and

mash half of them with a fork. Sprinkle sugar and leave them for a while. ② Heat up in 500-watt microwave for 3 minutes. ③ Add lemon juice and heat for another 3 minutes until mixture thickens.The jam has a fresh taste with little bits of blueberry left in it.

Finding time to cook can be tough for those living alone — sometimes keeping dishes simple is the best way to go. Just ask Ryuta Kijima, 34, a cooking expert who believes frozen udon is a great fit for busy lifestyles.

I’ve been living alone in Tokyo since my early 20s. On the job, I’d work on complicated recipes, of course — but maybe because of that, I tend to stick to simple dishes when I’m alone.

Frozen udon is the kind of food you always want to keep in stock. They’re easy to use since they come in single-size portions. With some of these products, you don’t even need to boil water — all you have to do is stick it in the microwave. There’re lots of options to choose from these days, and they all taste pretty good, from the Sanuki style in Kagawa Prefecture to the Inaniwa style in Akita Prefecture. Udon is the go-to choice for single workaholics.

If you don’t want leftover ingredients, think of udon as an alternative to a bowl of rice. Udon almost always goes well with anything that matches rice like raw eggs, natto and kimchi. Keep this in mind when you do your shopping to cut down on waste.

If making dashi broth is a hassle, buy ready-made soup known as mentsuyu. If you get bored of that, try making your own tasty dashi by pouring hot water on dried bonito flakes and tororo kombu, which is pickled and softened kelp.

I hope you’ll try my two recipes that use preservable ingredients and green vegetables. You don’t have to follow the recipes to the letter, though — feel free to use what you like. Taking 10 minutes at the most, they’re quick and easy dishes for breakfast or even as midnight snacks after a long day at the office.

Make good use of frozen udonUdon with tuna-kimchi salad,

Fried udon

The Yomiuri ShimbunRyuta Kijima discusses convenience of frozen udon.

Yomiuri Shimbun photosLeft: Udon with tuna-kimchi saladBelow: Fried udon

Kijima’s favoriterecipes

For both dishes, use a single-size portion of frozen udon.

Defrost by following package instructions.

Ingredients:Red leaf lettuceA can of tuna50 grams kimchi2 tsp mentsuyu soup (concentrated three times)Mayonnaise, black sesame

Directions:① Tear red leaf lettuce into bite-size

pieces.② Soak defrosted udon in cold water,

drain.③ Lay lettuce leaves in a bowl; arrange

udon, tuna and kimchi on top.④ Add four tablespoons of water to

mentsuyu soup, then pour over udon.⑤ Season as needed with mayonnaise

and black sesame.

■ Udon with tuna-kimchi salad

Ingredients:2 sausages1 or 2 cabbage leaves½ tbsp salad oil2 tsp sake2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp mentsuyu soup (concentrated three times)Red pickled ginger, aonori green seaweed

Directions:① Cut sausages diagonally into three

pieces, and cabbage leaves into bite-size pieces.

② Heat salad oil in frying pan on medium heat, fry sausages and cabbage leaves and then add defrosted udon.

③ Add sake, Worcestershire sauce and mentsuyu soup, continue frying.

④ When sauce thickens, serve on a plate.

⑤ Season with red pickled ginger and aonori green seaweed.

■ Fried udon

On this week’s “Delicious” page, we’d like to introduce one of Japan’s leading egg dishes: chawanmushi.

According to sources, chawanmushi used to be one of the menu items of shippoku, a local cuisine of Nagasaki. Shippoku is strongly influenced by Chinese cuisine.

Shippoku is loved by people from all walks of life. People sit around a table and choose items from a variety of dishes served on a large plate, transferring them to their own small plates.

Nagasaki was an active base of trade, food and cultural exchanges between Japan and China even during the Edo period (1603-1867), when the government closed the country to most foreign commerce. In those days, Chinese people lived in special living quarters, called Tojin Yashiki (Chinese houses) in Nagasaki.

Shippoku is believed to have been created as a mixture of Japanese and Chinese cuisine with some Western cuisine thrown in.

Chawanmushi seemed to have been treated as a soup originally, but it is now a popular side dish.

If a dish is served in a cup with a lid, and removing the lid reveals a cream-colored surface, it must be chawanmushi.

Chawanmushi is served with a small wooden spoon, but it is not a sweet dessert. It contains various ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, chicken, shrimp, kamaboko and ginkgo nuts.

Don’t stir it, but enjoy the ingredients one spoonful at a time. Chawanmushi is usually served hot, and we recommend you eat it before it cools. In summer, however, the dish is sometimes served chilled.

When you make it at home, be careful about the steaming temperature and time. If the temperature is too high or it is steamed too long, the dish will not develop a smooth taste.

Although few ingredients are needed for chawanmushi, variety is necessary. When I make chawanmushi, I try to change the ingredients a little each time.

My children enjoy eating chawanmushi, asking such questions among themselves as “Did you get shrimp in your cup? How many ginkgo nuts do you have?”

If you want to eat chawanmushi while out and about, try a kaiten-zushi conveyor belt sushi restaurant.

Chawanmushi is sometimes on the conveyor belt already, but it’s better to order it after you take a seat. It’s especially tasty when served hot after just being taken out of the steamer.

Enjoy savor y chawanmushi

Courtesy of Tamako Sakamoto

Sakamoto’s recipe for chawanmushiIngredients (serves 4):4 small prawns100 grams chicken thighs2 fresh shiitake mushrooms400 ml dashi stock½ tsp salt1 tbsp cooking sake1 tsp soy sauce3 eggs4 slices kamaboko8 boiled ginnan (ginkgo nuts)Mitsuba leaves and yuzu rind for garnish

Directions:① Shell and devein the prawns. Sprinkle with a little salt and sake. Cut the

chicken into 8 pieces and sprinkle with drops of soy sauce. Remove the stems of shiitake mushrooms and cut into quarters.

② Combine dashi broth, salt, sake and soy sauce. Heat dashi until salt dissolves and let it cool to room temperature.

③ Break eggs into a large bowl and gently stir. Add dashi and mix. Pour the mixture through a sieve to make it smooth.

④ Into each of 4 heatproof cups, place 1 shrimp, 1 slice of kamaboko, 2 ginnan, 2 pieces of shiitake and 2 pieces of chicken. Pour the dashi and egg mixture over the solid ingredients.

⑤ Steam in a preheated steamer over low heat for 10-12 minutes or until the egg mixture sets. Top with mitsuba leaves and yuzu rind.

The cuisine-centered Expo Milano 2015 has been going on since May 1, but did you know that some of the ingredients used by restaurants at the Japanese pavilion were almost blocked from import, as they were thought to violate European Union food safety regulations?

One ingredient that drew particular attention was katsuobushi, or dried bonito, which is essential for making soup stock in washoku Japanese cuisine. It seemed to be a really critical situation: no katsuobushi at such a perfect opportunity to spread washoku internationally. Fortunately, the EU allowed dried Japanese bonito to be used as a special measure, to the certain relief of all involved.

Bonito are an important fish in Japan, as they are made into katsuobushi, an essential ingredient in washoku. Bonito are known to be nutritious and healthy — rich in protein and minerals, and containing a lot of phosphorus, calcium and vitamin D.

From early spring to summer, they move from waters around Okinawa Prefecture to waters off the Izu Peninsula, the Kanto region and the Tohoku region. When the water temperatures drop in autumn, they move back southward.

Northbound bonito available from around April to June are called hatsugatsuo (first bonito) or noborigatsuo (ascending bonito), while autumn southbound bonito are called modorigatsuo (returning bonito).

Hatsugatsuo seen on the table around this time of the year have little fat, and their skin is thin and soft. They taste superb when they are lightly broiled in a dish called katsuo no tataki.

A famous haiku poem from the Edo period (1603-1867) reads:Me ni wa aoba / yama hototogisu / hatsugatsuo(Green leaves in eyes, little cuckoo in mountain, the season’s first bonito)These phrases symbolize early summer in the senses of sight, hearing and

taste. As this poem shows, hatsugatsuo represents the flavor of the season.Tradition has it that eating some of the first foods produced in a season

will extend a person’s life by 75 days. The expensive “hashiri” bonito, which are put on the market at the beginning of the season, were said to be very popular among Edokko, today’s Tokyoites.

Best in spring and autumn, bonito is loved by Japanese people. However, it easily goes bad, and its flavor deteriorates with oxidization over time. Katsuo no tataki is recommended, as it prevents the flavor of the bonito from fading through broiling and scorching the surface of the fish.

Through such preparations, bonito can be sterilized, and oxidation stops. Garlic and ginger, condiments that are served with tataki as spices, also have sterilization and antioxidation effects, and combat any overpowering fishy odor.

Originally, tataki was made by broiling the fish on a skewer over an open fire. When prepared at home, however, it’s easier to roast the surface briefly in an oiled frying pan. It’s also tasty to just put the same spices on bonito sashimi slices sold at stores.

If you buy bonito sashimi, choose bright red meat that gleams and eat it as soon as possible.

Seasonal bonito dish nutritious

Courtesy of Tamako Sakamoto

Sakamoto’s recipe for katsuo no tatakiIngredients (serves 4):400 grams katsuo (bonito) fillet¼ tsp salt1 tbsp vegetable oil8-10 shiso leaves2 myoga buds1 clove of garlic1 knob of ginger10 centimeters of daikon radish2 tbsp chopped onion4 tbsp ponzu sauce

Directions:① Prepare ice water in a large bowl or pan deep enough to cover the

bonito.② Pat dry the bonito with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.③ Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the skin side of the

bonito for 10 seconds until lightly browned. Cook other sides for 10 seconds each. Soak the bonito in iced water and let it cool for 10 seconds. Remove the bonito from water and dry with paper towel. Chill it in a refrigerator until you wish to use it.

④ Slice myoga buds and shred. Peel and slice the garlic thinly. Peel and grate the ginger. Peel and grate the daikon and drain excess water.

⑤ Slice bonito into 1-centimeter thick pieces. Put shiso leaves on a plate and arrange bonito slices on them with other condiments. Serve with ponzu sauce.

* Pre-roasted bonito can be purchased at stores.* Thinly sliced onion can be substituted for grated daikon.

If you ask a Japanese person, “What kind of dishes can you cook?” there is one answer you can expect regardless of the person’s age or sex. That answer is “curry rice.”

At primary and middle schools in Japan, students practice cooking during home economics classes. Curry rice, which is simple to cook in a short time, is a standard dish. Making curry is a good way to practice peeling onions, carrots and potatoes and also to learn basic cooking skills such as frying, simmering and cooking rice. Curry rice is such a simple recipe that even people who rarely cook at all still have the necessary skills — frying thinly cut meat and vegetables and cooking them together in a pan, then adding store-bought curry roux.

Curry rice is also a standard dish for outdoor cooking such as at a campsite. It is a common scene for children to cooperate in making curry rice on a field trip. As curry rice is tasty and favored by many people, it is often served at home in Japan.

I’ve heard that the Maritime Self-Defense Force serves curry rice every Friday to help its personnel keep a sense of time while at sea — what day of the week it is. I also often cook curry rice for dinner on Fridays. It is convenient because I don’t have to worry about lunch on weekends if I have prepared a lot of curry in a large pot, even if many family members are around.

It was in 1960 when instant curry roux was first introduced in Japan. In recent years, many varieties of curry roux have been sold by food manufacturers. I get overwhelmed by the enormous array of curry roux packages displayed on shelves at supermarkets. At home, I sometimes prepare Indian curry from scratch by blending spices, or Thai curry using coconut milk. But mostly, I cook curry mixing several kinds of roux that I like and purchased at stores.

When I cook curry using a chunk of beef or pork, I first fry meat and simmer it to make it soft and cook it further after adding vegetables. However, if you’re short of time, I recommend using thinly sliced meat or ground meat. Especially, curry made of eggplant, ground meat and onions is an excellent combination requiring the least cooking time. The curry will become even tastier if you add additional vegetables beside eggplant, such as bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and mushrooms, all of which cook quickly. But it becomes even more tasty and beautiful-looking if you take the extra step of deep-frying summer vegetables and serving them on top of the curry.

If the curry tastes too hot, do not try to dilute it with water. Just add grated apple. It will turn mild dramatically.

Japan’s most rel iable dish

Courtesy of Tamako Sakamoto

Sakamoto’s recipe for curry rice with summer vegetablesIngredients (serves 4):4 eggplants1 onion300 grams ground beef and pork mixture1 tbsp vegetable oil900 ml water2 tbsp tomato ketchup180 grams curry roux

1 zucchini1 green bell pepper1 yellow or red bell pepper1/8 pumpkinvegetable oil for deep-frying4 servings cooked rice

Directions:① Remove caps of eggplants and discard. Cut eggplants into disks 2

centimeters thick. Chop onion.② Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook onion until

semitransparent. Add ground meat and stir until heated through. Add eggplant and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

③ Add water and tomato ketchup. Cook covered for 5 minutes. Add curry roux and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

④ Cut zucchini into disks 2 centimeters thick. Trim bell peppers and cut into quarters. Cut pumpkin into 8 thin wedges.

⑤ Heat vegetable oil in a deep-frying pan to 180 C over medium heat. Put pumpkin in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until heated through. Drain on a wire rack. Deep-fry zucchini and bell peppers for 1 minute or until heated through. Drain.

⑥ Serve rice on individual plates, pouring curry over it. Top with deep-fried vegetables.

L azy summertime somen

Summer vacation has started at many primary, middle and high schools. That means kids will often be eating three meals a day at home until the end of August. For mothers, making lunch every day during that time can be stressful.

Somen noodles are a regular item on the summertime lunch menu at home. Somen are fine noodles comparable to Italian capellini “angel hair” pasta.

What’s great is that it boils in a couple of minutes — and then it’s done.

When I was a child, my mother used to make somen from scratch. She started by preparing dashi stock to make a mentsuyu sauce for dipping. That way, even if the noodles are done in an instant, the hot mentsuyu has yet to cool down.

Bottled mentsuyu is available these days, and it’s stocked in many houses. All you have to do is dilute it with water first. So you can have somen noodles and mentsuyu, both chilled, ready whenever you like. Somen really is the perfect lunch dish for this season.

Aside from somen, there’s hiyamugi, which is a bit thicker. According to Japan Agricultural Standards classification for dry machine-made noodles using flour, salt and water, somen is less than 1.3-millimeters wide, while hiyamugi is 1.3 to less than 1.7 millimeters wide. Dry noodles such as somen and hiyamugi are crowd-pleasers. As they keep well, they also make for popular ochugen summer gifts.

Despite the slight difference in width, hiyamugi takes five to six minutes to cook, whereas somen takes only two minutes or so. I tend to choose somen to minimize the amount of time I have to spend in front of the stove in the summer. When dining solo, I prepare simple condiments such as ginger, myoga bud (Japanese ginger) and shiso leaves.

When eating together with my children, who have hearty appetites, I prepare as many toppings as possible — like thin fried egg strips, ham, kanikamaboko (imitation crab sticks made from fish) and cucumber. Steamed chicken also goes well with somen. Store-bought tempura is a good choice for a filler, but I still recommend putting fresh condiments on the side to give it a little extra kick.

Courtesy of Tamako Sakamoto

Directions:① To make mentsuyu dipping sauce, combine mirin and soy sauce in a

saucepan and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat. Add dashi stock and let it cool. Add ice cubes to chill.

② To make egg crepes, break eggs into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Mix well. Heat small frying pan over medium-low heat. Wipe with oil-soaked paper towel. Pour a third of the egg mixture into the pan and tilt the pan so that egg spreads evenly. After the top side is cooked, flip the egg over and let the other side fry for a few seconds. Set aside. Repeat the process to make three egg crepes. When done, let it cool and cut into 5-centimeter-long thin strips.

③ Shred cucumber and ham. Flake kanikamaboko with fingers. Peel and grate ginger. Shred shiso leaves. Chop myoga bud.

④ In a pot, bring 4 liters of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add somen and stir. When water resumes boiling, turn heat to low and cook 1 minute. Drain and rinse well with cold water, and drain again. Arrange somen in individual plates or a serving bowl. Serve with mentsuyu and condiments.

*To use bottled mentsuyu, dilute it with cold water according to the instructions on the bottle.

(Mentsuyu sauce)Bottled mentsuyuor⅓ cup mirin⅓ cup soy sauce3 cups dashi stock

Ingredients (serves 4):

3 eggsPinch salt2 tsp vegetable oil1 cucumber8 slices ham120 grams kanikamaboko1 knob ginger4 shiso leaves1 myoga bud

400 grams somen noodle

Sakamoto’s recipe for somen

t h e - j a p a n - n e w s . c o m