About Naomi Kuwabara

Recent Posts by Naomi Kuwabara

Ikura Don Takes Salmon Roe, Shitake & Green Onion Osumashi to a New Level

What could be better than a decadent meal that takes no time at all?

My friend’s brother goes fishing in Alaska every year to catch the almighty Atlantic King Salmon. And we’re not talking about a little trip to the lake. He goes with his guy friends and live in a dirty man cave for five weeks, all the while catching thousands of pounds of salmon. It’s quite the trek.

Anyhow, my friend and her brother were nice enough to give me some of this salmon. It’s currently in the freezer while I devise ways to cook it. In addition, (such great friends) they gave me some ikura (salmon roe). The ikura, on the other hand, was from some ikura company that specializes in ikura. How wonderful, don’t you think?

I think ikura is one of those things that people love or hate. To those of us who love it, they’re like beautiful reddish orange beads of decadence that pop with flavor in every bite. The pop is probably what people who don’t like ikura hate about it.

This recipe is simple because as long as you get fresh ikura, there isn’t much you have to do. Spend your extra time making a nice osumashi (clear fish broth soup). (See Tofu, Kamaboko, and Carrot Osumashi or stay tuned for my shitake and green onion osumashi.)

In the future, I’ll post a video on how to pull the ikura off the suji (the sack that holds all the eggs). FYI, sujiko is salmon roe still in the sack which has been salted. Ikura is salmon roe that has been removed from the sack and is separated into individual eggs. It is then seasoned with soy sauce and sake.

You can buy already seasoned ikura in Japanese supermarkets. I would taste it to see how much of the soy sauce it has absorbed and adjust the seasoning accordingly. If you have fresh salmon roe that has not been doctored, the standard marinating time after the eggs have been separated is 2-3 days.

If you want it to be fast and easy, just get the prepared ikura and add a little soy sauce and sake and let it sit for a little until it has absorbed some of the sauce.

Ingredients (servings 2-3)
3/4 cup ikura
2 tsp. sake
1 tsp. soy sauce
Japanese rice (2 + 1/4 cups dry rice. Just in case you go back for seconds.)
nori (seaweed) for garnish

Directions
1) Marinate the ikura with the sake and the soy sauce ahead of time. (2-3 days if it is not already seasoned but 20-30 minutes is acceptable if the ikura is already seasoned. In this case start marinating before you start the rice .)
2) Cook the rice. (See electric rice cooker or stove top rice for directions)
3) Top a hot steaming bowl of rice with 1/4-1/3 (or half but I guarantee you’ll be going back for more rice) of the ikura and top with nori strips for garnish. Drizzle extra soy sauce as needed. And TA DAH! Decadence on the go!

BAM 40: Ikura don, shitake and green onion osuimono and salad.

Season the ikura with soy sauce and sake to get rid of any fishiness and brighten up the flavor.

Generously top over hot rice and garnish with thin strips of seaweed.

Daigaku Imo: Candied Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes fries seemed to be all the rage a few years ago but I was never really a fan because they don’t compare to daigaku imo.

Daigaku imo are candied satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) which are deep fried and coated in a sugar coating. Daigaku imo come in different shapes and sizes but my favorite way to cut the potatoes are large oblique cuts.

I like them like this because, not only are they cute, but the fatter they are, the more hoka hoka the potato is on the inside. You get the crunch from being fried and the candy coating on the outside, but you also get the richness of the sweet potato on the inside which is similar to the consistency of roasted chestnuts.

When you cut them too thin, they end up crunchier but you lose some of the soft center of the sweet potato. I often seen daigaku imo at matsuri (Japanese festivals) cut into long sticks and served in cups. They are good like this too but with the chunky oblique cuts, you get a perfect balance of crunchy and soft creamy satsumaimo.

If you were thinking of trying the orange sweet potatoes that are readily available in the US, you might as well make something else. I tried substituting satsumaimo with regular sweet potatoes and it ended up soggy because there was too much moisture in that variety. Satsumaimo are a must for this recipe.

Please note: The candy coating is the most difficult step in this recipe. If you don’t get it right the first time don’t give up! Daigaku imo are sooooo worth it! Gambatte!

Ingredients
300 grams of satsumaimo (approx. 2 small satsumaimo)
2 tbsp + 1 tsp. zaratou*
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp. water
1/4 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. black sesame seeds
vegetable oil for frying
*If you can’t get zaratou, try to find the coarsest sugar you can find. It helps to create that candy coating.

Directions
1) Cut the satsumaimo into chunky oblique cuts.
2) Put the satsumaimo into cold vegetable oil. (Don’t heat up the oil first! Starting the satsumaimo in cold oil helps to create a crispy outside. This is a trade secret from my grandmother…guess it’s not so secret anymore.)
3) Fry the satsumaimo until they are golden brown. They should take about 15 minutes on medium heat.
4) While the satsumaimo are frying, prep the candy coating ingredients. (Measuring them ahead of time will help you get all the ingredients into the sauce pan at the same time.)
5) Add all the candy coating ingredients into a pan and heat it on low-medium. (Tip: This is probably the trickiest step because if the candy coating thicken up too much then it will crystalize and create a chalky coating but if it’s too runny, it will end up like syrup. Slowly simmer it and stir it constantly with a wooden spoon until you can run the spoon through and it creates a line. See photo below.)
6) When the candy coating is ready, with the stove still on, add the sesame seeds and fried satsumaimo and mix quickly until the potatoes are completely coated.
7) Serve the potatoes immediately and enjoy while hot!

Cut the satsumaimo into chunky oblique cuts. 300 grams is approximately 2 small satsumaimo.

Start the satsumaimo in cold oil. This will ensure a crunchy outside and help prevent soggy and oily satsumaimo.

Fry the satsuma imo until golden brown approx. 15 minutes.

Prepare all of the candy coating ingredients ahead of time so you can dump all pre measured ingredients in the sauce pan. (Clockwise starting at 12: Black sesame seeds, water, vinegar, zaratou, soy sauce.)

Once the satsumaimo are done, drain them on a paper towel.

This is the tricky part. Continue to babysit and stir the candy coating until you can run a wooden spoon through it and it leaves a line.

Once the sugar coating is ready, add the satsumaimo and sesame seeds.

Keep the heat on and mix well until all the daigakuimo are coated. (Do this quickly otherwise the sugar will start to dry out and become chalky.)

YUM! Ready to dig in. This is where you appreciate the vinegar because it helps the daigaku imo from turning into one big glob.

Check out the hoka hoka (pipping hot) satsumaimo inside. The challenge here was to stop and take a picture while pigging out.

Ingredient in the Spotlight: Satsumaimo in Japan

I equate Yaki imo with ice cream trucks.

Around the same time when beautiful burgundy-colored satsumaimo start making their fall appearance in grocery stores, you’ll find little food trucks driving around with a large speaker attached yelling “yaki imo, yaki imo, yaki imo.”

Yaki imo are actually quite the opposite of ice cream because they are a pipping hot snack and more of a fall/winter time delight. However, like Pavlov’s dogs, when I hear “yaki imo” I have the sensation to grab my wallet and run out the door. Satsumaimo are naturally sweet and the flesh has a rich creamy quality to it.

All you need is a little dab of salt and a little pad of butter and it’s the prefect snack food (this is a little off topic but when I took a cultural anthropology class, I learned about a culture that prized their sweet potatoes/yams and measured their wealth on how many sweet potatoes/yams they had. I don’t remember anything else about this culture but I could relate to their love for sweet potatoes, well if they were anything like satsumaimo.)

Satsumaimo have a bright burgundy skin.

Inside they are a pale yellow which turns a little brighter when cooked.

Teriyaki Chicken

There are many different teriyaki recipes out there, all of which call for soy sauce with sugar and mirin. The mirin is key to making the teriyaki sauce glossy, although depending on how much sugar you put into the sauce it can end up pretty glossy. In keeping with the healthy theme, I decided on a chicken breast for the teriyaki. I usually shy away from white meat when it comes to teriyaki because I think dark meat is tastier and stays moist, whether it’s in a frying pan or a grill, but I wanted to be able to come up with a good recipe for cooking the chicken breast without burning the teriyaki sauce. In fact, in Japan, most people prefer dark meat over white meat. White meat is the cheap meat and dark meat is the expensive meat. I thought the store made a mistake when I first compared prices because I was so used to chicken breast being more expensive in the United States. I called my mom from the store and she confirmed that dark meat is the more coveted meat. Can meat be coveted? What about a meat dress? Uhhh…so anyway

On to the recipe. I tried this recipe a number of ways, especially testing for the best cooking technique and I found that the best way to cook teriyaki chicken breast is the same as you would treat a regular chicken breast. All you have to do is sear it and then finish it off in the oven. That way, you get a nice sear without burning the soy sauce and the chicken stays juicy and moist inside. I know that sounds funny but I was convinced that you could just add water to the pan, cover it and let it steam. This method was the fastest and easiest but the chicken ended up a little overcooked. I just realized another reason why dark meat is great, it’s less finicky and there’s no need to finish it off in the oven…but I must remember that we’re focusing on health…BUT I might add that when cooked perfectly, white meat is wonderful and tasty.

Ingredients (Servings 2)
2 medium chicken breast (approx. 200 grams each)
1/2 tsp. grated garlic
1.2 tsp. grated ginger
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. Mirin
1 tbsp sake
1.5 tbsp. sugar
dash nutmeg
1 tsp. sesame seed oil

Directions
1) Add the grated garlic and ginger, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, nutmeg and sesame seed oil into a bowl and mix well.
2) Add the chicken to the marinade and marinate for about 15-20 minutes. Marinating overnight will make white meat really tough. If you use dark meat, you can marinate for longer but it will still toughen up depending on how long you marinate it.
3) Sear the chicken in a frying pan until the chicken has a beautiful color on both sides. Fight the urge to flip the chicken numerous times. You should only flip the chicken once.
4) While the chicken is cooking, reduce the marinade by slowly simmering it. Keep an eye on it because it can over boil and burn easily. Burnt soy sauce has a bitter and icky taste.
5) Once the chicken is seared, put the chicken in a preheated oven at 400F for 8 minutes.
6) Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before cutting.
7) Plate and serve with the teriyaki sauce over the chicken.

Mix the sauce ingredients into a bowl.

Marinate the chicken. Don’t marinate the chicken for too long since it will become tough. 15-30 minutes will do.

Make sure to flip the chicken a few times. When the chicken absorbs some of the marinade it will be ready to cook.

Sear the chicken on both sides on medium heat until you have a beautiful color on both sides.

While the chicken is searing, reduce the remaining marinade on low heat.

Once the marinade is reduced, it will be a teriyaki sauce.

Put the chicken into a 400 F oven for 8 minutes.

All the chicken to rest for about 5 minutes and then cut, plate and drizzle sauce on top.

umamitopia.com: Authentic Japanese, CA fusion, French & Italian influenced recepies.

Japanese & California Fusion in an Okara Salad

I decided to up the protein in my diet with a super easy and delicious okara salad. Not only do you get protein from the okara but also from the beans in the salad. My mom makes fresh soy milk every few days so she needed to be creative with her okara and told me to try this recipe. I instantly liked it because it’s something different and it satisfies my big appetite. The other great thing is that it tastes even better the next day after the okara has a chance to absorbe the flavors from the onion.

Ingredients (4 servings)
2 cups or approx. 215 grams of toasted okara
1/2 cup yellow onion diced large
1/4 cup frozen corn thawed
1/4 cup frozen peas thawed
1/2 cup kidney beans
1/2 cup garbanzo beans
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. mayonnaise (light or regular)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dashi powder or kombu powder (optional)

Directions
1) Toast the okara in a pan for about 5 minutes until the okara softens. This step is not absolutely necessary but it helps the okara take on a velvety texture. If you’re pressed for time, skip this step.
2) Dice the onion (about half of a medium onion) into large pieces and stir fry until they start to brown. Don’t cook them until they are completely soft because they add a nice crunch to the salad if they are slightly crunchy.
3) Add the okara, onions, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, corn, peas, mayo, salt and dashi powder and mix well. (You can substitute the dashi powder with kombu dashi for flavor or leave it out completely. The onions will add lots of flavor.)
4) Serve onto lettuce cups or large pieces of romaine (see photo below) and wrap into a taco or eat as part of a meal.

Toast the okara in a pan and stir constantly with a spoon.

Stir fry the onions until they start to brown.

Add the okara, onions, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, corn, peas and mayo into a mixing bowl.

Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Serve on lettuce and eat it as is or wrap in the lettuce.

umamitopia.com: Authentic Japanese, CA fusion, French & Italian influenced recepies.

Teriyaki Chicken, Okara Salad & Daikon With Chirimen Jyako

It’s the holiday season and as we all know it also means we’re packing on the pounds. I think I heard that the average American gains 5 pounds over the holidays. In an effort to keep it below three, I’ve been working on even more healthier meals. I’m starting with the daikon with chirimen jyako which was a recipe that I happened upon when I was trying to use up some leftover daikon one day. The key to this recipe is the mayo. It adds a touch of creaminess but it’s not overly rich. Without the mayo it would taste like the daikon in oden or furofuki daikon. The jyako and goma also adds texture and flavor to this dish. If you don’t have jyako, tarako also works very well.

BAM 39: Teriyaki Chicken, Okara salad, Daikon with Chirimen jyako and Rice.

Ingredients (Servings 2)
Approx. 170 grams daikon
1 tsp. sesame seed oil
1 tbsp. chirimen jyako
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. mayonnaise

Directions
1) Stir fry the chirimen jyako in the sesame seed oil until they are toasted and they take on a nutty flavor.
2) Add the daikon (cut in chunky julienne) until it’s tender but still retains some firmness. Add the soy sauce and continue to stir until the sauce is incorporated.
3) Turn off the heat and mix in the mayonnaise.
4) Serve into bowls and top with sesame seeds.

Stir fry the jyako in sesame seed oil until it was nice and toasty.

Add the daikon and soy sauce.

When it’s done, turn off the heat and mix in the mayonnaise.

Serve into bowls and top with toasted sesame seeds.

umamitopia.com: Authentic Japanese, CA fusion, French & Italian influenced recepies.

Satoimo (Taro Root) and Shimeji Miso Soup

This is the final recipe for BAM 38. This is a hearty and tasty soup. The satoimo give the soup body because of the extra starchiness and the shimeji gives this miso soup extra flavor. It’s, however not suited for those who shy away from slimy stuff. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it somewhere between a 3 and 4 but I like slimy stuff so maybe it doesn’t seem that slimy.

Ingredients(Servings 2)
2 satoimo (taro root) Peeled and cut.
1/2 package of shimeji mushrooms
2 tablespoons +1 teaspoon of miso
2 cups nibandashi

Directions
1) Make nibandashi or you can use ichibandashi. As a substitute you can use 2 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon of dashi powder.
2) Add the satoimo and boil until it tender and add the shimeji and simmer about 1-2 minutes longer.
3) Add the miso and put the miso in a ladle and use chop sticks or something to dissolve the miso before adding it directly to the soup.
4) Serve with something green on top. I used komatsuna here since I had some leftover from the komatsuna and hiyayakko.

Satoimo look like little potatoes when peeled.

Cut them up and add them to the dashijiru right away for soak in water.

Boil in dashijiru on low. Keep an eye on them or the pot will boil over.

After it starts to simmer, the broth will thicken.

Pull clusters of shimeji apart.

Add the soup to the soup once the satoimo are tender.

Serve with something green to add a little color.

umamitopia.com: Authentic Japanese, CA fusion, French & Italian influenced recepies.

Satoimo (Taro Root)

Satoimo (taro root) look like hairy little potatoes but are very different from potatoes. They have a slimy texture and are starchier compared to regular potatoes. Not everyone is a fan of the slimy texture but there’s something about them that make them a heartier ingredient compared to potatoes. It warms your belly and gives you a sense of being full without that much guilt because they have less calories than potatoes. I have very fond memories of growing up eating them when I visited my grandparents in Saitama Prefecture. I remember getting really excited about seeing huge satoimo farms near my grandparents house. They are easily recognizable by their large heart shaped leaves. I think I was more excited about eating ingredients that I saw growing than I was about what I was actually eating. The other fun thing about satoimo is that they are usually cut into fun shapes. For New Years, my mom always cut them into perfectly round circles, hexagons and flowers. Fun shapes are always a good way to get kids to eat things.

Taro root is used it many different ways around the world, in Japanese cuisine, it’s usually cooked in nimono (braised) dishes with a traditional soy sauce, mirin and sugar sauce. They are also mashed or added in soups such as shirunomo or nabe dishes and used mostly in savory dishes.

Preparing Satoimo:
Satoimo are very starchy so if you’re prepping them for nimono dishes, it’s best if you wash and peel them and boil them in water to get rid of some of the starch content. Keep a close eye on them because the starch will make them boil over easily. Once, they have cooked, add them to the nimono to absorb the nimono sauce.

Picking satoimo:
I often find that I get a bad satoimo. I’m not sure if it’s because I live in California and they don’t grow that well here but I will always have one bad one. It’s difficult to avoid all the bad ones but you can avoid some of them by getting a little personal with them and making sure there are no soft spots. It’s hard to spot the bad ones visually because of the extra fibrous strands on them so I usually buy one or two extra ones just in case I get a bad one.

Satoimo often have rings and fibrous strands on the skin.

umamitopia.com: Authentic Japanese, CA fusion, French & Italian influenced recepies.

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