Peter Gordon: Turning Japanese |
|
The food of japan is one of my favourite cuisines, as the flavours tend to be clear, clean and uncluttered. Japanese food is by no means boring or dull; it is the subtlety that appeals to me. What I’ve created here are recipes that are inspired by Japan, rather than being pure Japanese, using ingredients that you’ll probably have to look that bit harder for. But once you have the basics – miso, mirin, a Japanese soy sauce (rather than a heavy Chinese style), sesame oil, a little seaweed and possibly rice vinegar – you’ll be set.
Chilli Miso Eggplant with Tofu Ginger Dressing
The sweet miso paste used for this dish (pictured page 111) is based on the well-known den miso that Japanese restaurant Nobu uses as a marinade in its iconic dish Black Cod. Slather it over chunks of hapuka or tuna before grilling as well.
 |
1 teaspoon each: vegetable oil, sesame oil
1 red onion, diced
½-1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 tablespoons miso (all miso pastes will work but the darker the miso the more salty and robust its flavour)
150ml mirin
2 eggplants (or 4 if they’re fairly small)
Furikake* for garnish
Dressing:
1 thumb fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced against the grain
3 tablespoons rice vinegar (or cider vinegar or lemon juice)
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
150g silken tofu |
Heat oils in a small-medium saucepan and sauté onion, chilli and sesame seeds until just beginning to caramelise. Stir in miso then add mirin and bring to the boil. Turn to a simmer and cook 1 minute then take off heat and cool. This mixture will keep in the fridge for a week. (Makes about 1 cup.)
Dressing: Using a stick blender or small processor, purée ginger and vinegar together then add soy sauce and tofu and purée until mixture resembles thin mayonnaise. This will keep in the fridge for a few days.
Preheat oven to 180°C and place the rack in the centre of the oven. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut eggplant lengthways then score the fleshy side, using a small sharp knife and avoiding cutting through to the skin.
Dollop a tablespoon of the miso mixture on each cut side and rub it into the scored flesh. Place eggplant on the baking tray and bake 15-20 minutes, just to the point where the flesh has softened and the glaze coloured as in the photo.
These are best eaten slightly warm or at room temperature – they can be a bit intense if too hot. They’ll keep in the fridge for a day or two. To serve, simply drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with furikake. Serves 4 as a starter
*Furikake is a seaweed-based seasoning that is traditionally sprinkled over rice. It is sold in Asian foodstores or you can buy New Zealand-made (see Small Bites, page 120).
Web exclusive: Nashi Pear, Ginger, Peanut and Sesame Salad
This crunchy salad makes a great accompaniment to roast pork or duck. Atari goma is a Japanese sesame paste. It is very similar to tahini, which can be used as a substitute.
-
100g blanched peanuts
-
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
-
1 small red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
-
1 spring onion
-
1 teaspoon flaky salt or ½ teaspoon fine salt
-
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-
1 tablespoon atari goma (or use tahini paste)
-
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
-
1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated ginger
-
1 tablespoon soy sauce
-
3 nashi pears
Preheat oven to 160°C. Spread peanuts on a baking tray and roast until a light caramel colour. Sprinkle sesame seeds over and roast until seeds are golden. Allow nuts and seeds to cool completely then lightly pound in a mortar and pestle to barely smash them up – keep some whole. They can be kept in an airtight container for 2 weeks at this point.
Place red onion in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and gently rub it in. Leave at room temperature for 1 hour to wilt, tossing once.
Thinly slice spring onion and rinse in a sieve under gently running cold water for a few minutes. Drain and place in the fridge. Rinse red onion in cold water, drain well and place in the fridge too.
Stir vegetable oil and atari goma together then stir in lime juice, ginger and soy sauce.
Remove cores from nashi then either julienne the flesh or slice it thinly. Place in a large bowl, add peanuts and sesame seeds, red onion, spring onion and half the dressing and toss it all together. Drizzle remaining dressing on top. Serves 6 as a side dish
Udon Noodle, Chicken and Pickled Ginger Salad
This simple salad makes a great first course or lunchtime meal. Udon noodles are made with a mixture of wheat and rice flours and have an interesting, slightly chewy texture.
 |
4 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil (plus ½ tablespoon extra)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
250-270g dried udon noodles (or use soba or any other noodles)
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pickled pink ginger, finely shredded
1 teaspoon ginger pickling liquid |
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place chicken thighs in a non-reactive roasting dish lined with baking paper (to make it easier to clean). Combine soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Pour over chicken and roast until chicken is completely cooked, 40-45 minutes.
Remove chicken to a plate and, when dish is cool enough to handle, pour cooking juices into a glass. Leave to go cold then place in the fridge to set the chicken fat. Once the fat has set, scrape it off the top of the juices and discard. Keep the juices out of the fridge.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add noodles and cook over a rapid simmer for 10 minutes or until just cooked al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water for 10 seconds only then return to a clean bowl. Add the cooking juices and the extra ½ tablespoon sesame oil and toss together.
Remove chicken meat from bones (discard skin too if preferred) and slice into pieces. Place chicken in a bowl with spring onions, shredded ginger and ginger juice. Add a little salt and toss together.
Add half the chicken mixture to the noodles, toss together and divide between 4 bowls. Place remaining chicken mixture on top and drizzle with any juices. Eat straight away. Serves 4 as a starter
Teriyaki-style Salmon with Seaweed and Rice
Teriyaki is a style familiar to many. If you’ve got a heavy skillet (or even a barbecue) this is a good way to cook salmon.
 |
4 x 180g skinless salmon fillets, all the same thickness
5 tablespoons (75ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or use cider vinegar)
200g short-grain rice (I used a germinated brown rice called GABA Komachi)
A few fingers of dried arame, hijiki or shredded kelp (I used hijiki)
1 scant tablespoon wakame seaweed (or use New Zealand karengo)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ tablespoons vegetable or avocado oil |
Place salmon fillets in a container just large enough to hold them side by side. Combine soy, mirin and vinegar and pour over fish. Turn fillets over twice then cover dish and chill for 30 minutes. Turn fish over again and return to fridge for 1-4 hours.
Rinse rice and cook according to packet instructions. Turn off heat and stand for 15 minutes with the lid on.
Meanwhile, place arame and wakame in separate bowls, barely cover with warm water and leave to soak. Once rice has rested 10 minutes, drain all but 1 tablespoon of liquid from arame and add it and the arame to the rice, gently stirring them in. Put lid on and set aside. Drain liquid from wakame, pour lemon juice on top and mix in.
Place a heavy-based pan (a non-stick one works well) over medium-high heat. Remove fish from marinade and pat dry. Add oil to pan then place salmon pieces in and cook 1½ minutes. Carefully flip over and cook another 1½ minutes. Add 3 tablespoons marinade to the pan, turn off heat and leave fish to rest in the pan for
2 minutes. By then it should be just cooked, which is all you want – any further and it can dry out. (The mirin in the marinade causes the fish to caramelise, so it’s quite normal that the fish blackens a little.)
To serve, divide rice between 4 plates, sit a piece of salmon on top, drizzle pan juices over and top with wakame. Serves 4
Miso, Swede, Leek and Carrot Soup
This wonderful soup is both sweetish and savoury and, though it is more like a broth than a heavy winter soup, it’s very hearty.
 |
50g butter (or vegetable oil)
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 thumb fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
400g swede, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks (or use pumpkin or parsnip or a mixture)
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 x 10cm piece of kombu seaweed, briefly rinsed and patted dry (or use 1 heaped tablespoon New Zealand karengo, which doesn’t need to be rinsed)
50ml mirin
2 pinches saffron
2 tablespoons white miso paste (shiro miso)
3 tablespoons soy sauce |
Melt butter in a large pot, add leek and ginger and cook over a moderate heat, stirring often, until wilted but not coloured. Stir in swede, carrots, kombu, mirin and saffron. Cover and cook over low heat for
5 minutes, stirring twice. (If using karengo instead of kombu, don’t add it until you add the miso, near the end of cooking.)
Add 300ml cold water, bring to the boil then turn to a simmer and cook, lid on, until swede is just tender.
Stir miso and soy sauce into 100ml water to dissolve miso then add to pot with another 600ml cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer 5 minutes uncovered. Taste for seasoning, adding extra soy or salt as needed. Serves 6 as a starter
Recipes & text: Peter Gordon
Photographs: Jean Cazals
| 
