In the Kitchen: Daikon Nimori
Life in Japan has been one grand culinary adventure. At
present, I own only one pot and one fry pan, which share one wooden spoon, but
I have been delighting in the kitchen nonetheless. And I intend to prove it to
you.
DAIKON
Daikon, a large white radish (by large I mean the size of a
small child...), is a staple in Japanese cuisine. It often appears in side
dishes and stews – roasted, boiled, pickled, grated. Simmered daikon (daikon nimori) is one of my favorite
preparations. The radish soaks up broth slowly over heat, and takes on many
layers of flavors. A typical broth includes dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and
sake. Because it soaks up flavors so well, adding fish (e.g. karei) or meat (e.g. pork, chicken)
makes for one delicious meal.
Yesterday, I bought my first daikon. Rather, I bought my
first half of a daikon. The whole ones were intimidatingly large. I peeled the
outer skin and cut it into thick chunks, then submerged it in cold water and
set to boil. Boiled until chopsticks could easily penetrate (oh, lala!) the
radish, about 30 minutes. Then I drained remaining water and added four fresh
cups, one teabag-like packet of katsuo dashi, slices of fresh ginger, soy sauce
(5), sugar (4), mirin (3), sake (2), and salt (1). Numbers correspond to proportion…and
let’s be honest I am a lazy cook. I put more soy than anything, some sugar,
splash of mirin, another splash of mirin, I didn’t have any sake, and I added
some Himalayan sea salt. Then a little more mirin. And some more sugar along
the way. COOK TO TASTE.
I put a lid on it, literally and figuratively, then let
simmer for a good long while. Maybe 45 minutes. The smell was incredible. I
became a little overzealous pondering what to do next – Should I leave it as is
and eat as a side dish? Should I add chicken thigh meat? Should I add a bunch
of vegetables?
My inner maximalist won, and I added a whole slew of
ingredients at will: kabocha, eringi mushrooms, eggplant, and chicken thigh
meat. A little more water later (the liquid boils down), and the lid was back
on. I slinked back to the living room, wondering if I’d ruined the whole thing…
All the preparation and cooking and thinking got me, well,
hungry. While my mystery concoction stewed, I broiled a small loaf (loaf seems
like the right word, I guess?) of wheat gluten (fu, aka seitan). Heady California Whole Fooders would cringe at the
very mention! Here in Japan, it is a tasty treat. Wheat gluten is actually used
as a meat substitute in many Asian restaurants (on aside, it seems a little odd
that so many food allergies now considered common knowledge were never
acknowledged until recently, and gluten now has quite a bad rap!). Broil till
puffy, hoping you don’t burn it. I made a dipping sauce of soy, mirin, and
olive oil (tradition? nah. delicious? yes.) and thoroughly enjoyed the chewy
bites, even through a little red wine on the mail/rug incident. Never did mind
the small things.
Leftovers stayed in the pot and I reheated them today for
lunch. Added a touch more water, frozen udon noodles, and mushrooms. The daikon
were well worth writing home about. Cheers!
Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely love to cook, but
mostly I love to cook with other
people for other people. Patiently
waiting for your visit J
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