Well, we already had the carrots, the Swiss brown mushrooms and the Chinese cabbage. But I went to the Asia Store at the train station in the next "village" to buy a few things, and found they had enokitake (and only enokitake in one package, not a mix of mushrooms) and atsu age (thick, deep-fried tofu). I had also bought a green vegetable my Turkish supermarket sells under the name of "Kai Choy" - mustard greens according to Wikipedia (behind the pack of tofu). Wikipedia also tells me they are closely related to mizuna.
I adapted this recipe from Hiroyuki's blog, so the broth was like this:
1 can (400 g) of peeled tomatoes
600 ml water
2 and a half teaspoons of instant kombu dashi
2 tablespoons (30 ml) mirin
2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
We didn't use potatoes (like Hiroyuki did), but we added mie noodles to the nabe later.
Carrots and thick portions of Chinese cabbage in the donabe:
You can see pieces of atsu age on the saucer on the left.
Mushrooms added:
I must say, I was right to buy the donabe and the portable gas burner. These nabemono are such great food to have on cold winter evenings! And what's more, Ben told me that he thought he had seen spare gas cans like the ones I bought at Yumi Hana (Korean/Japanese grocer) at our local supermarket.
But today's greatest find was this:
Can you believe it? Our Turkish supermarket sells gobo (burdock root) now!
I'm not yet sure what I will do with it. One of my Japanese cookbooks (the one in German) has recipes for kinpira gobo and kenchin jiru (vegetable soup). Maybe my other cookbooks have more recipes. I could use some advice, though :)
Thanks for the link to my blog post!
ReplyDeleteAs for gobo, I would (and any Japanese would) suggest making kinpira gobo. Gobo and pork go very well together, so I would also suggest making tonjiru (pork soup), but since you say you are vegetarian, how about making gobo salad or something?
We did make kinpira gobo in the end, using the recipe from the cookbook in German, which was a mistake. The author does not heed the advice to cook in alphabetical order (さ し す せ そ), by which shoyu is added last. A different cookbook author tells me that vegetables won't get any more tender after shoyu is added. The result: The gobo was still so tough that Ben said: "No o-kawari for me - it's too exhausting to eat that."
DeleteI found a different recipe. Next time, we will try that (or make kenchin jiru).
Well, as for kinpira gobo, I think it's common practice to stir-fry the gobo and carrot first and then add a mixture of mirin and soy sauce (and sugar and sake). Kinpira gobo is loved for its crunchy texture, although some people may like it tender. If you like it tender, you may want to whittle the gobo (sasagaki ささがき in Japanese).
DeleteI do apply the sashisuseso concept to nimono (simmered dishes), though. For instance, when I make simmered kabocha, I bring it to a boil, add sugar, place an otoshi buta (drop lid), simmer for 5 min. or so, and add soy sauce, and simmer until soft.
The recipe we used told us to scrub the gobo clean with a nailbrush, then cut it into matchsticks, heat up oil in a skillet, then put in the gobo together with everything else (soy sauce, sugar, mirin) and stir-fry until almost all the liquid was gone.
DeleteI had the impression the gobo was basically uncooked when we ate it. I am ashamed to admit it, but it may also be that it was already old when I bought it.
If I buy gobo again (and I think I will, just so the Turkish supermarket knows there is a demand for it), I will try a different recipe, for example this one.