Hiroko’s Kitchen | Blog

This year I did not forget to do the proper welcoming- the-New-Year decorations at my home. I neglected this tradition for years after moving to America. Very bad. Welcoming-the-New-Year decorations have to be placed on a specific, auspicious and correct day. It is usually on December 28th. No later than this.

Here are the decorations; one is Kagami-mochi (in a room) and the other is Matsukazar (at the entrance door). We do these decorations in order to properly welcome a New Year God. Let me start with Kagami-mochi. My decoration (photo) is a very simple one. I purchased it at a local Japanese foodstore. It is a kind of junky one. The smooth-looking, double-decked, round mochi rice cakes – a small one sits on top of a slightly larger mochi cake – are made of plastic. It should be made of real mochi rice cakes. Inside this plastic case you will find bite-sized mochi rice cake squares packed in a sealed plastick bag.

We believe that the New Year God comes to each house and resides in the mochi cakes. So you have to have the mochi cakes! When January 11th comes, we break the mochi cakes and consumed it in both savory and sweet dishes. Eating mochi rice cake in which the New Year God resided ensures us the prosperity, happpiness and safe life throughout the year.

A citrus fruit which is placed on top of mochi rice cakes is daidai. Another translation of daidai is a long lasting generation, so it has to be here. Unfortunately, mine is a plastic came as a Kagami-mochi decoration kit.

Here is another recipe of Osechi ryori. This can be prepared in advance and kept frozen. It is Kinton, sweet simmered Japanese sweet potato paste tossed with golden yellow, sweet-braised chestnut. We cook sweet potato with dry gardenia seed pod to naturally color the cooked potato into golden yellow color. If you cannot find the dried gardenia seed pot, substitute it with a little saffron. I have not tried it with saffron, but it should work. After cooling the sweet potato, I gently fold in the sweet cooked chestnuts. Golden color of the dish associates good fortune and prosperity. Please let me know which food in your culture represents a good luck and prosperity!

The photos are Japanese sweet potato, cooking sweet potato and finished one, cooling. I have already prepared sweet cooked chestnuts when local up state chestnuts are available. They are in my freezer.

Kinton recipe: If you can use the Japanese sweet potato in the recipe which has noted natural sweetness.

3 pounds, peeled Japanese or other sweet potato cut into 1-inch slices
4 pieces dried gardenia seed pot, cut into half lengthwise, put it in a cheesecloth pouch and tie the neck with a kitchen string
2 pound sugar
2 pound sweet braised chestnuts with braising liquid

Soak the sweet potato pieces into water for 1 hour. Drain. In a pot of boiling water add the drained sweet potato. On hard boiling drain the potato. Add the potato to the pot and add new water to cover by 2-inches. Cook the potato for 25 minutes or so, or until tender. Drain the potato. Process the potato in two batches in a blender until roughly pureed or until smooth (my mother who did not own a food processor, so she used fine sieve to press through the cooked potato to produce a silky textured paste; it was quite a choir). Transfer the processed potato into the pot, add the sugar and put it over medium-low heat. Stir the sweet potato until sugar is dissolved. Cook the potato, stirring all the time until it is no longer loose. Add about half cup of the braised chestnut liquid during cooking (if you do not have it substitute with mirin). When it is no longer watery nor firm add the chestnuts. Carefully toss the chestnuts with the sweet potato.

Conrad learned how to make the eggnog from a bartender for whom he worked. After the bartender left the restaurant Conrad reproduced it. It was OK, but he wanted to improve the flavor of it. Conrad came up with the very perfect one which we luckily enjoyed at the Christmas Eve Party at a small island resort.

Here is the rough recipe which he gave me;
First steam milk with cinammon, vanila and clove for about 5 minutes; Strain the milk, discarding the spices; In a bowl whisk the egg yolk with sugar until lightly creamy; With a whisk mix the steamed milk and egg/sugar mixture; cool off the mixture and add the whipped cream, whisky, brandy and rum; Refrigerate it overnight and enjoy it next day. Thank very much for Conrad.

Here is the picture of Conrad McEwan and the vegetables called Chaiotye (Christophine). Caiotye, when it is peeled, reveals white flesh. When it is cooked it is semi translucent. It reminded me of Japanese summer squash, togan. It has no flavor, but absorbs whichever flavor with which it is cooked.

Here is another recipe, Kobumaki, in which reconstituted, dried herring is wrapped up in kelp, tied with kanpyo gourd, and simmered & flavored. The dish has very humble look but the reason why it is included in the celebration meal is the use of kelp. It is play-on-the-words. “-kobu”, which is the part of the word, “kobumaki” means congratulatory. Hence eating herring (winter fish) stuffed kelp is a symbol of auspicious occasion. It assures us good fortune throughout the New Year. Since dried herring is not available in America, I substitute it with smoked fish.

To make this dish you need kombu, which is called ni-konbu. Unlike the regular kelp which you use in the preparation of Japanese stock, this type cooks quicker and tender. Dried herring is not available here in America so I substitute it with smoked trout. I also substitute kanpyo gourd with kitchen strings.

Two 15 inch long ni-konbu, soaked in rice vinegar added water for 25 minutes
1 package smoked trout (two fillets), soaked in cold water, soaked overnight
3 cups water
6 tablespoons
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin

Drain and cut the kelp into 2-inch wide pieces crosswise. You will have about 14 cut pieces. Drain the fish and remove the skin. Cut each fish into equal seven pieces, 1-inch long. Wrap each fish and roll it into a piece of kelp (see the photos) and tie it with kitchen strings. Finish making all rolls. In a large pot place the rolls without overlapping each other. Add the water and sake, and bring it to a gentle simmer. Turn the heat to low and cook the rolls, covered with a drop lid, for 30 minutes. Remove the drop lid and add the sugar and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the drop lid and add the soy sauce and cook until the cooking liquid is almost cooked away. Add the mirin and cook for 1 more minutes. After the rolls are completely cool, remove the strings with a kitchen scissor.

Here is my iron egg – showing it here with a large brown egg – which I use to cook black soybeans, kuromame, for my Osechi ryori. Iron egg helps to retain the gorgeous, sleek black color which is a sing of rich anthocyanin (antioxidant) in the beans.

Here is the kuromame recipe, which I am going to prepare it tomorrow. Kuromame is a dish in which black soybeans are tender simmered and flavored with sugar and little soy sauce. The reason why kuromame is a part of the celebration is that it is play-on-the-words. “-mame”, which is the part of the word, “kuromame” means healthy and safe. Hence eating tender simmered, sweet black soybeans assures us health and safety throughout the New Year. In this recipe I cook black soybeans with diced kon’nyaku taro jelly as my Mom did for many years.

10 ounce dried kuromame (easy to find it at food stores and on-line stores)
8 cups water
Iron egg (optional)
7 ounces sugar
2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Rinse the beans in a sieve under running cold tap water. Drain the beans. In a large pot add the beans, water and an iron egg or old nail. Put the pot over medium heat and bring it to a boil. On boiling add the remaining ingredients and gently stir. After the sugar dissolved, turn off the heat, cover it with a lid and leave it for 5 hours.
Put the pot over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Remove white foams which float on top of the pot. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a simmer again. Turn the heat to very low, drop an otoshibuta (wooden drop lid) or an parchment paper which was cut a slightly smaller than the size of the pot) inside the pot, cover with a lid and cook the beans for 4 to 5 hours (until tender). During the cooking do not open the lid, nor stir the beans. After cooking the beans transfer them with a cooking liquid into a container and leave them in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy the shiny beans to ensure again your healf and safe in the New Year!

My father diseased 19 years ago the day before the Christmas eve. To remember him I made sukiyaki dinner at home last night. My Dad never helped my Mom in the kitchen, who cooked meals for my father’s patients and family, including two nurses who stayed with us, almost entire 365 days. But there was one occasion when he took in charge of cooking our meal. It was the sukiyaki meal which my family enjoyed at the end of every year – December 31st. My father did not know much about cooking but he fed us with gust and smile.

If you own a table top gas burner, you can enjoy sukiyaki meal very easily. In our sukiyaki meal I used vegetables which are available at my nearby supermarkets – Chinese cabbage, mizuna leaf, thick scallions and shiitake mushroom. I did not go to Japanese food store to purchase specially, thinly sliced sukiyaki beef. I bought a pound of skirt steak at a local butcher (I love skirt steak because of its rich flavor) and sliced it thin, slanted. There is no sukiyaki recipe in my family. This is how my father did and I now do;
Add a piece of beef suet (you have to use it) on a heated skillet on a table top gas burner; melt the suet and coat the entire bottom of the skillet with oil; keep the suet in the skillet while cooking beef and vegetables; first add four to six or so thinly sliced beef without overlapping (use medium heat); sprinkle some sugar (I used brown sugar) over the beef; when the bottom is golden, quickly turn over the beef; sprinkle little more sugar, pour in little sake, water and soy sauce and cook the beef to your choice of texture; divide the cooked beef into four or 6 bowls and enjoy (add one egg in each bowl and beat it with chopsticks before putting the cooked beef; wash your egg in vinegar before breaking it just to make it safe); you may cook the beef again in the skillet by following the same instructions (rub the bottom of the entire skillet again with beef suet); after eating the second batch beef, add one batch of vegetables along with some water, sake, sugar and soy sauce. Cook the vegetables until crisp done, turning over the vegetables from time to time; divide the vegetables among your family and enjoy….you may go back to cook more beef, then, vegetables…you repeat it until everything is cooked and eaten by you and your family members. It is delicious and great fun!

Here are the Before and After photos.

Tazukuri is a candied whole baby sardines. To prepare this dish you need gomame (dried baby sardines), which can be found only Japanese food stores. The reason why baby sardines are the part of celebration is that in the past sardines were important fertilizer for rice paddies, so they symbolized good harvest, therefore prosperous year. Cannot find Japanese dried baby sardine? Come up with alternative – which food item represents prosperity in your culture?

Here is the recipe which I inherited from my Mom.

7 ounces gomame
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sake
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
Chile flakes

Carefully remove the intestine part of each baby sardine. It is quite a task. You need to work on hundred of tiny fish. If you do not remove them, the fish taste bitter. Do this task with your fingers. Do not break the fish. Put a thick bottomed skillet over medium heat. When it is hot add the sardines. Turn the heat to small and cook the sardines until fragrant and crispy to touch. Be careful not to burn the fish. Transfer the fish to a large platter and cool. In a saucepan add the water, sake and sugar and put it over medium heat. On simmering add the soy sauce and cook until the volume of the sauce becomes half of the original. Add the sardines and sprinkle of chile flakes to the saucepan and with forks toss the fish with the sauce. The sauce slightly coagulates as it cools, so do the tossing process quickly. Here you are the Tazukuri.

Next year will be my 14th year of living in America. “Kooin Ya no Gotoshi” This is the Japanese version of “Time Flies”. In the past thirteen years I did not celebrate the New years in the way in which I was raised and cherished – visiting a local temple before midnight of December 31st and listening to a temple bell tolling one hundred eight times; savoring a special New Year’s Feast, Osechi ryori, and ozoni (rice cake soup) with family members in the morning of New Year; visiting a local shrine and welcoming the year of the god and play for family’s health, happiness, peace and prosperous for the New Year. Today I very much miss the way how we celebrate New year in Japan. There is no temple and shrine near me in New York City, so I decided to prepare the proper Osechi ryori and enjoy it with family and friends at the New Year 2012 open house.

Osechi ryori are specially prepared New Year’s food items (served and consumed cold) which are packed in stack-upable jubako obento boxes, which are only used for New Year’s occasion. Every prepared food item goes into these boxes has its own reason to be there. As I prepare some of these items I will post the recipes, so you can join me the preparations. Let me start with Tazukuri – next post.

Finally let me slowly give you a peek into my new book, whose name is not yet finalized. It is a book about Japanese meals made easy for American Kitchen by using prepared (home-made) two Japanese stocks (you can substitute them with chicken stock or vegetable stock) and four Japanese sauces (no substitution), Japanese preparation techniques and ingredients which you can find at your local food stores and supermarket. In the next several months I will post here some recipes.

Let’s start with miso soup. Most miso soup served in America has a stereotyped list of ingredients – tofu, wakame (sea vegetable) and scallions. In Japan miso soup is much more exciting and varied. We use varieties of ingredients, from vegetables to seafood and often some chicken or meat. The selection of ingredients depends on the season. Here is the Brussels sprouts miso soup which I enjoy in autumn through cold winter time (4 servings). You will get more information about how to enjoy miso soup everyday at home in the new book; miso variety, sodium in miso, how much is proper to use, list of American seasonal vegetables which you definitely enjoy in your miso soup….etc. Enjoy the soup and give me your feedback. Another peek-in recipe will be posted sometime in January-February. My next post will be Osechi Ryori.

8 large Brussels sprouts, cut into halves, then into thin slices lengthwise
1 medium peeled carrot or parsnip, cut into matchstick-size sticks
1 thumb size ginger, julienned
1 teaspoon canola oil
3 cups dashi stock or chicken stock
2 tablespoons aged brown miso
Little dab of Colman mustard paste (1 teaspoon mustard powder mixed with 2 teaspoons hot water)

Heat a medium pot over medium heat and add the canola oil. Add the ginger and cook for 20 seconds, stirring with a spatula. Add the stock, Brussels sprouts and carrot and bring it to a simmer. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add and dissolve the miso. Divide the soup into four small soup bowls or mugs. Garnish with a dab of the Japanese mustard paste and serve. Enjoy the soup with your favorite sandwich, salad or with your dinner.