to the kappabashi, the professional cookware district in the old part of Tokyo, and purchased a long, thick rolling pin (about 32″-length) - a necessary tool to roll out the udon dough into a wide and thin sheet.  I practiced making the udon at home until my family and I were fed up - literally - dealing with continuous mounds of noodles.  After moving to New York City with my long rolling pin, I began making udon again, but this time I taught the art of home-made udon preparation as one of the core menu items in my one week Japanese Cookign Course at International Culinary Education (ICE) here in New York.  My long rolling pin amused my students and worked hard even under the hands of my students.  After I left teaching at ICE, my poor roling pin was forgotten - stored away some place deep inside the kitchen closet.

Home-made udon is now back in my kitchen again.  I worked on perfecting the noodles and the preparation technique.  And, I think I have done it.  The reason?  I am going to teach this art again at my week-long Japanese Essential Cooking Course at International Culinary Center in New York (formerly the French Culinary Institute) this coming September.  Here are some of things I have recently learned about making these deceptively simple-looking noodles.

 Among several key points for successful udon making, the choice of right flour is crucial.  In Japan we use special udon flour that has medium protein content (about 8 to 9.5%).  Not being able to have easy access to this particular flour and supposing that the American all-purpose flour has the similar protein content, I have used this easily available staple to make udon.   But, I was not happy with the result.  Udon, which I have always known as snow white noodles, presented grayish-tinged color when made with all-purpose American flour.

Along with this color problem I had two more issues to tackle - how to knead the very firm udon dough effectively without wrapping it in a sturdy plastice paper and stomping on it as is done traditionally and professionally, and determining if I can use a pasta machine to roll-out the dough without using the long rolling pin (Udon dough is distinctively elastic and firm, so rolling it out usign a long rolling pin requires strength, effort, practice and patience).

Udon dough is a very different animal from the pasta or bread dough.  Ingredients for the noodles are only flour, sea salt (5% of the flour weight) and water (42-43% of the flour weight).  The salt plays an important roll, producing a smoother, elastic and more uniform gluten structure in the dough, compared to dough made without salt.  Udon dough requires thorough keading to produce the elasticity that leads to its distinctive chewy bite of the noodles.  Stomping on the wrapped dough to do the kneading is a perfect method to work on firm dough.  Of course this is done under the highest hygine controlled environment and methods in Japan.  But for my students I thought developing a knewding method not usign feet would be crucial in this country.

When it comes to my lazy idea of rolling the dough using past machine, after several trial and errot tests, it is working.  This is a good news.  Anyway who owns a long rolling pin in this country where there is no tradition of making fresh udon.  I am so excited that making udon has now become, even for me, such an easy preparation that, I believe, in the very near future many Americans will be enjoy making it in their kitchen.

With two unsolved questions - the color of the dough and an alternate way to knead - I visited a friend , Shuichi Kotani, a professional soba maker at Soba Totto restaurant in New York City (www.sobatotto.com) for a consultation.  Shuichi is an accomplished soba maker (here Shuichi is rolling out the soba dough into 1.5 mm thickness and cutting it into VERY thin strips, called Edo-kiri (1.3mm width).  Shuichi makes soba every night at 7pm at the restaurant in front of the diners - mixing soba flour and water, kneading the dough, rolling it out and cutting it into precise width.  He moves rhysmically, gracefuly and professionally.  Watching him is awe and fun experience.  Now back to the story..I brought with me American all-purpose flour from Whole Food.  Shuichi compared his flour (Japanese udon flour from Japan) and the American flour by touching and squeezing it in his hands.  Our conclusion was that Japanese flour had smoother touch and left distinctive clumpy texture when we squeezed and released in our hands.  We exchanged flours and I came back home with his Japanese flour.

Today I did my experiment - made the udon with two flours.  I also used the no stomping kneading technique that I learned from Shuichi.  Here are the results of my comparative udon experiment.  The noodles made from Japanese flour is snow white and the one made from all-purpose flour presents grayish color.  The texture of both was the same - smooth, slippery and al-dente.  An interesting point is that the noodles made from American all-purpose flour had a strong, pleasant “wheat” flavor, while the noodles made from Japanese flour were comparatively without much flavor.  Let’s make udon together this September at International Culinary Center in New York City!  Visit Shuichi’s home page @ www.worldwide_soba.com.

It is very heavy.  The bottom part can contain more than 16 quarts of water that promises strong steam production for many long hours.  Even though this is “the best” steamer, wehn I want to do a small daily quantity of steaming, it is a pain to set it up, boiling lots of water, cleaning after use and disassembling to put it away.  Now with this Zojirushi skillet - using the deep skillet and the ingredients platform - I can do small portion steaming so easily and any time.  The design of the skillet including the structure of the lid, the provision a little space between lid and skillet to allow some steam to escape, etc. makes the cooking results perfect.  I have used this cookware to prepare steamed fish, vegetables and made the famous Japanese savory egg custard, chawanmushi.  I plan to challenge the delicious Western-style dessert, sweet egg custard, next weekend.

Perfectly steamed veges like this is a piece of cake

The “convenient part” also includes easy set up and cleaning.  Oh, and another feature is that the deep skillet (NOT the shallow skillet!) can go directly over the flame of a gas stove, so you can prepare a dish that is partially cooked in the kitchen, then brought out to the table and finished it while the diners watch and enjoy the aroma.  Such dish as fish stews (for example, bouillabaisse) and Japanese hot pot dishes are perfect in the deep skillet and this technique of partial cooking in the kitchen and finishing at the table save time, confusion and some of the mess that can be associated with at-the-table cooking.  I am going to try more delicious preparations using this new cookware and post the recipes here.  Check out Hiroko’s Amazon Store to purchase the Zojirushi Gourmet d”Expert Electric Skillet.

What a fun, easy to use and convenient piece of cookware the new Zojirushi’s Gourmet d’Expert Electric Skillet is.  I have steamed mussles (after mussles are done, I removed them and heated tomato sauce in the same skillet), fish and vegetables, and grilled wagyu beef steak (raised in America), pork chops and chicken with the very handy, easy to use and flexible applicance.  Flexibility does not usually come with Japanese way of thinking and products, so this is a big thing.  Judith Jones, my editor of The Sushi Experience, enjoyed cooking sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked together with a little sugar, sake, shoyu and water) in this skillet with me the other day, and she was in the heaven. 

This is a distinctively Japanese-looking and Japanese-designed (absolutely no re-call anticipated) cooking applicance with a somewhat twisted French name that may on first reading give you hard time to figure out exactly what this product does. 

Shallow skillet; the photo with a glass lid is a deeper skillet

But what I found out and I can highly recommend is that this is a wonderful addition to a kitchen if you are looking to bring fun, ease, convenience and education to your everyday as well as your very special meals.

Zojirushi, the highly reputed manufacturer of state-of-the-art high quality Japanese rice cookers, came up with this home-cook friendly multi-use cooking skillet, steaming and stewing pot.  The entire applicance consists of five layers, including a glass lid.  You can see the structure in the photo.  The base is the electrically heated element.  It heats up quick and you can control the temperature from “Keep Warm” to a completely variable range of cooking temperatures between 280 degree F and 480 degree F.  The remaining three layers are two skillets of different depths - a 2-inch deep shallow skillet and a 3-inch deep one, and a thin steamer panel with legs to raise the panel and the ingredients placed on it above the steam generated by boiling water in the skillet.  The steaming panel fits into the deep skillet.  The insides of both skillets ahve a non-stic surface.

THE FUN PART: This cookware is meant to be used for cooking meals at the table by the host, family members and guests or by eveyone.  You simply set the cookware - base and one of the skillets - on your dinner table and carry all necessary ingredients to be cooked to your table as well.  Here in this photo you can see I have cooked chicken breasts and vegetables.  During the cooking I covered the skillet for some time with the glass lid to secure the most uniform heat to cook the chicken.   Later, I removed the lid and crisped the chicken skin before painting the skin side with my special miso based sauce.  The result is juicy chicken with a crisped skin and a delicious sauce together with perfectly cooked vegetables.

With this Zojirushi appliance you can have a quick, delicious hands-on dinner every night if you wish.  And, when cooking at the table I am sure that you will be having a fun conversation with your family and friends about the entire meal - how to know when the chicken is done; when to put in the vegetables; when to turn the chickens; who gets which part of the chicken; what other creative ways could this dish be prepared,……

 I will continue this blog in my next post: THE CONVENIENCE PART. 

To order this wonderful cookware, go to Hiroko’s amazon store and select Zojirushi Gourmet d’Expert Electric Skillet.  You will have a great fun!

Hiroko

The top photo shows the grated yamaimo which presents a watery and slimy texture.  The bottom one is grated icho-imo.  It is so thick and gooey that I had to peel it off from the grater.  Icho-imo has slightly more flavor than its sister, and is rather delicious eaten raw, grated, or cooked.  Some of the most popular icho-imo recipes are tempura and mugi-toro.

Here I made the tempura.  I grated the yam, added some salt to flavor it, sandwiched them in a square of nori sheet; dipped them in tempura batter and cooked them in heated oil.  The cooked yam was tender, puffy and moist.  And the texture was not gooey; quite delicious, in fact.

Mugi-toro is a dish in which steamy cooked barley-added-rice is topped with grated and flavored icho-imo.  This dish is known in Japan as economical, simple, digestible, nutritious and an ordinary household staple food.  I have not eaten mugi-toro over 12 yeares.  Now I have this speciaql yam in my refrigerator, so I am going to make it tomorrow for my lunch. 

This is a link to one restaurant that specializes in mugi-toro dishes in Tokyo.  www.mugitoro.co.jp; can you believe there is such a specialty restaurant?  On your next trip to Japan if you want to discover our true culinary culture in depth, please drop by and savor the new flavor and TEXTURE of this dish.

Taken by Dan Schumacher at American Masara.  You hear the voice of Dan, Suvir Saran and Hiroko.

Nagaimo, which originally came from China to Japan at the beginning of our civilization, is easily available here in America at Chinese food stores.  We enjoy nagaimo in grated form in okonomiyaki kinds of preparations (as a binder) or eat it raw julienne in salad (the texture is crisp, but slightly slimy).  Yamaimo does not have much flavor, but it appears from time to time on our table mainly because of its “texture” and nutritional benefit.  Nagaimo is rich in the digestion enzyme, amylaze, and in vitamin C, potassium, iron and dietary fiber.

Before going further with my yam story, let me clarify the confusion between the Japanese/Chinese yam and sweet potato sometimes labeled as “yam” here in America.  Our Japanese yam, a tropical and sub-tropical plant, belongs to Dioscoreaceae family.  These yams come in several varieties and their size, shape and texture vary greatly from watery-slimy, gooey to very gooey.  The skin of yam is rough and flesh is mostly white.  On the other hand, the sweet potato “yam” belongs to morning glory family.  The skin is smooth and color of flesh can be white, yellow, orange or purple-red.

The other day to my great and joyful surprise, I found icho-imo yam at my local Japanese food store, Sunrise Mart, in New York City.  This yam as you can see in the below photo is named after its gingko leaf-like shape - icho , gingko (tree/leaf) and imo, yam.  It was a surprise to spot it because this yam also has a texture somewhat alien or unimaginable to many Americans. 

Check out its distinctive texture on my next blog.

Instead of deep-frying them, I tossed mochi pieces with little olive oil and baked in the oven.  The result was great - crisp, golden yet light.

2 ounce mochi pieces (completely dried)

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil or other cooking oil

Sea salt, freshly ground pepper

Place the rice cake crumbles in a bowl and toss them with the cooking oil.  Place the crumbles on a cookie sheet and bake them in a heated oven (400 degree F) until plump and golden.  Remove the rice cake crumbles from the oven and toss with the sea salt and ground pepper.