Citron-pickled Chinese cabbage
If miso soup and sushi are all that come to mind when you think of Japanese cuisine, it’s time to step away from the takeout California rolls and pick up a santoku bocho (all-purpose Japanese knife). But learning the fundamentals of a cuisine requires more than blindly testing recipes. You need a really good teacher.
Two recent books, “Washoku: Recipes From the Japanese Home Kitchen” by Elizabeth Andoh ($35, Ten Speed Press) and “Harumi’s Japanese Cooking” by Harumi Kurihara ($27.95, Home Books), promise to teach you all you need to know about Japanese home cooking. But they’re worlds apart in their approaches and their success.
“Washoku” reflects the ambition of an eager, enthusiastic teacher. An accomplished author and cook, Andoh passes on her knowledge by offering a comprehensive book focused on the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine. It’s the type of book you read from cover to cover, eagerly perusing the pages with sticky notes before even thinking about turning on the stove.
“Harumi’s Japanese Cooking” seems more like an attempt to appeal to readers by mixing Japanese and non-Japanese ingredients and taking plenty of shortcuts. It’s not an especially inspiring approach. Kurihara is a well-known television and cooking personality in Japan making her debut in the U.S. cookbook market. But where “Washoku” delves into a rich food tradition, “Harumi’s Japanese Cooking” glosses over it.
Recipes for dashi (basic sea stock), a staple of Japanese home cooking, reveal the differences between the two books. Kurihara offers a few tips, but speed of preparation seems to be the name of the game for her. Andoh’s dashi recipe is more about understanding how to make a good stock rather than simply re-creating a recipe. She takes you through the process of making dashi with surprising detail and insightfulness -- from how to boil the water (start with cold water to avoid bitterness) to spotting spoilage (if the stock smells sweet).
It’s the details that elevate “Washoku,” such as asides that offer practical cooking and ingredient tips. Or the in-depth description of pantry staples, cooking techniques and kitchen equipment. Many recipes refer to these introductory pages, making “Washoku” a veritable Japanese food encyclopedia and cookbook all in one.
Andoh teaches you to recognize that washoku, literally “kitchen harmony,” is integral to a successful Japanese meal: The interplay of color, flavor and cooking methods is just as important as taste. Recipes explore the five washoku principles of traditional Japanese cooking -- go shiki (five colors), go mi (five tastes), go ho (five ways), go kan (five senses), and go kan mon (five outlooks).
Worth the effort
SEVERAL recipes call for Japanese ingredients that can be difficult to find, such as the freeze-dried yuzu peel in yuzu fumi hakusai (citron-pickled Chinese cabbage). Andoh recommends practical substitutions: lemon, lime or grapefruit peel.
“Washoku” is not the type of book you pull out for a quick dinner, unless you prepare some components in advance. Nama shiitake no gisei tsutsumi (tofu-stuffed shiitake mushrooms), a substantial side dish of mushroom caps stuffed with tofu and miso, refers to three other recipes (dashi sea stock, fragrant pepper salt and ocean herb salt). But the meaty sauteed mushrooms, juicy and satisfying with a sweet and salty mirin-soy sauce, are worth the effort. To save time, use sea salt as a subsitute for the flavored versions.
“Harumi’s Japanese Cooking” promises speedy, easy-to-prepare meals. It’s arranged as a straightforward recipe book, with much of the exploration of Japanese home cooking limited to a brief introduction. But it just scratches the surface of Japanese cuisine.
Kurihara frequently uses ingredients in nontraditional ways, one of the themes of the book, but she isn’t always successful. Tofu with basil, tomatoes and Gorgonzola dressing might leave you wondering where tomato basil salad fits into Japanese home cooking.
Even more frustrating, many of the recipes are missing key steps. In the sauteed squid Japanese-style, a simple, pan-fried dish of fresh squid with shichimi togarashi (dried pepper and sesame spice mix), Kurihara cautions against overcooking. But she doesn’t give any indication of cooking time.
The recipe for mushi dori no gomadare salad (steamed chicken salad with sesame sauce) lists sake in the ingredients but doesn’t tell you how to use it (combine it with the sesame oil before cooking the chicken). Kurihara says to pierce the chicken with skewers, but doesn’t say why. Or explain why microwaving is the best method for cooking the chicken.
Once you figure out how to make it, mushi dori no gomadare is a light, refreshing summer dish, the cool crunch of cucumbers and the gingery chicken balancing the nutty, mildly spicy sesame dressing.
Maybe it’s the glossy photos, perky entertaining tips, praise of jiffy cooking, or the matter-of-fact tone, but it’s no surprise to learn that Kurihara is known as “Japan’s Martha Stewart.”
Andoh, on the other hand, seems like she’s right at home in your kitchen, nodding in approval as you make yuzu fumi hakusai for the first time.
If you are using very fresh cabbage, you will need to wilt it first: Cut the cabbage into two or three wedges through the core and spread them on a plate or tray at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours.
In a large bowl, stir together the salt and yuzu peel (or lemon peel). Place the cabbage in the bowl and sprinkle half of the mixture over the cabbage, rubbing it into the thicker core and lifting layers of the leaves to sprinkle it between them. With sharp scissors, cut the kombu into a dozen strips. Lift the layers of cabbage leaves and distribute half the kombu among them.
Allow the seasoned cabbage to sit in a bowl for 10 minutes, or until it begins to sweat. The addition of the kombu will cause the brine to become slightly sticky. The kombu too will become slippery, which is a good sign. Gently squeeze the cabbage, applying greater pressure as more liquid is exuded and it becomes very limp and pliable. Keep whatever liquid (brine) is exuded in the bowl.
If you are using a shokutaku tsukemono ki (pickle pot), sprinkle the remaining lemon- or yuzu-salt mixture at the bottom of the container before laying the cabbage evenly over the top. Pour in any accumulated brine from the bowl, and then scatter the remaining kombu strips over the cabbage. Add the togarashi strips, placing several between and among the cabbage leaves and allowing a few to float in the brine. Screw the top in place under maximum pressure and let sit for at least 8 hours at room temperature, or for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. If the brine does not rise above the inner lid after 2 or 3 hours, unscrew the top, flip the cabbage over, and add a few drops of water. Replace the lid, again screwing it as tightly as possible. (Go to step 6.)
If you are devising your own weights, scatter the remaining kombu strips on the inside of a glass bowl and lay the cabbage flat on top. Sprinkle the remaining lemon- or yuzu-salt mixture over the cabbage. Pour in any accumulated brine, add in the togarashi strips to the pickling liquid. Lay a flat plate over all, and then place weights on top of the plate. Let sit, undisturbed, for at least 8 hours at room temperature, or for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. It is fine if liquid rises above the plate from the start, but if the brine does not rise above the plate after 2 or 3 hours, remove the plate, flip the cabbage over, and add a few drops of water. Replace the plate and place additional weight on top.
Unscrew the lid, or remove the weights and plate from the bowl, and pour off any brine. Transfer the limp cabbage, including whatever strips of kombu or citrus peel are in the pot, to a 1-quart jar or container.
In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, lemon juice, mirin and light-colored soy sauce and pour the mixture over the cabbage to cover, leaving one-fourth inch of headroom in the jar. For a spicier pickle, keep the togarashi pieces in the liquid. For a milder pickle, discard them. Seal the jar with clear plastic wrap and a tight-fitting lid, or use a mason jar. Let the pickle mature at room temperature for 2 hours and up to 5 hours. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Keeps 1 week.
Just before serving, removed the cabbage from the liquid and squeeze out the moisture. Chop coarsely. Pour a few drops of soy sauce over the pickles if desired.
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