Japanese curry belongs to the group, yōshoku. Curry is extremely popular in Japan – it’s on the menu at just about every “family” restaurant and department store restaurants, and there are curry-only restaurants as well as ones that specialize in high class yohshoku in general. Japanese curry, called curry rice (or kareh raisu) since it’s always served with rice, is not much like the curries from India, Thai or other places, better known for curry. Curry rice is a slow-cook meal and the longer you let it sit, the better it gets. This recipe for beef curry can be used with other kinds of meat and can be used for vegetable curry as well. Here’s recipes for a gourmet version and a quick ready-made curry base version.

Japanese style beef curry

Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

Gourmet version

INGREDIENTS:

450-500g / about 1 lb stewing beef cubes (chuck works well; it should be a cut with a bit of fat in it and not too sinewy)

6 large onions, or about 6 cups sliced

3 cloves garlic

An adult thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger

2 cups of crushed tomatoes (1 small can, or 400g)

1 beef or vegetable stock cube (I prefer Knorr)

1 bay leaf

1 star anise

2-3 Tbs. garam masala (see notes)

3-4 large carrots

1 medium eating-type apple

3-4 medium potatoes

Oil or butter

Optional: 1 cup frozen green peas

Salt and pepper

For the curry roux:

3 Tbs. butter, ghee, clarified butter or oil, or a mixture

4 Tbs. white flour

1 1/2 to 2 Tbs. curry powder, or more to taste (see notes)

To serve with:

Plain white steamed Japanese rice, or plain brown rice

PREPARATION:

If the meat is in one big chunk, cut into cubes about 2 cm / 1 inch square. Pat dry with paper towels, and brown in a little oil on all sides in a frying pan. Set aside.

Slice the onions thinly. Grate the ginger and either grate or finely chop the garlic. (A microplane is great for this task, if you have one.) Peel and cut the carrots into chunks. Don’t peel the potatoes yet: this will come later.

Heat your heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, and heat up some butter, ghee or oil. (Butter or ghee will add some richness but oil is fine – you will barely notice the subtle difference since the curry will overwhelm it.) Add the onions and a pinch of salt, and lower the heat to medium-low. Now comes a period of long, slow cooking of the onions that can take up to an hour or so (the salt helps it along as it extracts the moisture in the onions). At the end you want to end up with a much reduced mass of onion that is a light caramel brown in color, as in the photo.

Once the onions have reached this stage, add the ginger and garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the canned tomato and 6 cups of water, the browned beef, the stock cube, the bay leaf and the star anise. (If you are particular you can put these in a bit of cheese cloth or a tea ball for easy extraction later.)

Peel and grate the apple and stir in. (This is optional, but adds to the depth of flavor.)

Bring up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour, or more if your meat is a bit tough.

About 30 minutes into the cooking process, dry-roast about a tablespoon of garam masala powder in a small frying pan until it starts to get very fragant, and add to the stew pot. Add the carrots around then too.

In the meantime, make the curry roux. In a small frying pan, melt the butter or ghee or clarified butter (note that ghee is basically clarified butter) and heat until any foaming subsides.

Add the flour, and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes a light brown in color. (See these very detailed instructions for roux if you aren’t sure.)

Take the pan off the heat, and add the curry powder (the more the hotter.) Stir until the whole kitchen and beyond smells like curry. Set aside.

When the meat is about as tender as you want, peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and add to the curry. Continue simmering until the potatoes are tender.

Take the pot off the heat and fish out the bay leaf and star anise. Stir in the roux carefully until it’s completely melted into the stew and the liquid is thick and very brown. Return to the heat and simmer a few more minutes.

At this stage you can dry roast another tablespoonful or so of garam masala and add it to the curry.

At the last minute, add the optional frozen green peas, and stir – they should cook almost instantaneously. Serve immediately.

There are two ways of serving curry in the “yohshoku restaurant” way. One is to put the curry in a sauce boat, and serve the rice separately. The other is to put the rice on the plate, and cover just one half with curry, You can of course just pour the curry right on the mound of rice.

Instead of, or in addition to, the grated apple, you can add some chutney, a tablespoon or so of honey, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and even a bit of soy sauce or miso.

Quick Version using a ready-made curry base

If you are using a curry base instead of making your own curry roux, just add it in exactly the same way near the end of the cooking process, making sure to take the pot off the heat first. If you have the block that looks like a chocolate bar type, break it up into smaller chunks and stir in to the stew mix until all is melted. The bagged powder type melts in faster. The curry should not be stewed for a very lengthy time after adding the base or spices or the flavors will dissipate somewhat.

Using other meats

Pork curry is made in the same way as beef curry, but you may want to try making the curry a bit hotter (by adding more curry powder or chili pepper powder).

Chicken curry is best made with the dark meat parts (thigh works great). I also prefer to take the skin off first – curry-stewed chicken skin is not that nice. The stewing time for chicken curry is shorter since you don’t want the chicken to get dried out.

Quick and easy ground beef curry

If this all sounds like too much work, you can still make a quick and easy curry using ground beef or other ground meat, and a commercial curry base.

Making it vegetarian

You can omit the meat and use oil instead of butter, and have a vegetarian curry. If you want some protein, try a can of chickpeas. Cooked soy beans also fit very well. You can go for an all-vegetable curry and add more carrots, or some sliced eggplant (aubergine), cubed turnip, etc.

Freezing curry

Curry freezes and reheats very well, as long as you leave out the potatoes. Frozen potato turns into a mealy, watery, inedible mush. Just add some boiled potatoes to the reheated curry. Since it does take a long time to cook it does make sense to make a big batch at a time and freeze extra for quick meals in the future.

You can also make curry with Tonkatsu, which is called, Katsu Curry. Here’s a video on How to make Katsu Curry.

Sources:

Beef Curry recipe and photo, http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry

Katsu Curry video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0BpjwYKco&feature=channel

Tonkatsu

Ingredients:

Preparation:

1.   Chop cabbage, soak in water. Cut it very thin.

2.   Pound meat with meat mallet or with the back of the knife.

3.   Do not pound meat too thinly. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the meat.

4.   Put egg, flour, bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow trays. Add a little water to the beaten egg. Spread flour on both sides of the meat. Pat off excess flour then dip into beaten egg.

Spread meat onto bread crumbs (panko). Cover the meat with crumbs and press it a little. Repeat this processs on all slices.

6.   Heat oil. Drop a piece of crumb onto the oil. When the crumb starts to rise from the bottom of the pan. It means it is now ready for frying. Fry in a moderate heat. When meat starts to brown, reduce heat temperature and continue to fry slowly. Do not fry it too much otherwise the meat will become hard.

7.   Drain oil on net and put it on a paper napkin.

8.   Cut into bite size slices. Move meat and thinly cut cabbage to plates.

9.   Top with tonkatsu sauce (Worcestershire sauce or chuno sauce)

Sources:

Tonkatsu recipe, http://dining.in-japan.jp/2007/06/japanese_foods_from_my_taste.html

Tonkatsu photo, http://www.caseyreddkennington.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/tonkatsu.jpg

Gyudon (beef bowl) is a popular donburi dish with beef and onion served over a bowl of rice. Meat and onion are cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake, giving the dish a sweet, salty flavor. Many chain restaurants (gyudon-ya) specialize in gyudon, making it an informal, inexpensive dining option for students and travelers on a budget.

Typically, beni shoga (pickled red ginger) and shichimi (red chili mix) are available at the table and added to taste. Tofu or konnyaku (devil`s tongue) may be cooked along with the beef, although these ingredients are more common in home recipes than at restaurants. You can also add a beaten raw egg or green onions onto the gyudon.

Between 2004 and 2006, a Japanese ban on imported American beef drastically affected the production and sale of gyudon, causing upset among gyudon lovers. However, the ban increased the popularity of butadon and tondon, which are both pork variations of beef bowl.

Gyudon-ya are numerous and often open 24 hours. These restaurants operate in one of two ways. Either a staff member takes one’s order as usual, or the meal is paid for in advance at a vending machine located near the restaurant entrance.

A side bowl of miso soup may come with the meal or is offered in a combo set. Other side dishes are salad and kimchi (Japanese version of Korean pickled napa cabbage). Tea and water are offered for free with refill jugs available on the table for customers to serve themselves.

Japan’s three largest gyudon-ya chains are:

• Yoshinoya

1062 stores in Japan as of March 2008

Yoshinoya’s orange sign and logo are almost synonymous with gyudon. It is Japan’s largest gyudon chain and has international stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and the US. A standard size gyudon serving costs 380 yen.

• Sukiya

995 stores in Japan as of March 2008

Sukiya offers are broader range of menu items and markets itself as a “suburban family restaurant.” Its restaurants typically have more booth space than the other two large chains. A standard size serving of gyudon is 350 yen.

• Matsuya

719 stores in Japan as of January 2008

Matsuya is the smallest of the three big chains. Their gyudon bowl is called gyumeshi on the menu and is always served with a side bowl of miso soup. A standard size serving of gyumeshi costs 350 yen.

How to make Gyudon video

Sources:

Gyudon guide, http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2345.html

Gyudon recipe, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1mvYnRJX70&feature=channel

Rarely is there a meal in Japan where tsukemono (Japanese pickles) are not served. The simplest and most basic meal is nothing more than a bowl of rice and umeboshi (pickled plum), but tsukemono are also served at the most sophisticated and complex feasts. Japanese pickles are not at all like the pickles found in Western cooking. Tsukemono are prepared in a number of ways with many different types of foods being pickled, fruit, vegetables, eggs, seeds, even fish!

The varieties of tsukemono are endless, with literally thousands of types to choose from and hundreds of techniques! Popular pickled vegetables include Chinese cabbage, daikon radish, carrots, bamboo, turnips, gobo (burdock root), ginger, Japanese cucumbers, and Japanese eggplant.

Tsukemono offer color, texture and aroma to a meal. The earliest known tsukemono were called konomono or “fragrant things.” Vegetable tsukemono are crisp and always fresh, with small amounts of several varieties usually served in individual petite dishes. All types of tsukemono are available commercially but many people make pickles at home because it’s so inexpensive and easy.

Kyuuri to Wakame no Amasuzuke (Sweet and sour cucumber and wakame pickles)

This Japanese sokusekizuke method of letting vegetables marinate in a vinegar-based marinade is similar to Western pickling methods, but there’s no canning or sterilization involved since these are meant to be eaten within a couple of days like all quick pickles. The vinegar marinade is simply meant to enhance the flavors of the vegetables rather than preserve it for long keeping.

These cucumber pickles are sweet and sour and a bit salty all at the same time. The wakame seaweed can be left out if you prefer, but it makes a nice contrast to the cucumber.

The pickles can be eaten anytime from a couple of hours after putting them in the marinade to about 3 days later or so, if you keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This amount of marinade is enough for one large English-style cucumber–the long, relatively thin kind that often comes shrink-packed in plastic. If you’re using other cucumbers, aim for about 4 to 5 cups cut up.

The marinade:

8 Tbs. rice wine vinegar (not sushi vinegar – read the label)
1/2 tsp. dashi soup stock granules, OR 1 4 inch square / 10 cm square piece of kombu seaweed
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
4 Tbs. boiling water
1 whole dried red chili pepper (optional; leave out if you don’t want any spiciness)

Combine and mix until the sugar is melted.

The vegetables:

1 large English-style cucumber
2 Tbs. dried pre-cut wakame seaweed (fueru type or the kind that just requires soaking)

De-seed and cut up 1 English-style cucumber or equivalent other kind of cucumber. (Japanese cucumbers don’t need de-seeding.)

Put the marinade in a small glass, ceramic or plastic bowl (not metal) or the good old ziplock plastic bag. Put the cucumber and wakame seaweed in. Stir or shake around, seal well and let marinade in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Drain off the marinade and serve in small bowls. This should be eaten within 2-3 days.
You can reuse the marinade once: let it come to a boil, cool off, and put in fresh vegetables.
Besides cucumbers try sliced turnips, carrots, daikon radish, regular radish, etc.

Hakusai no Sokusekizuke (Quick and spicy Chinese cabbage pickle)

This has to be one of the easiest and tastiest ways of preparing Chinese or napa cabbage (hakusai). All you taste is the fresh essence of the cabbage, with the heat of the red pepper and the slight twist of the orange zest.

Wash and chop up the leaves, mix together the flavoring ingredients, dump all in a plastic bag, shake then massage. That’s it. It’s ready to eat right away, though the flavors to meld a bit better if you can manage to keep it in the fridge for at least an hour before eating.
Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes up or down to your taste.

Ingredients:

About 2 lb / 1 kg (a small whole head or half of a large head) fresh Chinese (napa) cabbage (about 6 cups cut up)
1/2 tsp vegetable stock granules (or about 1/2 a Knorr-sized stock cube)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. orange zest in thin strips
Optional: 1 tsp. lemon juice
Optional: 1 tsp. dark sesame oil

Equipment needed: a large plastic zip bag

Wash the cabbage leaves, and discard any discolored parts. Dry by spinning in a salad spinner or in several layers of paper towels. Chop up roughly.

Mix together all the dry ingredients and orange zest in a bowl. If you’re using a stock cube, crumble it up finely.

Put the cabbage in the plastic bag, and the dry ingredients + orange zest. Close the bag with plenty of air in it (so it’s like a balloon) and shake all around until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Open the bag, expel as much air as you can, and close again. Massage and toss the bag around, bruising the cabbage. Quite a lot of moisture will come out of the cabbage and melt the salt etc. Try not to burst the bag with over-enthusiastic kneading.

You can eat this right away, or leave in the refrigerator in the bag for about an hour (you can do it over night too).

To serve, drain off the excess moisture (which is delicious, but rather salty…though some people like to drink it off!). Drizzle with the optional lemon juice or sesame oil. Serve with any Japanese style meal. Makes a great bento box item.

Sources:

Tsukemono, http://www.theblackmoon.com/Jfood/ftsuke.html

Tsukemono recipe and photo, http://www.justhungry.com/tsukemono and http://www.justhungry.com/sweet-and-sour-cucumber-and-wakame-pickles and http://www.justhungry.com/quick-and-spicy-chinese-cabbage-tsukemono-or-pickle-hakusai-no-sokusekizuke

Miso soup is probably the most common form of soup in Japan, and is commonly eaten everyday, usually at breakfast time. The main ingredient, miso, comes from soy beans, however the other ingredients may vary depending on the taste that you want. The most popular type is tofu miso soup.

Tofu Miso Soup

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

Water – 1 litre

Bonito fish stock (Hondashi) – 1 tablespoon

Miso paste – 4 heaped tablespoons

Tofu – 1 packet

Spring onions – 1 bunch

PREPARATION
In preparation, add the water and fish stock to a large saucepan, and bring gently to the boil.
Finely chop the spring onions, and chop the tofu into small cubes. Once the stock is boiling return to a simmer.
Add the miso paste to the saucepan. Slowly mix in the miso paste until it all disappears, and continue to simmer gently.
Tip: It is important to keep to a simmer and not to boil the soup, as it will lose the rich flavour and it will taste more salty.
Finally, slowly mix in the chopped tofu and spring onions and continue to simmer until all of the ingredients in the soup becomes warm. It is now ready to serve!

Sources:

Miso soup recipe, http://www.tokyocube.com/lifestyle.php?subnav=food&feature=recipes&article=Tofu%20Miso%20Soup

Miso soup photo, http://www.justhungry.com/images/misoshiru.jpg

Japan is an island nation, its surrounding seas warmed by Kuroshio, the plankton-rich Japan Current, and abundant with an astonishing variety of fish and shellfish. Japan has always fed its dense population from the sea and the rice fields, its cuisine emphasizing what nature provides.
Sushi, one of Japan’s most representative foods, is now well-known in most places around the world. Sushi was not always what it is today. Originally, it was a way of preserving fish. Rice was packed around the fish and then thrown away before the traveler ate the aging flesh. Over centuries, this turned into narezushi (still eaten to this day), layers of fish and layers of rice in a jar with a stone on top. The rice ferments, giving the sharp sweet taste that vinegared rice now approximates. This dish became what is known as Osaka-style sushi. Fresh seafood is putt into a shallow mold, rice is added, and the whole is pressed, resulting in a large pie-like dish, which is then cut into bite-size pieces. The more popular Edo-style finger-formed nigirizushi now eaten universally, originated in Edo  (now Tokyo) in early nineteenth century. There is no fermenting, no waiting. Such sushi has been called the world’s first fast food.

In order to make a fine japanese sushi roll (or nigiri) there is no need to go through five years of fish cutting studies in Japan.

How to make sushi maki

1. The rough side of the nori
Feel the nori sheet from both sides and you will find one side to be a bit smooth and the other a little rough. The nori should lay on the rolling mat with the rough side facing upwards.

2.Getting busy with rice
Get your hands wet, and make about a handful of rice to a ball of rice. It’s important to keep your hands wet while working with sushi rice because it is sticky. When you work with the nori though, you should keep them as dry as you can. Keeping a bowl of water and a dry towel in your rolling zone is pretty necessary.

3. The spread
Gently put the rice ball in the middle of the nori sheet, and start spreading it equally on the nori, creating a layer of rice covering almost the entire sheet except the upper margin of about 2cm that should be kept uncovered. Later on, that margins are going to be needed empty of rice in order to close to sushi roll properly.

4. Can you fill this?
Now it’s time to place a slice of fish (preferably no more than one) on the edge of the nori, along with 1-3 pre-cut slices of vegetables.

5. Commence the rolling sequence
Using the closer edge of the rolling mat, close on the filling with the nori making a rectangular shaped hill and tighten it from above.

6.Continue the rolling sequence
Move forward, continue rolling in the rectangular hill steps, keeping it tight with every move until you reach the end of the nori. Put pressure on the roll from all three sides at all time, especially on stops to allow it to roll tightly.

7. And….cut!
Use a wet, sharp knife to cut the roll in to little sushi units. 6-8 units per roll – that’s your call.

The inside out sushi roll, also known as Uramaki, is more common in the U.S. than in Japan and is very popular in western sushi bars. What makes the inside out roll unique is the fact that rice is in the outside and the nori is on the inside, wrapping the filling.

How to make inside out sushi

1. Wrapping the rolling mat
Hoping you are using the “one side round and one side flat” rolling mat, and not the cheap kind with both sides round. Cover the rolling mat with a plastic wrap starting with the round side, and ending with it. Make about 2-3 full rounds of wrapping. After you are done wrapping, roll the mat to squeeze out all the air locked inside the wrapping. If needed – poke it with a toothpick to let the air out.

2. Break point
Take a nori sheet, and break it down the middle. If it doesn’t break easily, it’s either old, or not such a good brand of nori to work with. Place the nori sheet on the rolling mat abut 5 cm from the edge, with the rough side of the nori facing upwards.

3. The turn over
Get both your hands wet and make a ball of rice, using about a handful of rice (you can always add more rice later, but drawing out rice is a bit complicated once you’ve put it on the nori). Place the ball of rice in the middle of the nori and start spreading the rice, pressing it down gently, until it is equally spread along the nori sheet. You should now have a 1cm high, equal layer of rice on top of the nori. If needed, add some more rice – just remember to keep it even. Flip the nori over so that the rice is facing the mat and the smooth side of the nori is facing upwards.

4. Can you fill this?
Now it’s time to place a slice of fish (preferably no more than one) on the edge of the nori, along with 1-3 pre-cut slices of vegetables

5. Commence the rolling sequence
Using the closer edge of the rolling mat, close on the filling with the nori making a rectangular shaped hill and tighten it from above.

6. Continue the rolling sequence
Move forward, continue rolling in the rectangular hill steps, keeping it tight with every move until you reach the end of the nori. Put pressure on the roll from all three sides at all time, especially on stops to allow it to roll tightly.

7. And….cut!
Use a wet, sharp knife to cut the roll in to little sushi units. 6-8 units per roll – that’s your call.

Spicy Tuna (or Salmon or Yellow Tail)

Ingredients:

2 cups sushi rice

2-3 nori sheets

150Gr of Tuna (or Salmon or Yellow Tail) fillet (sushi grade)

Avocado

Spicy mayo sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp hot chili
1 tbsp hot sesame oil

Preparation:
Stir in a small bowl to combine evenly. Once combined, use a spoon to load the newly made hot sauce into a baggies, and pinch a tiny hole in the bottom. In order to use the sauce, simply squeeze the baggies and let the sauce leave a trail of hotness along the roll.

The following recipe is suitable for both classic type rolls and Inside Out rolls.

Let’s begin by cutting the tuna to 3cm thick, and 15cm long strips. Roll it with the avocado in the method you have chosen, classic or inside-out, and cut
After cutting, put a tiny drop of Chili mayonnaise on top of each piece, and it’s ready to go.

California roll sushi

Ingredients:

2 cups sushi rice

2-3 nori sheets

100gr Imitation crab stiks (Surimi)

Avocado

Cucumber

Preparation:

The following recipe is suitable for both classic type rolls and Inside Out rolls.

California roll sushi is basiclly, a “softer” version of the spider roll. It is made with Imitation crab sticks instead of real crab which makes it easier to make, cheaper to buy, and some would say tastier.

1. Take half a nori sheet, and cover with rice – 1cm high.
2. Flip the nori so that the rice is facing down and start placing the filling for the california roll.
3. Line up the crab sticks: in pairs or singles – depends how thik you want the roll to be.
4. Next to it, line up a 2-3cucumber stiks.
5. On top of both crab and cucumber stiks, put a large slice of avocado.

Make sure all ingridients are equal in size and position, and roll. Afterwards, you might want to sprinkle some sesame seeds on top for decoration, either dark or light sesame goes well.

Serve with soy sauce.

Tamago (japanese sushi omelet)

Tamago is the Japanese omelet commonly used in maki, nigiri and Temaki sushi. Unlike a regular omelet, the tamago is made with sugar, soy sauce, and mirin added. Furthermore, it is fried by a very unique method, as explained below.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 spoons of mirin
2 spoons of soy sauce
2 spoons of sugar
a rectangular pan

Preparation:

Stir all ingredients together to creat a solid batter .Pick up a rectangular pan. Oil it, and cover it with tamago batter, 1cm deep.

After 2-3 min, when the bottom of the omelet gets brownish, use a kitchen spoon to fold the omelet twice. First from the closer end towards the middle, and second towards the far end of the pan. There’s no need to flip the omelet, just fold it. Even if the upper side of the omelet seems uncooked before folding, the “inner layers” of the omelet will get done by the end of the process.

Now oil the pan again (or not, depends if you prefer it crispy or oil free) and add another round of tamago batter. Notice that the batter you have just added should touch the omelet you folded in the last step.

Repeat steps 2-3, until you run out of tamago batter.

Now that your omelet is ready, place it on a dry cutting surface, and slice it into 2cm thik slices. you can use it either as a topping for nigiri sushi, or as a filling for tamaki and maki sushi.

Sources:

Donald Richie, A Taste of Japan

Sushi history, http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/5789/history.htm

Sushi recipe and photos, http://www.makemysushi.com

Tamago photo, http://www.ease.com/~randyj/tamago2.jpg

Onigiri are rice balls, usually with a tasty filling. They are portable, and therefore popular for carry-along lunches (bento). Part of their appeal lies in the fact that if you’re Japanese, you just love the taste of rice. Rice is fundamental to the Japanese diet. The words for cooked rice, meshi and gohan, have come to mean “meal” itself. A consequence of this attitude towards rice is that the Japanese are quite happy with a meal of meshi alone. There are many kinds of onigiri (also called omusubi). Two popular kinds are nori (dried seaweed) and umeboshi (pickled plum) onigiri. Since cooked rice can go bad easily, the preservative umeboshi keeps the rice fresh during the journey. In addition, the pickled plum is supposed to be good for the health. Geographically, only 16 percent of Japan’s total area is cultivable, and about half of this is used for rice crops. Historically, rice was considered a luxury since the common people satisfied themselves with millet and has been with the Japanese for hundreds of years as travelers have sustained themselves. Onigiri can stand on its own, or be part of a bento or boxed lunch. (For some reason it’s never just called “nigiri”, though bento is also called obento, which is the honorific term.) Onigiri are also a great make-ahead snack for a crowd.

Onigiri (Easier & neater onigiri)

There are a lot of steps here, but once you have done a couple this way you will be turning out tons of rice balls in no time.

Equipment and ingredients

Sturdy plastic wrap that is not so thin that it will get weak when exposed to a little heat, or too thin that you spend more time un-sticking it form itself than using it. Saran Wrap is great, or Glad.

A small bowl or teacup that is the size you want your rice balls to be.

A rice scoop or a spoon

Properly cooked white or brown Japanese rice.

Salt, preferably in a salt shaker (or you can just sprinkle with your fingers)

Water

Fillings of your choice

Covers of your choice such as nori seaweed

PREPARATION

• Make ready your teacup, a cup or bowl holding some water, salt shaker, rice, rice scooper, fillings, plate to put the finished onigiri, and plastic wrap roll.
• 
• Line the small bowl or teacup with a piece of plastic wrap that’s big enough to hang well over the sides. Press the plastic down into the cup with your fingers.
  
• 
• Sprinkle the inside of the cup with a little water. Shake out the excess into the sink.
  
• 
• Sprinkle the inside of your wetted, plastic-lined cup with salt, turning the cup so the sides get sprinkled too. Shake out any excess salt.
  
• 
• Fill the cup with rice up to the brim. No need to press down; just fill it loosely.
  
• 
• Poke a hole in the middle of the rice, about halfway down in depth, with your finger.
  
• 
• Poke your filling of choice in the hole – about 1/2 a tablespoon or so.
  
• 
• Lightly press the rice over the filling.
  
• 
• Gather up the ends of the plastic wrap.
  
• 
• Twist and squeeze, pushing out any excess air. Twist tightly to form a ball. The squeezing is critical for ensuring that the salt sinks into the surface, and for making sure that the rice grains stick together enough so that the ball will not disintegrate when you bite into it.
  At this point, if you just want round onigiri you can squeeze and press a bit and you’re done! If you want triangular rice balls, you just need to squeeze a little differently.
  
• 
• Form an L shape with one hand and make three corners on the ball…
  
• 
• Use the other hand to turn the ball and squeeze back to front. Squeeze, turn, squeeze. Practice makes perfect!
  
• 
• And, here you have a perfectly shaped triangular onigiri.

If you’re going to bring the onigiri on a picnic, just leave it in the plastic wrap, and bring along the nori separately; wrap the onigiri with the crisp nori just as you’re going to eat it. If you’re going to eat the onigiri right away, you can re-use the piece of plastic wrap for all the onigiri balls you make.

This method works marvelously for brown rice balls as well as white rice balls. Brown rice balls can be a bit tricky, since brown rice is not as sticky as white.

Sources:

Donald Richie, A Taste of Japan

Jon Spayde, Japanese Cooking

Onigiri recipe and photo, http://www.justhungry.com/2003/12/obento.html

Each year on November 15, boys and girls who are three years of age, boys who are five, and girls who are seven years old all celebrate a special birthday called “shichi-go-san” which means “7-5-3.” Before modern times, children were often lost to disease and infection before reaching these ages, so families would celebrate the survival of their children. Thanks were given at Shinto and Buddhist shrines for the continued health and prosperity of the birthday children. The children were cleaned, dressed in beautiful new clothes for the occasion, and accompanied their family to the temple. Traditionally everyone’s birthday was celebrated on New Year’s Day. However Japan has adopted many Western ideas, and it is customary now to celebrate individual birthdays with parties, flowers, and gifts on the actual date of birth.

Rare Cheesecake

Non-baked cheesecakes are called “rare cheese cake” in Japan. These types of cold cheesecakes are served with fresh fruits or fruit sauces. You don’t have to use oven to make a rare cheesecake.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup and 2 tbsps plain yogurt

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsps lemon juice

1 tbsp powder gelatine

1/4 cup water

For Crust: 1 cup crushed graham crackers & 3 tbsps butter & 1 tbsp sugar

PREPARATION:

Mix powder gelatine and water in a small cup and set aside. Combine crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl. Press the crumbs into the bottom of a round cake pan (8 inch). Stir cream cheese in a bowl until soften.

Put water and gelatine mixture into microwave and heat for a min. Add yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, and gelatine into softened cream cheese and mix well. Pour the filling into the crust and spread evenly. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Serve with your favorite fruit or jam.

Sources:

Birthday traditions, http://www.send-great-flowers.com/birthday-traditions.html#japan

Rare cheesecake photo (edited), http://www.flickr.com/photos/mysweets/2482165226

Rare cheesecake recipe, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080209071608AAc74mW

Matsuri (祭) is the Japanese word for a festival or holiday. In Japan, festivals are usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple, though they can be secular. There are countless local festivals in Japan because almost every shrine celebrates one of its own. Most festivals are held annually and celebrate the shrine’s deity or a seasonal or historical event. Some festivals are held over several days.

An important element of Japanese festivals are processions, in which the local shrine’s kami (Shinto deity) is carried through the town in mikoshi (palanquins). It is the only time of the year when the kami leaves the shrine to be carried around town. Many festivals also feature decorated floats (dashi), which are pulled through the town, accompanied by drum and flute music played by the people sitting on the floats. Every festival has its own characteristics. While some festivals are calm and meditative, many are energetic and noisy.

There is no specific matsuri day for all of Japan–dates vary from area to area, and even within a specific area, but festival days do tend to cluster around traditional holidays, such as Setsubun (February 3rd or 4th marks the beginning of spring. The word literally means “the spliting of the seasons”) or Obon (traditionally in July, the souls of the dead are said to return and so people visit and clean the family grave and light a path to the house). Almost every locale has at least one matsuri in late summer or early autumn, usually related to the rice harvest season. Gion Matsuri, Tenjin Matsuri, and Kanda Matsuri are the three most famous Matsuri in Japan.

Festivals are often based around one or two main events, with food stalls (selling street foods such as yakisoba and takoyaki), entertainment (such as drinking beer and karaoke), and games (such as goldfish scooping). Some are based around temples or shrines, others hanabi (Fireworks).

Yakisoba (Japanese Stir-Fry Noodles)

Yakisoba is a kind of Japanese fried noodle. There are various kinds of yakisoba noodles. This is a recipe to make the most common type of yakisoba in Japan. Packages of yakisoba kits are often available at Asian grocery stores.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 packages steamed chuka noodles (150g/package)

1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 lb. boneless pork rib, thinly sliced

1/4 cup peeled and thinly sliced carrots

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 green head cabbage leaves, chopped

4-6 Tbsps. yakisoba sauce, or 2 packages of yakisoba seasoning in yakisoba kits, or 4-6 Tbsps Worcestershire sauce

Beni-shoga (pickled red ginger) for garnish*

Ao-nori (dried green seaweed) for garnish*

Salt and pepper

*These are available in packages at Asian grocery stores

Preparation:

Lightly loosen pre-steamed chuka noodles and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in medium skillet on medium heat. Stir-fry the pork until almost cooked. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to season. Add carrots, onion, and green bell pepper in the skillet and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add cabbage in the skillet and stir-fry for a minute. Add noodles in skillet. Pour 1/4 cup of water over the noodles and cover the skillet. Turn down the heat to low and steam for a few minutes. Remove the lid and add yakisoba seasoning powder or sauce. (*Adjust the amount of sauce as you taste.) Stir the noodles quickly. Divide yakisoba among two plates. Sprinkle with aonori and beni-shoga just before serving.

Takoyaki (Octopus Dumplings)

Tako means octopus in Japanese, and takoyaki are known as octopus balls. Takoyaki venders are very popular in Japan. To make takoyaki, a grill pan for takoyaki is used. The pan has many small cups to pour the batter.

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 2/3 cup flour

2 1/2 cup dashi soup

2 eggs

1/2 lb. boiled octopus, cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup dried sakura ebi (red shrimp)

1/4 cup chopped pickled red ginger

For toppings:

katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

aonori (green seaweed powder)

Worcestershire sauce or takoyaki sauce

mayonnaise

PREPARATION:

Mix flour, dashi soup, and eggs in a bowl to make batter. Thickness of the batter should be like potage soup. Put oil inside cups of a takoyaki grill pan. Pour batter into the cups to the full. Put octopus, red ginger, and green onion in each hole. Grill takoyaki balls, turning with a pick. When takoyaki become rounds and brown, remove them from the pan and place in a plate. Put sauce and mayonnaise on takoyaki and sprinkle bonito flakes and aonori on the top.

How to make Takoyaki video

Sources:

Matsuri guide and photos, http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2063.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals

Yakisoba recipe, http://japanesefood.about.com/od/yakisoba/r/yakisoba.htm

Yakisoba photo, http://www.automaticheidi.com/blog/?p=25

Takoyaki recipe, http://japanesefood.about.com/od/seafoodfish/r/takoyaki.htm

Takoyaki photo, http://vanillacherryice.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/takoyaki1.jpg

Takoyaki recipe video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDmVhShE80&feature=channel

On Valentine’s Day in Japan, the women give all the men in their lives chocolate. If the recipient is a co-worker, or someone the woman sees casually, she gives him giri choco (obligation chocolate). Giri choco is cheap and can be bought at stores everywhere.

The man a woman has special feelings for receives honmei choco (prospective winner chocolate). Honmei choco is a superior variety of chocolate and can either be bought or handmade. Men who get handmade sweets from a woman know where they stand in her affections: at the top!

Female friends also get chocolate in the way of tomo choco (friend chocolate), but the main recipients of Valentine’s Day goodies are the men. However, the men don’t return the favor of giving chocolate or gifts to their lady friends on this day–they do it a month later on White Day (March 14th).

Chocolate Covered Cherry Daifuku

Makes 10

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups mochiko
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1 Tbl. plus 1 tsp corn syrup
* 1 tsp. almond extract
* red food coloring
* potato, corn or wheat starch for dusting
* 10 maraschino cherries, rinsed and patted dry
* 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, minced

Preparation:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate on high in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and return to microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Mix again. Repeat the steps until the chocolate is melted.
2. Dip the cherries in the melted chocolate and coat them well. Drop them onto a plate lined with wax paper and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. After the cherries have been in the freezer for 15 minutes, make the mochi by whisking together the mochiko, sugar, water, 1 Tbl. corn syrup and extract. Remove 1/2 cup of the mochiko mixture and tint it a desired shade of red or pink with the food coloring. Set aside.
4. Dust a clean work surface liberally with starch. Keep a bowl filled with starch handy for dusting your hands and any utensils used. Place the tsp. of corn syrup in a small bowl and keep it nearby.
5. In a medium saucepan, cook the uncolored mochiko mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Spoon some of the cooked mochi onto the dusted work surface. With either a well dusted rolling pin or with well dusted hands, carefully roll or pat the hot mochi to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness, depending on your preference. Cut out circles two and half times as big as the chocolate cherries.
6. Place a well chilled chocolate cherry in the center of each of the mochi circles. Quickly wrap the mochi circle around the cherry, pinching the bottom to seal it. If you’ve having problems smoothing or sealing the bottom, use a tiny bit of warm water to seal up the mochi. Place the finished mochi on plate dusted with starch. If the mochi cools too much when you’re working with it, heat it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
7. For the hearts, repeat Step 5 with the pink mochi, but cut out hearts instead of circles.
8. To decorate the mochi, you can:

* Attach the hearts to the finished mochi with a dab of corn syrup.
* Coat the finished mochi in the leftover chocolate.
* Wrap some cherries in pink mochi and make white hearts for contrast.
* Drizzle some chocolate over the finished mochi.
* Sprinkle colored sugar onto the warm mochi then form the balls.

Strawberry Daifuku

How to make Strawberry Daifuku

Sources:

Chocolate covered chocolate daifuku recipe and photo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daifuku and http://theanimeblog.com/japanese-culture-links/chocolate-covered-cherry-daifuku

Strawberry daifuku video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cv5LsqKUXc&feature=channel