Fen'neru miso (fennel miso with ginger)

For ➍

2 tbs vegetable oil

500 g fennel bulbs, finely sliced

1 carrot, in thin sticks

white of 2 leeks, in rings

2 potatoes, peeled, diced

2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

½ small green chilli peppers, sliced

1 small red chilli pepper, sliced

1 ts fennel seeds, crushed

salt

3 tbs red miso paste with barley

1.5 l dashi stock*

150 g watercress, chopped + extra for garnish

5 snow peas, halved

1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, carrot, leek and potatoes and fry the vegetables for a few minutes, until they are soft. Stir in the ginger, garlic, chillies, and fennel seeds. Season with salt and let everything cook on low heat for 10 m.

Dissolve the miso in 1.2 dl of boiling dashi stock.

Stir the miso mixture and remaining stock into the soup.

Let the soup simmer for 15-20 m, until the potatoes are soft. Add the watercress and snow peas. Boil gently for another 3 m.

Add the lemon juice to the soup.

Ladle the soup into bowls.

Garnish with additional watercress and serve the soup hot.

*Use chicken or mushroom stock

Kinoko takikomi gohan (Japanese mushroom rice)

For ➏
600 g (3 cups) Japanese premium short-grain rice (or substitute with brown rice)
70 cl (3 cups) dashi stock (substitute with 3 cups water mixed with 1 ts dried bonito dashi powder)*
3 tbs soy sauce (shoyu)
2 tbs mirin
1 tbs cooking sake
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
15 cl (1 cup) water (for reconstituting dried shiitake mushrooms; this reserve liquid is to be combined with the dashi stock)
100 g (½ cup) of fresh mixed mushrooms (shimeji mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, and hiratake mushrooms)

Wash and rinse rice until water runs clear. Drain and set aside in rice cooker**.
Rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms in 15 cl water for 30-60 m. Remove shiitake mushrooms and squeeze excess water from them.
Reserve the soaking liquid.
Slice rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and either slice or break apart fresh mushrooms with your hands into large bite-sized pieces.
Add soy sauce, mirin, and sake to the washed rice in the rice cooker**.
Add reserved shiitake liquid to a large measuring cup. Add water to the reserved shiitake liquid until a total of 3 cups is measured. Otherwise, measure a total of 3 cups of liquid, combining the reserved shiitake liquid and water.
Add 1 ts dried bonito dashi powder (or konbu dashi) and dissolve the powder with the water and reserved shiitake liquid mixture to make a dashi stock.
Add this combined dashi stock to the rice cooker to make 3 cups of liquid according to the measuring guide indicated within the inner bowl of your rice cooker**. If more liquid is needed to meet the 3-cup marker indicated on the inner rice cooker bowl, add water.
Add dried shiitake slices and fresh mushroom mixture to the rice. Gently incorporate all of the ingredients. Steam the rice according to the instructions provided with your rice cooker**.
After the rice is steamed, allow it to rest in the rice cooker** for 10 m.
Gently mix the rice and serve.

*Substitute katsuo (bonito fish) dashi with konbu (kelp) dashi for a vegan dish.
**Steam the rice on a stove-top instead. Use same volume of rice and liquid (like 1½ cup for 2-4 persons. 1½ cup uncooked rice will make 4½ cup steamed rice)
[optional]: rinse the rice in 2 or 3 changes of water until it runs clear and not milky. It will make the rice less sticky.
[optional]: soak the rice for at least 30 m to give it a softer texture.
Add the rice to the pan.
Either use your hand or gently shake the pan to make sure the rice level is even.
Start by adding the same volume of water/liquid. Then place your middle finger on top of the rice and continue adding water until it just reaches just to the first knuckle of your middle finger.
Bring the water to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat. You want to see bubbles gently forming around the edges of the pot.
Cover, turn the heat down to low, and let the rice simmer for about 20-22 m, until all the water is absorbed and the grains are soft.
Turn the heat off. Leave the pot on the burner and let the rice sit, covered, for another 10 m.
Fluff and serve.

Or combine the rice with Japanese mushroom recipes like salted mushrooms an/or shimeji.

Tamagoyaki (Japanese layered omelet)

For ➍
6 radishes
1 scallion
8 eggs
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs dashi
1 ts mirin
salt
oil for baking

Clean the radishes. Cut them into thin slices first and then into thin strips. Clean the spring onion and chop it finely. Place the radish and spring onion in cold water. Beat the eggs with soy sauce, dashi and mirin. Stir the mixture smooth and add a little salt if desired.
Brush a large non-stick frying pan or a roasting pan with an oil-dipped brush*. Heat the oil - don't let it get too hot! - and pour so much of the beaten eggs into the pan that the bottom is covered with a thin layer. Let the egg set and roll it up using two spatulas.
Slide the roller up against the edge of the pan. Brush the pan again with a brush dipped in oil, pour some of the egg mixture back in and let it set. Roll out the first roll to the bottom edge of the pan and roll it up again with the new layer.
Continue like this until the egg mixture has run out and a thick roll has formed. Slice the still warm roll or wait for it to cool.
Drain the radish and spring onion, sprinkle with salt and place on the roll.

*Japanese cooks use a rectangular iron pan.

Bacon chawan mushi with avocado & shrimps

For ➍
75 cl chicken stock (or dashi)
8 slices bacon
4 large eggs
1 tbs + 1 ts shoyu (white soya sauce)
2 ts sugar
12 large shrimps, cooked, sliced lengthwise into 0.3 cm pieces (or shaved country ham)
2 avocados, halved, cut crosswise into 0.5 cm pieces
8 scallions, thinly sliced
4 radishes, thinly sliced

In a sauce pan, heat the chicken stock (or dashi). Add the bacon. Simmer for 10 m. Whisk in the shoyu and sugar. Let it cool. Remove the bacon. (Use it for something else, like eggs for breakfast).
Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Whisk in the bacon broth. Pur the mixture through a fine sieve into 4 soup bowls.
Add the avocado slices.
Cover the bowls with plastic wrap. Put them in a steamer over gently boiling water. Steam for 13 m or until the custard is set.
Remove the wrap. Let cool the custard slightly.
Arrange shrimps, scallions and radishes on top and serve.
To serve cold, steam the custard, wrap and refrigerate for 1 day. Add shrimps, radish and scallions just before serving.

This is a modern fusion recipe, inspired on the traditional Japanese chawan mushi.

Easy nikujaga (Japanese beef & potato stew)

For ➍
1 tbs oil
500 g beef, thinly sliced or cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, sliced
4 large potatoes, (or 400 g pumpkin), cut into bite sized pieces
1 carrot, cut into bite sized pieces
5 dl dashi (or water or beef stock)*
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs sugar
2 tbs sake
1 tbs mirin
1 green onion, sliced
shichimi togarashi** to taste (optional) (or some shredded ginger)

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the beef and brown on all sides.
Add the onion, squash and carrot and sauté for 5 m.
Add the dashi, soy, sugar, sake and mirin, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender (30-40 m).
Serve immediately.

*Nikujaga is often simmered until most of the liquid has evaporated, but some prefer to have some liquid left.
**Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese condiment that is made from a blend of chillies and other things like sesame seeds, nori, etc.

Try a richer version or a fusion tomato version.

Rich nikujaga (Japanese beef & potato stew)

For ➍
2 ts vegetable oil
200 g beef sliced thin (shortribs work great)
1 onion, in thick slices
4 yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 carrot, cut into large pieces
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed & quartered
1 dl sake
4 dl dashi (or low sodium beef stock)
2 tbs sugar
½ ts salt
3 tbs soy sauce
100 g shirataki noodles, drained & rinsed
75 g green beans, trimmed

Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil.Stir-fry the beef until cooked through. Transfer to a bowl, with tongs or a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the oil in the pot as possible.
Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the potatoes, carrots and shiitake mushrooms and continue stir-frying for about 3 m.
Add the sake and bring to a boil until you stop smelling alcohol (1-2 m). Add the dashi, sugar, salt, soy sauce and shirataki, and then return the beef to the pot. Simmer, partially covered for 30-40 m, or until the meat is tender and the carrots and potatoes are very soft.
Add the green beans and cook uncovered until they are cooked through.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to develop.

Nikujaga was invented by cooks of the Japanese navy, at the end of the 19th century,inspired by the beef stews of the British navy. It is a Japanese version of a beef stew that is simmered in the classic Japanese seasonings of soy, sugar, sake and mirin. Nikujaga can be made with different ingredients, and different kind of meats.
Try a simple version or a fusion tomato version.

Onsen tamago (Japanese slow cooked egg)

For ➏
6 free range eggs at room temperature
small enameled cast iron pot with lid

Take the eggs out of the fridge about 1 h to get to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 77°C (or as low as it will go).

Fill the pot with water and heat over the stove until your thermometer reads 68°C. Gently lower the whole eggs into the water, cover with the lid and place the whole thing in the oven.

This is where it gets a little tricky. You want to slowly raise the temperature of the water from 68 to 71°C. Any cooler and the egg won’t cook, any hotter and you’ll have a soft boiled egg (not the same as a slow cooked egg). For my oven, this means setting it to 77, and putting the pot in for 45 m. If your oven doesn’t go down to 77, you’ll need to check the temperature of the water periodically and turn off the oven, then turn it back on to try to keep the temperature under 71.

When ready, you can keep the badge for a week in the fridge.

The traditional way to eat them is for breakfast covered in seasoned bonito dashi.

Put them in just about anything. In noodle soups, donburi’s, butternut squash soup, or on fried rice. Or on the Japanese pasta carbonara.

To serve, just crack it open into a small bowl and cover with a splash of salted dashi.

Slow cooked eggs, 'onsen tamago' in Japanese means egg in hot spring, as the temperature of a hot spring at 77°C is the ideal cooking temperature to slow cook an egg, where the yolk stays creamy and the white turns into custard.

Dashi tomato (Japanese marinated tomatoes)

For ➍
4 large flesh tomatoes like coeur de boeuf
50 cl vegan dashi stock made with konbu seaweed, or vegetable stock
salt or soy sauce****
seaweed, bonito flakes, sesame seeds, parsley or basil

Peel the tomatoes by bringing a pot of water to a boil, and dunking the tomatoes for 30 s. Take out the tomatoes, let them cool enough to handle, and peel the skin off. If using large tomatoes, cut them into slices or chunks. Put the peeled tomatoes in a bowl or a plastic zip bag. Add enough broth to cover. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Take out the tomatoes, and drain off the liquid*. Season with a little sea salt or soy sauce and toss lightly.

Garnish with bonito flakes, shredded shiso leaves, tosted sesame seeds or finely cut nori seaweed**/***.

Serve chilled****.

*The liquid makes a delicious soup base.
**Or the western way: freshly ground black pepper, a little chopped parsley, or shredded basil leaves.
***Add some finely julienned cucumber or blanched and sliced okra.
****When using dashi-shoyu, be careful with salt or soy sauce.
*****Tomatoes are always served chilled, or even near frozen in Japan.

Chilled soba noodles salad

For ➍
400 g cooked soba noodles
2 ts toasted sesame oil
100 g watercress
100 g red beet leaves or rocket lettuce
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds
1 sheet nori (dried seaweed), finely shredded
20 cl dashi-shoyu*
2 ts wasabi paste

Rinse the noodles under cold water and sprinkle with sesame oil. Toss well and set aside to drain.

To make the dressing, mix together the soy dashi and the wasabi paste. Put the noodles and the salad leaves in a large mixing bowl and toss to mix. Divide the noodle salad among 4 plates. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, garnish with the chopped spring onions, sesame seeds and shredded nori.

Serve immediately.

*Dashi-shoyu is a soy sauce variance on dashi, the Japanese seaweed broth. Read a recipe or buy ready made.

Soba noodles, made of buckwheat, become very popular in Japan when the heat is high.
Most Japanese noodles, including soba, are rinsed rather vigorously in cold running water. This not only cools them down but gets rid of excess starch, which adversely affects the flavor of the noodles.
Try a similar salad idea with ramen noodles.

Oyakodon (egg & chicken rice)

For ➍
750 g Japanese rice
8 dl water
4 chicken thighs or 2 large chicken breasts
1 onion or a bunch of green spring onions
50 cl dashi*
10 tbs soy sauce*
5 tbs mirin**
5 tbs sugar
4 eggs

Wash the rice with cold water, until the water becomes clear. Drain and place the rice in a pan. Let the rice soak in the water for 1 h. Cover the pan and bring to a boil with high heat. Turn the heat down very low and cook for 15-20 m until the water is almost gone. Remove the pan from the heat and let it steam for 10-15 m before serving.

Cut chicken into small chunks and slice onion.

Put dashi soup stock in a pan on medium heat.

Add soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in the pan. Put chicken chunks in the pan and simmer on low heat for 3 m. Add onion to the pan and simmer 3 m.

Whisk eggs in a bowl. Bring the soup to a boil, then pour the eggs over chicken and onion. Turn the heat down to low and cover. After 1 m, turn off the heat.

Serve steamed rice in a deep bowl, then place the chicken mixture on top.

*Replace with fish or chicken stock. When using dashi-shoyu, use less soy sauce.
**Replace this rice wine with dry sherry.

This classic 'mother-and-child' donburi, served with local vegetables, comes straight from the Shinto tradition, the native Japanese religion, celebrating nature and spirits and rice. In winter, purifying Hadaka Matsuri ('Naked Man') festivals, with youths dipping into ice-cold water, take place all over the country. The donburi is sold at stalls at these festivals.

Dashi

For 75 cl
25 g bonito flakes
4 pieces kombu (kelp) 7,5 cm in length

Pour water into a large bowl. Add kombu. Soak for 1 h. (For thicker taste, soak overnight instead). Cook the kombu water over medium heat for about 5 m or right until the kombuwater starts boiling. Set aside for 2 h. Remove kombu from water and discard it, , as it would give a peculiar taste.

Boil the kombu water. Add all bonito flakes to it. Boil the kombu water again over low heat for about 1 m.

Turn off heat and let the kombu water sit undisturbed for 1 h or until the bonito flakes come down and stay at bottom. (For thicker taste, soak overnight instead)

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the kombu water into a medium pot. Discard the bonito flakes after firmly pressing them on strainer.

Cool the kombu water down. Use it right away or later. Keeps for up to 3~4 days if refrigerated. If being frozen in ice tray, it can be used much later.

Dashi soup is one of the most fundamental ingredients used for a great number of Japanese recipes including dipping sauces, soups and simmered dishes.
Use a more elaborate soy dashi recipe.