Mochi

 

A sticky variety of Japanese rice known as mochigome that has been pounded into a paste. Toasted and eaten directly. Also used in a variety of Japanese dishes and desserts.

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Ramen

Hot Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat, fish, miso or soy sauce broth. It's an inexpensive, filling, easy to find snack. Despite the fact that ramen is cheap, there's a big difference in quality from one shop to the next. A shop that earns a reputation amongst ramen aficionados will regularly have long lines while a shop just next door may be empty. It's the type of dish that isn't easy to perfect.
This is very light & simple taste Ramen Noodle recipe.

Ingredients I used for soup (serving 2)

: 1200ml or 5 US cups of water
: 50g green onion
: 200g chicken tigh
: 5g garlic
: 8g ginger
: salt to taste
: 1 tsp sesame oil

- for seasoning -
: 1 tbsp soy sauce
: 1 tbsp sake
: 1 tbsp mirin
: 1 tsp sugar
: garlic & ginger (3g~ each)

- Other toppings I used -
: Narutomaki (fish cake)
: Konegi onion
: Beni shoga (pickled ginger)
: Soft-boiled or half boiled egg

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Edamame (Roasted Edamame Recipe)

Young soybeans cooked in their pod in salty water. Most restaurants serve frozen edamame. They taste infinitely better fresh from the farm. Some fine izakaya will only serve edamame in season.
Roasted Edamame Snack 

Ingredients:

10 oz frozen shelled EDAMAME (green soybeans)
1 Tbsp OLIVE OIL
1 tsp GARLIC POWDER
SALT and PEPPER to taste
¼ cup shredded PARMESAN CHEESE

directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Mix frozen edamame beans, oil, seasonings, and cheese together in a large bowl.
Spread mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Place in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes and then remove from oven and stir. Spread edamame out again and cook another 8-10 minutes,

until the cheese is crispy and golden.
Add additional salt or garlic powder if desired.
Eat as a quick snack or use as a topping for salads and whatnot.
Enjoy!

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Tempura

Tempura is deep fried fish and vegetables in a light batter. Care is taken to cook tempura at a low temperature for a short time to preserve the taste of ingredients. It's served with a light tentsuyu dip.

 The only ingredient that may be harder to find is Japanese tempura batter mix since this is more of a specialty item but besides that, feel free to fry anything else you wish. Be creative and show your friends and family what new skill you've gained :)

To get 10% off all your culinary needs, visit www.knifemerchant.com and use code NKB10 at check out which is good for 10% off your entire order on everything you see there. They can ship internationally too; you just need to see what your import taxes are.

As always, we wish to thank all of our fans for spending time here with us on YouTube. We're all humbled and grateful for all of you and for all the sweet, kind and spirited comments. See you in the next episode...

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Yakitori

Yakitori can be literally translated "grilled chicken." It's a category of Japanese cuisine that includes dozens of items that are grilled on thin bamboo skewers including every imaginable part of the chicken as well as other meats, tofu and vegetables. Yakitori restaurants are typically lively drinking spots.Japanese styled Yakitori is the perfect stuff to go with your sake, and great food to have on the go, any time of the day. And we mean any time of the day, since there is no complex ingredients needed in order to make these babies.

The secret to superb yakitori lies in the versatile sauce that is home-made. This is both EASY to make and totally YUMS to have. This special sauce in hand and mouthfuls of smokin' grilled chicken will make it an instant hit with people you serve them to!

One important thing to take note is to brush the sauce on each side every 45 seconds while grilling, such that the taste will have more impact. 

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Miso Soup

In Japan, miso soup is as important to breakfast as coffee. It's a hearty soup of dashi, miso and tofu. It often includes a variety of vegetables, seafood and meat. A good miso soup balances ingredients that float with ingredients that sink.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Dashi (fish broth)(960ml)
• 1 package tofu
• 4-5 Tbsp miso paste
• 2 green onions (chopped fine)

Instructions:

1. Boil Dashi. Cut tofu into 1/2" cubes and add to Dashi.
2. Reduce heat to low and dissolve miso paste in the Dashi. Take care not to boil.
3. Add green onions and remove from heat.

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Heart-Shaped Umaki Maki-Zushi (Eel Rolled Omelette)

Heart-Shaped Umaki Maki-Zushi (Eel Rolled Omelette)

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 8 pieces

Necessary Equipment:
18x13cm (7x5.1inch) Tamagoyaki Nabe (rectangular omelet pan)

Ingredients:
1 canned Unagi no Kabayaki (broiled eel on skewers is OK)
3 eggs
2 tsp. Yamaki Kappo Shiro Dashi (White Dashi)
cooking oil
300g (10.6oz.) cooked Japanese rice (short-grain rice)
2 tbsp. Sushi vinegar*
2 Nori seaweed sheet

Directions:
1. If necessary, cook the eel as directed on its package. (You don't have to cook the canned one)
2. Mix eggs and Yamaki Kappo Shiro Dashi very well.
3. Heat cooking oil in a Tamagoyaki Nabe (rectangular omelette pan), pour a thin layer of egg mixture in the pan and spread over the surface. Cook until half done, place a strip of eel, roll up the egg, and move it to one end. Pour in another thin layer of egg mixture and let it flow under the rolled egg also. Cook until half done and again roll up the egg. Repeat this until half the mixture is gone.
4. Wrap the rolled egg while warm in plastic wrap to even out the shape. Allow it to cool.
5. Cut the egg diagonally and join the cut sides reversely to make a heart shape. Wrap the egg with 1/2 Nori sheet, then wrap in plastic wrap and wait until the Nori gets soft. *it is to define the outline of the heart-shape.
6. Place cooked Japanese rice in a bowl. Add Sushi vinegar while the rice is hot and slice through rice using a rice paddle to separate the grains. Spread the Sushi rice on another 1/2 Nori sheet using your finger tips, little bit moistened with water.
7. Place an extra Sushi rice for the “v” shape indentation of the heart shape.
8. Place the egg then start rolling.
9. With a moistened knife (bread knife cuts well) cut the roll into 4 pieces (re-wet as needed. don't push but pull to cut).

Eat with soy sauce if you like.

* Ingredients to make Sushi vinegar from scratch.
1.5 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

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Donburi rice bowl

Donburi rice bowl

Rice has been the staple food for the Japanese historically. Its fundamental importance is evident from the fact that the word for cooked rice, gohan and meshi, also stands for a "meal". While rice has a long history of cultivation in Japan, its use as a staple has not been universal. Notably, in northern areas (northern Honshū and Hokkaidō), other grain such as wheat were more common into the 19th century.

In most of Japan, rice used to be consumed for almost every meal, and although a 2007 survey showed that 70% of Japanese still eat it once or twice a day, its popularity is now declining. In the 20th century there has been a shift in dietary habits, with an increasing number of people choosing wheat based products (such as bread and noodles) over rice.

Japanese rice is short-grained and becomes sticky when cooked. Most rice is sold as hakumai ("white rice"), with the outer portion of the grains (nuka) polished away. Unpolished brown rice (genmai) is considered less desirable, but its popularity has been increasing in recent years.

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Natto, Japanese soybean-based vegetarian food

Natto, Japanese soybean-based vegetarian food

Strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes), and are therefore pescetarian more often than carnivorous. An exception is shōjin-ryōri (精進料理), vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised shōjin-ryōri at public eating places includes some non-vegetarian elements. Regarding vegetarianism, it is worth mentioning fucha-ryōri (普茶料理), introduced from China by the Ōbaku sect (a sub-sect of Zen Buddhism), and which some sources still regard as part of "Japanese cuisine".The sect in Japan was founded by the priest Ingen (d. 1673), and is headquartered in Uji, Kyoto. The Japanese name for the common green bean takes after this priest who allegedly introduced the New World crop via China. An interesting aspect of the fucha-ryōri practiced at the temple is the wealth of modoki-ryōri (もどき料理 "mock foods"), one example being mock-eel, made from strained tofu, with nori seaweed used expertly to mimic the black skin. The secret ingredient used is grated gobo (burdock) roots.

Dr. Masakazu Tada, Honorary Vice-President of the International Vegetarian Union for 25 years from 1960, stated that "Japan was vegetarian for a 1,000 years". Although this is not totally true, British journalist J. W. Robertson Scott reported in the 1920s that the society was 90% vegetarian. 50–60% of the population only ate fish on festive occasions, probably more because of poverty than for any other reason.

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Japanese Kaiseki ryori

Japanese Kaiseki ryori

Kaiseki, closely associated with tea ceremony (chanoyu), is a high form of hospitality through cuisine. The style is minimalist, extolling the aesthetics of wabi-sabi. Like the tea ceremony, appreciation of the diningware and vessels is part of the experience. In the modern standard form, the first course consists of ichijū-sansai (one soup, three dishes), followed by the serving of sake accompanied by dish(es) plated on a square wooden bordered tray of sorts called hassun (八寸). Sometimes another element called shiizakana (強肴) is served to complement the sake, for guests who are heavier drinkers.

The tea ceremony kaiseki(懐石) is often confounded with another kaiseki-ryōri (会席料理), which is an outgrowth of meals served at a gathering for haiku and renga composition, which turned into a term for sumptuous sake-accompanied banquet, or shuen (酒宴).

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Yakitori grilled chicken

Yakitori grilled chicken

Below are listed some of the most common:

• grilled and pan-fried dishes (yakimono 焼き物),
• stewed/simmered/cooked/boiled dishes (nimono 煮物),
• stir-fried dishes (itamemono 炒め物),
• steamed dishes (mushimono 蒸し物),
• deep-fried dishes (agemono 揚げ物),
• sliced raw fish (sashimi 刺身),
• soups (suimono 吸い物 and shirumono 汁物),
• pickled/salted vegetables (tsukemono 漬け物),
• dishes dressed with various kinds of sauce (aemono 和え物),
• vinegared dishes (su-no-mono 酢の物),
• delicacies, food of delicate flavor (chinmi 珍味).

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Tempura battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables

Tempura battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables

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