Empire of the Sun
Text and styling: Marian van Wyk. Food: Louis Botma. Photographs: Greg Cox. Article from the August 2013 issue of Food and Home Entertaining Magazine.
Having fallen in love with the simple and sophistication and fresh ingredients of Japanese cuisine, Tokyo was a logical destination for Cape Town couple Marian van Wyk and Louis Botma.
To quit smoking has many advantages, but an exciting culinary journey is not usually on the doctor’s list. Our journey with Japanese cuisine started in December 2011 when Louis discovered that chopping any vegetables he could lav his hands on helped him to overcome his quitter’s anxiety. By the time our Asian cookbook collection had grown to more than 100, we both knew our mirin from our miso.
Almost a year-and-a-half later, perfectly timed for the cherry blossom season, we arrived in the strange but exciting metropolis of Tokyo. We couldn’t wait to experience the formidable cuisine for real, yet our first stop was not a restaurant but Muji, my own little Japanese obsession since discovering the-minimalist homeware and clothing chain in London ‘ more than a decade ago. Tbisjtjme would be different because the Yúrakuchõ branch also serves Muji meals.
Faced with a jumble of Japanese characters at the deli counter, we watched the locals (my best survival tip for Japan) as they ordered by holding up three, four or five fingers. Right, that should be easy… We went for the ‘three finger’ option: tiny deep-fried (but not oily) sardines, steamed vegetables and fish balls, beautifully plated in cupcake-sized bowls on a large white plate.
“Absolutely delicious and perfectly crispy,” reads my note about our first meal. It was the perfect starter but, by the time we got back to our subway station, Suidõbashi, we were very hungry. Under the flyover across the road we first smelled, and then spotted, Sukiya a 24-hour café-style eatery where a young man manned the till, took orders, served food, cleared tables and topped up tea glasses. An impressive work ethic. This time we pointed at photos of steaming bowls of rice with thinly sliced beef in a hearty sauce, known as gyúdon – excellent value at ¥550 (about R55) per person.
At the top of our itinerary was the city’s world-famous cherry blossoms, so on our first morning we took the subway to Ueno Park. Subway information is in English and Japanese, with the exception of a poster that warns commuters against bum pinching! We found the sketch of the frowning woman, the red-faced man and the horrified commuters very amusing, but none of the über-polite Japanese looked like they would be guilty of this crime; they were all typing profusely on cellphones or iPads.
At Ueno Park the vast expanse of pink, white and magenta blossoms was so breathtakingly beautiful that we felt as if we were walking right into an Impressionist painting. All along the lake locals were having picnics – some with elegant little bento boxes, others dipping into McDonald’s containers.
On the outskirts of the park we followed the aroma of barbecued pork to a crowded food market – another culinary surprise. We feasted on crispy skewered whole fish grilled in a circle around glowing coals; grilled squid tentacles; noodle cakes with chilli sauce and pickles; and my absolute favourite, okonomiyaki (thick savoury pancakes – see recipe below)
The Japanese never ceased to amaze us with their attention to detail, whether it was the pretty paper wrapping for sugar or bento boxes packed to resemble a spring garden. We had our strangest dining experience in the underground maze of Shibuya Station – a restaurant where your first stop is a vending machine. While we were still wondering whether our meal would actually come out of the machine, it spat out two tickets. A waitress grabbed them, showed us to a table and reappeared with our ramen noodles.
At a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant in Suidõbashi, we ‘braaied’ our meat under a giant extractor fan at our table. The thin slices of beef were then dipped into a sauce and eaten with rice and pickles. The friendly chef-owner spoke a bit of English, so we told him about our own barbecue culture and our meat portions. He just laughed.
“Despite our pointing method of ordering we never had a single bad meal. The only time I winced was when faced with suspicious-looking white foam on my sushi”
In the multi-storey department stores, basement floors are fresh-food markets with individual counters where dim sum steams on 1,5m-wide bamboo trays; tempura sizzles and French patisserie sits prettily behind glass. Office workers can rent a refrigerated locker to keep purchases fresh until they go home.
We also ventured out to Kappabashi, or ‘Kitchen Town’, where over 200 dealers sell everything the vast restaurant trade might need. While I admired wooden teacups, Louis selected beautiful handcrafted chef’s knives. As we will be forever grateful for the realistic plastic food displays in restaurants where English is neither written nor spoken, we simply had to buy a very edible-looking bowl of steamed vegetables, where even the sesame seed on the green beans is perfected in plastic – an ironic souvenir from a city where absolutely nothing tastes like plastic. But then again, we never tried the local McDonald’s…
Beyond sushi
Friends often assume we make sushi when we tell them that we cook in the Japanese style. Their veneration of freshness and unadulterated tastes logically culminates in sushi, but there is more. Family meals are much more relaxed than kaiseki ryori, the formal Japanese meal that evolved from the tea ceremony.
• Nabemono are literally ‘things cooked in a pot’. Combinations of vegetables, red meat, seafood and/or tofu are cooked in a stock that can be anything from very lightly flavoured just with konbu to richly endowed with soya sauce, sake and mirin. Sukiyaki (beef and vegetables), chankonabe (a high-protein mix of fish, meat and vegetables that fuels sumo wrestlers) and the warming ishikari-nabe (salmon in a miso broth, popular in the cold north) are examples of this style.
• Mushimono or steamed dishes are popular because the Japanese never developed the oven for home use. Steaming has the big advantage of not drying out food and steaming racks can be placed on top of each other to save space on the stove top. Perfect for fish and for vegetables like aubergine.
• Yakimono or grilled dishes are as popular in Japan as the braai is in South Africa. But they have taken it a few steps further. Braais include long rectangular options for a row of skewered foods and tiny ones barely large enough to grill two prawns at the table. Meat or fish is often marinated beforehand and then dipped in a sauce when eaten. – Louis Botma
Japanese inggredients explained
Daikon: A large white radish, the shape of a carrot but usually about 30cm long with a diameter of 6 – 8cm. Known in India as mooli.
Dashi: A stock made by simmering konbu and katsuobushi. Instant granules can also be used.
Ginkgo nuts: The fruit of the Ginkgo biloba tree. Not real nuts, but can be replaced with almonds.
Hakusai: Chinese cabbage with large white leaves turning green at the top.
Harusame: Thin noodles that are usually made of mung bean or potato starch. The name means ‘spring rain’.
Katsuobushi: Dried bonito fish flakes
Konbu (or kombu): Dried kelp
Mirin: Sweet rice-based liquor brewed for cooking. Can be replaced with sweet sherry.
Miso: Fermented soya bean paste. In these recipes we used the standard red aka-miso also used in the famous miso soup.
Sake: Often called rice wine, it is in fact brewed like beer.
Shichimi togarashi: Japanese seven spice mix containing chilli and six variables including dried seaweed, dried orange, sesame seeds and poppy seeds.
Tofu: Soya bean curd
Shabu-shabu
A one-pot dish of Chinese origin that became popular after the introduction of dining tables to Japan in the late 19th century, shabu-shabu is named after the swishing sound made by the chopsticks in the stock. It is cooked at the table in either an earthenware pot (nabe) on a burner, or in the traditional Mongolian fire pot (hõkõ-nabe), as we did here. The host adds vegetables and tofu to the stock, while diners cook their own meat and help themselves to vegetables. Ingredients can be replaced according to your own taste.
The flavour combinations
8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and a cross cut into each top
4 large hakusai leaves, cut into manageable portions
300g tofu, cut into blocks (2cm x 2cm)
250g tinned or vacuum-packed bamboo shoots
4 spring onions, cut into 2cm lengths
20 ginkgo nuts
600g rib-eye or sirloin steak, very thinly sliced
275g harusame or other thin noodles, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and drained
1 piece (10cm x 6cm) of konbu
To serve
momiji-oroshi (recipe below)
ponzu sauce (recipe below)
goma-dare (recipe below)
1 small bunch chives, chopped
How to do it
1. Arrange the mushrooms, hakusai leaves, tofu, bamboo shoots, spring onions and ginkgo nuts attractively in a bowl on the table. Use separate bowls for the meat and noodles.
2. For a mild stock, pour water into a large pot until three-quarters full. Add the konbu. Bring to a boil on the stove but remove the konbu just before boiling point. If you’re using a fire pot, light the coals in the centre and transfer the stock to the fire pot. If you’re using a different pot, light the burner on the table and place the pot containing the stock on the burner.
3. The host places some of the vegetables and tofu in the stock and provides each diner with two dipping bowls. In one bowl, place a ball of momiji-oroshi and add ponzu sauce. Pour the goma-dare into the other bowl and sprinkle chopped chives on top.
4. Each diner uses chopsticks to take a slice of meat and quickly cook it in the stock, dipping it into a sauce before eating. A few condiments (such as shichimi togarashi) on the table will enable diners to season their food to their personal taste.
5. The mild stock eventually becomes a more flavourful broth and at the end of the meal, the noodles are cooked in it and served in small bowls.
Grilled sardines
The flavour combinations
125ml (1/2 cup) sake
4 medium sardines
salt, to taste
oil, for grilling
ponzu sauce (recipe below)
How to do it
1. Light a fire in a barbecue. Soak 4 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the soya sauce and sake, and set aside.
3. Descale, gut and clean the sardines, keeping the heads on. Skewer each fish to create the undulating effect of fish swimming. Salt inside and out to taste. Set them aside for a few minutes to dry out the flesh slightly.
4. When the coals are medium to medium-hot, place the sardines on an oiled grill and grill for 2 minutes. Twist the skewers to prevent them from sticking. Turn the fish and grill the other side for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Brush the fish on both sides with the soya and sake mixture, and return to the coals for a minute or two on each side. Serve with ponzu sauce.
Ponzu sauce (citrus soya sauce)
The flavour combinations
juice of 1 lime
juice of 2 lemons
50ml rice vinegar
120ml soya sauce
1 piece (4cm x 6cm) konbu
How to do it
Combine all of the ingredients in a glass jar and leave in the fridge to infuse for a few hours, then strain and store until needed.
Daikon and carrot salad
A fresh, slightly astringent and somewhat peppery salad with beautiful, simple colouring
The flavour combinations
1 large carrot, peeled
75ml rice vinegar
5ml (1 tsp) sugar a pinch of salt
1 large hakusai leaf, to serve
How to do it
1. If you own a shredder, shred the daikon into fine strands, otherwise cut into fine strips. Place in a sieve and leave for a few minutes before squeezing it dry.
2. Julienne the carrot to a similar thickness.
3. For the dressing, pour the rice vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt into a lidded jar. Shake vigorously to combine.
4. Place the carrot and daikon in a bowl on a hakusai leaf and pour over the vinegar dressing.
Aubergine with miso dressing
The flavour combinations
salt, to taste
1 garlic clove, crushed and finely chopped or grated
2cm fresh ginger
1 shallot, diced
15ml (1 tbsp) soya sauce
10ml (2 tsp) miso
10ml (2 tsp) rice vinegar
10ml (2 tsp) white sesame seeds, toasted
5ml (1 tsp) shichimi togarashi
How to do it
1. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways, sprinkle with salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Wash off the salt and dry with paper towel. You can bake, grill or steam the aubergines until soft, whichever you prefer.
3. For the dressing, combine the remaining ingredients in a small pot and simmer gently for a few minutes. Spoon over the aubergine and serve.
Okonomiyaki
These are called pancakes in the West, although they are much thicker. Okonomiyaki means ‘your choice’, so feel free to experiment with ingredients. Before you take a bite, remember to watch the fish flake topping dance in the warm air
The flavour combinations
Sauce
60ml (1/4 cup) tomato sauce
10ml (2 tsp) soya sauce
5ml (1 tsp) sake
5ml (1 tsp) mirin
5ml (1 tsp) castor sugar
10ml (2 tsp) rice vinegar
5ml (1 tsp) grated ginger
Pancakes
salt, to taste
250ml (1 cup) shredded hakusai
240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
5ml (1 tsp) baking powder
3 eggs, lightly beaten
dashi: mix 170ml water with 7,5ml (1 1/2 tsp) instant dashi powder
4 shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and thinly sliced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
5ml (1 tsp) ginger, finely chopped
4 medium prawns, diced
250ml (1 cup) diced squid tentacles and bodies
a pinch of white pepper
sesame oil and vegetable oil, mixed half and half, for frying
Japanese mayonnaise, to serve
katsuobushi, to serve
How to do it
1. For the sauce, mix the cornflour and a little water to form a paste. Combine the other ingredients in a small saucepan with 30ml (2 tbsp) cold water. Bring to a boil and add the cornflour paste. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.
2. For the pancakes, salt the hakusai and leave in a colander for 5 minutes. Quickly rinse off any excess salt and press to squeeze out as much water as possible.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the eggs and dashi, and mix to form a smooth batter. Mix in the remaining ingredients and form into four balls. Make smaller balls if you prefer – they are easier to flip in the pan.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add some of the oil mixture and fry a flattened ball of batter until lightly brown on one side. Flip and repeat.
5. Serve each pancake topped with sauce, a swirl of mayonnaise and a sprinkling of katsuobushi.
Contemporary Japanese Entertaining
• Fusion and confusion. Even in Tokyo they are starting to use herbs and spices borrowed from foreign cuisines and so should you. The essence of Japanese cooking lies not in the rule that the head of a cooked fish should always face left, but in the Zen of respect and precision that went into its gutting.
• Playing around with colourful chopsticks (hashi) and using trinkets, small pebbles, wooden blocks and cardboard creations as rests (hashioki) can be lots of fun. In Japan, chopsticks must always be placed horizontally with the tips facing left. No vertical or diagonal placing is allowed. Ignore this and be creative, except of course when inviting the Japanese ambassador to dinner.
• Small dipping bowls and serving plates in various shapes, colours and textures contribute towards the beauty of a table setting. Bright colours in spring will lift the heart and earthy browns provide cosy comfort in winter.
• The small snack-sized portions so typical of Japanese cuisine are perfect for cocktail parties. Small wooden forks often work better than disposable chopsticks. And while you’re at it, try a few sake-based cocktails such as an Autumn Moon (with cassis and lime juice) or a Melting Snow (with Cointreau, lemon juice and grenadine syrup).
• Read more on www.bento.com. – Louis Botma
Goma-dare (sesame sauce)
The flavour combination
10ml (2 tsp) castor sugar
15ml (1 tbsp) soya sauce
5ml (1 tsp) sake
5ml (1 tsp) mirin
dashi: mix 90ml water with 5ml (1 tsp) instant dashi powder
1 small bunch chives, chopped
How to do it
Roast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until fragrant – watch them so they don’t burn. Remove immediately and grind with a pestle and mortar. Add the sugar and continue grinding until you have a paste. Add the soya sauce, sake, mirin and dashi. Mix and store until needed. To serve, top with chives.
Momiji-oroshi (autumn maple leaf relish)
The flavour combinations
6cm piece daikon, peeled
1 small red chilli, such as bird’s eye
How to do it
Poke a hole in the centre of the daikon and insert the whole chilli. Grate finely. Press through a
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