Izakaya style Japanese snacks

I love japanese food. Like most I discovered it with sushi and since I liked that combination of flavours I decided to broaden my knowledge in this field. Amon other things I found out about the snacks usually served in izakayas (traditional japanese bars) and they immediately caught my attention. I never actually went to Japan but my husband did a couple of times so he serves me as tester for the authenticity of the dishes. From my experience Japanese food is variegated but the basic flavors are just a handful that get mixed up in different ways: shoyu, mirin, dashi, sesame, rice vinegar, sake and miso. Don't expect a flat way of cooking though, their different dosages and combinations open up a wide array of colours from sweet to savory, from sour to umami. I made a small selection of snacks (usually served with beer, sake or other liquors) that I like. Two of the recipes (Negi Misoyaki and Komachiae) are from my Japanese cuisine bible "Il Giappone in cucina" by Graziana Canova Tura (which I recommend to all my Italian speaking readers, since I don't know if this was translated to English), I first ate the Miso dip in Izakaya bar in Oslo and since I liked it a lot I tried to recreate it at home with satisfying results. One of the things that I learned by reading Canova Tura's book is that Japanese people don't like the number four very much because it's bad luck, so when you dish up avoid to put groups of four bites on the table. I deliberately chose not to include edamame (salty beans) because you can just buy them and steam them.

Cooking this stuff is really fulfilling because it's yummy and it also looks great, though I have to admit that Japanese food always tastes better when somebody else cooks it for you. Roll up your sleeves, and start cooking!

Miso Dip

for the topping:

Mix all the ingredients except for the cabbage and lei it rest for at least one hour, add the topping as you see fit and serve. You can use other raw vegetables with this dip such as carrots, leeks, broccoli and so on.

Sautéed Shiitake

for the topping

Soak the shiitake for at elate 3 hours, rinse and cut in slices. In a frying pan mix oil, miring, shoe and the water, when it starts boiling add the mushrooms and stir fry until the liquid is absorbed. Add the topping as you see fit and serve.

Salmon Teriyaki

for the topping:

Marinate the salmon bites in teriyaki sauce overnight the cook the in a nonstick pan. Don't overcook or the meat or it will be ruined. Add the topping as you see fit and serve.

Negi Misoyaki (Miso Leeks)

for the topping:

Mix the ingredients in a pan and stir fry until the leek is soft. Add the topping as you see fit and serve.

Fried Tofu

for the cream;

for the topping;

With a clean cloth napkin gently dry the tofu bites and cover them in flour. In a small cup mix dashi, shoyu, ginger and the shiitake soaking water, mix and pour in a casserole. In an other glass dissolve the corn starch in the cold water. Cook at low/medium fire and when it starts boiling add the corn starched water and stir energetically until it thickens up. In a pan heat up the oil and when it's ready pour in the tofu and fry until it's nice and golden. In the serving plate lay the grated daikon, place the tofu chunks and pour the sauce on it. Add the topping as you see fit and serve. 

Komachiae (Misterious Croquettes)

for the topping

Scratch the chicken skin with a knife to take off the fat, cut in thin strips and stir fry with sake and a pinch of salt until it's crispy and curled up. Drain out the grease. Wash and partially peel the cucumber, cut it in thin stripes, rinse with cold water and drain. mix up vinegar, dashi broth, sugar and shoyu in a bowl. Add cucumber slices and the chicken skin crispy curls and stir well. Add the topping as you see fit and serve.

いただきます!

Classic béchamel

Béchamel is one of the most basic sauces and it's also a key ingredient to lots of more complex ones. Its base is roux which is a very simple mixture that helps give flavour and colour to many sauces.

Ingredients for four people:

Melt the butter at low fire in a casserole (best if it has a thick bottom) then add the flour. Whip and cook for 2/3 minutes to obtain a white roux (if you cook it for 4 minutes you'll get a blonde roux, if you cook it for 8 minutes you'll get a brown roux).

Pour the cold milk in the roux and whip at the same time.

Boil at medium fire while keeping on whipping.

When the sauce boils lower the flame and simmer it at low fire for about ten minutes stirring frequently. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg as you please and sift through a chinoix. 

In addition to be a base béchamel can turn into different sauces by adding ingredients in the boiling milk. This procedure is similar to the enfleourage a chaud used to make perfumes. 

For example you can add aromatic herbs, citrus fruit zest, levander, saffron etc etc. The only limit is your imagination! 

This is for my friend Paolo, great musician and writer and from now on Chieftain of Lasagne in Bavaria.

Ragù sauce

This is one of the most well known main dishes in Italy and one of the classics of Emilia-Romagna region.

Pretty much every family has their own version of this recipe, so this one might be slightly different from others you find on the internet. My goal here is to recreate the flavours of my childhood, namely the taste of my grandma's Ragù which was pure distilled happiness. She left no written notes at all so I have to rely on the memory of my taste buds. Lots of people use wine in this recipe but I prefer not to because I think it tastes great anyway. Also, wine is extremely expensive here in Norway :(

Here's my recipe:

First of all get a big enough casserole with a lid, then chop the vegetables and make a soffritto using a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. 

Cook the ingredients until golden (don't overcook them since they will have to face the fire again) then add minced meat and stir energetically. 

The meat will become grayish. When it does add the tomato concentrate melt in a glass of hot water. Stir again, lower the fire and cover with a lid. 

The Ragù needs to cook at least 2 hours, so a friend or a book would come in handy. You need to keep an eye on the casserole and stir the sauce from time to time in order to prevent it from burning.

90% of the "Bolognese" sauces you can find at the supermarket are some sort of imitation of this recipe and no Bolognese sauce exists in Italian tradition. 

As you can see this is quite simple to do, and I assure you it's much much better than pre-made stuff. 

If put in an airtight container Ragù lasts for 3 days in the fridge and for almost 1 month in the freezer.

Like all good things it just needs a bit of time and dedication. 

Buon appetito!

Guacamole dip sauce with sweet cherry tomatoes and black pepper.

Christmas lunch, god Jul!