The Joys of Cooking: Japanese Cooking

Monday, August 24, 2009

Japanese Cooking

I am trying to learn to cook Japanese cuisine lately. Ever since my daughter got into this J-Rock thing and started liking all Japanese, requests for me to cook Japanese food keep on coming from her and my husband.

In one of our few trips a year to Japan Center in San Francisco (to buy Jessica's manga books, J-Rock CDs, my Japanese videos and some kitchen gadgets, tools and organizers), I have decided to introduce donburi to my husband and daughter. Since then, donburi became a regular in our menu, at least once or twice a month.

Donburi is one of my favorite Japanese meals, which I came to love when I visited Japan in Fall of 1991. According to cookingcute.com donburi is- "A “rice bowl dish” consisting of some form of protein and vegetables simmered together and then served over rice, usually in an oversized bowl (also called a donburi). Types of donburi include oyakodon (chicken, egg, and onion), katsudon (breaded, deep-fried pork cutlets, onion, and egg), tendon (tempura shrimp and vegetables), gyudon (beef and onion), and unadon (eel)." Being allergic to shell foods, it was tough for me to find anything in sushi bars, etc. I was growing tired of the usual California roll or tonkatsu. It was freezing cold and I needed something really warm that is not a noodle soup. Luckily, in one of the restaurants we went to in Narita, the waitress showed me a picture of katsudon. Since then, I was hooked, and now after I introduced it to them, my husband and daughter too!

What I like about Japanese Cooking

Japanese cooking is not too laborious and eliminates the use of too much oil. They may fry some items, especially when making tempura; however, many of the Japanese cuisines are not too greasy, which you often find in Chinese cuisines. Most recipes are simple and easy to follow.

Traditional Japanese diet one of the healthiest in the world. Tofu, miso, sushi, green tea, and soba are now familiar to many people outside of Japan.

I have been trying to eat healthy lately; therefore, I try not to eat out as much because a lot of food out there are not healthy. Not only am I trying to lose weight, but I was also trying to do this to lower my blood sugar (I am borderline diabetic), help treat my anemia and asthma. The good thing about homecooking is that anything that I cook that is good for me will also be good for my husband and daughter.

Learning to Make Sushi

Many people think sushi means raw fish. Sushi is cold cooked rice dressed with vinegar that is shaped into bite-sized pieces and topped with raw or cooked fish, or formed into a roll with fish, egg, or vegetables and wrapped in seaweed.

Ingredients:

Small bamboo mat(makisu) for preparing sushi
Dry seaweed sheets(nori)
Bowl of water to which 1 Tablespoon vinegar has been added
Wasabi (dried horseradish powder)
Strips of avocado, cucumber, carrot, or other vegetable
Cooked shrimp or crab meat (or frozen imitation crabmeat, thawed)

Procedure:

Place a sheet of nori (dry seaweed), shiny side down, on the makisu (bamboo mat).
Wet your right hand (or left hand, if you are left-handed) in the bowl of vinegar water, and use it to scoop up a ball of rice.
Spread the rice out in an even layer on one side of the nori.
Sprinkle a line of wasabi (horseradish powder) down the center of the rice.
Arrange the strips of vegetables and seafood over the line of wasabi.
Using the mat to support the nori, lift one end of the mat to gently roll the nori over the rice and other ingredients.
Use gentle pressure to compact the rice and other ingredients so that they hold together.
Continue rolling until a long cylinder is formed, completely encased in nori.
Carefully slice through the nori and other ingredients to make the bites of sushi.
Serve immediately so the nori will still be crispy.

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Late Bloomer

Every family has one-- a tradition all their own. Passed on from generation to generation. It's interesting that for every wonderful memories that I can think of, they often involve food. Most of the best times I've had growing up were spent in the kitchen. My mother had taught me well. She may not be the best cook in the world, but to me she was and always will be. However, she was not my first cooking teacher.

My adventure in cooking started at a tender age of four, perhaps younger, in our first home in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines. I spent most of my time in the kitchen with my Nanay Epang, my maternal grandmother, who I fondly called Nanay. I remember our "dirty" kitchen outdoors, which was used to cook most of our meals. I believe Nanay was not a big fan of the electric stove that was in our indoor kitchen; therefore, often, come rain or shine, she would cook outdoors. She used wood, sometimes charcoal, to build the fire. I still remember playing with the ashes that accumulated under the three big rocks that were used as support to hold the pots and pans. She would use clay pots to cook viands such as stew, "paksiw na isda" (sour fish) pork "sinigang" (pork sour soup) and a pot made of steel to cook rice. She fried fish and meats as well as sauteed vegetables using a wok.

I stayed with her most of the time because she was the one who watched over me, especially whenever my mother was away due to church responsibilities. In a typical Filipino home, parents of one or both of the couples join them as part of the extended nuclear family. It was my Nanay and Tatay Gorio, my maternal grandfather, who I simply called Tatay, who stayed with us. However, most of what I can remember was my Tatay leaving for long periods. Some say he was a hobo, hopping on trains, going from town to town. My Tatay's adventures should be in a storybook, so I will leave them at that for now.

Going back to my childhood cooking experience with my Nanay, it was through her that I learned how to cook rice. Initially, I was only helping her collect some dried branches and wood to light the wood stove. Then, she would ask me to help her fan the flames using an "abanico" (a fan made of abaca leaves), sometimes a piece of a cardboard box, so the fire would not die. Yep, I was her little helper. This went on everyday, until one day, she decided I can help her cook rice. She showed me how to measure the rice with a cup and then add water directly from the faucet without using a cup. She taught me how to measure water by putting three middle fingers pointing down. She showed me the top of the water should line up with my middle fingers knuckle line. To this date, I still use this method. The rice always cooks right, not raw, not too hard, not sticky-- just right.

I watched her as she took care of other chores near the stove as the rice cooked slowly. I would ask her often if the rice is cooked yet, to which she patiently replied "not yet" for about a hundred times until it finally cooks. I remember always bragging about how I cooked with Nanay at the dinner table.

When I turned 8 years old, when my Nanay has passed away, I became the designated cook come dinnertime, since church functions would often keep my mother out late. I remember cooking rice, fried scrambled eggs and fried eggplants. Also, I guess since was the only girl (my sister has not been born yet) , it was customary to have a girl take on the kitchen chores. Although, I do recall both my "Kuyas" (older brothers) cooking rice and helping in the kitchen as well. Sometimes, I would cook dried fish (tuyo). Then, Mama ( my mother) started teaching me as well until well into my womanhood.

I used to help my mama cook. I remember the talks we had during our kitchen duty times. Usually, I was doing more prep work, like slicing and dicing veggies and meats. Washing fish, ridding them of internal organs. My mama was the "head chef" until the time my Papa retired-- he semmed to have taken the baton. When my mama was in the kitchen, the only food that I was assigned to cook were spaghetti, roasted chicken, macaroni salad and hotdogs. I usually would cook them for our year-end celebration. My mama taught me how to cook "sinigang na baboy" (pork sour soup), afritada, adobo, monggo, and other favorite Filipino foods; however, I managed to either burn them, overcook them, undercook them, etc. There were times foods ended up too bland and, sometimes, too salty. I could never get it right. My mama patiently trained me, but I was not a very good cook back then.

When I was in High School at CEU (all girls school), we have cooking classes in H.E. (Home Economics). I learned how to bake a little and make pineapple and strawberry jams. At least, my family claimed they were okay. I am sure they were just being nice so as not to hurt my feelings...ha-ha. As I reached college, I lived in Baguio City where I was surrounded by some great cooks from my father's side of the family. That was very intimidating. In other words, I avoided the kitchen like a plague come cooking time because I knew I would be teased due to my "bad" cooking.

Anyway, now that I am married and in my early 40s, I have now re-learned and rekindled my passion-- Cooking! Never have I imagined that I would enjoy cooking as much as I do now. I am proud to say, that I am getting better at it...and each day that I try a new recipe is like a welcome challenge for me. I think what ultimately helped me were those memories and lessons that I still remember from years gone by. My Nanay and Mama are both gone now, but I was able to learn cooking later on by remembering what they taught me decades ago.

I would not lie to you when I say, cooking for me is an outlet. However, the joys of cooking also ensure that I feed my family healthy foods , as well as, save a lot of money as opposed to eating out all the time.

Here's to a start of my own family tradition that I hope my daughter will follow suit...of course in her own time, like I did, even as a late bloomer.

Welcome to my cooking blog...I hope you will enjoy the recipes I have collected over the years. You are welcome to comment and send me your recipes so I can try them as well. Cheers!

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Japanese Cooking

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