My "Japanese Quick Fix"
19 May 2009
This is the last recipe I post from Tokyo. Not quite the last post from here yet, though – there will be another one next week before we finally leave for Munich, but that will probably not be a recipe but some sort of more general reflection on our stay here. So what would be a more suitable choice for my last recipe written in Japan than a simple dish that has become an integral part of my usual cooking routine in Tokyo? My "Japanese Quick-Fix", so to say.
This super quick and low-maintenance vegetable stew comes in really handy whenever I feel like enjoying some typical Japanese flavours without any big fuss and effort. Just so simple and there’s nothing that can really go wrong (except for overboiling it, maybe). As it is the case for many stews, it is really hard to take an appealing picture of this – but I assure you it tastes really yummy!
I usually use the same vegetables (spinach being the most essential one) and roughly the same condiments (most importantly: soy, mirin, sugar, sesame and grated ginger), but I vary with the meat or seafood as I please. King prawns and scallops are probably my most frequent guest stars, but I’ve also made the dish with minced meat or tofu (or a combination of the two, which is really nice, too). The dish is very juicy, and I like eating it with either soba noodles to dip into the sauce, or just some Japanese rice.
This being my last recipe posted from Japan does of course not mean it is my last ever Japanese dish! I will certainly continue cooking Japanese (or my usual Japanese fusion, rather) in Munich. But my recipe mix will probably become wider (and even more fusional?) as I take to cooking more "European" again, too.
"Japanese Quick Fix" Vegetable Stew
| serves about 4 |
| 400g fresh spinach leaves |
| 200g shiitake mushrooms |
| 3 little Japanese aubergines (about 200g) |
| 80ml puréed tomatoes |
| 200ml mirin |
| soy sauce to taste (about 160ml) |
| 3 teaspoons fine white sugar |
| 4-6 teaspoons ground white sesame |
| 4 teaspoons toasted black sesame seeds |
| a ginger root (4 teaspoons or so when grated) |
| a pinch of shichimi |
| a few drops of dark sesame oil |
| optional: seafood, minced meat or tofu to your liking |
In a saucepan, combine the mirin, the pureéd tomatoes, the fine white sugar as well as soy sauce to taste and bring to a gentle simmer.
Remove the stems from the spinach, then wash the leaves, drain them well and add them to the basic sauce. Cover with a lid and let simmer until the spinach has softened and "collapsed" (I’m always amazed at how much the spinach leaves reduce their volume after just a few minutes!).
Chop the vegetables aubergines and mushrooms into bite-sized chunks and add them to the spinach as soon as there is some space in the saucepan. Close the lid again and continue simmering for 15 minutes or so, or until the veggies are soft to your liking (in this case I like them quite soft, but not "boiled into submission"). If you choose to add any seafood, minced meat or similar, just let them simmer with the vegetables for some 5-10 minutes (depending on type and size of the bits you add).
Add some ground sesame to slightly thicken the sauce, as well as some toasted black sesame seeds for their nutty taste. In the end, grate and peel the ginger and stir in shortly before serving. Finish with a pinch of shichimi and a few drops of dark sesame oil, if you wish.