Japan Gone West (or vice versa?)
22 April 2008
As I have probably mentioned, I rarely strictly adhere to a recipe when I cook. But of course I am often inspired by such. Especially here in Japan, where I am not as familiar with all the products yet, I am very intrigued to see examples of how different things can be used. So I bought the two very successful books of Harumi Kurihara, the popular Japanese cooking personality, “Harumi’s Japanese Cooking” and “Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking”. I really enjoy both these books, as most of the recipes are actually quite simple to make but have a very nice twist to them, due to the way the ingredients and tastes are combined.
So the following dish is based on the “Japanese-Style Squid Salad” out of her second book, “Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking” (p. 99). I particularly liked her idea of fully utilizing the aroma of the seared squid and garlic remaining in the frying pan by adding the soy sauce to the used pan before pouring it over the salad. I modified the dressing though, among others using some olive oil, rice vinegar, and mustard, I added some avocado to the salad, and last but not least I sprinkled some chopped shiso leaves on top, giving a distinctive flavour.
The result is a Japanese recipe with – let’s say – European influence (or should I put it the other way round - wasn’t salad a “western” concept in the beginning?). Anyways, just a very tasty fusion!
Japanese-Fusion Squid Salad
| serves 4 |
| 360g fresh squid
(net weight of cleaned squid) |
| 100g green salad
(which ever variety you prefer) |
| 300g cocktail tomatoes |
| 1 avocado |
| 2 shiso leaves |
| 2 tablespoons of chopped spring onions |
for searing the squid |
| 2 dents of garlic |
| some shichimi
(Japanese assorted chili pepper) |
| a dash of olive oil for frying |
for the dressing |
| 50ml olive oil |
| 70ml Japanese rice vinegar |
| 3 tablespoons of coarse mustard |
| 3 tablespoons of grated ginger |
| 80ml soy sauce |
Wash the salad leaves, drain them well and tear or chop them into bite-sized bits. Cut the cocktail tomatoes into quarters or halves, depending on their size. Peel the avocado and thinly slice it. Nicely arrange all the vegetables on plates or platters; as an example I placed the green salad in the middle of the plate and the pieces of avocado and tomatoes around. (If you do this a while ahead, you can sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice over the avocado to keep it from getting brown).
Mix the olive oil, the rice vinegar, the mustard and the grated ginger and stir well until homogeneous. If you do not have a ginger grater, try to chop the ginger as finely as possible (although it will not get quite as juicy as if you grated it).
Cut the squid into slices of about 7mm, or any other bite-sized shape you like (I am lazy and always buy the seafood already cleaned and ready to use, so sorry, I have no instructions on how to clean the squid on one’s own…). Season with a pinch of Japanese assorted chili.
In a frying pan, heat a little bit of olive oil and add the mashed garlic. Before it starts getting brown, add the squid and keep stirring until it is done - it will take just about a minute or so. Make sure not to overcook the squid – it might get very chewy otherwise! When done, remove it from the pan immediately and place it on top of the salad. Now turn down the heat and pour the soy sauce into the frying pan you just used. Briefly stir to fully utilize the flavours of squid and garlic remaining in the pan, then add the soy sauce to the dressing and distribute the latter among the salad plates. Finish with some finely chopped spring onions and shiso leaves.
| Suggestions to Combine |
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