Cooking the Japanese Way by Reiko Weston

Author:Reiko Weston
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780822541141
Publisher: IB Dave's Library
Published: 2010-05-10T07:00:00+00:00

J a p a n e s e S t a p l e s / S h u s h o k u

No Japanese meal would be complete without small bowls of boiled or steamed rice to accompany the other dishes. In fact, the word for

“rice”— gohan—is also the word for “food” in the Japanese lan

guage. Many Japanese families use electric rice cookers to be sure that this vital part of the meal is prepared perfectly every time. Japanese people eat noodles almost as often as they eat rice, and they can choose from a great variety. Brown noodles called soba, made from buckwheat flour, are perhaps the most common. Udon and somen, two kinds of wheat-flour noodles, are also very popu

lar. Noodles are even eaten for a quick snack in the way that an American might eat a sandwich or an apple.

Soybean products are another staple of the Japanese diet. It would be difficult to cook a Japanese meal without soy sauce, which is used as commonly as Westerners use salt.Two other soy products are miso, a soybean paste used in soups and other dishes, and tofu, a firm, custardlike substance made of soybean curd. Japanese cooks serve tofu by itself and also use it as an ingredient in many dishes. This unique soybean product is also popular in North America as a meatless source of protein.

A bowl of menrui, or noodles, looks elegant when topped with cucumbers and mandarin orange slices. (Recipe on page 36.)

33

Rice/ Gohan

Rice is the staple food in Japan, and a typical Japanese meal always includes hot, steamed rice. There are several different Japanese words tha

“

t mean rice,” but the most dignified is gohan, or

“honorable rice ”

.

2 c. short-grain white rice,

1. Wash rice in a pan with cold water

uncooked

and drain in a sieve.

2¥ c. cold water

2. In a covered heavy pot or saucepan,

bring rice and 2¥ c. water quickly

to a boil. Lower heat and simmer

until all water is absorbed (about 30

minutes).

3. Turn off heat and let rice steam

itself for another 10 minutes.*

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 6 to 8

*For a simple but tasty variation of this

recipe, just add 1 c. of cooked green peas

at the end of Step 2 to make mame

gohan , or rice with green peas.

34

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