For the record, daikon in Japan is wonderful. Big, smooth, and gleaming. Gorgeous. And the taste is fantastic: rich and melty when boiled.

Apples, too. The problem is that they’re wicked expensive. Small North American ones are much more convenient to stuff in my purse as snacks!

More will be added to this album.

I also visited Tsukiji market, for which I got up at 4:30 am on Christmas, and took some bad photos.

My pics are but few and don’t capture it at all. For more info, visit For more info, see http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3021.html. Or a video: http://www.geobeats.com/video/7e1798/tsukiji-fish-market

Yusuke said that this stew tasted was reminiscent of にくじゃが　(nikujaga), which is a meat and potato stew. (Sometimes, shirataki “noodles” are also included.)

First, Yusuke sauteed chicken and white onions. Oil could be added, but he chose not to. Next, he added chopped (unpeeled) Jerusalem artichokes. He then added water to the pot, along with cut carrots and let everything cook until it was soft.

Finally, he added the foundational Japanese seasoning mix: dashi, sugar (a pinch), soy sauce, and mirin, all to taste.

These ingredients were added in order to highlight the vegetables’ own taste rather than cover it. In other words, it brought out the taste of the earth. This is why our summer and autumn food baskets were so great: REAL TASTE. Store-bought food, in contrast, is often tasteless. This particular dish was even tastier the next day, becoming sweeter when the flavours came together and really soaked in.

I would like to comment again that Jerusalem artichokes are awesome. The little knobby things look like ginger, and evidently the chemical compound that is released when you eat it works similarly to insulin. Yusuke was interested to find lots of recipes with them in Japanese (キクイモ – kikuimo). The texture is similar to potatoes, but more liquidy and sweeter.

The original recipe that inspired this dish called for chicken, but Yusuke used tilapia instead, that versatile and cheap! fish.

He steamed the tilapia in white wine to enhance its subtle flavour.

The fish was dressed with fresh leeks: the white parts were eaten raw. He was afraid that the green bits would be tough, so he boiled the pieces briefly, for less than one minute. The shredded leeks were mixed with sesame oil and sea salt. Once the leeks were arranged on the fish, we added a sprinkling of shichimi powder.

We ate the dish by itself with rice on the side, but it would also be lovely on top of ramen.

Yusuke described this stir fry as “Chinese style.” He began by quickly boiling thin strips of zucchini—for about 3 minutes. The shorter the time, the crunchier the zucchini. He then drained the water.

The original recipe that inspired him called for carrots and pork, but we didn’t have either; he opted for shrimp and crimini mushrooms instead. He boiled the mushrooms for 1 minute and drained well.

He combined the three chief elements in a bowl and added:

• 1 tsp sea salt
• a pinch of black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp of lime juice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil (olive or canola would also work)
• a tiny bit of ajinomoto flavour enhancer (MSG! use with caution!)
• a pinch of white sugar

As Yusuke put it, cooking is chemistry!

He just mixed everything up, and that was it.

On the side, we had a nice consommé soup, the picture of which I seem to have misplaced. He used a consommé powder, which I was surprised to note was produced in Israel. I wasn’t really familiar with what consommé actually is, and I’m still not exactly sure how it’s different from other stocks and bouillon. The label said that it was “chicken style,” but chicken isn’t listed in the ingredients. Instead, the word “celery” is in bolded font on the package. Even better. Yusuke said that it’s much easier to find in Japan; he has had a hard time locating it in Canada.

To the broth, he added a pinch of white sugar, a few drops of soy sauce, and ginger. The veggies were bok choy, cubed potatoes, and white onions.

This is sort of a generic soup, and yet, I feel that I could eat it everyday. Very filling and versatile indeed. I recall enjoying the remainder for breakfast the day after; cabbage for breakfast leads to a bright day.

Yusuke began by cooking garlic in olive oil until the aroma began to fill the kitchen. He then added chicken broth to the pot, along with a few bay leaves, sea salt, and pepper. Next came the veggies parade:

• cabbage
• halved cherry tomatoes
• crimini mushrooms
• carrots
• white onions
• green onions

The soup simmered until the cabbage was sweet and soft (but NOT mushy!).

Earlier in the summer, our csa basket featured tons o’ fresh basil. For this recipe, Yusuke employed at least 30 fresh leaves to make an experimental pesto sauce. It was tasty.

Instead of the traditional pine nuts, he used about 1 tsp of peanut butter. He combined it with the basil leaves, sea salt, about 150 mL of olive oil, and garlic. He used a blender, but a food processor would probably be more efficient.

The sauce was tossed with al dente spaghettini, graced by steamed eggplants. Rather than water, Yusuke used wine for steaming. He simply put eggplant slices in a frying pan, poured in white wine, and covered it with a lid. The effect was succulent and tangy.

Tonjiru with beets #1

We’ve been blessed in our weekly csa basket with beets. It’s amazing how such rough little buggers become so magically sweet and tender. We’ve also frequently used the greens as a substitute for spinach. Very tasty.

Tonjiru is a popular type of miso soup characterized by pork and root vegetables, usually potatoes, carrots, daikon, etc. and onions. It’s definitely one of Yusuke’s favourites.

He decided to put our beet bounty to good use by making tonjiru with a twist. The iteration above includes daikon, carrots, white onions, and of course beets. The pink effect is somewhat startling, but it’s incredibly tasty. He also used chicken instead of pork.

The second batch included carrots and leeks in addition to chicken and beets.

He typically begins the soup by sauteing the onions, followed by the other veggies, before adding water, miso paste, and dashi.

Tonjiru with beets #2