VEGETABLES


Fresh vegetables have always been important in Japanese cuisine, with meals representing the seasonal changes of the country. When preparing these dishes it's important to select the freshest produce available from your grocer, try not to use frozen or canned vegetables. Some examples are DAIKON NO SAKE-NI (Daikon simmered in sake), HORENSO NO GOMA AE (Spinach with sesame seed dressing) & UMA-NI (Vegetables simmered in shoyu).

 

NATTO (fermented soybeans)


Natto is nothing more than fermented soybeans and it's one of those foods that you either love or hate, with the Japanese themselves divided into pro or anti-natto camps! Connoisseurs savor the servings of sticky whole soybeans, topping them with a dab of hot yellow mustard and sweet shoyu before greedily shoveling them down using chopsticks. That's my favorite way of eating natto, plain and simple, but you can also use natto in soups, okonomiyaki (egg pancakes), or as a topping for hot soba noodles or rice.

KONNYAKU

Konnyaku is a gelatinous cake made from the starch of the "devil's tongue" plant (a relative of the sweet potato). Konnyaku is almost tasteless but has a distinct characteristic texture (which is somewhat like tough gelatin). It's used mostly for this quality, and you can find it as an ingredient in many one-pot dishes (nabemono). Konnyaku is sold in blocks roughly the size of tofu blocks, but it's also available in noodle form.

 

Wakame

Wakame seaweed is extremely popular in Japan and is loved for it's subtle flavor and slightly chewy texture. It's usually sold dried but when reconstituted in water, swells up into bright green leaves. Wakame is excellent when added to miso soup. Simply one has to soak a teaspoon of the dried seaweed in water and after it swells up (20 minutes), squeeze out the excess water, chop into bite sized pieces and place into small bowls. Ladle the miso soup over the seaweed and it gets ready to be served.