A quick veggie side for Japanese meals.
You already saw this red Kyoto turnip. I used one there. The other, I cleaned well, sliced the root, picked the leaves.
In salted water. I keep it covered, in the fridge. Good from the next day, for a few days.
After 3 days, the leaves.
The root.
The photos don’t always reveal the truth about the taste but that was particularly delicious today. That’s a simmered seafood dish a little unusual. I have used calamari in two states, fresh and as shiokarai.
Well how can I explain all the poetry of shiokarai seafood on a blog ? You should see it, smell it, try it. It has a very strong fermented iodine flavor. I am not sure most people would like it.
イカの塩辛ika no shiokarai is the complete name, often shortenened in ikashiokara too. “shiokarai” calamari. Shiokarai means salty, very salty, too salty. So it’s raw calamari, salted and fermented in its brine with its ink. Here is an example of how it is made (click). I buy it if possible, because I tend to fail when I make it… and it’s cheap and sold everywhere in Osaka. Someday we’ll even have vending machines.
The only problem of this food is it’s extremely salty, so you eat it in very small amount, a teaspoon maximum on the side of your meal or on your bowl of rice. That’s why I wanted to add more volume to it.
A fresh calamar that has released its ink. No problem, I didn’t need it. I simply cleaned and cut it.
First, I cooked in a little oil, onion, garlic, ginger, the calamari. Then I’ve added 1 tbs of ikashiokara and 2 glasses of white wine (rather sweet, otherwise a little sugar would be welcome).Let simmer and reduce. Added more fresh ginger after 30 minutes.
It’s ready when the calamari is tender (that takes about 40 minutes). The red color comes naturally.
Small aubergines, steamed then grilled. No seasoning is needed because they are excellent just grilled and the dish is still very salty.
A side of kuri gohan (chestnut rice).
Kikuna chrysanthemum greens and shikwasa island lime to refresh the plate.
In Osaka it’s just snowing mochi.
あられ餅（霰餅) arare mochi.
Arare mochi are cubes of dried mochi of about 1 millimiter. So they look like graupels. Yes, you know graupels ? They are snow pellets.
Arare means “snow pellets / graupels “. OK, I’m not sure what it is exactly, it’s a snow amount, bigger than a snow flake and smaller than an avalanche…
And that also the name of the arare rice crackers made with these cubes.
We can buy them, but I made mines from a block of mochi (see here).
When they are dry, you can fry them. That takes a few seconds till they triple of volume, then take color.
They are very crunchy. You can eat them like that, for the nice taste of fried rice. Or flavor them :
I’ve mixed hot chili (togarashi) and also mild paprika to moderate the fire. And a little salt. Just roll them in the spices.
It’s transparent. It’s “wasabi powder” .
So you get a set of home-made salty crackers. You can keep them a while… I imagine.
It’s so hot and humid, you sweat so much…
…that you even crave for salt ?
Tonight, prepare yourself a refreshing cocktail, a Salty Gourmande. Don’t worry it’s not very loaded in alcohol and you can even make it without. I can’t drink anything strong.
First, let’s make the base.
Juice a handful of litchis (or like me squeeze them and shred the rest of flesh). Add 1/3 lemon juice, 1 ts of black sugar and about a liter of water.
Store a few hours in the fridge. You get a tasty lemonade that you can enjoy on its own.
Salty Gourmande :
Wet half of the edge of a glass and stamp it in a plate of natural sea salt. Half, ahem… I’m training at it !
Put a litchi in the bottom of the glass.
Pour a “finger” of apricot liquor.
Complete with the litchi lemonade.
It’s Shinluchu, Chinese apricot liquor. It’s not very strong. Any apricot liquor can be used. Or you can skip.
The salt is compulsory. That’s natural sea salt, the wet one, because it’s so much tastier. That would be easier to decorate the glass with dried table salt, but you’d lose in taste.
Degustation :
Start drinking from the side of glass without salt and turn a little to grasp a few grains of salt between sweet sips. The contrast brings the freshness.
Finish by eating the litchi in the bottom.
GOURMANDE in OSAKA 