Not All Raw Fish - a blog by Chris Lehrer - FoodProof

Old-Fashioned Japanese Dinner

Chris Lehrer — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:57:43 -0800

You will often see it said that "no Japanese meal is complete without rice, pickles, and miso soup," or something similar. This is actually a fairly recent principle, but it has been roughly true for quite some time now. So let's talk, then, about the classic Japanese dinner (insofar as there is such a thing). Categories There are four basic categories of food when it comes to old-fashioned dinner at home: 1. Rice (gohan) 2. Soup (shirumono, etc.) 3. Pickles (tsukemono) 4. Side dishes (okazu) ...

Disturbing Japanese Home Cooking

Chris Lehrer — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:46:42 -0800

I've just posted a new dish, but I did it on my own blog, not here. Why? Well... I don't think it's going to be most FoodProofers' cup of tea. I mean, classic Japanese home cooking, sure, but, well.... Take a look. But I've posted a recipe here, just for easy reference.

More Nabemono

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:57:40 -0800

If you don?t know what nabemono is, click here to read part 1. As usual, there are recipes for everything in the recipes section (click the title of each section to find them), but mostly these things are kind of watch-and-imitate. Riverbank Oyster Hot Pot: Kaki-Dote Nabe This one you probably can do at home, though it?ll take some work and expense. Oysters are pretty common here, and not especially expensive. A recent sale at my local nice grocery store had these flat packs that contain a ...

Pot Food: Nabemono

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:57:25 -0800

Time for another introduction to ordinary family cooking in Japan. This time, nabemono, stuff cooked in a pot. It?s not Christmas dinner, but it?s warm and comforting and fun. (Incidentally, the photographs on page 1 aren't mine; the photos in part 2 are mine, and include a little step-by-step stuff, if you're into that. Links to recipes are the titles of the various sections, where appropriate.) Where nabemono differs from what we generally think of as stew and the like ? that?s basic ...

Fun With Knives, part 1

Chris Lehrer — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:30:10 -0800

Some time back, I wrote a long post about knives: which ones to buy, how to maintain them, and so forth. There is a good deal more to be said about that, and I?ll do it one of these days, but for the moment I?d like to talk a bit about what to do once you have some knives. Now I am not the guy to teach basic high-end knife technique. My knife technique was more or less fine, but weak in some crucial areas. I am now re-training myself properly. But the person to teach you how to do basic cut ...

Fishy Rice Lunch

Chris Lehrer — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:10:30 -0800

Recently there was a post in the forums by Fatso, about tossing anchovies on top of plain rice and eating it. It occurs to me that this is an amazingly Japanese thing to eat. They like salty fish products on top of rice. You eat it, as mixed as you like, with chopsticks. Standard snack lunch, sometimes even breakfast. The big things I know about instead of the anchovies -- the anchovies we're familiar with aren't available in Japan except as imports from Italy and so on -- would be: Various ...

Why Cook?

Chris Lehrer — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:08:03 -0800

Liisa posted an interesting thing in the forums recently. Turns out, Mitch doesn?t really like to cook, and Liisa wonders whether maybe this is for the same kind of reasons as she doesn?t much like carpentry. Then it turns out mct doesn?t love to cook either. And this forum being what it is, and likable for all the reasons it is, I wonder whether this isn?t a pretty common reality. After all, part of what?s so likable about FoodProof is that people will step up to the plate and admit t ...

Scraping The Barrel: Doria

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:20:38 -0800

I?ve been uncharacteristically quiet lately. In part, I?ve just been very busy. But I?ve also had to face a real problem with a column on basic home cooking, Japanese-style: I?ve come quite close to the end of the obvious list. In part 1, I'm talking in general terms about Japanese food at home; if you have to leap into a recipe right away, jump to part 2. Here is the more or less classical breakdown of dish styles: sashimi (sliced raw or semi-raw seafood)nimono (simmered things)suimon ...

Doria: What More Do You Want To Know?

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:20:37 -0800

For variations on doria (which I talked about in part 2 of this post), you could use boiled macaroni or something in place of the rice, in which case you?ve got guratan (read, ?gratin?). Also known as ?wiggle? in many parts of America. If you were wondering why this sounds an awful lot like tuna or chicken casserole, it?s because that?s exactly what it is. Beyond that, variation is a matter of choosing different vegetables and proteins, different proportions of the ingredients, an ...

Mom?s Friend Doria

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:14:14 -0800

Doria is Japan?s answer to tuna casserole. It?s quick and easy, and you can put leftovers in it, and the kids love it. Since you don?t have an oven, the technique is of course a bit different. [Incidentally, although this is part 2, part 1 is mostly about the column rather than the food, so you're probably not missing anything. But there is a nifty classification of Japanese food types, and that's got its advantages.] As usual, there?s a full recipe here. And as usual, you can vary ...

Rice With Stuff In It

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:08:47 -0700

Okay, admittedly that?s not really the proper name for takikomi gohan, but when it gets right down to it, that?s what it is: rice with stuff in it. That's even basically what the Japanese term means: steamed-mixed-up-rice (??????). Let?s start with the basic recipe: put rice and water in the rice cooker, add some stuff, and turn it on. Complicated, huh? No, but seriously, let?s talk about this. Rice: Home Style and High Style Takikomi gohan is one of those foods that span ...

Cooking Rice with Stuff in it

Chris Lehrer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:08:47 -0700

As usual, there's a recipe over here, but this is so easy there's barely any point. Okay, so here?s one classic, autumnal form of takikomi gohan. Matsutake Gohan Get 1 matsutake mushroom, and gently brush it free of dirt and forest mold. Cut it in half crosswise, then cut each half lengthwise into 1/8" slices. Take 3 servings of dry rice and wash well in cold water. Put strained rice in the rice cooker and add the right amount of water according to the cooker. Let sit 30 minutes. Add 2 ...

Tool Talk: Knives, part 2

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:42:03 -0700

Now that you know what types of knife you might need, which particular ones should you buy? (If you're just coming in, you may want to read part 1 first.) Four issues: MetalEdgeBrandDesign/size Metal Stainless or carbon steel? Stainless doesn?t rust unless you work at it; carbon does unless you are careful. Other than that, there are no absolute differences. It is not true that stainless steel cannot be sharpened as well, for example, or that it doesn?t hold an edge, or anything like that. ...

Tool Talk: Knives

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:37:39 -0700

I adore knives. I don't mean I collect weird fantasy knives and swords or something - I outgrew that before I could afford the things, fortunately. But I have become addicted to knives in the kitchen, and I am mesmerized by good information about them. Looking for knife maintenance and sharpening tips? Jump to Part 3. In Japan, of course, the knife-making tradition is long and distinguished. I have spent some time in Aritsugu, a famous old knife shop now in Nishiki market, and had a little mas ...

Tool Talk: Knives, part 3 (sharpening)

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:37:33 -0700

You?ve got knives, so you need to take care of them. (If you don't have knives, go back to part 1 or part 2.) Three big issues: Daily maintenanceMaintenance sharpeningHeavy sharpening Daily Maintenance If you?re using stainless steel, ideally rinse and/or wipe your knife every time you switch ingredients, but certainly any time you stop cutting and go to something else (sauteeing, etc.) or switch from vegetables to meat to fish to vegetables and so on. Soap isn?t necessary except for hygi ...

Miso Soup: The Kinds You Don't Get So Much

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:17:47 -0700

For the basics of miso soup, see part 1 of this entry. If you want miso soup with wakame, tofu, and scallion rings, you can go to any Japanese restaurant and get it, and it won't be expensive - if it is, they're ripping you off. But there are lots of other kinds you can't get so easily, so let's talk about them. There are three basic types of miso soup. First are those based on dashi and simmered things, which is the kind we've been talking about. Second are those which have an ingredient that ...

Miso Soup Home-Brew

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:17:34 -0700

Everybody likes miso soup, right? Certainly everyone in Japan does?anyway, if they don?t, they?re keeping pretty quiet about it. This soup is very, very easy to make, and it has a lot more range than you might think, since I think every single time I?ve had it in an American restaurant it has been made the same way, whereas it?s got lots of different versions in Japan. A Little Context Miso soup (misoshiru) is one of the absolute staples of Japanese cooking and eating, probably secon ...

Shio Yaki: Solutions to Problems

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:15:05 -0700

If you're making shio yaki in America, you're likely to run into two basic problems: the fish problem and the broiler problem. If you're new to shio yaki, please read part 1 of this blog post first. The Fish Problem Your basic seafood counter at the supermarket rarely stocks whole fish of any kind, although sometimes you see whole tilapia in a tank. Usually you get fillets or steaks from a standard, limited set of fish: salmon, cod, hake, haddock, scrod, flounder, etc. on the East Coast. The m ...

Shio Yaki: Salt-Broiled Fish

Chris Lehrer — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:15:02 -0700

To my mind, there are only a few truly distinctive dishes in Japanese cuisine, setting aside the issue of raw fish in its various forms. One of these is shio yaki, salt-broiled or -grilled fish. This has its parallels elsewhere, but the Japanese version is immediately recognizable when done to perfection. Here I?ll talk about how to do it the usual home-made way, which isn?t perfection but is surprisingly close ? and surprisingly easy to do without special equipment or the like. It is also ...

Stacey: You Are Not Alone

Chris Lehrer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:40:14 -0700

Stacey just posted a blog entry about how she's not a foodie. She seems a bit worried, but proud. Well... Pfui, as Nero Wolfe used to say. The morons have taken over the word "foodie." I prefer Calvin Trillin's term -- actually his wife's, used to refer to him and his friends: "Food Crazies." You don't have to know everything, or care. You can be a food crazy because you're the sort of person who will, upon getting stranded by a plane in some backwater of Nebraska, run off and try a barbe ...