Asparagus Tsukemono

02May09

Asparagus with Lemon and Onion
from “Easy Japanese Pickling
serves 4
page 19

a large bunch of asparagus
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons vinegar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
thin lemon slices

Blanch asparagus. Spread out in a colander to cool. Cut into [...]

Filed under: Japanese Food, Pickles, Tsukemono, Vegetables   |  2 Comments

Summer Squash Namul

06Feb09

Last year I did a recipe test called Hobak Namul. I did not think about the name of the recipe at the time, but now I’ve learned that “hobak” is a Korean squash with green skin and yellow flesh. I’ve never seen one! Namul is a Korean term for a seasoned vegetable dish. The test recipe used green and yellow summer squash, but here I’ve used only yellow squash, with carrots.

Filed under: Asian Cooking, Pickles, Salads, Dressings, and Sauces, Vegetables   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: namul, zucchini

Cucumbers in Spicy Soy Sauce

27Jan09

If you are trying to add more vegetables or salads to your diet, I highly recommend this book: Easy Japanese Pickling in five minutes to one day. This dressing is written to be used with small Japanese eggplants, but Ms. Ogawa suggests that cucumbers make a nice variation. It’s an easy and original way to serve either vegetable.

Filed under: Japanese Food, Pickles, Vegetables   |  5 Comments
Tags: cucumbers, Japanese Cooking, Japanese Recipes, Tsukemono

Sautéed Mushrooms

27Jan09

In the fridge was a package of baby bella mushrooms. When I’m grocery shopping the beautiful displays of fruits and vegetables inspire me to over imagine what I’ll cook. The mushrooms were fresh and firm, full of promise though I had no recipe in mind. They were on sale. That was a week ago, and they were still in the fridge. Though the following recipe calls for using a variety of mushrooms, it was very nice with only the one kind.

Filed under: Grilling and Pan-Frying, Japanese Food, Pickles, Tsukemono, Vegetables, Yakimono   |  2 Comments
Tags: Japanese Cooking, Japanese Recipes, mushrooms

Tosa-Style Cucumbers

25Jan09

I made a nice welcome-home dinner because Mr. Tess is back for a couple of weeks. I had some pretty little cucumbers in the fridge, and while I love cucumbers with just a little salt, he’s not a big fan of them. To make them more special, I found a recipe called Tosa-Style Cucumbers. Without prompting, he told me the cucumbers were really delicious. I started wondering exactly what does “Tosa-style” mean?

Filed under: Japanese Food, Pickles, Vegetables   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: cucumbers, Japanese Cooking Methods, Japanese Recipes