Simple broiled sweet red pepper and okra are tasty with nihaizu dressing. Lucky thing too, because the small bag of okra from the Farmers’ Market and the cello bag of Ancient Sweet red peppers were not getting any fresher on the bottom of the fridge. The lonely orange tomato languishing on the counter joined the others in a very colorful salad. Wanting something more substantial for dinner, I put the vegetables on spaghetti, and decorated the dish with a swirl of Kewpie mayonaise.
Yaki Akapiman to Okura Nihaizu-ae
The Japanese Kitchen
•250 Recipes in a Traditional Spirit•
by Hiroko Shimbo
page 240
4 servings as a side dish
- 2 red bell peppers
- 5 ounces okra
- 1 orange tomato, optional
- Nihaizu dressing
Heat your broiler and cook the red peppers until their skins are lightly charred. Place the peppers in a paper bag and let them cool. Rub the charred skin from the peppers, remove the stems, seeds, and white ribs. Cut the peppers into chopstick sized pieces.
Broil the okra until the skins turn bright green. Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
Cut the tomato into chunks.
Toss the vegetables with a generous amount of nihaiz-ae.
This dressing is good tossed with seafood or fish, raw or cooked, and on vegetables or grilled meat.
Rice Vinegar and Soy Sauce Dressing
Nihaizu
The Japanese Kitchen
•250 Recipes in a Traditional Spirit•
by Hiroko Shimbo
page 73
makes ½ cup dressing
- ¼ cup komezu (rice vinegar)
- 2 Tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
In a small saucepan, combine both ingredients, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, and let the mixture cool. Store the dressing in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Tess's Japanese Kitchen 