Kizami Beni Shoga Recipes

YAKISOBA

Steps:

• Shredded pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga; see Cook's Note)
• For the yakisoba sauce: Whisk together the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl and reserve.
• For the yakisoba: Place the noodles in a bowl, add about 1 teaspoon of the oil and stir to separate.
• Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pork belly and sear on all sides, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, onion and carrot and cook until tender but not cooked all the way, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook until almost tender, about 1 minute. Stir in the scallions and cook until slightly softened, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in some pepper.
• Add the noodles to the skillet and lower the heat to medium. Stir to warm and combine the noodles with the vegetables in the skillet for about 30 seconds. Stir in the yakisoba sauce and cook until the sauce is absorbed and distributed, about 1 minute. Plate up and top with the dried green seaweed and pickled red ginger if using.

BENI SHOGA -- JAPANESE RED PICKLED GINGER

Steps:

• Wash and peel ginger.
• Cut into small, uniform matchsticks by slicing into rounds first, then stacking the rounds and slicing across.
• Place into a strainer and sprinkle with sea salt.
• Let this sit and drain for about 30 minutes.
• Squeeze out liquid and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Stack the shiso leaves on top of each other, roll into a cigar-like cylinder and slice thinly
• Place the ginger slivers into a clean, glass jar, layering with the sliced shiso leaves.
• Pour in the ume brine.
• Cover with a lid and store in the refrigerator.
• Let the ginger pickle for about a few weeks.
• Enjoy beni shoga on top of okonomiyaki, takoyaki, yaki soba, gyudon, curry rice or anything else that might please the palate.

TAKOYAKI

Steps:

• Whisk together the Dashi and eggs in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk just until smooth. Transfer the batter to a 1-quart measuring cup or bowl with a spout for easy pouring.
• Heat a takoyaki pan over medium heat (see Cook's Note). Generously grease the "holes" and the entire surface using a pastry brush. Fill each hole about three-fourths of the way with batter (see Cook's Note). Working quickly, place the following in each hole: 2 to 3 pieces of octopus, a pinch of scallions, a pinch of tenkasu and a pinch of beni shoga. (If you find that the batter is cooking too quickly, reduce the heat a bit. It may take a few tries to get the timing down.)
• Top off each hole with a little more batter - it's fine if it overflows a bit. Let cook until the bottom of each takoyaki is set but the inside is still wet, about 3 minutes. Working quickly, use 1or 2 skewers or chopsticks (I find it easier with 2) to turn each takoyaki about 90 degrees, cutting through any batter on the surface between the holes and "scraping" it into each hole as you go, forming a rough ball shape. Let any batter run out of the balls and when it starts to set, turn the balls completely over and cook, regularly rotating them until they are evenly golden brown all over and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes more (cooking time will depend on the size of the takayoki).
• Remove the balls to a platter, drizzle with takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise and then sprinkle with aonori and katsuobushi. Serve immediately and repeat with the remaining ingredients as needed.
• Combine the kombu and 3 cups cold water in a medium saucepan and let sit for about 30 minutes. (You can skip this step if you're short on time but it does lend a little extra flavor.) Heat over medium heat until the water comes to a near boil, but doesn't actually boil, about 5 minutes. Discard the kombu.
• Add the katsuobushi evenly over the water, bring to a boil over high heat and then immediately remove from the heat. Let steep for about 10 minutes without stirring.
• Pour the dashi through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or quart-size measuring cup. Do not press down on the katsuobushi, which can make the dashi cloudy and/or bitter.
• Dashi is best used the day it is made but can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes about 2 1/2 cups