Stocking a basic Japanese pantry
Here are some basic ingredients that you should have. Dashi Stock. This is a fish stock used in a lot of recipes. It is made from Konbu and Dried Bonito (fish). I usually purchase instant Dashi at the oriental grocery store. It is easy to use, just add water! For Vegetarian dishes you can just use the Konbu and some vegetables to make the stock instead of teh Bonito. Ginger. Konbu. Kelp. It is one of the ingredients of Dashi stock as well as used with some simmered dishes. Mirin. Mirin is sweetened sake used for cooking. In a pinch you can use regular sake with sugar as a substitution. Miso. Miso is fermented bean paste. Rice Vinegar. This vinegar is milder than most western vinegars. If you need to substitute, use cider vinegar, but you may want to dilute it just a bit. Rice. This is the main staple of the Japanese diet and is served with most meals. There are two main types of rice, short grain Japanese rice and long grain Chinese rice. Short grain Japanese rice is best for sushi. Sake. Sake is the most popular beverage in Japan. There is a lot of recipes that call for sake as an ingredient as well. Sake is a great meat tenderizer! Soy Sauce. I never knew there were so many types of soy sauce! Light color soy sauce, sweetened soy sauce, and flavor enhanced soy sauce. Kikkoman is a brand that most of us are familiar with and have seen in the grocery store, the soy sauce that is in the regular grocery store is only dark soy sauce. If you want to try the other types, you may have to visit an oriental grocer. Tofu. Tofu is used a lot in Japanese cooking. There are several types of tofu "cotton" tofu and "silk" tofu. Cotton is firmer and silk is softer and contains more whey. Wasabi. Japanese horseradish. Source : The Dallas Morning News Food Section Sugar Says: People are like stained glass windows: They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, But when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light shining from within. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
