Throughout history, Japanese food has come to encompass a wide variety of ingredients, including rice, soy and beans. if you want to impress friends or family with unique and celebratory Japanese dishes, there are a few special occasion dishes that you can cook.
Sekihan
Sekihan is a rice dish that is commonly cooked for birthdays, weddings and rites of passage celebrations. The dish mainly includes sticky rice and Azuki red beans. Added ingredients include salt and sesame seeds. Since it is meant for celebrations, you should cook large amounts of Sekihan. A four to six serving meal of Sekihan may require 3 cups of sticky rice and 1/3 cup of red beans. The beans need to be boiled first and then simmered in a low level of water. The low level of water is then combined with more water to make around 3 1/2 cups of water. Pour the 3 1/2 cups of water in a pressure cooker with the rice and beans and a little bit of salt and sesame seeds. Cooking time may vary from a half hour to 1 hour.
Tanuki Udon
Tanuki Udon is a thick wheat noodle-based soup. The soup comes from what is now Kyoto, Japan. Udon is a general name applied to any thick wheat grain. This makes the soup dish a hearty dish, especially with its other central ingredients like ginger, onions and tofu. Fresh Udon noodles only need to be boiled for a few minutes, but store-bought brands should be boiled as directed on the bag. In another bowl, combine 5 cups water with 1 tbsp. sake, 2 tbsp. mirin, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp. sugar and a dash of salt. After the compound is mixed, add katakuriko, a starch indigenous to Japan, and some tofu. Once it is all mixed, combine the noodles and serve with chopped onions on the top.
Kakuni
Kakuni is a pork-based dish that hails from the Okinawa region of Japan. The dish is influenced by Chinese cooking techniques. The meal usually requires at least 1 lb. of pork meat with fat. Cook the pork and pork fat until it is browned. The fat should slightly melt off the meat. Remove the meat chunks and continue to cook the fat. Add 2 tbsp. sugar to the fat so it caramelizes. Add the cooked pork meat back to the fat until the meat is coated. Then, add 2 cups water, 2 tbsp. sugar, 3 tbsp. sake and one whole piece of both ginger and leek. Let the dish slowly cook for around 3 hours and add broccoli near the end of the cooking cycle.
Tempura
Tempura is a popular Japanese style of cooking. Tempura is made of vegetables or seafood that are spiced, battered and fried in oil. You can serve a number of vegetables or seafood items within this style, but common vegetables include cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini or carrots. Safely boil vegetable oil to around 375 degrees, preferably in a deep fry machine. In a bowl, combine around 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 cups water, 1 tbsp. cornstarch and a pitch of salt. Mix the ingredients together to create the batter. Roll the vegetables in the batter until they are completely covered. Then, drop the vegetables into the oil until they are brown. Take the fried vegetables out of the frying machine and let them dry on a napkin. Meanwhile, you can create a tempura dip for the vegetables by mixing 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. grated ginger, 2 sliced scallions and 1 1/2 cup soy sauce together.
Tags: cups water, rice beans, tbsp sugar, bowl combine, cups water tbsp, dish that
