Salmon Roe Story...from Sujiko to Ikura to Donabe Ikura-don

Ikura-don: Home-marinated Ikura over Donabe Sushi Rice

It's already the beginning of the season for "sujiko" (salmon roe in a sack). As female salmon lay eggs in the fall, there are a lot of very pregnant salmon out there. The other morning, I was so thrilled to find a case full of freshly-harvested "sujiko". So, I picked up a nice fatty sack.

I decided to make soy-marinated ikura!

"Sujiko" to "Ikura" - First, I needed to take the individual salmon roe pieces of out the egg sack. Salmon roe in a egg sack is called, "sujiko", and when the roe is out of a sack, these individual egg pieces are called "ikura". This process requires a careful work. I found the metal grate, which comes with tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", was perfect for this work! To get the "ikura" out of the sack, first, you find an open side of the sack and gently open it wider and push to the grate side. From one end, you gently push out the individual eggs by kind of rolling back and forth by hand. Make sure not to break the individual eggs. So, the patient gentle motion is very important.


Once you get the "ikura"out of the egg sack, stir the "ikura" with a gentle amount of salt by hand until the salt turns orange, then rinse in warm water (105F - 120F/ 40C - 50C degrees). You repeat the process for 2-3 times. Do not just rinse the unsalted "ikura" in water, as the skin would become too firm. Drain well.


Make the marinade sauce: In a small pan, combine the 1/4 cup (60 ml) sake and 2 tablespoons mirin, and boil once. Add 1/4 cup (60 ml) tamari soy sauce (or regular soy sauce is okay, too), and let the mixture cool down. The sauce is enough for 8 oz - 10 oz (240 g - 300 g) of "ikura" to marinade. Pour a couple of table spoons of the sauce over the "ikura". Stir and drain once. Then, combine the ikura and the remaining sauce in a container. Let the "ikura" marinade in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Drain.


That's it! Beautifully shiny soy-marinated "ikura" ("ikura no shoyu-zuke") is ready! It's great on its own  to pair with sake.


Or, you can make "Ikura-don" (salmon roe over rice)...one of my favorite way to eat "ikura"! I prepared Ikura-don with sushi rice (seasoned with Kyoto-style "awase-zu"), made with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san". Once I made the sushi rice, I sprinkled some ground roasted sesame seeds, and covered the rice with generous amount of soy-marinated "ikura". Then, it was garnished with some thinly-sliced white bottom part of Tokyo negi (Japanese green onion), thinly-sliced shiso leaves, and wasabi paste. (You can find the sushi rice recipe in one of my previous posts here...but, this time, edamame was not added to the rice.)

My super happy donabe rice moment.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Turmeric Rice for Donabe Curry

Donabe turmeric rice with donabe chicken & eggplant curry

Another Curry & Rice dinner.

I made Tomato-flavored Chicken & Eggplant Curry with my soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe" again the other night. This time, I made simple turmeric rice with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san" to serve with it. Donabe turmeric rice is even easier than saffron rice to make, and the color is so yellow and beautiful.

The procedure is quite simple. In "Kamado-san", I heat the olive oil and add cumin seeds, rice, and turmeric one by one to sauté. Vegetable stock and bay leaves are added and covered.


Fluffy turmeric rice is ready in such a simple process. Great with summer-style chicken and eggplant curry.

Here's the recipe.

Fluffy Turmeric Rice
(for double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san")

Ingredients: (5 servings)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 rice-cups (360 ml) short grain rice (I use partially polished brown rice), rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves

Procedure:

1. In "Kamado-san", heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute).
2. Add the rice and and continue to sauté until the outer layer of each rice grain is translucent. (4-5 minutes).
3. Add the turmeric powder and sauté for another minute.
4. Add the vegetable stock and salt. Stir.
5. Put the bay leaves on top and cover with both lids. Cook for 12 minutes over medium-heat.
6. Turn off the heat and let it rest (with lids on) for 20 minutes.
7. Uncover. Discard the bay leaves and fluff the rice. Serve with your delicious donabe curry.

Happy donabe life.

Final days of the summer...from Kara-age bento to outdoor donabe shabu shabu

Chicken "kara-age" and eggplant "dengaku"

The end of the summer season continued to be full of fun happenings...some memorable time of the last week of August this year...

Picnic meal with friends at Hollywood Bowl. We have enjoyed going to the bowl so much again this year. Last time, I made "tamago-yaki" (rolled omelet) with 9 kinds of seaweeds, green beans in black sesame sauce, hijiki and burdock root salad, chicken "kara-age" (Japanese friend chicken), and eggplant "dengaku" (w/ Saikyo miso sauce) to fit in bento box. And, I also made "onigiri" rice balls. We have only one more show to go (Earth, Wind & Fire) in September.


August 27 was the 5-year anniversary of toiro kitchen! My company was quietly incorporated on the day 5 years ago. Now, thanks to so many people's support, the business is becoming more and more exciting. Jason brought home a surprise gift of petit fours from Valerie Echo Park. So nice! I also opened Jacques Selosse, "Substance" Champagne Brut. Magical wine.


The very last day of August. It was such a hot day, and we had a low-key dinner in our patio. We made Kurobuta pork shabu shabu in our Kyoto-style shallow donabe, "Kyoto Ame-yu". A meal like this makes me feel so good.

HAPPY HAPPY DONABE LIFE!

Mini Vacation in Paso Robles

A couple of weeks ago, we drove up to Paso Robles for a 3-day short vacation. It's a little over 3 hours from LA by car.

As soon as we were in the middle of Paso Robles wine country, we stopped by at a winery for a picnic lunch.

Just like last year, we stayed at Venteux Vineyards' guest red barn house. People are always very nice there and their wines are really nice.

We did so many fun things in a short stay. Dinner at Artisan was really nice. Besides visiting different wineries, we also enjoyed olive oil tasting.

We also drove up to Monterey County to do a boat ride in Lake San Antonio, which is a very large lake. It was a lot of fun.

Day 3 - On the way home, we stopped by at Taco Temple in Morro Bay. We eat there every time we go up to Central Coast. Their tacos are simply amazing. After big lunch, we took a walk on the beach.

We came home with 2 cases of good wines from the region. Really fun trip. I feel recharged!

Sun-dried Zucchini & Shimeji Mushroom Rice

Sun-dried Zucchini & Shimeji Mushroom Rice

It's already September, but we've been having a series of hot days since late August. The good news is that under such intense sunlight in LA, I can do quick sun-dry vegetables and mushrooms. Zucchini is one of the items I like to sun-dry. Here's another easy donabe recipe, I posted, with sun-dry zucchini.

I made mixed rice with sun-dried zucchini and shimeji mushrooms. It's simple to make and so rich in flavors. Zucchini and shimeji were sun-dried just half day on a very sunny day. They turn so rich in umami flavors and the texture became nicer.


First, sun-dried zucchini and shimeji were sauteed in olive oil, and seasoned with sake and soy sauce.


I made plain rice (with mixture of multi grains) with double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san". As soon as the rice was ready, I tossed the rice with the sautéed zucchini & mushrooms and some plum kombu tea powder. The addition of this plum kombu tea powder gives nice layers of umami flavors to the dish. Make sure to get a kind which doesn't have any MSG or artificial flavors. If you can't find plum kombu tea, regular kombu tea would work also.


That's it! The sun-dried mushrooms give so much umami flavor that you don't need to cook the rice with any seasoning or stock before mixing with them. This rice dish has layers of flavors and you can also enjoy different textures of the ingredients. Really delicious.

Sun-dried Zucchini & Shimeji Mushroom Rice

Ingredients: (5-6 servings)

2 rice cups (360 ml) short grain rice, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
1 tablespoon olive oil (plus 1/2 tablespoon butter - optional)

10 oz (300 g) zucchini, sliced into disks and sun-dried half day

5 oz (150 g) shimeji mushrooms, sun-dried half day

2 tablespoons sake

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons plum kombu tea powder (or regular kombu tea powder)

some black pepper

Procedure:

1. In “Kamado-san”, combine the rice and water, and cook according to the basic plain rice instructions.
2. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, sauté the zucchini and shimeji mushrooms in the olive oil (and butter if you like) for a couple of minutes over medium-heat.
3. Add the soy sauce and cover. Cook until the sake is reduced down to almost nothing.
4. Add the soy sauce and stir for a couple more minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
5. As soon as the rice is rested and ready, add the sautéed zucchini & shimeji, and plum kombu tea powder to the rice. Mix gently with a spatula.
6. Serve into individual bowls and ground some black pepper over the rice.

The other day, instead of shimeji mushrooms, I sun-dried enoki mushrooms to make this dish. It was so delicious, too.

Happy donabe life.