Although Westerners are inclined to picture sushi when they think of Japanese food, Japanese cuisine is richly varied. Living in a country of islands, Japanese consume many foods from the sea--shellfish, fish, seaweeds, octopus, and squid. Rice is of course a staple product and soy products are consumed in great quantities--tofu, miso, soy sauce, natto, as well as the green soybeans called edamame. Many vegetables are pickled into tsukemono. Chilled noodles are eaten in great quantities in the summer, often with nori sprinkled on top. All sorts of teas are served iced and hot.
Kagoshima specialties include satsuma age--sweetened fried fish-paste; dishes centering on the Satsuma imo--a type of sweet potato; shochu spirits distilled from sweet potatoes; tonkotsu--stewed pork ribs; sashimi-style raw chicken; and sweets such as Satsuma karukan.
RECIPES:
Salmon and Nori Ochazuke
Cook Japanese rice (or use leftover rice). Grill or bake some salmon (or simply use bits of leftover cooked salmon). Prepare Japanese green tea. Place cooked rice into individual rice bowls. Shred the salmon over the rice. Pour hot green tea over the rice and salmon. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, crumbled nori, and a small dab of wasabi (Japanese horseradish).
Serve immediately; mix together and enjoy. Packaged ochazuke toppings can be purchased at Asian food markets. You can also substitute tsukemono (pickled vegetables), other grilled or raw fish, or salmon roe for the salmon.
Steamed Vegetable Salad with Beef
(Note: chicken may be substituted for beef.)
In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring about 2 inches of water to boil. Prepare beef into papery thin slices (if not purchased this way, slice thin strips off a mostly frozen steak). Prepare slices of tomato or cherry tomatoes and cucumber for garnish. On a large plate arrange some lettuce leaves.
Blanche or steam a variety of vegetables--chopped Chinese cabbage, asparagus spears, colorful slices of sweet pepper, green beans, bean sprouts, scallions--one vegetable at a time, then place vegetables into ice water. Drain vegetables in a colander, then arrange over lettuce leaves on a large serving plate.
In the boiling water, briefly cook the beef until just done, stirring constantly. Place into ice water, drain, then arrange on top of vegetables. Garnish with cucumber and tomato. Dress with sesame miso dressing (2 Tbsp. ground toasted sesame seeds, 1 Tbsp. white miso, 1 tsp. lemon or lime juice, 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. dashi or soup stock, 1 Tbsp. sake).
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Satsuma Karukan sweets.
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Shochu spirits and satsuma imo or sweet potato.
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Steamed vegetable salad with beef.
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A child’s lunch bento.
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Tsukemono--pickled vegetables. Clockwise from top: cucumber, eggplant, apricot, daiikon.
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Satsuma age.
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