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How to cook "with visual instructions" "using familiar ingredients from your local grocery stores" healthy, traditional and delicious Japanese dishes!!

Tag Archives: Delicious


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Salmon Chirashi (Gluten-Free)

This is seasoned steamed rice with salmon, egg, dried seaweed and sesame. It is very delicious and looks beautiful with a colorful presentation. Japanese eat steamed rice in at least 2 meals every day. But children tend to leave over steamed rice, which has only a slightly sweet taste, so Japanese mothers cook seasoned steamed rice to help get their children to eat a bowl of rice. This recipe is just mixing steamed rice and other ingredients, so there is no need for special equipment. Buy steamed rice at a Chinese restaurant and you can cook this at home in 30 minutes.

Salmon is rich in nutrients as I wrote in https://japanese-food.org/2015/05/16/creamy-salmon-soup/

However, recently there are many concerns about farmed salmon’s effect on human health. Salmon has worms so farmed salmon is said to become contaminated from drugs to rid salmon farms of worms. People say this has contaminated farmed salmon and may effect our health, such as immune compromise, hypometabolism, deterioration in brain function and so on. Please choose wild salmon or a good untreated farmed salmon. By the way, wild salmon can have worms so we do not eat it raw. The worms disappear when Salmon is heated to over 140F for some minutes or frozen at under -4F for 48 hours.

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

½ lb. Salmon

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Dried Seaweed Flakes

1 tsp. White Roasted Sesame Seeds

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

½ tsp. Salt

1 pint Steamed Rice

Boiled Water (for boiling salmon)

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Salmon Chirashi


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Creamy Salmon Soup (Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to the creamy salmon soup made with soy milk, bite size salmon and mushrooms. You can use regular milk instead of soy milk if you prefer. You can also use any kind of mushrooms for this recipe.

Salmon is high in protein which is good for digestion and absorption. Also it is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). DHA activates brain cells and EPA improves blood flow and reduces fat and bad cholesterol. In addition, salmon is high in minerals, vitamin Bs, and vitamin D. I can’t say strongly enough that salmon has great antioxidant effects, which are caused by astaxanthin and dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), and this is very good for you. Salmon’s red color is carotenoid, a natural colorant which is called astaxanthin. Removing active oxygen inside the body is one of best ways to be healthy. Recently, however, we see mostly farm-raised salmon in stores and the salmon may be controlled to make their color brighter. So you should choose wild salmon if you can. Astaxanthin in salmon is not breakable under heat and also improves absorption  when we eat with healthy oil so I highly recommend cooking salmon with olive oil or butter.

Enjoy the healthy delicious salmon soup!!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

½ lb. Salmon

8 oz. Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms (any kind of mushrooms can be used)

1 cup Gluten Free Chicken Flavor Broth

2 cups Soy Milk

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp. Gluten-Free Margarine

¾ tsp. Salt (total)

A pinch of Black Pepper

Here is my recipe in PDF (6 MB): Creamy Salmon Soup


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Healthy Cabbage Soup (Gluten-Free)

This recipe is not traditional Japanese food. We occasionally have it as a hospital meal, school meal and so on. This is good for digestion and low fat and low calorie. Therefore, we sometimes have it as a diet meal. Also some hospitals serve this kind of dish to patients who will soon have surgery, because it reduces visceral fat before the surgery.

Cabbage in spring has a very good taste so it is traditional we have many cabbage dishes in the spring.

In this recipe, the cooking is really easy and takes less than 30 minutes. Significantly, some nutrition from cabbages can break down under heat so please cook for as short as possible after adding cabbage as per the instructions. Also, Cabbage can be eaten raw but it is hard to eat a lot of it that way. So I highly recommend this soup that cooking for less than 20 minutes after adding the cabbage and including vegetables in all soups.

Enjoy the nutritious soup!

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{Ingredients (servings 2)}

¼ Green Cabbage

1 Onion

1 Carrot

2 cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Flavor Broth

½ tsp. Salt

A pinch of Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Gluten-Free Margarine

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Healthy Cabbage Soup


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Healthy Cheesy Vegetables (Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

I have introduced many Japanese recipes here, and you may think we don’t use cheese very much. Cheese making started in Japan around 1930, so cheese has a short history in Japan.

When I was a child, my mother cooked dish with cheese about once a month. I loved cheese so this recipe was one of my treats!

The ingredients are all vegetables. You can cook with leftover vegetables in the refrigerator.

The dish is high in protein, beta-carotene, iron and vitamins and the texture is so tender. Therefore, it is also a good lunch or dinner for children.

Enjoy this healthy cheesy vegetable dish!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

1 Onion

1 Small Eggplant

3 cups Fresh Spinach

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp. Gluten-Free Margarine

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup shredded Cheese (any kind is okay) (total)

¼ tsp. Salt

⅛ tsp. Black Pepper

Chopped parsley and black olives (for topping to taste)

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Cheesy Vegetables


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Homemade Spring Roll

Spring rolls are a kind of Dim sum, which is Chinese food. As you know, spring rolls are served as appetizers at Chinese restaurants, but in Japanese homemade dishes they are actually a main dish.

Unfortunately, I can’t find spring roll wrappers near my house so I made from scratch with flour and water. Please remember Spring Roll wrappers are not egg roll wrappers (actually egg rolls are not popular in Japan), or rice paper, which is a Vietnamese style roll. Forunately, cooking spring roll wrappers is easy, but if you find spring roll wrappers at the store, it is definitely a time saver.

I used chicken, green cabbage, eggplant and mushroom for the filling. You can use anything you want, such as carrot, asparagus, leaves, potato, tofu, cheese, rice noodle, beef, pork, fish, shellfish and so on. Therefore, I can choose healthy ingredients as much as I want to.

You can make your own original spring rolls!!

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{Ingredients (about 15 rolls)}

[Filling]

½ lb. Ground Chicken

½ American Eggplant

¼ Green Cabbage

4 oz. Baby Bella Mushroom (any kind is okay)

4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

¼ tsp. Salt

[Wrapper]

1 ½ cups plus 1 separate tsp. Flour

4 ½ cups plus 3 separate tsp. Water

1 tsp. Pure Sesame Oil

Here is my recipe in PDF (7 MB): Homemade Spring Roll


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Vegetable Mix Tempura (Vegan/Vegetarian)

“Vegetable Mix Tempura”, which is called “Kakiage” in Japanese, is a traditional Japanese recipe. We enjoy this tempura on steamed rice, on Japanese Soba noodle, on Japanese Udon noodle, or just the tempura itself.

In Japan, people always try to make the tempura with a great crunchy texture. With this recipe, you can cook crunchy tempura easily. The seasoning is only salt, the vegetables are tender and the batter is crunchy so you can really enjoy more vegetables. Also, the recipe is very simple. I just use 1 skillet, 1 bowl, a cutting board and a knife. So If you have kids who don’t like vegetables very much, you might want to try to cook this recipe!

Enjoy!!

{Ingredients (servings 4)}

1 large Onion

4 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Carrot

½ American Eggplant

½ cup Flour

5 Tbsp. Cold Ice Water

Vegetable Oil for Frying

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Vegetable Mix Tempura


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Fried Wheat Noodles

Fried Wheat Noodles are actually traditional cuisine on the Okinawa islands, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. My mother and father visited Okinawa for their honeymoon 45 years ago and my mother learned about this dish at that time. (Until 1972 Okinawa was part of the united states so they needed to bring their passport. It surprised me!) Okinawa is a beautiful group of islands. Blue ocean, big sky, majestic forests, pure-hearted people, calm weather…I love Okinawa very much.

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This recipe is called “Chanpuru” in Okinawa, which means frying mixture of various ingredients. In every age we are busy so traditional Okinawa people made this “Chanpuru” recipe which is quick. We can cook it with any combination of ingredients in the refrigerator, such as egg, vegetables, tofu, fish, meat and so on.

As I said, you don’t need much time for grocery shopping and cooking. Please try it when you are too busy to cook something else for dinner!!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

2 bunches (6.2 0z) Organic Somen Noodles

½ lb. Ground Chicken

½ large Onion

1 Carrot

¾ tsp. Salt (total)

½ tsp. Black Pepper (total)

3 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil (total)

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Pure Sesame Oil

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Fried Wheat Noodles


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Yummy Tofu Hamburg Steak (Gluten-Free)

In Japan, we sometimes cook hamburger steak with Tofu because we can make it healthier—lower in calories and fat. Tofu hamburger steak is mainly made from ground meat, tofu and vegetables.

Today I introduce you to a simple delicious tofu hamburger steak recipe. The ingredients are chicken, tofu and green onion. It is healthy, delicious and also the texture is amazingly soft because of the tofu’s texture. Tofu is high in quality protein so this steak has great nutrition!

You should try it!!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

A pack (14 oz) Firm Tofu

½ lb. Ground Chicken

½ large Onion

3 pieces Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

¼ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. Grated Ginger

Here is my recipe in PDF (7 MB): Chicken & Tofu Hamburg Steak


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Japanese Pan-Fried Dumpling

Japanese Pan-Fried Dumpling (Gyoza) comes from Chinese food. The recipe was slightly adjusted for Japanese tastes. It is a very popular dish in Japan. Therefore, we have a lot of restaurants for dumplings and also we cook homemade dumplings. There are many ways to cook dumplings, such as pan-fry, steam, deep-fry and boil.

Today I introduce you to pan-fried dumpling which is the most popular way to cook dumplings in Japan.

In this recipe I show you how to make a dumpling wrapper, but you can also find prepared dumpling wrappers at Asian markets and they are easy to cook with.

This time I used ground chicken for the filling but you can use pork, beef or shrimp instead of chicken. Also in regard to vegetables for the filling, you can use any vegetables you want, such as cabbage, mushroom, tofu, herbs and so on.

My mother used to cook with just chicken and green onion for the filling because she said we enjoyed the chicken taste, and we did!

Enjoy your homemade dumplings!

{Ingredients (servings 4)}

2 ½ cups Flour

200 ml plus 1 cup Water

½ tsp. plus a pinch of Salt

1 lb. Ground Chicken

½ cup chopped Green Onion

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Pure Sesame Oil

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. grated Ginger

1 tsp. grated Garlic

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Here is my recipe in PDF (7 MB): Japanese Pan-Fried Dumpling


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Japanese Wheat Noodle (Vegan/Vegetarian)

Somen is a Japanese wheat noodle. In Japan, people traditionally eat cold Somen with cold broth in the summer. At some summer events, Somen noodles are placed in a long flume of bamboo with ice cold water. As the somen pass by, people pick them up with chopsticks and dip them in the broth. Somen has been eaten at ceremonial occasions since about 700 years ago.

This is Organic Somen Noodles (3.1 oz.) I used in this recipe.
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Today I introduce you to Japanese wheat noodle with delicious hot Dashi broth. It is very quick and easy!

Enjoy your new noodle recipe!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

A bunch of Organic Somen Noodles (3.1 oz.)

3 Cups Kelp Dashi Stock or Anchovy Dashi Stock
(Recommended Dried Kelp for Dashi stock) Dashi Dried Kelp
(Recommended Dried Anchovy for Dashi stock)Anchovy Dried Iwashi Fish

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

½ Tbsp. Cooking Sake

½ tsp. Salt

2 Tbsp. minced Green Onion (total)

Boiled Water, for boiling dried Somen noodle

Here is my recipe in PDF (4 MB): Japanese Wheat Noodle

“Anchovy Dashi Stock” recipe in PDF: Homemade Anchovy Dashi Stock

“Kelp Dashi Stock” recipe in PDF: Kelp Dashi stock