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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: gluten free


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Sukiyaki (Gluten-Free)

Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish popular with foreigners. There is a famous song that can be heard all over the world named “SUKIYAKI,” which is a cover of a Japanese song (actually, the song name is different in Japan). The ingredients for Sukiyaki are beef, tofu, Napa cabbage, green onion and so on. The soup is salty-sweet. It is definitely delicious.

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When beef prices were high after WW Ⅱ in Japan, Sukiyaki was also treated as a high-grade dish. Nowadays that is how Sushi is viewed. Usually we use thinly sliced beef which can be chuck, rib, rump or round roast. If you can’t find thinly sliced beef in a grocery store, please buy a tender cut and slice by yourself because you can get great beef flavor and texture with Sukiyaki soup.

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In Japan, traditionally Sukiyaki is served with raw egg. The egg makes the Sukiyaki taste mild and adds a great texture. This, however, is up to each person’s taste. I like eating Sukiyaki itself without the egg, but my husband enjoys it with the egg.

Enjoy this popular and delicious Sukiyaki dish!!

{Ingredients (2 servings)}

½ lb. Beef (sliced meat)

⅓ Napa Cabbage (7~10 leaves)

½ blocks (7 oz.) firm Tofu

8 scallions

¾ cup Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Cooking Sake

Here is my recipe in PDF: Sukiyaki


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Steamed Chicken (Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to a very easy, delicious and healthy recipe called Mushi-dori (Steamed Chicken). You can use this steamed chicken as an ingredients in your salad, soup, noodles, and so on. Of course, you can also eat it as dish by itself and goes well with any kind of sauce.

This is a popular Japanese dish. Also, it is similar to Chinese and Thai steamed chicken, although the seasonings are different.

For this dish I recommend using chicken breast because of texture, flavor and health benefits.

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I steam the chicken breast with ginger and cooking Sake. Ginger is very nutritious and healthy. It helps our blood flow, helps speed up our metabolism, and blocks the oxidation process in our bodies. Also, ginger is very flavorful and helps rid the meat of its chicken smell.

Also, in this recipe I show you a famous sauce for steamed chicken called Goma-dare (Sesame sauce). You can also use this sauce for Shabu-Shabu (boiled, thinly sliced beef).

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This is White Roasted Sesame Seeds I used in this recipe.

Sesame is also very nutritious. It is high in minerals, vitamins, fiber and protein. The most important ingredient in sesame is Lignan which is an antioxidant. Lignan helps liver function and cholesterol depletion. It is good for our health to take 1 Tbsp. of sesame per day.

{Ingredients (Serves 2)}
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1 lb. Chicken Breast

¼ cup Cooking Sake

¼ cup water

1 tsp. grated ginger

[Sauce]

1 Tbsp. leftover juice of chicken

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

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 Tbsp. Miso Soyabean Paste

1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

1 Tbsp. White Roasted Sesame Seeds

½ Tbsp. Pure Sesame Oil

Here is my recipe in PDF: Steamed Chicken


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Savory Egg Custard (Gluten-Free)

Chawan-mushi (Savory egg custard) is a dish in which eggs, various ingredients and Dashi stock are steamed together. It has a very smooth texture, great flavor and wonderful nutrition because the ingredients are steam cooked in the egg custard/Dashi stock mixture in a closed steamer so the taste, flavor and nutrition are condensed in the dish.

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Recently, people have started using the microwave for cooking Chawan-mushi because it is quick and easy, but I think the taste and texture are very different so I use a steamer. It takes a little bit more time but it is the best!

I used shiitake mushroom and chicken breast in this recipe. It is high in vitamins, has great protein, and also is low in calories.

Chawan-mushi has a delicate flavor and amazing texture. It is very delicious! Please cook it and taste it!

{Ingredients (Serves 2)}

3 Eggs

4 oz. Chicken Breast

2 pieces Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

2 ½ cups Water (leftover from soaking shiitake mushrooms)

2 tsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

4 tsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

¾ tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Cooking Sake

Here is my recipe in PDF: Chawan-mushi


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Teriyaki Chicken (Gluten-Free)

Teriyaki chicken is one of the most famous Japanese foods.

The recipe is very easy to prepare and does not take a lot of time! Of course, it is very delicious!

Also, you can use the recipe to make fish teriyaki or Tofu teriyaki. So once you see this recipe, you can make any kind of teriyaki!

The seasonings used are soy sauce, sugar, Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) and cooking Sake. We use these 4 seasonings a lot in Japanese cooking. You can get soy sauce and sugar at most grocery stores in the US. You can get Mirin and cooking Sake at many grocery stores or at any Asian market. You can use inexpensive Japanese Sake instead of cooking Sake if you are unable to find cooking sake. Mirin is a sweet cooking rice wine that adds Umami and a nice sweet taste to dishes.

Enjoy your Teriyaki!!

{Ingredients (Serves 2)}
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1 lb. Chicken Breast or Thigh

2 tablespoons plus 1 separate tablespoon Cooking Sake

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

2 tablespoons Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

1 teaspoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

½ tablespoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup water

Here is my recipe in PDF: Teriyaki


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Simmered Taro and Chicken (Gluten-Free)

Simmered food is a traditional delicious Japanese dish. There are many kinds of vegetable or fish simmered dishes, such as root vegetables, eggplant, lettuce, flounder, anchovy and so on. My mother carefully taught me how to cook simmered dishes because traditionally these dishes are called “Homemade taste,” and in old Japanese traditions women who can cook simmered dishes were considered full-fledged wives, so my mother thought I might want to cook these dishes well for my husband. Of course, we live in a different era today and my husband and I often cook together so we have the great culinary tradition without the sexist overtones.

Basically, the ingredients are root vegetables so the dish includes a lot of fiber which is good for helping digestion. I also used chicken breast which it is low in fat and high in great protein.

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Taro is an important ingredient in homemade taste Japanese dishes. You can get it easily at most grocery stores in the US. Taro is high in potassium and water. Taro also is lower in calories than other kind of potato. When you chew taro, it can feel slightly gooey. This feeling comes from mucin, which is also in our saliva and stomach juice, and it helps the stomach function better.

Enjoy this traditional, nutritious and delicious dish!!

{Ingredients (Serves 2)}
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0.5 lb. Chicken Breast or Thigh

1 peeled Carrot

1 peeled Onion

4 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

1 cup Water (leftover from soaking Shiitake)

3 Taros

5 tablespoons Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

5 tablespoons Cooking Sake

4 tablespoons Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

Here is my recipe in PDF: Simmered Taro and Chicken


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Rice Porridge (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

Rice porridge is an important dish for Japanese. We have the dish when we are sick, when we have no appetite, or when we want to heal the stomach after overeating such as after new year celebrations.

Rice porridge is easy to cook (just put washed dried rice and water in a pan and cook!) and you can season it however you want. We usually eat it with salt or pickles. You can also put sugar and butter like oatmeal or cereal.

{Ingredients (Serves 2)}
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・1 cup Premium Rice, Medium Grain

・7 cups water

・1 teaspoon chopped Green Onion (as topping)

・1 Umeboshi (pickled plum) (as topping)

Here is my recipe in PDF: Rice Porridge


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Potato Galette (Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

Potato is high in vitamin C. It has about the same amount of vitamin C as spinach or orange. In addition the vitamin C in potato is resistant to heat so we can absorb the vitamin C easily from potato dishes. A raw potato’s calorie count is about the same as pumpkin and lower than sweet potato.

This potato galette recipe is very quick, easy and delicious! My mother always cooked it for a snack. It is also good to bring to potluck parties because the ingredients are just potato and cheese. There is no egg and no flour.

{Ingredients (Serves 2)}

4 Potatoes

¼ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

4 tablespoons shredded Mexican Cheese (4 cheese mix)

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese

½ cup vegetable oil

Here is my recipe in PDF: Galette


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Fried Eggplant with Chicken and Miso (Gluten-Free)

Today, I introduce you to fried eggplant. This dish is my mother’s original recipe. She used Miso paste and ginger so it is very nutritious and delicious.

Eggplant is low calorie and has polyphenol, which works as an antioxident.

Miso is a fermented food. Recently, there have been some studies suggesting that fermented foods can improve our immunity. Japanese, who live longer than people from any other country, eat a lot of fermented foods, such as Umeboshi (pickled plum), soy sauce, Miso paste, Katsuobushi (dried bonito) and Natto.

Ginger is also very nutritious and healthy. Ginger helps  our blood flow, helps speed up our metabolism, and blocks the oxidation process inside our body.

This dish has the great flavor of ginger and juicy chicken and it doesn’t have a strong taste of Miso paste, so I am sure everybody can enjoy it!

{Ingredients (for 2 people)}
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・½ Eggplant

・0.5 lb Ground Chicken

・1 teaspoon grated ginger

・1/4 cup vegetable oil

・4 teaspoons ORGANIC Miso Paste

・2 teaspoons Sugar

・2 teaspoons Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

・4 teaspoons Cooking Sake

Here is my recipe in PDF: Fried Eggplant with Miso


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Seasoned Rice with Vegetables (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to Takikomi Gohan which is seasoned rice with vegetables. It has a similar taste to fried rice, but it is steamed so a lot healthier. You can add vegetables (preferably root vegetables), shellfish, and/or chicken, and seasoning to the rice and cook just like cooking white rice.

The basic arrangement for many Japanese meals is called “Ichi-juu, San-sai”, and consists of one bowl of cooked rice, one kind of soup, and three vegetable or fish side dishes. Takikomi Gohan includes rice and some vegetables or fish so it is a fuss-free dish to help arrange Ichi-jiru, San-sai. And, or course, it just plain delicious! Also steamed rice absorbs the Umami of the ingredients so it is very nutritious and delicious!!

We sometimes have Takikomi Gohan as a Bento (boxed lunch) because it is tasty even when it is cold.

This time I use Shiitake mushroom, Daikon, Carrot and Snow pea with Kelp Dashi stock. So it has lots of vitamins, minerals, carotene and fucoidan. Dried Shiitake mushroom has vitamin D so we might want to eat winter time which has short sunshine hours.

{Ingredients (for 2 people)}
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・2 cups Premium Rice, Medium Grain

・3 pieces Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

・1 cup Water (leftover from soaking Shiitake)

・1 ½ cups Tap Water (Depends on amount of rice being soaked)

・2 inches round, sliced Daikon (Japanese white radish)

・1 Carrot

・10 pieces Snow peas

・4 inches × 4 inches sheet of Dashi Dried Kelp

・4 tablespoons Cooking Sake

・4 tablespoons Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

・4 tablespoons Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

Here is my recipe in PDF: Seasoned Rice


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Snow Pea and Egg (Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

Today’s dish is called “Snow peas and Egg,” which is actually my mother’s original recipe. It uses sweet egg and snow peas that are a little bit salty. This dish is very easy to cook and popular with children because of the sweet and soft scrambled egg.

Snow peas have a lot of vitamins and carotene so it is good food for beauty. Egg is, needless to say, high quality protein and high in vitamins and minerals. So my mother knew it is good for children because it is easy, nutritious and delicious!!

{Ingredients (For 2 people)}

About 20 pieces of snow pea (according to your taste)

3 Eggs

2 tablespoons Sugar

¼ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Here is my recipe in PDF: Snow pea and Egg