November 9, 2012

Akebia Rinds Stuffed with Meat/アケビの肉詰め

Yesterday, I bought a pack of three akebia fruits for 98 yen.
昨日、アケビを1パック(3個入り、98円)を買いました。

I decided to make akebi no niku zume (akebia rinds stuffed with meat) as part of supper tonight.  I learned only yesterday that akebia rinds are edible (but bitter).
今日の夕飯にアケビの肉詰めを作ることにしました。
昨日、アケビの皮は(苦いが)食べられると知りました。

I had to cut each akebia fruit carefully so as not to damage the "contents".
「中身」を傷つけないよう、慎重にアケビを切りました。
These are the sweet innards of akebia.  You put one in your mouth, have the sweet white substance, and spit out the black seeds.
これがアケビの甘い中身です。口に入れて、甘い白い部分を食べて、黒い種を吐き出します。
I dusted the inside of each akebia rind half with katakuriko (potato starch), and 
stuffed each with a mixture of:
300 g ground pork
1/2 naga negi, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp katakuriko 
半分に切ったアケビの皮の内側に片栗粉を振って、
豚の挽き肉 300 g
刻んだ長ねぎ1/2本
塩 小さじ1/4
片栗粉 大さじ2
を混ぜたものを詰めました。

I pan-fried them with a relatively large amount of oil.  One recipe says that you have to fry with a large amount of oil to remove the bitterness.
比較的多い油で焼きました。或るレシピーでは、苦さを抜くため、多めの油で炒めると書いてあったので。

Just as I had imagined, the purple color had gone...
想像した通り、紫色は消えてしまいました...。
The rest of the meat mixture was turned into small patties and baked in the toaster oven.
残りの肉は小さく分けて、オーブントースターで焼きました。
I also made potato salad.  We also had inada (young yellowtail) sashimi and aji no nanban zuke.  And, the leftover tonjiru (pork soup).  I added some enoki to the tonjiru.  We will have the niitaka nashi (pear) when my son comes home at around 8 o'clock.
ポテトサラダも作りました。いなだの刺身とアジの南蛮漬けも食べました。それから、残りの豚汁も。豚汁にはエノキを少し足しました。息子が8時頃帰ってきたら、新高梨を食べます。 
The akebia rinds were much less bitter than I had anticipated.
アケビの皮は思ったより苦くなかったです。
A

8 comments:

  1. Last year I was thinking about planting Akebia at the house walls but I hesitated, could not decide between Akebia and Campsis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campsis). Campsis looks beautiful in full blossom. I did not know that the Akebia rind is edible. Makes it more and more interesting.
    You had quite a feast today.

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  2. Kiki: If you plant three-leaf akebia, you can get kinome in spring!
    http://hiro-shio.blogspot.jp/2012/05/udo-and-kinome.html
    See the third photo.

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  3. Hiroyuki-san, thank you for the post about Akebia fruit. I haven't heard about this type of fruit before. When I saw your first picture I thought it was a type of eggplant or purple mango .

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  4. Anonymous: Someone says that akebia rinds taste like bitter eggplant (laugh).

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  5. It looks like a fruit from a different planet! (Haha! I have also though at first that it was a different aubergine variety ;-) ). I have never even heard about it, not to mention seeing it. Filling the rind with ground meat sounds like a very creative idea.
    Another item I will put on my list to taste during next stay in Japan! (Of course if it's in season when I come)

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  6. Sissi: Well, it's not something you will crave... For one thing, the pulp is only slightly sweet. For another, the rind is bitter...

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  7. Wow, my first time to see this kind of fruit... Does it taste as bitter as goya(bitter melon) or just slightly bitter like gnemon fruit? I'm a fan of bitter dishes anyway. haha

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  8. anon: I didn't find it as bitter as goya. Sorry, I'm not familiar with gnemon fruit.

    Other dishes suggested for akebia rinds include stir-fries and kakiage (onion slices + green perilla + akebia rinds).

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