February 2, 2013

Karashi Namasu and Zenmai Nimon/からしなますとぜんまい煮もん

For supper tonight, I made two very popular local dishes in the Minami Uonuma area of Niigata Prefecture:  karashi namasu and zenmai nimon.
karashi:  Japanese mustard
namasu:  dish seasoned with vinegar and other seasonings
zenmai:  Japanese royal or flowering fern
nimon < minono = simmered dish
今日の夕飯には、新潟県の南魚沼地域ではとても一般的な郷土料理を二種類作りました。からしなますとぜんまい煮もんです。

I have this valuable book titled, "Minami Uonuma Chiiki no Kyodo Ryori" (Local Dishes in the Minami Uonuma Area).
私は「南魚沼地域の郷土料理」という貴重な本を持っています。 
As the name implies, karashi namasu is a type of namasu seasoned with Japanese mustard, among others.  There are variations of karashi namasu, and I decided to make it with kiriboshi (lit. cut and dried) daikon.
名前の通り、からしなますは、芥子(からし)などで味付けしたなますです。からしなますには色々なバリエーションがありますが、私は切干し大根で作ることにしました。 
Ingredients for 4 servings:
30 g kiriboshi daikon
1 aburaage
5 g dried cloud ear mushroom
50 g carrot
1 cucumber
3 tbsp sesame seeds, ground

A
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp karashi
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce

Directions:
1.  Simmer kiriboshi daikon until soft.
2.  Cut aburaage into sticks, and remove oil.
3.  Reconstitute cloud ear mushroom in hot water.
4.  Thinly slice cucumber, and cut carrot into strips.
5.  Roast and grind sesame seeds.
6.  Add seasonings under A to sesame seeds, and mix well.  Drain all ingredients, and mix with sesame seeds.

4人分の材料:
切り干し大根 30 g
油揚げ 1枚
干しきくらげ 5 g
にんじん 50 g
きゅうり 1本
ごま 大さじ3 

A
砂糖 大さじ3
塩 小さじ1
からし 大さじ1.5
酢 大さじ2
しょう油 小さじ1

作り方:
1.  切干し大根は柔らかくなるまで煮る。
2.  油揚げは拍子切りにして、油抜きする。
3.  きくらげはお湯で戻す。
4.  きゅうりは小口切り、にんじんは千切りにする。
5.  ごまは炒って、する。
6.  A以下の調味料をごまに入れ、よく混ぜる。材料をすべて水を切り、和える。


Next, zenmai nimon
次にぜんまい煮もん
Ingredients for 4 servings:
20 g dried zenmai
2 half-dried migaki nishin
1/2 carrot
1/4 konnyaku
4 satoimo (taro)
2 kuruma fu (wheat gluten)
70 cc dashi

A
1 cup (= 200 cc) dashi
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sake

B
1 cup dashi
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake

Directions:
1.  Reconstitute zenmai and cut into 10-cm pieces.
2.  Parboil migaki nishin quickly and cut each into 4 pieces.
3.  Parboil konnyaku and cut into tazuna (see photo below).
4.  Chop carrot into chunks.  Peel satoimo and parboil.  Reconstitute kuruma fu in water, and cut each into 4 pieces.
5.  Put seasonings under A in a pot, bring to a boil, add migaki nishin and simmer.  Remove when done.  In the same pot, add 70 cc dashi, add carrot, konnyaku, satoimo, and kurumafu and simmer.  Turn off the heat and let the flavor seep in.
6.  In another pot, put seasonings under B, add zenmai, and simmer with a drop lid.
4人分の材料:
干しぜんまい 20 g
生干し(なまぼし)の身欠きにしん 2本
にんじん 1/2本
こんにゃく 1/4丁
里芋 4個
車麩 2個
だし汁 70 cc

A
だし汁 1カップ(= 200 cc)
しょう油 大さじ2
みりん 大さじ1
砂糖 小さじ1
酒 大さじ1

B
だし汁 1カップ
しょう油 大さじ1
みりん 大さじ1
酒 大さじ1

作り方:
1.  ぜんまいは戻し、長さ10cmに切る。
2.  身欠きにしんはさっとゆでて、4つに切る。
3.  こんにゃくは湯通し(ゆどうし)し、手綱切り(たづなぎり)にする(写真参照)。
4.  にんじんは乱切り、里芋は皮をむいて下茹でする。車麩は水で戻し、4つに切る。
5.  鍋に調味料Aを入れ、一煮立ち(ひとにたち)させ、身欠きにしんを入れて、煮えたら取り出す。同じ鍋にだし汁70 ccを加え、にんじん、こんにゃく、里芋、車麩を入れて煮る。火を止めて、味を含ませる。
6.  別の鍋にBを入れ、ぜんまいを入れて落し蓋(おとしぶた)をして煮る。


Half-dried migaki nishin (beheadded and dried herring):
生干し(なまぼし)の身欠き(みがき)にしん(鰊、にしん):
Zenmai:
ぜんまい:
This particular product is much more expensive than the ones imported from China.
この製品は中国からの輸入品よりずっと高価です。
Here is how to cut konnyaku into tazuna.
こんにゃくの手綱切りの方法です。
Done!
完成!
My portion:
私の分:
Note:  I didn't exactly follow the recipes.  I changed the amounts of the ingredients and made some shortcuts.

Both dishes turned out fine although they were my very first attempts.
注: 私はレシピを正確に従ったわけではありません。材料の量を変えましたし、作り方で省いた点もあります。

両方とも、初めての挑戦でしたが、よくできました。

6 comments:

Fräulein Trude said...

Half dried herring? Is the herring prepared the same way as dried salmon: salted and air dried for a few days?

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Beheadded, gutted, and dried. Not salted, I suppose.

There are three types of dried herring available in Japan:
本干し hon boshi (fully dried), dried for one month or so
八分(七分)干し hachibu (nanabu) boshi (semi-dried), dried for one week or so
生干し, ソフト nama boshi, soft (half-dried), dried for one day or so

Hon boshi herring needs to be soaked in kome no togijiru (milky water you get when washing rice) overnight before use.

Fräulein Trude said...

So you used the "dried for one day" herring. Thanks, interesting.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: I used namaboshi simply because the recipe called for it. Otherwise, I would have used "authentic" migaki nishin, I mean, honboshi.

These two dishes are very popular and almost always served for ceremonial occassions (kankousousai 冠婚葬祭).

Take a look at this zenmai nimon:
http://www.welcome-uonuma.com/contents208.html
(Japanese only)
The number of ingredients, as well as the amount of each ingredient, is kind of overwhelming, and the kuruma fu is treated with double deep-frying!

Sissi said...

I also find the herring interesting. The most common way to eat herring in many European countries is pickled and/or vinegared. I even have some vinegared now in the fridge.
Otherwise it's always exciting to see regional Japanese dishes!

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: According to Wikipedia, beheading, gutting, and drying was the most reasonable way to preserve herring in the days when refrigeration technology was not developed. Anyway, dried herring was a valuable source of protein for those who lived near the mountains. So was kuruma fu and koya dofu.

Every region has its own unique cuisine, and it's exciting even for a native Japanese to explore it.