April 24, 2013

Making Natsumikan Ponzu Again/再び、夏みかんポン酢を作る

Today, I squeezed all the last natsumikan my father sent us to make ponzu. As you can see, most of them were rather small, and had blemishes and bruises all over them (and were not suited for making natsumikan peels simmered with sugar). The recipe is the same as that that I described here.
今日は、父が送ってくれた最後の夏みかんを絞って、ポン酢を作りました。見て分かる通り、大半は小さ目で、傷やシミだらけ(なので、夏みかんの皮の砂糖煮には不向き)でした。レシピはここに書いたのと同じです。
I used the squeezer only once. I knew my hands were a better tool for sequeezing the citrus fruit.
絞り器は一回しか使いませんでした。手でやったほうが、この柑橘系果物をよく絞れるのは分かっていました。

From 48 small-size natsumikan,
小さい夏みかん48個から、
I was able to get about 900 ml juice.
果汁が900 ml程取れました。
To 400 ml juice, I added 400 ml soy sauce, plus some shredded kombu and some (15 g) katsuobushi. At this point, I forgot to add 100 ml mirin (with alcohol removed by boiling).
果汁400 mlにしょう油400 mlと刻み昆布を少しと鰹節を少し(15 g)入れました。この時点では、(煮切った)みりんを100 ml入れるのを忘れていました。

 
I have to add the mirin soon! I'm looking forward to using the ponzu, because home-made ponzue is usually tastes great.
みりんを早く入れないと!通常、自家製のポン酢はとっても美味しいので、このポン酢を使うのが楽しみです。



10 comments:

Sissi said...

I always thought that ponzu can be made only with yuzu. It sounds like good news. Even though we don't have Japanese citruses here, I could maybe play with limes, lemons and mandarins... How long will home made ponzu keep? You have got quite a big amount!

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: I can never be sure but I think it will keep at least for weeks if stored in the fridge. I think we will use it up in a month or two.

Sissi said...

Thank you. I'm looking forward to see if you find original uses of ponzu, now that you have a huge batch.
By the way, the thing I bought in Tokyo, labelled "baby reef" (I still laugh when I think about your funny jokes about Japanese pronunciation...) has now about 4 cm and they are... small leaves. I have tasted them and they taste and look like nothing I know. I will take photos, maybe you will have an idea... I think I will use it in delicate salads.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: According to the recipe I referred to:
http://www.fushitaka.com/ponzu.html
(Sorry, Japanese only)
people let their home-made ponzu sit for 110 days on average before starting to use it. This guy also says that he once used ponzu that had been sit for five months, and he was so impressed by its flavor.

Original uses? You can put ponzu to a variety of uses. Just think of it as a refreshing sauce. Spinkle on cold tofu, grilled meat, gilled fish, and of course, use it when having nabe (one-pot dish).

Do take a photo of your baby reef. I'd like to see it!

Sissi said...

Thanks a lot, Hiroyuki. I might attempt it soon if it keeps for such a long time. I could mix mandarin and lemon juice; I have found some organic mandarines that have a very similar fragrance to yuzu! but of course they are sweet, so I would add some lemon juice maybe...
Here is the link to the "baby reef" photo. They are planted too closely (my "specialty" ;-) ) I have to replant them.

Sissi said...

Sorry I have forgotten the link
http://www.withaglass.com/?attachment_id=13864

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Thanks for the photo! I can see two or three different varieties of leaf vegetable, but I can't tell which one is which...

As for ponzu, why not consider adding vinegar?
This site
http://reservata.s61.xrea.com/cooking/0-ponzu.htm
(sorry, Japanese only)
suggests two ratios for soy sauce, vinegar + juice, and mirin:

7, 5, and 3 (plus dashi)
5, 5, and 1 to 2 (plus dashi)

I think I'll add some vinegar (and sugar) to my home-made ponzu because it's not sour enough.

Sissi said...

Thank you for the advice. I have been wondering maybe I'll add lime juice... I have a lot of limes now.
Thank you for checking the photo. As you say, it's probably a mixture of different salads and leaf vegetables.

Asmita said...

I would love to make ponzu at home, but there is very little chance of me finding either natsumikan or yuzu here. What else can I use? Lemon/lime/sweet lime (as a far of chance)? Please help.

Just discovered your website through my other favourite madteaparty.wordpress.com, and I am glad to be here. Will visit again.

Hiroyuki said...

Asmita: Yuzu juice is not an essential ingredient of ponzu. Any citrus juice will do! Just give your favorite citrus juice a try and enjoy the flavor of home-made ponzu!
I have searched for ponzu recipes through COOKPAD for you, and found recipes using lemon juice. I have even found a recipe that calls for soy sauce, vinegar, and dashi only.
http://cookpad.com/recipe/1443034
(Japanese only)
Just combine equal amounts (2 tbsp each) of the three ingredients.