June 29, 2013

Aji no Nanban Zuke, Again/再び、アジの南蛮漬け

As part of supper tonight, I made aji no nanban zuke. Green peppers are a nice ingredient of nanban zuke, but we didn't have any. My wife suggested that I add cucumbers, and I unwillingly accepted the idea.
今日の夕飯には鯵(あじ、アジ)の南蛮漬けを作りました。ピーマンを南蛮漬けに入れるといいのですが、なかったので、妻はきゅうりを入れたらどうかと、言いました。嫌々(いやいや)その考えに従いました。
I hit upon a good idea: Making kinshi tamago.
いい考えが浮かびました。錦糸卵を作ることです。 
I decided to keep the aji separate from the vegetables, so my daughter, who is not a big fan of nanban zuke, could have the vegetables and the kinshi tamago as a kind of salad.
アジを野菜を別々にすることにしました。そうすれば、南蛮漬けがあまり好きではない娘が野菜と錦糸卵をサラダのように食べれると思って。
 
I used two packs of aji. I coated them with katakuriko (potato starch) and komeko (rice flour) and deep-fried at a low temperature of 160oC for more than 8 min.
アジは2パック使いました。片栗粉と米粉をまぶして、160oCの低温で8分以上揚げました。
I marinated them in a 3:3:1 mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, as usual. I left out red peppers.
いつも通り、しょう油、お酢、砂糖を3:3:1で混ぜたものに漬けました。赤唐辛子は省きました。
 
I boiled more than 600 g somen. On a hot summer day, we crave cold noodles!
素麺を600 g以上茹でました。暑い夏の日には冷たい麺を食べたくなります!
 
(My daughter said she had a lot of aji, and added they were very good!)
(娘はアジをいっぱい食べたそうです。それにとても美味しかったそうです。)

8 comments:

Sissi said...

I made nanban zuke with fish fillets last week. This week is cold again, so I'm rather into simmering ;-)

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Cold? I can't stop making aji dishes because aji have become so cheap these days!

Sissi said...

Today it's hot (yesterday it was very cold and raining)... but I'm skeptical. This spring was the coldest in my city for 50 years and apparently the summer will not be standard either... A week ago there was a storm with hailstones with 3 cm diameter! End of June? Moreover, it was the first time I saw something like this. Luckily I was at home and took the herb boxes from the balcony. Otherwise I would have to plant everything again.
With my new knife filleting fish has become a real pleasure!

Anonymous said...

Just curious, what do you do with the leftover oil after deep frying? My family loves fried foods, but sometimes it is troublesome figuring out what to do with all the half-dirty oil afterwards.

Hiroyuki said...

Anonymous: Transfer to the oil container while the oil is still hot, using filter paper like the one shown here:
http://hiro-shio.blogspot.jp/2011/05/tempura-making-3.html
and REUSE it for deep-frying, pan-frying, etc. I seldom dispose of used oil. I think my wife and I do deep-frying once 1-2 weeks.

Some people do recommend disposing of oil after three deep-frying sessions, but I don't care, because I can easily tell whether used oil is still good or bad by checking the texture (viscosity?).

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, I totally agree. I also filter the oil through paper towels or very fine sieve and as long as it stays clear (doesn't darken several tones) and doesn't smell too strong of fish (when I want to deep-fry meat or vegetables), I reuse it.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: The last time I disposed of used oil was after I made maitake tempura. The oil turned blackish, and had an unpleasant smell. After using it several times for pan-frying or something, I had to dipose of it. Naturally, I haven't made maitake tempura since then.

Sissi said...

I have never tried maitake tempura... but I will remember your experience.