Maori Murota - Simply Japanese: 100 Authentic Recipes for Easy Home Cooking

This is a book about my everyday cooking. It contains recipes I learned from watching my mother and grandmother cook and by tasting their dishes, my mouth filled with flavors and happiness. Its my pleasure to share here the traditional recipes for the everyday Japanese dishes I grew up with, as well as my own original recipes inspired by foreign cuisines. This blend of tradition and fusion is very typical of modern Japanese cuisine. When entering a kitchen in Japan, you will often find olive oil, nuoc cham, gochujang (spicy Korean paste), and cheese. We are very interested in foreign foods and often adopt them to add novelty to our cooking.

Yet, we also remain attached to the jars of preserves and nukazuke pickles (fermented daily in a rice bran bed called a nukadoko), using the same method as our grandmothers. It is entirely possible to respect traditional family cooking while at the same time cooking with an open mind and thinking outside the box. This is my version of todays Japanese cuisine. In recent years, after the birth of my daughter and the Covid-19 lockdowns, my perspective on food has changed a lot. I began to want to use more locally produced food, with less of an environmental impact. My family and I spent the first lockdown on a small island in France.

It was, of course, difficult to find Japanese products in the shops, so I started making my own udon noodles and gyoza dough and fermenting tsukemono pickles. I was pleasantly surprisedthey were delicious and not as complicated as I had thought they might be. After an initial period of panic, I realized how much joy there was in cooking from scratch, in creating everything with my own hands, just like my mother and grandmother did. I no longer worry when I cant access the Japanese grocery stores in the heart of ParisI can do everything myself! In my quest to find the right ingredients, I was fortunate to meet passionate local producers who make miso, seaweed, Japanese vegetables, and tofu... all the things I thought I had to import from Japan. It is now possible to make Japanese dishes in France almost independently.

In this book I introduce my favorite 100 percent homemade recipes for iconic Japanese dishes, such as sushi and ramen, but also recipes to make miso paste, natto, anko, and Japanese curry without using processed curry cubes. Cooking food at home is, of course, healthier, because you know exactly whats in the dish, but its also much more delicious! I now follow a mostly vegan diet, but my family eats everything, so I cook meat and fish for them. I provide as many vegan alternatives as possible in this book because you can cook very good, totally plant-based Japanese dishes. I want to share my recipes with everyone, regardless of their religion or diet. I hope this book inspires your everyday cooking and that you enjoy preparing these dishes. I will be delighted if it helps you find your own version of Japanese cuisine.

Contents

STEP-BY-STEP VEGAN Serves 4, or makes 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) Preparation: 1 hour Resting: 13 hours Cooking: 12 minutes 20 g (4 teaspoons) salt 180 ml ( cup) filtered water 350 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour 50 g (1 oz) corn flour, arrowroot, or tapioca starch For working the dough Potato starch or corn flour Dissolve the salt in the filtered water. Sift the flour and corn flour into a bowl. Add the salt water gradually, mixing with your fingers until you get a crumbly texture (A). Form a ball of dough by pressing well with your hands. At this point, the dough will not be smooth. A Put a board on the floor, cover it with a tea towel, place the dough on top, and cover it with another tea towel (or place it in a large sturdy ziplock bag). A Put a board on the floor, cover it with a tea towel, place the dough on top, and cover it with another tea towel (or place it in a large sturdy ziplock bag).

Knead the dough with your feet. Start from the center and take small steps toward each side (about 50 steps). When the dough is nice and flat, fold it in four. Knead it again with your feet. Repeat the folding and kneading one more time. Once the dough is flat again, fold the edges toward the center to form a ball (B).

Work the folds with your fingers to smooth the ball. Turn the dough over with the closed side underneath. Wrap it in a damp tea towel. Leave to rest at room temperature: 1 hour in summer, 2 hours in spring and autumn, 3 hours in winter.

B Liberally sprinkle a work surface and the dough with potato starch. Press a rolling pin down on the middle of the ball (closed side underneath), and roll out the dough upward.

Start from the center again and roll downward. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin (C), press down on the rolling pin, using your hands to thin the dough out, and then unroll. Repeat this process until you get a square that is 3 mm ( inch) thick.

C Dust a cutting board and both sides of the dough with starch. Fold the dough into thirds and cut into noodles that are 3 mm ( inch) wide (D).

Separate them one by one, adding starch if necessary. Place them in piles on another board (E).

D E Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Shake the noodles a little to remove excess starch and drop them into the water. Stir with chopsticks to separate and prevent them from sticking. Lower the heat and cook for about 12 minutes.

To check if the udon are cooked, take a noodle, dip it in cold water and bite itif the inside is translucent, then its ready. Drain and rinse with cold water to remove starch. STORING UNCOOKED NOODLES Keep noodles for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator and 1 month in a ziplock bag in the freezer. VEGAN Classic Mentsuyu Makes 600 ml (20 fl oz) sauce Preparation: 5 minutes Cooking: 5 minutes 200 ml (7 fl oz) soy sauce 100 ml (3 fl oz) sake 100 ml (3 fl oz) water 200 ml (7 fl oz) mirin 10 g ( oz) dried kombu 10 g ( oz) katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Leave to cool.

Remove the kombu and katsuobushi. Squeeze the katsuobushi over the pan to extract as much liquid as possible. TIPS The sauce will keep for 10 days in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. Dont throw away the kombu and katsuobushi. You can turn them into delicious condiments (. Mentsuyu shojin Makes 600 ml (20 fl oz) sauce Preparation: 5 minutes Resting: Overnight Cooking: 5 minutes 200 ml (7 fl oz) soy sauce 100 ml (3 fl oz) sake 100 ml (3 fl oz) water 200 ml (7 fl oz) mirin 10 g ( oz) dried kombu 10 g ( oz) dried shiitake mushrooms Put all the ingredients into a jar or airtight container and leave to rest overnight in the refrigerator to gently infuse the flavor of the kombu and shiitake.