Daikon is an Asian radish with a sweet and spicy flavor. It is an essential ingredient in Asian cooking and the most popular vegetable in Japan.
The literal translation from the Japanese is "big root." On a lucky day, walking through an Asian market or Japantown, you might come across a daikon as fat as a Wiffle ball bat. The most common variety of daikon, however, looks like a turnip or white carrot, and that's probably the kind you'll find near the fresh ginger in the grocery store produce aisle.
Daikon is often grated and/or pickled and served as a garnish for sushi or noodle soups. It's a versatile vegetable that can be eaten raw, stir-fried, baked, grilled and simmered in soup.
Here's a little Japanese secret: to preserve its color and bite, cook daikon in water in which rice has been washed. Shouldn't have eaten that last spider roll? Eat a bite of raw daikon as a digestive. Feeling like your daily tempura lunch is taking a toll on your figure? Daikon is believed to be a weight loss aid, as well.
Panko is a type of breadcrumb that is most often used for frying in Japanese cooking. It's made from traditional Japanese wheat bread that has been dried and shredded into flakes. The process produces breadcrumbs that are larger and flakier than ordinary breadcrumbs.
We like panko because it doesn't get soggy or fall off when baked or fried. Plus, it maintains a bit of a crunch when regular breadcrumbs tend to turn soggy.
Many large grocers carry panko in the international food section, and you're sure to find panko at an Asian market. In a pinch, you can substitute crushed saltines (or some other light cracker) for panko.
Recipe: Butternut Squash Tempura With Soy-Lime Dipping Sauce (Cookthink)
Recipe: Oven-Fried Chicken (Cookthink)
Reference: What is an oil's smoke point? (Cookthink)
Is tahini the same thing as sesame paste?
Is tahini the same thing as sesame paste?
Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds, but it's not exactly sesame paste. How's that so? Tahini is made with hulled sesame seeds (just the kernels), and sesame paste is made with the entire seed (shell and all).
Tahini is a typically Middle Eastern ingredient, and sesame paste is more common in East Asian cuisines. While you can find tahini at most grocery stores, you'll probably have to go to an Asian market for sesame paste.
Reference: What is tahini? (Cookthink)
Recipe: Soft Boiled Eggs With Miso, Lemon And Cilantro (Cookthink)
Recipe: Hummus (Cookthink)
The horseradish plant originated in southeastern Europe and western Asia, but is now grown in other parts of Europe and the U.S. Although its green leaves are sometimes used in salads, it is grown mainly for the sinus-clearing properties of its pungent root, which resembles a long, white, oversized carrot.
Fresh horseradish has little smell, but once peeled and grated, it releases powerful enzymes. Freshly grated horseradish will turn dark and bitter if not immediately immersed in vinegar; prepared bottled horseradish is a popular condiment preserved in vinegar or beet juice that gives the Bloody Mary its kick and cuts the sweetness of cocktail sauce. Horseradish sauce made with cream is a popular accompaniment to roast beef in Britain.
Horseradish is one of the five bitter herbs of the Jewish Passover festival, as a bitter herb it represents the bitterness of slavery.
Japanese wasabi, which is also called Japanese horseradish, is used to make a green-colored condiment paste with a sharp bite and mucous membrane-irritating vapors. Available fresh or in powder (to be mixed with water) or pre-made paste form, it is an indispensable accompaniment to sushi and sashimi, alongside pickled ginger and soy sauce.
Recipe: Cabbage Slaw With Horseradish (Cookthink)
Recipe: Bee Cheese (Cook & Eat)
Miso is the elegant Japanese term for fermented soybean paste. A staple of Japanese cuisine, miso may also be made with rice or barley to which mold and salt are added before aging anywhere from 6 to 36 months. This gruesome-sounding process results in a savory paste that ranges in color from golden to reddish-brown to dark brown to black.
Miso paste is rich in mouth-filling, unbound glutamates, which give some foods that meaty taste known as umami. Commonly used to give depth and flavor to soups, miso may also be used to make sauces, marinades and salad dressings. High in salt, it is also rich in B vitamins and protein. A staple of Asian markets, miso is more and more common in general supermarkets.
The pairing of miso and rice is as essential to the Japanese as meat and potatoes are to the American. A common Japanese breakfast is built around rice and miso soup, with the addition of leftover fish, chicken or other meat from dinner the night before.
Miso soup can be made by simply adding dashi stock or boiling water to the paste and stirring well to dissolve. Garnish the soup with cubes of tofu, sliced button or whole enoki mushrooms, strips of dried seaweed or whatever else you have on hand.
Recipe: Miso Soup With Tofu And Soybeans
Recipe: Miso Vinaigrette
Recipe: Broiled Salmon With Miso
Mizuna is a Japanese salad green from the Bassica rapa family that is often found in mesclun.
Dark green and feathery in appearance, with jagged edges similar to arugula, it has a delicate mustardy flavor.
Mizuna has been cultivated in Japan since ancient times and is thought to have originated in China. It can also be cut into a chiffonade and added to soups at the last minute, as it will wilt from the heat of the liquid.
Dashi is the Japanese word for stock. Japanese dashi is light but packed with umami. It's made by soaking dried edible kelp (kombu), cured bonito flakes, and sometimes dried sardines or dried shiitake mushrooms in water.
These ingredients can be soaked more than once. The stock from the first soaking, the ichiban dashi, has the finest flavor and is mixed with a little miso paste to make miso soup. The second stock made by resoaking the ingredients is called niban dashi, and is used for making noodle soups or dishes with more ingredients or stronger flavors.
Instant dashi powder can be bought in Japanese grocers, but it's easy enough to make at home.
Recipe: Basic Dashi (Cookthink)
Recipe: Miso Soup With Tofu And Soybeans (Cookthink)
Tofu is a block of pressed soybean curd. Like many things, tofu originated in China and figures in Chinese and Japanese cuisine, as well as being coveted by vegetarians of all nationalities for its high protein (and nonexistent cholesterol).
Neutral-tasting tofu tends to take on the flavor of whatever it's cooked with, kind of like chicken. It comes in many guises, including soft and firm, dried and processed.
A versatile ingredient, tofu can be eaten raw, cubed and marinated and added to salads or stir-fried dishes at the last minute (it holds its shape but must be treated with some delicacy). Or it can be cut into slices and fried until crispy. Tofu can also be mashed up and used to make non-dairy desserts, like "cheese"-cake.
The tastes of sweet, salty, bitter and sour are familiar, but there is a fifth taste we can perceive with our tongue. Called umami, its taste has been described as rounded, rich and savory.
Of the five tastes, umami (a Japanese-coined name) is our favorite to think about when cooking. It’s usually matched with salt to add depth and complexity to foods that may lack depth and complexity on their own. Traditional examples (the map comes from the Umami Information Center) of umami-rich foods include soy sauce, miso paste and bonito flakes in Asian cuisine; and cured ham, cheese, tomatoes, ketchup and mushrooms in Western cuisine.
Let’s leave the origin of taste to evolutionary biologists and just agree that our tongues have evolved to make us want the things we need to live. The compounds that exude umami form the essential building blocks of proteins, which we need along with sugar and salt to survive. Somewhere along the line, we developed an aversion to bitter and sour tastes, probably to help us avoid dangerous substances. But we’ve learned to overcome those aversions and often enjoy those tastes, too.
Recognizing the power of umami helps us understand our cravings. It also helps explain why we crumble cheese on a roasted beet and arugula salad or why we add a dollop of tomato paste to the base of a stew or why we splash soy sauce in a stir-fry. They all make a meal more satisfying.
Recipe: Arugula Salad With Roasted Beets And Ricotta Salata
Recipe: Beef Osso Buco
Recipe: Stir-Fried Chicken, Bok Choy And Chiles With Basil
Image courtesy of the Umami Information Center
Sashimi is the Japanese term for a dish of sliced raw fish or other seafood. And while it is indeed often sashimi that tops the rice that makes the sushi the world has come to love, sushi actually refers to the rice (which can be topped with anything), not the fish. So the next time someone says they don't like sushi, what they're really saying is that they don't like rice.
Japanese sashimi is served with soy sauce with wasabi paste, or ponzu and shredded daikon radish. But sashimi is a trendy word that is appropriated on restaurant menus worldwide, and may include any number of raw fish preparations.
Soy sauce is a salty liquid made from fermented soy beans, roasted wheat, water and salt. Packed with umami, soy sauce is used as a condiment and seasoning in Asian cuisines.
Soy sauce comes in many subtle variations, but is generally broken down into dark and light varieties. Light soy sauce is generally saltier and thinner than dark soy and does not stain food while cooking. Chinese black soy has added molasses that colors dishes as it cooks. The whole soy beans used to make quality soy sauce lend it a dark color, but cheaper brands using soy protein may cheat by adding caramel coloring.
The Japanese use soy sauce as a dipping sauce for sashimi or to season tofu, grilled meat and vegetable dishes. The Chinese use soy sauce mainly for marinades. In Indonesia, it is used mostly as a table condiment (called kecap, which comes in sweet and salty variations).
Be warned: though Japanese tamari (a slightly thicker and complex soy sauce made from more soybeans than most) is generally wheat-free, other commercial brands of soy sauce do contain gluten, so if you are trying to cook gluten-free, check the labels carefully.
Udon noodles are thick wheat noodles that are a staple of Japanese cuisine (although they originated in China). They can be served hot or cold. Hot udon noodle soups can be garnished with anything from tempura to tofu to fish cakes. Cold udon dishes are often served with grated vegetables and garnished with a dipping sauce.
Recipe: Grated Carrot And Celeriac Salad (Cookthink)
Reference: What is panko? (Cookthink)
