as in grilled foods. There are approximately 320 mg of sodium in one teaspoon of Kikkoman's standard soy sauce and 170 mg in the low-sodium product. Frequently as much as a quarter of a cup is used in a single dish (which is equal to twelve teaspoons, or 3,840 mg of sodium if you use the standard soy sauce and 2,040 mg if you use the low-sodium product). In contrast, soybean curd, a subtle tasting, custard-like food, is low in sodium and fat and rich in protein. But it is usually cooked with other foods in sauces that contain either soy sauce or soybean paste. The liberal use of these two staples, as well as salt, has affected the health of many Japanese. The incidence of hypertension is high in Japan, but it is highest in the north, where farmers preserve their food in salt.
Since authenticity is not the goal of this book, the quantity of soy sauce in all these recipes has been substantially reduced and has been limited to Kikkoman's low-sodium soy sauce, which has 40% less sodium in it than the standard product. To compensaté for this, more reliance has been placed on other typically Japanese flavors such as horseradish, ginger, and sweet-and-sour sauces. Together with these, generous sprinklings are recommended of ground sansho, a fragrant, tangy but not hot spice, and shichimi togarashi (seven-spice mixture), a powdered blend of red pepper, sansho, dried mandarin orange peel, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, nori (seaweed bits), and hemp seeds, as effective flavor additions when cooking without salt. The seven-spice mixture is available in small bottles at very modest cost. In Japan it is not uncommon to buy it from a spice merchant who will mix it in proportions to suit your personal taste. If neither of these is available to you, substitute black pepper for the sansho, and crushed dried chilies or cayenne pepper for shichimi togarashi though, of course, the flavors are not the same.
Perhaps the best way to begin cooking Japanese food is to choose a single dish that can be worked in with a more familiar menu. Don't overlook one-pot meals, which are cooked at the table, or scattered sushi, a cold rice salad with seafood and vegetables. These one-dish meals are by far the simplest to prepare and the most congenial to serve. Whatever you decide, let three words be your guide: freshness, simplicity, and beauty.
Stocks and Soups
(Dashi, Suimono, and Shirumono)
Basic Stock
(Dashi)
Dashi is a stock made from dried bonito fish (katsuobushi) and dried kelp (kombu). Equivalent to our chicken and beef stocks, it is used in the cooking of many meat, poultry, and fish dishes. It is what gives Japanese food its most characteristic flavor.
Ichiban dashi, or first dashi, is the foundation of clear soups (sumashi), to which is added a morsel of fish or chicken, a slice of vegetable or bean curd, and a decorative garnish to aesthetically complement and add fragrance to the whole.
Niban dashi, or second dashi, is a weaker stock made from the leftover ingredients of first dashi and is used as a cooking stock in place of water when preparing boiled foods.
Dashi is much easier to make from scratch than chicken broth, but just as busy Western cooks use canned chicken broth instead of making their own, so do Japanese cooks use instant dashi. Called dashi-no-moto, it comes powdered, in cubes, or in bags Jike tea bags, with instructions in English. However, it is not recommended for frequent use, because it contains added salt and monosodium glutamate. If none of these ingredients is available, you may substitute chicken stock (p. 10). It must be light, crystal clear, and without a trace of fat. If you use canned broth, use the low-sodium kind. Chill it first and skim off the fat; then dilute it with a little water. Serve the soup in a cup-like bowl, not the wide, shallow bowls in which Western soups are served. The Japanese often use a lacquered bowl with a lid, which not only keeps the soup hot but seals in the delicate aroma.
First Dashi
(Ichiban dashi)
6 cups water
2-inch square kombu (dried kelp)
1 cup flaked katsuobushi (dried bonito)
1. Bring water and kombu to a boil over high heat. Immediately remove kombu and set aside.
2. Stir in the katsuobushi flakes and turn off the heat. Let the dashi rest for 2 or 3 minutes or until the flakes sink to the bottom of the pot.
3. Strain the stock through a colander lined with 2 or 3 layers of cheesecloth. This is the first dashi.
Second Dashi
(Niban dashi)
1. Add 6 cups of water to the kombu and katsuobushi used in the first dashi.
2. Add ¼ cup additional katsuobushi flakes. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Strain through a cloth-lined colander. Discard the katsuobushi and kombu.
To ensure full flavor, dashi is best used immediately, though it may be refrigerated for 1 or 2 days.
Note: Salt is probably used in the drying of kelp and bonito, but no figures exist for how much sodium is extracted when dashi is prepared. Therefore, whenever dashi is called for in the following recipes, the sodium count for chicken stock, its substitute, will be used in doing the nutrient analysis.
Clear Soup
(O-sumashi)
4 cups first dashi (p. 9), or chicken stock (p. 10)
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
Powdered sansho (Japanese pepper) to taste
1. Bring the stock to a boil. Reduce heat and add the soy sauce.
2. Add ingredients suggested in the following recipes or create variations of your own. They should provide contrast in shape, color, and texture. One morsel may be a slice of mushroom, bamboo shoot, water chestnut, or lemon peel. Another may be long and thin, such as a strip of carrot, scallion, or green bean. A whole cooked shrimp, an oyster or clam in half-shell, or a cube of tofu or chicken may be used. Finally, a delicate leafy garnish should be added such as trefoil, watercress, parsley, spinach leaf, or green onion top. Three well-chosen morsels per bowl are usually enough.
3. If a thicker soup is desired, 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved in a little water may be added.
| Yield: 4 servings | Cooking time: 10 minutes |
| Calories per serving: 40 | Total fat: 0 g |
| Saturated fat: 0 g | Polyunsaturated fat: 0 g |
| Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 65 mg |
Chicken Stock
(Tori-gara no Dashi)
This is an adaptation of the American Heart Association's recipe for chicken broth.
2 quarts water
2
