Five cooking techniques of Japanese cuisine,
Behind the exquisite taste of food
Based on “Thanks for the Treat! The Complete Japanese Cookbook”, the top 10 cooking techniques used in Japanese cooking are summarized, along with a scientific interpretation, although it is a little long, but if you carefully read it, it will be useful.
01. How to cook delicious rice?
Japanese style “Three dishes in one Sauce”
The staple food in Japan has always been rice as the mainstream, so the Japanese people have made a lot of efforts to improve rice varieties and cultivation techniques.
An egg, a drizzle of soy sauce, even if it’s just a knob of butter, has a simple yet meaningful taste.
One of the classic ways to eat Japanese rice: Bibimbap with soy sauce and eggs
In order to cook delicious rice, in addition to the variety of rice and cultivation method, the cooking method is also important, and the first step is to wash the rice.
Combined with a sieve to wash rice can quickly pour water out
First you need to rinse the rice several times with water. Pour enough water into the pot and then put the rice in. Mix it quickly with your hands and pour the water away. Repeat this for 2 to 3 times. It’s easier if you combine a basin with a sieve.
The point of this step is to do it quickly, pouring the water away quickly so that the rice grains do not absorb the muddy water.
It is a mistake to pour rice and then water in the first step of panning
Most people are used to pouring rice and then turning on the tap, but this method has its drawbacks.
When dry rice comes into contact with water, it will quickly absorb water. While waiting for enough water to be added, it has absorbed the water containing rice bran and impurities. Therefore, it is necessary to add enough water before pouring the rice.
The method of washing rice
After rinsing the rice, the formal washing process begins.
With your hands in the shape of a cat’s claw, gently stir the rice around like a circle. Repeat about 20 times. Be careful not to push too hard during this process to avoid breaking the rice.
But if it is aged rice, you can use a little more force to remove the surface of the aged part.
A second rinse is about to take place
After rinsing a second time, water can be injected directly into the rice.
Depending on how clear the water is, the rinsing frequency is determined. Usually after 3 rinses, the rice will appear transparent, and the whole rinsing process is over.
Remember not to rinse the rice too many times just because the water is still cloudy. Over rinsing the rice can cause it to lose nutrients and flavor.
Cooked rice
After washing the rice, soak the rice in appropriate amount of water for 30 minutes to 1 hour (Soaking time depends on the variety of rice and temperature, need to extend soaking time in winter).
By soaking, the core of the rice will also absorb the water, so that the rice will be soft.
The cooked rice should be turned in time
Of course, now the basic use of rice cooker cooking, will be soaked in rice after the selection of appropriate functional options, just need to wait.
Do not open the rice immediately after cooking, cover the lid and stew for about 10 minutes, open the lid with a rice spoon to loosen the rice, so cooked rice, not delicious is difficult.
02. The Wisdom of Japanese Seasoning
From left to right, granulated sugar, salt, vinegar, soy sauce and miso
That is commonly used in Japanese cuisine flavoring there is a saying called “さ し す せ そ”, according to the Japanese fifty sound figure “さ” line arrangement, making it easy to read and easy to remember, but it’s not just a coincidence.
Soy sauce
The Japanese usually add seasonings in this order, and there is a reason behind it.
First, sugar and salt. Both are granular, but salt particles are smaller than sugar particles and dissolve more easily in water, and salt tends to shrink ingredients.
If you put salt first, sugar will not be easy to taste, so you need to put sugar before salt.
miso
Next up are vinegar, soy sauce and miso, all of which tend to lose flavor over heat, so they are often added near the end of the meal, but in a different order.
Blue and white fish miso cooked
Miso, for example, because its flavor is most easily lost by heat, is usually incorporated into the dish at the end.
But in a miso boil (a miso-based cook), half of the miso is put in first to blend with the ingredients, and the rest of the miso goes in at the end.
03. The base of taste in Japanese cuisine — making juice
Can easily be made at home
Boil good juice soup color clear
Juicing, also known as Japanese stock, is widely used in Japanese cuisine, from noodles, soups, POTS, to a variety of cooked dishes.
It can be said that if you want to learn how to cook Japanese food, you must first learn how to make juice.
However, it is not complicated to make the sauce. Compared to the Chinese soup, the sauce made of kumbu and bonito flowers takes less time to make and the method is much easier. There are just a few points to master.
Remove the cloth before boiling
For example, to make juice out of the cloth, cut the dry cloth into an appropriate size with scissors, soak it in water overnight, add water to boil it the next day, and take out the cloth when the water is about to boil.
There is a natural white powder on the surface of the cloth
There are two main points. First, do not wash the cloth with water, but gently wipe it with the cloth. The main ingredient of the white powder on the surface of the cloth is mannitol, which can increase the flavor of the juice.
The second point is to remove the cloth before boiling, otherwise the mucous of the cloth will burst into juice and become thick.
The bonito flowers in preparation produce juice
For another kind of bonito, boil the water to about 85℃, put the bonito in, turn off the heat and let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes before filtering.
The first point is the temperature, and the second point is not to stir the bonito flowers, so as not to produce astringency.
Food Post No. 22 Special “Thank You for Your Hospitality”
04. Should I wash fish and shellfish with salt water or plain water?
A seafood shop at Nishiku Market in Kyoto
Many people think that because fish and shellfish originally live in sea water, so when cleaning with salt water flavor components is not easy to lose, and salt itself also has a certain bactericidal effect. But there is actually a risk of food poisoning by washing with salt water.
For example, when cleaning a whole fish, saltwater can lead to the proliferation of Vibrio enteritidis (a halophilic bacterium that lives in Marine water, especially at a salinity of 3%-5%), which can cause food poisoning.
Cut fish should not be exposed to too much water
Therefore, the correct way to clean the gills and viscera is to remove them and rinse them with running water, so that the bacteria will burst and die because the external osmotic pressure is too low.
Then dry the fish and the cutting board and cut the fish to size. The reason why you should not contact too much water at this time is that the umami component of fish is easily dissolved in water and lost.
Steamed clams in wine is a simple and popular izakaya dish
Shellfish in sea water will die if immersed in clear water for a long time, so you should use salt water when spitting sand. But you need to use clean water to remove bacteria.
When the shellfish spit sand, they need to mimic their original environment as closely as possible.
Flatbottom containers are used for sand spitting
Use a flat bottom container, put the shellfish into it, so that they do not overlap each other, then add room temperature salt water, just over the shellfish is appropriate.
For clams, the concentration is 3 to 4 percent, and for clams, the concentration is 0.5 to 1 percent.
Then put them in the dark environment, can also be covered with tin foil to block the light, basically 3 to 4 hours after the sand can spit very clean.
05. Why do you have to salt fish when you grill them?
Salt-roasted sawhorish is a favorite of many people
Grilled fish, seasoned only with salt, is a common dish in Japanese cuisine. Although it looks simple, the timing and amount of salt can greatly affect its flavor.
If you add salt after baking, it will be bland due to lack of flavor, but if you add it too early, it will dry out easily.
But is salt necessary?
Roasted mackerel with salt
When salt is present, the protein solidifies more quickly, so that the top layer forms more quickly and the gravy inside is less likely to drain away when grilled fish or meat.
When a fish is roasted, the surface cells of the fish rapidly lose water and contract. When the fish is roasted, the internal cells are less likely to lose water and flavor.
Salt-grilled salmon
If you salt it too late or forget to salt it, the surface cells will burst as the water boils, which not only loses flavor, but also takes a lot of heat with it as it evaporates, making it harder for the heat to reach the inside of the fish.
If the salt is applied too early, the outer layer of cells will burst due to excessive external osmotic pressure, and the inner layer will lose moisture and flavor, as mentioned earlier, and dry out.
Therefore need to immediately start after salt baked
