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Taste Gallery: Seven popular Japanese condiments and sauces
Japanese cuisine is a paradise for gourmets with specific taste preferences. Although there is something in it that many people like. Sauces and seasonings of Japanese cuisine have spread all over the world and have become an integral part of many dishes.
Asian Classics
Perhaps, Japanese teriyaki sauce is the most popular seasoning from the Land of the Rising Sun, not counting soy sauce. However, in Teriyaki, it was not without him. To prepare it, mix 100 ml of soy sauce, sweet rice wine mirin and sake, 1 tbsp brown sugar in a saucepan. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a boil to dissolve the sugar. We continue to simmer the sauce until its volume is halved, and it does not look like a thick syrup. Serve ready-made teriyaki with shrimp or mussels, and you’ll have a Japanese-style dinner. Although with fish, pork and chicken, it will also look organic.
Green Flame
The Japanese wasabi seasoning is also very popular, with a delicate pistachio color and a nuclear-sharp taste. In Japan, it is made from fresh wasabi root-an analogue of our horseradish. We have to settle for dry wasabi powder. Mix 2 tsp of powder and water into a creamy paste — the Japanese hot sauce is ready. To soften the sting and enrich the taste, add 125 g of yogurt, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp ginger root and the juice of ¼ lemon. If there are fans of Japanese cuisine in the family, make them homemade rolls or sushi with wasabi filling. And this seasoning can be served with tempura-fish, seafood or vegetables in batter.
Nutty fantasy
In almost any country, you can try nut sauce. Japanese cuisine is no exception. Brown 50 g of soybeans and 10 g of sesame seeds in a dry pan, then grind them into crumbs with a blender. Alternately add 3 tsp. rice vinegar, 4 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp.sesame oil, sugar, corn and wheat flour. Beat the mixture until smooth. If it is too thick, pour in a couple of spoonfuls of water. And for sharpness, put a clove of garlic. This sauce was invented specifically for the chuka seaweed salad. Pork, chicken and seafood with it will also play with new notes.
Sour sweetness
A favorite addition for many gourmets to various dishes is sweet and sour Japanese sauce. There are a lot of options, we offer to prepare one of the most popular. Finely chop the onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic and grate 5 cm of ginger root. Fry the mixture in oil, gradually adding 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Constantly stirring, pour in 125 ml of pineapple juice and 1 tbsp. l. starch diluted in water. Cook the sauce over medium heat until thickened. Add this sweet and sour sauce to fatty meat, and none of the household will have problems with digestion. By the way, it is also ideal for dietary white meat.
Bird’s Joy
Another universal favorite is yakitori sauce. First of all, cut into cubes 300 g of apples and 40 g of ginger root. Bring to a boil 300 ml of white wine and evaporate all the alcohol. In a saucepan, heat 500 ml of soy sauce, pour in white wine and 300 ml of the already familiar mirin rice wine. Pour out the apples with ginger, 150 g of cane sugar, 100 g of crushed lemongrass and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes. Then we introduce a thin stream of 30 g of rice starch diluted in water. Cook the sauce until thickened, then filter. Cook a chicken with yakitori, and your loved ones will wonder for a long time what a wonderful bird is in front of them.
Marine exotics
True connoisseurs of Asian cuisine prefer spicy Japanese unagi sauce with hints of smoked meat. Mix 200 ml of dry white wine, soy sauce and mirin rice wine in a saucepan. Add 1 tsp. dry fish broth khondashi. It can be found in specialized Japanese food stores. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, reduce it and boil the sauce in half. As soon as you notice the caramel-colored foam, remove the pan from the stove. Immediately add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, mix quickly and cool. In Japan, unagi is served with eel.
Gourmet seasoning
With the dry Japanese seasoning furikake, we are not so familiar, because not all the ingredients for it are easy to find. Fry in a dry pan for 35 g of light and dark sesame seeds. On it, we also dry 3 sheets of nori algae. Instead, you can take 2 handfuls of wakame. Sheets of algae are crushed with scissors. Combine sesame seeds, 30 g of dry tuna shavings, 20 g of dry fish broth, 35 g of salted cracker, ½ tsp of salt and sugar in the bowl of a blender. Grind all the ingredients into crumbs, add the seaweed and mix. Sprinkle this seasoning on any rice dish, and it will acquire a unique Asian sound.
If you suddenly want to diversify your home menu with something exotic, take note of these recipes for Japanese sauces. They will give the usual dishes an interesting and unexpected taste.