THE JAPANESE INFLUENCE

JAPANESE MENUS

Pele's Inferno	Watercress Soup
Steamed Rice	Chicken Hekka
Sake	Steamed Rice
Tea	Pickled Cucumbers
	Tea
Miso Soup	Noodle Shrimp Soup
Barbecued Meat Sticks	Mandarin Kabobs, Teriyaki
Shrimp Tempura	Abalone Chunks
Cucumber Salad	Fern Fronds in Shoyu
Rice	Steamed Rice
Tea	Tea

The Japanese are artists in the preparation and serving of food, and we would be presumptuous indeed to endeavor to tell you briefly how it is done. We are, however, giving you some of their recipes. Japanese dishes are exquisite and small and the food is served artistically in what seems to us minute amounts. It is said they serve "food for the soul," which doubtless accounts for the dainty figures of their women.

MISO SOUP

2 doz. dried shrimp (or fresh, if you prefer)

½ cup miso

1 cup diced tofu

2 finely chopped green onions (including tops)

Simmer shrimps for 15 minutes in 1 quart water; remove from water and discard shrimp. Dissolve miso gradually in the boiling liquid; add tofu; turn fire low and simmer about 5 minutes; then add chopped green onions and serve. If you use fresh shrimp, be sure to de-vein them first. (Serves 4)

FISH HEAD SOUP

3 or 4 large fish heads (about size of palm of hand)

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. monosodium glutamate

4 chopped green onions (including tops)

Bring 1½ quarts water to a boil, then add all ingredients except onions. Lower flame, cover and simmer until flesh leaves the bones in fish heads. Remove bones and skin, add green onions and serve. (Serves 6)

WATERCRESS SOUP

½ cup crabmeat

1 cup diced tofu

¼ cup soy sauce

1 bunch watercress, chopped fine (about 2 cups)

4 green onions, chopped, including tops

Simmer crabmeat in 1 quart water 15 to 20 minutes, then add other ingredients (except onions) and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from fire, add onions, and serve. (Serves 4)

SHRIMP TOFU SOUP

Prepare as Miso Soup (page 82), omitting the Miso.

FISH SOUP WITH WATERCRESS

12 dried shrimp

½ lb. fish (mullet, sea bass, etc.)

½ tsp. monosodium glutamate

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 bunch watercress, chopped

Boil shrimp 15 minutes in 1½ quarts water. Remove and discard shrimp and add fish and seasoning. Boil 8 to 10 minutes, until fish is tender. Add watercress and serve. Garnish with lemon slices and/or chopped onions. (Serves 6) One package of fresh or frozen spinach may be substituted for the watercress. If a heavier soup is desired, omit shrimp and use 1 pound of fish. (Serves 8)

NOODLE SHRIMP SOUP

1 small can mushrooms (or ½ cup dried or fresh mushrooms) chopped

1 cup dried shrimp

4 tbsp. soy sauce

½ tsp. monosodium glutamate

1 12-oz. package noodles, broken small

Simmer mushrooms, shrimp, soy sauce and monosodium glutamate 30 minutes in 1½ quarts water. Meanwhile, cook noodles separately by dropping them into a large kettle of boiling water. Boil them for about 20 minutes. When done, drain noodles and add them to the soup. Garnish with green onions, chopped. (Serves 6-8)

BOILED FISH SHOYU

4 small fish (1-serving size), cleaned but not boned nor cut up

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. monosodium glutamate

Place ingredients in shallow pan with sufficient water to barely cover them. Simmer 20 minutes. Serve one fish per serving with some of the liquid. (Serves 4)

BROILED FISH TERIYAKI

2 lbs. filet fish

4 tbsp. vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup sugar

1 thumbnail-size piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and washed and mashed (or ½ tsp. powdered ginger)

Blend ingredients and marinate fish in mixture 15 to 30 minutes. Remove and broil or pan fry. Save some of the marinade for use as table sauce if a stronger flavor is desired. Charcoal broiling enhances the flavor of this style of fish. (Serves 4-6)

SCRAMBLED EGG SHOYU

6 large eggs

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. soy sauce

Combine soy sauce and sugar with lightly-beaten eggs. Put small amount of butter or oil in skillet (just enough to grease pan) add mixture, stirring frequently over low heat until done, as in plain scrambled eggs. (Serves 4)

RAW FISH WITH SAUCE (Sashimi)

2 lbs. firm-fleshed, fish (sea bass, tuna, swordfish or the like)

1 head firm lettuce, shredded

Slice fish on an angle into bite-size thin strips. Keep in refrigerator until just before serving. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, or substitute watercress or thin cucumber slices. This delicacy is best eaten by dipping into shoyu (or soy) sauce, into which has been crushed a small piece of fresh ginger root or ¼ tsp. powdered ginger. Some prefer mustard or Worcestershire sauce added to the shoyu. Mix sauce to your own taste. Don't pass this up. You will be pleasantly surprised to find that raw fish does not taste "fishy." (Serves 8)

JAPANESE BROILED MEAT

1 lb. beef steak, ½ inch thick for regular broiling or 1/8 to ½ inch for broiling à la shish ka-bob)

1 clove garlic, chopped

¼ cup dry white wine (or 2 tbsp. vinegar) and water enough to make ½ cup

1 thumbnail size piece fresh ginger root, crushed (or 1 tsp. powdered ginger)

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup sugar

Combine liquid ingredients and garlic. Marinate meat in this solution for 1 hour. Broil in oven or over charcoal. This is a good dish for a friendly gathering around a charcoal brazier. Let each guest broil his own thin slices over the coals on an appropriate skewer or split bamboo stick. (Serves 4)

PICKLED CUCUMBERS

2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin

½ cup vinegar

¼ tsp. monosodium glutamate

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. sugar

1 thumbnail-size piece of ginger root (or ½ tsp. ginger powder)

Combine all ingredients and let stand for at least 20 minutes. Serve chilled. (Serves 4-6)

SHOYU CARROTS

6 carrots, sliced

2 tbsp. sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

Cook carrots in ½ cup water until water has evaporated. Add a little more water and cook longer if carrots are not quite tender. Add soy sauce and sugar and cook over low fire until shoyu is absorbed. Can be served hot or cold. (Serves 4)

PICKLED CARROTS

Same as pickled cucumbers, p. 86.

FERN FRONDS IN SHOYU

If you can get young (still curled) tree fern fronds, try this:

1 lb. fern fronds, scraped or peeled and sliced thin

¼ tsp. monosodium glutamate

½ cup soy sauce

Soak fern fronds ½ hour in clear water and drain. Fry strips in a small amount of oil or fat until light brown (about 6 minutes). Add rest of ingredients and simmer 5 minutes. (Serves 4)

PORK AND VEGETABLES WITH TOFU

1  lb. lean pork, cubed

1½ cups tofu, crumbled or mashed

2 tbsp. sugar

6 green onions and tops, chopped

½ cup soy sauce

½ tsp. monosodium glutamate

½ tsp. salt

1  med. dry onion, diced

2 eggs

Brown pork in small amount of oil; add tofu and stir for 3 minutes. Add balance of ingredients, except eggs, and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Beat eggs lightly, pour over mixture and cook 2 minutes. Turn mixture and cook 1 minute more. (Serves 4)

SHRIMP TEMPURA

1 egg, beaten

¾ cup water

1 cup flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

12 large prawns, shelled and deveined (leave tails on)

Add flour, salt and baking powder to beaten egg and mix well. Have at least 2 inches of cooking oil or shortening in a deep fryer, French fryer or deep skillet. Heat to 360°. Dip shrimps into batter, then drop them into hot oil. Leave until brown (about 4 minutes). Remove and drain on absorbent paper. Serve with the following accompaniment: Dip sliced string beans, bamboo shoots, eggplant strips or other vegetables into same batter as used for shrimp and fry until crisp. On the side, serve individual small cups or saucers of Tempura Sauce (next recipe).

TEMPURA SAUCE

½ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp. sugar

1 cup grated turnips or white radishes (or daikon, if available)

Boil soy sauce and sugar in 1 cup water about 3 minutes. Cool, and add grated turnips. (Serves 4)

CUCUMBER SALAD

2 cucumbers

2 medium tomatoes, firm

1 onion

1 stalk celery

4 tbsp. sugar

1 cup vinegar

Crisp lettuce leaves

Peel cucumbers and slice very thin. Cut tomatoes into small chunks; dice onion and celery. Stir sugar in vinegar until dissolved and pour over cucumbers and chill well in refrigerator. Drain before serving on crisp lettuce leaves. Garnish with tomato chunks seasoned with salt and pepper. (Serves 4)

CHICKEN HEKKA (Sukiyaki)

1 large can mushrooms, sliced thin

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup sugar

1 young chicken, boned and cut into small pieces

1 can bamboo shoots, sliced thin

1 can water chestnuts, sliced

1 doz. green onions, chopped, including tops

1 small bunch watercress, broken into bite-size pieces

Mix mushroom liquid with wine, shoyu and sugar. Add water sufficient to make 3 ½ cups. Heat heavy skillet with enough oil to cover bottom. Fry chicken 15 minutes in hot pan, adding a little of liquid mixture from time to time to prevent burning. Then add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, onions, and more of liquid. Cook for 5 minutes. Add watercress and cook 3 minutes longer, and it is ready.

This is usually prepared in a more or less continuous process, by removing all but ¼ or 1/3 of chicken after 15 minutes and proceeding as above, using proportionate amounts or other ingredients. As soon as the first batch is ready to eat, start another so that while small portions are being eaten, more are in the making. Beef, pork, or shrimp may be substituted for chicken. (Serves 4-6)

BARBECUED MEAT STICKS (Yakitori)

"Have butcher slice 3 pounds of round steak very thin. Wipe slices with damp cloth and pound meat with mallet. Cut into 1½ inch squares. String on slim bamboo sticks or skewers, about 4 squares per stick. Combine ½ cup soy sauce thinned with ¼ cup water spiced with bourbon, brandy or other alcoholic beverage, if desired; white granulated sugar; thumb-size bit of scraped, crushed and chopped fresh ginger root; mashed garlic; grated onion or onion juice and black pepper. Let stand 1 hour. Strain, working out all possible flavor into liquid. Soak meat in bath at least 4 hours. Broil meat quickly over charcoal or in broiler, painting on more marinade as the meat cooks. Serve piping hot. (Excellent hors d'ouevres)(Serves 12)

—By Courtesy of Hawaii Visitors Bureau

KOBAYASHI OYSTERS

"So far as I know," Bill says, "oysters served in this manner are a rarity in the Islands. Only once did I eat them—at the home of my friend Akira Kobayashi—and I've never forgotten them. I prevailed on my host to give me the 'formula' for them."

Allow at least 1 doz. oysters per person. Into a bed of hot coals, place oysters—in the shells. Cover with coals; leave 15 minutes. Remove with tongs and plunge them into cold water for about a minute or two to facilitate handling. Serve in the shells (piled onto a heat-proof tray). Give each guest a thick glove for his left hand to hold them with, a screwdriver or similar too to open the shells, and a side cup of sauce to dip them in. To open oysters, insert screwdriver on the "hinge" side. Even people who don't like oysters will love these!

The Sauce (One Serving)

2 tbsp. soy sauce

4 tbsp. sake (or sherry wine)

1 tbsp. melted butter

BITE-SIZE ABALONE CHUNKS

"Cube canned abalone pieces and spike on picks. Use soy sauce touched up to taste with prepared mustard, onion juice, black pepper and enough water to cut richness of soy. Let each guest dip the abalone in the sauce." (Serves 4)

—Courtesy of Hawaii Visitors Bureau

RICE WITH BEANS

1 cup dry pink, red, or kidney beans

3 slices bacon

2 cups cooked rice (it's OK to use minute-type rice)

Soak beans until they swell—several hours, or over night, if you think of it that far ahead of time. If not, warm water for soaking will hasten the process. Cook with salt and 3 slices bacon in boiling water until done. Drain enough liquid from beans to use instead of plain water in cooking the rice. When rice is done, combine the two and serve. (Serves 6)

BROILED TUNA BURGERS

1  can tuna chunks drained of oil

¼ cup chopped celery

2 tbsp, finely chopped green onion

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tomato (not too ripe)

Hamburger buns

Blend first six ingredients thoroughly. Toast hamburger bun halves lightly and place a thick slice of firm tomato on each and cover with tuna mixture. Place under broiler and brown about 5 minutes. (Yield: 3 hefty or 6 light, open-face burgers)

TERIYAKI HAMBURGERS

1 lb. ground beef

4 green onions chopped, or 1 round onion—medium—minced

¼ tsp. monosodium glutamate

¼ cup parched bean flour

1 egg beaten slightly

¼ tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Blend ingredients and form into meat balls. Marinate hour in the following sauce:

½ cup soy sauce

1 "finger" fresh ginger root, crushed, or ½ tsp. powdered ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup sugar

Form into patties and broil 6-8 minutes. Bread crumbs or cracker crumbs may be substituted for parched bean flour, but the latter gives a nut-like flavor. (Serves 4)

FUJIYAMA HOT POT

There are several musts in planning this meal:

(1) Put your Fire Department on standby notice.

(2) Ask your guests to wear asbestos clothing.

(3) Have a large, round, brass or cast-iron cooking pot with a chimney-like spout or funnel built in, coming up through the center, resembling an angel food cake pan. This is commonly called a Mongolian Cooker—a charcoal stove usually made of brass. (They can be purchased in many import stores at prices ranging from $6.00 for the small one to $17.50 for the more elegant one. Ours is the $15.00 variety.) When the flames come up through the funnel, they make a spectacular sight resembling Fujiyama in action.

Only trouble is, the flames don't come out if you're cooking with charcoal without a little help because the charcoal briquets are reduced to a white heat before bringing the cooker to the table, hence no flames. So, just before announcing dinner, we drop a few cotton balls soaked in denatured alcohol into the chimney followed by a lighted match. Dim the lights and bring the guests in. They will be impressed, believe me, if only for a few seconds. By this time, the bubbling stock in the cooker will be ready for each guest to cook the foods of his choice by putting them into the liquid for a few minutes.

If you do not have this type cooker, a chafing dish using canned heat or alcohol may be used—or even an electric skillet, but the effect is less spectacular. If you use a Mongolian cooker or an hibachi charcoal burner, start the fire outside and when the charcoal is reduced to ashy embers, set the burner in the center of the table and put the pot of stock on top of it. And don't forget the hot pads beneath the cooker, please.

Around the cooking pot arrange plates of any or all of the following:

(1)  Very thinly sliced pork, beef, lamb, turkey or chicken. You might also include sliced calves liver, kidneys, or tongue, but frankly, in the raw state, they do not appear too appetizing.

(2) Chinese pea pods

(3) Green onions, sliced on the diagonal

(4) Round onions, sliced crosswise

(5) Bean sprouts, spinach leaves, watercress or shredded cabbage

(6) Diced eggplant, and tofu cubes

(7) Long-rice, which has been steeped ½ hour in hot water, until transparent (see recipe for Long-Rice)

Place 2 tablespoons cooking oil and a quart of boiling chicken or beef soup in the cooking pot; add 2 tablespoons soy sauce (and if you prefer a broth with body, 2 heaping tablespoons sour cream—it adds zest, too), and when the pot boils, it is ready for use. Each guest should have chopsticks, or a long-handled fork or tongs if he is not deft with chopsticks. Everyone cooks his own choice of foods in the portion of the pan nearest him. Since the food is sliced thin, it cooks very fast. The variety is dictated only by the diner's preference. At each plate should be a small sauce bowl containing:

¼ cup soy sauce

Clove of garlic, crushed

½ tsp. dry mustard

Dash powdered ginger

As the food is cooked, it may be dipped in the sauce before eating. A bowl of hot Long Rice should be at each place for eating with the items cooked by the guests. Or if you prefer, a bowl of steamed rice may be used, instead.

Have a kettle of stock boiling on the stove for adding to the cooking pot, along with oil and soy sauce, and add a charcoal briquet now and then to insure a long-lasting fire, if you're using a charcoal burner. And above all, keep the supply of food replenished, as this meal can last for a couple of hours, since everyone relaxes, cooks, eats, and chats. It's a wonderful dinner for a cold winter evening.

The Japanese custom is to serve hot tea before and after a meal, and warm Sake during the meal. This meal, with variations, is found in congenial homes of practically all oriental races, although its origin is believed to be Japanese —not as a family dinner, but as a small intimate get-together of usually not more than six. A round table is desirable for this dinner since everyone needs to be able to reach the center cooking pot easily. If you have more guests and have a long table, place a cooking pot at each end of the table for the convenience of the guests.

After the cooking is finished, the cooking stock is served as a soup—the final course—and having picked up the flavors from all the food it has cooked, it is delicious.

MANDARIN KABOBS, TERIYAKI

1  lb. ground round steak

2 green onions, diced

1 egg

1/3 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp. teriyaki sauce

¼ tsp. monosodium glutamate

1 can mandarin orange slices

8 strips bacon

Teriyaki Sauce

2/3 cup shoyu (or soy sauce)

½ tsp. powdered ginger

1 clove garlic, mashed

1 tbsp. sugar

cup white wine

Combine steak, onions, egg, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce, monosodium glutamate, and form into small balls. Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour in Teriyaki sauce, then "string" them on skewer with orange slices, weaving bacon strip in and out over and under meat balls and orange slices. Broil in oven that is cold to start, turning Kabobs often as they begin to cook to prevent bacon from burning. As a variation, pineapple slices may be used instead of the orange slices. (Serves 8)