Hello everyone, I’m MASA
Today I’d like to share a recipe of making
a warm nimono (a simmered dish)
It’s called
(JP) Ika to daikon no nimono
Ika Daikon Nimono
I think most of you already know that
daikon means radish
The greatest part of daikon is that
you can eat all parts of it
even daikon greens (the leaves) and skin
Also, winter radish has sweeter flavor
It's suitable to be cooked with miso soup, made as kimchi
or be grated as purée to go with hot pot
And also, a great choice to be cooked as nimono
This time, I’m going to cook it with ika (squid)
The seasoning of the soup will be relatively light
a bit like oden. So I name it as oden
Cooking the dish with the essence extracted from ika
allows you to make a super delicious daikon
It’s very simple!
Ok, let’s get started! (๑>◡<)و
[Tip] The fibrous part is quite thick.
[Tip] You may peel the skin off thickly!
[Tip] You can use the daikon skin
to make tsukemono
[Tip] Blanch the daikon helps to remove the odor
[Tip] Also, that makes daikon easier
to absorb taste! (๑´ڡ`๑)b
Alright, the main ingredient this time is Daikon
I once explained how different parts of daikon
are used in different dishes
Today I’d like to review that again
Let’s say, you bought a whole daikon
and you have no idea where to start cutting
Whether you should start from the top part
or from the bottom part?
Here is a reference for you
Using the part of which the sweetness is suitable
for the dish you’re making
The top part where the stems start is sweeter
The bottom part has a spicier taste (bitter)
The reason causing this difference is
because of the skin
The part closer to the bottom has thicker skin
and therefore, causing the spicier taste
So, if you’d like to make salad
or radish purée
It’s suitable to use the top part (closer to leaves)
If you’d like to make dishes with stronger taste
such as miso soup or tsukemono
you’re suggested to use the bottom part
If you’d like to make a nimono dish
I’d recommend to use the top part (leaves)
and the middle part
Of course, if you’re about to make a
large amount of salad or miso soup
and need to use the whole daikon,
it’s certainly alright
The idea of better usage is only a reference
Ok, let’s continue~!(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
[Tip] To prevent the seafood from getting rubbery,
don’t cook for too long!
Ok, here is a plate of warm and tasty Ika Daikon Nimono
Ok, now I’m going to try the taste
It smells really good
I’ve been enjoying the pleasant fragrance during cooking
now I can finally dig in
Let me try this daikon first
Look at this color! It’s very very beautiful
Let me break the daikon and see how it absorb the taste
Wow, very nice. Perfectly cooked.
(JP) Dewa Itadakimasu
Although I’m tasting daikon
I feel like I’m eating ika
because the daikon absorbs the essence extracted from ika
My mouth is now filled with the seafood fragrance
Now, try the ika
The texture of ika taste just right
If you’d like to add some spicy flavor
you may add some shichimi
Just sprinkle a little and it can provide another layer of aroma
which helps go even more well with sake
A dish like this is suitable to go with sake
Japanese rice wine, like what I’ve prepared here
Let me take a sip first
The combination of Ika Daikon and sake
is often served in a Izakaya (a type of Japanese bar)
Of course, you can make this at home
Whether you eat it directly for dinner
or go it with steamed rice for lunch
both are recommended
Today’s recipe is very simple
If you’d like to use seafood to cook nimono
remember to mind the stewing duration
Unlike regular meat
if you overcook the seafood
the texture will become tough and rubbery
and may lose its flavor
So, here are two methods of cooking seafood
One, heat up seafood first and take them out
Then, cook other ingredients with the same pot,
allowing them to absorb the essence
extracted from seafood
This is the method I demonstrate in this video
The other method is to
cook other ingredients to the doneness you prefer
then put in seafood at last
No matter what method you choose
cool it down a bit after you finish cooking if time permits
If you do so, the ingredients will
absorb the taste even better
When you’re about to serve the dish,
reheat it a bit and it’s ready to be served
It’s pretty cold outside
I hope you all take good care of yourselves
and enjoy delicious and warm dishes~!
SPECIAL THANKS TO Amy Chou