Ishijyusansai and 24 Solar Terms…

Geshi… the longest day and the shortest night. At the height of rainy season this is when rice field planting is at its peak。


The recipes we have for you today use a few items that probably aren’t included in your everyday shopping list, such as figs and raw octopus.
Summer solstice is right amidst rainy season. Spend the day relaxing along the steps in these recipes.



All recipes make servings for four.

Menu List

• → Boiled soft octopus (broad bean garnish)
• → Figs with sesame miso
• → Okra and okyuto seaweed vinigared dish
• → Soumen noodles in soup broth
• → New ginger rice

• Boiled soft octopus (broad bean garnish)

  
  1 fresh octopus leg (about 30cm long)
  
  (to prepare the octopus)
  Nuka rice bran - four handfuls
  Daikon white radish - 1 medium sized
  Sake - 3 tablespoons
  Bancha coarse tea - enough to immerse the octopus
  
  A
  Sake - 900cc
  Water - 300cc
  Koikuchi (dark) soy sauce - 100cc
  Sugar - 1 teaspoon
  1.Put Prepared octopus and ingredients A into deep pan (or bowl). Heat on high heat for 50 minutes.
  
  
  2. After heating, cool, cut, and serve with simmered dish.
  
  
  (How to prepare octopus)
  
  1.Rub Nuka rice bran into octopus legs to remove sliminess
  
  
  
  
  
  2.Place octopus on cutting board and beat with peeled daikon white radish to soften the octopus. (beat octopus until it is about 1.3 times its original size)
  
  
  
  3.Grate the daikon you used to beat the octopus, add 3 tablespoons of sake and immerse the octopus. Leave in refrigerator for one hour.
  
  
  
  
  4.Rinse octopus in water, then boil in Bancha for 30 seconds (bancha concentration should be the same as what you use to drink). Take the hot octopus and immerse in ice water, wipe dry and you are finished.
  
  
  
  
  
  Cooking pointers
  For step 1. the outer red part of the octopus will come off if the octopus is moved, so we recommend steaming it.
  
  For step 3. the reason Daikon White radish is used to beat the octopus is because the digestive enzymes that are in the Daikon make the fibers in the octopus softer. Why use a peeled daikon? You will see when you see the finished octopus.
  
  Using round slices of leftover daikon and steaming them with the octopus is a tasty idea.
  
  
  ＜Broad Bean Garnish＞
  
  Broad beans - Adequate amount
  Salt - a little salt
  
  1.remove broad beans from shells
  2.boil in salted water. (2:30 - 3:00minutes)
  
  Cooking pointers
  In this recipe the beans are boiled an longer period of time to increase sweetness. If you would rather enjoy the texture of the beans, boil for a shorter period of time.
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• Figs with sesame miso

  
  Figs - 4
  
  A
  Sour cream - 25g
  Sesame paste - 12g
  White Miso - 100g
  
  Yuzu peel (finley grated) - some
  1.Remove fig peel with knife and steam for 10 minutes. when done steaming, cover with wet paper towel and cool.
  2.Combine all ingredients in A. If the ingredients are hard, add a little dashi soup base to adjust concentration. Make sure that its smooth.
  3.Place figs on plate and add paste A. Top with yuzu peels and serve.
  
  
  Cooking pointers
  These really become tasty when cooled in the fridge!
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• Okra and okyuto seaweed vinigared dish

  
  Okra - 4
  Okyuto seaweed - adequate amount
  Vinegar - base on preference
  Soy sauce - base on preference
  Cut Sesame - base on preference
  1.Remove the stem end of the Okra, blanch, then cool in cold water.
  2.Cut into according sizes with okyuto seaweed and place on plate.
  3.Sprinkle with vinegar, soy sauce, and cut sesame.
  
  Cooking Pointers
  A ratio of 7 parts vinegar to 3 parts soy is a good place to start.
  
  Cut sesame is sesame coarse cut with a knife. The aromas from cuts sesame are great!
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• Soumen noodles in soup broth

  
  Somen Noodles - 2 bunches
  Matsutake mushrooms - 2 medium sized
  Yuzu peels - a little
  
  Dashijiru - 200cc (please see Shiratsugu Basics)
  Mirin (seasoning sake) - 1 teaspoon
  Soy sauce - 1.5 teaspoons.
  Salt - 1 teaspoon
  1.Blanch Somen noodles, wash and cool in cold water.
  2.Add matsutake mushroom slices to dashijiru and bring to a boil.
  3.Place Somen Noodles in bowl, add dashijiru and yuzu peels.
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• New ginger rice

  
  New ginger - 90g
  Konbu - 1 piece (3cm x 5 cm)
  Salt - 1 teaspoon
  Rice - 3 cups
  Mitsuba stem (wild japanese parsley) - a little
  1.Finely dice new ginger, immerse in water for 30 minutes.
  2.After 30 minutes, drain ginger.
  3.Prepare rice as you would normally do, using the same amount of water as you usually would. Add New ginger, konbu, and salt then cook rice.
  4.When rice is cooked, place on plate and top with blanched mistuba stems. Serve.
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