Ishijyusansai and 24 Solar Terms…




Hakuro… Autumn is here. Though still a little hot during the day, the mornings and evenings seem almost chilly. This is the time of year when you begin to see the morning dew cover the grass and greenery.
We are finally in September and the tastes of autumn are have arrived. For this menu, chestnuts and Nameko mushrooms portray autumn and a meat dish to make it hearty. “Niku-jaga” (stewed beef and potatoes) is a perfect example of a Japanese home cooking.
You might discover another side of this very common dish by making it with a different recipe like we prepared for you today! Savoring the tastes of autumn is something we all look forward to every year, and we do it with thanks.


All recipes make servings for four.

Menu List

• → Sardines simmered with ginger
• → Nikujaga (stewed beef and potatoes)
• → Shirasu (whitebait) and Daikon white radish
• → Nameko mushrooms miso soup

• → Japanese chestnut rice
• → Preview of the next Ichijyusansai


• Sardines simmered with ginger

  
  Sardines　８Sardines

  Fine strips of green onion Optimal amount

  
  (A)

  Ginger　２５g

  Sake　７４０cc

  Sugar　１Tablespoon 

  Soy sauce　２Tablespoons

  1. Cut off the head of the sardine

  2. Put the sardines and (A) into a pressure cooker and bring to a boil. Continue boiling for five minutes and then turn off heat.

  3. Place sardines on plate and top with fine strips of green onion and serve.
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• Nikujaga (stewed beef and potatoes)

  
  Potatoes　 500g

  Carrots　 1 carrot
  Onions　 1/2 an onion

  Flat Beans Optimal amount

  Beef (thin sliced)　300g

  Dashi　　　500cc(please see Shiratsugu Basics)
  Sugar　 30g

  Soy sauce　 2 tablespoons and 1 teapoon

  Sesame oil　 1 tablespoon

  1. Peel potatoes, carrots, and onions and then cut into bite size pieces

  2. Put potatoes, carrots, onions, and Dashi into pot and heat. Blanch the flat beans then cool on ice and cut into bite size pieces.

  3. When the pot has come to a boil, add beef and skim off the scum. Use an Otoshibuta drop lid and simmer until the potatoes are about 80percent cooked (approximately 10 minutes).

  4. Add sugar and simmer for 3 minutes, then add soy sauce and boil down the contents of the pot.
5. When boiled down, turn off heat and add sesame oil. Place on plate and top with flat beans. Serve.
  
  
  Cooking tip:
  Otoshibuta drop lids are wooden lids that drop into a pan or pot. They are used for many Japanese simmer dishes for better heat distribution and to keep the original shape of the contents so they do not break up easily when cooked.
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• Shirasu (whitebait) and Daikon white radish

  
  Grated Daikon white radish　 Optimal amount

  Shirasu (whitebait)　　　Optimal amount

  1. Place grated Daikon on plate and top with Shirasu. Serve.
  
  
  
Cooking tip:
There is no flavor or seasoning added to the ingredients, so flavor it as you please. We recommend using cirtus.

  The daikon white radish can taste different depending on how you make it. Different flavor can be achieved by:
1. Grating different parts of the daikon. The end of the daikon radish can taste 10 times more sharp and spicy than the top of the daikon.
  2. The speed used to grate the daikon. (Grating slower will preserve better cellular structure).

  3. How to grate the daikon. (Grating in a circular motion will preserve better cellular structure of the daikon).


  
  
  (Sweet and fluffy grated daikon)　
  
1. Use the top part of the daikon
  
2. Grate slowly

  3. Grate softly in a circular motion
  
  
  

(Sharp and spicy grated daikon)
  
1. Use the end part of the daikon

  2. Grate quickly
  
3. Grate firmly in a straight up and down motion
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• Nameko mushrooms miso soup


  
  Nameko Mushrooms　　1 Pack (100g)

  Dashi　　760cc(please see Shiratsugu Basics)
  Miso　　120g

  1. Cut off the tough part of the Nameko mushroom stem and blanch.

  2. Make miso soup, add blanched Nameko mushrooms. Serve.


  
  
  Cooking tip:
Nameko mushrooms have a strong aroma. Blanching them first then adding to the miso soup will make the soup look better and more pleasant.

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• Japanese chestnut rice

  
  Japanese chestnuts　Large 300g　Small 500g
  (the picture uses largechestnuts)

  Rice　　3 Cups
  
Konbu (kelp)　　5 g

  1. After shelling and preparing the chestnuts for cooking, cut them into quarters and immerse in cold water

  2. Prepare rice as you usually would. Add 0.8% salt (about 1 teaspoon), chestnuts, konbu, then cook rice.

  3. When the rice is cooked place rice on plate and top with black sesame seeds. Serve.

  
  
  Preparing Chestnuts
  
1. Cut off the round part at the bottom of the chestnut
  
  
  
  
  2. Remove the husk of the nut using a spoon

  
  
  
  3. Use a knife to cut off the flat side of the inner skin
  
  
  
  4. Remove the rest of the inner skin then you are finished
  
  
  
  Cooking tip:
  At Shiratsugu, we prepare the chestnuts raw because we use the chestnuts for many different recipes, but boiling the chestnuts first is perfectly ok.
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• Preview of the next Ichijyusansai


  
  The next Recipe is the Shubun no Zen September 23rd
  Equinoctial week is coming. And because the Harvest Moon is also near, we will be preparing a large platter you might want for a Harvest Moon Festival.
Stay Tuned!!!


  
  
  （Behind the scenes: photoshoot preparation)

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