Japanese Vegetables

[lovessushi]

I am looking for info on cooking vegetables that are used frequently in Japanese cuisine. We have a Japanese market near our home and the produce section is completely unfamiliar to me! Things look wonderful but no idea what to do with them. Could anyone share a primer? What kinds could I put in miso soup? What would work in a stir-fry type dish? What could I use the large cabbage for (called Asian cabbage on the label - very large, disc shaped) etc. etc.

Also any recs for a good basic cook book? Thanks!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Hakusai = napa: "Chinese" cabbage
Komatsuna, radish family; greens are used like spinach (horenso)
Shungiku = chrysanthemum leaves, eaten raw or lightly cooked
Negi = giant spring onion
Rakkyo = bulb vegetable for pickling
Myoga, aromatic flower used for dipping sauces, garnish for fish/sashimi, soups, tempura
Gobo, burdock root, stir fry, tempura
Takenoko = bamboo shoot; slowly simmered
Renkon = lotus root, simmered, tempura, sushi; dressed or cooked with vinegar

Plus all the vegetables normally found in the West.

[Boccone Dolce]

Sam is napa cabbage the same as celery cabbage? They look a LOT alike. Celery cabbage seems to have less leafy parts. I didn't buy them- they are close to $4 a pound at my regular market... I asked the little produce guy and he just said he wasn't sure.

[Sam Fujisaka]

I don't know what celery cabbage is. $4 a pound would be too much for me!

[hannaone]

http://www.foodsubs.com/Cabbage.html

[Sam Fujisaka]

That's a lot of kim chee

[hannaone]

My wife and I just made about 15 gallons of kimchi this past weekend.

[Boccone Dolce]

Thanks. I did search one time but I guess I didn't believe it was the same as Napa because they have it right next to the napa, and the bok choy (but no baby bok dammit-I'll have to travel for that!)

Yes, it's really very oddly expensive where I live in Florida. I just paid 19c a pound for regular cabbage-that's more my speed!!

[hannaone]

There are quite a few varieties of "Chinese cabbage", some are barrel (tight) head, some are loose head, or "fluffy head", or "rocket head".

http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_loose_head_type.html
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_head_type.html
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_fluffy_top_type.html
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_mic...

[lovessushi]

Thank you all for all this wonderful info! Very comphensive!!!

[alkapal]

i always like this seed company's website to actually see the veggies and herbs:
http://www.kitazawaseed.com/chef_gard...

[another_adam]

I really like the collection of simple home recipes on "Yasuko-San's Home Cooking". It's not comprehensive, but there's a nice list of common vegetable dishes with preparation instructions:

http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~tomi-yasu/re...

[penthouse pup]

Elizabeth Andoh's new book, Washoku, will give you a fine sense of home-cooking: excellent explanation and context and workable recipes.

[applehome]

And remember that our own Yukari Pratt from the Japan board was a contributor/tester!

Tororoimo - the raw grated mountain yam is served on hot rice with maguro sashimi or tofu and some real wasabi (a mountain river root). It is slimy indeed, but also has little crispy pieces, and delicious on the rice and fish with a little shoyu and a sprinkling of katsuobushi. Washoku has a good description in it. The book also has a great chapter on Japanese tools and techniques, as well as a list of sources - stores all over the US where you can get these things. It's nicely indexed - a good reference book precisely for when you say - what should I do with...

[PAO]

The classic Japanese cookbook is Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji. For a more contemporary take and easier recipes, try The Japanese Kitchen, by Hiroko Shimbo. I've never seen an Asian cabbage such as you describe (which is not to say it doesn't exist, I just don't know about it). When my family wanted cabbage, we'd use napa cabbage. I believe wakame is typically used in miso soup--but it comes from the sea, not from the soil. Napa works in stir fries. But I've also had wonderful Japanese cabbage salads in restaurants using regular cabbage. Japanese also use many other types of western vegetables in a variety of ways. Spinach, asparagus, carrots, zucchini, green beans, green onions, eggplant, cucumbers, mushrooms, can all be used in various types of dishes. Shungiku, or chrysanthemum leaves, are used--often in sukiyaki. Gobo or burdock root is common. Shiso leaves are used in sushi. Daikon radish is often grated and used, frequently as a condiment. Kabocha squash is a nice winter squash. Bamboo shoots are used. The one Japanese veggie I can't stand is yama imo, or mountain potato. Very slimy. Ugh. . .

[evergreengirl]

I love Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art - it is the very best primer I've ever seen on how to start thinking about food like a Japanese chef. The problem: few vegetables. The vast majority of the book is about seafood, and meat - and most of the vegetable dishes are nowhere near vegetarian! We've loved cooking from it, but need another book to help us with more vegetable ideas.

~evergreengirl