Side Dishes

3 recipes

Goma-Ae

Spinach (or green beans, asparagus, kale) blanches briefly in salted boiling water; refreshes in cold water; squeezes hard to remove all excess water; cuts into 4 cm pieces. Sesame seeds toast in a dry pan until fragrant and slightly darker. The toasted seeds grind in a suribachi (Japanese mortar) or a small food processor to a coarse paste, not to butter consistency; some texture is wanted. The paste mixes with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and a teaspoon of sake (optional) into a thick dressing. The blanched, squeezed vegetable tosses with the dressing; rests briefly to integrate; served at room temperature.

15 minutes Serves4

Kinpira Gobo

Burdock root (gobo, long thin brown root sold at Japanese / Korean / well-stocked Asian shops; if unavailable, substitute with parsnip + an extra dash of dashi for the earthy depth) is scrubbed clean, julienned into matchsticks, then soaked briefly in vinegared water to prevent oxidation. Carrots julienne to similar matchsticks. Sesame oil heats; dried red chilli flakes (or one small chilli sliced) infuses 30 seconds; the drained gobo goes in and stir-fries for 3 minutes; carrot joins; everything tosses 2 more minutes. A sauce of soy, mirin, sugar and a splash of sake pours in; reduces for 4-5 minutes until the liquid is gone and the vegetables are glazed. Finished with sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil.

37 minutes Serves4

Tsukemono

Three asazuke pickles in one batch. Cucumber: salted heavily, weighted for 1 hour, water squeezed out, dressed with rice vinegar, kombu and sesame seeds. Daikon: thinly sliced, salted briefly, then bathed in a sweet rice-vinegar pickle for an hour. Cabbage: salted with shiso (or substitute basil + a pinch of fennel), pressed under a plate weight to wilt for 30 minutes. Served in three small individual bowls.

15 minutes Serves6