Mall Food

Whenever I go to the big city, Sapporo, I always make sure to stop by at the basement of the Daimaru department store. This is literally a food lover’s paradise. It’s a whole floor devoted to Chinese dumplings, French pastries, and Japanese bento boxes, just to name a few. There are areas selling grilled chicken skewers, salads of all kinds, specialty rice balls, soups, ice cream-filled crepes, and well, you get the point. Everything is absolutely immaculate, delicious, and perfect-looking with many of them made right in front of you. And the purveyors of these foods are proud of what they’re selling; they’ll gladly hand out free samples so you’ll know that their product is the best. But somewhere in between trying out the shrimp in chili sauce and multigrain bagel, your conscience makes you wonder where all the leftover food goes. I haven’t stayed late enough until closing time, but there might actually be less than what it seems, as crowds of people on the way home grab whatever looks good for dinner (most perishable foods are discounted around rush hour), and they’re gone before you know it. If you need any proof of Japan’s culinary obsession and high standards for food, this is the place to be. Heck, if you like food, ditch the Makudonarudo (McDonald’s) and get lost in the basement of one of Japan’s many huge department stores (best to go in the morning). It absolutely destroys bland, generic, mall food-courts any day. 

 

Sushi On-The-Go

This was found at the Daimaru department store in Sapporo. Quite possibly the most Japanese thing I’ve ever seen, combining a traditional food and Japan’s obsession for cutesy-ness, portability, and convenience. Brace yourselves for individually wrapped sushi:

 

Vegetarian Donburi

A donburi is a bowl of white rice with toppings. There are many different kinds and they are very popular in Japan as everyday food. I love them because they are so easy to make, filling, and delicious. Among the most popular ones are: 

tendon (天丼) – w/ tempura (shrimp, mushroom, eggplant, etc. whatever is in season)
katsudon (カツ丼) – w/ pork cutlet and egg
butadon (豚丼) – w/ pork, onions, and a sweet teriyaki sauce
oyakodon (親子丼) – oya means “parent” and ko means “child”, so in this case “parent and child bowl” means chicken and egg. Hokkaido, famous for its salmon, has its own version of oyakodon: slices of salmon sashimi and roe. 

You won’t find this dish in a usual Japanese restaurant. But it’s pretty tasty, and making it with veggies grown in Hokkaido just makes it even better. 

Serves 1

1 tsp chopped ginger

3 shiitake mushrooms, stems taken out and sliced

1/4 cup water chestnuts for some added crunch (bamboo shoots and lotus roots would work as well; just stay away from the canned versions!)

200 g firm tofu, drained, sliced into small cubes

a few stalks of komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), chingensai (Chinese cabbage), or other leafy vegetables (not lettuce!), parboiled and cut into bite-sized pieces

chopped green onions, for garnish

1 1/2 cups freshly cooked white rice (brown rice also works well and is healthier)

1 tbsp oil

Sauce: 

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp sake

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp mirin

やりかた:
1. Combine soy sauce, sake, sugar, and mirin, and set aside. 
2. Saute ginger on medium heat to get the flavour going, about 30-45 seconds. 
3. Add sliced shiitakes. You want them brown and slightly crispy, so about 2 minutes each side. 
4. Add water chestnuts, and after about a 30 seconds, the tofu. Keep sauteing for a minute, then add the Japanese mustard spinach. 
5. Immediately pour in the sauce and turn down the heat to low. 
6. When everything has been coated in sauce, turn off the heat and serve on a bowl of steaming rice. Add some chooped green onions for garnish. 

 

Spinach and Edamame Salad with Tofu Dressing

I recently learned this in Kyoto, so it has a Kyoto-style flavour to it, ie. very subtle without using much seasonings. This’ll get spinach-haters eating the versatile vegetable, and after you’ve tasted the dressing, you’ll never look at tofu the same way again. 

Serves 4

1 cup boiled and shelled edamame soybeans

8 stalks of spinach

For the dressing:

200 g cotton tofu

1 tbsp nerigoma (sesame paste) [peanut butter can be used as a substitute, just not the chunky kind]

1 tbsp white miso [stronger, more common red miso can be substituted, but use only 1/2 tbsp unless you want a stronger flavour]

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp mirin (sweet rice wine, not regular rice wine)

1 tsp ground white sesame seeds

pinch of salt

1. Wrap the tofu in a few layers of paper towel and put some weight on it to extract the water out. Let sit for about 15 minutes or until you’re ready to use it. 

2. Parboil the spinach 4 stalks at a time (or depending on how large your pot is) in boiling water and some salt for about 2 minutes. Spinach cooks really fast, so be careful not to overdo it. 

3. Take them out of the water with some tongs and run over cold water to stop the cooking process. They should be wilted but still vibrant green. When finished, hold the spinach vertically from the stalks and squeeze the water out. Chop out the tip of the stalks and cut the spinach into three parts. Set aside. 

3. Parboil the tofu for about 1 minute, then put through a mesh strainer or puree with a blender until thick.

4. Combine the nerigoma, miso, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, ground sesame seeds, and salt and mix until it’s consistent. Nerigoma might be tricky to work with as it’s so thick, but keep at it. Incorporate into the pureed tofu. 

5. In a bowl, place some edamame and spinach (about 2 stalks), and top with a spoonful of the tofu dressing. Add some sansho leaves for garnish. This salad is best served cold, so refrigerate before serving.