TOKYO BAR Serves, Refined Vegetarian Menu With, Selected Sake On, Cool Contemporary Jazz

January 2015

Prologue January 2015 What is this note is for? Why Tokyo Bar?

In December 2014, it was my first time to visit Sydney, and I was amazed by the nice culture, food and general life style there. I was surprised by the large number of Japanese restaurant, although they were a bit far from the traditional style; tasty, but a bit salty and rich. Mayonnaise, fish eggs, sweet teriyaki sauce and so on. When I came back from Australia, I realized that I missed the modest style of traditional Japanese cuisine. So I started to create some dishes daily, along with my bento. I didn’t expect this project to last this long or to continue everyday, or to still be motivated to make it. So this is a start, a memorandum.

Actually, I still miss Australia. To keep thinking of life there, and to satisfy myself, I decided to make a plan to launch a sake bar style restaurant, the “Tokyo Bar”. The selection of sake can be selected/supplied by my friend, who owns one of the most acclaimed sake bars in Tokyo. The vegetarian dishes are designed to compliment the sake. And this bar will also have contemporary Japanese jazz in the background, which I have been collecting. Of course it is just a self satisfying imaginary plan, but I want have fun sharing it with others, so we can enjoy a vegetarian life, together.

TOKYO BAR

Index 1  Fried sliced lotus root dipped in sweet sour

marinade 2  Sliced tomato salad with garlic shiso dressing 3  Fried eggplant stew in a soy sauce soup 4  Sautéed shiitake mushroom with sesame and

ginger oil 5  Grilled pumpkin with hijiki seaweed dressing 6  Grilled shishitou (green pepper) coated with

soy sauce 7  Boiled shungiku (crown daisy) with sesame

dressing 8  Grilled spring onion with sweet miso sauce 9  Sautéed burdock and carrot with soy sauce 10  Stewed taro root with shiitake mushroom

sauce 11  Sautéed Turnip leaf 12  Turnip root with red shiso leaf flavoring 13  Sweet potato patty with cinnamon soy sauce 14  Grilled zucchini with sesame oil 15  Grilled oyster mushroom

16  Grilled broccoli leaf and stem 17  Lotus root tempura 18  Pumpkin tempura 19  Kombu boiled down with soy sauce 20  Eggplant tempura 21  Shiitake mushroom tempura 22  Carrot tempura 23  Taro patty with spring onion inside 24  Grilled Shimonita spring onion with orange

sauce 25  Turnip roots yuzu flavored pickles 26  Avocado sashimi 27  Mandarin flavored pan grilled broccoli 28  Boiled spinach with black sesame soy

sauce 29  Sautéed king trumpet mushroom 30  Seri (Water dropwort) stew with deep fried

tofu

January 2015

TOKYO BAR

TOKYO BAR

Fried sliced lotus root dipped in sweet sour marinade�Ingredients; Lotus roots (Sliced), Gluten free flours Marinade sauce (Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, and Sliced dry red pepper)

Slice the lotus roots , and soak in vinegar water for a while. Then cover with flour and fry. Mix vinegar, sugar, salt and red peppers and heat until it boils, for a marinade. Dip the fried lotus roots into marinade and cool down in refrigerator for a while.

Lotus roots develop a rich taste and chewy texture in winter. If you cut too thin, lotus become crispy easily. Better to keep it chewy, and sweet sour marinade matches that.

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01 January�

Composition of Note

Name of recipe

January 2015

Ingredient

Recipe

Best Season (darker, better) (Seasons in Japan)

Other comment

Color of recipe

Number of recipe

TOKYO BAR

TOKYO BAR

Fried sliced lotus root dipped in sweet sour marinade Ingredients; Lotus roots (Sliced), Gluten free flours Marinade sauce (Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, and Sliced dry red pepper)

Slice the lotus roots , and soak in vinegar water for a while. Then cover with flour and fry. Mix vinegar, sugar, salt and red peppers and heat until it boils, for a marinade. Dip the fried lotus roots into marinade and cool down in refrigerator for a while.

Lotus roots develop a rich taste and chewy texture in winter. If you cut too thin, lotus become crispy easily. Better to keep it chewy, and sweet sour marinade matches that.

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01 January

TOKYO BAR

Sliced tomato salad with garlic shiso dressing Ingredients; Tomato (Sliced) Shiso dressing (Sesame oil, Rice Vinegar, Garlic (grated), Soy sauce and Shiso leaf)

Mix sesame oil, vinegar, grated garlic, and stripped shiso leaf for the dressing. Slice a tomato and soak in dressing for a while in refrigerator.

Shiso weed is common herb used in Japan, specially add oriental flavor and matches with aroma rich oil. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

02 January

TOKYO BAR

Fried eggplant stew in a soy sauce soup Ingredients; Eggplant, Sesame oil Soy sauce soup (Soy sauce, Sake, Mirin, Kombu stock)

Cut eggplant in half and place shallow cuts for soaking well while frying. Fry eggplant and dip right after into soy sauce soup. Simmer down in refrigerator a while.

In Japan this style of cooking called “Agedashi”, “age” fry and “Dashi” for soy sauce soup dipped. Deeply frying does makes it wonderfully soft and also assists the eggplant to soak dashi for dipping.

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03 January

TOKYO BAR

Sautéed shiitake mushroom with sesame and ginger oil Ingredients; Shiitake mushroom Sesame ginger oil (Sesame oil, Ginger (grated), Salt and pepper)

Cut shiitake and sauté by sesame ginger oil until it really gets soft and juicy.

Shiitake is great for absorbing oil, so it is good to sauté with spiced oil. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

04 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled pumpkin with hijiki seaweed dressing Ingredients; Pumpkin, Sake Sea weed dressing (Hijiki Seaweed, Rice vinegar, Olive oil, Salt and Sugar)

Slice pumpkin, and grill. Add sake when it gets slightly soft, and steam for a while. Prepare hijiki seaweed dressing and put on grilled pumpkin.

Hijiki is one of popular seaweeds of Japan. Normally sold dry, so it needs to soak in hot water for a few minutes before to use.

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05 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled shishitou (green pepper) coated with soy sauce Ingredients; Shishitou Soy sauce for coating (Soy Sauce, Sake and Mirin)

Take off shishitou hull, and grill. Prepare the soy sauce for coating, and coat it sometimes while grilling.

Typical recipe for side dish with Yakitori. Shishitou is normally not spicy hot, but sometimes, 1 out of 20, will be hot. Coating soy sauce while grilling, makes good burned smell, increases appetite.

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06 January

TOKYO BAR

Boiled shungiku (crown daisy) with sesame dressing Ingredients; Shungiku, Salt Sesame Dressing (Sesame (grinded), Mirin and Soy sauce)

Boil shungiku with salted water, and soak in cold water right after to reduce the heat quickly. Dip in prepared sesame dressing and soak a while to serve.

Shungiku is very aromatic flavored, matches by the rich sesame dressing.

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07 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled spring onion with sweet miso sauce Ingredients; Spring onion, Sake Miso sauce (Miso, Sugar, Sake, Water, Ginger)

Grill spring onion and pour sake when it gets deeply grilled in order to steam it a bit. Mix the sweet miso sauce ingredients and heat it until becomes to a past.

Put a light cut in the spring onion to avoid it coming apart when you eat it. Mixture of miso and spring onion is a winning combination.

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08 January

TOKYO BAR

Sautéed burdock and carrot with soy sauce Ingredients; Burdock, Carrot, Sesame oil Soy sauce (Soy sauce, Sake, Mirin, Sesame, Grinded red pepper)

Cut burdock and carrot in thin pieces, and soak in salted vinegar water a while. Sauté with sesame oil, and add soy sauce mix when it gets softer.

This recipe is called “Kinpira” in Japan, and is very common, especially in bento. Using a lot oil makes more crispier.

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09 January

TOKYO BAR

Steamed taro root with shiitake mushroom sauce Ingredients; Taro root Mushroom sauce (Vegetable stock, Shiitake shiitake mushroom, corn starch, Lemon and Salt)

Cut taro root into small pieces and steam. While steaming, finely chop the shiitake mushroom and sauté with sesame oil with stock, corn starch and lemon.

Taro root is collected in winter. One of our winter vegetables.

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10 January

TOKYO BAR

Sautéed turnip leaf Ingredients; Turnip leaf Sesame oil, Soy sauce, Mirin, Sake, Ground red pepper

Cut turnip leaf in small pieces, and sauté.

Sautee with soy sauce, sake, and red pepper makes leaf aromatic and tasty.

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11 January

TOKYO BAR

Turnip root with red shiso leaf flavoring Ingredients; Turnip root, Salt Dried red shiso leaf, Sesame oil

Slice Turnip roots and salt for a while to remove some of the juices. Then add sesame oil and dried red shiso leaf and serve.

Like a pickle but not as spicy, can enjoy the flavor of shiso and turnip.

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12 January

TOKYO BAR

Sweet potato patty with cinnamon soy sauce Ingredients; Sweet potato, salt Cinnamon powder, Red hot pepper powder, Soy sauce, Brown sugar and Corn starch

Peal off potato skin and dice. Steam until soft and mash into patty. Mix and simmer all the ingredients for until it reduces into a sauce.

Sweet potato and cinnamon but not desert.

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13 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled zucchini with sesame oil Ingredients; Zucchini, Sesame oil, Salt

Slice zucchini, and put in oven dishes. Pour some sesame oil and salt and heat a while until it gets soft.

Just a grill but a little sesame oil gives an oriental flavor

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14 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled oyster mushroom Ingredients; Oyster mushroom, Sake, Salt

Part oyster mushroom into pieces, and put in oven dishes. Pour some sake and salt over and cook until soft and juicy.

In Japan, oyster mushroom in called “Hiratake”, a very popular and common mushroom variety. It is juicier than shiitake mushroom.

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15 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled broccoli leaf and stem Ingredients; Broccoli leaf and stem, Salt

Prepare broccoli leaf and stem in proper measure and put in oven dishes. Put salt over and bake a while and serve.

Just grilled broccoli, the leaf becomes crispy and stem juicy.

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16 January

TOKYO BAR

Lotus root tempura Ingredients; Lotus roots (Sliced) Gluten free flour, Baking powder, Salt, Frying oil

Slice the lotus roots , and soak in vinegar water for a while. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water for butter. Dip lotus roots and fry.

Lotus root’s becomes chewy when it fries, it is better to slice a little thicker. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

17 January

TOKYO BAR

Pumpkin tempura Ingredients; Pumpkin Gluten free flour, Baking powder, Salt, Frying oil

Slice pumpkin, and grill. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water for butter. Dip lotus roots and fry.

Pumpkin turns soft quickly, must watch it when it frying. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

18 January

TOKYO BAR

Kombu boiled down with soy sauce Ingredients; Konbu Soy sauce, Sake, Sugar, Sesame

Prepare softened Kombu, and slice in 2mm. Mix and boil soy sauce, sake and sugar, and add sliced kombu. Heat in a low flame until all water evaporates.

This style cooking is called “Tsukudani”, for preservation. Konbu which is used to make dashi, is normally used in this.

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19 January

TOKYO BAR

Eggplant tempura Ingredients; Eggplant Gluten free flour, Baking powder, Salt, Frying oil

Cut eggplant in half and put a shallow cut. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water for butter. Dip lotus roots and fry.

Eggplant is one of the major tempura ingredients in Japan. Shallow scores across the skin assists batter to grip to eggplant.

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20 January

TOKYO BAR

Shiitake mushroom tempura Ingredients; Shiitake mushroom Gluten free flour, Baking powder, Salt, Frying oil

Cut shiitake into two pieces. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water for batter. Dip shiitake and fry.

Do not forget to cover the underside of the shiitake. This will preserve the “umami” quality of the dish. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

21 January

TOKYO BAR

Carrot tempura Ingredients; Carrot Gluten free flour, Baking powder, Salt, Frying oil

Cut in slice 2mm. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water for batter. Dip carrots and fry.

Carrot should be thinly for tempura, so it turns sweet and releases a good aroma. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

22 January

TOKYO BAR

Taro patty with spring onion Ingredients; Taro root Spring onion, Salt

Cut taro root into small pieces and steam. Cut spring onion small, and mix with salt and steamed taro root.

Taro root is a winter food, and very popular in Japan.

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23 January

TOKYO BAR

Grilled Shimonita spring onion with orange sauce

Grill spring onion. Squeeze orange to make fresh juice and heat up it until it caramelizes, add a bit of soy sauce and pour over spring onion.

Shimonita spring onion is thicker and more juicy than other varieties,

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Ingredients; Shimonita Spring Onion Orange, Soy sauce

24 January

TOKYO BAR

Turnip roots yuzu flavored pickles Ingredients; Turnip root, Salt Kombu seaweed, Yuzu skin

Slice Turnip roots and salt for a while. Thinly slice kombu and mix with salted turnip, red pepper, and yuzu skin. Put in refrigerator over night.

Konbu and yuzu are the common flavors for making traditional Japanese pickles.

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25 January

TOKYO BAR

Avocado sashimi Ingredients; Avocado Soy sauce, Wasabi

Chop avocado thickly and mix with wasabi soy sauce.

Best eaten with sake and rice,

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26 January

TOKYO BAR

Mandarin flavored pan grilled broccoli Ingredients; Broccoli Mandarin, Sake, Soy sauce

Cut broccoli and pan grill with salt only, until the aroma is released. Then add mandarin juice and sake. Steam a while, remove from heat and put in refrigerator overnight.

The mandarin flavor improves after refrigeration

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27 January

TOKYO BAR

Boiled spinach with black sesame soy sauce Ingredients; Spinach Black sesame, Soy sauce, Brown sugar

Grind black sesame, and add soy sauce and brown sugar. Boil spinach and soak in cold water quickly. Then mix into black sesame sauce.

It is also popular with white sesame, but the black one is extra good. Ground black sesame matches with brown sugar.

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28 January

TOKYO BAR

Sautéed king trumpet mushroom Ingredients; King trumpet mushroom Sesame oil, Red pepper, Sliced garlic, Salt, Sake

Dice mushroom. Heat oil with red pepper and garlic, until the aromas are released. Then add mushroom and salt. At the end pour a little sake and simmer.

King trumpet mushrooms absorb oil and get a nice meaty texture.

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29 January

TOKYO BAR

Seri  (Water  dropwort)  stew  with  deep  fried  tofu Ingredients; Seri Deep fried tofu, Kombu stock, Soy sauce, Sake, Grinded red pepper

Cut seri and deep fried tofu in pieces, and stew with kombu stock, until seri gets softer. Then add soy sauce and sake. Pour grinded red pepper after you serve on dishes.

Seri we use often in “Nabe”, Japanese hot pot.

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30 January

This month’s cool album from Japan January 2015

TOKYO BAR Jazz Check  thier  web  site!  h;p://www.basisrecords.com/indigo/index.php Check  the  their  videos!  h;p://www.basisrecords.com/indigo/video.php

This  band  is  my  absolute  favorite,  it  influenced  me  greatly.  They  have  10  albums,  among  them  this  album  has  the  most  ‘groovy’  driving  music.  “Sphinx”  and    “Adrenalin”  are  killer  tunes.    

Band    :  indigo  jam  unit  Album    :  REALism    From    :  basis  records  /  2011  

Epilogue January 2015

TOKYO BAR BucHu

Thank  you  for  reading  and  following  these  documents.  Hope  you  enjoyed  and  got  some  inspiraVon.  On  this  page  I’d  like  to  introduce  a  song  from  my  alternaVve  jazzy  rock  band  “BucHu”.  Oh,  I  play  bass  in  this  band.  

“Barbaboon”  is  a  farewell  song  to  my  dearest  friend  who  died  in  2014,  too  young.  I  couldn’t  accept  the  reality  for  a  while.  He  loved  my  band,  so  as  long  as  I  live,  I  will  conVnue  this  band  and  play  this  song.  I  will  keep  remembering  our  talks  and  Vme  together.    This  was  taken  at  a  Live  gig  held  on  the  23rd,  Nov.  2014  in  Deepa  Ohtsuka,  Tokyo.   h;ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bb9Jlwii8A

Barbaboon

h;ps://www.facebook.com/realbuchu h;p://grooveshark.com/#!/buchu