“Nobu West,” by Nobu Matsuhisa and Mark Edwards (Andrews McMeal Publishing, $39.95)
“Nobu West” might be subtitled “Japanese Cooking Made Easy,” but that doesn’t sound as sexy. Such a mundane title also lacks the cachet associated with so august an author.
Truth is, this is the perfect book for those simultaneously intrigued and intimidated by the Zen of Japanese cooking. Recipes, which incorporate elements of world culinary traditions – tomatillo and gooseneck barnacle salad; fish and chips; foie gras miso soup – are easily manageable for the intrepid home cook.
With relatively few exceptions, ingredients max out at 10, and require no more than five or six steps (although, in all fairness, there are several with steps within steps, but nothing really scary). The real problem will be trying to make the dishes look like Eiichi Takahashi’s stunning photographs. Don’t. Just dive in, cook and enjoy. | Ellen Sweets
Recipes from “Nobu West” by Nobu Matsuhisa and Mark Edwards
Scallops with Spicy Black Bean Sauce
Scallops are baked in their shells with a little sake and some black bean paste, which creates a sauce in the bottom of the shell. The ingredients can be found at any Asian food store. If you can’t find fresh scallops in their shells, use any shelled fresh scallops and cook them in an earthenware baking dish. Serves 2.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon black bean paste
5 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (this fiery red sauce is made from a blend of fresh, roasted or dried chilies and garlic, sugar, vinegar and other seasonings. It’s called “tobanjan” in Japanese)2 large fresh, live scallops
2/3 cup thinly shredded cabbage
1/3 cup thinly shredded leek
1/4 cup spicy black bean sauce (see below)
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
Egg white
Directions
In a small bowl, thoroughly combine black bean paste, sake, soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce. Seat aside.
Preheat oven to 400.
The easiest way to prepare the scallops is to have the fishmonger do this for you, or, if you’re feeling industrious, press on.
Scrub the outside of the scallop shells. Then, using a knife, open the shells and extract the scallop meat. Remove the beard and the frilly outer membrane from each scallop muscle and discard. Scrub the inside of the deepest scallop shell and pat dry.
Nestle each scallop in the middle of its cleaned shell and arrange shredded cabbage and leek around the outside of the scallops. Spoon the black bean sauce over the top of the scallops and season with pepper.
Bake for six to eight minutes, until scallops are just cooked through. Serve on a bed of salt mixed with a little egg white, which keeps them upright.
Baked Mushrooms
This is a great way to enjoy all types of mushrooms, baked and flavored with sake, olive oil and yuzu juice. You can vary the types of mushroom used in this dish to suit your taste or availability. Serves 4
Ingredients
10 ounces morels
10 ounces button mushrooms
10 ounces eringe mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii is a wild mushroom with a dark brown cap to be found between June and October, growing to a height of between three and eight inches, it’s flesh is firm and fragrant), or brown mushrooms
10 ounces cep (porcini) mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons sake
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon yuzu juice (Japanese citron (Citrus Junos) is zestier than lemons and not as sweet. Yuzu also has a very potent fragrance. It is used for both its acidic juice and its aromatic peel. Yuzu juice is now available from Asian supermarkets) or fresh lemon juice
1/2 red chili, seeded and thinly sliced
Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Wipe and clean mushrooms. (The morels might need to be soaked to remove sand; because of their pitted surface, a good way to clean morels without soaking them is to use a small stiff brush, like a nailbrush.) Cut any larger ones into evenly sized pieces, but try to keep the mushrooms whole if possible.
Place mushrooms, olive oil, garlic and sake in an ovenproof earthenware pot or casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid. Season with sea salt and pepper and mix well to ensure all the mushrooms are coated; cover tightly.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Remove lid, add yuzu juice, and mix in. Sprinkle with the sliced chili and serve.
Tuna Angel Hair Pasta
Here raw tuna is cut into thin strips, seasoned with sesame, chili and garlic, and mixed with cold cooked angel hair pasta to make a really interesting combination. Unless you have extremely sharp knives, it’s probably best to have the butcher slice the tuna for you. Serves 4
Ingredients
3 ounces angel hair pasta (cappelini)
Salt
5 ounces boneless, skinless fresh tuna, sliced in thin strips
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce (a fiery red sauce made from a blend of fresh, roasted or dried chilies and garlic, sugar, vinegar and other seasonings, it is called “tobanjan” in Japanese)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 bunch of chives, finely snipped
Directions
Boil angel hair pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water until just al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water, then drain well again.
Following the grain of the tuna, slice it into long strips as thin as you can manage (1/16 to 1/8 inch).
Using wooden utensils, combine with the drained pasta in a mixing bowl. Add sesame and olive oils and gently mix again. Add chili-garlic sauce to the soy sauce and gently mix into the salad, taste and add a little more salt if required.
Serve with a sprinkling of chives.
