JAPANESE STYLE Vol. 27 No. 1 April 2013
Ohitashi
Ohitashi is a boiled vegetable salad dressed with dashi and soy sauce. It can be made with any selection of green vegetables, sansai edible wild plants, or mushrooms. This particular recipe calls for mizuna, Japanese water greens. The blanching method described here preserves the color of the vegetables.
Mizuna no Ohitashi
Serves 4
9 kcal Protein 0.7 g
- 150 g (5 oz.) mizuna* (1 C after boiling, gently squeezed)
- Salt
- 3 T dashi stock
- 1 1/2 T Kikkoman Soy Sauce
- Katsuobushi, dried shaved bonito
- 1Cut a cross-shaped incision in the mizuna roots; (photo a) to allow the mizuna to boil evenly; wash and drain.
- 2To ensure the greens are evenly cooked, first hold the mizuna by the stalks and immerse the roots in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for 5 seconds (photo b). Then boil the entire bunch for 1 minute. Drain immediately, place in cold water and squeeze out excess moisture.
- 3Mix dashi and soy sauce to make the dressing.
- 4Marinate the mizuna in 1 1/2 T of the dressing for 10 minutes.
- 5Gently squeeze out excess liquid, and cut off the roots of the mizuna, then cut into 4 cm- (1.5 in.-) pieces.
- 6Place in serving dish with dressing poured on top; garnish with katsuobushi.
- *Other greens may be substituted; watercress is an excellent option.
Note: The amount of dashi stock and soy sauce can be adjusted to taste.
Vol. 27
