Japanese Street Food: Yakitori!

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Who doesn’t love grilled chicken on skewers?

Yakitori is one of the most popular and ubiquitous types of kushiyaki found in Japan and in areas where Japanese food is popular. Yakitori are bite-sized pieces of chicken, skewered and grilled. In Japan, yakitori can be found at yakitori-ya restaurants, street food festival stands and more commonly, at izakaya, or bar and grill style restaurants.

Having them at a street fair or izakaya is quite an experience!

Generally paired with beer or sake, yakitori are perfect for after-work happy hour or after-party noshing. There are quite a few varieties of yakitori. One of the most popular ones is tsukune, which are ground chicken meatballs, glazed with a thin teriyaki-style sauce and often accompanied by shichimi pepper. Negima yakitori are small pieces of chicken thigh skewered on bamboo sticks with stalks of green onion, and occasionally salted or glazed. Without the green onion, these yakitori are called momo, literally meaning “thigh”. Kawa is a traditional yakitori preparation where chicken skin is folded and grilled extra crispy. Tebasaki are grilled chicken wings. Sunagimo are chicken gizzards, rebaa are chicken livers and nankotsu are breast cartilage… marinated, glazed and grilled to perfection. You can even get chicken heart, neck and hind end!

Grilling yakitori is an art form. Binchotan charcoal is used to heat the grill, which is smokeless and odorless, and made from hard Japanese oak. The wood is fired at extremely high temperatures in an oxygen-poor environment and quickly cooled to make it smooth and long-burning. This charcoal is the best to grill with, as it doesn’t adulterate the flavor of the food.

Eating yakitori is half the fun. Skewers are usually ordered in sets of two or as part of a combination plate called moriawase. You pick your sauce or tare, or just have your skewer sprinkled with salt. Sometimes, ordering sides of boiled eggs, potatoes or vegetables rounds out the meal, but mostly yakitori are delicious with beer and sake and good friends!

Share your izakaya or yakitori-ya story with us… from here in the US or from your trip or stay in Japan. Then stay tuned for next month’s street food showcase!

Japanese Street Food: Imagawa-yaki!

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Have you ever had one?

An imagawa-yaki or a taiyaki?

If you haven’t, then it should be added to your street food bucket list!

Imagawa-yaki is a grilled, stuffed pastry popularly thought to have originated during the Edo Period in the early 1800’s in a bakery located near the Imagawa Bridge in Tokyo. Many variations of the original imagawa-yaki are available today, including taiyaki and modern savory ‘ima‘s.

Regardless of the type of filling, the batter, made of flour, eggs, sugar and water, is whisked together to a smooth consistency, and then poured into a metal mold and stuffed with either a sweet or savory filling. Imagawa-yaki are made in circular molds, and traditionally filled with sweet, red adzuki bean paste. Some traditional bakeries have innovated spin-offs of the original, even creating a chocolate covered pastry for the summer months!

Taiyaki

Taiyaki are also extremely popular, especially during Japanese festivals. Shaped like sea bream fish–which are thought to bring good luck—these pastries are filled with sweets, such as bananas and Nutella, custard cream or chocolate. Connoisseurs suggest always getting the head side of the taiyaki, especially if you’re going to share, so you get the most of the sweet gooey filling!

Although traditionally filled with sweets, imagawa-yaki pastries are now also available with savory fillings. Usually found at Japanese fusion bakeries in the United States, these pastries, called ‘ima’s for short, are filled with sausage and peppers, prosciutto and cheese, spinach, feta and sundried tomatoes, and even spicy chilies and meat. These fusion pastries are a modern, international twist on the classic pancake-like pastry!

If you’ve had one of these, tell us about it! And if not… get eating!

Stay tuned for next month’s street food showcase!

Japanese Street Food: Crepes

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Last month we featured savory, comforting, delicious ramen.

This month… crepes!

More specifically, Japanese-style crepes. You’ve heard of crepes from France, filled with sweet fruit compote or ham, eggs and cheese. And you’ve probably tried crepes from other countries, like rice-and-lentil-based dosa from India. But Japanese crepes are unique, interesting and quintessentially youthful!

Crepes are thin pancakes, and in Japan, they are made to be sweet. The batter, consisting of eggs, milk, water, salt, flour and butter, is poured onto a griddle, and spread very, very thin in the shape of a circle using a crepe paddle. The crepe is cooked through until golden, then transferred to a plate using a long, flat spatula.

And that’s where the specialness of this Japanese street food begins!

Fillings and toppings range from fruit—such as strawberries and bananas, chocolate and whipped cream—to potato salad, hot dogs, tuna, pizza toppings, spaghetti, cheesecake and even frankfurter salad with lettuce, frankfurter, turkey, kidney beans and ketchup! Any and all of these fillings are rolled inside the crepe, and then served in a paper cone.

The varieties are endless, and unique to the ubiquitous crepe shops that have popped up across metropolitan areas in Japan since crepes were introduced in the 1970’s. Today, young people from middle school through college congregate at crepe shops to savor the flavors of this great street food.

Regardless of what type of crepe becomes your favorite, this iconic Japanese street food is always something we’d love to eat! Tell us about your favorite crepe… and try out one of our favorite recipes!

Stay tuned for next month’s street food showcase!

Japanese Street Food: Ramen

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Yum.

Street food.

All over the world, cities are famous for iconic foods served on sidewalks, along canals, at festivals and in parks. With a reputation for providing excellent, cheap, fast food, street food vendors unite people across all cultures—from hot dogs in New York City to pav bhaji in Mumbai to coxinha in Sao Paolo. Japan offers a rich street food culture with many vendors, called yatai, setting up their two-wheeled carts during meal times to serve savory, sweet and flavorful dishes to customers.

One of the most popular street food dishes in Japan is ramen. While most people think of ramen as a quintessentially Japanese dish, it was originally brought to Japan from China in the mid-1800s. Made of wheat flour, salt, plain water and kansui (a type of alkaline water which gives the noodles their bounciness and yellow hue), ramen noodles became a staple in Japan following their introduction and were especially ubiquitous following World War II, as wheat flour from the United States became readily available. Over time, ramen specialties emerged, with regional variations being created with unique local flavors, preparation techniques and consumption habits.

Miso ramen

There are various types of ramen, and they are distinguished by their heaviness, the broth base, and the seasoning sauce added to the base broth to give it its distinctive flavor, or tare. The noodles and toppings also vary regionally and aficionados develop cult followings to their unique concoctions. The most popular types of ramen are miso ramen, shoyu ramen and tonkotsu ramen.

Sapporo is the birthplace of miso ramen, in which the broth base is made using fermented soybean paste. According to legend, miso ramen was created in a small ramen shop by a customer, who requested noodles in his miso and pork broth soup. The kotteri heaviness of this ramen, because of the added fats and butter, results in an opaque broth. Add in thick noodles and toppings such as garlic, ginger, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, corn, scallions, and minced roasted pork and you have one of the most popular forms of ramen!

Shoyu ramen

Shoyu ramen is one of the most traditional types of ramen, and the broth is simmered for hours, resulting in a complex blend of pork, chicken, vegetables, seaweed and dried fish. The broth is then mixed with soy sauce to complete the flavor. Shoyu ramen, somewhere in the middle of the heaviness scale, is generally served with thin, wavy noodles and topped with scallions, nori, roasted pork, naruto and bamboo shoots.

Tonkotsu ramen

Tonkotsu ramen is another type of ramen from Japan and it has recently experienced a surge in popularity in the United States. Tonkotsu ramen is made from a rich bone broth, boiled for days, to which thin straight noodles and spicy condiments such as mustard greens, ginger and even chili oil are added. Originating from the Fukuoka area, where yatai are hugely popular, tonkotsu ramen is usually served with all-you-can-eat noodles, making it extra filling and hearty.

Regardless of what type of ramen becomes your favorite, this noodle soup dish is perfect for any season, for lunch or dinner, and any place where savory, soothing and filling food is on order! Tell us about your favorite ramen… and stay tuned for next month’s street food showcase!

How to… Use a Takoyaki-ki

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Street food is some of the most loved in the world… Middle Eastern gyros, American hot dogs, Indian chaat… and Japanese takoyaki!

Traditionally, takoyaki are fried octopus balls, made using a specialized pan and bamboo skewers. The crispy-on-the-outside, succulent-on-the-inside snacks are served piping hot and topped with lots of savory sauces and condiments.

Takoyaki are made using a takoyaki-ki, or specialized takoyaki pan. The pans are generally made of heavy cast iron or a lighter coated aluminum so that they retain even heat. Takoyaki-ki are heated over a gas flame and seasoned batter is poured into the deep, round wells. As the batter cooks, small, 1-inch pieces of octopus, or even meat and cheese, are dropped into each well. Once the outer edges of the batter have cooked, the piece is turned ninety degrees with a bamboo skewer and allowed to cook again. The piece is turned over and over until the balls are round and golden brown on the outside. Each piece is served hot out of the pan, and garnished with green onions, okonomiyaki sauce, seaweed powder, bonito flakes and mayonnaise.

Drooling yet?

One of the best parts about getting fresh takoyaki is watching the cooks prepare dozens at a time, their bamboo skewers working steady and fast as each well of batter is turned into delicious snack balls!

Have you made takoyaki before using this pan? We’d love to hear your stories!