PROJECT Tomato Salad

Jul 17, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer

TOMATOES combine well with both land and sea vegetables, and with cold noodles too, to make a variety of SALADS. This PROJECT Tomato Salad is about creating your own “house” salad featuring tomatoes.

To start you off, here is a recipe for enjoying tomatoes OHITASHI-style

TOMATOES and COLD NOODLES

Tomatoes and cold noodles are a winning combination. Find information and inspiration in the posts devoted to:

TOMATO, CORN and WAKAMÉ

This combination of land and sea veggies makes a terrific salad, a summertime favorite in Japan.

Here is a primer on using fresh and/or dried calcium-rich wakamé (Undaria pinnatifida; a type of algae). DOWNLOAD Anatomy of Wakamé.

 

TOMATO, TŌFU, OKRA, BONITO FLAKES and NORI

In Japan, tomatoes are often paired with tōfu in a dish known as hiya yakko.

Bonito flakes (katsuo-bushi also known as okaka) are often used to garnish fresh or briefly blanched vegetables. The fish flakes will be more smoky-aromatic if roasted in a dry skillet before crushing them.

Use this post devoted to okra to help you prepare it well.

Plain, or flavored (aji-tsuke) nori can be crumpled and sprinkled on top of tomatoes — a tart sesame-soy dressing goes well with this. Or, make nori tsukudani and use it as a sauce or dressing.

For more about Tomatoes in Japan visit my Kitchen Culture blog

and read my July 2021 newsletter

PROJECT Symbolic Pine

PROJECT Symbolic Pine

Because pine trees are hardy evergreens, they are a symbol of longevity and resilience in Japanese culture. As such they are a key motif used at New Year’s. Various foods are configured to resemble pine. Cones (matsukasa) and needles (matsuba) are the most frequently...

Katsura Muki, gossamer thin peels

Katsura Muki, gossamer thin peels

Daikon radish is peeled into long, seemingly impossibly thin ribbons in a cut known as katsura muki. The skill needed to produce these peels is the most basic requirement in any Japanese professional kitchen. It typically takes months (if not years) of daily practice...

PROJECT Katsura Muki

PROJECT Katsura Muki

This PROJECT is about learning to make katsura muki, a classic cutting technique in the traditional Japanese kitchen. When done properly, long, flowing, continuous and incredibly thin peels are produced from vegetables such as daikon radish, cucumbers and carrots. In...

Tsutsumu… wrapping, enveloping

Tsutsumu… wrapping, enveloping

Written with calligraphy for “bath” (furo 風呂) and “spread out” (shiki 敷) the word is rather curious for a piece of cloth. It seems the origins hark back to the Muromachi Period (1336-1573 AD) when Daimyo lords would spread out a cloth in which to wrap their clothing...

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