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 Crunchy, Spicy Cucumbers

PROJECT Crunchy, Spicy Cucumbers

The catergory of foods known as tsukémono runs the gamut from sokuseki ("impatient") and asazuké (lightly pickled) to furuzuké (literally "old" or overly pickled) foods that are intensely-flavored and/or deeply fermented. There are dozens of kinds of cucumber...

PROJECT: Ika Yaki

PROJECT: Ika Yaki

Gingery griddle-seared squid, IKA YAKI イカ焼き is a favorite summer festival food sold thoughout Japan at yatai food stalls. Visit the Summer Festival Food: YATAI post for more information about summer festivals and the food sold at yatai stalls. This Kitchen PROJECT is...

Summer Festival Food: YATAI

Summer Festival Food: YATAI

Throughout Japan summertime is a time for natsu matsuri: summer festivals. And that means hanabi 花火 (fireworks), mikoshi 神輿 (portable Shinto shrines paraded through the streets during festivals), and bon odori 盆おどりdancing in addition to yatai 屋台 food stalls. Lilting...

Hand-Stretched Noodles

Hand-Stretched Noodles

Hand-Stretched Noodles  手延べ素麺 TÉNOBÉ SŌMEN As the heat and humidity of summer settles in, appetites begin to wane. That’s when chilled sōmen noodles provide solace. Indeed, sōmen have been refreshing heat-weary Japanese since at least the 8th century. Sōmen noodles...

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