As summer soars, the tomato offers a lesson in staying bright and cool
The marinating liquid usually contains dashi, the foundation stock for so many Japanese dishes, but it can also be a simple concoction of soy sauce or commercial mentsuyu (noodle sauce). When the ingredients have been marinated in the liquid for a while, they soak up the flavors, making them really tasty. Ohitashi is one of the fundamental cooking methods in washoku; it's also healthy as the standard formula does not contain oil — you can adjust the amount of sodium by reducing the soy sauce.
Ohitashi is a great way to enjoy seasonal vegetables, from nanohana (flowerbuds of the rapeseed plant) in spring, okra in summer, mushrooms in fall and shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) and spinach in winter. The marinating liquid enhances the umami and sweetness inherent in the vegetables.
Tomatoes, which are now in season and packed with umami, are perfect for ohitashi. Peeling the tomatoes also helps the ohitashi liquid penetrate the fruit well. After marinating them, serve them well-chilled to make a wonderfully refreshing side dish in the hot months.
Tomatoes offer a delicious umami that is enhanced by "ohitashi," the process of marinating vegetables and fruit in an umami-rich liquid. |
GETTY IMAGES
Serves 4 to 6
Prep and cook time: 30 minutes (does not include marinating and chilling time)
Ingredients:
1 10-centimeter square piece kombu seaweed
600 millimeters water
4 grams (a small packet) katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
50 millimeters mirin
50 millimeters soy sauce, preferably light soy sauce
6 medium-size very ripe tomatoes
Garnish
Grated ginger to taste
Shredded green shiso (perilla) leaves or flatleaf parsley to taste
Directions:
1. The night before, put the kombu in 600 ml of water, and let it soak in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Transfer the water and kombu into a pan and add the katsuobushi. Slowly bring the water to a simmer, turn off the heat and wait for the katsuobushi to sink to the bottom of the pan. Strain the liquid through a fine meshed colander, and clean the pan.
3. Return the strained liquid to the clean pan, and add the mirin and soy sauce. Heat the liquid and let it simmer gently for about five minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat.
4. Prepare a large bowl filled with ice water and set it aside. Remove the sepals from the tomatoes, and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop the tomatoes into the pot and let them boil for 10 to 15 seconds, then take them out using a strainer and put them into the bowl of ice water. Peel off their skins.
5. Put the peeled tomatoes in a container, and pour the marinating liquid from Step 3 over them. Place a piece of paper towel on top of the tomatoes so that it soaks up the liquid and covers the top of the tomatoes. Close the container with a tight-fitting lid, and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
6. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and place them on a chilled plate before pouring over some of the marinating liquid. Garnish with grated ginger and shredded green shiso leaves or flatleaf parsley. Serve the dish well chilled. The marinated tomatoes will keep refrigerated for up to three days.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Efforts continue to recover undersea mine workers' remains, decades on
Efforts are under way to recover the remains of workers who died in a 1942 accident at a now-defunct undersea coal mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture, aiming to build momentum ahead of next month's 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. "We hope that the collection of the remains will be successful this year, 80 years after the end of the war," said a member of a civic group for carrying out diving surveys for the remains of the 183 workers — 136 from the Korean Peninsula and 47 from Japan. At the Chosei coal mine, which opened in 1914 in the city of Ube, a submersion accident occurred in the mine tunnel at a point some 1 kilometer from its portal due to an abnormal water inflow in February 1942, during the war. The mine's entrance was closed, with the remains of the victims left behind. Founded in 1991, the civic group has asked the Japanese government since 2018 to carry out surveys by opening up the entrance. The government answered in 2023 that it was difficult to excavate the remains as their locations were unknown. The group decided to open the portal and identify the positions of the remains. The use of underwater drones was initially considered, but diving adventurer Yoshitaka Isaji, 36, later offered his cooperation. Since October last year, he has dived through the entrance three times to reach a location where many remains are projected to be. However, after reaching a collapsed section about 200 meters inside the portal, Isaji was unable to proceed further. A civic group conducts a diving survey from a cylindrical structure, called a "pier," that leads to the undersea mine in Ube, in June. | Jiji In June this year, the group changed its survey method to enter the mine tunnel from cylindrical structures, called "piers," which were used for ventilation and drainage. Initial attempts had to be abandoned due to buildups of broken timber and steel pipes. In a June survey, however, the group confirmed a path to the spot where the remains are believed to be, after removing timber with support from local companies. From Aug. 6, Isaji plans to conduct a diving survey for up to six hours in total, to search thoroughly and safely for the remains at a depth of some 42 meters. Efforts for the collection of the remains have been made with cooperation from South Korea. South Korean divers have joined such surveys, while South Korean bereaved families attending memorial services for the accident. The Japanese government, however, is said to be reluctant about carrying out on-site surveys, although it is cooperating with gathering information about obstacles left in the mine. "This year marks 80 years since the end of the war end and 60 years since the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea," Yoko Inoue, 75, co-head of the group, said. "To bring back even part of the remains would be of historic significance for our peaceful friendship with people on the Korean Peninsula."
Japan Times
20 hours ago
- Japan Times
Why authorities in Okinawa are trying to capture feral goats
Feral goats in the village of Higashi's Takae district in northern Okinawa Prefecture were designated by the Okinawa Prefectural Government in 2023 as an invasive species that urgently needs to be controlled. Wild goats are causing damage to crops in the village, as well as on Iriomote Island, and there are concerns that they could negatively impact the forest ecosystems harboring rare animals and plants. The village and prefectural authorities are working to catch the goats and prevent the spread of the invasive species. Wild goats have so far been spotted in the Yanbaru region — the northern area of Okinawa's main island — and on remote islands in the prefecture. They are highly reproductive, and the village began to consider them as a problem around 2019. Since the goats are of West Asian origin, it is highly likely that they were initially brought in as livestock and then became feral. Akira Nishime, 71, a grass farmer in Takae, has been troubled by crop damage by wild goats for years. Nishime first observed wild goats on his grassland around 2008. He said he was surprised to see roughly 20 goats climbing up a cliff rising about 100 meters from the shoreline. Because they are cautious and avoid coming close to humans, they have never attacked him, but since then, they have been seen between February and May every year up to and including last year. It is not clear exactly how much damage has been done to his crops, because grass grows again after it is eaten. Still, 'it is annoying, considering each goat eats about 7 to 8 kilograms of grass a day and 20 to 30 of them come to my grassland every season,' he said. In fiscal 2023, about five flocks of 20 to 30 wild goats were spotted in the village, and it was estimated that some 100 goats inhabit the area. The village government set about taking measures to prevent crop damage, treating wild goats as harmful wildlife. A team of hunters, working on wildlife damage control, which has been capturing wild boars and crows, began catching wild goats throughout the year. In the same fiscal year, the prefectural government also started conducting regular patrols and captures in Higashi, as well as in the village of Kunigami in northern Okinawa Prefecture and on Iriomote Island, to protect vegetation and endemic species from being trampled by wild goats. In fiscal 2023, village authorities captured 17 wild goats and prefectural officials caught 19 in Takae. In fiscal 2024, as the number of goats in the district decreased, village officials did not capture any, while prefectural officials caught 19. According to the prefectural government, at least 12 goats currently live in Takae. While the number of wild goats in Takae has declined due to the measures, authorities plan to continue seizing the animals. They are also taking measures to encourage proper goat-raising in order to prevent more feral animals. The town of Taketomi, which has jurisdiction over Iriomote Island, which has a huge wild goat population, began enforcing an ordinance on April 1 on responsible goat handling and management. The ordinance sets rules including requiring that goats have collars and ear tags, prohibiting owners from unleashing them and making it mandatory to report to authorities in the event one runs away. Violators of the rules are subject to warnings, admonition and penalty fees. There have also been cases of goats running away in Higashi. 'We plan to consider measures to promote proper goat handling and also discuss the need to create an ordinance,' an official from the village said. Okinawa Prefecture is soliciting witness reports of invasive species, including wild goats, on its website. This section features topics and issues from Okinawa covered by The Okinawa Times, a major newspaper in the prefecture. The original article was published June 5.
Japan Times
21 hours ago
- Japan Times
80 years on, Iwate woman recalls naval bombardment
The city of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture is said to have been the first place on Japan's main island of Honshu to suffer a naval bombardment by the Allied powers during World War II. More than 5,000 shells were fired into the northeastern Japan city, which had a large iron mill, on July 17 and Aug. 9, 1945, killing a total of 782 people, mostly civilians. As the bombardments lasted about two hours on both days, Mutsuko Sano, 94, clearly heard the earth rumbling at a school for girls about 30 kilometers away. Sano was 14 years old when she evacuated with others from her hometown in Kamaishi to the school in the neighboring city of Tono in April 1945. After the second attack, more of Sano's classmates evacuated from Kamaishi. She could do nothing but hold devastated friends who had lost relatives. "I want to tell young people now that natural disasters cannot be avoided, but war can," Sano said. Since Kamaishi had a prisoner-of-war camp, Sano often saw lines of prisoners heading to a mine for work. After the war ended, however, she saw them whistling as they walked through town, a scene that made her fully realize her country's defeat. When Sano returned to Kamaishi with her father, she saw burned ruins everywhere, with the five chimneys of the ironworks, which used to be a symbol of the city, bent miserably. Around Kamaishi Station, there were several craters formed as a result of the bombardments. "It was complete hell," Sano said. "I wish the war had ended earlier." Sano has lived in Kamaishi for 80 years since the end of the war, witnessing the rise and fall of her hometown. The city began to recover in the 1950s, led by its steel and fishery industries, but was again devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. "The city remains deserted now," she said. "Why should we experience such misery again?" Still, she keeps busy working for the town, making her wartime experiences into a booklet and sharing her story through lectures. "People can't resist a tsunami, but war can be avoided," she emphasized. "We must never start a war."
