in anticipation…

of being for here for the rest of this week,  I preemptively ate quite healthy on the weekend and made one of my super easy and really delicious Japanese dinners.  This menu will easily serve 4 people.

Wasabi pickled cucumbers recipe here.

Sauteed Spinach with Sesame Sauce

10 oz bag of spinach, steamed or sauteed and squeezed dry  (this dish is better served warm or room temperature)

Sesame sauce

2 tbsp sesame paste (if you cannot find sesame paste, grin 3 tbsp sesame seeds and add 3 tbsp vege or canola oil together

2 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over cooked spinach.

Simmered Kabocha Squash (adapted from Vegetarian Japanese Cooking)

1 pd kabocha squash, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces (it is not necessary to peel this squash, the skin is quite yummy)

2 c water

4 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp japanese soy sauce

pinch salt

Place all the ingredients (except squash) into a pot and bring to a boil, lower heat, add squash and simmer until just tender, about 20 mins.  Strain out the squash, return the cooking liquid to heat and boil until its reduced by half. Serve the squash with a little of the cooking liquid.

Sashimi Hamachi Salad Style

1 piece sushi quality hamachi, tuna or salmon

Dressing

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients together and pour over salad.

Salad

1 bunch watercress, stemmed using the tender top leaves

1/2 small red onion diced very fine

1 bunch radish sprouts

1 avocado diced small

2 shiso leaves sliced thinly (worth searching out if you can find shiso, it has a very distinct taste)

Combine above and pour dressing over.  Refrigerate 30 mins. Pile over thinly sliced hamachi.

thinly sliced hamachi

and this is what will hopefully get me through the week.