VEGETABLES & PICKLES

Japanese root vegetables are rich in vitamins and fibre. Daikon (Japanese radish) is white with a peppery taste. The leaf and stem contain more Vitamin C, calcium and iron than the root. It is eaten either grated (daikon oroshi) or as pickles (takuan). Gobo (burdock) is a thin, brown root with a distinct earthy flavour, which has a high fibre content that can help lower cholesterol. Kinpira gobo is a dish made from thin slices of gobo, cooked with carrots. Renkon lotus root has a reddish–brown sking and white flesh. The daily recommend amount of Vitamin C can be reached by eating 100 grams of this root vegetable.

Renkon - Lotus Root Vegetable  

An underwater Asian root vegetable, with a shape similar to a long squash. This is already peeled and boiled a little. It can be eaten stir-fried, steamed, braised and sautéed. When cooked, they go well in salads, soups, stews, or served as a vegetable dish. It has a quiet, slightly sweet taste and crunchy texture, which is maintained when cooked.

Daikon is a root vegetable which is very beneficial to the digestion which also contains a large amount of Vitamin C. Kiriboshi daikon is its dried form which can be bought or made at home. To make kiriboshi daikon, all you need to do is peel off the skin, cut it into long strips and dry in the sun for a day or two. It can then be used throughout the year, after being reconstituted with water. It is used in various ways, for example in tsukemono or with soy sauce and mirin or sugar in nimono (simmered dishes).

Yamaimo (yam) and satoimo (taro root) have been cultivated in Japan since the Stone Age and provide high levels of Vitamin C and B1. Varieties of yamaimo include nagaimo (Chinese yam), icho imo (ginkgo yam, so called because the end of the plant spreads out like a ginkgo leaf) and round yamato imo (Japnese yam). Yamatoimo is often grated into a pulpy consistency, mixed with flavouring and eaten with boiled rice. Satoimo is recognised by its brown fibre–like skin and greyish flesh. Its stickiness is said to help lower blood pressure and to reduce blood cholesterol levels. .

Konnyaku is a hard jelly made from the starch of the root or ’bulb’ of the ’devil’s tongue’ plant and shirataki is its shredded form. With no distinctive taste of the other ingredients they are cooked with. As both have next to no calories, they are ideal foods for those who want to watch their weight. They contain a type of dietary fibre which helps the body to discharge unnecessary and harmful substances. They can also be taken to help treat diabetes.

KONNYAKU
White

Yam Potato or known as Konnyaku.

It is made from Konnyaku potato (a kind of Taro Potato) No calories ! This has no real flavour, what it will do is absorb the flavour of the soup or stock and fill you up, so very good for dieting

SHIRATAKI

Shreaded Konnyaku.

Shreaded Konnyaku Yam cake. Goes with vegetables, boiled vegetable or soup.(remember this is good diet food !) (200g). Very popular in stews & hot pots. 

Negi (spring onion), asatsuki (a kind of chive) and nira (Chinese chive) have a strong, garlic–like aroma and flavour, and are often used to remove the odour of raw fish and meat. Kizami–negi (chopped spring onions) are sprinkled over udon, soba noodles and miso soup, and are used in nabe (hot–pot) for their body–heating quality. Negi and asatsuki can be used raw, as a fresh garnish for hiyayakko (chilled tofu). Negi is often cooked in combination with yakitori (grilled skewered chicken), and nira is used in the same way with liver.

Nori, a dried seaweed resembling sheets of black paper, is a very popular ingredient in Japan, particularly for the wrapping of steamed rice to make maki–zushi (rolled sushi) and onigiri (rice balls). Nori is an ideal food for those whose lungs have been damaged by smoking as it can help prevent tar attaching itself to the lungs. It is also said to prevent anaemia, hair loss and greying. It is rich in vitamin B1, which helps combat mental tatigue, and calcium. Seasoned nori is also popular.

Edible wild plants are widely loved in japan as they mark the advent of spring. For example, fuki, which resembles asparagus and is high in fibre, and udo, whicch belongs to the ginseng family and whose soft stalks also look like asparagus. Two more examples are: warabi, the shooto of a certain kind of fern whose shiny triangle–shaped leaves are also edible, and zenmai, another edible fern named for its coiled leaves (zenmai literally means ’spiral spring’). The most popular of all these plants is takenoko, the ivory–coloured crisp and tender shoot of bamboo. These vegetables are cooked in a variety of ways and used in the making of many traditional japanese dishes.

EDAMAME

Edamame is a green vegetable more commonly known as a soybean, harvested at the peak of ripening right before it reaches the "hardening" time. As a snack, Put Edamame in the boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and then the seeds are squeezed directly from the pods into the mouth with the fingers.

Narazuke are amde from fresh vegetables (such as cucumbers and Chinese cabbage), and are pickled in a pot of nuka. A stone is placed on top of the nuka container to weigh it down. Salt used in the pickling process helps the water in the vegetables to seep out, creating the characteristic texture of tsukemono. The pickles are usually eaten with rice as a side dish. There are many types of pickles including sokuseki–zuke (quickly prepared pickles), kasu–zuke (pickled in sake lees) and koji–zuke (pickled in malted rice).

Sun–dried, salted, then pickled with shiso (red perela leaves), umeboshi is a common everyday breakfast pickle in Japan, eaten with rice along with miso soup. Highly regarded in Japan both for its piquant taste and its medicinal properties, umeboshi is said to be extremely beneficial to the digestive system, and has been used for centuries to treat a broad range of ailments including food poisoning, flu, and hangovers. Delicious rice balls can be made by enclosing umeboshi in rice and wrapping it in nori,and can be used in a range of other dishes, in alcoholic drinks, and also makes a wonderful palate cleanser.

The two most popular types of pickled ginger in Japan are gari and beni shoga. To prepare gari, thin slivers of the ginger root are used, and hen pickled in plum vinegar which gives it a lightly sweet taste, pink colour and a pungent aroma. An essential condiment for sushi, it is said to refresh the palate between dishes. Beni shoga is similar to gari, but is red in colour and usually shredded. It is sprinkled on okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes), or yakisoba (stir-fried noodles). The medicinal effecs are said to include improving indigestion, helping cure colds and cooling down high temperatures.

Hajikami (Pickled Ginger stick)

Hajikami (ginger pickled in vinegar) is often used as a relish for grilled fish in Japan.
In bottle there will be about 15 sticks around 13 cm long,

Pickled Yellow Takuwan - (whole)

JAPANESE Pickled takuwan, (350g). Grown in Japan, this is used as a side dish to many meals. You always have a couple of slices in Bento Box's. 

Yude Azuki (tined sweet beans)

Boiled sweet Azuki Red Beans. Sweet to taste you use these in pancakes, vanila ice cream, on toast etc.. You will find them in Mochi (sticky rice cake sweets, very very nice ! (

Shinshin Shibazuke

Delicious pickeld vegetable

Fukujin Zuke (red pickles for curry)

A selection of pickled vegetables (NEW BIGGER SIZE - 250g), - pickled mouli, millet jelly, sesame seeds, spices. Ideal for use as a side salad with curry or use it to go over the top of rice. Gives that added bite to any meal !  

PICKLE

GINGER FOR SUSHI

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