Vegetable Agebitashi is deep-fried vegetables marinated in a Soy Sauce-based sauce. It can be eaten at room temperature or chilled. In summer, cold Agebitashi is very nice. Cook while it is still cool in the morning, and chill in the fridge in the afternoon until serving for dinner.
Mango Purin (pudding) is a mango-flavored cold jellied dessert, now quite popular in Japan. It is called Purin (or pudding), though it often doesn’t use eggs, and it’s not baked or steamed. It is made of gelatin and chilled. It has a creamy taste from milk and cream, and that may be the reason it’s called “pudding.” It is originally from Hong Kong, and it became popular enough to spread all over the world. Mango Purin is often seen at Chinese restaurants in the US, but not very common anywhere else. However, Mango Purin is more well known in Japan, and you can buy it at a lot of cake shops and other stores like supermarkets and convenience stores.
Iced Hojicha Milk Tea (ほうじ茶ミルクティー) is literally iced milk tea made with Hojicha tea. Iced milk tea is a very popular drink at coffee shops in Japan, especially during summer, although it’s not seen as often in the US. Usually iced tea is made with English black tea in Japan, but some people like Iced Hojicha Milk Tea for a different but interesting fragrance. Lately, it has become more trendy to use Hojicha in iced tea so it’s gaining popularity.
Tamago Tofu (Tamagodofu) is savory egg flan similar to Chawanmushi. Even though it’s called Tofu, it is not made from soy beans. It is really more like custard. Tamago Tofu is simply flavored with salt, Mirin, and Dashi fish stock. This subtle and comforting dish is usually eaten chilled, especially in warm seasons. If you don’t have any appetite from the heat outside, this can be an easy dish to enjoy. It feels great going down on a hot summer day. However, hot Tamago Tofu is also good just like Chawanmushi.
Nikumiso (肉味噌) is braised ground pork seasoned with Miso paste. The ginger and garlic in the dish give a wonderful aroma to it. Even though the red Miso used here is saltier and has a stronger taste than regular Awase (mixed) Miso, the sweetness of onions mellows it out. Nikumiso is not a main dish, but it can be used in many different ways as a side dish. You can simply put it on Steamed Rice and make into a Donburi (bowl). Or use as a filling for Onigiri rice balls to give a twist to your usual dish. You can also add it to your favorite noodles like Udon and Soba, or even pasta. We wrapped Nikumiso with lettuce leaves, and it became a great appetizer. If you multiply the recipe, you can serve for a crowd at a party.
Nikumiso is a tasty side dish you can make ahead. This strongly seasoned beef can be kept in the fridge up to a week. Heat up a little just before serving. Perfect for lunch and busy weekday dinners when you want one more thing!
Koppe Pan (コッペパン) is oblong-shaped white bread similar to an American hot dog bun. It is light and soft, mild in flavor, and one of the very basic and versatile breads in Japan. Koppe Pan can be eaten as is, of course, but most of the time it is used for sandwiching some kind of sweet or savory filling.
Chikuwa Isobeage, perhaps a mouthful to pronounce for non-Japanese speakers, is Tempura Chikuwa (a kind of fishcake) flavored with Aonori (dried seaweed flakes). This deep-fried dish is often a side dish item in commercial Bento, but also a great home-made appetizer that goes well with drinks.
Isobeage is a deep-fried dish that contains some kind of seaweed. Here we added Aonori, dried green seaweed flakes, to the batter to give a distinctive seaweed aroma. But there are lots of kinds of seaweed and lots of possibilities, like wrapping a sheet of roasted seaweed, Nori, with the other ingredients and frying. The batter could be just like Tempura, or it could be much thinner or even no batter at all. Chikuwa is fishcake shaped into sticks or tubes that are long and hollow inside, and it is the most often used meat used in Isobeage. Other seafood like fish and shrimp or even chicken are also suitable for the dish. This is very flexible side dish that you can adjust to your taste and what you have available.