Simmered Stuffed Aburaage (Shinoda-ni) – RecipeTin Japan

Surprisingly juicy and attractive, Simmered Stuffed Aburaage is an ideal dish to go along with rice. It seems like Inarizushi, however the aburaage pouches are full of pork mince. Thinly sliced lotus roots and shiitake mushrooms beneath the aburaage pouches add completely different textures to the dish.

I discovered a Simmered Stuffed Aburaage recipe in my previous Japanese recipe e-book revealed in 1981. On this recipe, the filling is simply pork mince with finely chopped inexperienced onions. The stuffed aburaage pouches are cooked with sliced bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms.

I modified the recipe barely and added a few finely chopped greens to the mince, which made the filling extra fascinating with completely different textures. I additionally adjusted the simmering broth barely.

Left: Recipe from my previous cookbook. Proper: My dish.

About Shinoda-ni

The recipe in my previous cookbook doesn’t point out this, however right now’s dish can be referred to as ‘shinoda-ni’ (信田煮). Aburaage is known as ‘shinoda’ (信田) within the Kansai area (the western area of Japan), so simmered dishes with aburaage as a principal ingredient are referred to as shinoda-ni, the place the phrase ‘ni’ (煮) means simmered.

The identify ‘shinoda’ got here from the well-known Shinoda forest in Osaka prefecture, which is understood for the Japanese legend of a white fox. For the reason that fox was additionally related to aburaage in Japanese mythology (as I discussed in my recipe Kitsune Soba), ‘shinoda’ was linked to aburaage.

I like the way in which Japanese individuals undertake the identify of the dish primarily based on historical past, legend, and/or analogy. The dish identify doesn’t even symbolize the important thing ingredient or the cooking methodology. It’s so imaginative and inventive. Some examples of the identify of such dishes embrace Gisei Tofu, Mizore-ni, Rikyū Age, and Kitsune Soba. I defined the place these names got here from in every submit.

What’s in My Simmered Stuffed Aburaage (Shinoda-ni)

• Aburaage
• Lotus roots minimize into skinny quartered items
• Rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms, stem eliminated and quartered
• Oil.

The unique recipe makes use of boiled bamboo shoots as a substitute of lotus roots. I didn’t have bamboo shoots, so I substituted it with lotus roots that I occurred to have. I feel it labored nicely. When you have bamboo shoots, by all means, please use them. You can even use different greens which can be suited to fast simmering.

Aburaage Filling

• Pork mince
• Finely diced rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms
• Finely diced carrot
• Finely chopped inexperienced onions
• Corn flour/cornstarch
• Ginger juice, squeezed from grated ginger
• Soy sauce
• Cooking sake.

You may substitute the greens blended into the pork mince with different greens resembling edamame, burdock, and lotus roots. Some recipes additionally add hijiki seaweed.

Simmering Broth

• Dashi inventory
• Shiitake dashi from rehydrating the dried shiitake mushrooms
• Soy sauce
• Sugar.

Garnish

• Finely julienned inexperienced onions, soaked in chilly water.

In my recipe, Chilly Nyūmen, I talked about shiraga negi – the white a part of inexperienced onions finely julienned. As we speak’s garnish is similar to it, however I used the inexperienced a part of inexperienced onions right now. I diagonally julienned them to make lengthy strands. While you depart them in chilly water for some time, they begin curling and develop into ornamental.

Tips on how to Make Simmered Stuffed Aburaage (Shinoda-ni)

Making Stuffed Aburaage Pouches

1. Take away the surplus oil from aburaage by submerging them in boiling water or pouring boiling water over them.
2. Drain, cool them down, then halve every aburaage crosswise so that you simply get two squarish aburaage items.
3. Gently squeeze water out of the aburaage items and make a pouch from every aburaage.
4. Combine diced greens and corn flour/cornstarch in a bowl, then add the remaining Aburaage Filling elements to the bowl. Combine nicely.
5. Fill the aburaage pouch with the mince combination and fold the opening to safe the pouch.

Cooking Stuffed Aburaage

1. Sauté lotus roots and shiitake mushrooms within the pan, then place the aburaage pouches radially on high of the greens.
2. Add the Simmering broth to the pan and simmer.
3. When many of the broth evaporates, flip the warmth off.
4. Switch the dish by sliding the pouches and greens to a serving plate and garnish with the julienned inexperienced onion.

If you’re fearful in regards to the folded finish opening whereas cooking, you may put a toothpick by means of, as if you’re stitching, to safe the top.

I slid the cooked dish onto the plate to keep up the identical radial presentation of the pouches, however it’s not a ‘should’.

Simmered Stuffed Aburaage shouldn’t be an eye catching dish by way of colors, however it’s a typical home-cooking dish that has an excellent style. As a result of the aburaage absorbs the broth, the second you chunk into the pouch the scrumptious flavour of the broth fills your mouth.

You may serve Simmered Stuffed Aburaage as a principal or a facet. You simply want to vary the variety of pouches per serving. It retains 2-3 days within the fridge.

Yumiko

Simmered Stuffed Aburaage (Shinano-ni)

Surprisingly juicy and attractive, Simmered Stuffed Aburaage is an ideal dish to go along with rice. It seems like Inarizushi, however the aburaage pouches are full of pork mince. Thinly sliced lotus roots and shiitake items beneath the aburaage pouches add completely different textures to the dish.

Do not forget to see the part ‘MEAL IDEAS’ beneath the recipe card! It provides you an inventory of dishes that I’ve already posted and this recipe that may make up an entire meal. I hope it’s of assist to you.

Recipe Sort:

Important, Facet

Delicacies:

Japanese

Key phrase:

aburaage recipes, fried tofu recipes

Serves: 10 items

Writer: Yumiko

Components (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)

• 5
  sheets
  aburaage
• 80g/2.8oz
  lotus root
• 3
  dried shiitake mushrooms
  (rehydrated, medium dimension, word 1)
• 1½
  tbsp
  oil

Filling

• 200g/7.1oz
  pork mince
• 2
  tbsp
  dried shiitake mushrooms
  rehydrated and finely diced (word 1)
• 2
  tbsp
  carrot
  finely diced into 3mm² /⅛in² cubes
• 2
  tbsp
  inexperienced onions
  finely chopped
• ½
  tbsp
  ginger juice
  (squeezed from grated ginger)
• ½
  tbsp
  soy sauce
• 1
  tbsp
  cooking sake
• 1
  tbsp
  corn flour/cornstarch

Simmering Broth

• 1 cup/250ml/8.5fl oz
  dashi inventory
• 1/5 cup/50ml /1.7fl oz
  shiitake dashi
  (from rehydrating the dried shiitake mushrooms)
• 2
  tbsp
  soy sauce
• 1
  tbsp
  sugar

Garnish

• Curled julienned inexperienced onions
  (word 2)

Directions

1. Slice the lotus root about 3mm/⅛” thick, then quarter every slice. If the diameter of your lotus root is small, halve it.

2. Take away the stem of shiitake mushrooms and quarter them. In case your mushrooms are small, halve them.

Make Aburaage Pouches

1. Place 5 sheets of aburaage in a bowl/pot and add boiling water. Jiggle and drain. Allow them to settle down.

2. Reduce every aburaage within the center crosswise to make two sq. items. You’ll make 10 items.

3. Take 2-3 items of aburaage at a time, unfold them in your palm, and stack them up. Place the opposite hand over the aburaage and press to squeeze the water out of them. This fashion, you will not break the fragile aburaage pouches.

4. Open every aburaage from the minimize facet, by gently detaching the tofu stack inside and make a pouch. Ensue the tofu on the backside corners of the pouch are additionally indifferent.

Filling

1. Put carrot, shiitake mushrooms, inexperienced onions, and corn flour right into a bowl and blend nicely.

2. Add the remainder of the Filling elements to the bowl and blend nicely till the greens are evenly unfold within the mince and the mince combination turns into sticky.

3. Divide the filling into 10 equal parts.

4. Taking one aburaage pouch at a time, put one portion of the filling contained in the pouch. Press the filling all the way down to fill the corners. The filling ought to come as much as round half of the pouch. Fold the opening to shut the pouch (word 3).

Cooking and Serving

1. Warmth the oil in a frying pan giant sufficient to put 10 pouches with out overlapping, over excessive warmth.

2. Put the lotus roots and shiitake mushrooms into the pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes, turning over the greens.

3. Place the aburaage pouches, folded facet up, on high of the greens radially. (word 4).

4. Add all of the Simmering Broth elements to the pan and produce it to a boil. Scale back warmth to medium and prepare dinner for 3 minutes with a lid on.

5. Take away the lid, flip the pouches over and prepare dinner for additional 2 minutes or so, with out the lid, till a small quantity of liquid is left (word 5). Flip the warmth off.

6. Slide the contents within the pan, together with the broth, onto a serving plate sustaining the place of the pouches (word 6).

7. Put the julienned inexperienced onions within the center and serve.

Recipe Notes

1. I used 5 dried mushrooms in whole. They have been medium sized when rehydrated, and a pair of of them have been finely diced for stuffing.

In case your mushrooms are very small, you’ll want to improve the variety of mushrooms.

2. To make them ornamental, diagonally slice inexperienced onions very finely, with a pointy angle so that every strip turns into lengthy (greater than 5cm/2” lengthy). Then put the julienned inexperienced onions in chilly water to curve up. It’s just like making shirahga negi however barely simpler to make.

3. If you’re fearful in regards to the folded finish opening whereas cooking, you may put by means of a toothpick, as if you’re stitching, to safe the top. See the pattern picture within the submit. However remember to take away the toothpick when serving!

4. I positioned the pouches radially hoping to slip the cooked dish from the pan to a big plate, sustaining the presentation. In the event you favor to not place the pouches this fashion, that’s OK too.

5. If the evaporation is just too quick, cut back the warmth to sluggish it down. You may additionally want so as to add a small quantity of water to maintain cooking.

6. Whether it is too laborious to slip the dish onto a plate with out messing up, put the pouches on one facet of the pan and switch the greens to a serving plate, then place the pouches on high of the greens.

7. Vitamin per pouch. 1/10 of the greens and broth is included.

serving: 102g energy: 181kcal fats: 14g (18%) saturated fats: 3g (15%) trans fats: 0.0g polyunsaturated fats: 3.5g monounsaturated fats: 6.6g ldl cholesterol: 15mg (5%) sodium: 274mg (12%) carbohydrates: 7g (3%) dietary fibre: 1.1g (4%) sugar: 1.7g protein: 7.7g vitamin D: 0mcg (1%) calcium: 89mg (7%) iron: 1.0mg (6%) potassium: 247mg (5%)