Yummy but takes a lot of time
Simmered Squid and Daikon (Ika to Daikon Ni)
Japanese Cooking, Emi Kazuko
Serves Four
1 lb squid, relatively large ones, cleaned (de-skin, de-bone, de-intestine), body and tentacles separated
about 2.25 lb daikon, peeled (when tapped, should sound dense with water)
3.75 cups second dashi stock or the same amount of water and 1 tsp dashi-no-moto
4 tbsp shoyu
3 tbsp sake
1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
2 tbsp mirin
grated rind of .5 yuzu or lime, to garnish
1. Separate the two triangular flaps from the squid body. Cut the body into 1cm thick rings. Cut the triangular flaps into 1 cm strips. Cut off and discard 1 in. from the thin end of the tentacles. Chop the tentacles into 1.5 in. lengths.
2. Cut the daikon into 3 cm thick rounds and shave the edges of the sections with a sharp knife. Plunge the slices into cold water. Drain just before cooking.
3. Put the daikon and squid in a heavy pan and pour on the stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, skimming constantly. Reduce the heat to low and add the shoyu, sake, mirin, sugar. Cover the surface with a circle of waxed paper cut 1 in. smaller than the lid of the pan, and simmer for 45 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. The liquid will reduce by almost a half.
4. Leave to stand for 5 minutes and serve hot in small bowls with a sprinkle of yuzu or lime rind.
Posted by cheryl at December 25, 2007 03:01 PM