Japanese food in Bangalore

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Ever since I've started learning the language, I have been fascinated by all things Japanese. But, I suppose that's natural. Learning a foreign language is like a portal into a different universe, and it's exciting to discover what that universe holds.

In an event two years ago, I had a chance to eat authentic Japanese food, and I quite liked it. It was a vegetarian menu ( I was with a large group with mostly vegetarian preferences). I can imagine the chef scratching his head, wondering how in the world he could make an all- vegetarian Japanese menu! Many around me were excited to begin with, but slowly their enthusiasm petered out. First came Miso soup, and one of the ladies went a bit pallid after three mouthfuls. She barely touched the food that came after that! I for one, love Miso soup. It's very comforting and to me it tastes a bit like our Vaali Ambat ( a konkani curry) with a foreign twist. Then we had Yaki udon and it was fantastic. It's nice, once in a while, to surprise the palate this way with unfamiliar tastes. Yaki udon is an udon noodle stir fry dish with vegetables of your choice. We ended our meal with Matcha ice cream served with Dorayaki ( A pancake with a sweet bean paste) and a cup of warm green tea. The ice cream was to die for! I was very happy.

There was this side dish that had a nice, simple flavour that they served - Hourensou no goma-ae - Blanched Spinach in a sesame dressing. Its flavour haunted me and haunted me until I decided to try it out on my own. And it was surprisingly very easy to make - One of the few Japanese dishes you can probably make in India without visiting a fancy supermarket for Japanese ingredients. I've made it a couple of times since.

Spinach with sesame dressing  (hourensou no goma-ae)

Recipe -

Spinach - 1 bunch
Salt - to taste
White Sesame seeds - 2 Tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 &1/2 Tbsp
Sugar - 1 Tsp

( The original recipe has Sake and Mirin - but I don't have those - even without them, it tastes fairly close to the original)

Put sesame seeds in a frying pan and toast them. Take care not to burn them. Grind the cooled toasted sesame in a pestle and mortar coarsely. Mix it with the salt, sugar and Soy sauce.

In a pan bring water to a boil, add a little salt. Once the water is boiling, add the spinach and cook for about 50 seconds. Remove the spinach and wash it with running water. Apparently, if you use ice cold water, it is better because the spinach remains crisp. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and cut it into strips. Mix with the dressing. Voila! Ready to serve.
美味しそう!






Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Comments

  1. ವಿ.ರಾ.ಹೆ.29 August 2019 at 12:33

    Where was it? Where can we get good authentic Japanese (veg) food in Bengaluru?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Niharika Shenoy30 August 2019 at 01:58

      Hi! Thanks for reading :) This event was at the Matsuri restaurant at the Chancery hotel. You can get authentic food here and also in Sakae restaurant in Shantinagar. I doubt any of these places have exclusive veg food, but they will certainly have some veg options on the menu.

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