Elizabeth Andoh's newest cookbook, Kibo, documents recipes from Japan's Tohoku region which was most affected by the triple calamity of 3/11. Some of the recipes are dishes that we often make at home. And some are new and that always means an adventure in the kitchen. We are always looking for new ways to include seafood in our diet so the Ika Ninjin (Squid Jerky and Carrot Strips) dish immediately caught our attention.
As Elizabeth explains in her well-detailed book, this dish from Fukushima is often included as part of the osechi New Year's cuisine as well as during the fall. It uses surume ika which is a dried squid that is sold in many Asian supermarkets overseas. Growing up my brother and I often chewed away at surume ika while watching television. My husband also likes it so it is something that is often in our kitchen. Along with carrots and a simple marinade of soy sauce, dark brown sugar, sake, rice vinegar, and togarashi. I left out the togarashi as I wanted to share this with friends who have kids.
We love the dish and when I brought some over to my friend's house she commented that it reminded her of matsumae zuke, a similar looking and tasting dish that includes kombu.
I won't include the recipe here as I hope many of you will pick up Elizabeth's eBook. It is only US $3.99 and part of the proceeds will go to a charity in Tohoku. It's a great book and as food lovers of Japan we can make a small contribution by purchasing the book and then by cooking up some of the food from Tohoku. Even better, pick up some Tohoku sake and have a few friends over to share some of the dishes in the eBook.
