Food Pages

Soak shiitake for about 30 minutes in warm water with a pinch of sugar. Drain, saving the liquid for later use as stock. Cut off stems and cut into fourths. Wash nishimi kubu to remove any sand or salt, tie knots loosely 3 inches apart and cut between the knots. Pre-boil spareribs: cover spareribs with water and bring to a rolling boil, drain and rinse. Put spareribs, shiitake and ginger in a pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a rapid boil, skim constantly. Continue cooking over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Add nishimi kubu and dashinomoto stock, bring to a boil and simmer for an additional 10 minutes until spareribs are soft. Season to taste with salt, shoyu, and MSG. Bring to a boil once more before serving.

* Dashinomoto stock: use 1/2 teaspoon dashinomoto for each cup of water.


SOKIBUNI NU SHIMUN (Sparerib Soup)
1 ¼ lbs. spareribs (2-inch length) 1 thumb-size piece of ginger 6 crushed medium shiitake 1 ½ oz. nishimi kubu (nishime konbu) 4 cups water 2 cups dashinomoto stock* 2 Tbsp. shoyu or ½ cup miso 2 tsp. salt (optional) ¼ tsp. MSG (optional)

Soak shiitake for about 30 minutes in warm water with a pinch of sugar. Drain, saving the liquid for later use as stock. Cut off stems and cut into fourths. Wash nishimi kubu to remove any sand or salt, tie knots loosely 3 inches apart and cut between the knots. Pre-boil spareribs: cover spareribs with water and bring to a rolling boil, drain and rinse. Put spareribs, shiitake and ginger in a pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a rapid boil, skim constantly. Continue cooking over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Add nishimi kubu and dashinomoto stock, bring to a boil and simmer for an additional 10 minutes until spareribs are soft. Season to taste with salt, shoyu, and MSG. Bring to a boil once more before serving. * Dashinomoto stock: use 1/2 teaspoon dashinomoto for each cup of water.