Japanese Food Lab |
Pickled Vegetables and Miso Fish
with Giada De Laurentiis

 

Today, fermentation is the hottest buzzword of the food and wellness worlds, but it has been an essential part of Japanese culture for millennia. This summer, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles presents a special focus on the diverse delights of fermented foods - as healthy as they are delicious. To kick off the program, we’re proud to present a special Master Class cooking series exploring fermentation, featuring the chef, cookbook author, restaurateur and Food Network star Giada de Laurentiis, and chef Shinji Ishida, of the Michelin-starred Tokyo restaurant Nogizaka Shin. In this two-part video series, Giada and Chef Ishida share classic fermented dishes as well as information on the ingredients that might surprise even those familiar with Japanese cuisine.

Episode 1 | Chirashi Sushi
In the first episode, Chef Ishida guides Giada in creating chirashi sushi, a dish where subtle flavors of vinegar, rice, and raw fish come together in various combinations.

Episode 2 | Pickled Vegetables and Miso Fish
In this second episode, Chef Ishida introduces Giada to preparing classic Japanese pickles, as well as a healthy and delicious way to marinate fish with fermented miso. First, Ishida lays out the basics of the pickling process, from the variety of vegetables that can be used, to the sweet vinegar (called amazu) used to ferment them. Amazu not only enhances flavor, but also longevity through fermentation’s sterilizing effects. While Chef Ishida includes a Japanese vegetable called myoga, he also demonstrates how pickles can be made from a variety of diverse local ingredients, such as cauliflower, tomato, and cucumber that are easily found in the U.S.

Similarly, the miso-marinade can be used on a wide variety of fish, from Chef Ishida’s kinmedai (golden eye snapper) to one of Giada’s favorites, wild caught salmon. Giada follows Chef Ishida’s process of preparing the marinade from miso, sake, and mirin, and making small cuts in the fish filet to allow absorption of the flavor and ensure the skin cooks evenly when fried. After each chef plates their colorful creations, they enjoy a first taste and discuss the digestive benefits of fermentation. In closing, the two chefs toast in celebration with a refreshing fermented fruit drink.

The fermentation Master Class series was filmed on location simultaneously at JAPAN HOUSE LA’s demonstration kitchen in Hollywood, and at Nogizaka Shin in Tokyo.

*To watch the video in full screen, please click on the image above, then click on the YouTube icon on the lower right-hand corner.

Discover More about the Ingredients

Rice Vinegar
There are about 4,000 varieties of vinegar in the world, and vinegar can be made by fermenting any kind of alcohol. Grain vinegars and fruit vinegars are two typical examples. Wine vinegars use grapes instead of rice, and can be made from wine, similar to how rice vinegar is made from sake.

Miso
Miso is made from soybeans, rice or wheat, salt and kōji mold (aspergillus oryzae). There are various types of miso, such as rice miso, made primarily from soybeans and rice; wheat miso, made primarily from soybeans and wheat; and soybean miso, which is made using only soybeans.

Koji mold
Koji mold, a living microorganism that helps break down other materials in the process of fermentation. Known as the “national fungus,” koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae) feeds on grains, often rice (partially or fully cooked), barley, or soybeans, key ingredients in Japanese foods.

 

 

Extra Miso Pickling Tips!

You can pickle vegetables, meat, fish, egg, tofu, etc. in miso. The miso-pickled ingredients will be nicely flavored and with excess moisture removed, the umami will increase. When pickling, put all ingredients in a resealable bag, and press out as much air as you can.

The pickling miso sauce can be used a couple of times if there is no excess water within the sauce. Vegetables and tofu should be pickled separately from meat and fish, to prevent cross-contamination.

About the Chefs

Shinji Ishida | Chef & Owner, Nogizaka Shin
Chef Ishida opened Nogizaka Shin in June 2016 together with Yasuhide Tobita, who serves as head sommelier and general manager. Within six months of opening, the restaurant was awarded its first star on the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2017. Nogizaka Shin has won a star every year since then.

Read more.

Since 2011, Chef Ishida worked for a Japanese restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, which was a 3-star Michelin restaurant at the time. He was promoted to head chef at a sister restaurant in August 2011, and in 2013, he moved to France to help open a Paris location as sous-chef. He served as the head chef for the group’s main restaurant after his return to Japan in 2015. Chef Ishida originally started his career at a ryōtei (a type of luxurious traditional Japanese restaurant) in Tokushima prefecture, where he gained experience both in cooking and serving traditional cuisine.

Giada De Laurentiis |
CHEF, Mother, Author, Restaurateur
Giada De Laurentiis is the Emmy award winning television personality of Food Network’s Everyday Italian, Giada at Home, Giada In Italy, Giada’s Holiday Handbook, Giada Entertains, Giada On The Beach, Giada at Home 2.0 a judge on Food Network Star, a NBC Today Show contributor, a successful restaurateur with restaurants GIADA and Pronto by Giada in Las Vegas, as well as GDL Italian in Baltimore.

Read more.

She is the author of 10 New York Times bestselling cookbooks, including her most recent, Eat Better, Feel Better, in addition to her children's book series, Recipe for Adventure. She is also the founder of the lifestyle and e-commerce platform, Giadzy.com, which features Italian lifestyle content spanning recipes, travel, entertaining and Italian Pantry products.

About the Content Supervisors

Takeo Koizumi, PhD
Dr. Takeo Koizumi is professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Agriculture in Japan and holds a doctorate degree in Agriculture, with a specialty in food culture, fermentation, and brewing sciences. Concurrently, he is a visiting professor at several universities including Kagoshima University, Fukushima University, Beppu University, Ishikawa Prefectural University, among others.

Read more.

Dr. Koizumi also serves as a president of a fermentation school with programs focused on developing fermented food sommeliers.

In addition to his involvement with educational institutions, he is the director of a registered non-profit organization, Fermentation-culture Promotion Agency, and also serves as a food-related advisor for many national and local governmental groups.

As an active ambassador in promoting Japan’s fermentation culture, he has written more than one hundred books related to food.

Dr. Koizumi was born in a sake brewer family in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, in 1943.

Makoto Kanauchi, PhD
Dr. Makoto Kanauchi is a Professor in Department of Food Management at Miyagi University. He has been in Department of Food Management, Miyagi University since April 2005. He was employed at the Institute of Food Science in Fuji Oil Corporation in Moriya, Ibaraki, Japan as a Researcher (2003 Aug. - 2005 Mar.).

Read more.

He worked in Prof. Charlie Bamforth’s Laboratory in Food Science and Technology, University of California at Davis, California (Nov. 1999 - May 2003). In March 1999, he received a Ph.D. in Bio-regulation from Tokyo University of Agriculture. Major publications include Lactic Acid Bacteria: Methods and Protocols, Humana Press. 2019, and Brewing Technology, IntechOpen. 2017, etc.