Recipes
In addition to providing fresh, organic produce and our dedication to sustainable farming and rural development, FarmFresh takes a wholehearted interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
There are so many healthy vegetables and fruits that our earth provides. Please use this page of recipes to make your own kitchen a forum for building a healthy diet and lifestyle with the earth's own natural resources!
We are proud to partner with Mayuko Okada from Mayuko's Little Kitchen in Tokyo to provide you with delicious and healthy recipes that will inspire you to make the most of your kitchen experience!
Please check out Mayuko's website and contact her directly about her in-person cooking classes and learn how to hone your culinary skills, or simply enjoy creating one culinary masterpiece after another with like-minded individuals - in English!
Mayuko's Little Kitchen https://www.mayukoslittlekitchen.com/
A little kitchen & a big heart
Mayuko says that "in a private little kitchen in the middle of Tokyo, I will teach you how to prepare what Japanese people really eat as an everyday meal. You will learn the basics of Japanese food, seasonings, and table customs in a warm, friendly atmosphere. Our small classes are all in English. My kitchen may be small, but I try to welcome the world with great hospitality."
Monthly "Survival Cooking Class in Tokyo"
Sushi and ramen do not exemplify what we eat daily in Japan. We eat foods cooked with dried daikon, dried hijiki seaweed and shijimi clams, etc.
It is only natural that foreigners would tend to shy away from such unfamiliar ingredients. But they are what locals actually cook with. They have enriched today’s Japanese food culture, and most of them are considered to be "superfoods". I am very excited to finally be able to offer this series of classes especially serving expats and foreign residents in Tokyo area, using hardcore, traditional ingredients. Learn the cooking “survival” skills tourists will never know.
Eggplant with Sweet Miso 茄子の甘味噌かけ
Cooking eggplant is one of the pleasures of summer. This recipe is inspired by nasudengaku, which is grilled eggplant with sweet miso on top. Today’s recipe is for serving more people in a short time. The combination of tender eggplant and this sauce guarantees the happiness of your meal.
2 large eggplants
2 tbsp oil
green onion to taste
【seasonings】
2 tbsp miso (you can try with your favorite miso. I used white Shinshu miso.)
2 tbsp sake
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp sugar
Cut eggplant into random large bite-size pieces. Chop green onion into small pieces.
Pour oil in a pan and stir-fry the eggplant. Once they are tender, plate them.
Mix the sauce in a heat-resistant container. Heat 1 minute in a 600W microwave oven.
Drizzle the sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with the green onion.
Imitation crab and cucumber mayo salad カニカマときゅうりのサラダ
When I first translated "kanikama" into English as "fake crab", one of my friends kindly taught me "imitation crab" is better, and I totally agreed (yes, "fake pearl" lowers buyer's motivation) (By the way "kanikama" is an abbreviation of
crab fish cake (kani-kamaboko)).
This salad is a pretty simple combination and I made it for 4 people. But I ate almost all of it by myself. Try this with the fresh cucumber from Farm Fresh!
2 cucumbers
80-100g imitation crab
【seasonings】
4 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sesame seeds (toasted) or grated sesame seeds
Cut cucumber in half lengthwise. Then thinly slice. Tear imitation crab into bite-size pieces.
Before eating (cucumber starts to release water), mix them with the seasonings.
Stir-fried Water Spinach 空心菜の炒め
Water spinach is not always sold in the supermarket so when I find it, I run and grab it. You can also add sausage. As an alternative to chicken soup stock powder, you can use salt and pepper.
200g water spinach
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp sesame oil
1.5-2 tbsp chicken soup stock powder
Thinly slice garlic. Cut water spinach into 5cm (2 inch) long pieces.
Put garlic and sesame oil in a pan. When starting to smell the aroma, start stir-frying the stems on high heat. Then add leaves. Once they are cooked, add the chicken soup stock powder and stir. Serve.
Maitake Mushroom Cream Pasta 舞茸のクリームパスタ
Although I used brown maitake for this recipe, you can also use white one. Unlike brown maitake, which is generally in circulation, white maitake has less lye and does not make the soup brown. So it is great for stew and simmered with cream. Nutrition-wise, it is not different from the brown one. You can enjoy the bottom part too.
serves 2
200g maitake
300mL fresh cream
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp white wine (or sake)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
200g pasta (I used spaghetti today, but penne and fettuccine go well too.)
Tear maitake mushroom into bite size pieces. Then heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add maitake and sake and stir-fry until maitake is softened. Set aside.
Start boiling pasta.
In a pan simmer fresh cream until it is reduced to ⅔ (200mL). If you over-reduced fresh cream, add water to adjust. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta and cooked maitake. Then add grated parmesan cheese and butter to toss.
Chrysanthemum leaves tossed with Walnuts 春菊のくるみ和え
A unique scent increases appetite.
It is named Shungiku in Japanese, which means spring chrysanthemum because it blooms yellow flowers in spring and its leaves resemble chrysanthemums. It is also called "Kikuna" mainly in Kansai. In Asia it is popular to eat this chrysanthemum.
The leaves are soft and low in fiber, so it is recommended to make a salad too. Use the whole edible chrysanthemum for miso soup as well.
200g edible chrysanthemum
50g walnuts
【seasonings】
2-2.5 tsp soy sauce
2-2.5tsp sugar
Boil water in a pot. Blanch edible chrysanthemum from the hard stem part. Release into an ice bath. Squeeze the water out well. Then cut it into 3cm (1.5 inch) long pieces. Squeeze water well again.
Roast walnuts (do not burn). Grind them using mortar and pestle (or a knife and a cutting board).
Put edible chrysanthemum, ground walnuts and the seasonings in a bowl and toss to mix.
Wasabi mustard greens Salad わさび菜サラダ
Characterized by jagged frilled leaves, it has the spicy spiciness peculiar to mustard greens.
The leaves are soft and delicious even raw, and it is popular for its voluminous appearance, vibrant color, and spicy taste.
This is rich in vitamins such as vitamins C, B2, and A, which have a preventive effect on aging and cancer, and promote the synthesis of corticosteroids that have anti-stress effects.
It is useful for various dishes.
The refreshing spiciness peculiar to "wasabina" (as wasabi greens are called in Japanese) is delicious when you eat it as a salad or sandwich it with bread. Also, although the spiciness disappears, you can enjoy the vivid green color even if you put it in a pot and heat it.
100g wasabi mustard greens
nori seaweed to taste
toasted sesame seeds to taste
【dressing】
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated garlic
Wash wasabi mustard greens well and cut into bite size pieces. Plate them. Mix the dressing ingredients in a cup. Pour dressing over the wasabi mustard greens and top with sesame seeds and nori seaweed torn by hand.
Please try these other delicious recipes also!
Snow Peas Topped with Egg さやえんどうの卵とじ
It is a vegetable with very high nutritional value, rich in carotene, vitamin C and dietary fiber.
The bean portion also contains vitamin B1, protein, and the essential amino acid lysine. Lysine contributes to the growth and repair of the body. It also has the effect of improving concentration and promoting calcium absorption.
200g snow peas
4 eggs
100mL dashi (or hot water & ½ tsp granulated dashi powder) or soup stock of your choice
【seasonings】
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
Remove the strings of snow peas. Beat the eggs.
Put dashi and the seasonings into a pan. Bring it to a boil. Then add snow peas. After simmering for 1 minute, pour beaten egg and roughly stir. When the egg is halfway cooked, turn off the flame and cook with remaining heat (or cook to your liking) with the lid on.
Grilled Shiitake Mushroom with Cheese 椎茸のチーズ焼き
This dish/ snack is very simple but worth trying to discover the addictive combination of shiitake and cheese.
4 shiitake mushroom
2 tbsp your favorite cheese
1 tsp soy sauce
parseley to taste
Cut off the tip of the stem. Then cut the stem off and slice the stem lengthwise into two slices. Pour soy sauce into the shiitake and put the stem and the cheese on top.
Use a heat resistant plate or place aluminum foil in a toaster. Place shiitake. Grill for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.
Sprinkle parsley.
Marinated Cucumber じゃばらきゅうりのマリネ
This cut is called “jyabara”, which means bellows. The cut resembles the belly of a snake that moves in a twisting manner. From the cooking aspect, it allows the seasonings to marinate the cucumber quicker and better.
3 cucumbers
1 chilli
【seasonings】
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
In a plastic bag, mix the seasonings until sugar is dissolved. Add chopped chilli.
Wipe the water off the cucumber. Cut off both ends. Make slits on both sides (as in the photo) as much as you can on the surface of the cucumber, but be careful to not cut through. This scoring is to allow the seasonings to soak in better. Put cucumber into the seasonings and leave for a few hours.
Maitake Mushroom & Salted Salmon Rice キノコと塩鮭の炊き込みご飯
There is no part to throw away for Maitake! You can eat the bottom part of it. You do not need to wash it, but if you see any dust, use cloth and wipe. About the salted salmon, you can find it in almost any Japanese supermarket. It says “甘口(amakuchi/ lightly seasoned)” on the package. When you use unsalted salmon, please use raw salmon lightly rubbed with salt.
360mL (1.5 US cup) Japanese rice
1 bunch maitake mushroom
2 slices salted salmon
【seasonings】
1 tbsp each of soy sauce, sake, mirin
2 tbsp sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
Wash 360mL (1.5 US cup) Japanese rice and transfer to a rice cooker. Then add 1 tbsp each of soy sauce, sake and mirin. Add water until the liquid reaches the measurement line. Then stir.
Put 2 slices of salted raw salmon with skin on (or raw salmon lightly rubbed with salt) and your favorite mushroom on top. Then cook.
Once it is cooked, remove salmon. Remove skin and bones from salmon and cut or break them into chunks. Put them back in the rice cooker.
Add 2 tbsp of sesame oil and fluff rice.
Serve topped with sesame seeds.