Coleslaw with Japanese seasoning, yuzu kosho and Ama-zake
The first day for the shelter-in-place order was a day before St. Patrick’s Day and there were so many packages of corned beef and cabbage left at the grocery store even though many other meats and vegetables were sold out. I decided to buy one huge cabbage and to use for several different dishes. I already used some for Japanese curry (which I posted the other day), Japanese gyoza dumplings, miso soup… but still had a lot left over so I used the rest of the cabbage for coleslaw with Japanese seasoning. I think many people wonder what to do with a whole cabbage after using for some of it for 1-2 dishes. This recipe is a great one to use the rest of your cabbage up.
This coleslaw lasts up to 4 days after you make it, so you can make a big portion all at once.
Coleslaw with Japanese seasonings (servings 8)
Cabbage 1/2 (around 2 lb / 1 kg)
Carrot 1 large (2.5oz / 70g)
Salt 2 teaspoons
Amazake (see note after the recipe) 4 Tablespoons
Vinegar 2 Tablespoons
(I used rice vinegar but you can use any vinegar which doesn’t have a strong flavor)
Yuzu kosho (see note after the recipe)(If you don’t like spicy there is no need to add) 1 teaspoon
Salt
Black pepper
Directions
Use 1/2 cabbage. Cut off the hard core and cut into quarters.
Chop into julienne but not too fine to remain nice texture.
Place cabbage in a large bowl and cover with water to rinse cabbage. (Cabbages in the US are rolled very tight so when I julienne cabbage, I chop first and then rinse with water.)
Peel carrot, if you want. I usually don’t for organic carrots. Slice thinly diagonally, like the pictures above show.
Chop into julienne strips, the same length as the cabbage.
Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl and add 2 teaspoons of salt.
Mix and leave 10 minutes.
Using a paper towel, cheese cloth, or cooking cloth, squeeze water out from the veggies.
Mix vegetables with amazake and vinegar. Keep in a container box and leave in the fridge for a little while. ( I leave overnight but if you don’t have time, 30 minutes is fine)
Right before you serve, mix veggies, canola oil, milk and black pepper. Taste and add salt if needed.
Note
Ama-zake is a sweet drink which is made from rice-koji, rice and water. I make my own ama-zake but you can get it from the Japanese grocery store. I drink ama-zake but also I often use it as a cooking to substitute for sugar. Ama-zake isn’t purely sweet like sugar, and gives a mild sweetness and complex flavor to food. If you drink or use ama-zake without adding heat, the koji stays alive in the ama-zake, so it works good for your colon. It’s a natural probiotic!
What is Koji?
Koji is a fungus used to ferment soy beans, rice, wheat.. and turn them into miso, sake, soy sauce, mirin and ama-zake... and so on.
Koji is like yeast. It flourishes by eating sugar from rice (sometimes soy or grain). First, koji is added to steamed rice which we call rice-koji. We use this rice-koji as a starter for miso, sake, soysauce and also ama-zake.
Yuzu-kosho is a spicy paste made from yuzu citrus zest, spicy pepper and salt. It originated in the southern part of Japan, but now it is popular all over Japan. We use yuzu-kosho to put on grilled meat or to dressing to add a citrusy aroma and spiciness… You can get this paste from Japanese grocery stores. I usually keep in the freezer to last longer. Since it doesn’t freeze and stays as a paste, you can take it out, use some immediately, and put the rest back in the freezer.