ポン酢 (Ponzu) Recipe

Left: The sauce before being strained.
Ponzu is a kind of sauce that has a base of soy sauce and some kind of citrus juice, to which other flavorings are added, which is then allowed to sit and mature. It is probably my favorite sauce in all of Japanese cuisine; it is strong and sour and a perfect match for food simmered at the table, mushrooms, fish paste cakes, bonito, crab, etc. You can buy pretty good brands at the store, but just like anything, if you make your own the flavor will be much deeper and complex. It is easy to make and stores forever in the fridge, so even newbies to Japanese food can try this out if they have access to an Asian food market. My basic recipe is from Tsuji's Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art.

Ingredients:

1 cup lemon juice or other sharp citrus juice such as a mix of lemon and lime juice or sudachi juice. (Fresh-squeezed is miles better than the preserved store crap.)

1/3 cup plus 2 T rice vinegar

1 cup dark soy sauce

2 T tamari sauce

3 T mirin, alcohol simmered off (this step reduces bitterness in the sauce)

1/3 or 10 grams (a handful) of dried bonito flakes (hana-katsuo)

2-inch (5-cm) square of konbu, wiped

Mix all ingredients and let stand 24 hours. Strain through cheesecloth and mature 3 months in a cool dark place, or refrigerate. Keeps indefinitely, but should be used within 1 year for best flavor.

材料：

レモン汁：１カップ　(すだちとかでもいい）

酢：1/3　カップ＋ 大さじ１

醤油：１カップ

たまり：大さじ２

煮きりみりん：大さじ３

花鰹：１０g

昆布：５センチ角

材料を混ぜて、２４時間置く。漉して、３ヶ月すずしい、暗い場所におく(冷蔵庫でもいい）。持ちが長いですけど、どんどん味がすべるから、１年以内に終わった方がいい。

Official Announcement

The time has come for me to hang up my professional coat, for a while at least. The intense and unrelenting stress of the job was breaking me down physically and mentally, and doing little good for my marriage. As of Saturday I am officially unemployed and loving it.

Not that I'm going to be just laying around. In fact, I'll be nearly as busy as before, but it will be working towards my own benefit instead of my boss's.

We are in the process of searching for a house with a downstairs that I can open a small restaurant in. The year I plan to take off will be spent polishing my Japanese, researching, developing, and testing recipes, and later on, setting up my first restaurant.

Ironically, this will mean that this blog will be getting a lot more attention than before. I'm still a chef in Japan dealing primarily with Japanese food, and anyone reading this will get the full experience.