Two Leafy Vegetable Dishes 青野菜料理二つ

和食食べる時にちょっと青野菜が欲しいな、といった時の料理を二品ほど。まずは小松菜をさっと茹でて、日本からのお土産品の塩麹で合えたもの。

A couple of dishes using leafy greens to accompany a Japanese-style meal. First one is komatsuna greens blanched quickly and then mixed with shio kouji, a fermented mix of rice and salt with a lot of umami.

こちらは和洋折衷というかフュージョンというか、新ケールの胡麻和えです。春先の柔らかいケールの茎の太い部分だけを取り除いて湯がき、食べやすい大きさに刻んですりゴマ（黒白両方、煎ったもの）と酒、砂糖と醤油で作ったタレと和え、ごまを振って出来上がり。ケールとは思えぬ味に仕上がりました。

This is a Japanese-Western hybrid or fusion dish of sorts - young kale in a sesame sauce. Remove the thicker parts of the stem from fresh, young, springtime kale, blanch briefly, then toss with a sauce made of ground toasted sesame seeds, sake, sugar, and soy sauce (called "goma ae"). Sprinkle some unground sesame seeds before serving. Kale cooked this way takes an almost un-kale like flavor.

Chicken & Egg "Mother and Child" Domburi with Broccoli in Sesame Sauce 親子丼とブロッコリの胡麻和え

昆布と鰹節で取った出汁を醤油、みりん、酒、砂糖で少し甘めのそばつゆ風に味付けしたものを作るところから始めて、たっぷりの鶏もも肉、卵は半熟で親子丼を作りました。そんな手間かける料理か、という突っ込みはご無用に（笑）。グリーンピースを散らして、アタマとつゆを多めに盛りつけました。

Made Japanese seaweed and bonito flake broth ("dashi") and flavored it with soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar to make a slightly sweet sauce, similar to a soba dipping sauce. Stewed some thinly sliced onions and chicken thigh meat in the sauce, then mixed in some lightly beaten eggs, then poured the mixture over rice while the egg is slightly creamy and sprinkled some peas on top to make what's called a "Oyako (Mother and Child) Domburi (rice bowl)". Usually one does not make the sauce from scratch, but worth the extra trouble. Served a higher ratio of the chicken-egg-onion mix to rice than usual,

野菜も無いとね、ということで付け合わせはブロッコリーの胡麻和え。すり胡麻と醤油、砂糖、酒、みりん（親子丼とかぶりますが）を混ぜ、さっと茹でたブロッコリと和えました。定番胡麻和えのアメリカ風アレンジです（笑）。

Had some veggies in the form of broccoli in a sesame sauce. Mixed some ground white sesame with a bit of soy sauce, sugar, sake, and mirin, then tossed with blanched broccoli. An American variation of a traditional Japanese vegetable side dish.