The joy of cooking vegetables to serve our friends
Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa
I belong to, not a book club, but a TED talk club.
Instead of reading a book, a host for the month picks one TED talk video and shares it with the rest of the group. Everybody watches the video, and we discuss what we learned at the meeting.
The group members take turns hosting the meeting, and it was my turn this month.
I’m the only Japanese in the group, so I try to add some Japanese flare to whatever I serve. It may be the ingredient I cook, the type of serving plates I use, or the table runner repurposed from an old Obi. Something new to the group to give a hint to start an interesting conversation before we dive into the main discussion.
When I was wondering what to prepare for the upcoming meeting, I found out about Dr. Preeti Singh’s writing prompt for this week. Vegetables! Why don’t I serve only vegetables, focusing on the cutting method into different shapes? Visual presentation is an important element of Japanese cooking!
The bright red in the center box (see the photo above) is beets, roasted and cut into cubes. I placed white goat cheese on top of the cubes and added a drip of aged balsamic vinegar. The sweetness of the beets and the vinegar, plus a hint of sourness of the goat cheese is my favorite combination.
I added steamed broccoli and cauliflower diagonally to add color variation.
Can you guess the two vegetables in the photo above?
The whitish ones are satoimo in Japanese. Taros, they are called in an Indian store. I didn’t know this kind of potato is used in Indian cooking. The color of satoimo, cooked with mirin and soy sauce, is rather dull. Cut into hexagon pieces, however, they add some charm to the dish.
The other ones are kabocha squash pieces. The vivid green outside and the rich orange color inside are great for adding accents. I cut them like a cone shape so that they stand upright.
I carved Shiitake mushrooms so that they look like flowers. Not only are they pleasing to the eyes, but the mushrooms also absorb the sauce better, resulting in a shorter cooking time. I cut carrots to look like flowers also, but I need some more training. The lotus roots with so many holes are always fun to play with. This time I cut out the outer rim alongside the holes. The crunchiness of the lotus is a nice addition to the biting experience.
My TED talk group enjoyed the food as well as the discussion. These vegetables nourished us, entertained us, and helped us grow our friendship. Thank you, vegetables!