Ryuji's "Yamagata Dashi," Seasoned with Shio Kombu and Bound Together by Okra's Stickiness

According to a staff member who joined the session, Yamagata dashi is also served at set-meal restaurants and beef bowl chains in forms like "dashi gyudon," and has become a well-known dish. Ryuji says it's good over rice, but they especially like it with somen, and they appreciate that it lets you eat plenty of vegetables.

Ryuji used to serve "dashi somen" made with this dashi at an upscale nursing home. Every summer, the residents would always ask for it. Ryuji recalls doing a lot of research, because the residents had discerning palates and would call anything half-hearted bad. Adding zucchini is Ryuji's own twist, which they say gives it a crunchy texture and makes it tasty.

The quantities are on the generous side. This is because the recipe assumes you'll make it ahead so it can be served at the table every day, and Ryuji added several times that if it's too much, you can halve everything.

The first thing to cut is the eggplant. Remove the stem, slice it thinly, cut it into sticks, and then chop crosswise to make it fine. Ryuji says finer is tastier.

Since the eggplant is eaten raw this time, once it's chopped, it's soaked in water to remove the bitterness. To confirm how important this step is, the staff member tasted some raw eggplant. Their impression was that it had a bitter, sharp, prickly taste and wasn't good. After soaking, the water turned a cloudy brown, and Ryuji showed it to explain that this much bitterness comes out.

Next, add about two pinches of salt to the eggplant, mix, and squeeze out the moisture. Eggplant has the most moisture of all the vegetables used here. If you add it as is, the whole dashi becomes watery, so you squeeze it to remove the moisture. Doing this also removes the bitterness. Ryuji says they did this prep back in their nursing home days too. Since squeezing reduces the volume considerably, a generous two eggplants are used.

For the cucumber, trim off the ends, cut it in half lengthwise-wise into two shorter pieces, then cut it lengthwise and mince it.

As for myoga, Ryuji says they always include it because it adds a red color and a refreshing aroma.

For the shiso leaves, a large-leaf value pack was used. About 10 leaves if they're large, or around 10–20 if they're regular size, is about right. Rolling them up before cutting lets you chop them quickly. You can use a food processor, but if you chop them too finely they turn mushy and release too much water, so Ryuji prefers not to make them too fine.

Ginger is also always included because it adds freshness, and Ryuji says "ginger is the key." The staff member replied that they don't really like things with a strong ginger kick, but Ryuji said "it tastes better when you match it to your own preferences," and added it to their own taste this time. Ryuji also mentioned having heard that eating raw ginger in summer cools the body, while heating it in soups and such warms the body. However, they added that this wasn't certain knowledge and asked viewers to let them know if it was wrong.

The okra is the only thing that uses heat. Okra can be eaten raw, but boiling it brings out its stickiness and makes it tastier. Ryuji emphasizes that stickiness is an essential element of Yamagata dashi, and that it isn't good without it.

Professional chefs roll okra in salt on a cutting board, but Ryuji says it's a hassle, so you can skip it, and it doesn't make a big difference. Add about 1% salt to the water and boil the okra whole without cutting it. Boiling it whole seals the stickiness inside. The boiling time is about 2 minutes. Normally about a minute and a half is enough, but boiling it a little longer brings out the stickiness well, so it was boiled longer. The okra floats up while boiling, so stirring helps it cook evenly.

Once boiled, cool it briefly in water so that residual heat doesn't overcook it. The okra is chopped too, because it won't get sticky unless it's chopped. Two packs were used this time, and okra is considered essential. Chopping it immediately brought out strong stickiness, and Ryuji said, "This stickiness is delicious."

A small zucchini of about 150 g was used. Ryuji recommends it, saying it's "super delicious," but adding it is optional. You can leave out either the zucchini or the cucumber, and adding other summer vegetables is also tasty, according to Ryuji.

It's fine to chop it roughly. Ryuji explains that leaving some coarse pieces adds variety to the texture and makes it taste better, so there's no need to force it to be fine.

For seasoning, first add a generous 15 g or so of shio kombu. It adds umami, and since it's kombu, it adds a bit of stickiness as well. Then add Hondashi (1 1/3 teaspoons in the recipe in the video description) and mix.

When mixed, the okra's stickiness spreads throughout, joined by the kombu's stickiness. Mixing with chopsticks is tiring, so it's best to put on gloves and mix by hand. Mixing by hand also brings out the stickiness more clearly. Ryuji said that even a small amount of okra produces stickiness. Molokhia goes well too, and boiling it with the okra and adding it makes it even tastier. However, Ryuji also said that adding too many ingredients makes it harder to prepare. It can also be wrapped in nori and enjoyed as a snack with drinks.

On tasting, it was a little bland, so about 2 teaspoons of soy sauce were added to finish. If you don't use zucchini, Ryuji says reducing the Hondashi slightly gives just the right balance of flavor. The finished dashi was very sticky, to the point that it could be lifted with chopsticks.

Almost no marinating time is needed. Since all the ingredients are finely chopped, Ryuji says it isn't a dish where the flavor needs to soak in. It does get tastier if left to sit, but it can be eaten right after making it. Ryuji said they don't make many recipes that require hours of marinating, because having to let something rest for an hour or two after working hard to make it kills the motivation.

First, the dashi was piled generously on rice and eaten. The staff member said it was "super delicious," commenting that the more you chew, the more flavor comes out. Ryuji also reaffirmed that it's better with zucchini. Both said you could eat rice with just the vegetables.

Next, store-bought natto was mixed in along with its included sauce and mustard and eaten. The staff member said they'd become a regular at any restaurant that served this, and Ryuji said, "In summer, I'd be fine with this every day."

For the somen, the dashi is mixed thoroughly into the boiled noodles. No mentsuyu is needed. Ryuji explained that because the eggplant's moisture was squeezed out, the stickiness comes through well and clings to the noodles. Ryuji also pointed out that it's healthy because no oil is used.

The staff member mentioned that in Yamagata, it's also used on chilled tofu and shabu-shabu. Ryuji added that it's also good on fried chicken (karaage) for a refreshing bite. The dashi, which was supposed to be a huge batch, was nearly gone after the tasting, leading to the conclusion that they hadn't made too much after all.

Ryuji praised it as "a really good recipe," noting that it uses no special ingredients and everything can be found at a supermarket. They also said there hadn't been many refreshing side dish recipes lately, so they'd love for viewers to make it.

Finally, when asked how long it keeps, Ryuji estimated that it lasts about 3 or 4 days since it has plenty of salt. Ryuji said they thought it would last even longer as long as you don't put in chopsticks that have been in someone's mouth, and wrapped up by encouraging viewers to make it ahead and enjoy it.