Japanese cuisine · Salads & Mezze

Tomato no Ohitashi

Peeled tomatoes steep in a cold dashi-soy marinade and are served with shiso and ginger.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 8 small ripe tomatoes
• 300 ml dashi
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• a few shiso leaves (optional)
• 1 piece ginger (3 cm)
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Bring dashi, soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar to a boil, let bubble for 1 min., then chill the marinade completely; the tomatoes will need 3 hours of steeping time afterward.
2. Score the tomatoes crosswise at the stem end and blanch in boiling water with a pinch of salt for 15–20 sec., until the skin loosens at the cuts.
3. Shock immediately in ice water and peel the skin from the stem end — it should come off in large pieces, otherwise they were not in the water long enough.
4. Place the peeled tomatoes in the cold marinade so they are fully submerged, weighing down with a piece of parchment paper if needed.
5. Let steep covered in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, until the tomatoes have absorbed the marinade and are cool inside.
6. Arrange one tomato per small bowl with a little marinade, top with finely grated ginger and shiso leaves cut into strips, and serve ice-cold.