This document provides a proposed menu and recipes for a vegetarian Japanese sake bar called Tokyo Bar. It includes 30 recipes for dishes like fried lotus root, tomato salad, eggplant stew, mushroom sautés, pumpkin grills, and tempura items. Each recipe is presented in a consistent format listing ingredients and instructions in 1-2 sentences. The introduction explains the concept of the sake bar and providing vegetarian dishes and jazz music to complement the sake selections.

1. TOKYO BAR
Serves, Refined Vegetarian Menu
With, Selected Sake
On, Cool Contemporary Jazz
January
2015

2. Prologue January 2015
What is this note is for?
Why Tokyo Bar?
In December 2014, it was my first time to visit
Sydney, and I was amazed by the nice culture,
food and general life style there.
I was surprised by the large number of
Japanese restaurant, although they were a bit
far from the traditional style; tasty, but a bit salty
and rich. Mayonnaise, fish eggs, sweet teriyaki
sauce and so on.
When I came back from Australia, I realized that
I missed the modest style of traditional
Japanese cuisine.
So I started to create some dishes daily, along
with my bento. I didn’t expect this project to last
this long or to continue everyday, or to still be
motivated to make it. So this is a start, a
memorandum.
Actually, I still miss Australia. To keep thinking
of life there, and to satisfy myself, I decided to
make a plan to launch a sake bar style
restaurant, the “Tokyo Bar”.
The selection of sake can be selected/supplied
by my friend, who owns one of the most
acclaimed sake bars in Tokyo. The vegetarian
dishes are designed to compliment the sake.
And this bar will also have contemporary
Japanese jazz in the background, which I have
been collecting.
Of course it is just a self satisfying imaginary
plan, but I want have fun sharing it with others,
so we can enjoy a vegetarian life, together.
TOKYO BAR

3. Index
1 Fried sliced lotus root dipped in sweet sour
marinade
2 Sliced tomato salad with garlic shiso dressing
3 Fried eggplant stew in a soy sauce soup
4 Sautéed shiitake mushroom with sesame and
ginger oil
5 Grilled pumpkin with hijiki seaweed dressing
6 Grilled shishitou (green pepper) coated with
soy sauce
7 Boiled shungiku (crown daisy) with sesame
dressing
8 Grilled spring onion with sweet miso sauce
9 Sautéed burdock and carrot with soy sauce
10 Stewed taro root with shiitake mushroom
sauce
11 Sautéed Turnip leaf
12 Turnip root with red shiso leaf flavoring
13 Sweet potato patty with cinnamon soy sauce
14 Grilled zucchini with sesame oil
15 Grilled oyster mushroom
16 Grilled broccoli leaf and stem
17 Lotus root tempura
18 Pumpkin tempura
19 Kombu boiled down with soy sauce
20 Eggplant tempura
21 Shiitake mushroom tempura
22 Carrot tempura
23 Taro patty with spring onion inside
24 Grilled Shimonita spring onion with orange
sauce
25 Turnip roots yuzu flavored pickles
26 Avocado sashimi
27 Mandarin flavored pan grilled broccoli
28 Boiled spinach with black sesame soy
sauce
29 Sautéed king trumpet mushroom
30 Seri (Water dropwort) stew with deep fried
tofu
January 2015
TOKYO BAR

4. TOKYO BAR
Fried sliced lotus root dipped in sweet sour marinade
Ingredients;
Lotus roots (Sliced), Gluten free
flours
Marinade sauce (Vinegar, Sugar,
Salt, and Sliced dry red pepper)
Slice the lotus roots , and soak in
vinegar water for a while. Then
cover with flour and fry.
Mix vinegar, sugar, salt and red
peppers and heat until it boils,
for a marinade.
Dip the fried lotus roots into
marinade and cool down in
refrigerator for a while.
Lotus roots develop a rich taste and chewy texture in winter. If you cut too thin, lotus become crispy easily. Better
to keep it chewy, and sweet sour marinade matches that.
01
January
Composition of Note
Name of recipe
January 2015
Ingredient
Recipe
Best Season
(darker, better)
(Seasons in Japan)
Other comment
Color of recipe
Number of recipe
TOKYO BAR

5. TOKYO BAR
Fried sliced lotus root dipped in sweet sour marinade
Ingredients;
Lotus roots (Sliced), Gluten free
flours
Marinade sauce (Vinegar, Sugar,
Salt, and Sliced dry red pepper)
Slice the lotus roots , and soak in
vinegar water for a while. Then
cover with flour and fry.
Mix vinegar, sugar, salt and red
peppers and heat until it boils,
for a marinade.
Dip the fried lotus roots into
marinade and cool down in
refrigerator for a while.
Lotus roots develop a rich taste and chewy texture in winter. If you cut too thin, lotus become crispy easily. Better
to keep it chewy, and sweet sour marinade matches that.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
01
January

6. TOKYO BAR
Sliced tomato salad with garlic shiso dressing
Ingredients;
Tomato (Sliced)
Shiso dressing (Sesame oil, Rice
Vinegar, Garlic (grated), Soy sauce
and Shiso leaf)
Mix sesame oil, vinegar, grated
garlic, and stripped shiso leaf for
the dressing.
Slice a tomato and soak in
dressing for a while in
refrigerator.
Shiso weed is common herb used in Japan, specially add oriental flavor and matches with aroma rich oil.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
02
January

7. TOKYO BAR
Fried eggplant stew in a soy sauce soup
Ingredients;
Eggplant, Sesame oil
Soy sauce soup (Soy sauce, Sake,
Mirin, Kombu stock)
Cut eggplant in half and place
shallow cuts for soaking well
while frying.
Fry eggplant and dip right after
into soy sauce soup.
Simmer down in refrigerator a
while.
In Japan this style of cooking called “Agedashi”, “age” fry and “Dashi” for soy sauce soup dipped. Deeply frying
does makes it wonderfully soft and also assists the eggplant to soak dashi for dipping.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
03
January

8. TOKYO BAR
Sautéed shiitake mushroom with sesame and ginger oil
Ingredients;
Shiitake mushroom
Sesame ginger oil (Sesame oil,
Ginger (grated), Salt and pepper)
Cut shiitake and sauté by
sesame ginger oil until it really
gets soft and juicy.
Shiitake is great for absorbing oil, so it is good to sauté with spiced oil.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
04
January

9. TOKYO BAR
Grilled pumpkin with hijiki seaweed dressing
Ingredients;
Pumpkin, Sake
Sea weed dressing (Hijiki Seaweed,
Rice vinegar, Olive oil, Salt and
Sugar)
Slice pumpkin, and grill. Add
sake when it gets slightly soft,
and steam for a while.
Prepare hijiki seaweed dressing
and put on grilled pumpkin.
Hijiki is one of popular seaweeds of Japan. Normally sold dry, so it needs to soak in hot water for a few minutes
before to use.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
05
January

10. TOKYO BAR
Grilled shishitou (green pepper) coated with soy sauce
Ingredients;
Shishitou
Soy sauce for coating (Soy Sauce,
Sake and Mirin)
Take off shishitou hull, and grill.
Prepare the soy sauce for
coating, and coat it sometimes
while grilling.
Typical recipe for side dish with Yakitori. Shishitou is normally not spicy hot, but sometimes, 1 out of 20, will be
hot. Coating soy sauce while grilling, makes good burned smell, increases appetite.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
06
January

11. TOKYO BAR
Boiled shungiku (crown daisy) with sesame dressing
Ingredients;
Shungiku, Salt
Sesame Dressing (Sesame
(grinded), Mirin and Soy sauce)
Boil shungiku with salted water,
and soak in cold water right after
to reduce the heat quickly.
Dip in prepared sesame dressing
and soak a while to serve.
Shungiku is very aromatic flavored, matches by the rich sesame dressing.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
07
January

12. TOKYO BAR
Grilled spring onion with sweet miso sauce
Ingredients;
Spring onion, Sake
Miso sauce (Miso, Sugar, Sake,
Water, Ginger)
Grill spring onion and pour sake
when it gets deeply grilled in
order to steam it a bit.
Mix the sweet miso sauce
ingredients and heat it until
becomes to a past.
Put a light cut in the spring onion to avoid it coming apart when you eat it. Mixture of miso and spring onion is a
winning combination.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
08
January

13. TOKYO BAR
Sautéed burdock and carrot with soy sauce
Ingredients;
Burdock, Carrot, Sesame oil
Soy sauce (Soy sauce, Sake, Mirin,
Sesame, Grinded red pepper)
Cut burdock and carrot in thin
pieces, and soak in salted
vinegar water a while.
Sauté with sesame oil, and add
soy sauce mix when it gets
softer.
This recipe is called “Kinpira” in Japan, and is very common, especially in bento. Using a lot oil makes more
crispier.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
09
January

14. TOKYO BAR
Steamed taro root with shiitake mushroom sauce
Ingredients;
Taro root
Mushroom sauce (Vegetable stock,
Shiitake shiitake mushroom, corn
starch, Lemon and Salt)
Cut taro root into small pieces
and steam.
While steaming, finely chop the
shiitake mushroom and sauté
with sesame oil with stock, corn
starch and lemon.
Taro root is collected in winter. One of our winter vegetables.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
10
January

15. TOKYO BAR
Sautéed turnip leaf
Ingredients;
Turnip leaf
Sesame oil, Soy sauce, Mirin,
Sake, Ground red pepper
Cut turnip leaf in small pieces,
and sauté.
Sautee with soy sauce, sake, and red pepper makes leaf aromatic and tasty.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
11
January

16. TOKYO BAR
Turnip root with red shiso leaf flavoring
Ingredients;
Turnip root, Salt
Dried red shiso leaf, Sesame oil
Slice Turnip roots and salt for a
while to remove some of the
juices.
Then add sesame oil and dried
red shiso leaf and serve.
Like a pickle but not as spicy, can enjoy the flavor of shiso and turnip.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
12
January

17. TOKYO BAR
Sweet potato patty with cinnamon soy sauce
Ingredients;
Sweet potato, salt
Cinnamon powder, Red hot pepper
powder, Soy sauce, Brown sugar
and Corn starch
Peal off potato skin and dice.
Steam until soft and mash into
patty.
Mix and simmer all the
ingredients for until it reduces
into a sauce.
Sweet potato and cinnamon but not desert.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13
January

18. TOKYO BAR
Grilled zucchini with sesame oil
Ingredients;
Zucchini, Sesame oil, Salt
Slice zucchini, and put in oven
dishes. Pour some sesame oil
and salt and heat a while until it
gets soft.
Just a grill but a little sesame oil gives an oriental flavor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
14
January

19. TOKYO BAR
Grilled oyster mushroom
Ingredients;
Oyster mushroom, Sake, Salt
Part oyster mushroom into
pieces, and put in oven dishes.
Pour some sake and salt over
and cook until soft and juicy.
In Japan, oyster mushroom in called “Hiratake”, a very popular and common mushroom variety. It is juicier than
shiitake mushroom.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
15
January

20. TOKYO BAR
Grilled broccoli leaf and stem
Ingredients;
Broccoli leaf and stem, Salt
Prepare broccoli leaf and stem
in proper measure and put in
oven dishes. Put salt over and
bake a while and serve.
Just grilled broccoli, the leaf becomes crispy and stem juicy.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
16
January

21. TOKYO BAR
Lotus root tempura
Ingredients;
Lotus roots (Sliced)
Gluten free flour, Baking powder,
Salt, Frying oil
Slice the lotus roots , and soak in
vinegar water for a while.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt
and water for butter. Dip lotus
roots and fry.
Lotus root’s becomes chewy when it fries, it is better to slice a little thicker.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
17
January

22. TOKYO BAR
Pumpkin tempura
Ingredients;
Pumpkin
Gluten free flour, Baking powder,
Salt, Frying oil
Slice pumpkin, and grill.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt
and water for butter. Dip lotus
roots and fry.
Pumpkin turns soft quickly, must watch it when it frying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
18
January

23. TOKYO BAR
Kombu boiled down with soy sauce
Ingredients;
Konbu
Soy sauce, Sake, Sugar, Sesame
Prepare softened Kombu, and
slice in 2mm.
Mix and boil soy sauce, sake and
sugar, and add sliced kombu.
Heat in a low flame until all water
evaporates.
This style cooking is called “Tsukudani”, for preservation. Konbu which is used to make dashi, is normally used in
this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
19
January

24. TOKYO BAR
Eggplant tempura
Ingredients;
Eggplant
Gluten free flour, Baking powder,
Salt, Frying oil
Cut eggplant in half and put a
shallow cut.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt
and water for butter. Dip lotus
roots and fry.
Eggplant is one of the major tempura ingredients in Japan. Shallow scores across the skin assists batter to grip to
eggplant.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
20
January

25. TOKYO BAR
Shiitake mushroom tempura
Ingredients;
Shiitake mushroom
Gluten free flour, Baking powder,
Salt, Frying oil
Cut shiitake into two pieces.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt
and water for batter. Dip shiitake
and fry.
Do not forget to cover the underside of the shiitake. This will preserve the “umami” quality of the dish.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
21
January

26. TOKYO BAR
Carrot tempura
Ingredients;
Carrot
Gluten free flour, Baking powder,
Salt, Frying oil
Cut in slice 2mm.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt
and water for batter. Dip carrots
and fry.
Carrot should be thinly for tempura, so it turns sweet and releases a good aroma.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
22
January

27. TOKYO BAR
Taro patty with spring onion
Ingredients;
Taro root
Spring onion, Salt
Cut taro root into small pieces
and steam.
Cut spring onion small, and mix
with salt and steamed taro root.
Taro root is a winter food, and very popular in Japan.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
23
January

28. TOKYO BAR
Grilled Shimonita spring onion with orange sauce
Grill spring onion.
Squeeze orange to make fresh
juice and heat up it until it
caramelizes, add a bit of soy
sauce and pour over spring
onion.
Shimonita spring onion is thicker and more juicy than other varieties,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Ingredients;
Shimonita Spring Onion
Orange, Soy sauce
24
January

29. TOKYO BAR
Turnip roots yuzu flavored pickles
Ingredients;
Turnip root, Salt
Kombu seaweed, Yuzu skin
Slice Turnip roots and salt for a
while.
Thinly slice kombu and mix with
salted turnip, red pepper, and
yuzu skin.
Put in refrigerator over night.
Konbu and yuzu are the common flavors for making traditional Japanese pickles.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
25
January

30. TOKYO BAR
Avocado sashimi
Ingredients;
Avocado
Soy sauce, Wasabi
Chop avocado thickly and mix
with wasabi soy sauce.
Best eaten with sake and rice,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
26
January

31. TOKYO BAR
Mandarin flavored pan grilled broccoli
Ingredients;
Broccoli
Mandarin, Sake, Soy sauce
Cut broccoli and pan grill with
salt only, until the aroma is
released.
Then add mandarin juice and
sake. Steam a while, remove
from heat and put in refrigerator
overnight.
The mandarin flavor improves after refrigeration
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
27
January

32. TOKYO BAR
Boiled spinach with black sesame soy sauce
Ingredients;
Spinach
Black sesame, Soy sauce, Brown
sugar
Grind black sesame, and add soy
sauce and brown sugar.
Boil spinach and soak in cold
water quickly. Then mix into
black sesame sauce.
It is also popular with white sesame, but the black one is extra good. Ground black sesame matches with brown
sugar.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
28
January

33. TOKYO BAR
Sautéed king trumpet mushroom
Ingredients;
King trumpet mushroom
Sesame oil, Red pepper, Sliced
garlic, Salt, Sake
Dice mushroom.
Heat oil with red pepper and
garlic, until the aromas are
released.
Then add mushroom and salt. At
the end pour a little sake and
simmer.
King trumpet mushrooms absorb oil and get a nice meaty texture.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
29
January

34. TOKYO BAR
Seri
(Water
dropwort)
stew
with
deep
fried
tofu
Ingredients;
Seri
Deep fried tofu, Kombu stock, Soy
sauce, Sake, Grinded red pepper
Cut seri and deep fried tofu in
pieces, and stew with kombu
stock, until seri gets softer. Then
add soy sauce and sake.
Pour grinded red pepper after
you serve on dishes.
Seri we use often in “Nabe”, Japanese hot pot.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
30
January

35. This month’s cool album from Japan January 2015
TOKYO BAR Jazz
Check
thier
web
site!
h;p://www.basisrecords.com/indigo/index.php
Check
the
their
videos!
h;p://www.basisrecords.com/indigo/video.php
This
band
is
my
absolute
favorite,
it
influenced
me
greatly.
They
have
10
albums,
among
them
this
album
has
the
most
‘groovy’
driving
music.
“Sphinx”
and
“Adrenalin”
are
killer
tunes.
Band
:
indigo
jam
unit
Album
:
REALism
From
:
basis
records
/
2011

36. Epilogue January 2015
TOKYO BAR BucHu
Thank
you
for
reading
and
following
these
documents.
Hope
you
enjoyed
and
got
some
inspiraVon.
On
this
page
I’d
like
to
introduce
a
song
from
my
alternaVve
jazzy
rock
band
“BucHu”.
Oh,
I
play
bass
in
this
band.
“Barbaboon”
is
a
farewell
song
to
my
dearest
friend
who
died
in
2014,
too
young.
I
couldn’t
accept
the
reality
for
a
while.
He
loved
my
band,
so
as
long
as
I
live,
I
will
conVnue
this
band
and
play
this
song.
I
will
keep
remembering
our
talks
and
Vme
together.
This
was
taken
at
a
Live
gig
held
on
the
23rd,
Nov.
2014
in
Deepa
Ohtsuka,
Tokyo.
h;ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bb9Jlwii8A
Barbaboon
h;ps://www.facebook.com/realbuchu
h;p://grooveshark.com/#!/buchu