Japan Comes to L.A. : Recipes Help Celebrate Nisei Week in Little Tokyo

Nisei Week, which starts Saturday and continues until Aug. 13 in Little Tokyo, will take you to Japan without having to fly there.

There will be a full week of street food-tasting that will match any on a country road in Japan. Imagawa yaki ( fried bean cakes), sushi and yaki-tori (fried kebabs) are but some of the typical foods of the festival.

You may also find kushi- age, which is much like yaki-tori, except the foods are breaded before frying and are served with dipping sauces or lemon juice.

Nisei Week, a celebration created by second generation Japanese (Nisei means second generation) to foster good will and good business in their community, is packed solidly with events, ranging from cooking demonstrations, art exhibits, a car show, karate, kendo, aikido and iaido as well as other Japanese martial arts demonstrations, a 5-K run and musical entertainment, including the Fujika Quintet. There is no Nisei Week, however, without the coronation of the Nisei Week Queen and ball--which kick off the festivities on Saturday--or the parade at 4 p.m. Sunday.

But the food traditions are direct copies of those in Japan. Most of the street foods are considered fast food because they are generally made on the spot.

For instance, yaki-tori, skewered bits and pieces of meat, fish or poultry, are marinated for several hours but cooked to order by the street vendor (or restaurant chef). Maki sushi (rolled sushi) is made on the spot to customers’ order, as is temaki sushi (seasoned rice and other foods wrapped in seaweed).

You will find imagawa yaki vendors preparing little flat cakes filled with soy bean paste in cylindrical vats, much as one would make waffles. Then there is the cooling taste of shaved ice cones topped with strawberry or lime syrup that delight children and adults alike.

Nisei Week began 49 years ago in Little Tokyo to help second generation Japanese Americans generate business in the Little Tokyo community. The first festival included a poster contest, essay contest, some radio broadcasts, a fashion show and various exhibits including a parade through the streets of Little Tokyo. The following year, a beauty pageant, with a queen chosen by vote was added.

Today’s princesses are nominated by community organizations. The festival ceased when Japanese-Americans were interned in camps during World War II but resumed in 1949. Today hundreds of volunteers from community organizations help promote and work in the Nisei Week program. The program of the week’s events is available at most shops, restaurants and banks in Little Tokyo.

If you can’t get to the festival, here are a few recipes to make you think you are there. The recipes are from former issues of Palate Pleasers magazine (Apcon International Inc., Los Angeles), published semiannually, and have not been tested in The Times Test Kitchen.

GRILLED YAKI-TORI

1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, boned

2 tablespoons sake

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 green onions

1/4 cup mirin

1 tablespoon sugar

Oil for deep frying

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Combine sake and soy sauce in bowl. Add chicken cubes and marinate 5 to 10 minutes.

Cut green onions into 1-inch lengths and parboil in boiling water 1 second. Thread chicken and green onions on bamboo skewers. Combine chicken marinade and mirin in small saucepan and heat 2 to 3 minutes, adding sugar.

Heat oil about 1 inch deep in skillet. Add chicken skewers and brown on all sides, turning frequently. Remove skewers and arrange on serving platter. Pour heated mirin sauce over skewers. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Note: Other combinations for yaki-tori are asparagus and bacon, mushrooms, green pepper, cherry tomatoes and onion wedges, chicken wings, scallops, shrimp, spicy beef cubes.

Use marinade given for chicken, thread on skewers and fry as directed.

KUSHI-AGE

1 pound beef sirloin, cubed

1/2 pound pork loin, cubed

1/2 pound small shrimp, shelled

7 large mushrooms, trimmed

1 green pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares

1 small eggplant, sliced

1 cup flour

5 eggs, beaten

Bread crumbs

Soy oil for deep frying

Bottled tonkatsu sauce

Karashi (Japanese mustard), optional

Lemon wedges, optional

Skewer beef, pork, shrimp, mushrooms, green pepper and eggplant in desired combination. Dust skewered food with flour and dip in beaten eggs. Roll in bread crumbs. Arrange on tray and chill.

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Dip skewers into hot oil few at time and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Dip skewers into tonkatsu sauce and add karashi or sprinkle with lemon juice. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

TEMAKI SUSHI

3 cups rice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Nori (seaweed sheets)

Wasabi powder

Avocado, thinly sliced

Kaiware daikon (Japanese radish), sliced paper-thin

Japanese cucumber, sliced paper-thin

Fresh tuna, salmon, salmon roe or yellowtail, sliced into 3-inch strips

King crab or crab sticks, cut into strips

Soy sauce

Wash rice and cook according to package directions. Place in bowl and add vinegar, salt and sugar. With flat wooden spoon fold or cut vinegar mixture into rice. Do not stir.

Fold and tear nori in half. Use 1/2 sheet nori for each roll. Add small amount of water to wasabi powder to make paste. Mix thoroughly until consistency of playdough.

Place nori in palm of hand, spoon on about 3 tablespoons rice and spread evenly. Place strip of wasabi along center of rice with finger. Place avocado, daikon, cucumber, tuna and crab in desired combination on top. Roll into cone shape. Dip in soy sauce. Makes 4 to 6 servings.