Select good, plump pigeons and singe and clean thoroughly, then dry. Rub well with salt. Take the fat pork and fry out all the fat, and when boiling hot put in the pigeons and brown all over, rolling them on all sides. Have ready the water chestnuts, washed and cut in thin slices, also the bamboo shoots cut in thin strips. Chop up the onion very fine, and turn into the saucepan with the pigeons, adding the syou sauce, pepper, salt, and sugar. Cover very tight, and simmer over a slow fire for one hour. Then add the mirin sauce, or sherry. Lastly, mix two tablespoonfuls of kudzu starch in cold water, and stir into the juice until it thickens. Serve with rice.
MUSHI KIJI (Roast Pheasant)
One good pheasant; one pound of small Japanese almonds; one and one half cupfuls of rice paste (comes prepared); three cupfuls of mirin sauce; one half cupful of cooking sauce; one tablespoonful of sugar; salt, pepper, and mixed spices; oil.
Wash and singe the bird, then rub well with salt. Place in deep dish and cover with three cupfuls of mirin sauce; more, if that quantity does not cover the bird. Lay away in a cool place over night, then drain off all liquid and have ready the almonds, blanched and chopped very fine. Add them to the rice paste with the sugar, a little salt, quarter of a cup of cooking sauce, and a pinch of mixed spices. Stir all together, and stuff the pheasant with this mixture. Sew up, and truss. Have ready boiling hot olive oil or goma-seed oil, pour it over the pheasant, and place in a hot oven. Roast until tender (about one hour), adding little by little the rest of the cooking sauce, and basting frequently. Cook for a half-hour longer, then place on hot platter and garnish with flower petals and water cress.
USAGI AMAI-SUI (Hare, Sweet and Sour)
One good-sized rabbit or hare; one cupful of vinegar; one cupful of syou sauce; one tablespoonful of salt; three tablespoonfuls of sugar; one half cupful of mirin sauce; one tablespoonful of mixed spices; one half pound of fat fresh pork; one dozen red plums; one small lime or lemon.
Take a small hare or large rabbit that has been hanging for at least two days, and after it has been skinned, and the insides removed, wash well in cold water. Cut in quarters and put in a deep dish, covering it well with the vinegar, sugar, salt, and so on, mixed with water. Add the spices also, and a quarter of a cupful of mirin sauce. Cover up well, and let it pickle in a cool place for two or three days; then remove it from the liquid and cut in small pieces. Have ready the fat pork cut in small pieces, and fry. Toss in the hare, and brown. Now have ready a covered China cook dish or casserole, and place in it the hare and pork, adding the syou sauce, a pinch of salt, pinch of the spices, and the quarter cupful of mirin sauce. Cover up tightly, and cook in a slow oven for one hour. Then prepare a dozen large red plums, removing the stones, and add them. Dissolve one teaspoonful of Kanton (Japanese gelatine) and mix with the gravy, taking care not to break the plums. Cook for another five minutes, then place on a hot platter, decorated with slices of lemon or limes, with a plum placed on top of each slice. This is good served either with white-bean cakes or rice.
MUSHI AHIRU (Baked Duck)
Clean and singe the duck and wash in lukewarm water, then wipe dry with a clean cloth. Rub well with salt. Cut in pieces, and dip each piece of the duck in a batter made of kudzu starch and eggs. Make the batter of about the thickness of fritters. Lay these in a pan that has been oiled, and bake in a slow oven for two hours. Make a gravy by chopping the giblets very fine and putting them in a pot with a cupful of water, a cupful of syou sauce, salt and pepper, and a teaspoonful of sugar. Boil slowly while the duck is baking. Place the duck, which should be well browned, on a platter, then pour over it the gravy and garnish with orange or lemon peel, grated.
ROAST CHICKEN (Japanese Style)
Take a young, tender chicken and clean and singe. Put the feet to boil until the scabs scale off, then place with the giblets to boil slowly. Make a stuffing of rice boiled dry in chicken gravy, add chopped onion and a pinch of mixed spices, salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne. Put this in body of chicken and sew up. Roast for an hour, or longer, according to age of chicken. Make a gravy from the stock of the giblets. Chop the giblets up fine and add to the gravy. Serve with roasted sweet potatoes.
OMELETTES AND CUSTARDS
UNOHANA YAKI (Flower Custard)
