Piiman to age no itameni / green pepper and thin deep-fried tofu in soy sauce broth

The sweet flavor of juicy green pepper gets a boost from salty usuage.

<Ingredients>

1 green pepper
1 large or 2 small usuage thin deep-fried tofu
100 cc dashi
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp oil (not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Prep boil, and cut usuage into 2 cm-wide strips.
Seed and cut green pepper lengthwise into pieces 2-3 cm wide.

2.

In a pot, heat oil, and put green pepper, with one cut surface of each piece down. Cook on medium heat.

Flip and cook the other cut surface.

3.

Pour dashi and sake, and bring to boil.

Add usuage and half of soy sauce, lower heat to medium low, and cook until liquid is reduced to 1/3.

Taste, and add more soy sauce if necessary.
Cook for another minute, or until liquid is almost gone for stronger flavor.

<Notes>

• Saute only the cut surfaces of green pepper to prevent the skin from peeling. It's OK if the skin peels off, but the texture is better when skin is intact when eating this dish -- eating peeled skin seems like eating tough paper.
• Thick-walled green pepper works better than thin-walled Japanese or Mexican varieties for this dish.