Tom cooks 7: Ika no nitsuke (calamari in reduced soy sauce broth)

The other day, I was telling my friend how good Tom's chige (jjigae Korean stew) was becoming.
Tom joined our conversation, saying “I need more repertoire.”

What?
What was that?
What does he mean by “more repertoire”?
There are over 200 Japanese recipes here, and I even wrote at least a couple of dozen recipes for non-Japanese Asian dishes. Some even make special mention that they are “Tom-ready.”

Last night, Tom suggested we have some “mama's ika” -- meaning, my mom's kind of calamari dish (Tom bestowed the nickname).

I knew he was expecting me to cook it, so I emailed him the recipe so he can make it.

The recipe is pretty straightforward. Cut calamari, put seasonings (sake, mirin, brown sugar, soy sauce), cook for a while, remove calamari, reduce broth, return calamari to broth, and it’s done. Tom seemed quite comfortable with the ingredients and process.

Yet, measuring is still tricky for him.

1 tsp or 1 tbsp is supposed to be measured “on the level,” meaning the top is flat.
When I pointed out that what he scooped from the brown sugar jar was more than 1 tbsp since it was a huge mound, Tom had a creative solution: he compressed it to make the top flat.
Wow, I’d never seen anyone do that. While I was a bit impressed with his unconventional problem-solving, I told him to measure it again.

I’m so glad to be able to help Tom with his repertoire expansion.

Recipe for Tom: Ika no nitsuke (calamari in reduced soy sauce broth)