Kinshi uri no tosazu-ae / spaghetti squash in bonito flake infused sweetened rice vinegar dressing

One of the standard Japanese dishes featuring kinshi uri (somen kabocha) spaghetti squash. Adding katsuobushi bonito flakes to sweetened rice vinegar gives a nice underlying punch to this dish. A tiny amount of mitsuba also accentuates the overall flavor. A small and refreshing side dish.

1/2 of recipe:
32 calories; 1.0 g protein; 0.1 g fat; 6.2 g carbohydrate; 5.2 g net carbs; 139 mg sodium (with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce; 177 mg with regular soy sauce); 1.0 mg cholesterol; 1.0g  fiber



<Ingredients>

3 cm small kinshi uri (somen kabocha) spaghetti squash (130 g in photo)
1 mitsuba stem (only stem is used)

For tosazu dressing
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp mirin
1/2 tsp regular soy sauce
1/2 tsp usukuchi soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dashi
1 tbsp katsuobushi bonito flakes (1 g in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Mix all ingredients for tosazu dressing, except for katsuobushi bonito flakes.

Microwave for 10-15 seconds until boiling.

Soak katsuobushi while vinegar mixture is hot.
Let cool.









2.

Remove seeds of spaghetti squash.
Put squash in a microwaveable container.

Cover, and microwave for 3-4 minutes until soft (easily crumbles when touched, as in photo below). 

Put mitsuba stem on top, cover, and microwave for a few seconds.

Pour ice water to quickly cool.










3.

Chop mitsuba stem.









4.

When squash cools, crumble by hand, and discard skin.

Rub squash with hands in water to smooth surface, and drain.
 

5.

Squeeze out excess water from squash, and place in a mixing bowl.

Strain tosazu rice vinegar mixture and add to squash.

Discard katsuobushi bonito flakes.

Mix well.










6.

Plate spaghetti squash and top with mitsuba.









<Notes>

• Mitsuba can be cut longer and mixed with squash. If you do this, mix in mitsuba immediately before serving to retain its green color.
• Aside from mitsuba, myoga Japanese ginger buds are also nice companions. If using myoga, julienne or thinly slice and top or add to squash immediately before serving. Myoga does not need to be cooked.
• If sodium intake is not a concern, using usukuchi soy sauce only would result in lighter yellow color. When only usukuchi soy sauce is used, sodium content per serving would be 195mg.
• Tosazu is a very common variation of sweetened rice vinegar dressing at restaurants. Tosa is the name of a region famous for bonito fishing in Kochi Prefecture. When a dish's name includes "tosa," the dish is likely to include bonito flakes. The "zu" in tosazu is derived from su [vinegar].