Ingen no umeni / green beans simmered with pickled plum

A simple green bean dish with a fruity note. The soft acidity of umeboshi pickled plum makes this a delightful dish for warm or hot days. Niboshi dashi made of dried young sardines gives a punch to the underlying taste.

Mizuna no jako sarada / mizuna salad with crispy young dried sardines

Crispy jako sauteed in sesame oil is added to edgy citrus-flavored soy sauce softened by dashi, resulting in a rich yet refreshing dressing for fresh mizuna.

Sakana no sotee, ume-shiso soosu / fish saute with plum-perilla sauce

Softly sour and refreshing umeboshi pickled plum sauce with shiso perilla leaves is a popular choice when the weather turns warm. It brightens the heavy taste of oil used in cooking while stimulating your appetite at those times you do not feel like eating because of heat or fatigue.

Atsuage to chingensai no kurozuan itame / deep-fried tofu and baby bok choy saute with thickened brown rice vinegar sauce

Kurozuan sauce, a variation of thickened sauce based on amazu sweetened rice vinegar, is made with kurozu brown rice vinegar. It has a rich aroma while offering a refreshing note, making this simple saute satisfying yet light.

Daizu moyashi no bataa shoga itame / soybean sprouts stir-fried in butter, flavored with ginger and soy sauce

A small amount of butter adds a soft rich taste to this simple daizu moyashi dish.

Hoshi-kaibashira to hakusai no misoshiru / miso soup with dried scallops and napa cabbage

More commonly used in Chinese dishes, dried scallops help create an aromatic dashi for miso soup. Hakusai napa cabbage, an excellent match for dried scallops, gives a mellow sweet note to the soup, while the petite tomatoes add vivid color and a sour punch.

Tom cooks 13. Chaahan (fried rice with assorted ingredients)

Fried rice is a creation to finish up leftover rice from previous meals. We freeze leftover steamed rice, and when enough has accumulated, it turns into fried rice. It is one of Tom’s menu choices to feed me when I am swamped with work.

He proves how nice he is by cooking my favorite food. He can also shut out my potential complaints on his food (Tom sees my comments as complaints). Fried rice à la Tom serves more than two purposes. A value meal?