Mochi, a type of rice-cake, cut up and grilled and either topped with sugar or syrup and kinako, a sort of dried soya bean flour.
Flat sheets of fried soya bean curd or tofu split and made into pouches. These are found in soups, simmered dishes, inarizushi and mixed rice dishes. Pre-seasoned, thin deep-fried tofu is available tinned especially for inarizushi (deep-fried tofu pouches stuffed with mixed vinegared rice). They should be doused with boiling water before using to remove excess oil from the surface and may be cooked in sweet sake, shoyu and water.
Aemono are highly decorative, cooked salads of seasonal ingredients, such as fish and vegetables, with a dressing complimentary to the ingredients and to the dish which is accompanied. The dressings might consist of sesame seeds, bean paste, miso, or seasoned vinegar and are often based on puréed tofu. In a kaiseki menu, aemono are side-dishes or salads carefully chosen to compliment the other dishes. They may appear at the beginning of the meal in the form of appetisers called sakizuki, but they might also accompany a grilled dish or be served on the hassun (a tray containing delicacies from the land and sea). Special care is taken to ensure that the dressing of the aemono helps to bring out the flavours of the main dish.
