A black bowl filled with stir-fried chicken and sliced zucchini, a delicious Japanese side dish, is garnished with thin red chili threads and sits on a wooden board with red chopsticks and a black textured cloth underneath.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami claimed the lives of nearly 16,000 people, with over 2,500 officially listed as missing. To me, it remains deeply important that we never forget and continue supporting those affected.

The reicpe I want to talk about this amazing Japanese lady and her book that was released in 2013, and share one of her recipes at the end of this post.

A bowl of stir-fried chicken marinated in chili oil and sliced cucumbers, garnished with thin chili threads, sits on a black cloth with a pair of red chopsticks nearby.

Her name is Nobuko Hashimoto, known dearly as “Hashimoto mama” among the earthquake volunteers from all over the world. She was a victim of the devastation herself in Ishinomaki (石巻), where the city was among the most seriously affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

In addition to her own hardship of getting her life back aside, she generously opened her house for volunteers and has been preparing food for over 5000 volunteers with her and husband’s own money that they saved in case of emergency before the tragedy happened.

A Japanese cookbook titled Hashimotos Tohoku Recipes rests on a dark table, beside a cup of green tea and a teapot. The book cover shows hands holding a rice ball, hinting at the comforting home-cooked meals inside—such as chicken marinated in chili oil—inviting you to explore Tohoku’s unique flavors.

Hashimoto mama’s book, Hashimoto’s Tohoku Recipes (「石巻ボランティアハウスの橋本ごはん」), tells the story of how she ended up preparing thousands of meals for people and how this has impacted to her life as well as volunteers’. In her book, she also shares the popular Tohoku regional recipes that she has been cooking for volunteers.

An open cookbook displays a Japanese and English recipe for chicken marinated in chili oil with cucumber, featuring step-by-step photos of food preparation and a green drink in a cup nearby.

My Pantry page was also mentioned in this book thanks to Joseph, a California Just One Cookbook reader. He spent a lot of time volunteering in Ishinomaki and fell in love with Hashimoto mama’s cooking which led him to conceive the idea for this book. I want to thank Joseph for letting me be a part of this beautiful book.

An open cookbook on a dark table next to a cup of green tea, showing pages with recipes, ingredient lists, and references for Japanese vegetable miso soup, as well as tips on preparing chicken marinated in chili oil.

I first received this book from the publisher in 2013 and was deeply moved by Hashimoto mama’s kind, giving heart as well as her positive and cheering personality despite the hard situation she is in and I cooked one of her most popular recipes from the book.

Over 15 years after the disaster, her story and regional recipes remain just as inspiring today.

The book is written in both Japanese and English.

A black bowl of chicken marinated in chili oil and stir-fried with zucchini slices, topped with thin red chili threads, sits on a patterned cloth next to red chopsticks and a wooden board.

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Cucumber and Chicken Marinated in Chili Oil

4.62 from 21 votes
by Namiko Hirasawa Chen
A dark bowl with stir-fried chicken marinated in chili oil, sliced green zucchini, and thin red chili threads on top, placed on a black patterned napkin with red chopsticks beside it.
Easy steamed chicken mixed with cucumber in chili oil (La-yu) dressing, perfect way to start a meal.
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Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients 
 

Servings: 4

For the Seasonings A

For the Seasonings B

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients.
    Six cucumbers, raw pork in a bowl, and small bowls containing various liquids, sugar, and sauces—including a hint of chicken marinated in chili oil—are arranged on a wooden surface with a red measuring spoon.
  • Discard both ends of 1.1 lb Japanese or Persian cucumbers and peel the skin, leaving some part unpeeled for the look.
    Four cucumber halves with alternating dark and light green stripes on the skin are arranged in a row on a wooden cutting board, ready to be served alongside chicken marinated in chili oil.
  • Cut the cucumbers using the rangiri cutting technique, making a diagonal cut while rotating one-quarter turn between cuts.
    A person slices a cucumber into wedges on a wooden cutting board using a large kitchen knife, preparing it to accompany chicken marinated in chili oil.
  • Cut 13 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
    A hand uses a large knife to cut chicken marinated in chili oil into pieces on a wooden cutting board.
  • Place the chicken in a frying pan skin side down and add Seasonings A: ¼ cup water, 2 Tbsp sake, and 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
    Raw pieces of chicken marinated in chili oil are in a frying pan while a hand pours a bowl of liquid, possibly water or broth, over the chicken.
  • Cover and start cooking over medium heat. Simmer for 2 minutes, then turn the chicken over and continue simmering, covered, for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
    Cubed pieces of chicken marinated in chili oil are boiling in water inside a pot covered with a glass lid, with steam and condensation visible on the lid.
  • Continue cooking with the remaining heat and make sure the chicken is cooked through.
    Chunks of chicken marinated in chili oil are being cooked in boiling water in a pot with a glass lid, with steam and condensation visible on the inside of the lid.
  • In a large airtight container, combine Seasonings B: ¼ cup soy sauce, 4½ Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp la-yu (Japanese chili oil), 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and 1 tsp sake.
    A hand holding a whisk is stirring a dark brown liquid—perfect for chicken marinated in chili oil—in a rectangular glass dish on a wooden surface.
  • Remove the warm chicken from the pan and add to the container with Seasonings B.
    Tongs transfer cooked chicken pieces from a skillet into a glass dish filled with rich, dark marinade, suggesting the chicken was marinated in chili oil, all set on a wooden surface.
  • Add the cucumbers and mix well. Let it marinate for at least 10 minutes. Serve cool or at room temperature.
    A glass container filled with chopped cucumbers and pieces of chicken marinated in chili oil being stirred with a black spoon on a wooden surface.

To Store

  • You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days.

Notes

The recipe is slightly adapted from Hashimoto’s Tohoku Recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 265mg, Potassium: 409mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 153IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 1mg

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