Cooking – Page 37

Turnip Cake

November 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Recipes

Did I ever happen to mention the Missus’s obsessions? It really doesn’t take much…just a simple mention of an item, and a fast growing seed is planted. It’s something that demands immediate attention…if left alone to germinate, well, let’s not go there.

This past Saturday, we had a wonderful lunch at Chin’s with Ed from Yuma, mizducky, Howie from A Foodie’s Eye View, and last but certainly not least Codergirl. In the midst of the lunch Howie happened to mention that a friend of his makes Turnip Cakes at home. Now at the mention of this little comment, I saw the Missus perk up, and though I don’t think anyone else noticed it, with just the little "they make it at home…" I knew we’d be making turnip cakes.

And so it’s off to 99 Ranch Market we go……

We’ve always had pretty good outcomes with recipes from Ellen Leong Blonder’s book Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch, and used the recipe as the basis for making turnip cakes, which turned out to be quite easy. We did make a few changes and adjustments in the recipe. The result is pictured below.

Turnip Cakes

2-3 Tb Small Dried Shrimp(optional – also soaking them in hot water for 20-30 minutes and draining is optional, we didn’t do this)
2 1/2 – 3 cups(lightly packed) Coarsely shredded Daikon Radish
1 Lup Cheong(Chinese sausage) finely diced
2 Green Onions (include white parts) finely sliced
1-2 Tb Cilantro – finely chopped
2 Cups Rice Flour (* Important note – use rice flour, do not use sweet/glutinous rice flour)
1 Tsp salt(adjust up if not using shrimp)
1/2 Tsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp Ground White Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Water
Vegetable/Canola Oil

1 – Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Remove radish from liquid(do not discard the cooking liquid) and place in measuring cup. Add in cooking liquid to bring the amount to approximately 3 cups. Let the mixture cool to a lukewarm temperature.

2 – While radish is cooking, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet or wok. When oil starts to smoke add the Lup Cheong,Green Onions, and Dried Shrimp. Stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat and stir in Cilantro.

3 – Get the steamer going.

4 – In a bowl mix the rice flour, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Add the radish and cooking water, and stir to a batter-like consistency. Add the Lup Cheong mixture to the batter and mix. Pour mixture into a 8×8 cake pan, or a 9 inch round cake pan.

5 – Place cake pan into steamer, and steam at a medium-high boil for 35-45 minutes.

6 – Once done, remove the turnip cake from the steamer and let cool.

Once cool, you can cut into squares and fry, or fry, than add egg, or whatever preparation you desire.

I fried up a few squares, and the Missus told me, "you know what this means, don’t you?" "Wellll, I guess no more store bought, and we’ll cross this off our Dim Sum list, ala’ Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf?"

Thanks alot Howie…just kidding of course. Turnip cake turned out to be much easier than we thought.

I’ve had a few Emails asking if I still cook, and yes I am, but recently it’s been really simple things like Soboro, and other stir fries, but I thought this would be of some interest. I’ll be back with another restaurant tomorrow.

Episode 13-Week 2 Easy Weekend Breakfast

October 13, 2006 Cathy Cooking, Recipes, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Hi. It was a nice, rainy day. Hope yours went well. This will be a relatively short post. I am going to the Asian Film Festival with the Mister tonight to seeAsian Stories, Book 3 which is directed by DietChiliCheeseFries. Considering I have not ventured into a movie theater, nor rented a DVD or movie in more than ten years, this is kind of major for me.

One thing Kirk and I have in common is that each of us married people who were not born in the USA. Kirk’s Missus is from China and my Mister was born in Finland. This may help explain why most of my posts are not totally Asian in content. I only know what I like, not the intricacies of each ingredient or style in which to eat.

Oh, and Kirk was born in Hawaii and I was born in Detroit and I am mostly Polish, with some German and Russian thrown in. That said, the Mister and I are kind of ‘hearty’ eaters… Here is a common Finnish breakfast treat…it works wonderfully for guests. You can make the mix the night before and leave in the fridge, pouring the mix into the heated baking dish once the butter in it has melted.

Finnish Oven Pancake

9×13 pan.. Put a stick of butter in it, put into oven and turn heat on to 425°. Let butter melt and start mixing:

5 large eggs (7 or 8 small)

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 C milk

1 half pint container of cottage cheese

1 C all purpose flour

1 Tsp baking POWDER

Pour mix into the buttered hot pan. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, it will be puffy, like the above photograph. It will then collapse. Cut it and it looks like this:

The Mister likes it with maple syrup; I like it plain. It can be eaten hot or cold. We serve with bacon and fresh fruit.

This recipe was featured in the "Chefs of the West" section of Sunset Magazine in August 1985. If you find that issue of that magazine, you know the Mister’s name. You also will be considered a stalker….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Mister and I just got back from Hazard Center and seeing Asian Stories, Book 3. It was great! It will be played again this Tuesday October 17 at 4:30. If you get the chance, don’t miss it! It is a dramatic comedy, with a girl. The food references are almost too numerous to count…but I am going to look for the artichoke goat cheese empañadas at Trader Joe’s the next time I go…..

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Episode 7-Week One: Saturday musings and Mary’s

October 7, 2006 Cathy Cooking, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Ah, every day should be Saturday in the autumn. Today was a particularly good day, starting out with a simple breakfast:

Hmmm…..I wonder what Kirk and I have in common anyhow….

That is rye bread I got from Panera Bakery earlier in the week. Its really good and chewy, and still great a few days later, if toasted.

Anyhow, the Mister and I didn’t want to go in to Pacific Beach to watch the Saturday football game for a couple of reasons: 1. It started at about 1:30 p.m., and so we would have to get there early to get a good seat. 2. The particular game we were going to watch was going to be played on national TV….and 3. We also wanted to see how the baseball playoffs were going…can’t use that remote in a bar, even one with about 50 TV sets… So, we stayed at home and had lunch:

Home made pizza:

The crust is simple: 2 C bread flour, 1/2 C corn meal, 1 tsp dry yeast, 1 Tbs sugar, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 C water. You know the drill: dissolve yeast, sugar in water, mix rest together..knead, let rise, let rise 2nd time. Makes about a 15 inch round. We put it on a pre-heated pizza stone and into the oven.

Toppings were fresh tomatoes (from the yard), fresh basil (from the yard), fresh mozzarella and shredded 4 cheese Mexican mix from Vons (Medium cheddar, Monterey Jack, Asadero and Queso Quesadilla). {Hey, I ate Spam for breakfast..I can put Mexican cheese on a pizza}. No olive oil or tomato sauce on the dough…baked in the oven until it was done. It was nice, crispy, chewy and filling.

Anyhow, we won the games and pretty soon it was time for dinner.

Beer can chicken!

Chicken, partial can of beer (take a big sip), fresh rosemary shoved into the beer can, place beer can/rosemary infusion into the chicken, and then set into the handy-dandy "Beer can chicken cooker" (sold at WalMart for $3.50, and at other places for $10) seasoned salt for the skin. Place on BBQ grill, using radiant heat (flames on one side, chicken on other side) The beer will eventually boil and steam inside the chicken and the result will be:

A beautifully roasted exterior and the interior will be very moist and flavorful.

You can use soda pop instead of beer, but be sure to used only sugared, not diet, soda pop….the chemical that makes diet stuff sweet tasting gets really weird when boiled.

Oh, as an aside, if anyone ever gives you one of those cute, 4 inch pots of rosemary shaped like a Christmas tree, and you decide to plant it in your back yard in San Diego…just know it *will* turn into a four foot by four foot bush/shrub that smells wonderful and will never die…

The chicken was served with rice pilaf, roasted squash (cut into quarters, innards scooped out, pat of butter on top, wrap in foil and put into the heat side of the grill). and beets. We needed some color on the plate; canned green beans or corn kernels would not make for a pretty picture.

Then it was 8 pm.

Mary’s is open 24/7. Tomorrow is Sunday. Mary’s has been in Santee forever. Look at the cool signage. It used to be called Zona’s Donuts, more than 20 years ago. Sometimes I still call it Zona’s, but it is Mary’s.

Mary’s sells *lots* of donuts on Sunday…so they make them the night before. Fresh, warm and lots of them..

I bought four.

This is what made it home. I *really* like fresh French Crullers.

Mary’s Donuts 9031 Mission Gorge Road, Santee 92071 (SE corner of the 125) (619) 448-4800 …always open…

Beggar’s Chicken

September 18, 2006 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Recipes

This recipe is based on the recipe for Beggar’s Chicken found in Eileen Yin-Fei Lo’s hefty cookbook, The Chinese Kitchen. I’m sure many of you own this cookbook. It has quite a few elaborate and somewhat complex dishes in it. What I have found with many of the dishes in this book, is that the seasoning of the dishes are quite mild. Still, it’s fun to play……..

I find more than a bit of irony in the name Beggar’s Chicken, as it is a fairly elaborate dish. And I would really have to stretch my imagination to believe, that if I were a beggar, I would even be considering making this chicken dish……

One more key note. Even though the presentation of the chicken in this dish can be pretty stunning; it’s the stuffing that makes this dish. As wonderfully juicy as the chicken is, without the stuffing, it would be quite bland.

So on the day before making the chicken prepare the stuffing. There is a stuffing recipe in the book, but I prefer something like the Glutinous Rice Stuffing here. The chicken will be amazingly juicy, so all the juices soaked up in the rice is so…delici-yoso!!!

Part 1 – The Lotus Leaf

Trim and soak 2 lotus leaves in hot water for 30-45 minutes(the book says twenty, but that’s not enough time), unfolding and turning every 10 minutes, until leaves are saturated.

Part 2 – The Chicken – here’s what we worked with.

1 – 4lb Chicken
1/4 Cup Salt

Remove excess fat from the chicken and wash under cold water. Dry, then rub salt over the outside of the chicken, rinse again, and dry well.

Part 3 – The Marinade

4 Tb Gin
1 3" Piece Cinnamon broken into 4 pieces
2 Star Anise
2 Tb Sugar
1 Tb Salt
Dash on White Pepper

In a bowl combine marinade ingredients, and rub the exterior and interior of the chicken.

Part 4 – The Dough

5 Cups High Gluten Flour
11/2 – 2 1/2 Cups Hot Water
Canola Oil
Additional Flour as necessary

Place flour on large cutting board or another surface. Make a "well" in the center of the flour. Add the hot water slowly while mixing the flour with one hand. Knead dough for 2-3 minutes, coat hand with oil to prevent sticking, and add flour to keep from sticking to kneading surface. Roll out dough to a size large enough to wrap the chicken. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Part 5 – Stuff that Bird!

And close openings with skewers.

Part 6 – Wrap it up.

You’ll need the Lotus Leaves, Flattened Dough, and 2-3 feet heavy duty Aluminum Foil.

Shake Lotus leaves dry. Wrap the chicken in Lotus Leaves, make sure leaves overlap, and the edges of the leaves are on the bottom. Place the Lotus Leaf wrapped chicken(breast side up) in the middle of the dough and wrap, sealing the top completely.

Place dough wrapped chicken in the middle of foil and seal completely.

Part 7 – Cook that Bird!

At 350 degrees F, for 1 hour, then lower the temp to 325 degrees F for 3 hours. Great time to make some side dishes…maybe some Crab and Corn soup, and Spicy Stove Braised Eggplant.

After the time is up(at last!!) remove chicken from the oven, and fold back the foil.

You can now either cut right down the center of the dough and separate, or cut around the dough and remove the top.

You’ll find the chicken to be very, very tender and moist. In fact, you just stick your spoon right into the middle of the chicken, and scoop out both the chicken and stuffing.

Mid-Week Meal – Katsu Don

September 13, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

You know, I got an email last night over a remark in my post on Yoshino’s about how deceptively hard it is to make good Katsu Don. Basically, the email called my remark silly, and "called me out." Though I usually will ignore Emails, this time I went to the freezer, and started to defrost some Chicken Breasts.

Tonight we had Chicken Katsu Don. I wish I took a better photo:

2 Fried Breaded Pork Cutlets(Tonkatsu) or Chicken Cutlets(Chicken Katsu)
1 Onion Sliced lengthwise into wedges
3 Eggs lightly beaten(don’t over-beat, the eggs will become "stiff")
Cooked Rice
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tb Sake
2 Tb Sugar
3 Tb Mirin
3 Tb Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Instant Dashi

1 – Pour water into a small pot and bring to a boil(note: The Missus enjoys alot of sauce on Her Katsu Don, so I usually double the sauce recipe), and add Sake, Sugar, Mirin, and Soy sauce. Stir to dissolve sugar. When the Donburi sauce returns to a boil, remove from heat and add Instant Dashi(do not boil), and stir to dissolve.

2 – Slice Cutlets crosswise into bite sized pieces

3 – Fill two good sized Donburi(bowls) with hot rice.

4 – Pour 1/2 the sauce into a small-medium sized frying pan(make sure you have a lid), or even better, an oyako-nabe pan(these are pans especially made for making Donburi dishes – I don’t have one). Over medium heat, bring sauce to a simmer. Add 1/2 of the onions, and briefly simmer. Place one of the sliced cutlets into the pan on top of the onions and sauce. Pour 1/2 of the beaten egg in a circular motion around the cutlet. Cover and let simmer for 20-45 seconds.

5 – Uncover the pan and remove from heat. At this point I fold some of the egg, onions, and sauce over the cutlets. And transfer to the Donburi bowl, covering the rice. Make sure you get all of the "good stuff".

Top with benishoga, green onions, nori, furikake, string beans, or whatever…….

Repeat with second cutlet.

The verdict? The Missus thought the sauce was good, as well as the egg. The texture of the chicken was okay, though She wants me to brine the chicken before cooking to create a dense texture. The Katsu was a bit too salty, so I’ll have to cut back on the salt next time.

Simple stuff, really(I could’ve used even more egg)……the cutlet shouldn’t be saturated and mushy, the egg shouldn’t be stiff, and the sauce should have enough of a salty-soy-sweet taste to flavor the rice.

Tomorrow it’s another restaurant!

Home Made Tofu

September 6, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking

For some reason, about a month ago, I became obsessed with trying to make tofu at home. When I mentioned this to the Missus, she just asked me, "Why"? Good question, I really didn’t know why. So I looked over a few tofu making recipes in books I own, and looked over some online resources like this one. They were all a bit different, and many of the recipes used vinegar, and or lemon juice, which I decided not to use.

So basically the recipe had three ingredients, soy beans, nigari, and water.

Nigari is the coagulating agent used to make tofu. Nigari (literally "bitter" in Japanese) is mainly Magnesium Chloride and a few other minerals. I purchased the bottle of Nigari, and the Organic Soybeans from Nijiya, and had them sitting around for a few weeks. Finally, one weekend afternoon I decided to finally try and make tofu.

I first placed 2 cups of soybeans in a bowl and completely covered with water. I soaked the bean overnight in the frig.

The next morning I brought a pot of water to a boil, and drained the soybeans. I poured 3/4 f a cups into the blender and covered with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water and blended into a finely. I poured this slurry into a pot, and repeated the process until I had processed all the soy beans.

I brought the pot to a boil, than reduced to a simmer stirring constantly. I let this liquid simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes I strained this liquid through a cheesecloth lined colander.

I drained the cheesecloth and set aside the pulp, also known as Okara, the very nutritious pulp. The Missus enjoyed a simple stir fry of okara and green onions. What remained was the soy milk.

I divided the soy milk into two portions; half for tofu, the other half for the Missus’s drinking pleasure. I poured the tofu potion into a pot, and brought it up to about 160 degrees F, and removed it from the heat. Because I wanted a rather firm tofu I added 4 teaspoons of Nigari while stirring the soy milk. I than stirred the soy milk in a figure 8 pattern briefly, covered the pot and let sit for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes were up, I checked for "curd-age", and ended up adding another 2 teaspoons nigari, and covered the pot for another 5 minutes. Satisfied with the amount of curds, using a soup ladle, I strained the liquid through a cheesecloth lined colander(I don’t have a tofu box).

I folded the cheesecloth over the curds, and placed some weights on the curds, and let the whey drain out for 15 minutes. Because I enjoy my tofu cold, and placed the tofu "dome" in a container of water, and chilled for an hour. After which I enjoyed the fruits of my labor.

I found that I enjoyed the extra "beany" flavor of the home made tofu, while the Missus enjoyed a glass of soy milk on ice. Though I don’t know if I’ll do this again in the future, it was a fun exercise. I’ve gained a measure of appreciation for that humble block of tofu…..

Lamb Burgers with Garlic Sauce

June 3, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Sammy’s obviously telling me something:

I’m guessing he’s letting me know it’s time to start grilling again. To start out I thought I’d try something a bit different, so we came up with Lamb Burgers. Most recipes that I’ve read use a 50-50 mixture of lamb and ground beef, so that’s what I stuck with. First to North Park Produce for some ground lamb, then a quick trip to Iowa Meat Farms for some ground sirloin. Back home we got the charcoal going and made them patties.

Lamb Burgers
1 Lb Ground Lamb
1 Lb Ground Sirloin
1 Large Onion Diced
Salt
Pepper
Granulated Garlic

1 – Mix ingredients – do not over mix.
2 – Form into patties.
3 – Grill away

I wanted something a little different for the "spread" as well. So thought I’d attempt to make a "Lebanese – style", garlic paste/sauce. I just went for a straight forward sauce, and didn’t add any secret ingredients, like bread or potatoes, or what not.

Garlic Sauce
3 Whole Heads Garlic cloves peeled and separated
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 – Combine garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a blender.
2 – Blend until a smooth "paste" is achieved
3 – While blender is running, slowly add olive oil into the blender in a thin stream until the mixture thickens.
4 – Refrigerate. The sauce will last up to a week in the refrigerator, though the "pungency" will weaken over time.

A quick note: I think next time, I’ll use canola oil. I didn’t really care for the taste olive oil gave to the dish. Olive oil also gave the sauce a slightly green tinge. I may add some mashed potato to thicken the sauce out a bit, and maybe cut down on the lemon juice as well. Still the sauce was pretty tasty.

We’ve also been infatuated with these chips:

They are Cassava Chips, and if I’m to believe the label; are lower in Cholesterol and fat than Potato Chips. The chips are slightly sweet, yet still crunchy.

It’s Fry-day – Japanese Style Stuffed Lotus Root & Spicy Garlic Chicken

May 26, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Well TGIF – Thank God it’s Fry-day, literally. The Missus was craving some fried food, and decided on a Japanese style stuffed lotus root dish. Not wanting to waste a rare fried food opportunity, and any oil, I decided to make some Spicy Garlic Chicken, which I haven’t made in over a decade.

Sometimes 4 cups of rice ain’t enough for me!

Japanese Style Stuffed Lotus Root

This recipe is based on the one from a book called Recipes of Japanese Cooking, and just recently translated into English. You may be able to find it in various Japanese Bookstores.

1-1 1/2 Lb Lotus Root
1/2 Lb Shrimp, cleaned,peeled, and deveined.
1-2 Stalks Green Onion Green Parts only sliced thin
2" Piece of Ginger Grated
1 Tsp Sake
1 Tb Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sake
10-12 Shiso Leaves(also known as Perilla, or Beefsteak plant leaves), rinsed clean.
1 Sheet Nori cut into 1/3" strips
1/2 Cup Flour
Salt
Oil for Deep Frying
2-3 Tb White Vinegar in 4 Cups water
Lemon

1 – Peel the lotus root and slice into 1/8" pieces, then slice pieces into "half-moons". Soak Lotus Root in vinegar-water for 5 minutes. This will remove any bitterness from the lotus root.Remove from water, drain, and dry.

2 – Place shrimp, green onion, ginger, sake, katakuriko, and 1/2 tsp salt into the bowl of a food processor and grind until a ball of "paste" is formed.

3 – Slice shiso leaves in half.

4 – Pair the lotus root slices. Place a shiso leaf on on half of the sliced lotus root, add shrimp paste, and place other half of the lotus root on top, creating a "sandwich". Wrap the sandwich with the strip of nori.

5 – Dust the lotus root with Flour, and deep fry in 350 degree oil. When the sandwich floats, and the bubbling lessens, remove from oil and drain.

6 – Slice lemon into wedges and serve with Stuffed Lotus Root.

Spicy Garlic Chicken

I don’t remember when or where I got the original recipe. I’ve made several changes to it over the years.

3-4 Lbs Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into cubes, wedges, strips, or whatever shape you desire.
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
Black Pepper
2 Tb Granulated Garlic
1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
1 Tsp Baking Powder

Sauce:
1/2 Cup Soy sauce
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Mirin
1 Tb Red Pepper Flakes
2 Whole Heads of Garlic Minced
1 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Stalks Green Onion Minced
2 Tb Cilantro Minced

1 – Coat chicken with soy sauce and season with pepper and granulated garlic.

2 – Mix together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Add chicken, mix well, and refrigerate overnight.

3 – Combine together first six sauce ingredients in a small pot, over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is dissolved, and alcohol from mirin is burned off. Remove from heat and add green onion and cilantro. Set aside to cool.

4 – Heat oil to 350 degrees and fry chicken pieces. When the chicken is done, drain quickly, and dip/dredge chicken in the sauce, and remove.

5 – Eat with plenty of rice!

Just another thing to love about ~~Fry~~, ummm Fridays! Have a great weekend!

Okonomiyaki

May 14, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

When I told the Missus we were having Okonomiyaki for Dinner, she asked if we were going to Tajima, a popular Japanese restaurant. When I told Her, that I’d be making it at home, she gave me the strangest look. I’ve tried to make Okonomiyaki before, but they’ve never really turned out real well. They looked fine, but the texture seemed to be a bit off.

But after reading through several of my Japanese cookbooks, I’ve figured out why. I’ve used recipes with simply flour, dashi, and egg; and one with flour, dashi, katakuriko(potato starch), and egg. And they’ve never turned out right. But, I’ve finally found the ingredient that created a texture I enjoyed:

It’s Yamaimo. You’ll find these in most Japanese Markets, usually stored in sawdust to absorb all of the gooey-ness that may drip out of the yam. When grated the meat of the yam creates a gluey-snotty-phlegmy liquid. Those that enjoy Maguro Yamakake will know what I mean.

It’s this gluey and starchy liquid that helped to bind, and changed the texture of the okonomiyaki.

But first the sauce. In most places either a Tonkatsu Sauce style "Okonomi" sauce will be served; sometimes a bit more on the sweeter-tangier side. I just went ahead and made my Tonkatsu Sauce:

Tonkatsu Sauce

1 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Ketchup
1-2 TB Dijon or other French Style Mustard
Dash of 5 Spice
Black Pepper to Taste.

1 – Over medium heat combine first 4 ingredients, stirring to combine. When a simmer is reached, reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by 1/3.

2 – When desired consistency is reached, remove from heat and mix in the last 3 ingredients.

3 – Let sauce cool to room temperature.

While the sauce was cooling, I started on the Okonomiyaki.

Okonomiyaki

Batter:
1 Cup Cake flour, sifted
1 Cup water or Dashi
3 TB grated Yamaimo/Nagaimo(Japanese Mountain Yam)
1 tsp salt

1 – Sift Flour into a bowl.

2 – Add Dashi(water), yamaimo, and salt.

3 – Mix to a pancake batter consistency(do not over-mix). The batter will be sort of a gluey pancake batter

Today’s Fillings:
2 Cups shredded Cabbage
1 Cup Bean Sprouts
1/2 Onion sliced
4 Scallions green parts only – sliced thin
2 TB Benishoga(pickled ginger) minced
8 16-20 Size shrimp peeled and deveined, sliced
Bay Scallops
4 oz Kamaboko(fish cake), cut into strips
2 TB Furikake(Japanese rice topping)
2 Eggs

1 – Divide the batter equally into two bowls.

2 – Crack one egg into each bowl.

3 – Add half of the rest of the ingredients to each bowl, and mix with a spoon.

Cooking the Beast:
2-3 TB Vegetable Oil

1 – Heat a large skillet over medium heat.

2 – Add 2 TB oil to the skillet and swirl skillet to evenly coat the bottom. If there is an excess of oil, pour off to discard.

3 – Reduce the heat to low, and pour the ingredients of one bowl into the skillet. With a spoon or other utensil, spread the batter out, creating (hopefully) a round or oval "pancake". Increase the heat back to a medium level.

4 – When the bottom of the pancake is a golden brown. Turn the pancake over. This is much harder then it sounds. Use two spatulas, or some other (combination of) utensil(s). Remember to enjoy the aroma of the Okonomiyaki as it cooks.

5 – When the other side of the pancake is golden brown, remove to a plate.

Toppings/Garnishes:
Furikake
Benishoga
Tonkatsu Sauce
Katsuobushi (Dried Bonito Flakes)
Mayo

At this point in time, we were hungry, and so we just "went for it", grabbing whatever toppings we wanted(the Missus has an aversion to Mayo on this dish). And you see the result in the first photo. Now you can use squeeze bottles, and pastry brushes, and other "tools" and create a work of art. But heck, "okonomi" , means something along the terms of "as-you-like" or "favorites". Today this is how we wanted it.

A quick note – I know it seems like alot of work, but it’s really not. Not including making the Tonkatsu Sauce, this took only about 40 minutes for prep, mixing, and cooking. It’s also really easy; except for the flipping of the pancake – here’s where a flat griddle would be handy! Hmmm, where’s my wishlist?????

Asian Stewed Lamb Shanks

May 9, 2006 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

So it’s a week night and for some strange reason I’ve got some thawed Lamb Shanks from North Park Produce sitting in the frig. So what to do? Well it’s time to bust out the pressure cooker and throw something together. I decided to make some Asian inspired stewed Lamb Shanks.

Started at 5 pm, dinner on the table at 645pm. I think the pressure cooker done paid for itself.

Asian Style Stewed Lamb Shanks

3 – 1-1 1/2lb Lamb Shanks
8 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
2 Onions skinned and sliced in half
8 Cloves of Garlic smashed
2 – 3" fingers of ginger smashed
5 Stalks of Green Onion – white portion only
1-2 Star Anise

1/3 Cup Cilantro Chopped
Salt & Black Pepper to Taste

1 – Brown lamb shanks in a pan
2 – While shanks are browning, mix together sugar and soy sauce
3 – Place browned lamb shanks in pressure cooker and add all ingredients.
4 – After checking the cooking chart from Lorna Sass’s Pressure Cooker Cookbook Pressure Perfect; I cooked on high pressure for 30 minutes with a 15 minute natural release, followed by a quick release.
5 – Remove shanks to a plate and strain and defat(if desired) "stock". Season the stock with salt and pepper to taste.
6 – You may want to thicken the stock(with a cornstarch slurry), or reduce it. Or do as we did, divide the stock in half. Reduce one half for a sauce. To the other half we added Bean Thread (and would have added tofu, but for some reason I didn’t have any handy), and with some shredded shank meat made Lamb Long Rice. If you love the flavor of lamb, it’s delici-yoso!!!

Notes: I followed the cooking chart in Pressure Perfect, and found that the lamb shanks were almost too soft. I’ll probably cut down the cooking time a bit next time around. To be perfectly honest, we enjoyed the stock even more then the lamb.