Category: Cooking

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!

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.

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!

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?????

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.

I must admit, I’m guilty…..I adore Xiao Long Bao, those wonderful Shanghai style soup dumplings. So here’s an batch of Xiao Long Bao:

Believe it or not, it’s from our kitchen. A few weeks ago, I planted a little seed in the Missus’s mind. One of the sites that I visit quite often is eatingchinese.org, and Gary Soup does an excellent job of finding interesting links and articles on Chinese food. On the site is a link to a Xiao Long Bao Tutorial. I mentioned this to the Missus, who immediately said "uh-uh, no way, don’t know nothin’ about making Xiao Long Bao." But understanding that "dough" and "dumplings" are so basically entrenched in the Missus’s fate, a few weeks later she asked me to print out the Xiao Long Bao recipe….and we were on our way.

So what follows is a very "broad" interpretation of that recipe. There are other recipes out there, but we decided to use the Chinese recipe as a guide. Again, it was just a guide. I’ll be documenting what we did, and what the results were. It was quite "interesting".

There are many variations on the "soup" for soup dumplings. Some use chicken feet, pork "skin", or other items. We chose Pig’s feet. There was also an item in the recipe to "congeal" the soup. The Missus didn’t quite know what it was, but later with some help, we determined it was Agar-agar.

So on Friday we made "aspic".

Pig’s Feet (Hock) Aspic:
2 Pork Hock/Leg(Pig’s Feet)
8 Cups Water
4 Stalks Green Onion(bruised and roots removed)
2 3" Fingers of Ginger Smashed
1/2 Cup Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
White Pepper
Salt
2 Tb Agar Agar

1 – Set a pot of water to boil.
2 – Once boiling, place pig’s feet quickly in the water for 10-15 seconds to allow removal of "scum" on pigs feet.
3 – Rinse and scrub well.
4 – Place in pressure cooker and cover with water. In this case 8 cups.
5 – Add greens onions, ginger, Shaoxing, and white pepper to liquid.
6 – Close pressure cooker and bring to "high heat", once high heat is attained, lower temp to maintain high pressure for 45 minutes.(Approx a two hour simmer on a conventional stove) After 45 minutes let the pressure drop normally for 15 minutes, then quick-release pressure. The meat should just fall away from the bone.

7 – Remove all large remaining portions of pork then strain.

8 – Place broth into a large pot or "wok" and defat. Bring broth to a simmer and add agar-agar. To add agar-agar first get a ladle of broth and add agar powder and start mixing. Slowly lower agar into broth and gently mix until fully incorporated(no "glops" or lumps).
9 – Remove from heat.
10 – Cool, then cover and refrigerate.

Day 2:

So now you’ve woken and are totally "psyched" about making some Xiao Long Bao!

So while the Missus was making the "dough", I made the Ginger-Scallion Water from the recipe.

Ginger Scallion Water:
5 Stalks Green Onion
2 4" pieces of ginger chopped into 1/2" slices
2 Cups Water

1 – Placed ingredients in blender.
2 – Pulse until all ingredients are "chopped"
3 – Strain and place water aside.

The dough? Well, I’m sorry, but the Missus does it all by "feel". What she can tell me is that according to the instructions, she used a combination of high-gluten flour and all-purpose flour, along with cold water. She then kneaded until it formed a "dough" and no longer stuck to your hand. Then allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

While the dough was resting we made the filling:

The Filling:

1 Lb of Ground Pork
3 Tsp Salt
6 Tsp Sugar
4 Tsp Soy Sauce
White Pepper
Ginger Scallion Water
1 Tsp Sesame Oil
Aspic
1 Egg Yolk

1 – Combine Ground Pork, Pepper, Salt and Sugar (twice the amount of sugar then salt), and Soy Sauce.
2 – Stir Pork mixture in one direction while adding Ginger Scallion water until the filling is saturated and achieves a "pasty" texture.

3 – Remove the aspic from the refrigerator and "unmold". Slice the jell into small cubes.

4 – Make sure the cubes are small – we also added egg yolk to bind.

4 – Mix equal amounts of aspic and pork filling together.

I then left it to the Missus to roll out the dough and form the dumplings. And boy did I feel for Her. You see, in order to form the dumplings, the dough had to be "stiff", to the point it was really difficult for Her to roll out.

When we had enough, I started steaming them.

I thought they looked great, and they also stood up to the heat well.

So what did we learn? Well first of all, I never thought I’d ever say this, but there was too much soup, so we need to adjust the ratio. Also, I don’t think we needed as much Agar, there was enough gelatin in the pig’s feet, we would only need about maybe 1/2 tsp. The Missus was disappointed in her inability to get the dough thin enough, and I felt for her; the dough was so "stiff" and hard to roll out. We’ll work out the kinks in the future. She thought the dough was much too thick, so maybe this is where we get a pasta maker……

I still managed to eat 2 dozen. The filling was tasty. And we had alot of fun making this.

Yes, I’m finally cooking again. I know that one of my "Food Resolutions" was to cook alot more. So I guess I’ve got alot of territory to make up. This past weekend, the Missus decided that she wanted some Sukiyaki, so I broke out my Mother’s recipe. Well it’s sort of my Mom’s recipe. I’ve made a few changes over the years, but overall it’s still Her basic recipe. Some of the items we’ve changed in the recipe are watercress to replace shingiku, and the addition of enoki mushrooms.

Sukiyaki is the ubiquitous Japanese dish, and ingredients and recipes vary. From very simple soy sauce and sugar concoctions, to more complicated versions. I’ve been told several times that the "meat" makes the Sukiyaki, but coming from humble beginnings, I believe that the Warishita (sukiyaki sauce) makes the dish. Luckily, I’m able to get my hands on prime sukiyaki cut rib eye, so I’ll have all bases covered.

Warishita (Sukiyaki Sauce):

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Mirin
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Sake
1/4 tsp Dashi No Moto(optional)
1 clove garlic smashed (optional)

Combine Warishita ingredients(except for dashi no moto) and bring to a boil while stirring, turn down heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes to burn off alcohol. Remove from heat and add dashi no moto, if desired. Remove from heat and cool. Let the sauce "rest" at least 20 minutes, or over night. I usually make a double recipe of Warishita for each "batch" of Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki:

1 lb Thin cut rib eye or sirloin
2 Medium Round Onions sliced
2 Packages Shirataki(Yam Noodles), open packages and place in a colander. Pour boiling water over Shirataki to remove the "smell".
1 Block Tofu drained well, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Can Bamboo Shoots – If the smell bothers you, pour boiling water over Bamboo Shoots, drain, then cut into slices lengthwise.
6-8 Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
1 Bunch Enoki Mushrooms (optional)
2 Bunches Watercress, or 1 bunch Shingiku (Edible Garland Chrysanthemum)
1 Bunch Green Onions(green parts only), cut into 1 inch lengths
4-6 Eggs

1. Lightly oil the bottom of a Tetsunabe (Iron Pot),do not use a donabe(earthenware pot). You can also use a large heavy bottom skillet. Place on a tabletop stove.

2. Arrange items in a single layer on the bottom of the skillet.

3. Heat skillet over medium heat. Pour half of the Warishita over ingredients covering the meat.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes.

5. Add ingredients and sauce as they are depleted.

6. If you desire, pick out ingredients and dip them in lightly beaten egg right before eating.

You can turn a Sukiyaki dinner into a real social event, with  designated rotating "Sukiyaki Chefs". I’ve yet to find decent Sukiyaki served at a restaurant for under $25/person. Most restaurants have use a watered down sauce, with low grade meat, and cheap ingredients like napa cabbage.

Sorry no photo of the finished product – we were to busy eating.

Just to finish up. Here’s an interesting little book/pamphlet my Mother owned.

The Author is someone named "Fumiko" and this 70 page book cost exactly $1.00! Even though our Sukiyaki recipe is not from this book, I found this to be most "interesting":

Yes, it says Hawaii, the 49th state! Guess they got a little ahead of themselves!