Monday, March 4, 2024
Instant Pot BBQ Baby Back Ribs バーベキューベイビーバックリブ
The recipe is an amalgamation from several sources.
Ingredients
1 rack of baby back pork ribs membrane removed
Rub:
2 tbs brown sugar (I should omit this next time)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Rib Pot:
1 cup Water
1/2 cup rice vinegar vinegar (the usual is to use apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
Directions:
Combine the Rub ingredients in a small dish. Rub on the front and back of the ribs.
Pour Rib Pot ingredients in the bottom of the Instant pot and then place the trivet in the pot.
Place the ribs inside the pot, standing on their side, wrapping around the inside of the pot.
Choose “Stewed meat” which will set the Instant pot to high pressure and 25 minutes. I turned off “Keep warm”. Release the pressure 10 minutes after the cooking is completed (or let it depressurize naturally)
Remove the ribs from the pressure cooker and set on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush with BBQ sauce (picture #2) and set under the broiler until sauce begins to caramelize, about 5 minutes (picture #3).
BBQ Sauce:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (319.5 grams) packed 1 1/2 cups ketchup (352.5 grams)
1/2 cup apple rice vinegar (119.29 ml)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder 1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The length of the cooking in the Instant pot determine how tender the meat will be. We cooked it for 25 minutes which appears to be just right. It is tender and bone comes out easily but not too mushy. Next time, I will omit the brow sugar form the dry rub and reduce the brown sugar from the BBQ sauce.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Mushrooms Udon Bowl きのこ沢山のかけうどん
Underneath the toppings are the Sanuki-udon.
Ingredients: (2 small or half servings)
Mixed fresh mushrooms (I used shiitake sliced, mitake torn into small pices, and shimeji separated)
One package of frozen Sanuki udon, thawed and cooked in boiling water for 3-4 minutes
2 slices of simmered pork
Edible chrysanthemum, blanched
One soft boiled (pasteurized) duck egg, halved
Blanched sugar snaps
Dashi broth
X4 concentrated Japanese noodle sauce
Directions:
Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil for a few minutes, add the broth (enough for two bowls) and simmer for a few minutes, add the noodle sauce to taste, place the pork, egg, chrysanthemum, and sugar snaps on the top to warm them up for few minutes
Divide the udon into two bowls, arrange the toppings and pour in the seasoned broth.
Add 7 flavored pepper flakes or “shichi-mi tougarashi 七味唐辛子 (optional)
The udon was really chewy. We like it but it requires a bit of effort (chewing). This type of udon may be perfect for “Nabeyaki udon” 鍋焼きうどん.
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Cucumber and Wood Ear in Mustard Sauce キュウリとキクラゲの辛子和え
Ingredients:
One American mini-cucumber, ends trimmed, cut into half length-wise, then sliced on bias
Wood ear mushroom (fresh or hydrate dry), cut into julienne (amount arbitrary)
Slices of roasted pork (or ham) cut into julienne (amount arbitrary)
For dressing:
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
2 tsp sweet vinegar (I used homemade which I keep in a bottle; the ratio of vinegar to sugar is 2:1 with a dash of salt)
1 tsp ponzu-shouyu
Japanese mustard (prepared from the tube) (amount to taste or for your liking)
Directions:
Knead the cucumber slices with small amount of salt, let them stand for 5 minutes and squeeze out excess moisture
Dress all the ingredients with the dressing. You could add more mustard. Adjust the taste to your liking
Refrigerate before serving.
This is a good small dish as an “otoshi” おとうし drinking snack. The wood ear adds nice crunch, the pork adds great flavor and the cucumber is refreshing. Spicy Japanese mustard also makes this dish. Best with cold sake but even goes with red wine.
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Cold Thin Udon Noodle with Home-made Ponzu 自家製ポン酢、冷やし糸うどん
Since I made two kinds of pork a few days ago; Simmered pork and Barbecued pork, I cut some julienne pieces off of both kinds. We have a profusion of perilla in our herb garden and I added a chiffonade of perilla. My wife just harvested myouga 茗荷 and I made myouga picked in sweet vinegar. I included both fresh and pickled myouga as a topping (in the center). Other toppings included “Gari” ガリ pickled shouga ginger, cucumber and golden thread omelet or “Kinshi-ran” 金糸卵. For the sauce, I used my home-made ponzu-shouyu mixed with dark sesame oil (just a few splashes). I also added Japanese hot mustard and yuzu kosho shown on the rim of the plate (upper right).
Our myouga patch was doing well in terms of the foliage but the underground buds were slow to mature this year. But finally we had a good harvest. Myouga is such a unique herb/vegetable. We like to enjoy fresh as a topping or type of salad but pickled in sweet vinegar is also a very good way to prepare the myouga. At least for one or two weeks, the color of myouga becomes very red and sweet vinegar adds to the flavor. Then eventually the color fades to white.
I did not post about the home-made ponzu. This is just for my convenience. Since it is difficult to get fresh yuzu, I used bottled yuzu juice plus lime juice.
Ingredients:
100 ml yuzu juice (Either freshly squeezed or bottled) plus freshly squeezed lime of lemon juice to make 100ml
150 ml soy sauce
I small square of “konbu” kelp
I small package of bonito flakes
Directions:
Just mix the yuzu juice and soy sauce. In a clean sealable container (I used a clean and empty rakyo pickles plastic container) and added the kelp and bonito flakes.
Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks (I kept it for 2 weeks)
Strain the kelp and bonito flakes and transfer the ponzu in clear sealable container and keep it in the refrigerator.
I think my home-made ponzu is slightly better but not much better than the commercial one since I could not use freshly squeezed Japanese citrus such as yuzu. This was a cool refreshing dish for a hot day.
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Simmered Pork and Nappa Cabbage 豚肉と白菜の煮物
This is based on a recipe I saw on-line but because of the ingredients I had (or didn’t have), I had to make some modifications.
Ingredients:
4 leaves of nappa cabbage, bottom trimmed, cut in half lengthwise. I cut the bottom half thick portion on a slant (45 degree against the cutting board surface) 1 inch long (called “sogi-giri” 削ぎ切). This makes a slightly thin segment). The leafy tops were cut into 1 inch long pieces.
120 grams of thinly sliced pork (the amount is arbitrary. More the better?)
1 package (150 grams) of brown shimeji mushroom, bottoms removed and separated
400ml Japanese dashi broth
1 tbs each of sake and soy sauce (to marinade the pork)
Seasoning
2 tbs sake
2 tbs x4 Japanese noodle sauce (or 1 tbs each of mirin and soy sauce)
1/2 tsp ginger juice (from grated ginger root)
Direction:
Marinate the pork in the mixture of sake and soy sauce for 5-10 minutes.
Put the dashi broth in a pan on medium heat. When it boils add the marinated pork. When the meat changes color, add the nappa cabbage and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes and add the seasoning. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the hard part of the nappa cabbage is cooked through.
Serve warm with topping of blanched green beans or sugar snap or chopped scallion (optional).
Although this dish uses the combination of seasoning similar to “niku-jaga”, this dish came out much more mildly flavored and gentle. This is a good dish for drinking snack or the accompaniment for rice.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Keema curry Japanese Version キーマカレー
*Reportedly it contains Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Star Anise, Cloves, Cardamon, Fennel, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves, Allspice and Garlic.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded deveined and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground garlic
I package brown shimeji mushroom, bottom cut off and separated (optional, I just had a package and wanted to use it up)
2 tsp or more curry powder (I used Japanese S&B brand)
1 tsp Garam Masala
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs tonkatsu sauce
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth (or more if too thick)
2 tbs olive or vegetable oil
In a pot on medium flame, add the oil. When hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, Jalapeño pepper, garlic and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, add the curry powder, salt and pepper and stir for several more minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan, add the ketchup in the exposed bottom of the pan and sauté until color changes to dark red/brown (Maillard reaction).
Add the pork and stir and cook until the pork separated and color turns. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Add the gram masala, butter and tonkatsu sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes. If needed add more curry powder (or cayenne pepper powder).
This was a very nice refreshing change from Indian inspired curries we have been making recently. It is nicely spicy in a mild almost sweet manner. Served over rice with the accompaniment of Japanese pickles used for curries this was a very Japanese interpretation of the spicy dish known as curry.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Mapo (mabo) Tofu 麻婆豆腐
*Digression alert: Sansho 山椒 or Japanese pepper is from a shrub closely related to but different from the Sichuan pepper plant. Japanese use the young leaves from this plant as a garnish/herb called “kinome” 木の芽 which has a very nice almost citrusy smell. The unripe fruit is used in many Japanese simmered dishes but does not have the tongue “numbing” characteristic of the mature plant. The mature and dried fruit from the Japanese pepper plant is ground into a powder called “Kona-sansho” 粉山椒 which is available in a small jar in Japanese/Asian grocery stores. It is regularly used on grilled eel dishes with sauce or “unagi-no-kabayaki” うなぎの蒲焼. It is not spicy hot and imparts a very unique flavor but, in large quantities, sansho powder does have a “numbing” effect similar to its Chinese counter part.
Ingredients:
One tofu block (I used medium firm), cut into small cubes, blanched for a few minutes and drained
2 tbs peanut oil
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced shallot
1 tsp touban-jan
1 tbs miso mixed with 1 tbs mirin (in lieu of tenmen-jan 甜面醤, Chinese sweet soybean paste)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/3 tsp dark sesame oil
2 stalks of scallion, chopped
150 grams ground pork (I used hand chopped trimming of pork)
Japanese sansho powder, to taste
1/2 tsp potato starch mixed with 1 tsp water or sake (potato starch slurry)
Directions:
Place the wok on high flame and add the oil. When hot, add the ginger and shallot. Stir for 30 seconds, add the garlic stir for another 30 seconds. Add the touban-jan and stir for another 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add the pork and cook for one minute or until done.
Add the drained tofu and gently toss
Add the chicken broth, miso mixture. Add more chicken broth if needed.
When the mixture starts boiling add the scallion and sesame oil. Stir for 30 seconds
Mix in the starch slurry and cook until bubbly
Sprinkle the sansho powder and serve
This was just right for us. I added a bit more touban-jan to my serving. The power of Japanese pepper added its unique flavor without numbing the tongue. A few days later, we had the leftover mapo tofu as a rice bowl or donburi. Since I had a pasteurized egg, I made a slightly undercooked scrambled egg as a topping. I also added blanched sugar snaps.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Pork Curry Quesadilla ポークカレー ケサディア
Traditional quesadilla is made from one corn tortilla which is folded in half. We like to use two wheat tortillas which is more convenient for us.
I did not have fresh cilantro but made something resembling guacamole. I also served sesame (udon) noodle salad and celery salad with mushrooms, white beans and feta salad.
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Crispy Roasted Porcelet Belly パリパリ皮のロースト(子)豚バラ
Here is the appearance of the pork belly after it was finished. The skin is golden brown and has multiple bubbles and extremely crispy.
Ingredients (This made three large portions providing servings for both of us for several meals over several days):
2lb skin on pork belly (in our case, porcelet belly)
Salt (for salting the skin)
Vegetable oil (to add to the rendered pork fat to make it 1 cup of fat)
For dry rub
Brown sugar and salt (1:1) ratio, we used regular sugar with one tsp dark molasses and kosher salt (#2)
Chinese 5 spice powder, optional, but makes it closer to the authentic flavors).
We found this rub a bit too salty so we will change the ration when we make it again.
Sauces (the amounts are from the original recipe, I made a much smaller amount keeping the ratios of the ingredients the same)
For the Chinese sauce
1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
4 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbs scallion, chopped
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark buckwheat honey)
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce (as much as you like, I used 1tsp Sriracha)
Directions:
Cut the pork belly into three equal portions (#1)
Cut the skin and underlying fat (but not the meat) every 1/2 inch interval (#1)
Put the dry rub (#2) on the meat side including the ends and sides but not on the skin (the sugar will make the skin burn while baking)
Salt the skin surface (about 1/2 tbs for each piece) (#3)
Refrigerate without covering for 12-24 hours (To dry the skin surface) in a glass baking pan (liquid will come out while in the refrigerator)
Some juice accumulated in the bottom of the baking dish and the skin surface looks dry without residual salt visible
Place the pork in a baking pan with the metal rack
Bake at 250F for 2 and half to 3 hours (to the internal temperature of 195F, in my case the temp went over 200F) (#4)
Set the pork aside and pour out the rendered fat to the 1 cup measuring cup. Add more vegetable oil to make it 1 cup.
Pour the fat into a 12 inch frying pan and place the pork skin side down in the cold oil and then turn on the heat to medium (#5)
Fry for 5-8 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and develops multiple bubbles and crispy (#6)
Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing using the slits on the skin as a guide.
Addendum:
For us, knowing how best to reheat the left-overs is often important (since this is something we often do.) Particularly for this dish when re-heating, we would like to have the skin crispy and the underlying meat juicy. So, I sliced two each for a small appetizer one evening. I wrapped the slices together, standing up and wrapped all sides and bottom with aluminum foil but exposed the top (skin). I placed this package skin side up in the toaster oven and toasted at 7 (darkest setting for toasting bread). This heating method worked very well. The skin was crispy and the meat/fat underneath is soft and juicy and nicely warmed up. The picture below shows how I served it with the two sauces; The dark one on the left is the hoisin-based and the one on the right is mustard and vinegar. We both agree that the hoisin-based sauce is much better. The next batch I may add Chinese 5 spice powder in the rub.
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Tomato and Egg Stir-fry on Rice トマトと卵炒め丼
This is a variation of tomato and egg stirfly I posted previously. I learned that this is based on a Chinese dish called “番茄炒蛋” and there appears to be many variations. The main difference between this version and the recipe I posted previously, is the addition of caramelized catsup which adds a slightly sweet dimension. I made this one day for a lunch from my memory since we had skinned Campari tomatoes which needed to be used fairly soon. I made it as a type of “donburi”. Since I just made “simmered” pork or “nibuta” 煮豚 using InstantPot, I included a slice and also broccoli rabe (rapini) which I blanched earlier.
I may have overcooked the tomato a bit, but it was juicy and flavorful and very nice over the rice.
Ingredients:
4 skinned Campari tomatoes, cut into quarter pieces
2 eggs
Vegetable oil and dark sesame oil for stir frying
Salt and peper to tast
1tbs Ketchup
A dash or more of Sriracha sauce (to taste, optional)
Directions:
Add the tomatoes, ketchup and Suriracha into a small bowl and coat the tomato pieces.
Add the vegetable oil and a splash of sesame oil into a frying pan on midum high flame. Quickly stir fry and season with salt and pepper.
Add beaten eggs and let it sit until the bottom is set.
Gradually mix until the eggs are cooked (for 1-2 minutes).
Heat up the slices of simmered pork and chopped up blanched rapini in a separate frying pan with a small amount of oil. Season the rapini with salt and pepper (optional).
Pour over the bowl of rice and place the pork and rapini on top.
In general, we like “donburi” dishes. This one is no exception. The caramelized Catsup adds a nice complex slightly sweet dimension. Also the slow heat from the Sriracha is nice and enough juice came out of the tomatoes to make a nice sauce for the rice.
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Black bean pumpkin gyoza 黒豆かぼちゃ餃子
My wife wanted a seasonal quesadilla which is composed of pumpkin puree, black beans, cheese, and roasted pork. After enjoying the quesadilla as a lunch, a good amount of the filling remained. My wife suggested we use it to make gyoza. It sounded a bit like an odd combination for gyoza but I have seen a recipe for gyoza stuffed with potato salad so I complied. I added more finely chopped BBQed pork . Since we ended up with quite a good number of gyoza, we realized we couldn’t possibly eat them all before they went bad so we decided to freeze some. Then the next question was how? In the past I made up some gyoza and without any additional preparation froze them. The shells became brittle and shattered apart. So we decided some degree of preparation was required to keep that from happening again. So I boiled them first and froze a number of them that way. Then we realized that we would have to fry them before serving. So we got the (brilliant) idea that if we boiled, fried and then froze them, all we would have to do is toaster-oven them (the verb form of noun toaster oven) without thawing and then serve. In any case, the pre-boiled gyoza were fried in a small amount of peanut and sesame oil to produce nice brown crispy shells, frozen than toasted in the toaster-oven as shown below. (Easy-peasy).
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Spare ribs cooked in Instant pot with home-made BBQ sauce バーベキューソース豚スペアリブ
This was the second version of pork spare ribs we made using Instant Pot. I asked my wife to come up with the BBQ sauce. We looked at a few Instant Pot rib recipes. Most of them start with dry rubs and add apple juice/vinegar in the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the ribs on the trivet and pressure cook. After that, smear the BBQ sauce and grill it for a few minutes. My wife said, she does not like charred and blackened BBQ sauce on the surface. She remembered a BBQ sauce based on a recipe from Joy of Cooking that she used to make years ago. So we looked up the recipe and made her version based on the notes she wrote many years ago on a post-it note she stuck in the book next to the recipe. This was more traditional flavors but it is also very good. The meat came off the bone very easily.
Ingredients:
One medium onion, coarsely chopped
Directions:
For Sauce:
Sauté and caramelize the onion in olive oil. Add the ketchup and cook until it caramelizes and darkens (Maillard reaction). Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes.
For cooking ribs in the Instant Pot.
Ingredients:
4-5 pork spare ribs
onion and garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
the BBQ sauce made above
Water
Directions:
Rub the ribs with onion and garlic powders, salt and black pepper
Using the sauté function, heat the Instant Pot and when the oil is simmering, add ribs and brown all four sides, add the BBQ sauce and water so that the ribs are just submerged.
Choose manual, pressure cook to high-pressure and 35 minutes
Let it naturally de-pressurize and remove the lid
Using the sauté function, reduce the sauce for 15-20 minutes or until thick.
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Spareribs cooked in Instant pot, Chinese style 中華風豚のスペアリブ
At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, many workers at the major meat packing plants came down sick and some of the plants had to shut down leading to concerns about an impending meat shortage. So, we stocked up on meat, buying and freezing, some cuts we usually don’t get but were available at the time. My wife (a.k.a. Freezer inventory control officer for the household) informed me that we have frozen pork spareribs from that period dated April 2020 which were not getting any younger. With no impending meat shortages in sight, it was with some relief that at least that part of the epidemic was over, we decided it was time to reduce our “Covid stockpile”. The ribs turned out to be quite meaty. Some pieces contained 2 ribs (country style?). In any case, we decided to cook these in the Instant Pot rather than in the oven. The way the ribs were cut, made it possible for me to easily divide the ribs into shorter pieces. We decided to make two different kinds of spareribs: one with BBQ sauce and the other in Chinese style. This worked well due to the capacity of the Instant Pot. The latter recipe based on what we saw on YouTube, but I had to modify it, as usual, due to the lack of some ingredients. In any case, the picture below shows the final product. It was definitely “off-the-bone” tender and had a sweet and sour taste which was quite good.
5 3-inch pork spareribs (#1), seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil for sautéing and searing the meat
(Herbs and aromatics, #2 below)
3 shallots finely minced
4 garlic gloves finely minced
1/2-inch ginger finely minced
one cinnamon stick
2 star anis
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
(Seasoning liquid #3 below)
4 tbs soy sauce
2tbs brown sugar (I used mixture of dark molasses and sugar)
2tbs oyster sauce
2tbs red miso (instead of hoisin sauce* since I did not have one)
1 cup sake
2 tbs rice vinegar
*I usually have hoisin sauce, but I do not use it often. I must have thrown out the opened one which I kept in the fridge some time ago. Red miso appears to work in the recipe.
Directions:
Using the “sauté” function of the Instant Pot and a small amount of oil (wait until the oil gets hot), I browned the ribs (#1) in all 4 sides (despite our belief that browning of the meat in a stew is not needed).
Take out the meat and add a bit more vegetable oil and bloom the spices (#2) add the aromatic vegetables (#2) and sauté for several minutes.
Add back the ribs and add the liquid seasonings (#3)
Add 1/2 cup water and pressure cook at high-pressure for 35 minutes with natural de-pressurizing.
Remove the lid after de-pressurized and turn on “sauté” function and let it reduce for 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
We tasted a finished rib. (The result after the tasting shown in #4. As you can see it was so good not much was left for the picture after our “tasting”.) The meat easily came off the bone.
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Pork belly and diakon simmered in miso 大根と豚バラ肉のみそ煮
We have been getting gourmet meat such as duck and lamb from D’Artagnan. This time, we got an email promotion from them for pork belly from young pig called “porcelet”. Since we have not had pork belly (from adult pig or otherwise) for sometime (we usually get it from Whole Foods), we decided to give it a try. It arrived hard chilled with skin on. It was also much larger than we expected. Although the ad said it was 6 lbs. it was essentially half of the entire belly and we realized that in its present shape it probably would not fit in our freezer so I immediately divided it into three portions. I vacuum packed and froze two and thawed one. I made several dishes from the one piece I thawed. One dish is shown below. I thinly sliced a small portion while it was semi frozen. This preparation is called “buta-bara komagire” 豚バラ細切れ and is usually used to “season” other ingredients, mostly vegetables, rather than served as a “meat dish”. I used it to make a Japanese style miso simmered dish with root vegetables. The original recipe came from erecipe, a Japanese recipe site. One evening I served this dish (left) with dashi-maki omelet, rapini buds (substitute for “nanohana” 菜の花 dressed in mustard-soy sauce or “karashi-jouuyu” 辛子醤油 and skinned Campari tomato.
150 gram (1/3 lb) Pork belly, thinly sliced
1 carrot, medium, peeled and cut into bite size (“rangiri” 乱切り).\
Lotus root (renkon), I used frozen already cut ino slices, I used 4 which was cut into half circle.
1/3 Gobo burdock root, skin scraped off and cut into bite size (“rangiri”), soak it in vinegared or acidulated water until use (this is my addition since I had some left over gobo)
1 small piece of ginger root, skin scraped off and cit into julienne.
Simmering liquid
150 ml Japanese both
3 tbs sake
1 tbs mirin
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs miso
1 tsp soy sauce (this is added at the end of cooking)
Directions:
Sunday, December 26, 2021
“Shoga-yaki” ginger pork bowl “tei-shoku” lunch 豚の生姜焼き丼定食
A few weeks ago, my wife suggested that it has been quite a while since we had sukiyaki すき焼き and it would be nice to have some. I agreed, but when I went to the Japanese grocery store, I forgot to get the frozen "Sukiyaki meat" すき焼肉. So, the next time I went I was proud of myself for not forgetting the meat. But apparently I picked up the wrong thing. My first clue was when my wife said, “I didn’t know sukiyaki is made with pork, I thought it was beef.” Instead of sukiyaki beef, in my haste I had picked up thinly sliced pork for "shouga-yaki" 生姜焼き. Since this package was next to the "shabu-shabu" シャブシャブ beef, I assumed it was also beef but for sukiyaki. In my enthusiasm I bought not one but two packages of the stuff. All was not lost, however, as I may have mentioned before, in Hokkaido 北海道, where I am originally from, many families use pork instead of beef for sukiyaki as was the case in my family. So, we went ahead and used one of the packs of pork to make sukiyaki. It was not good. The pork was too lean and too thickly cut. It got hard when cooked as sukiyaki. (So note to self: next time when at the Japanese grocery store get appropriate sukiyaki beef). Meanwhile, since I had bought two packages of this pork, I had one package left and it was clear that it would not be used for sukiyaki. So, one weekend I decided to use the pork as originally intended and made “shoga-yaki” ginger pork. Pork shoga-yaki 豚の生姜焼き is a very popular dish in Japan. When I was a college student, coffee shops near the university served lunch in addition to tea and coffee. In addition to “Western-style” lunches such as sandwiches or spaghetti, most of the coffee shops also served Japanese-style bento 弁当 or teishoku 定食* and shoga-yaki was among the popular ones. I am sure this has not been changed even now.
*Digression alert: I am sure it is no need to explain “bento” but here it goes anyway. When “bento” is served in restaurant/coffee shop, it is usually a lidded rectangular box which contains the entire meal but unlike pre-packaged bento, the rice and dishes are warm or just made. "Teishuku" (please follow the link for illustrated guide) is the Japanese concept of a "complete" meal or "meal set" which includes a bowl of rice, soup, tsukemono 漬け物 (pickled or more likely salted vegetables), main dish (protein) and small "kobachi" 小鉢 side dish or bowl. In many "Taishu-shokudo" 大衆食堂 or "public" eateries which serve those who want drinks with food and those who want a complete meal, many different teishoku are available (the main protein dish varies and can be grilled fish, sashimi, or meat etc) but the remaining items, or “sides” such as soup, tuskemono, are usually the same for each available teishoku. The main and side dishes can be had as a single dish without other items (this is great especially if you are just drinking). It could also be "teishoku" for the price of a few more yen.
So, this is my rendition of "shoga-yaki" donburi teishoku 生姜焼き丼定食. In this case, the main protein and rice were combined as a donburi.
How to make pork shouga-yaki ginger pork (Although I posted "shouga-yaki" over 11 years ago, this time, I am using a more appropriate, albeit not perfect, cut of meat). I am sure that there are so many variations and preferences and, of course, you could use other meat such as beef but this is what I made.
The essence of this dish is thinly sliced meat sautéed and seasoned sweet soy sauce flavored with ginger. Using lean meat can make tough shouga-yaki and using fatty cuts such as thinly sliced pork belly will prevent that but the traditional cut to be used is "pork roast" meat 豚のロース cut thinly (thin enough but not paper thin).
Ingredients:
Thinly sliced pork, 4-5 slices for one meal size serving (in Japan, specially packaged "shouga-yaki" pork is available widely. The one I got here is a bit too lean, the perfect cut has more fat. I used the entire package which is about 20 slices).
For marinade:
Mirin, soy sauce, and sake (1:1:1) ratio, enough to marinate the meat plus more to add while cooking.
Grated ginger (amount arbitrary, totally depends on your taste, I used whole grated ginger but you can use just the juice from grated ginger).
Dash of dark sesame oil
(optionally, grated onion).
Directions:
Marinate the meat. The amount of the marinade is enough to cover all meat slices and a bit more (additional 1/4 cup). I marinaded for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
I drained the marinade (the excess marinade reserved) and spread the meat slices on a paper towel to remove excess marinade.
In the non-stick frying pan, add 2 tsp neutral oil on medium flame.
Set aside the cooked meat slices.
When all the slices are cooked, add the marinade to the pan (if not enough add more sake, mirin and soy sauce).
Add back the cooked meat with the accumulated juice and the onion .
Quickly cook and coat each slice with the marinade. Take it out and set aside.
Since I was planning to make a doumburi, I added a small amount of water at the end and heated the marinade to make sauce.
Assembly:
Top the rice with the shouga-yaki pork slices (I used 3 slices per bowl).
Pour in the sauce from the frying pan (just slightly moisten and season the rice).
Add any other garnish or topping (such as ginger julienne in vinegar or "benishouga" 紅生姜). I added seasoned shiitake mushrooms and blanched broccoli.
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Pork with chickpeas and potato curry 豚肉、ジャガイモと雛豆のカレー
1 1/2 inch cube of ginger sliced
3 Tbs. chicken stock
1/4 tsp. cardamom
4 bay leaves
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 medium onions peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tsp. ground turmeric
3 medium tomatoes peeled
1 Tbs. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste
Directions:
Put the ginger, garlic, and chicken stock in a food processor with a blade. Pulse until it forms a paste.
Put several Tbs. oil in a frying pan. Add the cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon. Heat until the spices bloom and become fragrant. Add the onions and stir until they are partially caramelized. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir until the garlic smells fragrant and the mixture has been incorporated with the onions. add the cumin, coriander, and turmeric stirring until they become fragrant. Add the potato and tomato. Mash the tomato. Cook gently until the potatoes become soft. Add the chickpeas, beans and the stewed pork with the liquid in which the pork was cooked. Cook for 20 minutes until all the flavors meld. If the curry looks too soupy reduce it on low heat until the desired consistency is reached.
Although this a variation of a previous curry recipe the slight variations makes it different somehow. The chickpeas add a slightly firm texture while the black beans add a creaminess. The potatoes absorb the curry flavor and add yet another texture. This makes a very satisfying dinner or even lunch.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Japanese egg plant stir fry with cumin 茄子のクミン炒め
As I mentioned previously Tako Grill started a mini-Japanese grocery store in addition to take-out. Occasionally I get some Japanese groceries when I stop by for take out. This time I got Asian (Japanese) eggplant (slender long eggplant with light purple color). I decided to make something a bit different and came across this recipe in e-recipe. It is interesting since it uses bacon and cumin seeds not ususal Japanese seasoning.
The recipe also said this will go with wine; a major encouragement so I decided to make it. Initially when I tasted it I did not taste much cumin but later it became more pronounced and I am glad I did not add the additional ground cumin I contemplated.
Ingredients:
One Asian (Japanese) egg plant, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into 1/4 inch thick half-moon slices.
2 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Add the olive oil in a frying pan on medium flame
Add the cumin seeds and fry until fragrant and starts making popping noises. But be careful not to burn it.
Add the eggplant and the bacon
Keep stirring until the bacon gets crispy and the eggplant gets soft and cooked.
Season with salt and pepper.
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
"Hamnase" with asparagus アスパラのハムネーズかけ
Among these six, the asparagus dish is sort of new. I used prosciutto which may have worked better than ham because of the saltiness. I added chopped parsley which was not part of the original Iron Chef recipe and it added a fresh taste. This prosciuttonaise was very nice and certainly made this a good dish.
Ingredients:
For prosciuttonaise dressing.
2 slices of ham or prosciutto, cut into small pieces
2 tbs mayonnaise
2 tsp white (sweet) miso
2 skinned campari tomato, seeds removed and cut into small squares
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley (my addition)
For asparagus.
10 fresh green asparagus, bottom woody part removed and bottom 1/3 peeled
1 tsp butter
2 tbs salted water
Directions:
Mix the ham and parsley together.
Cook the asparagus (like cooking "gyoza" as the Iron chef said) by first sautéing in melted butter. Then adding salted water just covering the bottom of the frying pan. Place on the lid and steam for 1 minute or until the asparagus are cooked but still crunchy.
Cut the asparagus into the desired length and top it with "prosciuttonaise".
For the next dish I could have used peanut butter instead of "nerigoma" ねりごま sesame paste. Using either one, the resulting dressing has a very similar taste. But in this dish, I used sesame paste and also freshly roasted (in a dry frying pan) sesame which I ground using a Japanese "suribachi" mortar. This gave a very fresh and strong sesame flavor.
Finally, chicken kara-age 鳥の唐揚げ. This time I made this dish by deep frying (double frying). I just heated the previously cooked kara-age in the toaster oven but the crispy outside came back and it was almost as good as when it was just made.
Saturday, October 2, 2021
Potato and pork curry 馬鈴薯と豚肉のカレー
This is one of my wife’s curry projects. Since we are now buying bone-in big pieces of pork (either butt or shoulder) which I divide up into one large roast (for cooking in Weber grill), one small roast (to make pot-roasted pork or “nibuta”). I cut up the remaining odd pieces and cook them in a chicken broth and then task my wife to come up with some kind of curry/stew. This is her variation (instead of lamb, she used pork) on a recipe in a cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey called “Indian Cooking”. I forgot to take a serving picture of this curry before we finished it. I love having these curries over rice especially for lunch. She makes it “spicy” as in many spices but not spicy hot.
Ingredients:
2 to 3 onions peeled and chopped
1 to 2 jalapeño chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tbs. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. Ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Salt
2 to 3 peeled fresh tomatoes (or to taste)
5 to 6 small round red potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized cubes.
Several cups of pork trimmings previously cooked with the liquid they were cooked in.
Directions:
Sauté the onions until they are wilted and partially caramelized. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook them until they become fragrant. Add the spices (the picture below) and bloom them until they become fragrant. Add the tomatoes, potatoes and the pork along with the liquid from cooking the pork. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are done.
This was a very satisfying curry. The potatoes absorbed the flavor of the spices and made a good addition. The pork was tender and tasted wonderful in the combination of spices. This dish had a lot of flavor which unfolded in various levels but was not too hot.