Japan Food Addict

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2010-02-20T13:20:00.001-08:00

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-Mai (●^ー^●)

Sweet and Sour Pork (Subuta)

2010-02-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

Subuta is a popular pork recipe from China. In North America it is very common and called "Sweet and Sour Pork".

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb pork loin block (chopped into bite sizes)
1/4 lb carrot (cut one bite size)
1/2 onion (1" slices)
2 green pepper (cut into 2" cube)
3 shiitake (thick slice)
1/4 lb boiled bamboo (cut into bite sizes)

Spices

1/2 tbsp soy sauce (for mixing with pork)
1/2 tbsp sake (for mixing with pork)
1 tsp vegetable oil (for mixing with pork)
3 tbs katakuriko (for mixing with pork)
1/4 cup vinegar (for sauce)
1/4 cup soy sauce (for sauce)
3 tbsp sugar (for sauce)
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp katakuriko (for sauce, mixed with 1 tbsp water)
Some oil for fry and stir

Preparation

Mix pork with soy sauce, sake and vegetable oil, then marinate for 15 minutes
Boil carrot for 4 minutes and strain
Mix spices for sauce (vinegar, soy sauce, chicken bouillon, sugar and 1/2 cup water) in a bowl.
Sprinkle 3 tbsp katakuriko on pork
Heat 1" oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry pork about 4 minutes (until cooked), remove the pork from the pan then wipe excess oil with a paper towel
Heat oil in a frying pan and stir onion for 3 minutes then add green pepper, shiitake, carrot and bamboo and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat
Add pork and mixed sauce cook for 2 minutes
Add katakuriko (with water) and stir until sauce thickens
Serve and enjoy!

Tanuki Udon

2010-02-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Tanuki Udon is a Kyoto’s original Udon soup. This particular Udon is thick and contains ground ginger for a special taste. Most Kyoto Udon restaurants serve Tanuki Udon but it is harder to find in other cities. Ginger and green onion are good for a sore throat, so this is a good recipe if you are feeling sick!

Yield: 3 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/4 Udon noodles
1/4 Aburaage (thin dried tofu) (2” slices)
1/2 green onion (sliced lengthwise and chopped—see picture)
1/2 oz ground ginger

Spices

5 cups dashi soup or 5 cups hot water and 1/4 oz (8g) hondashi powder
1 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp katakuriko (mixed with 5 tbsp water)

Preparation

For dry Udon noodles, boil for the recommended time on the package. If the noodles are fresh, only boil for 2 minutes to separate.
Boil dashi soup then add sake, mirin, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and mix
Add katakuriko to thicken the soup
Add aburaage and ginger
Transfer Udon noodles to a bowl. If the noodles are stuck together, loosen with a little hot water and strain.
Sprinkle green onions on top and serve!

Gratin (Guratan)

2010-02-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

Gratan is originally comes from French cuisine and is very popular food in Japan. Most common gratan is baked macaroni, chicken and vegetables in a white sauce with cheese, but there are many kinds and sometimes we make original Japanese styles like tofu gratin!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

0.35lb macaroni
1/4 lb chicken (chopped)
2 eggs (boiled and sliced)
4 mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 onion (sliced)
1-2 oz pizza cheese
3 cups of milk

Spices

2 pads of butter
3/4 tsp salt
1 cube (4g) consommé
4 tbsp flour

Preparation

Heat butter in a frying pan and add flour when the butter melts
Add milk little by little, stirring continuously, to make white sauce, then add consommé cube and mix
Boil macaroni
Heat oil in a frying pan and grill onion, chicken and mushrooms
Turn off the stove and add macaroni and white sauce in a pan and mix
Put a pad of butter on each plate, add macaroni, then boiled eggs and cheese
Cook in the oven on 450 degrees for 8 minutes
Serve and enjoy!

Chinese Stir Fry

2010-01-31T23:18:00.000-08:00

This is a Chinese style stir fry. You can use Chinese soup powder or chicken soup powder for sauce and for the stir fry, Chinese cabbage, carrot, pork, other vegetables, and mix it with katakuriko to thicken. We also have donburi dish called “Chuka don” in which you put Chinese stir fry on a ball of rice.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

0.35lb sliced pork (cut into 2.5” pieces)
8 shrimp
1/4 Chinese cabbage (cut into 2” pieces)
1/2 carrot (cut into 2”pieces)
2 tbsp green onion (chopped)
1 tsp ginger (5g, thin sliced)
A pinch of kikurage (Dried Cloud Ear Mushroom, soak in warm water for 10 min)
2 dried shiitake (thick sliced, soak in warm water for 10 min and save water)
9 ginnan

Spices

2 tbps soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
3 1/4 tablespoons water (from shiitake)
1 tsp katakuriko (mixed with 1tbs water)
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Mix spices in a bowl (chicken soup powder, soy sauce, sake, shiitake water)
Heat oil (olive or vegetable oil) in a frying pan and stir green onion and ginger
Add pork then cook for 1 minute then add carrot cook for 1 minute over medium heat
Add shrimp, shiitake, kikurage, ginnan then sprinkle salt and pepper, cook for 2 minutes
Add Chinese cabbage and mixed spices, cover with lid then cook for 3 minutes over medium heat
Add katakuriko in a water to make sauce thick and add sesame oil then mix
Serve and enjoy!

Daikon Pasta

2010-01-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

We use ground daikon in many ways: with grilled fish, grilled egg, soba, nabe, etc. It makes for a light dish, also has lots of vitamin C, so it's good for your health! This recipe contains a little bacon, and as you know, everything goes better with bacon, so enjoy!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb pasta noodles
3/4 lb ground daikon
3 pieces of bacon (1/2" pieces)
3 mushrooms (sliced)
1 clove of garlic (sliced)
1/4 lb eggplant (1/4" slices)

Spices

2 tbps soy sauce

Preparation

Boil pasta until al dente (save 1/2 cup hot water for the daikon)
Mix 1/2 cup hot water with ground daikon and soy sauce
Heat oil in a frying pan and cook garlic until fragrant, then add bacon and grill well
Add eggplant and mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes
Add mixed daikon sauce; turn off the heat and stir
Mix with boiled pasta and serve

Chawanmushi

2010-01-28T15:34:00.000-08:00

Chawanmushi is a Japanese traditional steamed egg and dashi custard dish with mushroom, kamaboko, shrimp, and chicken. Chawan means tea cup and mushi is steam, so this is literally called "tea cup steam". If you can not find some of the ingredients you may omit them and the dish will still be delicious!

Yield: 3 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/10 lb chicken (chopped)
3 shrimp
3 dried shitake (sliced thick)
1/2 lily bulb, boiled for 1 minute in salt water
6 thinly sliced kamaboko
6 ginnan (ginkgo nut)
some mitsuba
2 beaten eggs

Spices

1.5 cups dashi soup or 1 tsp dashi powder
1/4tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1tsp mirin

Preparation

If you don't have dashi soup, mix dashi powder with 1 1/2 cups cold water
Mix egg, dashi, soy sauce, mirin and salt then strain and save the soup
Prepare 3 bowls and add ingredients (shrimp, chicken, shiitake, lily bulb, kamaboko, ginnan, mitsuba)
Add egg soup to each bowl and cover with plastic wrap
Steam bowls for 15 minutes on medium heat

Garlic Beef

2010-01-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

Nira (chives), garlic, and beef taste very good together! Many Japanese believe that garlic gives you strength, so I prefer to make this recipe if I'm feeling tired! It is good with steamed rice and also I like to eat it wrapped in lettuce with some chili sauce.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced beef (sukiyaki beef, chopped into 3" pieces)
1/4 lb chives (chopped into 2" pieces)
1/4 lb bean sprouts
1 shironegi (thick green onion, or regular green onion if you can't find it)
2 cloves of garlic (sliced thin)
1 clove of garlic (minced)

Spices

2 tbps soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
2 tsp chicken soup powder
dash salt and pepper
ground sesame (optional)

Preparation

Mix spices (soy sauce, sake, mirin, chicken powder and ground garlic) in a bowl
Heat the oil and sliced garlic in a frying pan then cook green onion for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add beef, sprinkle salt and pepper, then transfer beef to a dish when it is cooked through
Add nira, bean sprouts, and mixed spice in a frying pan. Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat
Return beef to the pan, mix and cook for an additional 1 minute
Serve with sprinkled ground sesame (optional)

Pasta Yakisoba

2010-01-17T01:36:00.000-08:00

Yakisoba is a popular Japanese fried noodle dish. We typically use yakisoba (chuka) noodles for the recipe but I used angel hair pasta instead and it turned out really well!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb angel hair pasta
1/4 onion (sliced)
1 cup cabbage* (chopped in large pieces)

Spices

3 tbsp Okonomiyaki sauce** (add more for thicker yakisoba)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sake
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Boil 5 minutes pasta and strain
Heat oil in a frying pan, cook onion, beef for 4 minutes over medium heat.
Add cabbage cook for 1 minutes then add pasta.
Add sake, mix then add okonomiyaki sauce and oyster sauce.
Sprinkle salt and pepper then serve!

* Substitute chicken, beef or sausage, and any type of vegetables in your Yakisoba.
** Instead of Okonomiyaki sauce you can use the powdered sauce that comes with the noodles or Worcestershire sauce.

Mizore Nabe

2010-01-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

Mizore is the Japanese word for sleet. And nabe refers to a hot pot. For this recipe, you add grounded daikon, which resembles wet snow. Its tasty and contains lots of vitamins! Also it is very good with mochi (Japanese rice cake). We eat a lot mochi in New Year season, so it’s perfect for the new year!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork
1/8 napa (cut 1.5" x 1")
1/8 medium onion (chopped)
1/3 cup gren onion (chopped)
1/2 daikon (ground)
1 tsp ginger (ground)
2 mochi (Japanese rice cakes)

Spices

2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
dash salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3C dashi soup or 8g hondashi in 3C water

Preparation

Knead ground pork, onion, sesame oil, ginger, salt and make small meatballs
Boil dashi soup and add sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a pot
Add meatballs in a pot and boil for 5 minutes over med heat. In the same time heat a frying pan and grill mochi on both sides 2 minutes each over medium heat.
Add mochi and napa in a pot, boil for 5 minutes then sprinkel with daikon and green onion

Renkon to tori no nimono

2010-01-05T18:43:00.000-08:00

Nimono is the Japanese word for food that is boiled and seasoned. Tori means chicken and renkon is a lotus root. You can find this in any Asian grocery store. I like the lotus root’s texture, and it is still crispy after boil.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 renkon (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 pound thigh chicken (chopped)

Spices

1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Put renkon in a bowl with water and vinegar for 5 minutes. Strain.
Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, cook chicken and renkon for 4 minutes on medium heat
Add 1 cup water, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar, then cook until water evaporates, stir occassionally (about 15 mins)

Warm Salad

2010-01-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

This recipe is good for an appetizer or side dish. Easy and fun way to eat vegetables!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

5 mushrooms (1/4" sliced)
10 asparagus (2" sliced)
3 slices of ham (chopped)
1 avocado (cut into bite sizes)

Spices

1 tbsp soy sauce
10g butter
1 tsp olive oil
dash pepper

Preparation

Heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan and cook the mushrooms, asparagus, and ham for 3 minutes over high heat and add avocado and soy sauce. Cook for 2 minutes and sprinkle pepper.
Serve and enjoy!

Oden

2009-12-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

Oden is a popular wintertime stew. So popular, in fact, that convenience stores have open pots during the cold months and my friends and I often go there for a warm bowl when we get hungry. There are many ingredients in oden: eggs, daikon, potato, konnyaku, tofu fish cake, meat ball, chicken, pork, and beef. Each family has its own special recipe, so it is fun to try at your friend's house.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1/2 lb thinly sliced chicken, cut into bite-sizes
2 eggs (boiled)
2 potatoes (quartered)
1/2 lb daikon, 1/4" slices
1/2 lb konnyaku (cut into 8 triangles)
1/2 lb atsuage (cut into 8 triangles)
1/4 lb chikuwa (cut in half)

Spices

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
8g hondashi

Preparation

Put daikon and potato in 5 cups water in a pot
When the water boils, add konnyaku and chicken and cook for 10 mins on high
Skim the scum
Add atsuage, boiled egg, chikuwa and boil for 10 mins over medium heat
Add soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and hondashi, then heat for 20 mins on low
Serve and enjoy!

Kushikatsu

2009-12-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

Kushikatsu is deep fried meat, seafood or vegetable on a stick. "Kushi" is Japanese for stick, and katsu means cutlet. There are many kushikatsu restaurants in Japan. Osaka is famous for kushikatsu. Stand up kushikatsu bars abound for people to patronize after work with friends and cold beers.

Yield: 6 servings
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 medium onion
1/2 lb pork
10 asparagus
2 Japanese sweet potatoes
4 green onion
2 small eggplants
block of cheese
5 cups of Panko
1/4 cup flour
3 beaten eggs
50 bamboo skewers (kushi)

Spices

vegetable oil
tonkatsu sauce
dash salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut the meat and vegetables into a reasonable size for skewering with the bamboo sticks
Boil or microwave sweet potatoes until they are soft
Stick vegetables and cheese on sticks (separately)
Stick pork with green onion on the sticks and hit with salt and pepper
Sprinkle flour on both sides of the skewered food then dredge in egg. Cover with Panko.
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry ingredients until golden brown (about 2 minutes on each side)
Transfer to a plate or platter covered with paper towels to soak up the oil
Serve with a small bowl or ramekin of tonkatsu sauce for dipping

Modifications

It is easier to deep fry in a large wok but you can also use a frying pan, it just takes longer to cook.

Me in an Osaka kushikatsu restaurant

Agedashi Tofu

2009-12-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Agedashi dofu is common tofu dish served in dashi sauce. Many Japanese restaurants in foreign countries serve this dish. It's simple and very tasty. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 package of tofu (cut into 8 pieces)
1/8 cup green onions (chopped)
1/8 cup daikon (grated, optional)

Spices

1 cup dashi soup or 1 tsp hondashi in 1 cup water
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp katakuriko (for tofu)
1 tsp katakuriko mixed with 1 tbsp water (for sauce)

Preparation

Sprinkle katakuriko on tofu
Heat 1/4 inch oil in the frying pan then fry each side of tofu until golden brown
Remove oil with paper towel
Boil dashi, mirin, sake, soy sauce in a sauce pan, then add katakuriko (in water) and mix until it is sticky
Serve tofu in a bowl then add sauce, and sprinkle green onion on the tofu
Add daikon on top if you like

Omurice

2009-12-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

Omurice is rice dish covered in egg and ketcup. The name came from “omelette rice’. You can write letters or hearts on the egg for fun! There are omurice restaurants in Japan that have many different kinds of omurice.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Two balls of rice
1/4 medium onion (chopped)
5 mushrooms (chopped)
1/4 lb chicken (diced)
4 beaten eggs

Spices

5 tbs ketchup
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
salt/pepper
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp mayonnaise
ketchup (topping)

Preparation

Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken
Mix spices (ketchup, sugar and soy sauce)
Heat oil in a frying pan and cook onion for 3 minutes, add mushrooms, then cook for 2 minutes over medium heat
Add rice and mixed spices then mix and remove from heat
Mix egg, milk, and mayonnaise
Heat oil in a frying pan over high heat then add eggs and scramble
When the eggs are half cooked, put them on the rice then put some ketchup on the top and serve

Nikudango (Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce)

2009-12-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

Nikudango, Japanese for meatball, is a popular recipe for bento boxes (lunch boxes), and it is even very popular at many Chinese restaurants in Japan.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1lb ground beef
1 egg (beaten)
15g ginger (grated)
1 clove garlic (grated)

Spices (for beef)

2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sake
1 tsp katakuriko
dash salt and pepper

Spices (for sauce)

1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp katakuriko

Preparation

Mix beef with egg, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, katakuriko, salt, pepper and knead well by hand
Make meatballs roughly the size of golf balls
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry meatballs for about 7 minutes (until cooked through), remove them from the pan and wipe oil with a paper towel
Mix sauce spices in a small bowl (soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, ketchup) and heat it in a frying pan
Add katakuriko (with water), mix then add meatballs
Serve and enjoy!

Tamago Zosui

2009-12-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Zosui is Japanese rice soup made from pre-cooked rice. When we make Nabe (japanese hot pot), we make zosui after with the hot pot soup. It good to eat when you are feel sick or have a hangover and is also easy on the waistline.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 bowls of steamed rice
2 beaten eggs
chopped green onion (handful)
chopped seaweed (optional)

Spices

8g Hondashi
1 tsp soy sauce
dash salt

Boil 3 cups water and steamed rice in a sauce pan for 15 min on low
Add hondashi and dash of salt
Drizzle egg over mixture in rice, then add soy sauce and green onion
Serve in a bowl and add seaweed on top (if you like)

Fried oysters (Kakifurai)

2009-11-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

Kaki is the Japanese word for oyster. It is also called “umi no miruku (milk from the ocean)”, named as such because of the high nutritional value of oysters. They are in season from fall to winter, so let’s get fresh oysters and make this recipe!

Yield: 18 oysters
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

18 oysters
1 egg (beaten)
1 cup panko (or breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 lemon

Spices

3 tbsp mayonnaise or tartar sauce
1 tsp olive oil

Preparation

Blanch oysters in boiling water for 8 seconds, and remove
Cover oyster with flour, dredge in egg, and cover with panko.
Heat oil to 375 degrees and fry oysters until golden brown (2-3 mins)
Remove and serve with lemon and mayonnaise or tartar sauce
For tartar sauce, use store bought sauce or use the recipe from Ebi-fry.

Stir-fried Beef with Cucumber (Gyuniku to Kyuuri no Itamemono)

2009-11-17T21:31:00.000-08:00

This one is a little different, because we don't usually use cucumber in stir-fry, but the Chinese chef I used to work for used to make it for us special, and it tastes really good. Please give it a shot and comment if you like it (or not!).

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 lb sliced beef
4 mini (Japanese style) cucumbers
1 clove garlic

Spices

1 tbsp sake
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
dash salt and pepper
1 tsp katakuriko (or corn starch)

Preparation

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the beef and mix with katakuriko
Heat oil in a frying pan, grill garlic for 30 sec then add beef
When the beef is cooked, add sake and cucumbers then cook for 3 minutes over medium heat
Add oyster and soy sauce and cook for 1 minute
Itadakimasu! (Let's eat!)

Rice made with Pork Soup and Mushrooms (Tonkotsu Soup no Takikomigohan)

2009-11-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

Takikomigohan is a Japanese rice dish with mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish, and seasoned with dashi and soy sauce. For this, I made the soup from pork chop bones and added it to the takikomigohan. It tastes great and makes use of the stuff you'd normally toss out.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 5 hours

Ingredients

1/2 lb pork bones (or as much as you've got)
1 onion, sliced
1 green onion, cut into 2" pieces
2 cloves garlic
ginger (grated) (about 2 tsp)
7 mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb pork (chopped)
3 cups rice

Spices

2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp salt

Preparation

Boil hot water in a big pot, then add pork bones
Scoop scum from the top of the soup then add onion, garlic, ginger and green onion
Boil on high heat for 3 to 4 hours. (add water when it evaporates)
At this point you could have it as pork soup (add salt). Soup will be sweeter if you boil with potato and carrot. If not, continue:
Wash rice and put it in a rice steamer
Add sake, soy sauce and salt
Add pork soup (strain the soup beforehand) up to the 3 cup designation in the rice steamer, then add mushrooms and 1/4 lb pork
Cook rice with soup, salt to taste, and enjoy!

Mushrooms and Pork Stir-fry in Butter Sauce (Kinoko to Buta no Butter Itame)

2009-11-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

Mushrooms cooked in butter is like paradise fried in heaven sauce. They are so tasty, and this recipe is pretty much good with any kind of mushrooms, so please try your favorite type, or whatever you can get your hands on!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced pork
1/4 lb Maitake mushrooms
1/4 lb Enoki mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 piece of green onion (chopped)

Spices

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
dash salt & pepper

Preparation

Mix spices together in a small bowl (soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar)
Heat butter in a frying pan and cook for pork for about 3 minutes on med-high
Add mushrooms and mixed spices
Hit with salt and pepper and serve in a dish garnished with green onion

Nikujyaga

2009-10-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Nikujyaga is a very popular meal at home in Japan. The ingredients are typically beef or pork, potato, onion, and carrot stewed in a somewhat sweet sauce. Boys will often request their girlfriends to make this dish because it is very much a comfort food. Thus, many women will remark that it is their favorite and most delicious dish to make.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced beef
3 potatoes (each cut into 8 pieces)
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 onion, sliced

Spices

2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mirin

Preparation

Heat oil in a frying pan and grill beef for 2 minutes, then add mixed spices (soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar)
Add vegetables, cover, and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat
Remove the lid and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly
Serve and enjoy!

Potato and Carrot Kinpira

2009-10-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

Kinpira is a Japanese cooking style in which strips of ingredients are stir-fried and seasoned with sugar and soy sauce. Gobou (burdock) is the most common vegetable for kinpira. I made jyagaimo (potato) and ninjin (carrot) kinpira for this recipe. It takes only 10 minutes to make, and is good as a side dish.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 carrot (thin sliced)
1 potato (thin sliced)

Spices

1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp mirin
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation

Mix spices together in a small bowl (sake, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin)
Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan then stir-fry potato and carrot for 2 minutes over med heat
Add mixed spices in the pan, cook for 2 minutes on low heat
Sprinkle sesame on top

Shrimp Fry (Ebi fry)

2009-10-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ebi fry is extremely popular at home and in restaurants in Japan. It also makes for a good bento (lunch box) to take to work or school. Ebi fry falls under the category of "youshoku" (pronounced yo-shoh-koo), which is the Japanese word for western style food. Oddly enough, most youshoku recipes hardly resemble anything you can find on the menu in western countries. This is because the dishes were introduced to Japan so long ago that over the years they've evolved to the local tastes and become almost uniquely Japanese. Still, however, they retain the western moniker. A couple of other youshoku I've posted here are gyudon (beef bowl) and katsu sando (pork cutlet sandwich). Check those out too when you have a chance! Itadakimasu! (Let's eat!)

Yield: 10 shrimp
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

10 large shrimp
1 egg (beaten)
1 cup panko (or breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup flour
1 boiled egg (crushed, for tartar sauce)
2 tbsp pickle (minced, for tartar sauce)

Spices

3 tbsp mayonnaise (for tartar sauce)
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp lemon juice
dash pepper (for tartar sauce)

Preparation

Mix mayonnaise, boiled crushed egg, pickles, and a dash of pepper then chill in refrigerator
Peel shrimp and make a shallow incision on the ventral side so the shrimp retains its shape while cooking. Coat with sake and lemon juice
Cover shrimp with flour then dredge in egg and cover with panko.
Heat oil to 375 degrees and fry shrimp until golden brown (about 2-3 mins)
Remove shrimp and serve with chilled tartar sauce

Grilled Pork with Miso Sauce (Buta no Misoyaki)

2009-10-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Miso is a staple of Japanese cuisine, typically produced by fermenting soy beans. It is a delicious, salty,seasoning used to make not only miso soup, but a wide variety of Japanese dishes. Misoyaki (the "yaki" means grilled, e.g. "teriyaki", or "yakitori") is one of these. Before cooking, the meat is marinated in a mixture of miso, soy sauce, sake, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and green onion (i.e. the essentials), then fried and paired with bean sprouts and green bean salad. Enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 40 minutes (30 mins for marinating)

Ingredients

1 lb pork block or pork chops (cut into 1" slices)
1 garlic clove (crushed)
1 green onion (chopped into 2" pieces)

Spices

2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp miso paste
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Mix spices together in small bowl (miso, sake, sugar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, green onion) then marinate the pork for 30 minutes in the refrigerator
Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and grill pork for 5-6 minutes
Serve with bean sprouts and green beans

Tingyao Rosu

2009-10-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Tingyao Rosu is a Chinese stir-fry with pork and thinly cut green peppers. It's very popular in Japan but we typically make it with beef, green peppers, and bamboo. You can actually buy a Tingyo Rosu kit at Japanese supermarkets. Just add fresh green pepper and life is good :)

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 lb beef (thin sliced)
1/4 lb bamboo (from a can or boiled, thin sliced)
3 green peppers (thin sliced)
1 garlic clove (crushed)

Spices

1 tbsp soy sauce (for marinating beef)
1 tbsp soy sauce (for sauce)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp chicken soup powder
1 tbsp katakuriko
dash salt and pepper

Preparation

Put beef in a small bowl, add soy sauce, sprinkle in katakuriko and mix.
Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, oyster sauce, sake, sugar and chicken soup powder in a small bowl
Heat the oil and garlic in a frying pan then add beef and cook
Add bamboo and green pepper, cook for 2 minutes over high heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Add mixed spices, stir, and serve

Pork Roll with Plum Sauce and Kinnikuman (Butaniku no Umeshiso Maki to Kinnikuman)

2009-10-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

As you probably know by now, "butaniku" is the Japanese word for pork. "Buta" means pig and "niku" is our word for meat. The kanji for meat is 肉. A wildly popular comic and cartoon series in the early 80's called "Kinnikuman" featured a superhero with the same name who had a 肉 character tattooed on his head (because he was very muscular). Look for the link below and enjoy this dish while you're watching Japanese anime!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced pork
5 chopped shiso
5 plums, de-seeded, crushed
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 1/2 cup panko
1 egg (beaten)

Spices

1 tsp Japanese sake
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup flour

Preparation

Mix spices (shiso, plums, soy sauce, sake, sesame seeds)
Put about 1/2 tsp of the mixture in the middle of a length of pork and roll.
Sprinkle flour on each pork roll, dredge in egg, and cover in Panko.
Heat oil to 375 degrees and fry pork rolls until golden brown (about 2 mins on each side)
Serve with salt, soy sauce, or mayonnaise.
Enjoy with Kinnikuman! http://bit.ly/2XBENI

Pork and Kimchi Stir-fry (Buta Kimchi)

2009-10-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

This interesting blend of cultures is very popular at izakaya and teppanyaki restaurants in Japan. If you've never tried kimchi, it is a delicious Korean side-dish, a medley of pickled vegetables and spices. Coupled with pork (buta) and sesame-oil, then stir-fried for just a few minutes, it makes for a quick, exotic meal. Best with glass (or three) of sake to boot!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced pork loin, or belly
1/2 lb kimchi (or to taste)

Spices

1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Heat sesame oil in a frying pan and cook kimchi for 1 minute.
Add pork and cook for three more minutes over medium heat.
Salt to taste (optional, I don't usually use it).
Serve! (Wasn't that easy?)

Boiled Tofu and Potatoes (Atsuage to Jyagaimo no Nimono)

2009-10-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

Atsuage is different than Aburaage, which you might have seen in previous recipes. Aburaage is very thin, basically tofu "skin", but atsuage is very thick, so the inside is soft. Atsuage is good boiled or grilled, then eaten with soy sauce. "Nimono" (boiled and seasoned) is the common way to make it at home. "Jyagaimo" is the Japanese word for potato. All together: Atsuage to Jyagaimo no Nimono!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

5 medium potatoes (each cut into 6 pieces)
1/2 lb atsuage
1/4 lb boneless thigh chicken (chopped small)

Spices

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp hon-dashi
1 tbsp sake
1/4 tsp salt

Preparation

Run hot water over atsuage to remove the oil, then cut into bite sizes
Marinate chicken in sake and salt for 5 minutes
Add potatoes and 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and boil
When potatoes boil, add chicken, skim off the scum, and boil for 5 minutes
Add hon-dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and atsuage, cover, and cook for 5 minutes
Serve!

Miso Soup with Taro (Satoimo no Miso Shiru)

2009-09-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Miso soup is called “misoshiru” in Japanese. It is a traditional Japanese soup in which we use dashi for the base, then mix with miso paste. I used satoimo (small taro) for the soup this time, it is little different taste than potato miso soup. Taro becomes soft and sticky!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 saitomo
4 oz Aburaage (deep fried tofu)
1 green onion (chopped)

Spices

1 tsp Hondashi
1.5 tbsp miso paste

Preparation

Boil 2 cups of water with taro until taro gets soft (about 3 minutes)
Add hon-dashi
Add miso and stir, then add green onion. Adjust miso to taste, and serve!

Beansprouts, Garlic Chives, and Egg Stir-Fry (Niratama Moyashi Itame)

2009-09-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Nira (Garlic chives) has a peculiar smell and tastes exactly like garlic. Nira is not very well known in the Western world, but it is making some inroads. It is known in Japan for it's nourishing and invigorating qualities. We often put nira in gyoza.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 bundle Nira, about 1/4 lb (chopped into 2" pieces)
1/2 lb bean sprouts
2 eggs (beaten)

Spices

1 tsp chicken soup powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat the frying pan, and scramble the eggs. Add salt and pepper and transfer to a plate
Add bean sprouts to the pan with sesame oil then cook for one minute over medium heat
Add nira and cook for one minute over medium heat, then put chicken soup powder and soy sauce and mix. Cook for 1 minute.
Add scrambled eggs, mix, and serve!

Komatsuna and Deep Fried Tofu (Komatsuna to Aburaage no Nibitashi)

2009-09-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

Komatsuna is a leafy Asian vegetable, historically only available in the winter months, but these days you can buy it in any season. "Aburaage" is Japanese for deep fried tofu and "nibitashi" means boiled, seasoned, and marinated. If you can not find komatsuna, try spinach—it also compliments this recipe.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 bundle of Komatsuna
1/4 lb aburaage (sliced into 1/2" pieces)

Spices

1 tsp hondashi
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sake
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin

Preparation

Mix all spices (sugar, sake, saysauce, mirin and hondashi) and 1 cup of water then boil in a sauce pan
When the sauce boils, add komatsuna and aburaage and cook until komatsuna becomes limp and soft
Marinate for 10 minutes in the sauce and serve with a small amount of the marinade drizzled on top.

Goya Chanpuru

2009-09-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

Chanpuru is a popular Okinawan dish and means, roughly, "something mixed." Goya is a bitter fruit, and looks very weird, but it is very tasty with this tofu, egg, and pork stir-fry. Okinawa food is very different from regular Japanese cuisine. You can find many new and adventurous dishes at an Okinawa restaurant.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 goya
1/2 medium onion
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 lb firm tofu
1/2 lb sliced pork

Spices

1 tsp hon-dashi
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
bonito (optional)

Preparation

Cut goya lengthwise, remove seeds with a spoon, then slice. Sprinkle salt on the goya and massage it into the fruit. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Wrap tofu with cooking paper and microwave for 2 minutes, then grill for 2 minutes on medium heat and transfer to a plate.
Heat sesame oil in the frying pan, cook onion and goya for 3 minutes then add pork for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add sake, soy sauce and hon-dashi
Add grilled tofu and beaten egg, mix
Serve in a dish with sprinkled bonito. (optional)

Chicken and Shrimp Stir-Fry with Ketchup Sauce (Toriniku to Ebi no Ketchup Itame)

2009-09-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

"Toriniku" is Japanese for chicken and "ebi" is shrimp. "Itame" means stir fry. This dish is a little sweet and a little sour. Kids like it, and you can even cook it with pineapple if you want it to be a little sweeter. I prefer savory tastes, as most Japanese do, so I've omitted the pineapple here.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb thigh chicken (chopped)
1 medium onion (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
1 yellow papilla (chopped in bite sizes)
10 shrimp

Spices

1 tbsp sake (for chicken)
1/2 tbsp sake (for shrimp)
Squirt of lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tbsp chicken soup powder
1 tbsp katakuriko (for chicken)
1/2 tbsp katakuriko (for shrimp)

Preparation

Marinate chicken in sake and salt and pepper for 5 min then dredge in katakuriko
Marinate peeled and deveined shrimp in sake and lemon juice for 2-3 minutes then remove and dredge in katakuriko.
Mix sugar, ketchup, sake, vinegar and chicken soup powder and soy sauce in a small bowl
Heat 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan, grill the chicken until cooked and add shrimp for 2 minutes over medium heat and transfer to a plate.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 3 minutes then add yellow papilla, cook for 2 minutes over medium heat.
Add chicken and shrimp to the pan, add mixed sauce, and serve!

Baked Pork Fillet and Mashed Potatoes with Okonomi-Oyster Sauce (Butaniku no Jyagaimo Yaki)

2009-09-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

This recipe is simple and easy to make many servings, so it's good for a party. "Butaniku" means pork in Japanese, and "jyagaimo" is potato. After cooking, the potatoes will be very tender so you can even eat them with the chopsticks

Yield: 8 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb pork fillet
2 small potatoes
1 tbsp panko (or bread crumbs)

Spices

1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp okonomiyaki sauce (ketchup/BBQ works too)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp butter
dash salt and pepper

Preparation

Boil potatoes until they are soft inside (about 20 minutes) You can check a potato's softness by trying to push a chopstick through the middle. Then remove the skin and mash.
Mix potatoes with mayonnaise, add a dash of salt and pepper, and mix
Cut the pork into eight 1" pieces and dust with salt and pepper on both sides
Heat the oil in the frying pan, then brown the pork on both sides (so the pork is medium well)
Top the pork with mashed potatoes and breadcrumbs then bake for 8 minutes on 475 F.
While the pork and potatoes are cooking, mix okonomiyaki sauce, oyster sauce, & milk, and heat it in the frying pan
Add the sauce to the cooked pork and potatoes and serve!

Chicken and Mushroom Steamed Rice (Tori to Kinoko no Takikomigohan)

2009-09-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Takikomigohan (literally, dish served with rice) is a Japanese rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, and often includes mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish. I made chicken (tori) and mushroom (kinoko) takikomigohan for this recipe. This is very easy to make if you have a rice steamer, though you can still make it if you don't. Many traditional Japanese restaurants serve takikomigohan with seasonal ingredients.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 lb thigh chicken (chopped small)
1/4 lb shimeji mushrooms
1/4 lb enoki mushrooms
1/4 lb maitake mushrooms
1/2 cup carrots (chopped small)
3 cups of rice

Spices

2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp hondashi
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Marinate chicken in sake, soy sauce and mirin mixture for 5 minutes
Heat the sesame oil in the frying pan, then add chicken and mixture and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat
Add mushrooms then cook 2 more minutes and add a dash of salt and pepper
Wash the rice and add to rice steamer, then strain the liquid from the frying pan and add the liquid to the rice in the steamer
Add water to the steamer to the 3 cup level, then add hondashi, chicken, and mushrooms
Turn on the steamer, wait, and serve when it is finished cooking!

Notes
Please use your favorite mushrooms if you can not find Japanese mushrooms.

If you do not have a rice cooker, prepare the ingredients in the same fashion, but use a pot to cook. Cover with lid, and cook 10 minutes, then reduce heat and cook another 7 minutes on low. Remove from heat and let cooked rice to steam, covered, for 10 minutes

Please do not open the lid until it is finished, as the rice will burn. Also, please be mindful of the heat and watch carefully in case it boils over.

Deep Fried Spring Roll (Harumaki)

2009-09-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Harumaki originated in China a long, long time ago. Haru, or 春, means "spring" in Japanese and "maki" translates to "roll" (sushi rolls are also called "maki"). Harumaki might look difficult to prepare, but it is actually very easy—though it takes a little extra time than most of my recipes. Enjoy!

Yield: 10 spring rolls
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 carrot
1/4 pound ground pork
1/2 medium onion (chopped)
5 shrimp
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
10 sheets of spring roll paper
4 tbsp minced ginger

Spices

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp katakuriko (mixed with 2 tbsp water)
1 tsp flour (mixed with 2 tbsp water)

Preparation

Put dried shiitake in warm water until it becomes soft, then slice
Wash shrimp in cold water, pat dry, then peel and devein. Chop into small pieces
Heat oil in a pan, add ginger and pork, and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat
Add shiitake and vegetables and cook for 2 more minutes on medium
Add shrimp and continue to cook for 1 more minute
Add soy sauce, sake, sugar, sesame oil and mix, then add katakuriko (mixed with 2tbs water) and stir
Put the mixture on the center of the spring roll skin; add flour/water mixture along the edge of the skin with your fingers and roll (click on picture below to see large illustration)
Heat oil in wok or fying pan to 375°F (190°C) and fry spring roll until golden brown (about 2 minutes). Oil should be about half the depth of a spring roll. Flip the roll at the 1 minute mark.
Cut it half and serve with soy sauce

Pork Miso Soup (Tonjiru)

2009-09-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Tonjiru warms the body, so it is a common item found at winter festivals in Japan. The taste is different from regular miso soup, and varies from family to family and prefecture to prefecture. Many teisyoku restaurants serve this soup, so drop by when you're in Japan and try it out!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced pork, cut into bite sizes
1/3 gobou (burdock), skin removed and sliced (optional)
1/2 lb chopped daikon
1/4 lb chopped carrots
1 green onion, cut into 2 inch pieces
5 satoimo (baby yam), skin removed and sliced (or potato)

Spices

3 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hondashi
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

Put daikon, carrot and baby yam in 4 cups of water in a pot and boil
After boiling, skim the water to remove the waste
Add pork and boil for 2 minutes over medium heat, then skim the broth
Add gobou, sake, and soy sauce and boil for 3 minutes over medium heat, and skim again
Dissolve the hondashi and miso and boil for 3 minutes on medium
Add sesame oil and serve

Ebi Mayo

2009-09-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Ebi Mayo is a fantastic appetizer that is extremely easy to make, delicious, but strangely, very hard to find in American cities I've visited. Considering that, this is a great dish to show off to friends who may have never heard of it before. Please let me know if you have seen or eaten it in your city!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

12 ebi (shrimp or prawns), peeled and deveined

Spices

1/4 cup Japanese sake
5 tbsp katakuriko (or corn starch)
Cooking oil

Spices (for sauce)

3 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp catsup
2 tsp honey (or sugar)

Preparation

Marinate peeled and deveined shrimp in sake for 2-3 minutes
Dredge shrimp in katakuriko and fry in pan with about 1/4" oil until cooked and golden brown (about 2 mins per side). Remove and transfer to paper towel. Pat to remove excess oil
Mix spices for sauce together, coat shrimp with mixture and serve

Boiled Pork Salad with Sesame Dressing (Buta no Reishabu Salad)

2009-09-13T19:58:00.001-07:00

Reisyabu literally means cold shabu-shabu, a traditional Japanese hot pot. The pork sheds a lot of the fat when it is boiled and tastes great with salad and sesame dressing.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced pork loin
1/2 head of lettuce (cut into bite sizes)
1/8 medium onion (thinly sliced)

Spices

2 tsp sake (for marinating pork)
1/4 cup sake (for boiling pork)
1 tsp salt
seame dressing

Preparation

Put the pork in the bowl with sake and marinate for 5 minutes
Soak sliced onion in cold running water for a few minutes (which will blunt the strong onion taste)
Boil 4 cups of water, add sake, salt and boil pork until pork is cooked through. Remove and cut into bite sizes
Make a bed of lettuce and onion on a plate, then add pork and sesame dressing and serve

Chinese cabbage with soy milk sauce (hakusai no tōnyū ni)

2009-09-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hakusai is a common vegetable we use in hot pots. It's also called "napa", or Chinese cabbage in English. Chinese cabbage gets very soft and sweet when it is boiled and has dietary fiber and lots of healthy minerals. The Japanese word for soy milk is "tōnyū" ( 豆乳 ) and is a healthy alternative to cream in this recipe.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 Chinese cabbage
1/2 medium onion
2 pieces low fat bacon or sliced ham (1/2" ham slices)
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp butter (10g)

Spices

1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
dash pepper
1 tsp katakuriko (potato starch, for thickening)

Preparation

Heat the butter in a frying pan, then grill onion and cabbage for 3 mins over medium heat
Add bacon (or ham) and cook for one more minute
Add soy milk, salt, sugar and pepper then cook for 1 min
Mix katakuriko in 1tbs of water and add to the pan, stirring while the mixture thickens
Serve and enjoy!

Braised Pork Belly (Buta no Kakuni)

2009-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

This recipe takes a long time to make it but it is really tasty and the meat is so tender you don't even need a knife!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

1 pound pork belly
2 boiled eggs
1/2 daikon (sliced)
1 green onion (cut into 1" pieces)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 tsp ginger

Spices

2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sake

Preparation

Cut the pork into 1" strips and sauté until both sides are browned
Place the pork in a sauce pan, add 2 cups of water and green onion, and boil for 30 minutes on low heat
Remove pork and add 2 more cups of water, sugar, sake, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, wait for the mixture to boil, then reintroduce the pork, and add daikon, boiled eggs, and cover, simmering for 2 hours on low. Stir occasionally.
Serve pork, daikon, and eggs in a bowl with sauce from the pan

Mapo Tofu (Ma-bou doufu)

2009-08-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

Mapo Tofu originated in China and it is very popular in Japan. Most Chinese restaurants in Japan serve this and also we also make it at home. When combined with steamed rice we call it “ma-bou don”. Add more doubanjiang if you like spicy food!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 package of tofu
1/2 pound ground pork (200g)
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 close of garlic (minced)
1 tsp ginger (minced)

Spices

2 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp chicken soup powder
1 tsp doubanjiang
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp katakuriko

Preparation

Cover tofu with paper towel and microwave for 3 mins to remove some of the water
Cut the tofu in 1" cubes
Mix spices (miso, soy sauce, sake, sugar, chicken soup powder) with 2/3 cup water
Mix katakuriko with 2 tbsp water. Mix well.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, and cook doubanjiang, then add garlic and ginger
Add pork and fry over high heat until cooked through
Add mixed spices and when the mixture boils, add tofu and green onions, and cook for 2 mins over med. heat
Add katakuriko/water mixture and stir
Add sesame oil, mix, and serve alone in a bowl, or on top of rice for maboudon

Tasty pumpkin (Kabocha no nimono)

2009-08-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

"Nimono" is the word for food that is boiled and seasoned. Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin. Kansai people call it “kabocha no taitan”. Pumpkins have lots of vitamins and dietary fibers. You can eat many pumpkins this way because it is very soft and sweet.

Yield: 2-4 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 Kabocha (Japanese Pumpkin)

Spices

2 tsp hondash
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake

Preparation

Remove the seeds from the pumpkin with spoon and cut pumpkin into 2" pieces
Round the corners of the pumpkin pieces (so they retain their shape while boiling for a long time) and peel half the skin off (see picture)
Boil 2 1/2 cups water in a sauce pan, then add pumpkin and hondashi, and boil, covered, for 10 minutes over medium heat
Add sugar, then place a small lid directly on the pumpkin (to be boiled in a pot), then cook for 5 minutes over medium heat
Add soy sauce, mirin, and sake, then cover with the small lid and cook for 10 minutes over low heat
Remove pan from heat and let pumpkins get cool (for taste), then serve

Gyoza

2009-08-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

Gyoza came from China a long time ago and it is a very popular food in Japan. Most Ramen restaurants serve Gyoza, and we also have Gyoza specialty restaurants. You can find deep fried Gyoza in Japanese restaurants in foreign countries, but our regular gyoza is grilled. We also have boiled and steamed gyoza. Hand made is much better than frozen gyoza. Please try!

Yield: 2-4 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

32 gyoza wrappers
1/4 lb ground pork
1/2 lb cabbage (chopped)
1/2 cup green onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 tsp ginger (minced)

Spices

1/2 tsp sugar (for mixing with pork)
1/4 tsp salt (for mixing with pork)
1/2 tsp sesame oil (for mixing with pork)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sake
dash pepper
1/4 tsp flour
1 tsp sesame oil (for grilling gyoza)
1/2 tsp vinegar and soy sauce for each person

Preparation

Knead the pork in a bowl then add sugar, salt and sesame oil
Add cabbage and green onion, then knead. Add soy sauce, sake and sprinkle pepper
Mix flour and 3 tsp of water in small bowl
Put roughly 1 or 1.5 tsp pork in the middle of a gyoza wrapper. Dip your fingers in the flour water, and spread it around the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Fold in half and pinch softly around the edge.
Boil 1 cup water
Heat the oil in a pan, then place the gyoza, heavy side down, into the pan
Add 1 cup boiling water, cover, and cook until the water evaporates (about 4 minute) over high heat
Add 1 tsp sesame oil (roll pan to distribute)
It is ready when gyoza becomes a little browned on the bottom
Serve with vinegar/soy sauce mixture for dipping

Miso Soup with Daikon (daikon to oage no misoshiru)

2009-08-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Miso soup is called “misoshiru” in Japanese. It is a traditional Japanese soup in which we use dashi for the base, then mix with miso paste. Oage (aburaage) is a thin piece of deep fried tofu and goes very well with miso soup. We also make sushi, stir fry, udon and more.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 aburaage (deep fried tofu, about 23g, thinly sliced)
1/4 lb daikon (very thinly sliced)
1/8 cup green onion (chopped)

Spices

1 tsp hon-dashi
2 tbsp miso paste

Preparation

Boil 3 cups of water
When water boils, add dashi and tofu
Add miso, and stir until mixed
Serve in a small bowl with green onions

Sukiyaki

2009-08-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Sukiyaki is a traditional Japanese meal, a variety of vegetables and thinly sliced beef cooked in a hot pot. Sukiyaki is perfect for family meals. Typically, a family will sit around the hot pot and talk about the day's events, enjoying their time together. Each family has their own style of sukiyaki, suited to their tastes, and you can experiment to create your favorite version of sukiyaki as well!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound sliced beef
4-6 shiitake mushrooms
1/4 pound maitake mushrooms
1/4 pound shimeji mushrooms (remove roots and separate)
1/4 pound enoki mushrooms (remove roots and separate)
1/4 pound boiled bamboo (chopped into bite-sizes)
1 futonegi (large green onion, chopped into 2" pieces)
1/2 pound itokonnyaku (konjac noodle)
1/10 pound mitsuba (also known as honewort, cut into 2" pieces)
1 pack yakidofu (seared/browned tofu, 350g)
beaten eggs (optional)

Spices

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake
6 tbsp sugar

Preparation

Cut the yakidofu into 1 1/2
inch squares and boil for 1 minute, then set aside o n dish
Cut the itokonnyaku into 1.5 inch pieces and boil for 2 minute, then set aside on dish
Make “X” mark on the shiitake mushroom with your knife and cut root part
Heat the lard (oil) in the pot, and grill the green onion until it is browned
Add half the beef on the green onions then add half (3 tbsp) the sugar
Add mirin and sake and boil
After the mirin and sake boils, tofu, add soy sauce, mushrooms, bamboo, konyaku, and 1/2 cup of water and boil
Add the rest of the sugar, mix, then add mitsuba and cover and boil for 3-5 mins
Dip the sukiyaki in raw, beaten egg and eat (optional)
Add more beef and ingredients and boil, repeating as many times as you would like

Miso soup with Potato (Jyagaimo no misoshiru)

2009-08-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

Miso soup is called “misoshiru” in Japanese. It is a traditional Japanese soup in which we use dashi for the base, and then mix with miso paste. Jyagaimo means potato. You might not think so, but potato goes really well with miso soup.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients

1 potato (cut into thin French fry shapes)
1/8 cup chopped green onion

Spices

1 tsp hon dashi
2 tbsp miso paste

Preparation

Boil 3 cups of water
When water boils, add potato and cook 3 minutes, or until soft
Add hon dashi, miso, and stir until mixed
Serve in a small bowl with green onions

Pork Shiso (Butaniku to Oba no Itamemono)

2009-08-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

This dish is extremely fast and easy to make, and very tasty. Adding the shiso leaves and sesame oil imparts a strong, fresh, almost peppery mint flavor.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

3 pork chops (1/2" slices)
8 shiso leaves (1/2" slices)

Spices

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sesame oil

Preparation

Mix soy sauce, sake, mirin, flour in a small bowl and add sliced pork
Heat olive oil in a pan and fry pork and sauce until cooked through
Add chopped shiso and sesame oil and cook for 1 minute
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with steamed rice

Saba no Nimono

2009-08-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

Nimono is food that is boiled and seasoned. Many meals cooked at home in Japan are prepared in this fashion. Saba is the name for mackerel. There are many way to eat mackerel but this is my favorite because my grandmother used to make me when I was child.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 mackerel fillet
3 sliced ginger

Spices

4 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp mirin
1/3 cup sake
3 tbs sugar

Preparation

Remove the bones from the fish with tweezers
Cut the fish in three pieces and put slice an X into the skin side of the fish
Mix spices together in small bowl with 1 cup of water and boil
When the mixed spices boil, add fish and ginger, and place a small lid directly on the food (to be boiled in a pot). Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, then an additional 5minutes on low
Serve fish on a dish with sauce

Vinegar Curry (Osu Curry)

2009-08-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

We call curry “kare rice” and it is a very popular home cooked meal. Studies have shown that an ingredient found in curry, curcumin, boosts brain activity in elderly people and reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Usually we use curry roux to make curry rice, but I recently saw this vinegar curry recipe on a Japanese TV show called “Omoikkiri Don”. I recommend that you make it this way occasionally—the vinegar re-energizes you and improves your metabolism.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb chicken thigh (chopped)
1 lb eggplant (sliced thin, about 2.5" x 0.5" each)
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
2 bowls of steamed rice

Spices

2 tbs curry powder
4 tbs vinegar
1 tsp salt (for vegetables)
1/2 tsp sugar (for mayonnaise chicken)
1/2 tsp salt (for mayonnaise chicken)

Preparation

Mix sugar, salt and1 tsp water in a small bowl, then mix with chicken, and cool for 10 min in refrigerator
Put all the vegetables in a large bowl, add salt, and stir
Heat the oil in a frying pan then grill chicken for 2 minutes
Add vegetables, vinegar, and 1/2 cup of water, cover, and cook for 30 min on low, stirring occasionally. Add a little extra water if mixture dries up.
Add curry powder and mix
Serve on steamed rice

Hamburg Steak

2009-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

"Hamburg" steak, a Japanese variation of the hamburger, is very popular home cooking meal, especially for children. It is also a popular item in bento boxes (Japanese lunch boxes). It is softer than hamburger meat, so it's good with steamed rice. It's commonly served in family restaurants, as well as entire restaurants dedicated to it, called "hamburg restaurants". There are many kinds of hamburg in Japan, Japanese sauce, cream sauce, cheese, tofu etc. This recipe is the most common style.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef and/or pork
1 carrot (diced)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1 tbs butter
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 1/2 tbs panko + 1 tbs milk (mixed)

Spices

2 tsp okonomiyaki sauce
2 tsp ketchup
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup milk
dash salt and pepper
dash nutmeg
1 tsp flour

Preparation

Heat the oil in a frying pan then cook onion and carrot for 5 minutes over medium heat
Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. Cool by placing bowl in larger bowl of ice water (don't submerge)
After vegetables cool, add meat and knead with your hands. Add panko/milk mixture, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and knead
Roll out 4 large patties
Sprinkle flour on top of the patties and make a dent in the center of each
Heat the frying pan, lie the patties face down (flour side down), and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat
Flip patties, cover and cook for five minutes on low
Flip again, and cook for an additional 3 minutes
Remove burgers, clean and grease the pan, then add butter, garlic, and mixed sauce (okonomiyaki, ketchup, oyster sauce, and milk). Cook for 30 seconds, then
pour on top of burgers

Modifications

Substitute BBQ or steak sauce for sauce mixture

Tofu Salad

2009-08-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Tofu is healthy and low calorie so many girls like to eat it. Tofu salad is a popular salad for restaurants in Japan. Please try it with your favorite vegetables. Tofu goes with pretty much everything! There are two basic kinds of tofu: "kinugoshi" (soft) and "momen" (hard). I used momen for this salad.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Momen Dofu (firm tofu, 150g)
1/2 lettuce head (110g, chopped)
1 Japanese cucumber (80g, chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)

Spices

1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce

Preparation

Squeeze lemon; mix the lemon juice with olive oil and soy sauce
Cover tofu with paper towel and squeeze to crumble
Spread vegetables on a plate, add tofu, and drizzle soy sauce dressing on top

Beef Stir Fry w/ Qing Geng Cai

2009-08-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

Qing geng cai is a Chinese vegetable and it is very good for stir-fry. You can get it at any Chinese super market. This dish is very quick and filling. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced beef (about 2 inches thick)
4 roots Qing geng cai (about 0.4 lb, chop about 2in each)
Small, dried red pepper (optional)

Spices

2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sake
3 tbs sugar
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix spices (sugar, sake, soy sauce), beef in a bowl
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook vegetables for 2 minutes over medium heat, add salt and pepper, then remove from pan
Add beef to the frying pan and cook until done, about 4 mins
Add vegetable back to the frying pan, and red pepper, stir, and serve

Mentaiko Spaghetti

2009-08-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Mentaiko means seasoned cod fish eggs. It may be hard to find where you live, but some Japanese supermarkets sell them frozen. You can also buy Mentaiko in the souvenir section at Japanese airports. Fukuoka city has a very famous variety of mentaiko. We use it in rice bowls, omelets, and many other foods. It’s a little spicy and taste very good. Please try this recipe if you can find mentaiko. It's perfect for spaghetti.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb pasta noodles
4 pieces green perilla (oba), chopped thin
1 mentaiko (about 60g)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)

Spices

15g butter

Preparation

Boil pasta until al dente
Take the mentaiko out of the skin
Microwave butter 30 seconds in a small bowl, add mentaiko, and mix
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes over medium heat
Add pasta, mix with onion then add mentaiko with butter
Turn off the stove and stir (until mentaiko is thouroughly mixed in)
Put green perilla on the top

Stir fried pork and eggplant with miso sauce (Butaniku to nasu no misoitame)

2009-08-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Butaniku means pork, nasu is eggplant and itame is "stir-fried". Many Teishoku-ya (a restaurant similar to an American diner) serve this kind of food. Miso is a very addictive taste, and is great on steamed rice. A friend of mine gave me lots of fresh eggplant, so I am make many eggplant recipes now!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

sliced pork loin or belly, about 1/2 lb
1/4 lb eggplant (sliced thin, about 2.5" x 0.5" each)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
2 strands of green onion (chopped)
2 tsp ginger (minced)

Spices

1 tsp hondashi
2 tsp mirin
2 tsp sake
2 tsp sugar
3 tsp miso paste
1 tsp katakuriko
1/2 tsp sesame oil
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix spices together in small bowl (hondashi, mirin, sake, sugar, miso) with cup of water
Put eggplant in a microwave for one minute to soften
Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan, add ginger and pork and cook for about 3 minutes
Add eggplant and onion then cook for 5 minutes over medium heat
Sprinkle salt and pepper on stir fry
Add green onion and mixed spice and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat
Mix katakuriko with 3 tsp of water and drizzle it over the food and stir it until it thickens

Soba (Cold)

2009-08-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is the best way to eat soba in the sweltering summer heat. Grated radish makes you feel so refreshed when it is hot. I recommend making it for a light snack.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 bundles of soba noodles
1/2 cup grated radish (daikon)
1/4 cup of green onion

Spices

1 tsp hondashi
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin

Preparation

Mix spices and one cup of water and boil, remove from heat and cool
Boil Soba noodles for 8 minutes, rinse with cold water and strain.
(Each type of soba has different boil time, so please follow the instructions on the package)
Put the noodle in the bowl, add some ice, sprinkle radish on the soba, then pour in the sauce

Pork Roll with Green Perilla (Shiso)

2009-08-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Pork roll is very good with green perilla. We call it Oba or Aojiso or Shiso. This leaf has a wonderful smell, but is a little difficult to find outside of Japan. It has lot of beta-carotene. Some izakaya (Japanese pub) serve this food.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

sliced pork loin (8 pieces) about 1/2 lb
1/2 lb egg plant (make it thin about 2 1/2 inches x 1/2 inches)
1carrot (thin, about 2 1/2 in x 1/2 inches each)
4 pieces green perilla, cut in half

Spices

4 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp mirin
4 tsp sake
1/2 tsp ginger (granted)
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix spices together in small bowl (soy sauce, mirin, sake)
Heat oil to about 350 F in a deep fryer and fry egg plant and carrot for 1 minute
Spread out two pieces of pork (1 for each roll) and hit with salt and pepper
Cut the green perilla in half put a 1/2 slice on each piece of pork
Put egg plant and carrot on the pork and roll it up, then insert a toothpick in each
Heat oil in a frying pan, add pork roll, and cook for 2 minutes, then turn and cook another 2 minutes over medium heat
Add mixed spices, cook for 1 1/2 minutes over medium heat

Modifications

If you can not find green perilla in a Japanese super market, it is ok without it
Boil the vegetables if you don’t want to deep fry them

Miso Soup with eggplant (Nasu no Misoshiru)

2009-08-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

Miso soup is called “misoshiru” in Japanese. It is a traditional Japanese soup in which we use dashi for the base, then mix with miso paste. There are many kinds of miso soup: tofu, daikon, potato, shell, club, pork, etc.... Each Japanese family has is its own brand of miso soup, which we refer to as "Mother's Taste".

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 lb eggplant (chopped into bite sizes)
1/8 cup of green onion

Spices

1 tsp Hondashi
3 tsp miso paste

Preparation

Boil 2 cups of water then add dashi.
Add egg plant and boil for 5 min over medium heat then add miso and stir
Remove from heat, add green onion, and serve in a small bowl

Tori to Jyagaimo no Nimono

2009-08-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Nimono is food that is boiled and seasoned. Many Japanese home cooked meals are prepared in this fashion. There are many kinds of nimono recipes. This one is chicken (tori) and jyagaimo (potato). More in future posts!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb boneless thigh chicken
4 medium potatoes (each potato cut in to 6~8 pieces for )
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 clove of garlic (crushed)

Spices

4 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sake
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp hondashi

Preparation

Mix spices together in a small bowl with 1 1/2 cups water
Heat oil in a pot and sauté garlic, then add onion continue for two minutes over medium heat
Add chicken, cook for two minutes, then add potatoes and mix
Add mixed spices, cover, and cook for 18 minutes on low heat

Ebichiri

2009-08-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Ebichiri is short for “ebi no chili sauce itame” which means grilled shrimp with chili sauce. But ironically we don't use chili sauce for this food. Please let me know if you know why! This food comes from China but we modify it for the Japanese pallete. There are many Chinese restaurants in Japan but I don’t think you can find Ebichiri in China!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

18 pieces of shrimp (216g)
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 tsp ginger (minced)
1/4 culp green onion (chopped)

Spices

2 tsp sake (for uncooked shrimp)
1/4 tsp salt and a dash of pepper (for uncooked shrimp)
2 tsp katakuriko (potato starch for uncooked shrimp)
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
4 tsp ketchup
1tsp chicken soup powder
1tsp doubanjiang
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

De-vein, shrimp wash with cold water
Put shrimp in a small bowl, add salt and pepper, sake, katakuriko and mix.
Mix spices (oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, chicken powder) together in small bowl
Heat oil in frying pan then sauté garlic and ginger
Add shrimp/sake/katakuriko/doubanjiang mixture and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Add green onion.
Add mixed spices and 1/4 cup of water, mix, cook for 2 minutes and serve.

Itawasa

2009-08-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

"Itawasa" is the name for kamaboko with wasabi and soy sauce. Kamaboko is probably one of the least accessible Japanese foods, but if you give it a chance, you'll find that it is healthy, delicious, and attractive. Kamaboko is made with "surimi", a mixture of various whitefish formed into a distinctive loaves (often pink and white) and steamed until firm. You'll find kamaboko in many soups (such as ramen) and noodle dishes. Kamaboko is sold in grocery stores and even convenience stores in Japan, and in America it can be found at Asian groceries. If you don't have an Asian grocery nearby, I hope you'll try it if you have the chance to visit Japan!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients

2 loaves of kamaboko
1 tsp wasabi
3 tsp soy sauce

Preparation

Run the knife underneath the kamaboko to loosen it from the board and slice it into 1/2" pieces
Mix wasabi in a small bowl with soy sauce, dip, and enjoy!

Croquette (Korokke)

2009-08-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

This is a Japanese style croquette—we call it “korokke”. It is deep fried crushed potato. We also have a cream sauce croquette with shrimp or crab. My favorite way to eat it is to buy it directly from deli and eat is on the street! It is super yummy!! I made it for four servings this time, please make half all the ingredients if you want to make it for 2. I always make extra and keep it freezer.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

5 medium potatoes (1.7lb)
1/2 lb ground mixed beef and pork, or ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
2 cups Panko
1/4 cup flour
1 beaten egg

Spices

6 tsp tonkatsu sauce
2 tsp butter
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Boil potatoes until they are soft inside (20-30 minutes—check softness by inserting a chopstick through the potato), then remove the skin and mash
Heat butter in frying pan then grill onion for 3 minutes, add ground meat, and cook for 2.5 minutes over medium heat, then sprinkle with salt and pepper
Mix potato and meat, salt and pepper
Make a potato balls with your hand
Sprinkle flour on both sides of each ball then dredge in egg. Cover with Panko
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry balls until golden brown (about 2 minutes on each side)
Remove the ball from the pan
Put tonkatsu sauce on the fried balls

Modifications

If you don't have tonkatsu sauce you can use oyster sauce, ketchup or BBQ sauce

Fried Rice (Yakimeshi)

2009-08-03T00:14:00.000-07:00

Japanese love fried rice! We call it Yakimeshi, yaki means grill, and meshi means rice. We make it at home but ramen restaurants serve the best fried rice! We have many kinds of fried rice, beef, spicy, Japanese pickle, etc. I made a basic one this time.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 balls of rice (1/2 lb)
1/4 medium onion (chopped)
1/8 cup green onion (chopped)
0.2 lb ham (minced)
2 eggs (beaten)

Spices

1 tsp chicken soup powder
2 tsp sake
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt (for mixing with egg and rice)
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix eggs with steamed rice and add salt
Heat oil in frying pan then grill onions, ham, and green onions for two minutes over high heat
Add rice, and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat and add sake and chicken soup for 2 minutes
Sprinkle salt and pepper, add soy sauce, and cook for 1 minute on low

Vegetable Stir Fry (Yasai Itame)

2009-08-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

The Japanese word for Vegetable Stir Fry is “Yasai Itame”. Yasai means vegetable and itame is stir fry. You can also use any kind of vegetables in this recipe. Please try with your favorite vegetable and stay healthy for this hot summer!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 carrot (sliced thin)
1 small green pepper (sliced thin)
1 small eggplant (sliced thin) (340g)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
1 sausage or hot dog (sliced)

Spices

2 tsp oyster sauce
4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chicken soup powder
1 tsp sesame oil
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix spices together in a small bowl (without sesame oil, salt, and pepper)
Heat sesame oil in a frying pan then grill the sausage for 30 seconds with high heat
Add all vegetables, cook for 7 minutes over medium heat
Add mixed spices in a pan, then cook for 2 minutes over low heat
Adjust to taste with salt and pepper

Japanese Potato Salad

2009-08-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe for basic Japanese potato salad. It's made frequently at home and often finds its way into bento boxes (lunch boxes). It is delicious on its own, as well as in a sandwich. Add fruit (oranges or apples) and other vegetables like cabbage or cucumbers to mix it up. I prefer to use Japanese mayonnaise for this recipe.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 large russet potato
1/8 medium onion (chopped)
5 tsp pickles (chopped)
0.15 lb ham (about three thin slices, chopped into tiny rectangles)
2 eggs

Spices

6 tsp mayonnaise
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper

Preparation

Boil potatoes until they are soft inside (about 20-30 mins. check softness by inserting a chopstick through the potato). Afterward, remove the skin (wear gloves if they are too hot)
Add onions and mix while potatoes are still warm
Boil eggs, crush, and mix with mayonnaise, pickles, ham and add to potatoes
Add salt, pepper (adjust to taste)

Katsudon

2009-07-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Katsudon is rice, egg, and sauce topped with a pork cutlet. It is a very commonly cooked at home and it is prepared differently in almost every district in Japan. Many Japanese restaurants serve katsudon, most commonly in udon restaurants.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 pork chops, bones removed (1/2 lb)
2 bowls of steam rice
1 egg, beaten (for cutlet)
2 eggs, beaten (for sauce)
1 cup Panko (or breadcrumbs)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)

Spices

3 tsp mirin
4 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sake
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp hondashi
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp chopped seaweed (optional)

Preparation

Cut through any visible tendons on the chops, then pound the meat to tenderize. Season both sides with salt and pepper
Sprinkle flour on both sides of each pork chop then dredge in egg. Cover with Panko
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry pork chops until golden brown (about 2 minutes on each side)
Remove the pork from the pan and slice into 1/2 inch strips
Boil 1 1/2 cups of water in frying pan, then add hondashi
Add mixed spices (mirin, soy sauce, sake and sugar) then stir in onion
After the mixture boils, cover for 3 minutes over high heat
Add cutlet and cook for one minute over high heat
Drizzle egg over mixture in and cover again for 30 seconds on high (longer if you prefer your eggs well done)
Serve in a bowl over steamed rice (sprinkled with chopped seaweed if desired)

Chicken Katsu

2009-07-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

Katsu means cutlet, and chicken katsu is deep fried chicken with bread crumbs. It's commonly served in family restaurants or Teishoku-ya (similar to an American diner).
Basic chicken katsu doesn’t usually contain a filling, but I am going to show you my favorite way to cook.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Two pieces of chicken breast (3/4 lb each)
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 beaten egg
1 cup Panko (or breadcrumbs)

Spices

dash of salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp soy sauce
Caesar salad dressing

Preparation

Open each chicken breast and season both sides with salt and pepper
Spread the butter, green onion cheese and soy sauce on one the inside of the chicken breast and fold it back together
Sprinkle flour on both sides of each chicken breast then dredge in egg. Cover with Panko.
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry chicken until golden brown (about 3 minutes on each side)
Remove chicken, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit on a plate for 3 minutes.
Drizzle Caesar dressing on the chicken and serve!

Tsukune

2009-07-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

Tsukune are Japanese meatballs. We use ground chicken or pork and you can grill them or add them to a soup. Yakitori restaurants grill them on a stick. They are really yummy. I made pork tsukune this time.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 medium onion (chopped)
1 clove of garlic (grated)
1/4 tsp ginger (grated)
1/4 beaten egg

Spices (for mixing with pork)

dash of salt and pepper
1/4 sesame oil
2 tsp sake
1 tsp sugar

Spices (for sauce)

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp mirin
1 tsp sake

Preparation

Knead the pork till it develops a sticky consistency
Add onion, garlic, ginger, egg, pork spices, and knead
Roll the meat into small balls on a dish covered with plastic wrap
Heat oil in frying pan then grill meat balls for 1 minute with high heat
Turn over for 2 minutes, turn over again, add 1/4 cup of water, and simmer for 2 minutes with medium heat
Add sauces spices grill for 1 min over low heat

Oyakodon

2009-07-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

In Japanese oyako literally means “parents and children” and don is short for "donburi," which is food served on top of rice in a bowl. This recipe calls for boiled chicken covered with beaten egg (hence the “parent/child” metaphor). Many udon restaurants serve Oyakodon in Japan.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

0.4 lb of chopped chicken
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
2 beaten eggs

Spices

3 tsp mirin
3 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sake
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp hondashi
2 tsp chopped seaweed (optional)

Preparation

Boil 1 cup of water in frying pan, add hondashi
Add mixed spices (mirin, soy sauce, sake and sugar) then mix in onion and chicken
After the mixture boils, cover for 5 minutes over medium heat
Drizzle egg over mixture and cover again for 30 seconds on high (longer if you prefer your eggs well done)
Serve in a bowl over steamed rice
Sprinkle seaweed on top(if desired)

Soba (Hot)

2009-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Soba is made from buckwheat flour. Its history dates back from over 1000 years ago. This is one of the famous Japanese foods. It has many vitamins, protein, and dietary fiber, so it's very good for your health. There are two ways to eat soba: cold soba with sauce, or soba in hot soup. There are many hand made soba restaurants in Japan. We eat soba on New Years Eve (Toshikoshi Soba) in hopes of a long life, much like soba.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 bundles of soba noodles
1/4 cup of green onion

Spices

2 tsp Hondashi
4 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp mirin
2 tsp sake
1/2 tsp ginger (granted)

Preparation

Boil Soba noodles for 8 mins and strain. (Each soba has different boil time, so please follow the instructions on the package)
Boil 3 cups of water, add hondashi
Add soy sauce, mirin, sake and ginger
Serve soba noodle in a bowl and add the soup
Sprinkle green onions on the top on the noodles

Spaghetti Neapolitan

2009-07-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is one of the oldest and most popular Japanese spaghetti recipes. Mixed with ketchup and fresh vegetables, it is a popular menu for coffee shops and we also often make it at home. It is so easy and also tastes great!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb pasta noodles
2 strips of bacon (cut into 1/4" pieces)
1 hot dog (sliced lengthwise)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
2 eggs

Spices

12 tsp ketchup
6 tsp okonomiyaki sauce
4 tsp milk
1 tsp sugar
dash of salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Preparation

Boil pasta until al dente
Heat the frying pan and fry the bacon and hot dog for one minute over high heat
Add onion and cook for 3 mins over medium heat, add salt and pepper to taste
Add pasta and mixed spices (ketchup, okonomiyaki sauce and milk) and stir for 1 minute over medium heat
Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the pasta (optional)
Add a boiled egg, sliced in half (optional)

Stir Fried Pork in Oyster Sauce (Butahikiniku No Oyster Sauce Itame)

2009-07-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Japanese often make stir fry with many kinds of ingredients at home. Mothers like making stir fry because you can use whatever you have in your freezer—easy and quick. We eat stir fry with steamed rice. I use oyster sauce and sesame oil this time, so it is kind of like Chinese style Japanese food.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

0.4lb ground pork
1/4 medium onion (chopped)
1/4 cup green beans (chopped)
1/4 cup dried sliced shitake mushrooms (chopped) → leave in the cold water for 30min

Spices

3 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sake
1 tsp sesame oil
dash of salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix spices together in small bowl
Heat sesame oil on high heat and cook pork, for 2 min seasoning with salt and pepper to taste
Add onion, green beans and shitake cook for 3 min over medium heat
Add mixed sauce, cook for 1 minute

Modifications

If you don't have shitake mushrooms, substitute with your favourite mushroom, dried or fresh

Teriyaki Donburi (Teriyaki Don)

2009-07-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Domburi means bowl and also means food served on rice in a bowl. Japanese have many kinds of Domburi. Some Izakaya (a Japanese drinking establishment) and Udon restaurants serve this popular dish. It is easy and very filling.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken thigh
2 bowls of steamed rice

Spices

3 tsp mirin
4 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp sake
3 tsp sugar
dash salt
dash pepper
2 tsp of chopped seaweed
1 tsp of sesame

Preparation

Cut any visible tendons on the chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper
Heat oil in a frying pan and braise the skin on the chicken for 3 minutes on high heat and flip, cook for 3 more minutes with medium heat (take off the skin before cooking if you prefer)
Remove the chicken from the pan and slice into 1/2 inch strips, then return to pan
Add mixed spices (soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar) and cook 2 minutes on medium heat
Serve chicken a bowl of steamed rice but leave the sauce in the pan
Sprinkle sesame and chopped seaweed on the chicken

Beef bowl (Gyudon)

2009-07-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

A beef bowl is called "gyudon" in Japanese. "Gyu" means beef and don is short for "donburi" which is food served on top of rice in a bowl. There are many gyudon restaurants in Japan and it is very popular, especially for men. It's kind of like fast food, but much healthier. Many gyudon restaurants are open for 24 hours, and men typically go there after a night of drinking.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

0.4lb of sliced beef
1 medium onion (sliced)
2 bowls of steamed rice

Spices

1 tsp hon-dashi(soup stock powder)
6 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp sake
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp granted ginger

Preparation

Add hon-dashi and sliced onion in 2 cups of hot water in the saucepan
After the water boils, cook for 6 minutes on medium heat
Add mixed spices (soy sauce, sake, sugar, ginger) and beef in the saucepan and cook on high heat.
Reduce heat to medium and after it boils cover and simmer for 10 minutes
Serve it a bowl of steamed rice with soup in the saucepan

Chicken Teriyaki (Tori no Teriyaki)

2009-07-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

Teriyaki is a little hard to translate, and a little humorous, but literally means shiny grilled meat. It’s the sugar that makes it glisten. It's popular in both Japan and America, but in my country you can get a teriyaki burger at McDonalds! You should try it if you come to visit (though this recipe is naturally much better!)

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken thigh

Spices

3 tsp mirin
4 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp sake
3 tsp sugar
dash salt
dash pepper

Preparation

Cut any visible tendons on the chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper (take off the skin before cooking if you prefer)
Heat oil in a frying pan and braise the skin on the chicken for 3 minutes on high heat and flip, cook for 3 more minutes with medium heat
Remove the chicken from the pan and slice into 1/2 inch strips, then return to pan
Add mixed spices (soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar) and cook 2 minutes on medium heat
Serve chicken drizzled with the sauce from the pan

Okonomiyaki

2009-07-15T23:25:00.001-07:00

This is the most common Teppanyaki (food that is grilled on an iron griddle) food. Okonomiyaki restaurants are everywhere in Japan. Osaka and Hiroshima are both very famous for Okonomiyaki.　 Osaka okonomiyaki (referred to as Kansaiyaki) and Hiroshima okonomiyaki (Hiroshimayaki) are prepared much differently. I made Kansai taste this time!!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1.5 cups okonomiyaki powder
1.25 cups water
1 beaten egg
0.4 lb sliced beef
3 cups sliced cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup bonito (optional)

Spices

4 tsp okonomiyaki sauce
2 tsp mayonnaise (preferably Japanese mayonnaise, but Hellman's will work in a pinch)

Preparation

Mix okonomiyaki powder with water in a bowl until smooth
Stir in egg, cabbage, green onion
Heat oil in large frying pan then pour in the batter (like a big pancake), but leave some room around the edge to grill the beef (see picture).
Add beef around the edge and cook cake and meat for 3 minutes
Put the beef on top of the cake, flip the cake, and cook for another 3 minutes.
Spread on okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkle on some bonito (if desired)

Modifications

If you don't have okonomiyaki sauce you can use oyster sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and mayonnaise, 1 tsp each
You may substitute beef with shrimp, pork, or squid

Ginger Pork (Buta no shogayaki)

2009-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

"Shogayaki" means to grill with ginger. It is a standard meal to cook in the home and quite popular.

In Japan you can find shogayaki in a Teishoku-ya (a restaurant similar to an American diner). The typical way to make Shogayaki is to marinate the pork in the spices before cooking, but a famous TV host named ‘Tamori' started a the trend of not marinating the pork and now many Japanese cook it in this fashion.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced pork
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
1 1/2 cup sliced cabbage
1/8 cup flour

Spices

3 tsp sake
3 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp mirin
2 tsp grated ginger

Preparation

Mix spices together in small bowl
Sprinkle flour on sliced pork
Heat oil in frying pan and fry pork (about 4 minutes)
Add onion and sautee for 5 minutes
Add spices and cook for about 2 minutes
Serve with cabbage and your favorite salad dressing

Yakisoba

2009-07-12T21:04:00.001-07:00

Many Japanese will make yakisoba during the summer months on a BBQ grill. Yakisoba can also be found in the "yatai" (booths where food is sold) at various summer festivals, and at teppankayi restaurants. This recipe is very light, but you can thicken it with various sauces (see notes below).

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Two packages of yakisoba noodles
2.5 oz sliced pork (65g)
12 pieces of shrimp (peeled)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
1 1/2 cup chopped cabbage
1 clove of garlic (chopped)
Bonito (if desired)

Spices

6 tsp oyster sauce
6 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
dash of pepper

Preparation

Mix spices together in small bowl
Separate yakisoba noodles. If frozen or clumped together, use hot water to untangle.
Boil onion and cabbage for 4 minutes and strain
Heat oil in frying pan then sautee garlic for 1 minute, or until fragrant
Add sliced pork until it is cooked through, then add shrimp, onion, and cabbage, then cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in yakisoba noodles and fry for 3 minutes
Mix in spices and serve with bonito (if desired)

Modifications

To thicken the sauce you can use okonomiyaki sauce, the powder which comes with most yakisoba noodles, or Worcester.
You may substitute pork with chicken, beef, or sausage, and the vegetables with any other type.
Some shrimp is very pungent. You can remove this smell by marinating it in lemon juice, and sake or white wine for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Katsu Sandwich

2009-07-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

The pork cutlet sandwich, or "katsu sando" as it is known in Japan is a popular lunchbox item and can be found in many convienence stores and on
the ubiquitous food carts wheeling up and down the aisles on Japanese bullet trains, or "shinkansen." Katsu sandwiches are not only delicious, but very easy to make.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 pork chops (bones removed)
4 slices buttered toast
1 egg, beaten
Tonkatsu Sauce
1 cup Panko (or breadcrumbs)
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/8 cup flour

Preparation

Cut through any visible tendons on the chops, then pound the meat to tenderize. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle flour on both sides of each pork chop then dredge in egg. Cover with Panko.
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C) and fry pork chops until golden brown (about 3 minutes on each side).
Sandwich the pork chops with cabbage and tonkatsu sauce.
Cut and enjoy!