Air Fried stuffed Chicken Wings エアーフライ手羽餃子

“Teba Gyoza 手羽餃子” is a quintessential Izakaya dish. “Teba” means “chicken wing” and “gyoza” means dumpling stuffed with vegetables and meat usually ground pork. This dish is a hybrid of grilled chicken wing (“yakitori” 焼き鳥) and gyoza. The bone (humerus) of the chicken wing drumette is removed leaving the skin intact. The resulting cavity is filled with gyoza stuffing. It is then grilled like any other “Yakitori”. Hence the combination of teba-yakitori and gyoza. It is reputed to have been invented by an izakaya in Hakata 博多, Fukuoka 福岡. Some years ago, I often made teba gyoza several different ways including cooked in the Weber grill and baked in the toaster oven.  We used to frequently make chicken wings because they were inexpensive and a fun way to eat chicken. Then, for a while they became very expensive and we got out of the habit of using chicken wings to make yakitori or “teba gyoza”.

We decided to make stuffed chicken wings again because our old toaster oven was not working well and we got a new one with an air fryer function. We thought one of the items we would like try was our old time favorite of chicken wings. I thought about making “teba gyoza” using gyoza stuffing but since my wife recently made a meat loaf I decided to stuff the wings with left over meatloaf instead of making gyoza stuffing, This was a qualified success. It was qualified because although the skin crisped up better than when the wings are just baked in a regular oven they browned unevenly.  Since the drumette part of the wing with the stuffing in it was thicker it was positioned closer to the heating element and got much darker than the rest of the wing. Although we used left over meat loaf  instead of the traditional gyoza stuffing it was still quite good. I served this with air-fried rounds of eggplant (subject of a future post) and sautéed oyster mushrooms (#1).

This a cross section view of the drumette showing the meat stuffing (picture #2). As mentioned, the skin over the drumette got a bit too high done (backened).

This shows the overall appearance of chicken wings (picture #3). Next time, I can remove the wing tips to make the stuffed part of the chicken wings lie a bit more evenly/flat to prevent uneven browning of the skin.

Ingredients:
Any number of chicken wings
meat filling either gyoza or meatloaf

Directions:
Remove the bone from the drumette leaving the skin intact. Stuff with the meat stuffing and close with a toothpick. (I did not add any oil or spices to the wings because they already have a large amount of natural fat to baste the meat while cooking.)

Cook in the air frier at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn over and cook an additional 5 minutes.

These were again the fun way to eat chicken. The skin was crispy. The meat was juicy and tender. The added stuffing, in this case the meatloaf, was very flavorful. Although the stuffed portion got a bit high done it was still very good. We will be bringing this old favorite back onto the menu.

Meatloaf ミートローフ

While my wife was looking through the trusty old cookbook “Joy of Cooking”, she found a yellow stick’m in her handwriting from many years ago posted on one of the pages. It was a recipe for meatloaf which was a regular in her culinary repertoire long ago . It appears that this recipe is different from any other meatloaf recipe in the book. In general, we are not big fans of meatloaf or hamburger, but since this was my wife’s special recipe, we decided to try it for old times sake. It calls for ground beef, so we got one pound of 20% fat (we thought a bit fatty meat may be better for meatloaf) ground beef from Whole Foods. This was a pretty good meatloaf (#1). It was moist and flavorful. When it just came out of the oven it did not keep it’s shape very well when sliced but after refrigeration it held together better.

I ask my wife to expand on her special recipe. I helped her by chopping up onions and shiitake mushrooms (since we had a few left). I sautéd  them in olive oil (left upper in picture #2).

Ingredients: (Shown in picture #2)
1 lb ground beef
1/½ cups onion, chopped (optional several stems and caps of fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped)
1 cup bread crumbs
2/3 cup ketchup,
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2/3 cup parsley
3 eggs
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper or cayenne
1 tbs horseradish (we used yuzukosho hot sauce)
3 tbs chopped garlic
1 cup Parmesan cheese
ketchup on top

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. (It doesn’t get any easier than that). Put in a loaf pan and top with catsup (#3). Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes (until done).

This meatloaf was a colorful combination of flavors and textures.  The catsup topping caramelized and added a nice sweet/tart touch. This was a very nostalgic dish for my wife. We may have to add it back into the repertoire.

Three Eel Dishes うなぎの蒲焼料理3種類

Fresh water eel or “unagi 鰻” is a popular fish item in Japan and many restaurants specialize in eel dishes. At these specialized restaurants, eels are brought in live and prepared on site. “Kaba-yaki 蒲焼“ (eel grilled with sauce) is the most common dish with two variations of preparation and cooking* i.e., Kansai, Eastern Japan 関西 and Tokyo 東京 styles.  (Even in Japan, however, other types of restaurants may use previously prepared and frozen eel the majority of which comes from China (99 percent) and the rest from Taiwan.) Once eel kaba-yaki is prepared, two main ways of eating it is “Una-ju 鰻重” and “Una-don 鰻丼”. Both are eel kaba-yaki on rice but the former is served in a Ju-bako 重箱  (a square lacquered box) and the latter in a don-buri 丼bowl. Consequently, Una-ju is the more expensive and formal way of serving eel on rice. Una-don is the more informal way of serving eel.

In the U.S., although some eel is aqua-cultured in Maine and some restaurants may bring it in live and prepared it on site,  most of the eel is pre-packaged and frozen. The majority of this frozen eel comes from China, and Vietnam.

*For Tokyo style the filet of the eel comes from the eel’s back. It is then steamed, and grilled. For Kansai style the filet comes from the eel belly. It is then grilled without steaming. Please see here in more details.

We had a package of frozen eel kaba-yaki (11oz) in our freezer which came from Weee some time ago. We decided it was time to eat it. Since we are not big eaters and eel is quite rich, we ended up making three dishes over 3 days to finish the entire package. (Of course, we had some other small dishes along with the eel so we didn’t just eat eel for 3 days.)

The first dish I made (picture #1), is called “Wu-zaku 鰻ざく”. I posted a version of this some time ago. It is a combination of cold cucumber with julienned ginger and vinegar dressing and warmed slices of kaba-yaki eel. The cold cucumber slices counteract the rich flavor of the eel.

The next day, I made another standard or popular fail-proof eel dish called “wu-maki 鰻巻き” (picture #2). Again, I made and posted a version of this some years ago. I served this with sliced cucumber and grated daikon with soy sauce.

Finally, I made a mini una-ju ミニ鰻重 as a shime or ending dish the next evening (picture #3). I used a small square box which was a part of a larger ju-bako we used for Hanami. The traditional way of serving this is with white rice, some “unagi” sauce and the filet of kaba-yaki eel placed on top. My wife requested “sushi rice” so I used frozen rice we made some time ago when we cooked rice. After thawing and warming up the rice in a lidded silicon container in the microwave, I added some sushi vinegar (from the bottle). I mixed the vinegar into the rice and let it sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile I heated up the eel kabayaki in the toaster oven (on toast mode) until warm with the sauce bubbling. I added “sansho 山椒” Japanese  pepper powder on the top.

For us, this was the perfect ending to the meal. We spread the enjoyment of this eel over several days because too much eel is too much of a good thing. We were quite pleased with the  quality of this frozen eel kaba-yaki from China which we got from Weee.

Morning Glory Muffin 朝顔マフィン

This is by far one of the most complicated muffins, we’ve made in terms of the number of ingredients included (see #1 in the composit picture below). This appears to be a muffin traditionally served for Easter.  My wife found this particular recipe in the Washington Post when she was looking for something special to serve for Easter but didn’t get around to making it until just recently. Besides carrots, it includes raisins, canned pineapple, coconut and walnuts. This is very tender and flavorful muffin but the pineapple and coconut didn’t particularly stand out.  Probably we could have eliminated them and not noticed the difference.

Ingredients (made 17 muffins)
1/2 cup canola oil or another neutrally flavored oil, or more for the pan as needed
1/3 cup raisins
3/4 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (may substitute 1 cup regular whole-wheat flour plus 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
8 ounces canned crushed pineapple with juice (1 cup)
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (1 cup)
1/2 cup peeled, shredded green/tart apple
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the wells of a regular muffin pan with oil, or use paper baking cup liners. Toast the walnuts and coconut until they are fragrant and lightly browned. Let cool.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger in a medium bowl. Whisk together the oil, brown sugar and eggs in a separate mixing bowl until creamy and well combined. Then whisk in the pineapple and its juice. Then stir in the carrot, apple, vanilla extract and the toasted coconut and walnuts. Add the flour mixture, stirring just until it is incorporated, to form a batter. Stir in the raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups (#2). Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (#3). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.

These muffins were very moist and the flavor was complex but nothing stood out individually. As with most complex baked goods these got better with time as the flavors melded together. They are an elegant way to celebrate breakfast. We can see why this is an Easter favorite.

Honey Curry Bread 蜂蜜カレーパン

This another one of my wife’s baking projects. Recently, she re-discovered an old cookbook called “Silver Palate Good times Cookbook” which she has had for some time. (It was published in 1984).* (Back in the day, as a joke, I used to call it the “Lead Palate Cookbook”).” As she was going through the pages she came across a recipe for “Honey Curry Bread”. The combination of honey and curry powder in bread piqued her interest. This is a nice bread with honey and curry flavors coming through. The original recipe called for the dough to be braided and then made into a boule-shape. This was a bit complicated and simply done for presentation so just making it into loaves will work just fine in the future.

*She recently started revisiting the old cook books that have been resting on the shelf untouched for some time in response to an expression her friend used to say that recently came back to mind. Her friend used to say, “If you want a different outfit but don’t have the time to go to the store shop your closet”. My wife converted this to the saying, “If you want to cook something new, shop your old cookbooks.” This is because your cooking style may have changed over time and recipes that didn’t interest you in the past may be of interest in the present. This cookbook was a case-in-point.

Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F)
3 packs active dry yeast
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp salt
6–7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the curry powder, and cook for 1 minute. (This essentially blooms the curry powder flavors). Remove from heat and stir in the honey. Let it cool a bit then add the honey/curry mixture to the buttermilk. Meanwhile bloom the yeast. Put  3 cups of the flour and the salt in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the yeast and the cooled buttermilk mixture to the flour. Stir while adding additional flour until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough for 7 to 10 minutes until smooth. Place in a buttered bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch dough down, divide, into 3 ropes of 1 inch diameter (#1). Braid the ropes (#2). Wrap the braids around themselves to form a bole (#3). (Or skip the braiding and just form into a loaf). Let rise again. The recipe calls for it to be baked at 375°F for about 30–40 minutes until golden brown, but as you can see in the picture it came out a bit high done (#4) so 350 may be better in the future.

This bread was very different from the bread we usually make but was extremely satisfying. The combination of curry spices with the honey gave it a complex savory but slightly sweet flavor that made a very interesting contrast. It tasted great toasted and slathered with butter.