Cheese Straws チーズツイスト

We like small snack-y foods that go well with wine or sake. My wife, for some reason, decided to make these “Cheese straws” which are based on a recipe she found on the web. When she took out the frozen puff pastry sheets, however, she saw they were significantly past the BUD (best-used-by-date). After pondering a while and looking at what condition the puff pastry was in, she decided to take a chance and make this dish. She needed to modify the recipe mainly because of the cheeses on hand. She used smoked gouda and sharp cheddar. Despite the “passed BUD” puff pastry, this was quite good. Light, crispy and airy with cheesy flavors.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. light brown sugar
1 frozen puff pastry sheet
All-purpose flour, for rolling
4 oz. smoked cheddar cheese, finely shredded (about 11/2 cups), divided
1 large egg, beaten

Directions  
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir together the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and sugar in a small bowl until combined. Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheet on a floured work surface. Roll the pastry into a 16-by-12-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to edge of counter. Sprinkle about half of smoked paprika mixture over the surface of pastry. Sprinkle half the cheese over half of the rectangle lengthwise. Carefully fold the rectangle in half lengthwise over the cheese. Press the edges together to seal. Gently roll the folded pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the pastry into 16 (1-inch-wide) strips. Transfer the strips to the prepared baking sheets. Twist the ends in opposite directions to form spiraled sticks. Press the ends of the strips into the parchment paper, if needed, to help them hold their shape.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. (Cover with plastic wrap if refrigerating for more than 1 hour.). After removing from refrigerator sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and remaining smoked paprika mixture. Bake in 375 degree oven until cheese straws are golden brown and puffed, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating trays and moving between top and bottom racks halfway through.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Despite the fact the puff pastry was past the BUB date these were perfectly OK; spicy crunchy and flavorful. Perfect to have with a glass of wine. 

Oyster Mushroom and Chiku-wa Stir-fly with Yuzu-kosho 平茸と竹輪の柚子胡椒炒め

I realized I got a package of fresh “Hira-take 平茸” or oyster mushrooms from Weee a week ago and decided to use it up. I came across this recipe using chikuwa 竹輪 fish case and “Maitake 舞茸” hen-of-the-wood. Since I had a package of frozen chikuwa which was getting old, this seemed a perfect recipe except I had oyster mushrooms instead of hen-of-the-woods. Although we also got hen-of-the-woods mushroom at the same time as the oyster mushrooms, I used them in a dish with sage brown butter, and we finished it somedays ago. No problem, I figured the oyster mushrooms should work just as well for this recipe. We especially liked the idea of adding yuzu-kosho 柚子胡椒  (one of our favorites) into the seasoning. Although oyster mushrooms themselves don’t have a strong flavor, the combination of chikuwa and yuzu-kosho worked well. Depending on how strongly you season this dish, this can be a good drinking snack or an accompaniment for rice.

Ingredients:

1 package (6oz) of oyster mushrooms, the root-end removed and separated
6 small chikuwa fishcakes, thawed and cut on the slant into bite sized pieces
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 tbs oil

Seasoning: (mix all ingredients below in a small bowl)
2 tbs x4 concentrated Japanese noodle sauce
2 tbs mirin
1/2 tsp (or more) Yuzu kosho

Directions:
Add the oil to the frying pan on medium flame, add the mushrooms and the fish cake and stir for 1-2 minutes
Add the seasonings and stir for 1 minute
Add the scallions 

The chikuwa itself has some sweetness and the seasonings are a bit on the sweet side as well. Either using soy sauce instead of the noodle sauce and/or reducing the amount of mirin would be better next time. I would also add a dab of yuzu-kosho on the side in case additional seasoning to what is in the sauce is desired.

Izakaya in Sapporo Part 6 札幌の居酒屋パート6

7. Yakitori Gyoza Ikenoya 焼き鳥餃子のいけのや

札幌市中央区南三条西３-１-１ サンスリービル ３F

San Three Bldg 3F
Minami 3, Nishi 3, Chuo-ku
Sapporo

For reservation: 050-5462-4700, Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

I came up with this place because of the unusual combination of yakitori and gyoza and the generally good review I saw on line. It was located on the third floor of an old building. Fortunately a small elevator took us to the 3rd floor. Although we made a reservation it appeared to be unnecessary because when we got there only two customers were at the counter. They suggested we take a table (low table with leg holes). We asked if we could sit at the counter. Interestingly, they had Muroran style yakitori but they called it “buta kushi 豚串 or pork skewer” (picture below) and it was not served with yellow mustard on the side. Initially each order included two skewers per order but after few orders, we could order just one.

The yakitori was good but in general we did not taste a pronounced charcoal flavor. After the last regular, who was quite drunk left, we were only the customers during our stay that evening. We really liked the “tsukune with salted “umeboshi 梅ぼし”plum and “shiso シソ” perilla flavors 梅しそつくね”. We ordered a second one. The master had to make it from scratch which he did in front of us and it was even better than the first (which was clearly premade). It had more pronounced umeboshi 梅ぼし salt plum flavor than the first. We had more food but did not get to the gyoza.

This was our last night in Sapporo for this visit. The next day, we arrived in Haneda, Tokyo. We checked in to the hotel which is directly connected to Terminal 3. We had our last evening in a Japanese restaurant on the 4th floor of terminal 3 (Edo Market Place 江戸小路). We were so focused on our immanent departure the next day that we didn’t think to take any pictures so we didn’t include it in our izakaya write up series. Although it was a Japanese restaurant, they had enough individual small dishes and sake selection that it was like an Izakaya. We liked the restaurants in Haneda Terminal 3 more than Narita Airport.

Mapo (sort of) Eggplant “麻婆風” 茄子

This is another one of the “use-up the eggplant dishes”. I have posted a similar dish “Mapo-eggplant 麻婆茄子” before. This is a variation. It is seasoned like “Mapo-tofu  麻婆豆腐” but uses eggplant instead of tofu. Although ground pork is usually used in both Mapo-tofu and Mapo-eggplant I used left-over roasted pork cut up into small pieces. I also added fresh shiitake and wood ear mushrooms since I had them. The appearance is similar to another eggplant dish I made (Eggplant stir-fry with oyster sauce), the seasoning however, is different. The hot smoked (in the Weber grill) pork roast adds a nice smoky flavor. I like this version better than the one using ground pork.

Ingredients:
1 Asian Eggplant (long skinny kind), skin peeled into two strips, cut into relatively large (1 inch) “rangiri 乱切り”
3 tbs + 1/2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp each finely chopped ginger and garlic
2 scallions, white parts finely chopped and green part thinly sliced
5-6 fresh shiitake mushroom caps, cut into quarters or halves, depending on the size
5-6 fresh wood ear mushrooms (previously blanched and washed), cut into small strips
5-6 slices of smoked and roasted pork, cut into small squares
1 tbs potato starch in 1 tbs water (for thickening)

Seasonings (mix in a small bowl):
1 tsp toubanjan 豆板醤, more if you like it spicy
1 tsp tenmenjan 甜麺醤
1 tsp Japanese “koji” miso 麹みそ
1 tbs Chinese cooking wine 紹興料理酒
1 tbs mirin
1-2 tsp soy sauce or concentrated Japanese noodle sauce
2-3 tbs water

Directions:
Add the 3 tbs oil into a frying pan on medium flame. Add the eggplant. Toss to coat all the surfaces of the eggplant.
Turn the eggplant pieces skin side down and cook a few minutes and then turn them over to the fresh sides to lightly brown (another 2-3 minutes).
Set aside.
In the same pan, add the remaining 1/2 tbs oil, sauté the scallion (white parts), ginger and garlic.
Add the shiitake and wood ear mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes.
Add back the eggplant and add in the pork, toss to mix.
Add the seasoning mixture and simmer for a few minutes.
Add the green part of the scallion.
Drizzle in the potato starch slurry in several batches and mix until thickened, let it come to a rapid boil before turning off the heat.

This was a very savory satisfying dish. It also used the last of the eggplants we got from Weee this time. 

Izakaya in Sapporo Part 5 札幌の居酒屋パート5

6. Isari 酒菜家漁　いさり

北海道札幌市中央区南７条西３丁目　セブンビル1Ｆ

Seven Bldg 1F
Minami 7 Nishi 3, Chuo-ku
Sapporo

For reservation 011-551-7733, Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

One reason we went this place is that it was located in the “Seven building セブンビル”. This building used to be a hospital with the residence attached to it. It was owned/run by a physician who happened to be the father of my good friend’s wife. The building has been converted into a commercial building housing multiple izakayas and drinking places. The last time we were inside the building, however, we spotted some institutional hallmarks of its past as a hospital such as the stairs which are characteristic of  a medical center rather than general commercial place. They were wide, solidly made of concrete with metal treads suggesting institutional strength and cleaning  Some years ago, when we were in Sapporo, we had dinner with my friend and his wife in one of the drinking places housed in the building. My friend’s wife kept us regaled with very interesting stories about growing up this building part of which was the family residence and part of which was the hospital run by her father. The front facade is very distinctive with multiple round windows. My wife notice this building while we were riding past in a taxi. When I was searching for the next izakaya to visit, this one came up. I noticed this izakaya was located on the 1st floor and could be entered at the side of the building so you wouldn’t have to go through the main part of the building (i.e. the hospital).  (This  would have been the entrance to the family residence). I decide to pay it a visit and made a reservation.

The name of this izakaya “Isari 漁り” means “to fish” in old Japanese. Only reference to “isari”  I know was “Isari-bi 漁火” which is the fire/light used to lure fish at night. In any case, the name implied seafood was the main focus of the izakaya. We got a small low table with the “leg hole” underneath.

The first round of ordering had to be done by writing our orders on a small slip of paper. I am not sure what was the purpose of this but I obliged. Since assorted sashimi often included items we, especially my wife, did not particularly like (such as chewy octopus or sinewy white fish), we decide to order individual sashimi items which was a good choice. The sashimi was served on a bed of ice (#1). Tuna, hamachi and, especially ama-ebi sweet shrimp were really good. (We were tempted to have the shrimp heads fried).

We also ordered “kaki-age of white shrimp* 白海老のかき揚げ*” . But the last of the white shrimp had apparently been ordered by the customer at the next table so they were out of it.  The server suggested “seafood kaki-age” instead. It was a bit greasy but quite good with small scallops and shrimp. We also had “dried hotaru ika 干しホタルイカ”or firefly squid which was served slightly grilled with a side of mayo with red pepper flakes (#2). We really liked this especially since it was a bit late for the fresh hotaru-ika season**. When we took the picture (#2), we had already eaten most of the squid. We like it so much we even ordered seconds.

* “Shiro-ebi or shira-ebi” is small transparent shrimp exclusively harvested in Toyama bay 富山湾 where hotaru-ika is also famous. 

**When we were in kanazawa 金沢 this time, hotaru-ika season had just ended and we could not have fresh ones. Instead we bought dried hotaru-ika at Oomi market 近江市場. We tried it as is with a bit of sake but it was rather fishy. This rendition was much better.

This place surpassed our expectation. We will come back but next time at the counter.

Savory Breakfast Mini Cheesecakes ミニチーズケーキ

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. This time it was small cheesy bites called “Savory Breakfast Mini Cheesecakes” which she found on-line. She made quite a few modifications using her CCK (Common Culinary Knowledge). For example just looking at the list of ingredients for the crusts  listed in the recipe on the web she knew there was no way they would be enough to form crusts on 24 full sized muffin tins. She doubled the amount of ingredients and it was still not enough to fill all the mini muffin tin. Also the three 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (a total of 24 oz.) seemed a bit excessive so she significantly reduced the amount she used. (She wonders if sometimes the people who publish some of the recipes on the web have actually made them). The list of ingredients listed below includes all the specific alterations my wife made. Despite the numerous alterations in ingredients the cheese bites certainly turned out pretty well. They had a nice crunchy crust and cheesy center which cannot go wrong. But with the amount of eggs, cheese and butter that went in, this has to be more spectacular to be repeated.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)
2/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese (I used parmesan)
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 package (8 oz.) cream cheese (or 1/2 package cream cheese plus1/4 chive and onion cream cheese)
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded cheese (gruyere, cheddar, smoked gouda)
2 pieces cooked bacon crumbled
1/4 teaspoon salt
other items could include cooked shallots, green onions, red peppers).

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 24 mini muffin tin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners.

Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and melted butter together in a small bowl. Spoon about 1 teaspoon mixture into each of the prepared muffin cups. Using your fingers press down the bread crumbs to form a crust for the cheese filling. (This procedure is the very definition of tedious). 

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined. Stir in the cheeses, bacon and any other additions you might be using. Scoop the cheese mixture into the bread crumb crusts. (I used the smallest ice cream scoop). 

Bake in the preheated oven until cheesecakes are firm to the touch and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in muffin tins for 10 minutes.

These were not bad. The crust was crispy because it was essentially oven fried. The cheesy filling was smooth and very pleasant. The bacon somehow didn’t stand out as much as we would have liked. It also made a nice cheese bite to go with wine. Subsequent note: These actually got better with time. Somehow the flavors stood out more and the crust actually was a good addition. 

Izakaya in Sapporo Part 4 札幌の居酒屋パート4

5. Abuyi-ya Sou-Honten 炙りや総本店

札幌市中央区南5条西3 ANAホリディ・イン札幌すすきのB1

ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino BF1
Minami 5, Nishi 3, Chuo-ku
Sapporo

For reservation 011-530-6666*, Credit card accepted, Smoking not allowed

*When I called an “AI” answered. It appeared to work but I was not sure if I had actually made our reservation and at the correct time. So, I called again. A human answered and confirmed the AI had got it right.

After the very nosy izakaya we had been to the previous evening, this was (thankfully) an up-scale and quiet place. I learned that this was run by a large company related to or owning Sapporo Beer 札幌ビール called Hokkaido Sapporo Lion 北海道サッポロライオン. Aburiya is one of many restaurant brands they run. We also knew ahead of time that we would need to take our shoes off in this place so we made sure we had socks on  This was a very spacious, clean space with a wide and long white wood counter wrapping around the large open kitchen with comfortable chairs. “Aburu 炙る” means to “cook over fire or grill” so the “Aburi-ya” name implies they specialize in grilled items. But they had a whole gamut of Japanese dishes including sushi and sashimi (of course) with emphasis on Hokkaido products. 

The counter where we were seated happened to be in front of the sushi/sashimi station with two sushi chefs at work. Since “hirame ヒラメ flat fish” sashimi was on the menu, I asked one of the sushi chefs if they had “engawa* えんがわ” which they did.  This is a part of flat fish just beneath the dorsal fin which has a nice firm texture and one of my favorites. I tried but I have not been able to get this either in US or Japan for some time. So, we asked for assorted sashimi plus “engawa”. I forgot to take pictures when it arrived, so the picture below is after we ate most of the items. The sashimi was excellent.

*”engawa 縁側” is a part of traditional Japanese houses. It is a corridor/veranda facing or open to the outside. They are generally made out of wide boards set perpendicular to its length. The portion of flat fish fresh just underneath the dorsal fin has similar short vertical lines hence it is called “engawa”.

We had more food and sake; some fried some grilled, all were good. The bill was on the higher side as expected but worth it. The serene, spacious, and  quiet atmosphere of this place was such a contrast from last evening izakaya “Aiyo”. The shoes we took off miraculously re-apperaed at the entrance as we were leaving.

Cold Udon with Sesame Sauce 胡麻ソース和え冷製うどん

Cold noodles especially cold ramen noodles or “Hiyashi ramen 冷やしラーメン” and “Somen 素麺” are very popular summer lunches. Surprisingly I have not posted about cold somen noodles. I am sure I made them before but it could have been before we started the blog. Recently I made “cold pasta with tomatoes”トマトの冷製パスタusing thin udon noodles which we like a lot. Whenever we cook udon noodles, we make enough intentionally to have left-overs which we can use to make other dishes.  I decided to make a cold udon noodle dish. I have posted cold udon noodles with home-made ponzu and myoga  and cold udon with dipping sauce. This time, I made cold udon with sesame sauce. We happened to have simmered pork or “nibuta 煮豚” and marinated soft boiled eggs (from home-pasteurized eggs) or “ajitama 味玉”. So these became the toppings. The sesame sauce was made using roasted sesame seeds. (I re-roast store-bought “roasted” white sesame seeds) which adds a nice strong sesame flavor. I added a dab of Japanese mustard from a tube to my dish which gave the it a nice zing which I liked but my wife passed on the mustard (#1). 

Ingredients: (two small servings seen in #1)
1 servings of thin dried udon noodles, cooked as per the package instruction. Wash in cold running water after cooking (divided into two servings)

Toppings (anything you like but some protein, egg, and veggies such as cucumber. The ingredients listed below are what I used. Amounts are all arbitrary)
Simmered “nibuta 煮豚” pork, julienne
Cucumber, seeds removed,  julienned (I used American mini-cucumber)
“Gari ガリ” ginger slices in sweet vinegar, excess marinade squeezed out, julienned
Fresh “kikurage 木耳 wood ear mushroom (previously blanched, washed, and patted dry), julienned (I dressed it with home-made sweet vinegar)
Scallions, finely chopped
Ajitama 味玉, marinated soft boiled egg
Roasted white sesame seeds

Sesame sauce:
1 tbs white sesame, re-roasted in a dry pan (I used a special sesame roasting pan),
1 tbs x4 concentrated Japanese noodle sauce
1 tbs ponzu
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbs mirin
1 or more tbs water

Directions:
Grind the sesame seeds in a Japanese “suri-bachi 摺鉢” mortar until oil comes out but stop before it becomes paste.
Add the ponzu, noodle sauce, mirin and vinegar. Taste and add the water to adjust the strength of the seasoning
Add the noodles to the sauce and mix so that the sauce will coat the surface of the noodles evenly (#2).

Add the toppings and garnish with sesame (#1). 

The sesame flavor really worked. I did not add any additional oil. I could have added Japanese hot mustard to the sauce but since my wife is not keen on really spicy food, I only added it to my serving. This turned out to be a very nice lunch on a hot and muggy day such as what we have been having  recently. 

Sapporo Lunch places part2 札幌の昼ごはん パート2

2. Dekitate-ya JR tower Stella place  一夜干しと海鮮丼できたて屋　JRタワーステラプライス店

One day, we went to the JR tower observatory. It is located on the 38 floor of JR tower attached to the Sapporo train station. This is a really excellent observatory. When we stepped out of the elevator on the 38th floor we were advised by the attendant ticket vender that about 60 school kids were in the observatory and they could be a bit unruly so we might consider waiting until they left. When we asked how long that would be the answer was “about an hour”. We decided that was too long to wait so we would chance it. It turns out the kids were very well-behaved and not a problem in the least. Eventually, they left and the observatory was quiet. Along the windows, there were nice chairs and small tables to sit and admire the beautiful panoramic view of the city of Sapporo spread out below. The observatory had a small cafe in the middle. You could order drinks and a snack and sit at one of the tables to enjoy the view. All the views were spectacular but I particularly liked the north view which included Hokkaido University campus, my alma mater, at a glance. When we came down from the observatory on the 38th floor we arrived on the 6 floor of the Stella place, a connecting building. It was noon (lunch time) and we saw many restaurants; some of which had a long lines in front (always an indicator of how good the place is). Although we already had a lunch engagement that day, I made note of it.

A few days later we had to come to the station to make an adjustment to our train tickets. When we finished, it was a noon time. So, we went up to the 6th floor of the Stella Place. After looking around, we decided on this place called “Dekitate-ya できたて屋“. “Dekitate” means “just made or prepared”. The restaurant touted “ichiya-boshi 一夜干し*” over-night dried fish and “kaisen-din 海鮮丼” a rice bowl with fresh seafood on top. That was the deciding factor for me. The line was short but it was fairly late so we decided the size of the line, in this case, was no indicator of the quality of the restaurant. We took a number, waited for about 5 minutes and we were seated.

My wife likes uni or uni-ikura donburi うにイクラ丼 ; a specialty of Hokkaido which my mother introduced her to many years ago. She tried ordering one on this visit in Otaru 小樽 when we went to Kitaichi Glass 北一グラス,  but the restaurant we chose was one of the tourist traps and the uni-ikura donburi was a bit disappointing. So seeing ikura-donburi on the menu of this restaurant, she ordered it. (Japanese call this type of ordering “リベンジ” or “revenge” since the item was not available or disappointing last time). I chose the three grilled fish “teishoku 定食” lunch set called “Feast with 3 kinds of grilled fishご馳走3種類”.

This is a large chain restaurant. The company based in Hokkaido also runs reasonably priced sushi bar chains. There appear to be many stores of  “dekitate-ya” including some in Tokyo. They also do take out. We were very impressed by the quality of the food and service. Although we forgot to take a picture when the food arrived, it was very good and we finished everything. We did not think we could finish the rice but both of us finished even that. My wife’s uni donburi was very good. The uni was small but fresh and good tasting. My dish was spectacular; three grilled fish, the selection of which changes depending on what they have on a given day. Each piece was relatively small but still a good enough size that three of them made a feast and they tasted great. They were yellow tail jaw “hamachi kama ハマチのカマ”,  overnight-dried* “Hokke” (a type of mackerel famous in Hokkaido) 一夜干しほっけand pacific saury “sanma さんま”. The sanma さんま could have been a bit more fatty/oily but was still very good. They offered a choice of brown, white or seasoned rice. I chose the seasoned rice which had ginger and baby scallops in it and it was excellent. We noticed a rice husking machine tucked in the corner of the store near our table. So this restaurant appears to polish rice on-site. We also both got miso soup with baby clams “ko-hamaguri miso-shiru 子はまぐりの味噌汁”**. This was very tasty.  My wife also got warm broth which could be used to finish the rice in the form of “Ochazuke お茶漬け”. I borrowed some of the broth and finished up my seasoned rice. The picture shows the aftermath of my enjoyment of the excellent meal.

*”Ichiya-boshi” or over-night drying is a very common Japanese technique to enhance the flavor and texture of certain fish by reducing the moisture in the fish before grilling.

** A classic miso soup especially for breakfast is “Shijimi miso-shiru しじみの味噌汁’. Shijimi is a small brackish water Japanese clam. Miso soup made from shijimi has a very characteristic umami-packed flavor. The soup they served was a tamed/down-scale  version but somewhat lacking the strong umami flavor shijimi soup may have. I am not sure when was the last time I had a shijimi soup, probably when I was a kid but this was a close facsimile.

Looking around I saw there were counter seats for solo diners. Many solo diners must be office workers. Most of the diners sitting there appeared to be having Kaisen-don, bowl of rice with fresh sashimi on the top. This was certainly one of the best lunches we had on our Japan visit. Despite this being a large chain restaurant, the quality of the grilled fish was reminiscent of our previously favorite grilled fish lunch place in Ginza called “まる 圓”.

Impromptu Eggplant Mushroom Stir-fry 茄子と椎茸のオイスターソース炒め

This is an eggplant dish I came up using what I had on hand (#1). I got some ideas from other recipes I saw but I did not base this dish on any one particular recipe. I made simmered pork or “Nibuta 煮豚” the other day. So instead of ground pork, I used finely chopped nibuta. Since we got groceries from Weee this week, I processed fresh shiitake mushrooms by removing the stems. Then I chopped up the stems into small pieces and sauted them with olive oil and finely chopped scallion. I seasoned them with salt and pepper. (This can be used to make other dishes). I placed the shiitake caps in a Ziploc bag with a paper towel to absorb any moisture which comes out of the mushrooms while they are in the fridge. I also washed and blanched fresh wood ear mushrooms and placed them in a Ziploc bag with paper towel too. I have found that processing the mushrooms this way makes them last much longer. Unfortunately, I have not come up with a way to make fresh eggplants last longer, so I have to use them up fairly quickly. So this is my impromptu eggplant stir-fly with shiitake and wood ear mushroom, finely chopped nibuta pork, ginger, scallion and seasoned with Chinese “Shoko-shu 紹興酒” cooking wine, mirin, concentrated noodle sauce and oyster sauce. This was not particularly special but certainly more than edible. All the ingredients I used gave it a lot of flavor

Ingredients:
One large Asian eggplant, stem end removed, and cut into long “ran-giri 乱切り” (#2).
3-4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, cut in half or quarters
4-6 fresh wood ear mushrooms (previously branched and washed), cut into strips
2 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped
4-5 slices simmered pork “Nibuta 煮豚”, finely diced
1 tbs of finely chopped shiitake mushroom stems and shallot sautéed in olive oil (optional)
1 tbs finely chopped ginger
2 tbs + 1/2 tbs oil
1 tbs potato starch slurries for thickening the sauce

Seasonings (mix all seasonings in a small bowl)
6 tbs water
2 tbs Chinese “shoko 紹興料理酒” cooking wine
1 tbs x4 concentrated Japanese noodle sauce or soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce

Directions:
Add the oil into the frying pan on medium flame, add the eggplant, toss for a few minutes to coat with the oil. 
Turn the skins side down (#2) and cook until skin side browns, turn over and brown the fresh sides and set aside

Add 1/2 tbs oil in the same pan, add the shiitake stem mixture, ginger and stir for 30 seconds, add the mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes
Add back the eggplants and sauté for one minute.
Add the seasonings and cook for a few minutes
Taste and adjust the seasoning
Add the potato starch slurries and mix until thickened (#3)
Add the scallions and serve (#1)

Notes to self:  it was a bit too sweet for me. Next time I should consider reducing the mirin. The chopped simmered pork has almost disappeared. Probably, I should have added more. But overall, this is not too bad.

Izakaya in Sapporo Part3 札幌の居酒屋パート3

4. Izakaya Aiyo Tanuki-koji 4 chome 粋な居酒屋あいよ狸小路4丁目店

札幌市中央区南2条西4丁目清水ビルBF1

Shimizu Bldg BF1
Minami 2 Nishi 4, Chuo-Ku
Sapporo

For reservation 011-206-4239, Creadit card accepted, Smoking allowed
Order by QR code (need smart phone with internet access)

This is a chain izakaya. It appears that there are 7 company owned and 2 franchised stores in Sapporo. They emphasize the fresh seafood of Hokkaido. The name “Aiyo” is a bit of slang used mostly by trade people and means “OK” or “Got it”. It has an uncanny similarity to the English word “Aye” used as Irish slang.

This was also by far the noisiest izakaya we visited. It was noisy not because of the customers but because loud shouting between the servers was an established part of the ambiance of the place. The young servers appear to have been encouraged to shout as loud as possible to each other and in unison rather than talk. For example, when serving the Kaisen-don 海鮮丼 they serve a large amount of sashimi piled on top of the rice. Then topped that by spooning ikura on the top of the piled sashimi all right at the table while loudly shouting “Aiyo” in unison. This reminded us of another izakaya we went to some years ago (might have been another branch of the same chain). Another interesting thing was their way of cerebrating a customer’s birthday. (Quite a few customers seemed to have birthdays the day we were there) They turned off all the lights and brought out a  birthday dessert plate with sparklers on it accompanied by some loud shouts, of course. The entire experience was auditory chaos. 

The food order was done by QR code. Our young servers appeared a bit worried that we (old folks) could handle this. “No worry, Aiyo (I got it).” The servers were all young, loud,  and very friendly wearing name tags. I started ordering using my smart phone. I ordered sake and sashimi first but for some reason, the fried potato appeared first and we had to wait some time for the sashimi.

This was sort of steak fries and it was really good. The sake selection was not extensive but it sufficed. Another interesting thing about this place was the entrance to the bathrooms. They were entered through a secret door in a wall of shelves with large sake bottles on them (#2) The shelves parted in the middle opening to a hallway leading to the bathrooms. (I assume the bottles were empty).

Although the food and sake were quite decent, we were a bit tired of the loud noise and decided to retreat. When we were leaving we saw quite few people waiting outside. 

After we got back to our hotel, we stopped at the lounge which was (thankfully) very quiet. We had a flute of Moët Chandon and a chocolate parfait  (#3) which became my wife’s favorite way to end the evening. After a lovely dinner at an izakaya we would stop at the lounge for our champaign and chocolate parfait desert night cap. The parfait was basically a lovely chocolate mouse with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, and some chocolate and cookie wafers on top. The lower layers of the parfait were different kinds of chocolate mouse with nice little crunchies. The last layer was crunchy chocolate cake. We really enjoyed sharing this with the flute of champaign as a quiet end to the evening .

Pork Vindaloo with Baby Corn and Edamame ポーク “ビンダルー“ カレー, ベイビィコーンと枝豆入り

We occasionally get a large (about 10 lb) portion of bone-in skin-on pork (either fore- or hind-quarter). I am not sure how other people deal with this type of pork but I essentially do the secondary butchering by removing the bones and skin and making one large and one small roast (the large one barbecued in the Weber grill and the smaller one used for “ni-buta 煮豚” cooked in the Instant Pot).  I cut the remaining pork into good size chunks. I usually cook them in the Instant Pot with chicken broth just covering the meat and pressure cook for 30 minutes which produces a very tender meat. Using this cooked pork, my wife makes some kind of curry but our favorite is called “Pork Vindaloo”. My wife adds canned beans which was not part of the original recipe. She used to use canned  “Navy beans” which are creamy and almost dissolved into the curry making it thick. But for some reason, these beans  (canned) are not available, so she used “Great Northern Beans”. They are similar to the navy beans and add a nice texture and flavor but are not creamy and do not dissolve to make the curry thick. So this curry somewhat resembles “スープカレー Soup curry” which is invented and famous in Hokkaido. The Hokkaido soup curry usually has grilled or fried vegetables. My version of the veggies included baby corn and shelled edamame sautéed in butter and seasoned with a bit of soy sauce and Japanese curry powder. This worked very well. The curry flavor in the baby corns makes it a part of the vindaloo. We had this as lunch one day but we did not add any rice.

Just for ourselves, we repeat the recipe for Vindaloo pork since there are some modifications.

Ingredients:
3 Tbs. grainy (grey poupon) mustard
2 Tsp. mustard seeds
1 1/2 Tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 Tsp. salt
3 Tsp. sushi vinegar 
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 or 3 onions roughly cut
1 1/2 lb. pork shoulder cut into large cubes
1 can of navy or great Northern Beans

Directions:
Put the mustard seeds into a dry frying pan and roast until they turn a slight grey color and start popping.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Mix the mustard, cumin, turmeric, pepper, salt, and sushi vinegar together in a little dish and set aside.
Put peanut oil in a pan and sauté the onions until they are translucent and continue for a few more minutes.
Add the mustard mixture letting the spices bloom in the hot pan. (they will start to stick to the bottom but don’t panic).
Add the mustard seeds.
Once everything is incorporated add the meat and the broth is was cooked in (add chicken broth if more liquid is needed).
Simmer for about 20 minutes.

This made a very satisfying curry. It is not spicy hot but has plenty of flavor. The sautéd corn and edamame are a nice touch.

Sapporo Lunch Places Part 1札幌の昼ごはん パート1

It appears that it is difficult to plan where to have lunch since being “out-and-about” other situations dictated time and place where we could eat on any given day while we were in Sapporo 札幌. Nonetheless we found two places we really liked. So, this is just for us to remember.

1. Food stand and Tokibi “corn ” wagon at Odori Park 大通公園の屋台ととうきびワゴン

We had some very pleasant weather days in Sapporo—sunny and cool. The temperature was a bit chilly at times but nice enough that we could sit comfortably on a bench in Oodori Park 大通公園. Since the near-by Mitsukoshi 三越 department store basement (so-called “Depa-chika” デパ地下) floor had all kinds of food including bento boxes we considered getting a bento box at the department store after shopping and eating it in the near by Oodori park for lunch. 

But we found a better and cheaper way to have a lunch in the park. In Oodori 3 chome, there is a large food stand (#1)  In Japanese this would have been referred to as a “Yatai 屋台” but this word does not quite describe this place. Yatai are usually non-permanent and can be moved. This place is semi-permanent (during the tourist season) and several tables and chairs were placed around the 3 chome fountain which is in front of this food stand.  But in general the area was very crowded with people consuming the food they bought at the food stand. We managed to find some benches in Odori 4 chome across the Ekimae-dori 駅前通りor Station Boulevard from the food stand. These benches were mostly in the shade and the area was less crowded than right in front of the food stand. So my wife staked out a bench in the shade in 4 chome while I was commissioned to fetch our lunch from the food stand in 3 chome. I realized the food stand did not provide trays or even lids for drinks. So, I came up with a strategy; get one iced coffee (300 yen??), one “yakisoba 焼きそば”  fried noodles (600 yen) and  one “tori-momo Zangi 鶏ももザンギ” Hokkaido-style fried kara-age chicken thigh (600 yen). The fried chicken thigh was a good sized 4 chunks skewered on one disposable chop stick (food-on-a-stick for tourists). Even without a tray, I managed to carry all three items back to the bench across the street. The noodles and fried chicken were hot which made it a bit difficult but I managed to deliver our lunch. Initially we also wanted fried potatoes (Japanese call it  “potato fry”) from the food stand. It was impossible for me to carry that with everything else.  But I noticed the Sapporo famous “Tokibi wagon とうきびワゴン” or corn wagon happened to be located near our bench and I knew it sold not just corn but also “Bata Jaga バタじゃが” steamed  Hokkaido potatoes with butter (300 yen). The potato was very hot just coming out of the steamer. They placed it in a plastic container with an individually wrapped pat of butter, a small package of salt and a small plastic spoon). My wife expertly prepared the potato. So here we go; we had a lunch consisting of the fried chicken (which was hot, crispy and very good), fried noodles (also hot and good despite being mostly seasoned noodles with only a rare small piece of pork and cabbage), hot steamed potato with salt and butter and iced coffee. We shared all the items and our lunch cost 1,800 yen (less than 13 dollars) for the two of us.

It was a great meal. We were outside in front of the 4 chome fountain (#2) (which is unchanged from what I remember from my childhood).  There was the continuous entertainment of all kinds of people walking by, some walking dogs (one woman was walking 2 ferrets on a leash), some taking pictures, some sitting on the lawn painting etc. People-watching happens to be one of our favorite activities. We enjoyed this style Sapporo lunch so much we did it again a few days later.

Cream Cheese Muffin クリームチーズマフィン

This is another of my wife’s baking/muffin projects. This time, she tried to use up some smoked trout cream cheese dip she made and Greek yogurt dip which we had and enjoy as an appetizer on crackers. They were both getting a bit old. The cream cheese dip has a nice dill and smoky flavor from the trout. The Greek yogurt dip has a nice rich olive oil flavor that blends well with the flavor of the Greek yogurt we make. She looked for “cream cheese muffin” recipes on the internet and modified one she found for cream cheese and garlic. The recipe called for plain cream cheese, plain yogurt and garlic for which she substituted the smoked trout cream cheese dip, Greek yogurt dip and eliminated the garlic. We were not sure how this would turn out with these substitutions. We were pleased that it came out quite nicely with some smoky flavor coming through. Its a nice savory small bite perfect to accompany wines (#1).

Ingredients (made 24 mini muffins) 
280g flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
200 g plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt dip)
150 g cream cheese (I used cream cheese smoked trout dip)
1/4 cup oil

Directions:
Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl.
In a second bowl combine the wet ingredients: eggs, oil, yoghurt, and cream cheese.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (do not over mix).
Scoop dough into prepared muffin tins (well greased or paper-lined). I used the small-bite tins (#2). Bake in the preheated oven at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown (#3).

Despite the substitutions of ingredients these little muffins were quite nice. They were crispy on the outside and moistly tender on the inside. They have a robust slightly smokey/dill flavor. They make a perfect little appetizer bite.

Izakaya in Sapporo Part2 札幌の居酒屋パート2

3. Sapporo Frusato So-honten 札幌ふるさと総本店

札幌市中央区北一条西3-3-24 札幌中央ビル４F

Sapporo Chuo Bldg 4F
North 1, Nishi 3, Chuo-ku
Sapporo

For reservation 011-233-3311, Credit card accepted, Non-smoking (separate smoking area)

This is not a quite chain izakaya but it appears to have three stores. They all include the name “Frusato 古里” . This is a very common and popular Japanese word but it is a bit difficult to translate. It has a nostalgic overtone, something like “home town” or “home village”. This is particularly meaningful for those who leave the rural area or “furusato” where you were born and grew up to go to the big city. After settling in the big city, and raising family there, you reminisce about your “furusato” with a strong sense of longing and nostalgia. I suppose I can say “Sapporo” is my “furusato”. The Frusato store we went to is called Frusato “So-honten 総本店” meaning “grand main store”. There is another one in “Kotoni 琴似” called Frusato “honten 本店” or “main store”. So we have two stores called the “main store”. I am assuming the one in Kotomi must be the very first store they opened, although the question of which one is the real “main store” remains open. A third store is located at the Sapporo Station North Exit 札幌駅北口店 and has the plain name of “Frusato Sapporo station kitaguchi store”.

We took a taxi from our hotel but probably  I did not give a good address/direction, we were dropped off across from “Tokei-dai clock tower 札幌時計台”. We had to walk a bit to get to this place. We got counter seats with a large window in front overlooking “Ekimae-Dori or Station Boulevard 駅前通りand Sapporo Grand Hotel 札幌グランドホテル*.

This was typical semi-chain izakaya affair. The menu had everything imaginable in izakaya. We liked their system in which we could take time examining the menu and when we are ready just press the button and the server would immediately appear. We started with our usual sake and assorted sashimi plus an order of  “カワハギ filefish**” with its liver (in the center served in black and red square “masu 升”). This assorted sashimi was really great.  We had some more food and sake. This place was noisy in a good way; the noise of people having fun.  We really enjoyed this place. Next time, we are in Sapporo, this place is on our short list.

*Since I am originally from Sapporo, seeing the Sapporo Grand Hotel was somewhat nostalgic. This must have been the first Western-style hotel in Sapporo. As a kid, this was a symbol of grandeur and  affluence of which I could only dream and here I was many years later watching people going in and out of the hotel entrance. From our window at the izakaya perch we could see the taxi queue on the other side of the street in front of the hotel. We happened to enjoy looking at the systematic organization and chaos of Japanese taxi queues. (Kyoto station one is the best). So this was quite an entertainment for us.

**when I saw kawahagi sashimi with liver in the menu, I was delighted. This fish has  a firm white flesh and its liver is the best part. Sometimes, sushi chefs will make a sauce out of the liver (cooked) with soy sauce but this time, the liver was served on the side. This was really good.

Chilean Sea Bass in Sweet “Saikyo” Miso メロの西京味噌焼き

We have posted about Chilean sea bass or Patagonian tooth fish* previously. This time, I made sweet “Saikyo-miso 西京味噌” marinated Chilean sea bass. I am experimenting with various methods to “grill” fish in a frying pan using parchment paper. This method worked very well and emulates grilling. The miso marinade made a nice brown crust but did not burn. The fish meat came out flaky, moist and pleasantly oily. The sweet miso made a nice savory crust and the flavors really went well together. I served this with shredded cabbage (lately I have been using Taiwanese cabbage which is closer in texture to the Japanese variety) with Campari tomato dressed with a mixture of ponzu shoyu ポン酢醤油, olive oil, and a splash of dark sesame oil and Dijon mustard which I added to the dressing mostly as an emulsifier.  In the picture the dark object on the left lower part of plate is boiled edible chrysanthemum 春菊 dressed with concentrated Japanese noodle sauce and topped with bonito flakes 鰹節. We also had a bowl of freshly cooked rice. We really enjoyed this combination.

*Japanese name is “Mero メロ” which appears to originate from a spanish name in Chile or “Gin-mutsu 銀ムツ”.

This time we had an appropriate sweet white miso called “Saiyo miso 西京味噌 (#1 in the composite picture)” famous in Kyoto. So this dish is called “Saikyo miso marinated” without qualification.

Ingredients (two servings):
2 filets of Chilean sea bass, thawed and patted dry

Marinade:
3 tbs Saikyo miso
2 tsp sugar
1 tbs Mirin (or more until the marinade consistency is spreadable but not too runny)
Yuzu zest (optional, I used the last of the frozen yuzu zest)

Directions:
Cover the cutting board with plastic wrap. Place the filets on the plastic wrap and smear the marinade thinly on the back of filets. Turn them over and smear the marinade covering the rest of the filets. Wrap the marinade covered filets tightly in the plastic wrap (#3). Marinate in the wrap at least 20 minutes to a few hours in the refrigerator. 
Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom of a frying pan (#2)
Unwrap the filets and scrape off the majority of the excess marinade from the surface of the filet leaving only a thin layer of the marinade on the fish (#4)
Place the filet on the parchment paper in the pan.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a medium low heat for 5-7 minutes (#5), the surface should brown but not burn.
Flip the filets over and cook another 3-4 minutes with the lid on.
You can judge the doneness by looking at the breaks of the flesh of the fish which develop during cooking. (#6) When they are opaque the fish is done.

The parchment covered frying pan method works well. Since no oil was used, it emulates grilling. The pan  remains clean. I think this is a better method than baking to cook fish especially marinaded fish which can burn easily.

Izakaya in Sapporo Part 1 札幌の居酒屋パート1

We went from Tokyo to Sapporo by train rather than plane. We rode the Hokkaido Shinkansen 北海道新幹線 from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate Hokuto 新函館北斗. (We rode the Hokkaido Shinkansen for the first time in 2017 from Oomiya 大宮 to Shin-Hakodate since we started in Niigata 新潟.) Initially I thought we would have to take a shuttle train from Shin-Hakodate back to Hakodate to catch the limited express narrow gauge “zairai sen 在来線” train to Sapporo. Then I discovered a zairai sen actually went through Shin-Hakodate. So all we had to do was get from the shinkansen platform to the zairai sen platform to get the limited express Hokuto 北斗 to our final destination Sapporo 札幌 (my home town).

We didn’t have much time, however, to get from one platform to the other at Shin-Hakodate. But we would essentially be on the train all day so we would need some food for the trip. The question was what to do about ekiben 駅弁? Should we get some in Tokyo or at Shin-Hakodate? We decided, we would not have enough time to buy ekiben  at Hakodate, so we bought two in Tokyo. It was a good thing we did because we just made the transition between the two platforms in time; if we had stopped to get an ekiben we would have missed our train.  Purchasing those two ekibens, however,  required a bit of effort. We were leaving Tokyo early in the morning and it was too early for the ekiben stores on the basement floor of the department store connected to the station to be open. Still, we got two decent ekiben from a small kiosk in front of the SevenEleven which was open. They came with an advisory that they needed to be consumed by 1 PM that day for safety reasons. We were able to comply by eating them just after we took off to Sapporo from Shin-Hakodate just making 1 PM deadline.

1.  Yakitori-no- Ippei Sappro Minani 4 Store 焼き鳥の一平南4条店

札幌市中央区南4条西3丁目9-1 12Mビル3階

12M bldg 3F
Minami 4, Nishi 3, Chuo-ku, Sapporo

For reservation: 011-281-0006, Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

Since we were in Hokkaido, I thought going to a yakitori-ya 焼き鳥屋  that specialized in “Muroran” yakitori 室蘭焼き鳥 was appropriate. Muroran is a port town located south east of Sapporo about one and half hours by car or train. It had been famous for its steel industry but now it has been in decline. My mother’s relatives including her (my grand-) parents lived in the Muroran area and I remember visiting them as a small child, although I was too young for yakitori. Muroran yakitori differs from regular yakitori because it is made with pork and onion rather than chicken and negi scallion and side of yellow mustard

Later I learned that this izakaya is a family company started in Muroran with multiple stores in Muroran, Sapporo and other places in Hokkaido. There are two stores in Sapporo and the one we went is the smaller of the two.

It is located very close to the main Susukino intersection (picture above). We first tried Muroran yakitori (pork and onion). It came with yellow mustard. It was very good. We also ordered chicken yakitori. We had “shiro-reba or white liver which is sort of foi gras of chicken. It was soft in texture and something we have never tasted before. (We usually have and like regular chicken liver.) Besides yakitori, we tried some fried dishes. One of the recommended items was grilled shell-on boiled quail eggs 殻付きウズラの炭火焼き. I was tempted but was not sure how the shell could be eaten. One of the young customers sitting next to us ordered it and started crunching. I asked how it was. He said hard but good. We also had “cheese karikari-age” チーズのカリカリ揚げ or crunchy fried cheese (picture below). It was very good but appeared to be a  premade frozen product since we encountered exactly the same item at another izakaya. We had a dish of fried squid and ama-ebi which was also very good. We finished with “Nasu-yaki” a grilled eggplant. This was a variation of “Yaki-nasu 焼きなす”. It came with a small bowl full of bonito flakes. 

2. Susukino Kaisen Izakaya Kobachi すすきの海鮮居酒や小鉢

札幌市中央区南6条西4-1-11 TM 29 1F

TM-29 bldg 1F
Minami 6 Nhishi 4, Chuo-ku
Sapporo

For reservation 011-533-6555, Credit card accepted Smoking allowed

Judging from reviews and photos, this place is run by a chef who specializes in fresh seafood and is famous for live squid and crabs. When I called to make a reservation, I was told that they didn’t have any live squid today which was fine with us (we had live squid sashimi in Hakodate 函館 some years ago. We are not really sure if we like “live” squid sashimi.) In any case, this place was on the first floor of a small building. The entrance was far in the back after you enter the building.  Our expectations were high for some nice Hokkaido sourced seafood. We sat at a small table and across from us was a semi-private room with the sliding doors open. Four or 5 middle aged men were feasting literally; cult sake, crabs etc. The chef and his wife were appropriately paying close attention. In any case, we started with sake and assorted sashimi. The wife (waitress) recommend a few sakes which were pretty good. 

The chef himself delivered the sashimi for us and explained the various items. A few of them he specially prepared and recommended we enjoy them without the addition of any soy sauce. We also had sea urchin in salt water 塩水うに which, even though from Hokkaido, was not that special. The rest of the sashimi was good but not outstanding. We had some grilled fish and fried oysters. I am sure we had some more. The place was very smoky (thanks to guys in the semi private room). The sake and food were basically good.

Pea, Avocado and Mint Blini グリーンピー、アボカド、ミント ガスパッチョ

When we made “Pea, Avocado and Mint Gazpacho”, we were not particularly wild about the “grassy” taste from the peas. The original recipe called for fresh uncooked peas which we thought must have tasted starchy and even more grassy. In any case we used frozen peas, so they were not “uncooked” but the grassy taste was pronounced. We thought, maybe cooking it would reduce the “grassy” taste. In addition we had a lot of the gazpacho left. My wife suggested she could use the extra to make gazpacho blini since she had many successes using additional ingredients/flavors in previous versions of blini. The pea blini seemed to cook up nicely but, although we did not take pictures of the cut surfaces, the center did not show the many uniform  bubbles/holes we would expected in a blini. It had a nice crunchy crust but the center was soft and mushy even though the blini were thoroughly cooked. In addition the “grassy” taste was still as strong as ever (if not even more pronounced). We tried eating some for breakfast, but decided the bottom line was we did not like either the taste or the texture. So we designated them a “failure” and tossed them out. But wait. My wife, who has had multiple “failures” in her cooking career (remember the tart crust made of nuts that even the squirrels would not eat) does not let them discourage her cooking experiments. She does this by maintaining the philosophy that it is not a “failure” if you have at least learned something from it. So what did we learn from this experience? If you do not like the flavor of the initial ingredient using it to make something else such as a blini will not necessarily result in an improvement. Also, pea, avocado and mint gazpacho does not work for us in any form. So we decided to blog this “failure” to remind ourselves of this cooking philosophy and not let a lack of success discourage us (or our readers). 

Ingredients  (made 15 blini):
2 cups of  “Pea, Avocado, and Mint gazpacho”
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough additional cream or buttermilk to make it the texture of pancake batter

Directions:
Put the gazpacho in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and sour cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more cream so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full (#1). Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side (#2 and 3). Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

We thought this would be a great way to use the left over gazpacho as we did using mashed potatoes. The outside was crispy but the inside was mushy and lacked uniform bubbles which characterize a good blini. Despite cooking, the grassy flavor of the pea came through. Although certainly edible, we did not enjoy it. But we learned something so we will not be discouraged from experimenting with other ingredient variations to make more /other blini.

Tottori Izakaya and Shinkansen “Izakaya” 鳥取の居酒屋と新幹線居酒屋

Tenchou ヽ兆

鳥取県鳥取市栄町752 ホテルレッシュ鳥取駅前 1F

Hotel Resh 1F
Sakae-cho 752, Tottori

For reservation 0857-51-1248, Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

We came to tottori to see the sand dunes or “sakyu 砂丘” but it was rainy and we just saw it from a vista point but could not really walk on it. The sand museum 砂丘美術館, however, was quite impressive with large and amazing sand sculptures.

We stayed here only one night so we visited just one izakaya. This was just across from our hotel in the 1st floor of another hotel but the entrance was from the side street. This is a hybrid between izakaya and restaurant. A single young woman was at the counter eating her dinner. Eventually 2 other young women entered both dressed in almost the same frilly white dresses. (We noticed that frilly white outfits many of which almost looked like wedding dresses seemed to be quite popular among the younger set). The sake selection and food were quite decent, although we cannot recall exactly what we drank and ate.

Shinkansen Izakaya 新幹線居酒屋

Next morning, we took a limited express train from Tottori 鳥取 to Himeji 姫路 starting around 10:30 AM. Then, we transferred to the Shinkansen bullet train heading for Tokyo. So, this was a perfect time for "Shinkansen Izakaya" and lunch. During the layover between trains we had an adequate time to get two ekiben 駅弁; we got one with all drinking snacks in 9 compartments (picture) and one with Tonkatsu over  rice トンカツ弁当. We also got two small bottles of sake; one was particularity good called “Senhime Daiginjo 千姫大吟醸酒” which is the local sake

So, we shared these nine dishes with a sip of sake. They were amazing tasty little morsels; just the right amount and difference in flavor to make the whole thing extremely interesting.We also shared the tonkatsu bento. As scenery went by, this was as good izakaya as we can imagine. Finally, in the mid-afternoon, we were back to Tokyo.

Pea, Ricotta ad Mint Gazpacho えんどう豆、リコッタチーズとミントのガスパッチョ

We are having very hot and humid weather with customary severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. When my wife saw the recipe for nice fresh green pea gazpacho on the Washington Post website, she had to make it. We happened to have mint growing in our herb garden. We also had all the other ingredients except parsley so we made this without the parsley. This is a refreshing rich gazpacho with the peas (we used frozen baby peas) imparting a somewhat grassy taste which was not unpleasant. We topped it with our favorite Spanish extra-version olive oil. (Shown as the darker green in the pic).

Ingredients:
4 mini-cucumbers, seeds removed and cut into cubes (14 ounces total)
Flesh of 1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
2 cups frozen baby green peas
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1/4 cup water (we used chicken broth)
(We omitted parsely)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 clove garlic
Fine salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

Directions:
Prepare the peas. Since they were frozen we simply thawed them in a bowl with some hot water. In a Vitamix, combine the cucumber, avocado, peas, ricotta, scallions, water, chopped mint, lemon juice and garlic and puree until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and blend again, just to incorporate. Taste, and add more lemon juice, as needed.

We served this in a small bowl. The puree had a thick consistency which made us think of a pea smoothy. We made it a bit more soup-like with the addition of milk (or cream) and a drizzle of oil.  The pea and avocado flavors dominated. As mentioned the overall flavor was a bit grassy but it tasted more fresh than unpleasant. A great way to eat your veggies in the hot humid summer. 

Kyoto Izakaya in Kyoto Station Area Part 2 京都駅駅付近付近の居酒屋 パート2

2. Yakitori Tsujiya 焼き鳥つじや

京都市下京区塩小路西洞院西入ル北不動堂町522-9

5229 Kita-fudoudoucho, Shimokyou-Ku
Kyoto

For reservation 075-341-1819, credit card accepted, Probably smoking allowed
Ordering by QR code (You need a smart phone with internet access)

As I was writing this up, I looked on the internet for information about this place. The TSUJIYA GROOVE is the holding company. Judging from their web site, they run two separate but similar chains. One is “Yakitori Tsujiya 焼き鳥つじや” with one store which is where we went. Another is “Sumi-bi Kushiyaki Tsujiya 炭火串焼つじや” with 4 stores. The difference between these two chains is uncertain to me based on their write-ups. Both serve chicken on skewers grilled using a charcoal fire.  Judging from the pictures, the latter appears to be in at the higher end of the price spectrum.

This was a low-key yakitori place. We were lucky we could make the reservation. Although we were 5 minutes late, they kept our seats at the corner of the counter just next to the “yakiba 焼き場” where yakitori is grilled. So we had a good view of how the grilling was taking place. They gave me a slip with a  “QR code” printed on it and asked that I order through their web site. Luckily, I had my iphone connected to a portable hot spot. We ordered sake from their recommendation and ordered the usual suspects of yakitori dishes; chicken thigh, liver, tuskune, wings, negima etc. Meanwhile the place was packed. A number of people came to the door but were turned away including some foreign tourists. (Japanese refer to these customers as “inbounds”. This is where I saw the head waitress use an internet translation program to communicate the “lack of space” and expected “long-time wait” to the foreign “inbounds” who came to the door.)

The yakitori was very good. It had a nice highly pronounced charcoal flavor. All the dishes were pretty good but we really liked the liver and ordered seconds. We ordered more sake and other dishes and our “shime 〆” ending dish was a grilled rice ball.

During our stay, people started coming down from the second floor where, I understand, they have tables for big parties. But the people kept coming, coming, coming in a steady flow. Finally, I asked how many people they could accommodate on the second floor. They laughed and said “many”.

This was really good experience with excellent yakitori.


3. Irodori 京の四季いろどり

京都府京都市下京区東塩小路町577 大将軍ビル3階

Daishougun Bldg 3F
Higashi-shiokouji-cho 577
Shimokyo-ku, Kyoto

For reservation 075-343-9266, Credit card accepted, No smoking

The day I called for a reservation they said none was available so I asked for one the next day. They had seats for two at the counter.  The place was just across from the station/our hotel.  This is run by a company which also runs grilled meat “Yakiniku 焼肉” restaurants (two) and pachinko parlors (two) but only one “Irodori”. The place appeared quite large. Our counter was quite spacious and guests were seated quite far apart. This counter may have been used as a sushi-bar at one time but the cold case was empty.  A sliding door inside the counter connected to a large kitchen.  Noise and laughter wafted and there appeared to be many tables and rooms which we could not see.

They offered a Kyoto local sake tasting. We chose 6 between the two of us. This was a good move.

Among the 6 we tasted the one third from the right called “Ine-mankai 伊根満開” meaning “Full bloom in Ine” really stood out. This is because of its “rose wine” color and its amazing taste. We wanted to know what produced this unusual color and since I had my phone I quickly looked it up on the internet. I found out this was brewed from “ancient red rice 古代米” by a woman “touji 杜氏” brew master at the sake brewery “Mukai shuzo 向井酒造” . This. brewery is located in “Ine-cho 伊根町”. Since the flavor was so specially memorable we chose it as our starter sake.

As usual, we ordered assorted sashimi. A middle aged man who must have been the sushi chef, brought the sashimi plate. It had obligatory “Tai” perch which we had else where and tended to be sinewy/chewy but not this one. Nicely soft with much more flavor. I asked if it had been aged and the chef said when he tested it he determined it was too firm so he aged it for a few days. Some sashimi fish especially white fish can be improved in texture and flavor by aging. We had some other dishes including roasted duck breast. All were quite good. Although it lacked the usual Izakaya atmosphere, the sake and food as well service were great.  We will definitely go back.

Vinegar Cured Mackerel Sushi with Shiro-ita Kelp バッテラ

“Battera バッテラ” is a type of molded sushi or “oshizushi 押し寿司” popular in the Osaka 大阪 region. It is made from vinegar cured mackerel or “shime-saba しめ鯖” and specially prepared kelp called “shiro-ita konbu 白板昆布” (more description later). I posted molded sushi using vinegar cured mackerel and smoked salmon but I did not have shiro-ita konbu, at that time. Later I found a product where the shime-saba was covered with shaven kelp. Using this, I made sushi similar to “oshizushi” called “bo-zushi 棒鮨” without using a mold. We were quite satisfied with this version. Then, I found “shiro-ita konbu” listed on the website called “Japanese Taste”. This company sells authentic Japanese items including groceries. So, I bought the konbu to make a more authentic battera but again I did not use the mold.  (I was just a bit lazy. I would have had to find the mold and then soak it in water before I could use it). In the serving picture, you see the mackerel is covered with a thin layer of kelp. On the left most side I included sushi rice wrapped with “shiro-ika konbu”. They were good but I am not sure the konbu made a big difference in taste. I served this with cucumber and nappa cabbage asazuke 浅漬け and vinegar cured lotus root “su-renkon 酢レンコン.

Ingredients:

1 package of vinegar cured mackerel or shime-saba, thawed

One strip of “shiro-ita konbu 白板昆布 (#4)” about the same size as the mackerel

About 1/2 cup (or enough to make one roll of sushi) of sushi rice

Directions:

Season the kelp as per the package instructions (simmer in the mixture of dashi broth, soy sauce, sake and sugar, but the more standard seasoning uses sweet vinegar)

Remove the thin skin from the mackerel (#1)

Place the mackerel, skin side down on a silicon sushi mat (or plastic wrap on the top of a bamboo sushi mat), make a cylinder of sushi rice on the top and form a tight cylinder using the sushi mat (#2)

Place the seasoned kelp and form again (#3)

Wrap it in plastic wrap to let it settle for 5-20 minutes before slicing

A bit about “Shiro-ita konbu (#4)” and “oboro konbu おぼろ昆布 (#5)”.

“Shiro-ita  konbu” is the center part of kelp after the surface has been removed as “oboro-konbu” by shaving off the surface of the kelp making very thin strands. The package shown in #5 states this is hand-shaven showing the illustration of a guy shaving the kelp. This shaven kelp can be added to soup or udon noodles with broth. It does add some umami flavor but the texture is a bit “slimy”. So, I don’t know which is the main product and which is the byproduct “shiro-ikta conbu” or “oboro konbu” or vise versa.

From “Japanese Taste” I also got dried gourd peel or “kanpyo 干瓢” (which I have not been able to get for some time. The only kind available was pre-seasoned and could not be used as a tie for kelp roll). I also got “Hidaka Kelp 日高昆布”.  “Hidaka” is a place in Hokkaido famous for producing a good quality eating (as opposed to broth making) kelp.