Saturday, June 3, 2023
Canned Mackerel, Cabbage and Egg Stir-fry サバ缶とキャベツの卵炒め
The below is the picture of another serving a few days later. I added boiled quail eggs which had been marinated.
This is based on the recipe on line (in Japanese).
Ingredients:
One can of mackerel in brine or “Saba-no-mizuni” 鯖の水煮
3-4 leaves of cabbage, thick vein removed and cut into bite-size square
2 shiitake mushrooms, stem removed and sliced (optional)
1 egg
1 tbs vegetable or olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Make scrambled egg and set asdie
sauté the cabbage for few minutes
Add the mackerel and stir for few more minutes
Plate and top with the scrambled egg
Season with salt and pepper
This is an ok dish to use up the canned mackerel…actually tasted pretty good. It was even better the next day with the marinated quail eggs.
Monday, May 22, 2023
Udon and Shrimp Stir-fry エビ入り焼きうどん
The egg could have been a bit less cooked but it had a somewhat running yolk. I seasoned the dish with oyster sauce and soy sauce. The oyster sauce (Kikoman brand) was a bit on the sweet side but it tasted pretty good.
This is not really a recipe but just a record of what I did. I just used what ever vegetables were available in the fridge.
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
One bundle of dry udon noodles, cooked according to the package instruction
6 shrimp, thawed, shelled, seasoned with salt and coated with potato starch
One medium onion, thinly sliced
Several leaves of cabbage, cut into small rectangles
5-6 green beans, blanched, cut into 1 inch segments
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 tbs peanut oil and 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs dried “aonori” 青のり powdered seaweed for garnish
Two pasteurized eggs, salt and pepper to taste and olive oil for frying
Directions:
Heat a wok and add the peanut and sesame oil, cook the shrimp, 30 seconds on each side, set aside
Add more oil and cook the ginger and garlic. Stir for a few seconds, add the onion and cabbage, cook 1-2 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Add the noodles (you may want to add a small amount of water), stir until warmed.
Add back the cooked shrimp
Add the oyster and soy sauce and stir for one more minute
In another frying pan on medium flame, add the olive oil and the eggs. Cook until the edges get slightly browned, place the lid on, cut the flame and let it steep for 1 minute.
Serve the noodles and shrimp and garnish with the aonori (You could also add pickled ginger and sesame seeds) and top with the fried egg.
Monday, April 10, 2023
Firefly Squid Scallion Pancake ホタルイカ入りネギ焼き
Ingredients (make 4 pancakes)
12 firefly squids (3 per pancake) or more if you like
50 grams grated nagaimo (mine was near 80 grams)
9 tbs chopped scallion (I used 5 stalks)
1 egg (I used 2 eggs)
2 tbs AP flour
1 tsp granulated bonito dashi (I used “Hondashi”ほんだし)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs vegetable oil
Directions:
Since I was using more grated nagaimo than the amount called for in the original recipe, I changed the amount of eggs as a binder. I did not add the firefly squid into the batter initially. I divided the batter into 4 portions and added 3 squid to each batch.
I heated up a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and added the oil. I poured in 4 potions as seen below.
After a few minutes or when the bottoms are set and brown, I flipped the pancakes and lowered the heat and continued cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until the center was done.
Friday, March 24, 2023
Lily Bulb 百合根
Although the package indicated “slices”, the lily bulbs are made of petal-like multiple layers which can come apart especially after blanching (see below). I would have preferred a whole intact bulb since that would have given me more choices in how to prepare it but this will do for sure.
*Digression alert: There is a myth that all lily bulbs are toxic which apparently may be based on the fact that any part of lily is highly toxic to cats (inducing renal failure). Also, the name “lily” is attached to many plants/flowers which are not “true” lily. Some of these certainly would be toxic to humans. In any case, Japanese and Chinese (reportedly also native American Indians) enjoy eating lily bulbs.
I made three dishes; “chawan-mushi” 百合根入り茶碗蒸し(center bottom), bainiku-ae 百合根の梅肉和え (dressed in pickled plum sauce, upper left) and goma-ae 百合根の胡麻和え (dressed in sesame sauce, upper right). I also served lotus root kimpira “renkon-no-kimpira 蓮根のきんぴら(left bottom) and “ohitashi” edible chrysanthemum or “shungiku-no-ohitashi” 春菊のお浸し (right bottom). The fresh lotus root and edible chrysanthemum both came from Weee.
The picture below shows the chawan-mushi made with yuri-ne, topped with ikura salmon roe and blanched sugar snap. You cannot see the yuri-ne well but two are peaking out on either side of the ikura.
The next picture shows the chawan-mushi before the toppings were put on. I put the yuri-ne on the bottom as well as on the top. Other items included fresh shiitake mushroom, and shrimp as usual. The egg and dashi mixture was my usual 1 to 3 ratio. There is no difference in how to make it from standard other chawan-mushi.
The below picture shows yuri-ne with sesame dressing.
For sesame dressing:
1tsp white roasted sesame, dry roasted in a dry frying pan and then ground in a suri-bachi
2 tsp white sesame paste or “shiro neri-goma” 白ねりごま
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
I garnished it with blanched sugar snap
These small dishes were nice and Weee made it possible for me to make these. These were quite filling but we also had a small serving of blue-fine tuna sashimi (frozen Australian from Great Alaska Seafood). The chawan-mushi was particularly special since it brought back good memories of the chawan-mushi my mother used to make.
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Chawanmushi with Wood Ear and Enoki Mushroom 新鮮キクラゲとエノキ茶碗蒸し
The picture below is before I put on the topping. You can see a piece of shrimp, as well as the wood ear and enoki mushrooms.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Tomato and Egg Stir-fry with Wood Ear Mushroom トマトと卵炒め丼 キクラゲ入り
Ingredients (for 2 servings): 2-3 Campari tomato, skinned and quartered
1 tbs ketchup
Dash of Sriracha or other hot sauce, optional and to taste
1 tsp “katakuriko” potato starch
1/4 cup fresh or dry rehydrated wood ear mushroom, washed and patted dry using a paper towel, cut into strips and if needed hard attachment part removed
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp ginger root, finely chopped
salt and pepper for seasoning
Olive or vegetable oil
Directions:
Coat the tomato quarters with the ketchup, sriracha, and potato starch.
Heat the oil in frying pan and sauté the ginger and then tomato for 1-2 minutes
Add the wood ear and sauté another minute (despite being patted dry, it does splatter)
Add the egg and let it sit for a few seconds until the bottom is set. Mix and repeat until all eggs are just cooked
Season it with salt and pepper
Serve by itself or over the rice.
We think this version is better. Because of the potato starch, the tomato does not exude too much liquid. The wood ear adds nice crunch and went well with the cooked egg.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
“Hoshigaki” Dried Persimmon “ Daikon-namasu 干し柿入り大根なます
You can pull the fruit apart by hand revealing the pudding-like very sweet inside with concentrated persimmon flavors. Some have almost no seeds but others have large seeds like this one below. (See arrow). We enjoyed them straight out of the box at first then my wife suggested it may make them even better to warm them up a little bit. She microwaved one for 10 seconds. I agree it was much better. It got a bit softer and the flavors were enhanced.
I served this dish with two other dishes to start the evening. The left side is dashi-maki だし巻きomelet I made. As an innovation I added small pieces of pre-seasoned herring roe or kazunoko 数の子 which I got from our Japanese grocery store for the new year. It happened to be rather too spicy to eat “as-is”. So I added some to the omelet which really toned it down and made it much more gentle and palatable. The center is left-over Russian salmon marinade 鮭のロシアずけ topped with ikura.
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Tomato and Egg Stir-fry on Rice トマトと卵炒め丼
This is a variation of tomato and egg stirfly I posted previously. I learned that this is based on a Chinese dish called “番茄炒蛋” and there appears to be many variations. The main difference between this version and the recipe I posted previously, is the addition of caramelized catsup which adds a slightly sweet dimension. I made this one day for a lunch from my memory since we had skinned Campari tomatoes which needed to be used fairly soon. I made it as a type of “donburi”. Since I just made “simmered” pork or “nibuta” 煮豚 using InstantPot, I included a slice and also broccoli rabe (rapini) which I blanched earlier.
I may have overcooked the tomato a bit, but it was juicy and flavorful and very nice over the rice.
Ingredients:
4 skinned Campari tomatoes, cut into quarter pieces
2 eggs
Vegetable oil and dark sesame oil for stir frying
Salt and peper to tast
1tbs Ketchup
A dash or more of Sriracha sauce (to taste, optional)
Directions:
Add the tomatoes, ketchup and Suriracha into a small bowl and coat the tomato pieces.
Add the vegetable oil and a splash of sesame oil into a frying pan on midum high flame. Quickly stir fry and season with salt and pepper.
Add beaten eggs and let it sit until the bottom is set.
Gradually mix until the eggs are cooked (for 1-2 minutes).
Heat up the slices of simmered pork and chopped up blanched rapini in a separate frying pan with a small amount of oil. Season the rapini with salt and pepper (optional).
Pour over the bowl of rice and place the pork and rapini on top.
In general, we like “donburi” dishes. This one is no exception. The caramelized Catsup adds a nice complex slightly sweet dimension. Also the slow heat from the Sriracha is nice and enough juice came out of the tomatoes to make a nice sauce for the rice.
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Small Rice Bowl using the last of Osechi お節残り物丼
The small fish shown at 12 O’Clock is “Jako-no-arima-ni” 雑魚の有馬煮. At 9 O’Clock is “soboro” そぼろ which I made using the meat removed from a grilled small “tai” snapper 小鯛の姿焼き included in the osechi box and cooked in “mirin” sweet Japanese cooking wine and soy sauce until almost dry. I also garnished with ““ikura-no-shouyu-zuke いくらの醤油漬けor marinated “ikura” salmon roe.
With a side of salted cucumber and nappa cabbage 胡瓜と白菜の浅漬け, this was a perfect lunch.
Monday, September 26, 2022
Cheese bites, two kinds チーズバイツ、2種類
My wife is into making small cheesy and eggy appetizers or bites. These are some she made recently. The green one is made with spinach and golden one is slightly sweet with honey. (My wife was not planning on making the golden one but the recipe for the spinach bites was short of filling the pan. She didn’t want to cook a pan that was not full so without a specific recipe to go by she came up with the golden bite.) Both are eggy and cheesy with different flavors and we like these small bites with a sip of red wine.
For spinach (green) cheese bites
One bag of fresh spinach cooked and drained
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
2 eggs beaten
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
For spinach (green) cheese bites (X2)
Two bags of fresh spinach cooked and drained
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
4 eggs beaten
2 garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
For golden cheese bites
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 Tbs. honey
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used smoked gouda and Monterey Jack)
For golden cheese bites (X3)
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3 egg
3 Tbs. honey
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used smoked gouda and Monterey Jack)
Directions:
For spinach bites: Pulse the spinach, garlic, salt, cayenne and eggs in a food processor until finely chopped and mixed. Add the spinach mixture to the combined ricotta and Parmesan cheese. Using the second smallest ice cream scoop put the mixture in mini cup cake tin lined with paper cups. As shown in the picture below I didn’t have enough spinach mixture to fill the tray so on-the-fly I came up with the golden mixture to fill the remaining cups. (As you can see the amount was perfect to complete the tray.)
For golden bites. Blend all the ingredients together and scoop into the paper lined cups.
Cook at 400 F for about 20 minutes until they are fairly firm when touched. Let rest for about 5 minutes and remove from the muffin tins.
These make very nice small bite appetizers. Both versions were very different but very flavorful and light in texture. The spinach bites were savory with a slight garlic cheesy flavor. The spinach flavor came through nicely. The yellow version was sweeter (obviously due to the honey). The cayenne pepper in this version was much more pronounced than in the spinach version. It resulted in a sweet/hot/peppery combined taste that really made the bite. We also discovered they heat up very nicely in the toaster oven
Friday, September 23, 2022
Lox and Ikura "donburi" bowl 燻製鮭ロックスとイクラ丼
After making Philly rolls, I used the left over lox from Vital Choice to make a donburi for lunch. I made the lunch in the form of a Japanese meal set or "teishoku" 定食. I served the lox/ikura donburi with miso soup made with wakame ワカメ, abura-age 油揚げ and scallion as well as cucumber asazuke 胡瓜の浅漬け
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Instant Pot Egg Bites version 2 インスタントポットエッグバイツ
Ingredients (Recipe x1, 7 egg bites)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup soft cheese, like cream cheese, Brie, Boursin, or Laughing Cow (we used cream cheese)
1/2 cup chopped mix-ins, like cooked meats and/or raw or cooked vegetables (we used jalapeños, shallots and prosciutto)
1/2 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or mozzarella (We used cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Ingredients (recipe x2, 14 egg bites)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup soft cheese, like cream cheese, Brie, Boursin, or Laughing Cow (we used cream cheese)
1 cup chopped mix-ins, like cooked meats and/or raw or cooked vegetables (we used jalapeños, shallots and prosciutto)
1 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or mozzarella (We used cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Directions:
Combine the eggs, cottage cheese, soft cheese and other cheeses in a blender. Blend at medium speed for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Pour into molds 3/4 full. Evenly distribute the chopped veggies into the molds. Stir to further incorporate.
Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. Cover the egg molds and put into the wire steam rack. Grasping the handles of the steam rack, lower the egg molds into the pot.
Cook the eggs on “steam”: Secure the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure that the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Select “steam” then adjust the time to 8 minutes (for single batch and if making a double batch, increase the cooking time to 10 minutes.)
The pressure cooker will take about 10 minutes to come up to full pressure. Cook time begins once it has reached full pressure.
When the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then perform a quick pressure release by moving the pressure release knob from “Sealing” to “Venting.” It will take a minute or two for the pressure to release completely. Remove the egg bites from the pressure cooker.
These were very good egg bites. They tasted more eggy than cheesy but the cheese flavor came through nicely enough. The shallots and jalapeño gave a nice spiciness while the prosciutto added some saltiness. The texture was very smooth almost like a very firm custard. These would be lovely as an egg substitute for breakfast or brunch as well as an appetizer with a glass of wine.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Bacon cheese egg bites ベーコン、チーズ エッグバイツ
We like small bite-size items, either savory or sweet. We are not sure how we came to order these silicon moulds for the Instant Pot. Maybe we got an email ad or my wife read the recipe somewhere. We ordered the silicon moulds from Amazon and we made these small bacon cheese egg bites. When we tasted them just coming out of the mould, it was like egg custard but after it cooled down a more cheesy flavor came through. Overall it is very good but slightly too salty for us.
Ingredients (make 14 bites using the silicon moulds):
3 large eggs
4 bacon strips
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (we substituted Irish Cheddar).
1 cup cream cheese or cottage cheese (we used cottage cheese)
3 tbs cream
1 tsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp rice starch (flour)*
*we think the use of rice flour (starch) is to claim this is gluten free.
Directions:
Cook the bacon and break into smaller pieces. Place the bacon pieces in the bottom of each mould (#1)
Add the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend for 20 seconds
Fill the silicon mould to 75% full (#2)
Attached the lids to the silicon moulds.
Place 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot and lower the two silicon moulds with trivet
Place the lid on the Instant Pot with the pressure knob to seal. Using “Steam” function, set time to 7 minutes.
Let it depressurize (7-10 minutes) and open (#3).
Loosen the egg bites using small spatula and invert onto the plate to unmold (#4).
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Uni shutou with salmon roe 雲丹酒盗いくら入り
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Breakfast croissant casserole クロワッサンキャセロール
One day my wife decided to make this croissant casserole dish she saw at an on-line recipe site. It is a cross between quiche and French toast but closer to a crustless quiche. It is the usual milk, egg, and cheese mixture but instead of a pie crust or regular bread this dish uses croissants. Although this was entitled "breakfast croissant casserole", we had this as a lunch with cucumber tomato salad.
She cut the recipe in half and used small store bought croissants. This is a good quiche-like breakfast dish but I was not too crazy about it especially knowing how much bacon, egg and cheese went in. I will let my wife to provide the ingredients and directions.
Ingredients: This is a reduced recipe amount because we weren't feeding a crowd)
4 strips of bacon (crisped and then crumbled)
2 onions chopped
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated cheese (I used smoked gouda and cheddar)
3 croissants
Directions:
Crisp the bacon. Set aside. Using the bacon drippings saute the onions until slightly brown. Cool slightly. Mix the eggs, milk, Dijon, salt, crumbled bacon and cheese together. Arrange the croissants in the baking dish. Pour the liquid egg mixture over the croissants making sure they are submerged. Cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning cook in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes until golden brown. (I used the small blue pyrex baking dish and cooked it in the toaster oven).
This turned out to be an entirely ho-hum form of savory bread pudding. The croissants seemed to dissolve into the pudding like egg mixture which contributed to the quiche like consistency. Don't get me wrong it was quite good and makes an interesting egg alternative to an omelet.
Saturday, January 1, 2022
Happy New Year 2022 明けましておめでとう 2022.
Happy New Year 2022! The pandemic still persists with the Omicron variant making it debut and spreading so quickly just when we thought things were starting to come under control and using a quote from the movie Jaws "it was safe to go back in the water again". In any case, both my wife and I took all the precautions; being vaccinated and boosted. We sincerely hope we can get past this soon.
This is the year of tiger according to Chinese/Japanese zodiac signs. We thought we had a larger tiger figurine but these are what we had. The two shown below look somewhat like cats rather than tigers.