Okonomi-yaki, Hiroshima style 広島風お好み焼き

We mentioned that the two major styles of okonomi-yaki are Osaka- 大阪風 and Hiroshima-style 広島風. We have been making variations of Osaka-style since Hiroshima-style appears more difficult to make at home. It is usually made on a grill and requires more technically difficult flipping traditionally done with a  special type of spatula. In addition because a type of fried egg and cooked noodles are added to the pancake, cooking these items to add to the okonomi-yaki requires additional cooking space. So it is more difficult to make Hiroshima-style at home especially if you do not have a fairly large grill and would have to make it in a frying pan.

We saw a few Youtube videos in which two frying pans were used to circumvent these difficulties. So, we decided to try it. The top layer of this version is a fried egg (yolk broken but not beaten before cooking) followed by the noodle, pork belly, tempura bits, scallion, cabbage and the bottom layer of the thin pancake/crepe. The picture shows the okonomi-yaki cut into serving pieces (by scissors), but before adding the topping and sauce.

The next picture is the cut surface showing the layers of the dish after toppings (julien of picked ginger, aonori) and sauces (okonomi-yaki sauce and Kewpie mayo) were added. This version is good with nice noodles but the crepe was basically non-existent. Compared to the Osaka-style in which the batter incorporated the cabbage, a thin crepe layer as used in the Hiroshima style made of the same batter has much less impact. We like this version with noodles but we prefer the Osaka-style especailly since it is much easier to make. There is also a variation of Osaka-style which includes noodles. It is usually called “Modan-yaki* モダン焼き. We may try that next.

*The origin of the name “modan” has two theories; one is that it was derived from the English word “modern” indicating this is new kind of okonomi-yaki, the other theory is it comes from a Japanese phrase “mori-dakusan 盛りだくさん” meaning “so many good things” which got abbreviated as “mo-da-n”.

This recipe, especially the directions, are mostly based on a YouTube episode by Koh Kentetsu using 8 and 10 inch frying pans (in Japanese).

Ingredients:
Batter (rather thin like crepe batter adjust the liquid amount)
50 grams Okonomi-yaki flour (or cake flour)
80 grams water or broth

3 scallions chopped (#3)
2 tbs tempura bits (#3)
2 strips of thin sliced pork belly
100 grams (more or less) shredded cabbage
1 package of  yakisoba noodle with seasoning (thawed or microwaved, see #5)
1 egg
2 tbs vegetable oil

Directions:
Add half of the batter to oiled small frying pan (8 inches) and make a thin crepe (#1) and set aside.
Add the pork belly to the larger frying pan (10 inches) on medium-low flame (#2). Place the shredded cabbage, scallion and tempura bits (#3) on top of the pork belly.  (The original instructions suggest putting more cabbage on top and drizzling the remaining batter on top of the new cabbage, which I forgot to do).
Cover the mound of cabbage with the crepe (#4), cook for 4-5 minutes. Place the noodles (#5) in the small frying pan with oil and cook for a few minutes, season and set aside. (The seasoning can be soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or okonomi-yaki sauce but I used the seasoning that came with the noodle package). Then add the some oil and one egg, to the small frying pan. Break the yolk and spread it around with the egg white (#6). While the egg yolk is still runny place the noodles on top (#7). 

Slide the cabbage and crepe shown in #4 over the noodles and eggs shown in #7 using a spatula to form 4 layers; with the egg on the bottom covered with the noodles that are covered with the cabbage and topped with the crepe. 

Cook for about 1 minute. Place the now empty larger frying pan on the top of the small frying pan and flip the contents of the smaller pan into the larger pan. So the 4 layers are inverted with the egg layer now on top in the larger pan (#8). Cook 2 more minutes to make the crepe (which is now the bottom layer) slightly brown and crispy.

Easy-peesy, right? This is a pretty good okonomi-yaki but the bottom crepe was non-existent. We could have made the whole thing without okonomi-yaki batter crepe and never would have missed it. However, covering the cabbage with the crepe is important to steam/cook the cabbage under the crepe (#4). In addition, this is probably the style we ate in Japan which left us so under whelmed. It was good to try making this Hiroshima style but our recent liking of okonomi-yaki is probably based on our new found discovery of Osaka style.

Okonomi-yaki, Osaka-style Summary 大阪風お好み焼き総括

Here is a summary of the various “Osaka-style” okonomi-yaki we have experimented making recently. The picture shows an approximately 8 inch okonomi-yaki made with pork belly and all the toppings. I just wanted to post a summary of where we were able to get all the Japanese ingredients for an okonomi-yaki as well as the standard way to cook and top it.

Ingredients (basic or essential):
Cabbage キャベツ: Japanese or Taiwanese cabbage work best. Japanese cabbage is available from Suzuki Farm and Taiwanese from Weee. Compared to the American variety, the cabbage heads are flatter and not as round. We also think the leaves are more tender, sweeter and easier to separate than the american variety.

Scallion ねぎ: Chopped scallion either mixed into the batter, added as a topping or included both ways. 

Batter: There are two main ways to prepare the batter
Using either “Okonomiyaki” flour (#1 in the composite) or regular cake flour. The main difference is that the Okonomi-yaki flour already has kelp powder in it (which is one of the primary flavor elements, in addition to bonito, in Japanese dashi broth). So the batter can be made just using water instead of Japanese broth.  In addition because it does not include bonito, it is vegetarian. Cake flour can also be used as the base for the batter. While just plain water can be used as the moisture element in batter made with cake flour, it does not have any additional flavoring, either kelp or bonito, the resulting batter will not taste the same as one made with the Okonomi-yaki flour. So Japanese broth (made traditional style with kelp and bonito, or vegetarian style with kelp and dried shiitake mushroom) is generally used to achieve a similar flavor profile when using cake flour. The Okonomiyaki flour is available either from “Otafuku” US web site or “Weee”. Also vegetarian Japanese broth can be made with kelp and dried shiitake instead of bonito. In addition, (to make things even more complicated) both flour versions can also include grated “nagaimo” Japanese mountain yam which, while not adding additional flavoring, makes the texture more moist. (But I only used it in the cake flour version)

“Tenkasu” 天かす Tempura bits (#2). These bits can be either vegetarian or flavored with dried squid or shrimp.  Otafuku offers only vegetarian while Weee offers both. Although this can be omitted it is a standard ingredient. We like putting this on the pancake rather than mixing it in the batter because when you flip it, the tenkasu gets browned and crispy. Otherwise if you mix it in the batter, it sort of disappears

Toppings:(we got these toppings from Weee. Some are also available from Amazon)
1. Kizami shouga 刻み生姜. Julienne of pickled  ginger. This gives a nice ginger taste (#6)
2. Aonori 青海苔. Dried green laver. 
3. Katsuo-bushi flakes 鰹節 or kezuri-bush 削り節 which is thinly shaved fermented dried bonito and is the main ingredient of Japanese dashi broth. (Since it is made from dried fish, it is not used in the vegetarian version of okonomi-yaki).
4. Mayonnaise, specifically Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (#5) which we got from Weee. Since we have never used Kewpie mayo, we were interested in how it compared to our standard American Hellman’s mayo. We found Kewpie mayo is smoother, slightly tangier and sweeter than Hellmann’s. Hellmann’s can be made to emulate Kewpie by adding rice vinegar and sugar. Conversely, we read, there is an American Kewpie, (which we have not tried). It is made differently from the Japanese variety. but was reported to taste like any other American mayo.

Sauce:
The mayo can be omitted but the okonomi-yaki sauces are a must. As far as we are concerned they make the dish. In general, regular okonomi-yaki sauce is available at Otafuku, Weee or any Japanese grocery store. However the Otafuku website also offers a spicy version (#4) in addition to the regular (#3) both of which are vegan. I also saw a “deluxe” version of the sauce at Otafuku which is not vegan and much more expensive. 

I suppose it is easy to make “regular” sauce into “spicy” sauce by adding your favorite hot sauce to the regular okonomi-yaki sauce.

Basic Directions to make okonomi-yaki

Directions for batter I made:
1) with water:
56g “Otafuku” okonomiyaki flour

92g water
1 egg

2) with Japanese broth and grated nagaimo:
50 grams cake flour 
40 grams Japanese broth (either vegetarian or traditional)
1 egg
40 grams grated Nagaimo 長芋 (which is available from Weee or a Japanese grocery store)

Directions for assembling the pancake:

1. Mix the batter, egg, cabbage, and scallion
2. Add the oil to an 8 inch frying pan on medium-low heat and pour in the batter to form a round disk about 2 cm by pressing the batter lightly with a spatula. 
3. Add the tempura bits and spread the pork belly on top if using. (#1 in the composite below)
4. Cook uncovered for 4 minutes
5. Flip and cook for 4 more minutes (you can either put on the lid or not as your preference.) We did not think the lid made much difference to the final product but most of the instructions include placing the lid (#2) in the composite below. We also found that when cooked with the lid on the pork belly was less crispy and more chewy. 
6. Flip the pancake again. The meat and tempura bits should be brown and crispy. (#3 in the composite below) Cook uncovered (if used the lid in the step 5) for 2-3 minutes
7. Remove the pancake to a plate or cutting board. Spread the mayo and sauce and top with the ginger, aonori, and bonito flakes (#4 in the composite below).

After making several version of okonomi-yaki, we learned;

1. Cake flour with graded nagaimo and broth (either vegetarian or bonito and kelp) vs. Okomoni-yaki flour mix (from Otafuku which is vegan containing just powdered kelp) did not make a big difference. Actually we may slightly prefer using the Otafuku flour mix which is also much easier to prepare. 

2. Rather than mixing tempura bits into the batter, it is better to layer them on the top. Otherwise, they totally disappear where as they become nicely crunchy when layered on the top.

3. We found whether or not a lid should be used after the first flipping is debatable.  Although, some recipes indicate placing the lid will make it more tender and fluffy, we found that it may also make the pork meat (if using) less crispy and more chewy. We did not see any significant difference in the okonomi-yaki itself.

4. Using Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise may be authentic but not essential

5. In terns of proteins, thinly sliced pork belly is the standard. We also tried substituting smoked bacon for the pork belly. (We call an okonomi-yaki made with smoked bacon “Bethesda Maryland style” which we like better than one made with pork belly). Seafood versions can be made with shrimp, scallops etc. A vegetarian version can be made with the addition of mushrooms such as shiitake, carrot etc and/or abura-age deep fried tofu as vegetarian simulation of the traditional pork belly

In any case, this dish is quite forgiving and you can make it with less or more ingredients once the base of the batter and shredded cabbage has been made. 

Pork Okonomi-yaki 豚バラお好み焼き

This is a probably the most standard version of Osaka-style okonomi-yaki which is made using pork belly. As you can see, after placing sauces and toppings on the pancake it is difficult to see which version of okomoni-yaki this is (although, it can’t be vegetarian since the toppings include bonito flakes). As usual, this is topped with mayo, okonomi-yaki sauce (we used Otafuku brand, both regular and spicy), pickled and julienned red ginger, aonori dried laver and finally bonito flakes. Actually, this is the third time we tried okonomi-yaki with pork belly. We were trying to find a way to make the pork crispy rather than chewy. This time, the result was the best. We’re really starting to like okonomi-yaki.

Ingredients: (makes one 8 inch pancake)
For batter
56g “Otafuku” okonomi-yaki flour (or you can just use cake flour)
92g water
1 egg

150g shredded cabbage
3 scallions, finely chopped
Tenkasu tempura bits
1/2 tbs vegetable oil (for cooking)

4 slices of thinly sliced pork belly (or smoked bacon; to make “Bethesda Maryland style” okonomi-yaki)

For toppings
Mayonnaise
Okonomi-yaki sauce (I used a mixture of regular and spicy sauces)
Julienned ginger in sweet vinegar or “Kizami ginger 刻み生姜”
Dried “aonori 青海苔” laver
Kezuribushi 削り節 bonito shavings

Directions:
Mix the flour, water, and egg, add the cabbage and scallion and mix. Add the oil in the frying pan on medium-low flame (400F using laser thermometer). Add the batter mixture into the frying pan and press into 2cm thick round. Top it with the tempura bits and thin slices of pork belly seasoned with salt and pepper (#1). Cook for 4 minutes. Flip it (#2). Put on the lid and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the lid and flip again (#3). Some of the tempura bits will get browned. Cook without a lid for another 3 minutes. Take it our to the cutting board or plate.

Smear the surface with the mayo (I added a small amount of sugar and rice vinegar to emulate Japanese Kewpie mayo) and sauce (#4). For toppings, scatter the ginger and aonori (#4). Finally add the bonito flakes (the first serving picture).

This version really worked. The pork came out more crispy than the previous pork versions of okonomi-yaki (which we did not blog about). The oil of the pork belly adds additional flavor to the pancake. (We found using the smoked bacon used for the Bethesda style okonomi-yaki came out more crispy than the pork belly. The bacon also added more rich meat flavor.)

Air-Fried Pork Tenderloin without Panko Crust エアーフライ豚のヒレ肉

When we order pork tenderloin from the grocery store, it comes two to a package. This time when we got the two tenderloins we experimented with cooking them in the air fryer. So we made one by marinating, then breading it with pre-browned panko and cooking it in the air-fryer. (Discussed in a previous blog.) It was a great success. With this success, we tried cooking the other tender loin that came in the package by marinating it and then air-frying it without the panko crust. This was another success! Unlike the last time instead of relying on a specified cooking time I relied on reaching an internal temperature of 145F and that turned out to have occurred at about 20 minutes. The meat was perfectly done. I served the pork slices with julienne salad or “kizami sarada 刻みサラダ” and skinned Campari tomato soaked in cold Japanese broth.

Again, I used a mixture of mayo and miso to marinate the pork. This is just a note so that I can remember what I did.

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin, cleaned and trimmed (trimming can be used in other dishes).

Marinade:
2 tbs mayonnaise
2 tbs miso (this time I used the same amount of miso and mayo)
2-3 tsp mirin

Directions:
Mix the marinade ingredients and place it in the Ziploc bag. Add the pork. Cover all the surface and massage. Remove the air as much as you can. Let it marinate for 20-30 minutes in room temperature or couple of hours under refrigeration. Before cooking remove any excess marinade by hand and cook 450F or until the center register 145F.(In this case it took about 20 minutes) (Picture #2).

The increased ratio of miso did not change the flavor much. The surface got nicely browned. Although the meat was perfectly cooked and moist, “air-fried with panko crust” version appears to have retained moisture a bit better.  Certainly not having browned panko crumbs make this method much easier.

Air Fried Pork Tenderloin with Panko Crust エアーフライ、ヒレ肉トンカツ

In the past, pork tenderloin was a staple in our cooking repertoire. We used it for quite a few dishes. Recently, however, we have not cooked pork tenderloin as much. Since we had an unqualified success with the air fried chicken tenders we made recently, we decided to try the same recipe and cooking method using our old favorite; pork tenderloins. The result was fantastic! It was the same level of success as the air-fried chicken tenders. I did this building on the previous success by marinating the pork in the same mayonnaise and miso marinate and coating it with pre-browned panko crumbs like I did with the chicken. Since this was a new cooking experience, and I was not following an explicit recipe, I was not sure how long I should cook the tenderloin. So “winging-it” I took the internal temperature of the pork after 15 minutes, it was still too low around 115-120 F. So, I cooked it another 15 minutes. The temperature rose quickly during that time and in the end it was 170-180F and the meat was a bit over done. (I was aiming for 145F. Turns out the cooking time has to be determined by how long it takes to reach the intended temperature.) Nonetheless despite being slightly over-cooked the meat was tender and succulent and the crust was nicely crunchy. I served slices of the tenderloin with my version of ratatouille (zucchini, marinara sauce seasoned with anchovies paste), steamed broccolini, and skinned Campari tomato soaked in Japanese broth (picture #1).

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin

Marinade:
2 tbs mayonnaise
1tbs miso
1tbs mirin

Browned panko (Sauté panko in olive oil until brown).

Directions:
Remove the silver skin and clean the tenderloin (I removed the two tapered ends to make the length of the tenderloin equal in diameter. I’ll use the trimmings for other dishes)
Place the tenderloin in a Ziploc bag and add the marinade, massage to cover all the surface and remove as  much air from the bag as you can. Marinate 15-30 minutes at room temperature or several hours to over night in a refrigerator. Coat the tenderloin with the browned panko and air fry at 450F for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145F with an instant-read thermometer (picture #2). (The actual time to reach that temperature may vary depending on the size of the tenderloin and whether it just came out of the refridgerator.  A tenderloin of this size was somewhat overdone when cooked 30 minutes but a one a larger size may require the full 30 minutes to reach the required temperature) 

As I said before this was a great success. It was much better than the way we used to cook tenderloin in the toaster oven. It was very tender and juicy. The crust was very crunchy and added a nice contrast the to flavorful tender meat.

Mashed Potato, Roasted Pork and Cheese Bites version #2 マシュポテト、ローストポークチーズバイト V2

This is another edition of my wife’s “small bites” series. This time it is a variation on “Pork, Potato, Goat Cheese Bites”. For this version she did not have mashed potato and parsnip cooked in the Weber. So she made mashed potatoes by cooking a Russet potato in the microwave. This is quite good but the original had a bit more flavors due to inclusion of parsnip and juice from the roasted pork.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup mashed potato (from potatoes cooked in pork barbeque)
6 eggs
8 oz sour creme
2 diced onion
8 oz  roasted pork, diced.
Cheeses (I used smoked gouda and cheddar cheese

Directions:
Microwave a russet potato for 5 minutes or until done. Peel and mash the potato. Saute the onion. Add the onions to the potatoes. When the potato and onion have cooled to room temperature add the eggs sour cream, and roasted pork. Scoop the potato mixture into mini muffin tins lined with paper cups. Top with a layer of cheese. (I topped it with a layer or smoked gouda and another layer of cheddar.) Cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

These were also very good cheese bites. They didn’t have quite the complexity in flavor that the previous batch had because they did not include mashed parsnips and were not cooked in the Weber. Again the diced pork was crucial. The cheeses were fairly strong tasting and really added to the dish.

Pork and Potato and Goat Cheese Bites ローストポーク、ポテト、ゴートゴートチーズバイト

This is another of my wife's “small bites” series.  This particular one came about since we had roasted (in Weber grill) hot-smoked pork and mashed potato/parsnip which was also roasted in the Weber with the pork. She was looking for a new recipe to use the leftover mashed potato/parsnips and found one called “smoked salmon frittata”. Being the substitution queen that she is when it comes to cooking, she substituted the “hot smoked roasted pork” for the “smoked salmon” and the mashed potato/parsnips for the potatoes called for in the recipe. Since she diverted significantly from the initial recipe, she renamed her rendition “Pork and Potato Goat Cheese Bites” as a new entry into her “bites” dishes series. This was quite a good small bite. It went very well with a glass of wine.

I ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients:
2 oz mashed potatoes with parsnip (cooked in aluminum foil in the Weber. Peeled and mashed. Butter, salt and any juices that come out of the roasted pork added). 
3 eggs
2.5 oz sour cream
1/3 tsp Salt
1/3 tbs butter
1 small onion, diced finely
1 1/3 oz goat cheese
2 oz smoked pork cut into small dice

Directions:
Saute the onions. Add them in a bowl to the potatoes, eggs, sour cream, salt, butter and smoked pork. Mix until completely blended. Scoop the potato mixture into mini muffin tins lined with paper cups. Top with a piece of the goat cheese. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

These were very satisfying hearty cheese bites. The smoked pork really makes this dish. The onion, sour cream, pork and goat cheese is a complex combination of flavors that really shine in such a small bite. They reheat very nicely in the toaster oven. 

Pork Vindaloo served in Soup Curry-style スープカレー風豚肉のビンダルーカレー

This is a serving variation of  pork “vindaloo” curry my wife made. The pork vindaloo she makes has evolved over the years mostly by how the pork is handled. The most recent iteration involves chunks of pork derived from a large skin-on, bone-in “picnic-cut” pork that I separate it into its various components . I cook the pork chunks in chicken broth (Swanson low-salt kind) using an Instant Pot pressure cooker. This cooking method produces by-far the best pork for curry. The meat becomes very tender and the broth is flavorful and contains lots of collagen from the meat. When refrigerated, the broth congeals. Using both the meat and broth in the curry makes this version of vindaloo the best my wife has made. The curry looks thick when it is cold but when it is heated up it becomes rather soupy (not like roux-based curry). This gave me an idea of how this curry could be served. In Japan, there is the type of curry called “soup curry*” which originated in Sapporo, Hokkaido 札幌, 北海道, my hometown. It became popular as a variation of Japanese curry in 2000s.

I served this curry as a light lunch and did not want to have rice with it. So, instead, I sauteed some vegetables in the manner similar to the one used to make Sapporo soup curry.  I had green beans and asparagus, both briefly steamed and skinned Campari tomatoes.Since I made “dashi-maki だし巻き” Japanese omelet, I also added a piece.  Even without rice, this was a quite filling lunch. We like this presentation. Especially, the sauteed tomato added a nice fresh taste with some acidity.

*”Soup curry” was reportedly invented in Sapporo (in a small coffee shop) in the 1970s and then spread throughout Japan in 2000s. The curry flavored soup was not thickened and vegetables are in relatively large pieces and separately deep fried without batter. The meat is usually bone-in, skin-on  chicken legs but can be any kind of meat. Rice is served separately unlike other Japanese curry in which the curry is served on the top of the rice (hence, the name; rice curry or curry rice) We had soup curry when we were in Sapporo sometime ago. It was good but that particular dish was not outstanding. The one we made here was much better.

Baked Spaghetti (angle hair) Cup with meatballs オーブン焼きスパゲッティカップ

My wife saw the original recipe for this dish on the Washington Post website but she made substantial changes. She really was sold on the idea of making pasta cups and stuffing them with something. We usually do not keep spaghetti on hand but we do keep angel hair pasta in the pantry. I had just made pork meatballs with ricotta cheese as well as some marinara sauce to use on pizza. So my wife came up with the idea of taking the angel hair pasta we had, tossing it with the marinara sauce I just made and using it to make “spaghetti” cups. Then since we already had the meat balls, using them to stuff the spaghetti cups and topping them with cheese. (In the original recipe, the pasta cups are made with spaghetti are stuffed with ground turkey and broccoli). In any case, her idea worked well.  We were expecting the pasta cups to be crispy outside but it did not happen and they tasted like regular pasta with marinara sauce. This was basically pasta with meatballs in marinara sauce in compact basket form.  I served this with chicken wing simmered in black vinegar (I happened to make this dish for other reasons) and small green salad with cucumber and Campari tomato. I ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients:
6 ounces cooked angle hair pasta 
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, (or to taste)
12 meat balls cut in half (if cooking in mini muffin tins that make 24 small muffins or 24 if using whole meatballs). 
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) grated parmesan cheese (or more to taste)
various cheeses to top the pasta cups (we used smoked gouda and sharp cheddar 
Salt to taste

Directions:
Cook the angle hair pasta according to package instructions. After it is drained toss it with the homemade marinara sauce. Add the egg and toss until the egg is incorporated. Add the grated parmesan cheese and toss until fully mixed with the pasta. 

When ready to make the spaghetti cups, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Put the paper liners in the small bite muffin tin. Distribute the pasta into the wells of the muffin tin, creating a divot in the center of each to hold the meatball (#1). Distribute the meatballs among the spaghetti cups (it’s okay if it comes above the top of the wells) (#2). Cover the meatballs with the gouda/cheddar cheeses (#3). Bake until nicely browned, 20 to 30 minutes (#4). Let cool for 5 minutes then serve. 

These make very nice bite-sized appetizers. They taste very savory and satisfying. This was a great variation on the theme of spaghetti and meatballs.

”Boti Gosht” Indian style Meat Cubes インド風の豚肉キューブ

Whenever we get a large bone-in, skin-on, hind-or fore-quarter pork (called picnic cut), I do secondary butchering to produce one large and one small roast. We cook the large roast in the Weber grill and make the small roast into Chinese-style simmered pork using the InstantPot pressure cooker. I cut the remaining trimmings into small chunks and cook them in the InstantPot. We usually use these to make some kind of curry but this time my wife used them to make scrapple. After all this, we found ourselves with leftover roasted pork. My wife decided we should use it to make something interesting that we hadn’t made before. She came up with this Indian-style meat (pork) cubes dish based on a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking”. (The original recipe called for uncooked cubes of goat/lamb/pork.) This is a highly seasoned dish but does not include the extra sauce characteristic of a regular curry. In any case, this turned out to be quite good. It was quite spicy (but not too spicy, at least for me). (My wife ate it topped with yogurt to mute the spiciness a bit and she said it was very good), with lots of flavors. 

Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 or 2 onions roughly diced
½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and very finely chopped 
4 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
15 fresh or dried curry leaves, if available
1 pound boned shoulder of lamb or pork, cut into 1-inch cubes (We used the left over roasted pork cut up) 
2 teaspoons store-bought garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 fresh, hot green chile, finely sliced
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1½-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
 Saute the onion in a frying pan until soft and lightly browned. Add the ginger, garlic, and curry leaves and stir until wilted. When the garlic is wilted add the spices to bloom their flavor.  Add the meat. Add enough chicken broth so the ingredients in the pan do not scorch. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, uncovered, until all the liquid has gone. Stir as you do this and be careful it doesn’t scorch. Then stir in the lemon juice.

Cabbage and pork belly stir-fry キャベツと豚バラの炒め物

In Japan, one of the popular cuts of pork is thinly sliced pork belly 豚バラの薄切り. As in other Asian dishes, the meat/pork is used basically as a “seasoning” in vegetable dishes rather than as an “entrée” on its own. Weee sells thinly sliced pork belly (6mm in thickness) which is a bit thicker than Japanese style sliced pork belly (picture #3). After debating for some time I finally decided to get it. It comes in a one pound package (about 450 grams) which was a bit larger than we would use for one meal so I separated it into three portions (about 115-120 grams each). I vacuum packed and then froze them. These packages were the right amount to make one dish. I used one of the packages to make this stir-fry dish for lunch one day from whatever I had in the fridge which turned out to be mostly cabbage. But cabbage and pork go well together. The seasoning was totally ad-hoc. Besides salt and black pepper, I used oyster sauce and soy sauce. I topped this with a fried egg (picture #1) (since I was out of pasteurized eggs, I had to cook the yolk. A runny yolk would have been much better in this dish). In any case, this was a fairly low-carb lunch.

Picture #2 shows the dish just finished in the wok. You can see the ingredients better including small pieces of pork.

This is not a recipe per se but just a note to myself.

Ingredients (two servings):
1/3 lb (or more) pork belly, (skin off) and thinly sliced (in this case it was 6mm thick but thinner is better), cut into 1 inch long pieces 
1/4 head of cabbage, thick center removed and leaves cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 large onion, halved and cut into small wedges
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into large match sticks
10 green beans, blanched and cut into 1 inch segments
1tsp each of garlic and ginger,  minced
2 eggs (optional)
2 tbs vegetable oil

Seasoning:
1 tbs “shoko” Chinese cooking wine 紹興料理酒
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs mirin
1 tbs oyster sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a wok or frying pan on medium high flame, add the 2tbs oil, when heated add the ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the onion and stir for a few minutes. Add the pork and cook until the color changes.
Add the vegetables and stir for a few minutes until wilted and soft.
Add the seasoning and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
(optional) Cook the eggs and top the servings. The best is fried eggs with runny yolks but I cooked the yolk through since we did not have pasteurized eggs.

The flavors in this dish worked well together.  The pork was good but it was a bit chewy compared to Japanese thinly cut pork belly.

Prosciutto, dates, and goat cheese bites

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. She wanted to make savory small bites which will go well with red wine. Since we had extra prosciutto, she wanted to use it up. After searching recipes on-line, she found a recipe using pancetta, dates and goat cheese at Washington Post. Although the recipe specifically called for pancetta, we have learned that among the trinity of Italian cured pork, i.e. prosciutto, pancetta, and guanciale, the major difference between them is the part of the pork they come from; i.e. thigh, belly, and jowl, respectively. So my wife figured she could substitute the prosciutto she had for the pancetta she didn’t have in this dish. The recipe also called for dates. Upon inspection of the back of the pantry, we discovered that the only dates we had were an unopened package of dried dates which had passed their BUB (best-used-by) date by a large margin. We tasted the dates. They tasted OK but the skin was getting a bit hard. So we soaked the dates in hot water to see if that would help and it did. The dates were perfectly usable. In addition the recipe called for making the batter into a loaf of bread but my wife wanted something small to nibble with wine so she cooked the recipe in mini muffin tins. Thus these small bites or muffins were made. The dates added sweetness and prosciutto added a nice saltiness. They both went well with the goat cheese which made the muffin moist.

Ingredients:
3 ounces prosciutto (or pancetta), chopped into pea-size pieces (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 medium onion, minced (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 pitted dates, chopped into pea-size pieces (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley (optional)
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives (optional)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
About 3 ounces (1/3 cup) fresh goat cheese, crumbled into pea-size pieces

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a mini muffin tin by either greasing it or lining it with paper cups.

Cook the prosciutto in a dry skillet over medium heat until crisped, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the prosciutto to a plate to drain. As needed, pour off all but about a teaspoon of the rendered fat in the pan, then return to medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is wilted and lightly browned in spots. Remove from the heat.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and herbs (if using them) in a mixing bowl. Add the pieces of goat cheese. Using a pastry blender cut the cheese into the flour until it is evenly distributed as you would if making biscuits. Add the onion mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Add the chopped dates and use your fingers to break up the sticky pieces and coat them with the flour mixture. This will help keep those solids from sinking to the bottom during baking.

Whisk together the oil, milk and eggs until well incorporated. Using a flexible spatula gently stir and combine the liquid and dry ingredients, scraping the dry ingredients up from the bottom of the bowl regularly.

Scoop the dough into the prepared mini muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These are very flavorful little bites. The combination of savory prosciutto and goat cheese with the sweetness of the dates is a very pleasing contrast. Perfect with a glass of red wine.

Izakaya in Sapporo Part6 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. 

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. 

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.

Topping of Katsu-Don カツ丼のあたま

A few days ago, I made “tonkatsu トンカツ” or pork cutlets from frozen pork chops we had in the freezer. I made much more than we could finish in one evening meal. To use up the left-over tonkatsu, I made katsu-don or “katsu-don-no-atama カツ丼の頭 which was the katsu-don pork topping without the rice base. (We were not hungry enough to eat the addition of rice). Japanese refer to this dish as katsu-don head. Since I used left-over tonkatsu which was heated up in the toaster oven, I did not simmer the tonkatsu in a broth or add the egg on the top. Instead, I simmered sliced onion in seasoned broth and when the onion was cooked, I added a beaten egg and cooked until most of the egg was cooked but some was still uncooked (I used a pasteurized egg). I added salt broth soaked snap peas スナップ豌豆の塩びたし for color. Then, I placed the sliced tonkatsu on top. Without rice, this was a perfect sized dish for us that evening.

Ingredients:
Tonkatsu (pork cutlet sliced) (Either freshly cooked or left overs heated in the toaster oven.)
1/2 small onion, sliced
Green beans or snap peas (cooked) for garnish
One egg, beaten (I used a pasteurized egg)

Cooking liquid (the amount is somewhat arbitrary, you can make it to your liking, either sweet or salty by adjusting the sugar and soysauce)
1/3 cup Japanese dashi broth (I made it with the usual dashi packs)
1tbs mirin
2 tbs soysauce
1 tbs sugar


Directions:
In a small frying pan, add the onion and the cooking liquid and simmer for a few minutes or until the onion is cooked. Pour in the beaten egg, cover with a lid and cook until the egg is just set (to your liking, runny or more set). Add the greens and slide the entire contents onto a shallow bowl/plate. Add the slices of ton-katsu on top.

The topping of katsu-don is considered perfect as drinking snack. For us if we make “Katsu-don”, we usually divide one serving into two.

Nappa Cabbage Cream Stew 白菜のクリームシチュー

This is my effort to use up whatever we had on hand. The first item was nappa cabbage or “hakusai 白菜” I got from Weee. It was fairly big and it was time for me to start using it. We also had one link each of chicken and pork sausages which we got from a local gourmet grocery store fresh (uncooked). I boiled them few days ago. Several carrots started sprouting and needed to be used. After some thought, I decided to make “cream stew”. I did not follow any specific recipe. This was our lunch one day and it was quite good, very comforting dish. The chicken sausage flavors were apple and sage but in the stew, a subtle, pleasant spiciness which we hadn’t noticed before came out and was very pronounced. 

This is not really a recipe but notes to myself.

Ingredients: (makes about 6 servings)
6 leaves of nappa cabbage, the white stems and leaves separated. The stems halved lengthwise and then cut in an angle (“sogi-giri” or “shave-cut” 削ぎ切, see #1 in the composite on the right most side), the separated leaves (#2)  cut into about 1 inch wide
1 each chicken and pork sausages (previously boiled) cut into medallions (#3)
4 caps of fresh shiitake mushrooms, cut into small bite size
1 tbs olive oil
2-3 cups of chicken broth

For béchamel sauce** (#4)
One shallot, finely chopped (#1 on the left)
2 tbs finely chopped shiitake stems and shallot, sautéed in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper* (optional)
4 tbs flour
2 tbs butter
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
about 100 ml or so milk

*When I receive fresh shiitake mushrooms (from Weee), I separate the caps and stems. The caps are packed in a ziploc bag with paper towels which makes the fresh shiitake last longer. For the remaining stems, I cut off the very ends, then shred and finely chop them. I saute this in olive oil with chopped shallots. This concoction is handy to have for making other dishes such as mushroom risotto. 

**The usual béchamel uses same amount of butter and flour but by adding finely chopped onion/shallot  in butter before adding the flour, you can reduce the butter in half. The flour clings to the surface of the onion/shallot which prevents the flour from clumping up. No need to add the milk gradually. Just dump all at once.

Directions:
For béchamel sauce
Melt the butter in the non-stick frying pan on medium-low flame, sauté the shallot until soft, add the shiitake stems and shallot mixture and sauté for one more minute. 
Add the flour and cook until no dry flour is visible, add the milk (at once) and start mixing (first with a whisk and then with a silicon spatula) until thickened. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and set aside (#4)
In a pan on medium flame, add the olive oil.  When hot, add the sausages and lightly brown both sides, add the cabbage stems, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and sauté for few minutes (#5)
Add the chicken broth so that the vegetables and sausages are just covered and cook 20-30 minutes.
Add the béchamel sauce and mix. Simmer fro 5-10 minutes and add the nappa cabbage leaves (#6)
Season with salt and pepper if needed.

I made the stew several hours before serving. The green color was nicely vibrant right after I finished cooking the stew but the green color faded (the top serving picture) before I could serve it. This was a rich savory stew with a complex range of flavors. The creamy texture was luxurious. The combination of the precooked shitake mushrooms and shallots was an outstanding addition to the soup. The sausage was a nice meaty addition as well. This was a very comforting soup.     

“Taco Carnitas”-ish タコ カルニタもどき

This all started when my wife found a package of mini-corn tortillas at Whole Foods (picture #3). Even without opening the package, we can smell the nice corn flavor. I did not make pulled pork but since I had a 1/2 lb of ground pork (left over after making gyoza,) I decided to make something similar to “Taco Caritas”. I made the spice mixture for the pork, salsa, and guacamole. Since we did not have lettuce, I also made shredded cabbage. Instead of sour cream, we used home made Greek yogurt (pictures #1 and #2). It was a bit messy to eat but it was quite good and we liked these corn tortillas.

On the top of guacamole is the Green yogurt (mixed with olive oil and seasoned with salt).

Ingredients (made 4 small taco):
Small corn tortillas (picture #3)
1/2 lb ground pork
Shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
Shredded cabbage (optional)

Taco seasoning (since we did not have chili power I did not use it)
I just mixed; ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, onion power, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt. 

Salsa: (I made this several hours before)
3 skinned Campari tomato, chopped roughly
3-4 sprigs of cilantro, leaves removed and chopped (I used frozen cilantro leaves I prepared previously. This works fairly well. Much better than dried cilantro.)
2 stalks of scallions, finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil,
2 tsp lemon juice (or rice vinegar)
Salt 

Guacamole: (I made this a few days ago)
1 ripe avocado, stone and skin removed and roughly mashed using a fork
2 tsp lemon juice
1 stalk scallion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and deveined, finely chopped
1tsp chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp sriracha
Salt to taste

Greek Yogurt dip: (also I made this several days ago)
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (we used the home yogurt my wife makes, strained)
1 tbs olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Warm the tortillas (wrapped in aluminum foil in preheated 350F oven for 10-15 minutes).

In a non-stick frying pan on medium flame, add the pork, spread thin and cook until one side is browned. Crumble the pork and add the taco seasonings and cook until the pork fat is rendered and the meat is  throughly cooked, set aside.

Assemble taco by placing the pork, cheese, salsa, guacamole, greek yogurt and cabbage on the tortillas.
Fold the tortillas and enjoy (messy, though).

For non-authentic taco, this was quite good and filling. For us, the mild heat was just right.

Garlic Chive Dumpling ニラ頭饅 or 韮菜万頭

We used to grow garlic chives or “nira” ニラ in our herb garden but it failed in two ways: 1) the garlic chives were very fibrous except when we harvested them very young and 2) they grew like weeds taking over the entire herb garden. The plant had deep roots that were very hard to extract. It was quite a lot of work to get rid of it and we are not completely successful even now. (Digression alert: Some years ago we hired a gardener to do the spring clean up which included the herb garden. When he found out the herb garden contained garlic chives he specified the clean up would include everything EXCEPT the garlic chives.) Although we did make quite a few garlic chive dishes, we gave up growing our own. We have been shying away from even buying garlic chive for a while (besides it is not readily available). Since Weee almost always carries garlic chives, we tried them. They came in quite a large bundle (about 1 lb). We tried it in several dishes and, even though they were fully grown, the garlic chive were not fibrous at all.  We added garlic chives to our stir-fried dishes, soup and as a “ohitashi” ニラのお浸し. We still had some garlic chives left so I started looking for new recipes to use them. I came across a recipe by Koh Kentetsu on YouTube.  I was not familiar with this dish. I am not sure if this is based on a known Chinese dish or invented in Japan but it is apparently very popular. 

A quick internet search indicated that “nira-manju” or “garlic chive dumpling” was “invented” in a Chinese restaurant called “Niramanju Fussa” or “韮菜万頭福生” near the Yokota American military base 横田米軍基地. In any case, I have not tasted or seen the “original”. I made this based on the Koh Kentetsu recipe but I ended up making some changes (in the seasonings, not intentionally. Since I made this dish from memory after I saw the YouTube video). This is in the similar ilk as gyoza 餃子 and shumai  焼売 but maybe even better. We really like the garlic chive flavor and cripsy skin (picture #1). It re-heated nicely in the toaster oven. Since I seasoned the filling adequately, we did not use dipping sauce.

The innovations of his recipe is to use two sheets of store-bought wonton skin to encase the filling and the instructions of how to encase the filling very easily for a home cook. It was cooked exactly like gyoza producing a nice crispy skin on both sides (picture #2) and juicy inside.

Ingredients: (made 10 good-sized dumplings, see picture #2)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 lb garlic chive, finely chopped (about 1/5 in)
6-7 medium shrimp, thawed, and minced (optional)
1/2 tsp minced/graded ginger (original recipe used only ginger juice)
1/2 tsp minced/grated garlic (optional,  original recipe does not use this. My wife felt this added too much garlicky flavor)
1 large cap of fresh shiitake mushroom, finely chopped

Seasnings:
1 tsp Shao Xing wine
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil

20 Wonton skins

Directions:
Add the meat, shrimp, garlic, ginger and seasonings in a bowl and mix well
Add the mushroom and garlic chives and further mix and cover. Let it stand in the refrigerator for a few hours
Using a medium sized ice cream scoop, make balls of the filling and place them on a rimmed baking sheet.
Place the wonton skin on top of the filling balls (I moistened all the edges to make sure it would stick)
Using all five fingers, press down on the edge and turn several times until the sides of the wonton skin adhere to the filling. Then flip it over (picture #3). (If you just steam this, you are making “garlic chive shumai” ニラシュウマイ).

Place the second set of wonton skin on top (I also moistened the outer edges). Using the same process, turn and totally encase the filling to make sure all sides are attached to the filling and each other
Press gently to make a disk (picture #4)

(I covered the dumplings with a plastic wrap and refrigerated 1-2 hours before cooking but this is not needed. I just wanted to have all the dumpling assembled before cooking them in the evening.)
Using a 12 inch non-stick frying pan, I added the vegetable oil with a splash of sesame oil on medium flame and browned one side (2-3 minutes) and turned it over to brown the other side for another 2-3 minutes (picture #2)
Add a small amount of water (about 1/4 cup). Cover with a tight fitting lid to steam for 2-3 minutes or until the steam stops coming out.
Remove the lid and let the moisture evaporate. Keep browning the bottom and the other side with the addition of a small amount of sesame oil toward the end of cooking.

This is a really nice dish and easier to make compared to gyoza (because you do not have to clip the edges). A good amount of garlic chive adds a nice flavor (my addition of garlic was a bit too much for my wife, I will omit it next time). This is a perfect small dish with drinks.