St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, Lamb Chops and Cabbage with Bacon セイント パトリクス デイ

While taking inventory of the deep depths of the freezer, my wife came upon 2 thick cut lamb chops; perfect for St. Patrick’s day dinner.  So we cooked the lamb chops and served them with a side of cabbage and bacon as well as rice pilaf (#1). For a change, I managed to cook the lamb to near perfect medium rare. After seasoning with salt and pepper, I seared the chops without any oil on both sides and finished them in a 350F oven. After 5 minutes I started measuring the temperature at the center of the chops. Around 10 minutes, it reached 135F.

We also made cabbage, onion with bacon.

We just cooked this without any particular recipe.

Ingredients:
4 cabbage leaves, center thick veins removed and cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 medium onion, sliced
3 strips of bacon
3 tbs chicken broth or water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Fry the bacon strips until crispy and set aside on a paper towel lined plate leaving the bacon dripping in the pan
Sauté the onion until well cooked and brown
Add the cabbage and mix
Add water or chicken broth, place the lid and steam until liquid almost all gone
Add the crumbled bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste

This was a great somewhat traditional way to celebrate St. Paddy’s day. Even though it was completely spontaneous and not planned, things don’t get better than this. Next stop the spring equinox.

Simmered Pork and Nappa Cabbage 豚肉と白菜の煮物

When we get a large bone-in skin-on piece of pork (either fore- or hind-quarter), I do secondary butchering to remove the skin and bone. With the meat I usually make one large roast for barbecuing in our Weber grill, and one smaller roast for making simmered pork or “Nibuta” 煮豚 in the Instant pot. I usually hand-chop the remaining trimmings into ground pork which I use to make “mapo tofu” 麻婆豆腐, “niku-miso” 肉味噌 or other dishes.  This time the pork came from the fore-quarter and after I did all my usual preparations additional small blocks of pork remained. So I sliced them very thinly and made two dishes; one was a classic homey dish of meat and potato stew or “nikujaga” 肉じゃが and the other was this nappa cabbage dish. I made this dish since I had quite a good amount of left-over nappa cabbage or “hakusai” 白菜 and also brown shimeji mushroom or “bunashimeji” ぶなしめじ.

I added sugar snaps スナップ豌豆の塩びたし for color.

This is based on a recipe I saw on-line but because of the ingredients I had (or didn’t have), I had to make some modifications.

Ingredients:
4 leaves of nappa cabbage, bottom trimmed, cut in half lengthwise. I cut the bottom half thick portion on a slant (45 degree against the cutting board surface) 1 inch long (called “sogi-giri” 削ぎ切). This makes a slightly thin segment). The leafy tops were cut into 1 inch long pieces.
120 grams of thinly sliced pork (the amount is arbitrary. More the better?)
1 package (150 grams) of brown shimeji mushroom, bottoms removed and separated
400ml Japanese dashi broth
1 tbs each of sake and soy sauce (to marinade the pork)

Seasoning
2 tbs sake
2 tbs x4 Japanese noodle sauce (or 1 tbs each of mirin and soy sauce)
1/2 tsp ginger juice (from grated ginger root)

Direction:
Marinate the pork in the mixture of sake and soy sauce for 5-10 minutes.
Put the dashi broth in a pan on medium heat. When it boils add the marinated pork. When the meat changes color, add the nappa cabbage and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes and add the seasoning. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the hard part of the nappa cabbage is cooked through.
Serve warm with topping of blanched green beans or sugar snap or chopped scallion (optional).

Although this dish uses the combination of seasoning similar to “niku-jaga”, this dish came out much more mildly flavored and gentle. This is a good dish for drinking snack or the accompaniment for rice.

Canned Mackerel, Cabbage and Egg Stir-fry サバ缶とキャベツの卵炒め

We found a few cans of mackerel (Japanese.style cooked in water) which were approaching the BUB (best-used-by date) tucked away in the pantry. We bought these and other canned items during the height of COVID when protein shortages started to materialize. Those times have thankfully passed so I decided I could use the “emergency” mackerel to make a small appetizer. I have made and posted a few dishes made from canned mackerel. This is not particularly original but it worked well. Since I recently got fresh quail eggs, I used them to make miniature fried eggs and topped this dish. As a result, in the picture the mackerel part of the dish, is a bit obscured by the fried quail egg.

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.

Cabbage stir fried Japanese style 日本風キャベツと油揚の炒め物

This is a simple Japanese family-style cabbage dish which my mother used to make. I thought I must have posted this before but obviously I did not. When we celebrated St. Patrick’s day this year we had a sort of Irish dinner with Shepherd pie, Irish soda bread, and I contributed this cabbage dish to complete the meal. This is a vegetarian dish since instead of meat, deep fried tofu or “abura-autge” 油揚げ is used. I also added onion but it was most likely not included in the original recipe. The seasoning is a typical Japanese one; soy sauce and mirin. This can be a drinking snack or accompaniment for rice (in that case, more soy sauce is called for). 

 I made. this with the center portion of cabbage I had left in the refrigerator. Since I was trying to use up the last of the cabbage, I made a bit more than I intended.

Ingredients: (The amount of the ingredients are arbitrary)
Cabbage, thinly sliced, soaked in water for 10 minutes and then moisture removed in a salad spinner (#1).
Deep fried tofu (abura-age), rinsed in hot water to remove excess oil, cut in half and sliced into thin strips (#2).
Onion, cut in half and thinly sliced (#3).
Vegetable oil with a dash or dark sesame oil for stir flying (#4)
Soy sauce and mirin as seasoning.

Directions:
Add the oil to a wok on medium-high flame
Stir fry the onion for a few minuets and then add the cabbage and continue cooking or few more minutes or until the cabbage softens.
Add the mirin and then soy sauce. Add the seasoning to taste.

This is a nice side dish and a nostalgic reminder from my childhood. 

Cabbage curry salad (or rescued caramelized cabbage) カレー味のキャベツのサラダ

Making good on her threat to rescue the somewhat less than successful “skillet caramelized cabbage” my wife transformed it into curry flavored cabbage. Getting a cue from coleslaw, she added carrots and raisins. Then she further transformed it by turning it into a salad using mayo and strained (Greek) yogurt as a dressing. I think this dish may have been inspired by a recipe in her favorite Indian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey’s called “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking”. Even so, I am certain, the recipe would not have called for the use of failed skillet caramelized cabbage. Nonetheless this was much better than the original.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage (about 1 1/2 lbs.) (I used the previously made caramelized cabbage)
3/4 tsp. Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. Fennel seeds
1 tsp. Sesame seeds
1 cup raisins.
1 medium or large onion diced
2 to 3 carrots julienne
1 tsp. Salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbs. Lemon juice (I used sushi vinegar)
1/2 tsp. Garam masala

Directions.
Put some oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. When the oil gets hot add the cumin, fennel and sesame seeds to bloom the spices. When the sesame seeds begin to pop quickly add the raisins. They will essentially fry puffing up and turning light brown. Then add the onions and sauté until they have browned a bit. Add the carrots and cook until they soften somewhat. Add the cabbage. Stir and cook until blended and the cabbage has become soft. Add the salt and cayenne. Then at the very end add the lemon juice (or sushi vinegar) and the garam masala.

This was a major improvement over the sorry caramelized cabbage dish. The spices had depth of flavor and some zing but were not too hot. The raisins gave it sweetness that contrasted well with the tangy note added by the vinegar. The garam masala gave it a bright spark at the end of the bite. I would almost go so far as to call it a coleslaw curry. It tasted great both hot or cold. Although this can be eaten hot or cold, we further morphed it to salad.

I served this dish with sweet potato croquet, French fries made from sweet potato. I think this was a small dish that went with a drink in the evening.

This was a lunch over the weekend. I served the cabbage curry dressed with the mayo greek yogurt combo. The plate included a curry flavored chicken salad, cantelope and grapes (chicken was leftover breast meat from the whole chicken we cooked on the Weber grill) and Angel biscuit.  Both salads were curry flavored but tasted quite different.

I think my wife was indeed successful rescuing the cabbage from the original dish. 

Skillet caramelized cabbage スキレットカラメライズドキャベツ

My wife and I are always looking for new and interesting recipes. One day, we simultaneously and independently both came up with the same cabbage recipe that appeared in the Washington Post. The article touted how glorious this cabbage dish was. Although, in general, we are not fans of cooked cabbage, we thought this might be an exciting new preparation which would significantly change our opinion much like blackened  Brussels sprouts revolutionized our appreciation of that vegetable. The picture below shows the dish just as it came out of the oven after one hour of baking.

We served a portion as recommended in the article with a dollop of Greek (strained) yogurt and dill (we did not have fresh dill so we used dry dill).  To our disappointment after all was said and done this dish was just "cooked cabbage" with a slight caraway flavor.  If you are a fan of cooked cabbage this is the dish for you. We, on the other hand, were much less than impressed. My wife said she will attempt to transform this it to something better (subject of future post).

Ingredients
1 medium head green cabbage (about 2 1/2 pounds)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces), halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh dill fronds
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (nonfat, low-fat or whole)

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the cabbage in half through the core, then cut each half into four wedges, making sure that each wedge retains some core to hold it together, so that you have 8 wedges.
3. In a large, ovenproof, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil until shimmering. Add four wedges of cabbage to the skillet and sear until the cabbage is well browned and slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the cabbage to a plate, and then repeat with another 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil and the remaining cabbage, transferring the cabbage to the plate once browned.
4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil to the same skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes, then stir in the garlic and caraway and cook, stirring, until aromatic, 30 seconds more. Return the cabbage to the skillet, overlapping the wedges as needed. Season with the salt and pepper, then add the broth and vinegar and bring to a simmer.
5. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the cabbage is very tender and the liquid has reduced to about half.
6. Serve garnished with dill fronds and dollops of yogurt, and seasoned with additional salt, if desired.

We were a bit underwhelmed since our expectations were high. It was another cooked cabbage. As I mentioned, my wife is going to "make it better". She is threatening to make "cabbage curry". We will have to see.

Cabbage and perilla in brine キャベツの青じそ漬け

These were five small appetizers we had one evening. Among these five appetizers, one is new and another is sort of new (a variation).

From the left, three kinds of protein. In the picture below which is the close up of the individual dishes, the left is smoked mackerel with miso sauce (since it is difficult now to get fresh mackerel, we got a package of smoked mackerel). My wife suggested serving it with the miso sauce I use to simmer the fresh mackerel サバの燻製味噌ソース. Unfortunately, this batch of the smoked mackerel was a bit too salty and the addition of the miso sauce did not improved the situation by adding more saltiness. The center is vegetables and fried salmon in sweet vinegar 酒の南蛮漬け and the right is chicken dressed in sesame dressing 酒蒸し鶏胸肉の胡麻和え.

Below, from  left to right is the previously mentioned chicken with sesame dressing, the center is a new small dish which is cabbage and perilla in brine キャベツの青じそ漬け.  There are many variations on this theme but I used a recipe from the on-line version of the Japanese newspaper "Asahi shinbun" 朝日新聞. (The recipe follows below the picture). The right is my usual potato saladポテトサラダ. 

Ingredients for cabbage dish

150 grams cabbage, cut into 1 x 3-4 cm strips
4-5 Green perilla leaves, cut into 1cm square

For Brine (mix the below and let it cool to room temperature)
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp rice vinegar

Directions
In a Ziploc bag, add the cabbage and green perilla, pour in the brine, remove the air as much as you can and seal. Sandwich the bag between two plates and put the weight and let it stand for 30 minutes until more water comes out and the cabbage becomes soft. It will keep several days in the refrigerator.

The brine was rather gentle and the cabbage tasted fresh and had a nice crunch. eating it with the perilla pieces really made it. This is a nice refreshing dish.

Pork belly and cabbage steamed in wine 豚バラとキャベツの塩蒸し

Because of COVIDー19, we have started using grocery home delivery. One of the problem is that when ordering on line using the descriptions and images provided we may not always end up with exactly what we wanted. This is one case in point; I thought I ordered a block of pork belly but instead, we got sliced pork belly. The slices are thicker than we expect to use in Japanese "Buta-bara" 豚バラ or "Sanmai-niku" 三枚肉.  I proposed several different dishes from the sliced pork belly but my wife wanted "Kaku-ni" 角煮 style preparation. So although I have never made kakuni from slices of pork belly before, I made that for her plus one other dish. Since I had jelled left over simmering liquid in the refrigerator from the previous pork belly (block) kakuni it was easy. I just cut the slices of pork belly into bite sized pieces and marinated them in a small amount of soy sauce for a few minutes. I then browned both sides and simmered it in the leftover simmering liquid for 2 hours. This was as good as my usual made from a block of pork belly.

The second dish I made was based on a recipe I saw on line. Since the slices of pork belly I got were thicker than Japanese buta-bara, I flattened the pieces with a meat pounder. Since we had leftover rose wine from Provence, I used that for this dish.

This is a simple dish but quite good. I splashed it with our favorite spicy Spanish olive oil before serving.

Ingredients
1/4 Cabbage, small head, leaves separate and washed and torn into bite sized pieces.
1lb slices of pork belly (They were a bit thicker than Japanese bura-bara. I pounded them thin, and cut into a bite sized pieces).
3 tbs white wine (We had a small amount of rose from Provence left over so I used that. It was more than 3 Tbs. more like 1/3 cup).
1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp oilve oil
slat and pepper for the meat.

Directions
Season the pork with salt and pepper.
In a pan, make alternating layers of cabbage and pork.
Add the wine, salt and olive oil, put it on medium flame with a lid.
Turned down the flame to low when it starts boiling.
Cook until the pork is cooked and cabbage is soft.
Serve hot, if needed season with additional salt and pepper (I sprinkled on our favorite Spanish olive oil)

This is a simple but good dish. Since the pork was well seasoned no additional seasoning was needed. It was good that I used up the cabbage I had, the left over wine and the last of pork belly slices.