Duck Egg アヒルの卵

While I was browsing Weee Asian grocery website, I noticed that in addition to the quail eggs which we like to get regularly, they also have duck eggs. I asked my wife if she had ever eaten a duck egg. She replied, “Have I ever eaten a duck egg?” Then reminded me that duck eggs were a regular by-product of raising ducks as a child in rural Pennsylvania even if the ducks were just pets. “So yes she had eaten a number of duck eggs in her past.” She also mentioned that, to her recollection, they were extremely rich with a rather strong/gamy flavor. In fact, to her juvenile palate they were almost inedible. (Her sister emphatically confirmed my wife’s description of the duck eggs).  Her family used to cook scrambled eggs in the ratio of one duck egg with several hens eggs to somewhat blunt the gaminess of the duck eggs. This peaked my interest and ordered half a dozen.

The picture below is a comparison of a hen’s egg (left) to a duck egg (right). Although we read that duck eggs can be as much as 50 to 100% larger than chicken eggs, in this particular example, the duck egg is only about 20-30% larger than the chicken egg. 

Upon cracking it open, the duck egg has a thicker and sturdier shell and the inner membrane appears stronger. The duck egg yolk (right) are larger and brighter orange in color. 

For a taste comparison, we decided to simply scramble the two eggs. This preparation would also be the closest to the tastes my wife experienced as a child. Since this was a lunch, I served slices of barbecued pork cooked our Weber, celery feta cheese with shiitake mushroom salad, “drunken” Campari tomato and a half slice of home-baked English muffin bread.

The scrambled duck egg has much brighter yellow in color (shown on the right). We tasted to compare. Based on my wife’s recollection, we were expecting the duck egg to be much stronger and gamier in flavor but it was quite similar to the hen’s egg. If we were not told, we would not have been able to tell the difference. My wife initially was hesitant to eat the duck egg fully expecting what she experienced as a child. Then she was very surprised and even a little disappointed at how similar it tasted to the chicken egg. (So she was left with a quandary. What had changed since her childhood—the duck egg or her palate?)

This was very interesting and we will try various preparations such as boiling, poaching or frying the duck eggs for comparison to the hen’s egg.

Eggplant Stir-fry with Perilla and Ginger 大葉ナス

Again we got some Japanese groceries delivered from Weee which included some Asian eggplants. Since the delivery included quite a good number of eggplants, I had to come up with a number of different dishes to use them before they go bad. I made this dish which is new to me. I was inspired by looking at a YouTube episode. This was a perfect dish since in addition to eggplant, it uses green perilla which is growing quite well in our herb garden. As usual I treated the recipe as “advisory” and made some modifications. This is slightly sweet due to the oyster sauce and added sugar but it is also somewhat spicy from the ginger. It has a nice perilla taste as well. I think this is good served warm or cold. It’s also another item that goes well with cold sake.

Ingredients:
One asian eggplant (this was a slender long one, which is equivalent to two small Japanese eggplants), cut into quarters lengthwise and then cut on the bias into bite sized pieces.
10 green perilla leaves, finely chopped (left in the picture below).
1 tbs julienne of ginger (center in the picture below).
2 tbs oil (I used light olive oil with a splash of dark sesame oil) (divided 1 tbs each).
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp ponzu
1 tbs chicken broth (the original recipe calls for granulated chicken broth or 鶏がらスープの素 which is freeze dried granules of chicken and vegetable broth. This is an ingredient that often appears in Japanese recipes)
2 tsp salt and 1 tbs potato starch (for preparation of the eggplant)

Directions:
Salt the eggplant pieces, mix well and and let it stand for 5 minutes or more (until some moisture comes out)
Wash with cold water to remove excess salt, ring out moisture from the eggplant (left in the picture below), lightly coat with the potato starch

Add the oil to the frying pan on medium flame. When the oil is hot add the eggplant pieces turning until both sides are cooked and browned (3-4 minutes), set it aside (picture below)

Add the remaining oil to the pan on low flame add the ginger and sauté for one minute or until fragrant.
Add the perilla and sauté for one more minute. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken broth and mix.
Add back the eggplant and stir and the sauce slightly reduced (1-2 minutes).

This is another flavorful rendition of “eggplant”. I was very careful not to overcook it and have the eggplant dissolve as a result the skin had a slight crunch while the white interior was soft and creamy. It had a surprising bite of hot spiciness which took us a little while to figure out was coming from the ginger. But it added another positive note to the dish.

Keema curry Japanese Version キーマカレー

Keema (meaning ground meat) curry and its variation dry curry are popular in Japan. I posted  some variations of these dishes before. This is not a genuine Indian or Pakistani keema curry but a Japanese variation. One of the reasons I made this dish was to use up left-over ground pork. I am sure pork is not the kind of meat usually used in genuine keema curry. Also, it’s usually made with a premixed Japanese curry powder (I used S&B brand*) which has a taste distinctive from Indian curry flavoring. I would characterize Japanese curry powder as milder, not hot, somewhat sweeter with a somewhat different range of spices. I thought I added a good amount of Japanese curry powder to the keema and it had plenty of flavor that could described as “spicy” but it was not really hot. The dish also included many vegetables (onion, celery, carrot—almost a myripoix), garlic and ginger plus the addition of garam masala. The addition of tonkatsu sauce toward the end of the cooking was a distinctly Japanese touch that would not be found in an Indian curry. It did add to the nice complexity in flavors. We like this curry very much. I served it over rice with a sunny-side-up fried egg, rakkyo らっきょう and fukushin-zuke 福神漬け pickels and (home-pasteurized) egg with runny yolk, which are classic accompaniment for Japanese curry.

*Reportedly it contains Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Star Anise, Cloves, Cardamon, Fennel, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves, Allspice and Garlic.

Similar to what I posted before and also I consulted the recipe on-line. Instead of tomato I used Ketchup.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded deveined and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground garlic
I package brown shimeji mushroom, bottom cut off and separated (optional, I just had a package and wanted to use it up)
2 tsp or more curry powder (I used Japanese S&B brand)
1 tsp Garam Masala
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs tonkatsu sauce
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth (or more if too thick)
2 tbs olive or vegetable oil

Directions:
In a pot on medium flame, add the oil. When hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, Jalapeño pepper, garlic and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, add the curry powder, salt and pepper and stir for several more minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan, add the ketchup in the exposed bottom of the pan and sauté until color changes to dark red/brown (Maillard reaction).
Add the pork and stir and cook until the pork separated and color turns. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Add the gram masala, butter and tonkatsu sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes. If needed add more curry powder (or cayenne pepper powder).

This was a very nice refreshing change from Indian inspired curries we have been making recently. It is nicely spicy in a mild almost sweet manner. Served over rice with the accompaniment of Japanese pickles used for curries this was a very Japanese interpretation of the spicy dish known as curry.

Lily Bulb and Wood Ear Scrambled Egg 百合根とキクラゲの卵炒め

I made this dish to use up some left over lily bulb and fresh wood ear mushrooms I had. I did not follow any recipe but wood ear and eggs is a common combination in Japanese Chinese dishes. I just added the lily bulb.  This turned out to be a quite good combination. Wood ear does not have much flavor but has a nice crunchy texture. Lily bulb has nice sweetness and softer texture.

Ingredients (two small servings)
2 eggs, beaten
Wood ear mushroom, cut into bite size (I used fresh), amount arbitrary
lily bulb, separated and blanched, amount arbitrary
Vegetable (or light olive) oil and dark sesame oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Add the oil with a splash of dark sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat
Add the wood ear and lily bulb, stir for 1 minute
Add the egg and mix
Season it with salt and pepper

This is a simple quick dish and perfect if you have wood ear mushroom and lily bulb (which may not be usual items one may have often).

Chicken Quesadilla チキンケサデア

This is a dish we made for lunch one day. We were inspired by the recipe called “Smashed burger taco” which appeared in the Washington Post. We really did not follow the recipe at all except for the idea of spreading the meat thinly over the tortilla. Since we had  about 3-4 oz of ground chicken, we used chicken instead of beef. For the rest we made it like a quesadilla. We topped it with our usual, guacamole and sour cream. Although I seasoned the meat with cumin, salt, black pepper and freshly ground nutmeg, the meat did not have a really strong flavor. I also added finely chopped Vidalia onion and mayonnaise (to compensate for the lean chicken meat).

We made two sets and cut it into wedges. We ate three slices which was more than enough for us. The rest is a snack for later.

Ingredients (made two sets of quesadilla)
4 soft wheat tortillas
4oz ground chicken
1/2 small sweet (Vidalia) onion, finely chopped
1 tsp mayonnaise (optional)
Salt, black ground pepper, cumin, and nutmeg to taste
Cheeses (we used cheddar, fresh goat, and smoked gouda), the amount is arbitrary
1-2 tbs light olive oil

Directions:
Mix the chicken, onion, seasonings and mayonnaise in a bowl and mix well. Spread half of the meat mixture on the each tortilla and spread to the edge (#1)
Heat up frying pans (I used two pans to cook them simultaneously) on medium heat and add the olive oil.
When the oil is hot, add the tortilla with meat side down (#2) and cook for 1-2 minutes then flip over (#3)
Add cheeses (#4)
Place another tortilla on the top. Press gently with spatula (#5)
When the cheeses have melted (1-2 minutes) flip and cook the other side for 1-2 more minutes (#6)

Served it hot with topping of guacamole and sour cream (first picture). Since the meat layer is thin, it adds subtle umami but if you do not pay attention, you may not notice of the meat (especially since we used the chicken). We added a lots of cheeses which made this very cheesy. The tortilla added a nice crunch. Very satisfying lunch.

P.S. We had this later as a snack after heating up in the toaster oven. It tasted better with the chicken flavor more pronounced. Also, the shape was better kept and easier to pick up and eat.

Lily Bulb with Ikura; Eggplants and Wood Ear in Mustard Dressing 百合根とキクラゲの辛子和え

This is on the theme of multiple small appetizers served in a multi- divided  plate. We got delivery of some Japanese vegetables which included eggplant, lily bulb and wood ear mushroom among other things. I served five appetizers. Two of them are new and are the ones I am presenting here.

Lilly bulb with ikura. This is a very simple but good dish. I separated the lily bulb into individual pieces and briefly boiled them. After they cooled I refrigerated them. I served them as shown below. I just topped each lily bulb cup shaped piece with marinated ikura salmon roe. Due to its simplicity I did not include a formal ingredients and directions section for this dish below. The slightly sweet and mildly crunchy texture of the lily bulb went well with the taste of the marinated ikura.

The picture below shows the eggplant and wood ear mushroom dish. I dressed it in mustard sauce which was slightly spicy, vinegary and sweet. The sauce gave an unexpected but nice bright note to the dish while the texture contrast between the thinly sliced eggplant and crunchy wood ear mushroom was a nice combination.

As mentioned, these were two among the 5 appetizers I served. I made two 5 dish appetizer plates one evening as shown below. (One for myself and one for my wife). The picture shows the two dishes discussed above along with the other three that made up the 5 dish plate.  From left to right are; store bought fish cake warmed in the toaster oven, the eggplant and wood ear dressed in mustard sauce, lily bulb with ikura, eggplant “agebitashi” with mushrooms, and hijiki and fried tofu stir fry.

The eggplant and wood ear dish in mustard sauce (recipe came from eRecipe - in Japanese)

Ingredients:
One Japanese (Asian) eggplant (long slender kind)
Wood ear (I used fresh which was blanched and cooled) if using dried, hydrate and removed the hard parts and blanch it, amount arbitrary

For dressing: (amount all to taste)
Japanese (hot) prepared mustard, amount arbitrary, from tube
Sweet vinegar (this was home-made) or sushi vinegar
Soy sauce

Directions:
Cut the eggplant with stem end removed, in half length-wise and then cut thinly across on the bias
Soak the pieces in cold water for 5-10 minutes, squeeze out water and add salt and knead. Let it stand until some moisture comes out and the slice of the eggplant has wilted
Wash in water and squeeze out the excess water
Cut wood ear into bite sized pieces. If attachment ends are hard, remove them.
In a small bowl, add the eggplants, wood ear and the dressing and mix well

Nine appetizers served in nine divided plate version 2

This is the second version of nine small appetizers served on the nine space divided plate. Although it was not intentional it turned out that I did not have even one repeat of the items I presented in the previously posted nine appetizers. But this time I did include two store-bought items that I got from our Japanese grocery store; Chinese-style octopus salad and fish cakes. But I made the remaining 7.

The top row left is blanched edible chrysanthemum or “shun-giku” 春菊 shown in detail below, dressed with x4 Japanese noodle sauce and mixed with generous amount of dried bonito flakes or “kezuri-bushi”  削り節. It has very distinct flavors which we really like.

The 1st row, middle is my ususal “dashi-maki” だし巻き Japanese omelet. This time I added dried green nori or “aonori” 青のり. I garnished it with julienne of green perila or “aoziso” 青紫蘇.

The next dish is a Chinese-style octopus salad or 中華風タコサラダ. It is pretty good and we like it.

The center row, left is hijiki seaweed, deep fried tofu and carrot stir fry or ひじきと油揚の炒め物.

The 2nd row center is one I just made this morning. Fried egg plant and mushroom simmered in broth or ナスと椎茸の揚げ浸し. The mushrooms include fresh shiitake and brown shimeji. This is served cold with garnish of blanched green beans.

The 2nd row left is my usual burdock root stir fry ゴボウのきんぴら.

The 3rd row left is a cold skinned Campari tomato. I cross cut the top halfway-through and poured on some Irizake  煎り酒 and special sushi vinegar (both from the Rice Factory). Irizake is boiled down sake seasoned with “umeboshi” picked plum 梅干し, kelp and bonito flakes. The sushi vinegar is a special kind from “Echizen 越前” or present day Fukui 福井.  It tastes milder and better than our usual (Mizkan brand). I topped this with fine julienne of  “Gari” がりsweet vinegar marinated thinly sliced ginger root (usually use to accompany sushi) and perilla. I got this idea from one of the food blogs I follow but I did not follow the recipe exactly.

The 3rd row center is store-bought fish cake which I heated up in the toaster oven and dressed in x4 Japanese noodle sauce and yuzukosho.

The 3rd row right is my usual “asazuke” 浅漬け picked (salted) vegetable which includes cucumber, carrot, nappa cabbage and daikon radish. I also added “shio konbu” 塩昆布, and ginger. The asazuke is about two weeks old but still tasted fresh (I attribute this to the fact I added a bit more salt - more than the usual 3% - and added a small amount of Vodka when I made it. While it didn’t alter the overall taste, I think this makes the asazuke last longer without becoming sour).

After enjoying these 9 small dishes both of us were quite full and did not eat anything else. All the wonderful different flavors and textures made a really enjoyable dinner.