Angel hair pasta pancake with Parmesan cheese エンジェルヘアパスタとパルメザンチーズのパンケーキ

This was made mostly for leftover control but it is a nice satisfying dish. The ingredients I had to work with were: leftover cooked angel hair pasta, one egg (while making poached eggs earlier I broke one of the yolks when I cracked it into a small dish before submerging the egg into the poaching water. Luckily I could save the egg for later use) and a small piece of red onion (less than 1/4). So this is the dish I came up with.


This is variation of the one I already posted. I first sauteed the red onion (thinly sliced) in a light olive oil on a medium flame. Meanwhile I mixed an appropriate amount of pasta, egg, and good amount of grated Parmigiano Reggiano (all precise measurement). I added the sauteed onion and spread the mixture in a small flying pan (the same one I used for the onion) and cooked it for 2-3 minutes on low flame. When the bottom is set and brown, I flipped it (a successful flip is all in the wrist!) and browned the other side for 2-3 more minutes until cooked and the edge was brown and crispy. I grated more Parmigiano on the top and garnished it with chopped chives. I had one last drunken tomato which I served one half per person.

Octopus and Nagaimo stir fly with garlic 長芋とタコの塩バターソテー

I made this dish from what was left of boiled small octopus after making sumiso-ae.  I adapted this from e-recipe. I would have used soy sauce instead of just salt but I followed the recipe.

Octpus: I used boiled small octopus head (body). I sliced the octopus in to thin (1/2 to 1/4 inch) strips.

Nagaimo: I used nagaimo (2 inch segment), peeled, sliced (1/4 inch) and cut in half rounds.

I put a pat of butter (1 tsp) in a frying pan on medium low flame. When the butter melted, I added garlic (1 small glove, finely chopped). When the garlic became fragrant (1 minute), I added the nagaimo rounds and fried both sides (1-2 minutes each). I then put in the octopus and sauteed for another 1 minute. I added salt (1/3 tsp) melted in warm water (2 tbs) and  mirin (2 tbs). I braised it until the liquid is almost all evaporated. I garnished with a very small pat of butter, perilla and freshly cracked white pepper (my additions).

This is an interesting dish. The nagaimo is still a bit slimy and may not be suitable for those with slimonphobia out there but is nicely crunchy with a buttery flavor. The octopus is rather tender (relative to other cooked octopi) and nice garlic taste. Perfect drinking snack for sake.

Small "Iidako" octopus and wakame dressed in vinegar-miso いいだこと塩蔵ワカメの酢みそ和え

When I visit the only Japanese grocery store left in our area, what I find is sort of hit-or-miss. On one such visit, I found boiled small octopus (only head or body portion but not the legs or tentacles) in the refrigerated case. I only saw boiled octopus legs before in this store but this was new, so I bought it.

This is probably "Iidako" 飯蛸. If I am correct, this is a small species of octopus but not a juvenile or baby of a larger octopus such as "true" octopus or 真蛸. I pondered a bit but I decided to make a classic vinegar-miso dressing with cucumber and wakame seaweed. Despite the fact I posted a few very similar dishes before, this is such a classic combination and I could not resist making this dish.

I just sliced the octopus thinly. Wakame was the salt preserved variety which was washed, hydrated and cut into a bite sized pieces (this was the last of the salt preserved wakame that we had). Cucumber was my usual American mini-cucumber, thinly sliced, salted and excess moisture squeezed out. 

"Karashi sumiso" is my usual with Saikyo miso 西京味噌 and rice vinegar and Japanese hot mustard.

The octopus is a bit firm but very nice. It has different textures as compared to the tentacles of larger octopus. I made sumiso sauce a tad too vinegary this time. I served this with braised potato and green beans (right in the image below) as opening dishes.

We tasted a new batch of G-Sake "joy" (I suppose "G" is for "Genshu" 原酒). We think this is a new brew since the shape of the bottle is slightly different (No "BY" or "Brew Year" is listed on the bottle). The taste is about the same as before with a "umami" predominant taste profile. It has a slightly viscous but pleasant mouth feel. As compared to the old batch, my wife felt it was slightly more yeasty but I did not. If this sake had a bit more fruity and crisp upfront taste which leads to the "umami"-laden finish, which this one already posses, this sake would be formidable. But the taste of this sake is a true undiluted or "genshu" style of sake. The assertive vinegary taste of my miso dressing actually went very well with this sake.

Braised new potatoes and green beans ジャガイモとインゲンの炒め煮

This is a very homey dish of potato and green beans. I grew up eating this dish and this is how my mother made it as far as I can remember. When my niece visited us many years ago, I made this dish and she immediately recognized it as her grandmother's recipe.

The amount of potato and green beans are arbitrary. The below picture shows the amount of potatoes and green beans I prepared. I used small red new potatoes (about 10, small one as is and larger ones cut in half after removing any blemish). Green beans, I trimmed off both ends after washing.

I put light olive oil (or vegetable oil, 2 tbs) with a splash of dark roasted sesame oil in a frying pan on medium heat. I sauteed both green beans and potatoes so that they were coated with oil. I added dashi (about 100ml). It immediately and vigorously started boiling. I put the tight fitting lid back on and let it cook for 5 minutes. I then added mirin (2-3tbs) and soy sauce (2-3 tbs). I put the lid back on and cooked another 7-10 minutes. I pierced  the potato and when the knife slid in easily it was done. I remove the lid and just let the liquid reduce until only a small amount of liquid remained (another 5 minutes). If the potato is not cooked but the liquid is almost gone, add water or dashi and cook a bit longer.

I added quartered baby bok choy on the top of the potato and green beans for the last 5 minutes of cooking and served this as a small drinking snack.

This is a classic home cooked dish. The green beans will lose color and it is not a fancy or pretty dish but is a very confronting dish. We went for sake with this.

Vidalia onion salad オニオンサラダ

The health effect of onion is a bit overhyped in Japan but eating raw onion is not easy because of the strong pungent taste. Vidalia onion is a milder onion since it contains less of the sulfa compounds and its derivatives develop by enzymatic actions after slicing, which is the basis of strong smell/taste and also its alleged heath benefits. Onion salads in different incarnations are being served up in some Izakaya. Quick scan of the Otsumami yokocho cookbooks reveals at least two versions. One looks particularly interesting topped with an egg yolk and bonito flakes. This is my more tame version made of Vidalia onion and slices of tomato.

The preparation of the onion is the same as in the cucumber onion salad. I slice onion thinly, salt, knead, let it stand for 5-10 minutes, squeeze and then wash it in cold running water. I then soak it in cold water for 15 minutes or longer and squeeze dry before using. (I am sure the most important substences for the onion's health benefits will be lost in this process but at least you can eat it without crying or smelling like an onion afterwords).

For dressing, I made a mixture of soy sauce, lemon juice, mirin, and sesame oil (to your liking, I did not measure) and dressed the onion. I spread the oinon on the plate and layered sliced tomato (skinned). I sprinkled some Kosher salt, good fruity olive oil and freshly ground peper (I used white pepper) on the tomato slices and garnished it with chopped chives. I chilled it in the refrigerator before serving.

It is very nice refreshing salad in hot weather. It may have lost some of the health benefits but the taste is very mild and even those who may not like raw onion will be able to enjoy it.