Oven baked spicy chicken オーブン焼きピリ辛チキン

Our favorite ways of preparing chicken thighs for Home Izakaya are yakitori 焼き鳥, shio-yaki 塩焼き, kara-age 唐揚 or tatsuta-age 竜田揚げ. To expand our repertoire, I picked up this recipe from e-recipe.org. We thought that this is a bit healthier than deep frying and that it may attain similar crispness of the surface and skin as the deep fried chicken.

I followed the recipe closely. I boned and cleaned (but skin-on) chicken thighs (three). I cut up the chicken thighs into a bite size pieces and marinate (or massage) with sake, soy sauce (2 tbs each), grated garlic (one clove), salt and pepper and let them stand for 10 minutes or so. I beat one egg and coated the chicken pieces well. I then added potato starch or "Katakuri-ko" 片栗粉 (4 tbs) and Japanses red pepper powder or "Ichimi tougarashi" 一味唐辛子 (1/2 tsp, since we do not like overly spicy but add whatever amount to suite). I kneaded this mixture into the chicken pieces until the flour was all incorporated. I placed the chicken pieces with the skin side up on a cookie sheet and cooked in a preheated 250C (almost 500F!) oven for 10-12 minutes.

As suggested in the recipe, I served this on the bed of thinly sliced red onion. It is not bad but the skin was not uniformally crispy as it is with the other cooking method. This has  potential but it may require some work to make our Home Izakaya "Teiban" 定番 list.

Braised Chicken liver and onion 鶏の肝とタマネギの炒め煮

In recent years, the mosquitoes have become extremely bad in our area. We used to sit outside in summer but now we can barely sit outside without being eaten alive. So, right now (April and May) is the only time of the year when the weather is warm enough but the mosquitoes are not out yet. We decided to do "Yakitori" 焼き鳥  this weekend on our deck. The chicken liver we got this time must not have been handled well and many pieces were all fragemtned and not suitable for "Yakitori". Although I could have made chopped liver, that could have caused some ethnic confusion. So, I decided to make this dish from the fragmented parts and we had it as the first dish before "Yakitori". I think this dish is appropriate for any Izakayas

After cleaning and washing the liver well, I soaked it in ice cold water for 10 - 15 minutes. After draining, I soaked the liver in sake (I use "Gekeikkan" 月桂冠 brewed in California for cooking) for 20 minutes or so to remove any unpleasant smell. I drained and put the livers on a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. The fragmented portions of the liver I got from one container of chicken livers were about 1/2 lb after this preparation. Besides the chicken liver, I used coarsely chooped onion (two small), finely chopped ginger and garlic (1 tsp each), garlic chives "nira" 韮 (about 1/4 cup chopped, from our garden).  I put penut oil (1 tbs) with a splash of dark sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan and put it on a medium high flame and added the onions and sautéed for 5 minutes until it becam soft and edges browned. I then added the garlic chives, garlic, and ginger and sautéed another 2-3 minutes and set aside. I cleaned the pan with a paper towel and added another tbs of penuts oil and put it on a medium high flame. When the oil was hot and shimmering, I added all the liver pieces and sauteed until the surface changed color (2-3 minutes). I like this portion of cooking to occur at rather high heat so that the juices will not come out. I added the sauteed vegetables back into the pan and added 2 tbs of mirin, 2 tbs of soy sauce and 2 tbs of sake. I stirred and flipped until the liquid reduces to 1/3 and became somewhat viscous. I could have added corn starch slurries here but I did not. After I put it in a serving bowl, I added cracked white pepper and thinly sliced scallion as a garnish. It is sort of onion and liver in a Japanese style. I did not follow any recipe but this flavor combination appears very common among Japanese dishes. This is a very good dish. 

We enjoyed it with a glass of a rather rustic turbid sake or "nigori sake" 濁り酒 from Kyoto Kizakura brewery 京都黄桜 "snow maiden" "Tozai Yuki musume" 東西雪娘 . Perfect pairing! It has tropical fruit on the palate with a slight sweetness but very straight forward sake. We continued with "Yakitori" with this sake. This rather simple but rustic sake is very enjoyable with down-to-earth dishes like Yakitori. The only strange thing about this sake is that it came in a pastel "pink" bottle and the label said it was named after a 226 year old carp (yes, a carp, see in the picutre) named "Hanako" meaning "flower child" (Although "Hanako" 花子 is a generic female Japanese name--you'll never meet a woman named "Hanako" much like you never meet a dog named pooch or rover--No direct comparison or offense meant or implied here. The person who came up with this name may have been at Woodstock). I am sure this is another one of those "bottled for export only" items. I wish the color of the bottle wasn't quite so pink and it was named after something more along the lines of Yeti or "Yuki otoko" 雪男.

Risotto with chicken breast リソトと鶏の胸肉

Another shime 締め dish with some Italian twist. It is essentially a rice dish from leftover or frozen rice we always have in the fridge or freezer. It is closer to risotto than to Japanese zousui 雑炊, so I call it risotto. Risotto is very popular dish in Japan since it is, after all, a rice dish and we also like it but it is too much work and takes too long if you make risotto from scratch, especially when you are winding down your home Izakaya feast. This is my instant risotto-like rice dish. 

You can use whatever you have but this time I used, shallot (one, small), Jalapeno pepper (1/2 seeded and deveined), fresh shiitake mushroom, stem removed (5-6, small), and parsley (2-3 tbs); all finely chopped or thinly sliced. Rather than discarding the stems of shiitake mushroms, you coud also use the stems by first tearing them apart along the length of the stem and then finely chopping them.  I use about one cup of cooked rice (if frozen, thaw it by briefly in the microwave) for two servings.

First, I add 2 tbs of light olive oil in a frying pan on a medium flame. When the oil is hot and shimmering, I saute all the vegetables except the parsley. I then saute the cooked rice to coat every rice grains with oil. You could add a bit of white wine to start but I usually do not since we do not have a half open white wine around most of the time. If you use a white wine, I will use a small amount (2-3 tbs) so that the end-product will not taste to acidic.  I add chicken broth (my usual non-fat reduced salt kind from Swanson in a box) like you are making real risotto while constantly stirring with a silicon spatula (or whatever utensils you prefer). Add enough liquid so that the rice grains are initally freely moving in the liquid and stir until the liquid has been fully absorbed by the rice then add more broth so the rice is again swimming in the liquid. I repeat this procedure 3-4 times until the rice is creamy enough (do not expect an al-dente rice here, actually, I do not particularly like al-dente risotto anyway). After the last installment of the broth has been absorbed, add a thin pad of butter (less than 2 tsp), stir and add chopped parsley. Finally, I grate Parmigiano-Rigggiano cheese (as much as you like) over the top and adjust salt and black pepper to taste. Since I had a cooked chicken breast (in balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and sake), I added slices of the chicken breast, which were warmed up on the top of the risotto for few minutes before plating. I also added the congealed or jellied sauce from the chicken dish, which promptly melted adding an additional dimension of flavor.

We kinda like this dish. The experience is similar to a rice porridge but with a taste of Parmesan cheese and mild balsamic vinegar.

Spooned tofu with "jako" and Jalapeno pepper 掬い豆腐のじゃことハロペニョペッパーかけ

Tofu 豆腐 has become a very popular food in the U.S. but what we get as tofu in our grocery store is far from the good tofu you can enjoy in Japan. As I mentioned before some good Japanese companies are producing decent tofu in the U.S., but it is not always easy to get quality tofu. There is a category of tofu which is not pressed to remove excess water. As a result, the tofu is softer and has a more silky texture. These are often called "spooned tofu" or "sukui tofu" 掬い豆腐 or if the tofu is only drained using a a Japanese bamboo basket called "zaru", it is called "zaru-age tofu" ざる揚げ豆腐 (Although, in the factory, I am sure they do not use a bamboo basket.). Actualy, Tako Grill does serve this type of home-made tofu. It is usually eaten with a bit of salt (Tako grill serves with pink - ume or plum flavored- and green -green tea flavored- salts). You could buy this type of very soft tofu in a small plastic container in a Japanese grocery store as well. The tofu I used here is soft silken tofu from Kyo-zen-an 京禅庵. Since it was very soft (softer than usual), I scooped up soft silken tofu using a spoon and served it as "spooned tofu".

You can use any garnish. The traditional garnish for cold tofu blocks called "hiya-yakko" 冷や奴 consists of dried bonito flakes, chopped scallion, perilla, and nori with grated ginger. I decided to use very small hatchling fish which was boiled in salted water and then dried called "chirimen-jako" 縮緬雑魚 or "jako" じゃこ for short.　"Jako" usually comes frozen in a small (one serving) plastic container. I just sauteed it in a dry frying pan on a low flame to thaw and dry further to make it slightly crispy (5 minutes). You could use oil such as roasted sesame oil and/or bit of mirin and soy sauce to season and make it really crispy and seasoned. This type of seasoned and crispy "jako" is usually mixed into a  freshly made rice to make "jako meshi" じゃこ飯 but you could use this type of preparation as a topping for this tofu dish. I also added Japanese Umeboshi flavored seasoning* ("furikake") and finely chopped, deveined and deseeded, fresh Jalapeno pepper. Instead of straight soy sauce, I poured a small amount of concentrated "mentuyu" めんつゆ or noodle soup from the bottle.

* Among the "frikake", Japanese rice seasonings, one made from red perilla which was a by-product of making Umeboshi can be dried or semi dried to make umeboshi flavoured frikake called "yukari". The one I used is semi-dried yukari which also contains small chunks of crispy pickled (but not dried) plum.

Skirt steak and home grown mixed green salad スカートステーキと自家製レタスのサラダ

We used to have a small raised vegetable patch in our backyard. First we could grow nice tomatoes but it got too shady because the trees were getting taller. We switched to crops which do not require as much sun as tomatoes and, finally, lettuce in the spring and fall. We, then,  totally gave up growing any vegetables in that area. Now, our Japanese plum tree is growing in the middle of what used to be our vegetable patch. It shares the space with a rather strange Japanese vegetable called "myga" 茗荷 which now grows under its boughs. When "myoga" is in season, I am sure I can post a few dishes using myoga. In any case, now my wife grows a small amount of lettuce in the raised herb garden in the front of the house where we still get sun. Some of the fall lettuce even over wintered the harsh winter we had this year and came back this spring. So this is one of the first lettuce crops of the season.

I dressed these mixed greens with a sort of Japanese dressing consisting of soy sauce (2 tbs), rice vinegar (2 tbs), sesame oil (1 tsp), vegetable oil (2 tbs) and mirin (1tbs). You could add grated ginger or crushed garlic. I just topped this with leftover marinated and grilled skirt steak (marinated for several hours in equal mixture of mirin and soy sauce and then grilled to medium rare and sliced in thin strips across the grain of the meat). Garnish with white roasted sesame seeds and chopped chives (from the same garden). Perfect starter salad.

Soft shell crab tempura ソフトシェルクラブの天ぷら

When I posted the crab cake, I promised a soft shell crab tempura. It must be getting into summer since my wife found live soft shell crabs in the fish monger's case at our neighborhood gourmet grocery store for the first time this year. Regardless of what we already planned for dinner tonight, it is time for soft shell crab tempura! 

I never saw soft shell crabs until I came to Baltimore (which was the first city I lived in after I left Japan). Soft shell crab sandwiches are famous in Maryland and look very strange at first. It consists of two pieces of bread with a large flat arachnoid looking creature between them; spider legs sticking out all over. Despite its appearance, both my wife and I independently developed a liking for soft shell crabs. The most common way to cook soft shell crabs is either battered and deep fried or dredged in flour and sauteed in clarified butter. We first encountered tempura soft shell crabs at one of the sushi bars we used to visit. With just a light tempura crust, it is our favorite way to eat this specialty--with crispy outside and juicy sweet meat inside. Actually, many sushi bars even make a "soft shell crab roll" which is not bad but we like to just eat the crab as is.

First, you have to clean the critters. If you are not up for this task, especially if they are still moving and alive, it is best to ask the fish monger to clean them for you. You need to take off the eyes/head portion, bottom apron, and gills. I sandwich the cleaned crabs between paper towels and press lightly to remove any excess moisture.

Tempura batter: I used to use whole eggs or egg yolks in my tempura batter but, more recently, I just use cake flour and potato starch mixture without eggs. I do not use any leavening agents such as baking powder. Using egg yolks makes a richer batter but I like the simple light texture of a crust made from the batter of just flour and water. Here, I used about a half cup of cake flour (the reason for the cake flour is that you do not need gluten which will make a tough crust) with 2 tbs of potato starch or corn starch and add ice cold water and mix lightly until a desired consistency is reached. Depending on what you are frying, the thickness of the batter should be adjusted. For soft shell crabs, I like a very light crust so I use a bit runny or thin batter.  

Oil: For tempura, you need to use fresh oil. I use peanut oil since we like the peanutty flavor it imparts and its high smoking point. The temperature should be around 170C (340F) but, as usual, I use the dropping-bit-of-tempura-batter method of judging the temperature. I use the shallow frying method with about half an inch deep oil. Since it splatters a lot, I took some precautions (see picture). I turned over the crabs once the bubbles around them get smaller (after 5 minutes) and fried another 5 minutes until the surface is lightly brown and crispy and bubbles around the crabs get smaller and "quieter" for the second time. I also made fresh Shiitake and asparagus tempura as accompaniments.

Green tea salt: Tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon will go well with this but we decided to eat simply with lemon wedges and green tea salt for our season's first catch. To make green tea salt, I add 3 tbs of Kosher salt and 1/3 tsp of "maccha" 抹茶 green tea powder in a small plastic sealable container and shake well to mix. It will keep for a long time in a freezer.

I cut the crab into 4 pieces for easy handling and serve. What a treat! I assume it will go very well with cold beer but I seldom drink beer nowadays. Cold sake is called for.

Browned rice with miso おこげと味噌

Last time I made "Browned crispy rice with Parmesan cheese", I longed for more authentic Japanese flavors like I remember from my childhood; just "okoge" おこげ and miso.  So I tried to reproduce this taste without using any oil or cheese and just miso.

I used cold leftover rice (not frozen). I added about one cup of rice to a dry non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Using a silicon spatula, I spread the rice thinly like a very thin pancake. I browned one side for 5-7 minutes (Please turn on an exhaust fan, it will smoke) and flipped it over and browned the other side (another 5 minutes) as well.  I then spread miso (about 1 tbs) thinly over the surface and flipped it again to make the miso slightly charred and fragrant (30 seconds). I flipped it again and slid it onto a plate. I garnished it with thinly sliced scallion. This really tastes like genuine "okoge" with miso. The one with Parmesan cheese has nice flavors but it is a bit oily. My wife suggested combining Parmesan cheese and miso without using oil. I will try that next time.