Pork belly braised in miso sauce 味噌味豚の角煮

Fresh pork belly used to be difficult to get in the past but with the opening of the new gourmet grocery store near us, we now can get pork belly any time. Japanese (including me) somehow love this portion of the hog. Thinly sliced pork belly (like bacon) is called "bara-niku" バラ肉 or "sanmai-niku" 三枚肉 and is widely used in Japanese dishes. But the ultimate is "Butano-kakuni" 豚の角煮 which I have posted several iterations made from pork spare rib, salted pork, and a block of a genuine pork belly. Since we happened to shop in this gourmet grocery store the other day, we bought some pork belly along with fresh whole fish.

I pondered what to make and decided to make a variation of "Kaku-ni" that is miso flavored. This is inspired by a recipe I read but I made substatinal changes since just reading the recipe, I could imagine the meat would not be that tender and the braising sauce would be too salty as well as too sweet. Pork belly requires a long time cooking especially if it is cooked as a block rather than thinly sliced. So I borrowed the idea of using a braising miso sauce from the recipe I read but deviated substantially and made this dish as though making "Kaku-ni" in a more traditional way by pre-boiling it in water (more traditional as compared to what I posted before as "Kakuni").

The 1 pound of pork belly which I bought will easily serve 8-10 of the small servings pictured above. 

I first cut the pork belly block in half so that it would fit better in the pot. I boiled it in enough water so the pork was covered "comfortably". I added scallions (2, cleaned and light bruised including the green parts), ginger root (thinly sliced , 5-8 slices), and raw rice (1 tsp). I placed the pork belly in the cold water and put the pot on a medium flame. When It started boiling, I turned down the flame to simmer and skimmed off any scum that appeared on the surface (#1). I simmered it for over 1 hour with the lid on.  I then washed the prok belly in cold running water and put it in a tight fitting (relatively speaking) baking dish (I used a small Pyrex baking dish with a glass lid) (#2).

Sauce/Marinade: The amount of the marinade has to be varied depending on the size of the baking dish. To accommodate the baking dish I used  the marinade consisted of miso (2 tbs), mirin (4 tbs) and soy sauce (2 tbs). As I mixed the miso into the liquid, I added a bit more mirin to make it a saucy consistency. I did not add sugar but I could have added sugar to make it sweeter. (I thought the Mirin was plenty sweet).

I poured the marinade over the meat put a lid on and placed it in the refrigerator for several hours  (or overnight) turning several times (or I could have used a Ziploc bag, with the air squeezed out). Just before putting it into the oven, I added scallion (3, cleaned and cut into 2-3 inch length) and pickled ginger (10, julienned, which added some sweet and sour ginner taste) (#3).

I pre-heated the oven to 350F. I cooked the pork belly with the  lid on for 1 hour occasionally basting with the marinade. After one hour, I removed the lid and continued baking for 30 more minutes basting several times (#4). The marinade became dark brown and thick. If needed, add water during the baking/braising (I did not).

I sliced it in half inch thick pieces and served it with additional sauce on the top on the base of baby spinatch and a side of baked cauliflower and garbanzo beans. 

This is as good as the more traditional pork belly kaku-ni. The fat layer melted in the mouth and was very sweet.  The meaty portion had a good but tender consistency and porky flavor. The miso marinade became nice nutty, salty and sweet sauce. Since this is a rather deadly dish, portion control was an order and I only served three slices per person.

Although sake would be my usual choice of libation, sturdy red wines will go very well. Actually, we were having this with 2007 Caymus cabernet sauvignon. This is one of our favorite wines. It has a nice dark chocolate mingling with complex predominantly black fruit. Hoping that  the red wine would lessen the ill-effect of pork belly fat while experiencing hedonistic pleasures in two ways; pork fat and good wine.

Veal Chops with Shiitake Dashi 子牛のチョップのシイタケソース添え

I am digging out old food pictures here. I volunteered for recipe testing over a year ago when Chef Tadashi Ono and Japanese food report fame Harris Salat were preparing the Japanese grill cookbook. I tested a few meat dishes and side dishes. 

I thought this was a rather nice dish. The sauce is nicely earthy with a Japanese touch. Veal chop are not usual cuts of meat I use. I was told that I could blog this after the publication of the cookbook. The book was published sometime ago and I bought a copy myself. Since I am running short of something to post I decide to post this dish.

This is the instruction I received. I did not compare the final recipe with this one.

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Serves 4

For the shiitake dashi:
12 whole dried shiitake mushrooms, about 1/2 ounce
1 cup water
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon water
4 veal chops, about 4 pounds
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

To make the shiitake dashi: Add the shiitake and water to a saucepan and let it soak for 4 hours at room temperature. Transfer the shiitake to a cutting board, without discarding the water in the saucepan, and thinly slice the mushrooms. Return the mushrooms to the liquid in the saucepan. Add the sake, soy sauce and mirin to the saucepan, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat so the liquid simmers, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the liquid reduces by 1/3. Skim off any scum that appears on the surface. While the dashi simmers, mix together the corn starch and water in a small bowl, and set aside. When the dashi has reduced, remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the corn starch mixture, and stir until the dashi thickens. Let the dashi come to room temperature.

Use a meat pounder or mallet, or the side of a heavy knife or cleaver, to pound the veal chop 6 times, to flatten and condense the meat. (Be careful not to strike the bone.) Season with salt and black pepper on all sides of the chops. Slap the sides of the veal with your palm, so the pepper sticks to the meat.

Preheat a grill to medium-hot heat. Grill the chops for about 5 minutes on each side for medium rare. When the chops are done, the bone will stick out, as the meat along it shrinks, and the veal will become richly caramel colored. Test for doneness using the nick and peek method. Let the chops rest for about 3 minutes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of shiitake dashi over the veal chops, and serve.

Other uses for shiitake dashi: Drizzle over steaks and burgers. The dashi can keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks, and also freezes well.

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The picture below is just showing the dried mushroom on the left upper image. The quality of dried mushroom could be quite different from brand to brand. I rehydrated the dried mushroom by placing the small plate so that the mushrooms are completely submerged. The right lower image is the final Shiitake dashi sauce. I did not take the picture of pork chops with this sauce on it.

I am trying to remember what this tasted like. When I tasted the sauce by itself, I thought it was too salty and strong. But once it was poured over the cooked veal chops, it was just right amount of saltiness. The sauce added a very nice "umami"-laden mushroom flavor. When I did this, I invited 2 couples (non-Japanese) and asked them to taste and give us feedback. I think this was very well received.

Cream cheese with salted kelp クリームチーズの塩昆布和え

I saw this recipe on line sometime ago. While we were at the Japanese grocery store last time, I found a package of salted kelp or "Shio Konbu"  塩昆布 and I got a package (see the second picture). This is an extremely simple but unexpectedly excellent  drinking snack.

Essentially, I mixed softened cream cheese and salted kelp from the package. The only change I will make is to cut the strands of kelp shorter next time so that it is easier to get a small amount of the cheese to smear on a cracker. The original recipe suggested adding cracked black pepper. 

"Salted kelp", I remember when I was living in Japan, this was chewy square pieces of kelp with its surface covered with salt. Apparently many new kelp products have been created in recent years including kelp snacks I posted before.

This version of salted kelp is from a company called "Kurakon" and the package has a cartoon of a character who is supposedly the manager of the company. It appears that different recipes by him using salt kelp are printed on each package. This one had a recipe for a rice ball with cheese and salted kelp and the image of the package at the company web site had cheese toast with salted kelp, which I may try later.

In any case, the combination of salty kelp and creme cheese was indeed a good one. We had this with Moffett Vineyards Willows Blend Napa Valley Red Wine 2007. This is an interesting blend of Cab Saub (47%), syrah (28%), and Cab Franc (25%). This is similar to the blends popularized by Aussie wineries.

This is a quite decent California red with nice black fruit upfront with some earthy spices and just right amount of vanilla. It has silky tannin with reasonable finish. I will give 92. This red went so well with the salt kelp cream cheese concoction on craker. Sitting outside under the cherry blossoms also helped, I have to admit.

Small Japanese covered containers 珍味入れ

Last time we were in Kyoto, somehow we ended up in the Nishiki Market 錦市場 early in the morning. Many stores just opened or were getting ready to open up. My wife spotted a small china store. The middle aged man, who apparently was the owner, was still unpacking the items in front of the store.  He had a very extensive collection of small covered containers which Japanese like to use to serve a small portion of "extraordinary tastes" or "chinmi" 珍味. He even unpacked more of these containers for her. These are six she chose (I sanctioned the limit to 6). Some are spheres with a concetric ring pattern or with plum flowers. She chose two of the spheres with concentric ring pattern since she really liked it. She chose one of each for others. The owner said this happened to be the most popular item and praised my wife's keen eye and good taste but I had a feeling if she liked other container he would have made that one most popular. In any case, we hand carried all these contianers and boxes home on the airplane. Somehow, I completely forgot that we had this. I was pleasantly surprised when I found them in the back of the cupboard.

Nothing new here, but I served squid marinated in mirin and soy sauce or "Okizuke" 沖漬け(left), Ikura salmon roe in cucumber cup and garnished with salted kelp (center) and "mozuku" sea weed in sweet vinegar (right). All prepackaged, I just thawed and arranged.

These are nice containers to have, especially if you are into serving drinking snacks for sake like we are. Only problem is that all these containers need to be hand washed and it is easy to break (we have not, yet). By the way, the picture shows some lacquered easter eggs that my wife collected. She thought they were seasonal and added them to the picture. 

Roasted Brussel sprout salad ロースト芽キャベツのサラダ

When I lived in Japan, I never noticed Brussel sprout or Brussels Sprout being sold at the market but obviously these are available in Japan now. My understanding of Brussel sprouts is that they are the side buds of a certain cultivar of wild cabbage. (If this vegetable is named after the capital of Belgium, this should be called "Brussels sprout", but the vast majority of cookbooks and grocery stores in the U.S. list it as "Brussel sprout"). My first encounter with this vegetable was at a Christmas dinner after I came to the U.S. My wife has cooked Brussel sprouts in several different ways and, (even) I tried a few recipes but none was satisfactory. So it remained a must-have-for-Christmas-dinner-but-nobody-ate-it side dish. That was until my wife decided to roast them until the surface blackens.  This is absolutely the best way to cook and enjoy Brussel sprouts and now we make this regularly with other roasted vegetables such as greenbeans, carrot, onions, and cauliflower. The roasted Brussel sprout, when it first comes out from the oven, has a nice blackened and crispy outer layer with sweet creamy inside.

I even use leftover roasted Brussels sprouts in our sandwiches  (sliced, of course). One day, we found only a few leftover roasted Brussel sprouts in the fridge. By my wife's suggestion, I made them into a small salad.

For 4 small servings such as the one shown above; roasted Brussel sprout (6 halved or quartered depending on its size), apple (one Honey crisp or other sweet and sour crisp apple, skinned and cut into small chunks), Campari tomato (4, skin removed and quartered), cucumber (one minicucu, soft center removed and cut into small chunks).

Dressing: I mixed store bought mayonaise (1 tbs), plain yogurt (1 tbs), Dijon mustard with horse raddish (2 tsp), salt and black pepper.

I served this on the bed of baby spinach. This was a good starter dish. Brussel sprouts and apple go very well together. The contrast between the crisp apple and soft and sweet Brussel sprout was supported by tangy but creamy dressing.

Lamb loin chops with reduced red wine sauce with garlic and mint flavor 子羊肉の赤ワインソース

Did I tell you my wife likes lamb very much. Although lamb is not a popular meat in Japan (especially in the old days when I lived there), it was widely enjoyed by Hokkaidian 北海道人. The dish is called "Genghis Khan" nabe or "Jingisukan-nabe"*.  This may be because livestock production including dairy and raising sheep is very big in Hokkaido. (You may recall the famous sheep hill in Sapporo). 

One week end, we cooked loin chops of lamb which may not be the most popular cut of lamb but the meat is tender and tasty. Since I had a bottle of Bordeaux which did not meet our lowest drinkability standard, I also made reduced red wine sauce with garlic and mint.

I served this with a side of baked greenbeans and parmesan couscous (from the box, just add chicken broth, a pat of butter. When it comes to a boil, add couscous, remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork).

I sliced garlic cloves (3-4). I fried the garlic in olive oil (2 tbs) in low heat until the garlic was fragrant, slightly browned, and the garlic flavor transfered to the oil. I seasoned the lamb loin chops (4) with salt and pepper. Using the garlic infused oil, I seasoned and browned both sides finishing them in 350F oven for 5-8 minutes.

I removed the meat and set it aside on the plate loosely covered with aluminum foil. While the meat was resting, I made a sauce. I blotted the excess oil from the pan using a paper towel and put the pan back on the medium flame. I deglazed it with red wine (happend to be Bordeaux, about 1/2 cup) and added back the garlic. After it reduced in half, I added Balsamic vinegar (1 tbs) and further reduced the mixture (final amount was just coating the bottom of the pan). I added back any juice accumulated in the plate where the lamb chops were resting.  Since I realized I am out of fresh mint, I just added dried mint leaves (1/2 tsp).

A good Austrarian shiraz (maybe MollyDooker BlueEyed boy) is a good match but I think we had this with California Cab (I do not remember which one).

(From http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5300.html)

* The old Sapporo beer brewery was converted into a cavernous "beer garden" with all-you-can-eat Jingiskan grill. (Now, I learned that it was fruther converted into a beer museum with an adjacent restaurants). Since I knew my wife liked lamb, I took her there. Jungiskan nabe is a convex cast iron grill with ridges and grooves on which rolled and thinly sliced mutton/lamb is grilled. 

Since the Japanese, in general, do not like the true flavor of mutton or lamb, they do everything and anything to cover it up with either strong marinades (before cooking) or dipping sauce after cooking--or both. As a result, my wife's review of the dish was, "You say this is made of lamb? I couldn't tell, all I tasted was soysauce". 

Grilled black sea bass with grilled asparagus and shiitake mushroom ブラックシーバスの塩焼き

After hanami, the weather turned more seasonal (cooler) but it was still nice enough to grill outside. One weekend, we bought a whole black sea bass and decided to just simply grill it on the charcoal fire. At the market, there were few fresh whole fish available, Arctic char and black sea bass looked good to me and I chose black sea bass since we eat salmon frequently and char is somewhat similar to salmon. This black sea bass was a good sized fish.

What is the Japanese equivalent of black sea bass? I am not sure but I could not find similar Japanese fish. Thus, the Japanese phonetic expression of "black sea bass" ブラックシーバス appears appropriate. It is a white meat fish but has nice firm sweet meat. It can be grilled, fried, simmered and is available as a sashimi item in sushibars. I did not think, however, that this was fresh enough for that.

Black sea bass: This was about 13 inches long. I had it gutted, scaled and the dorsal fin removed (very spiky) by the fish monger. I decided to simply salt it and grill it without further embellishment. I made shallow cross cuts on both sides of the fish to prevent the skin from rupturing during grilling. I salted inside and out a few hours before grilling, covered and put it in the refrigerator. Just before grilling, I patted the skin dry with a paper towel and smeared light olive oil on the skin (mostly to prevent the skin from sticking to the grill).

Vegetables: I grilled fresh shiitake mushrooms and aspragus at the same time. For the shiitake mushrooms, I removed the stem. For the asparagus, I removed the woody root ends.  I coated them with olive oil and seasoned both with salt and pepper. 

Grill preparation: I used slightly less lump charcoal than I usually use--(about 80% of what I would use to roast a whole chicken). I ignited the charcoal using a chimney charcoal starter. After the charcoal was ready, I just dumped in on the bottom grate of the Weber grill in an oval-shaped mound corresponding with the shape of the fish with the center portion having few layers and the periphery less charcoal so that the fish get hottest fire and the vegetables less so. I cleaned and sprayed the grill grate with a non-flammable non-stick oil spray. 

I placed the fish on the grill, put on the lid but left both bottom and top air vents fully open.  I let it cook for 5 minutes and then placed the mushrooms and asparagus on either side of the fish. After another 5 minutes, I turned over the shiitake mushrooms and moved them further away from the hot charcoal to prevent charring (my wife does not like "blackened" mushrooms  i.e. mushrooms with burned sections). I also turned the asparagus but left them in the rather hot area of the grill next to the fish. I flipped over the fish trying not to damage the skin. I cooked another 5 minutes with the lid on. I thought the fish was just done but my wife who peeked into the flesh said it was still transparent near the bone.  I had to put the fish back for another 5 minutes to complete the cooking.

 My wife deboned the fish and separated the meat as you see above. We shared this plate. We had this with a bowl of white rice. I also served "Ikura" salmon roe, "Tobiko" flying fish roe, and seasoned nori or "Ajitsuke nori". This was very enjoyable and we finished up the entire fish. The meat was a bit overcooked but still quite nice. The shiitake mushroom was succulent and almost tasted like meat with a nice smoky flavor (and I did not burn them this time).