Potato Croquette with cheese チーズ入りポテトコロッケ

This is a form of leftovers control and I made it from my wife's mashed potatoes, which we had with roasted pork loin.  My wife's mashed potatoes were made from white potatoes (eyes removed and skin left on) cooked in the microwave oven until soft, then mashed rather coarsely, This time she added cream cheese with onion and chives spread, and buttermilk  (the buttermilk was Harrisburg Dairies whole milk buttermilk. It is her favorite and she refers to this as "high octane" buttermilk because, according to her, it is so rich and flavorful). She then seasoned it with salt and pepper. I noticed she made a lot of potatoes; much more than we needed for the meal. I commented on the large quantity. She confessed she made enough so there might be leftovers that could be used for other dishes such as my croquettes (hint, hint). A few days later, I obliged and transformed the smashed taters into potato croquettes. As seen below, I formed them into a shape like my creamy crab croquette instead of the more usual oval disk shape.

I served it with Indian-style carrot salad, and blanched broccoli.

The reason, I made these potato croquettes into this form was is to conceal a button of cheese I hid inside (I used smoked Gruyere cheese) which nicely melted.

Again, there is no recipe for this. I first made buttons of Gruyere cheese (about 5x1x1cm, or whatever size depending on how the croquette would be formed). I took my wife's leftover mashed potatoes (cold from the refrigerator and easy to form) and wrapped the cheese with the potatoes and shaped in to short cylinder form or "tawara" shape 俵 in Japanese culinary parlance. I then dredged in flour, egg wash and panko bread crumbs. I deep fried in 350F oil for 4-5 minutes turning several times.

This is best eaten piping hot with the molten cheese oozing out like the picture above. My wife was delighted with the hidden cheese surprise. For intentional-leftover control, this was not too bad. 

Salmon filet with crispy skin 鮭の塩焼き

We eat salmon quite frequently and I have posted many salmon dishes but I realized I never posted my simplest and most frequent way of cooking salmon. As you may have noticed, I serve our salmon skin side up since my wife and I like the crispy skin best. I could have removed the skin and cooked it separately to get it crisp but through trial and error over the years I came up with a few tricks to get a nice crispiness without removing it from the filet. My secret is to salt and dry the skin surface in the refrigerator uncovered for at least, several hours or up to 3 days. We like to serve salmon with freshly cooked rice (plain for me and with butter and soy sauce for my wife). This time I served it with our cucumber onion salad with dill

We like filet (as opposed to steak cut), more specifically a head portion of salmon filet which has a belly portion (upper sliver portion in the picture below). I am not sure how many people like to eat the skin, probably not many. When we get salmon filet at our regular grocery store, it is not scaled. So the very first thing  I have to do is scale it (below) which is more difficult to do with a filet than if it was the entire fish. I usually place the filet on a plastic cutting board meat side down and using a filet knife under running water (weak stream) scale the filet. I also check for any pin bones and if present I remove them. I blot any moisture from skin and meat surface using several sheets of paper towel.

I usually remove the thin belly part which is most fatty (see below) and cook it separately as an appetizer. 

I cut the thick (or back) portion of the filet into one serving and salt it on both sides. I use Kosher salt (see below)

Here comes the most important part. I place the salted salmon filets on a plate skin side up, uncovered in the refrigerator for, at least, several hours or up to 3 days before cooking. The below is after 4 hours but over night is the best. Drying up the skin makes it much easier to cook the skin perfectly and without splatter.

Just for comparison, the below is after 3 days in the refrigerator. Looks totally dried out but once it's cooked, it is just fine.

I put olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, on medium low heat (If you prefer you could use butter here). Without moving the filets, I cook the skin side for 5-7 minutes. If the filets seem to be sticking to the pan continue cooking for several more minutes.

When I turn them over,  you can see the skin is nicely crispy. I cook the meat side for 1-2 minutes more and finish cooking in a 400F oven (cooking time depends on the thickness but for 2 inch thick filet, like this one, 6-7 minutes).  I am using a convection oven. 

You will be amazed how much difference the drying process makes. We usually do not use any sauce. We just enjoy the flavor of the salon and crispy skin with freshly cooked rice.

"Zangi" Hokkaido Kara-age 北海道の唐揚げ, ザンギ

The very first time I had chicken "Zangi" 鶏のザンギ was when I was a freshman in college and in my very early drinking days in Sapporo, Hokkaido 札幌、北海道.  My friend took me to a small Izakaya near my University. One of the foods he ordered for us was chicken "Zangi" which to me was "kara-age" but a bit darker and more seasoned and went perfectly with cold beer.  Later I learned "Zangi" is a type of deep fried chicken which was invented and popularized by "Torimastu" 鳥松 in Kushiro 釧路 (North-eastern city in Hokkaido). The name "Zangi" was said to have originated from a Chinese fried chicken dish called 炸鸡 (zhá jī). By adding "n" for a good luck ("n" or "un" 運) in the middle, it became "Zanji" and then modified to "Zangi". What is the difference from chicken kara-age 唐揚げ or tatsuta-age 竜田揚げ? According to how it is done at "Torimatsu", the original is served with bone in and was eaten with dipping sauce but they even serve "Zangi" without the bone. So, "bone-in" is not a prerequisite to be called zangi.  I made "Zangi" here as I remembered it from my youth. I served my "Zangi" with cucumber onion dill salad and Japanese-flavored coleslaw (thinly julienned cabbage and carrot dressed in mayonnaise and ponzu mixture).

I used chicken thighs and I removed the bone but left the skin. I double fried them to make it crispy outside but juicy inside.

I am sure there are many variations in zangi recipes since many izakayas in Hokkaido serve their version. To me, zangi is seasoned with sake and soy sauce but no mirin or sugar and the amount of soy sauce is more than tatsuta-age.  Mine is seasoned enough to be eaten as is without dipping sauces.

Ingredients:

Four chicken thighs: I removed the bone  and visible fat but trimmed excess skin. I cut the thigh into small bite size pieces.

Marinade: Sake and soy sauce (about 1:1) with grated garlic and ginger (1/2 tsp each or whatever amount you like).

Potato starch (Katakuri-ko) for dredging.

Peanut oil for deep frying.

Directions:

I added the chicken pieces and the marinade to a Ziploc bag, massage it to make sure all the pieces got coated and let it marinate in the refrigerator for (at least) several hours. I then strained the liquid over a colander and blotted the excess moisture using sheets of paper towel. I then dredged the chicken pieces in potato starch. I first deep fried in 320F peanut oil for several minutes turning frequently for a few minutes in two batches. I let it drain and rest for 3-5 minutes (the above). After skimming off any flour or debris in the oil, I turned the flame up a bit and waited for 5 minutes or until the temperature reached 350-360F, I re-fried the first batch for several more minutes until the surface darkened and became crispy. I repeated this for the second batch.

Although I have served similar dishes before such as kara-age and tatsuta-age, this one was somehow better. We really liked this "zangi" version of Japanese fried chicken. I admit I am a bit biased since I am from Hokkaido originally.

Salmon nanban 鮭の南蛮漬け

For my New Year's salmon dishes, I bought the entire side of a salmon which was rather large.  (It was very reasonably priced.) I made all the following dishes from just that one side: Russian marinated salmon, 鮭のロシア漬け, salmon fry 鮭のフライ, salmon panfried which I finished in the oven (2 servings) 鮭の塩焼き, belly portion marinated and grilled 鮭のハラスの柚庵焼き (2 good servings as an appetizer) and then I made this fried salmon marinated in sweet vinegar or salmon nanban 鮭の南蛮漬け to finish all the salmon--it went a long way. This is a variation on the theme of other nanaban 南蛮 dishes in which I used sardines, shishamo, and chicken.

Below on the left is the salmon nanban and on the right is the Russian marinated salmon garnished with salmon roe.

Here is a close up with one piece of salmon covered with marinated carrot, onion and celery.

This was another day, you can see the celery and salmon better.

Ingredients:

Salmon: skin and bone removed cut into eight 1/2 inch thick large bite sized pieces.

Flour: for dredging

Salt and peper:

Carrot: Two small, peeled and cut into julienne.

Sweet onion: One medium, cut into small strips

Celery: 2 ribs, cut into julienne.

For marinade:

Dashi broth: 1/2 cup (made from dashi pack with kelp and bonito).

Rice Vinegar:1/2 cup

Sugar: 1/4 cup (or 4 tbs)

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Light colored soy sauce 2 tbs

Japanese whole dried red pepper: 1

Yuzu juice: a dash if you have it.

Directions:

I made the marinade first. In a small sauce pan, I added all the ingredients except for the yuzu juice and gently warmed it up to dissolve the sugar and then simmered it for a few more minutes. I let it cool down to room temperature. I fished out the dried red pepper and cut it into small rings and returned it to the marinade. I added a splash of yuzu juice but it is optional. (I used one from the bottle since I do not have fresh yuzu fruit or juice). I added the julienned vegetables and let it sit for several hours.

I seasoned the salmon pieces with salt and pepper. Dredged them in flour and deep fried in 350F oil for 1-2 minutes turning once. I drained the excess oil and immediately submerge the salmon pieces in the marinade and covered them with the marinating vegetables.

We could have eaten it immediately but I let it to marinate until the next day in the refrigerator.

This is a just variation of nanban dishes and I like the one with small fish best but salmon is not bad at all. Because of the vegetable marinated with the salmon, it is almost like a salad. We enjoyed this dish for the next 5 days with the other new year osechi dishes 御節料理.

Chawan-mushi flavored with lobster bisque ロブスター味の茶碗蒸し

Whenever we have lobster, I make lobster bisque from the shells and carcasses. This time I used the lobster bisque to flavor chawan-mushi 茶碗蒸し and added crab meat to make a sort of hybrid dish. I garnished it with julienne of radish and snow peas.

I put crab meat in the bottom and also on the top (I placed the top garnish including crab meat after the egg had set).

Ingredients: (6 small containers as seen below)

3 large eggs (about 150ml)

450ml Lobster bisque (or three times volume of the eggs)

Crab meat (more the better)

Snow peas and small red radish for garnish.

I beat the eggs, added the lobster bisque and mixed well. I placed crab meat in the bottom of each container and poured the egg mixture through a fine strainer into the containers. I placed the containers in a wok and steamed for 15 minutes. I checked and turned down the heat so the steam was steady but not so strong the egg mixture would developed bubbles. Once the custard set, I placed the garnishes on top including additional crab meat and steamed for another 5-10 minutes (see below).

This was good. I thought the lobster flavor would overwhelm the delicateness of the dish but it did not. It did not look any different from my usual chawan-mushi but on tasting it, the lobster bisque flavor came to the front in a nice subtle way. The sweet crab meet was also nice.  This variation of chwan-mushi will make our regular (or "teibann" 定番) dish.

Good sake from Niigata and drinking snacks 越の誉 純米大吟醸 槽搾り

Somehow I forgot to post this.  One evening in the first week of the new year (which is called "Matsu-no-uchi" 松の内 and considered to be still within a period of official New Year's cerebration in Japan) we still had some good stuff from the New Year's Osechi Box and other New Year items I made and I opened a special sake which was kept in the back of the refrigerator and I almost forgot that we had. This sake is called  "Koshi no Homare" (Pride of Niigata) Junmai daiginjo, funa-shibori 越の誉 純米大吟醸 槽搾りfrom Hara Brewery in Niigata 新潟原酒造.

I don't recall how I happen to have this sake. In any case, this was a good "daigin" with nice fruity and clean daigin flavors plus more depth to it from (?) a pleasant "umami" component. According to the brewery, this was pressed in the old traditional way in which fermented rice or "moromi" もろみ is put into cloth bags and pressed in a wooden vessel called "fune" 槽. The first sake that comes out without pressure is called "arabashiri" 荒走り. This sake is made from the middle of pressing called "nakabashiri" 中走りwhich is supposedly the best balanced sake you can have.

Anyway, good sake deserves good drinking snacks. The below was the first appetizers or otoshi I served. The left is a combination of daikon namasu (bottom), ikura salmon roe, Russian marinated salmon, boiled octopus leg, and kazunoko herring roe.

I also broiled tarako cod roe 焼きたらこ (only surface is cooked).

With these, we could have had quite a good amount of sake but since we had so much good food, I served this "Hassun" 八寸 assorted appetizers from the Osechi box. The marinated and grilled fish pieces were warmed up in a toaster oven which made them 100% better than stone-cold.

In this assortment, there are so many good snacks and everything went so well with the sake. Enjoying small morsels of different flavors and textures with good sake is by far our most favorite way of enjoying food and sake. We thought we were not a great fan of Niigata sake but this one was excellent and we really liked it.

Chicken patty with dried fig and Gorgonzola いちじくとブルーチーズの松風焼き

Matsukaze-yaki 松風焼きis one of the classic new year's osechi dishes 御節料理. It is usually seasoned with miso and includes pine nuts 松の実 (the name of this dish means "pine breeze grill").  It is essentially ground chicken loaf/patty and many variations are possible. We tried replacing the pine nuts with walnuts, which gave it a very different flavor and color (gets darker) and we liked this variation. This year, I added one more variation which I saw on line, which is making it with dried fig and gorgonzola cheese.

The combination of blue cheese and sweet dried figs is indeed great and makes it more "Western" in flavor. I served by it by itself with red wine which was a good combination.

Another time I served it with Champagne. It was one of many other items on the plate including stuffed fish cake (one with cod roe and shiso leaves and the other with thin slices of radish and guacamole), boiled octopus, herring roe, shibukawa-ni chestnuts, datemaki Japanese omelet, kumquat in syrup. (these items came from the Sushi taro osechi box combined with the dishes I made for New Year).

I also made kimisu 黄身酢 and dressed the octopus.

We had Champagne Lemile Leclerc a Mardeuil Brut Reserve NV with this. The champagne had a nice deep straw color and  was a bit assertive with a nice acidity and minerals with some fruity flavor (green apple etc) and quite good and went perfectly with all these assorted snacks.

Ingredients:

Ground chicken: About 400grams.

Dried figs: We used dried mini mission fig. The amount was arbitrary but as fa as I can tell, the more the better.

Gorgonzola cheese: we tried American made from goat cheese (mild) and one from whole cow's milk (stronger). Both worked fine but we liked the stronger one, crumbled the amount arbitrary.

Egg: two large

Olive oil: 2 tsp.

Directions: Using a silicon spatula, I mixed the ground chicken, gorgonzola cheese, dried figs, and eggs and olive oil. I oiled the bottom of a small rectangular baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I spread the mixture to make about half an inch thick layer (see below).

I baked it in a toaster oven (in convection oven mode) preheated at 350F for 20 minutes or until done.*

Because of the parchment paper lining, it came out easily in one sheet. I cut it into  rectangles.  This is a totally new flavor for this dish. Sweet nutty dried figs and salty and a bit sharp Gorgonzola is indeed nice flavor combination and made this dish more Western than Japanese. It goes well with wine or Champagne.

*This was the second try. I made this in a rectangular frying pan covered with aluminum foil as the original recipe suggested. It became sort of steam/baked and produced a large amount of liquid and when I opened the lid, it was floating in the liquid. All the cheese appeared to have leached out and it was dry and did not taste good. My toaster over baking method worked much better. If I am going with a frying pan method, I will not cover it while it is cooking.