Deviled eggs Version 2 デビルドエッグ

We posted deviled eggs before but since my wife acquired a new deviled eggs plate (originally to display a collection of  Easter egg decorations), we had another attempt at making deviled eggs. I have to admit the colorful plate, makes things look much more festive than our old white plate did.

Since I made guacamole (the avocado I had was on the verge of turning to over ripened mush) and this plate had a center well for a dip, I served it as well. My wife made three different kinds of deviled eggs this time.

This is the classic one.

2 tbs of Greek yogurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard
a sprinkle of onion salt to taste
stuffed olive for garnish

Lightly season all the egg whites with salt. Mix all the ingredients into the mashed egg yolk, then put mixture back into egg white

This is one with Sriracha hot sauce garnished with smoked paprika (not cayenne pepper).

2 tbs of Greek yogurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
1 tsp Sriracha (or to taste)
smoked paprika to garnish

Lightly season all the egg whites with salt. Mix all the ingredients into the mashed egg yolk, then put mixture back into egg white

This one is with guacamole garnished with a cilantro leaf.

2 tbs of Greek yogurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
2 tbs of guacamole
cilantro leaf for garnish

Lightly season all the egg whites with salt. Mix all the ingredients into the mashed egg yolk, then put mixture back into egg white

This plate may have been perfect for a party but we were not going to have one. Obviously it was too much to eat in one sitting so we came up with a way to cover and save the eggs in the refrigerator. My wife found out that we had a small stainless steel bowl which perfectly fit the center well . This covered the guacamole in an air tight way and gave the dish some height so that we could cover the entire plate with plastic wrap without toughing the deviled eggs.  So we enjoyed our deviled eggs two (halves) at a time for the next few days.

Although this is such an old fashioned appetizer, we learned it is making a comeback with some fancy twists. Ours were not fancy but we like them very much. Actually we liked the original and classic one with mayo, onion salt and Worcestershire sauce the best. The taste of deviled eggs evoked the nostalgia of humid summer days and family picnics (for my wife).

Anchovies in sweet vinegar イワシの南蛮

This is the second dish I made from the frozen "iwashi" イワシ anchovies. This is a standard "Nanban" 南蛮. The sweet vinegar cut the oiliness and fishiness of the anchovies and this is a very good dish.

Since I found Japanese "shishitou" 獅子唐芥子 at our near-by Whole foods, I added one, simply fried, as a garnish.

Ingredients:
Frozen (or fresh, if available) anchovy filets, thawed, three, cut into two making six pieces.
Potato starch for dredging
Peanuts or vegetable oil for deep frying
Celery (2 stalks), carrot (1 small), and sweet onion (1 small) cut into small strips (julienne)

For sweet vinegar marinade
Rice vinegar 1/2 cup
Japanese dashi 1/2 cup
Sugar 1/4 cup
Salt, a pinch
Light colored soy sauce, 1/2 tsp
Dried Japanese red pepper, 1 whole,

Directions:
Before starting to fry the fish, I prepared the vegetables and sweet vinegar.

I placed the ingredients for sweet vinegar in a sauce pan and heated it until the sugar melted. I let it simmer for 5 minutes and then let it cool to room temperature.
I added the julienned of vegetables.
I removed the whole Japanese hot pepper and sliced it into small rings removing the seeds for the garnish. (I did this in the morning and kept it in the refrigerator until I was ready to deep fry the fish).

I dried the fillets and dredged them in potato starch and deep fried them for 3 -4 minutes turning once in 350F oil,  drained it on a paper towel (see below).

While the fish was hot, I placed it in the sweet vinegar and covered the fish with the vegetables (see below). You can enjoy immediately or keep it in the refrigerator for later.

For this type of strong flavored fish, "nanban" is a good preparation. We enjoyed this with cold sake.

"Shisamo" smelt al ajillo ししゃものハーブオイル煮込み

Inventory control of my Japanese food stash in our freezer is not easy. Often I come across frozen fish items which need to be quickly consumed. I found a package of frozen "shishamo" シシャモ smelt the other day and I do not have a clue when I bought it but it still looked good.  I could have cooked them the usual way in the toaster oven or in a frying pan but I decided to slow-cook it in an herb olive oil a la "Gambas al ajillo" which I saw on the web.

This dish is more than just enjoying the fish but also soaking up the herb oil with a piece of baguette.

As usual I made some modification, the first of which was to make garlic chips. I removed them from the pan after they became brown and crispy and before cooking the fish. If I had left them in to cook with the fish they would have become bitter.  I added them back in after the fish was cooked.

Ingredients:
"Shishamo" Japanese smelt, frozen, one package (this had 10 small fish), not thawed
Olive oil, about 200ml
Fresh thyme, several sprigs
Garlic, two cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions:
In a non-stick frying pan, I added the olive oil in low flame and the garlic until the garlic was golden and crispy but not bitter. I removed it from the oil (above).
In the remaining oil, I added the thyme and the fish (below) and cooked it on low flame for 10-15 minutes.

Mid-way through, I carefully turned the fish over (skin is very delicate and easily breakable).

I garnished with the thyme sprigs and served it with slices of baguette I had made. Although I used quite a few thyme springs, the thyme flavor was rather muted but the fish were very good (these had roe). The only problem was that this was an appetizer and the flavored oil with the baguette was so good that if we were not careful, and exercised a degree of restraint, this would have been dinner. The restraint was worthwhile though because they tasted even better the next day.

Spinach cheese loaf ほうれん草とチーズのローフ

This is another one of my wife's baking projects. She likes basically anything made with pie dough; mini pies and cheese pockets you name it. She was inspired to make this spinach cheese loaf after reading a recipe in one of the "freebee" promotion cooking magazine we received. She made substantial changes to the recipe and "inspired by" rather than "followed" recipe is appropriate. We had this as a light lunch on the weekend. I made a quick cucumber and tomato salad with our home-made ranch dressing from our favorite "high "octane buttermilk. Since we also made deviled eggs, these are on the plate as well. It was sunny but rather hot day and cold crisp white wine or sparkling wine could have been good but we restrained ourselves.

I also served very sweet ripe mission figs.

You can see the spinach stuffing with bacon bits and bottom and top layers of smoked mozzarella cheese.  She used store-bought pie crust which came out nice and flaky.

This was how it looked before slicing. She made a few cuts on the top crust as vents to let the steam escape.

Ingredients:
One packaged pre-made pie crust thawed
Spinach, two bags, cooked without adding any liquid, excess moisture squeezed and finely chopped.
2 strips of bacon cooked until crispy, oil drained and crumbled.
Two onions diced and carmelized
Feta cheese, half block, crumbled or to taste.
Red pepper flakes to taste
One Egg, beaten.
Smoked mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced, enough to cover the bottom and top of the baking dish.
1 tsp of melted butter.

Directions:
Line the bottom of a small pyrex cooking dish with parchment paper (this makes removal of the loaf much easier).
Roll out one sheet of the store-bought (Pillsbury) pie crust. Put it over the parchment on the bottom dish allowing the excess to hang over the sides (#1).
Line the dough with a layer of smoked mozzarella (#2).
Mix the cooked, chopped spinach, rendered bacon, caramelized onions, feta cheese, beaten egg and red pepper flakes together (#3).
Pour mixture over crust in dish (#4). Cover with another layer of smoked mozzarella. Fold the excess dough hanging over the side of the dish on top the the spinach mixture (#5). Cut vent holes in the top crust and brush with melted butter.
Cook in a 425 oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned (#6). Let it cool completely before attempting to slice.

When she put the loaf in the oven, she was a bit distraught because it looked like the moisture was seeping out to the bottom crust, She thought the bottom crust wouldn't get crispy/flaky. But it turned out to be an optical illusion and everything came out just fine.  This was very nice "all-in-one" lunch. You get you starch, vegetables, and protein all in, in one slice.

Pacific saury simmered with picked "umeboshi" plums 秋刀魚の梅煮

My wife pointed out that a package of frozen Pacific saury or ”Sanma" 秋刀魚 was in the freezer and had been there for some time. I must have bought it last autumn and it certainly required my immediate attention.   I have posted quite a few sanma dishes including classic "shio-yaki", salted and then grilled 塩焼き, "kaba-yaki" 蒲焼, "fry" 秋刀魚のフライ, and "fried rolls" 秋刀魚の巻き揚げ. I thought I had not posted sanma cooked with "umeboshi" 梅干し pickled plum or 秋刀魚の梅煮 but, when I searched my blog, I apparently already posted it some time ago. It was 7 years ago and this time, I cooked it a bit differently, which is my excuse for posting this dish again. This was a weekend and the weather was glorious and the mosquitoes were on vacation somewhere else so we enjoyed this dish outside on the deck with cold sake.

For greens, I added blanched and trimmed green beans. I also included the "umeboshi" plum which was used in the cooking liquid.

This fish is known for its numerous fine bones. Since I cooked this bone in, it took some chopstick dexterity to remove the bone before eating. The tail portion was easy because the meat had contracted exposing the bone, but the belly potion was more difficult. I demonstrated my chopstick prowess but my wife took a direct hands-on (literally) approach. This was OK with me. I would rather have her remove all the bones even if she has to use her fingers rather than have me remove a bone she missed from her throat using a needle nose pliers (This actually happened many years ago). If the removal of fish bones with fingers lacks finesse, it is completely superseded by the needle nose pliers technique.

Ingredients:
Pacific saury "sanma", three, thawed (#2)
Umeboshi pickled plums, 4, (#1, these are last batch my mother made and sent to us several years ago)
Ginger, several slices
Sake 180ml
Water, enough to cover the fish (90-180ml)
Sugar 1tsp
Soy sauce, 1 tbs
Mirin, 1 tbs

Directions:
Press the umeboshi to separate the stones and the meat. Then tear the meat into a few chunks
Wash and clean the surface of the sanma to make sure no scales remain (scales fall off easily and usually no scales remain)
Cut the head off behind the front fins, remove the dorsal and ventral fins, and cut into three pieces.
Squeeze out the innards and wash it with a running cold water.
Place the fish in a colander and pour hot water over it turning once (this will remove some fishiness and keep the skin from breaking easily during the cooking) (#3).
Put the water, sake, pickled plum, sugar  and slices of ginger in a sauce pan on medium-high flame (#4). If needed add more water so that the fish is covered.
Once it starts boiling, turn down the heat and put an "otsohis-buta" on top (#5), I used the pink silicon one.  One can use a parchment paper or aluminum foil, instead.
After 5-7 minutes, I removed the otoshibuta and added the soy sauce and mirin and put back the otoshibuta and a lid and cooked it for 20 minutes.
I let it cool down in the cooking liquid.

The pickled plums added a nice salty and slightly sour tastes and the reaming plum meat add refreshing note. We really like this dish. My wife said next time she would remove the bone with her fingers in the kitchen ahead of time rather than at the dinner table.

Anchovy balls in soup イワシのつみれ汁

Anchovies or "Iwashi" イワシ are generally considered "low-class" fish. In the West, it is almost exclusively used to make cans of salted and oil packed filets or paste in a tube. It is often used in Italian food such as pizza, or in a sauce or garnish but many people do not like it. In Japan, it is also considered a "low-class" fish but it is much better appreciated and eaten in many different ways. One of the problems with these blue skin fish is that they spoil very quickly. When I was in Japan, small blue skinned fish like pacific saury or "sanma" 秋刀魚 or anchovies or "iwashi" イワシ was never eaten as sashimi.  Recent improvement in quick delivery logistics, however, made it possible to consume these blue skin fish as sashimi. We occasionally see "fresh" (meaning not in a can) whole anchovies in the near-by Whole  foods market. Unfortunately, for some reason, they look all beaten up; like they just came out of a bar brawl. For this reason I hesitate to buy them. While I was checking our freezer, I came across frozen filets of fresh anchovies that I bought in our Japanese grocery store.  I completely forgot I had them and decide to make two dishes from them.

This is the first dish. It is a fish meat ball called "iwashi-no-tsumire*" イワシのつみれ. I added the fish meat balls to seasoned broth with tofu, shiitake mushrooms, green beans, and garnished with the white part of scallion which makes this dish "Iwashi-no-tusmire-jiru" イワシのつみれ汁. Since this was in the evening and my wife does not like to eat a lot of soup in the evening, I added only a small amount of the broth.

Here is the close up. The tsumire  turned out to be very soft and friable.  The tofu is silken tofu from "Otokomae".

*Digression  Alert: I am sure nobody cares about the difference between "tsukune" つくね and "tsumire" つみれ but to make this blog educational, I will try to explain the subtle difference between these two Japanese culinary parlances. Both are balls made of minced fish or animal meat and cooked, either boiled or grilled. "Tsukune" is most often used to describe chicken meat balls and "tsumire" for fish meat balls but that is not the true difference between these two words. "Tsukune-ru" 捏ねる is a verb which means to "mix" or "knead" and if you are forming balls by rolling, it is called "tsukune". "Tsumu" 摘む is a verb which means to "pick" or "pluck" and 'Tumi-ireru" 摘入れる is a combined verb (tsumu+ ireru, "ireru" meaning "to place"). So tsumuireru means  "to pluck something (between your fingers) and put it (into cooking liquid). So, for authentic "tsumire", you pick up a small portion of chopped meat with your fingers and then place it in cooking liquid. In my case, I just used two small spoons to form balls, so this is "quenelle" rather than "tsumire". This is way more than anybody cares to know, but even I am amazed at my ability to pontificate on such meaningless topics.

Ingredients:
Frozen anchovy filets, 3, thawed (see below, I used half for this dish)
Miso, 1 tsp
Sake, 4 tbs+1tsp
Ginger, grated, 1/2 tsp
Potato starch, 1/2 tsp
Alternatively, you could use salt (1/2 tsp) and egg white (one egg) which make more "pure" iwashi flavored tsumire. In my case, I was more afraid of a strong"fishy" smell and flavor and used miso and ginger.

For the seasoned broth:
Japanese kelp and bonito broth (I made it  from a dashi pack), 200ml
Mirin and light colored soy sauce to taste (about 1 tbs each)

Directions:
Marinate the filets in sake for 30 minutes to overnight in the refrigerator (optional, especially if using fresh anchovies).
Using a chef's knife, mince it (the finer you mince the fish the firmer the resulting tsumire). You could remove the skin to make it less strong but I included it).
I mixed the miso with sake and worked it into the minced fish meat.
I then added the potato starch (you can add more to make the final products firmer).

Using two spoons, I made a small "quenelle" and dropped into gently simmering seasoned broth and cooked it for 5 minutes.
I kept this in the refrigerator after it cooled to the room temperature and the next day, heated it up with other items seen in the first picture or served it immediately.

This was a very slightly fishy in smell but not in taste. It had a very soft and delicate texture. The texture of the fish went very well with the texture of the soft tofu. Probably I could have minced the fish more finely and/or added more starch. In any case, it was a nice and delicate dish and we enjoyed it with cold sake on a recent holiday.

Natto and mackerel donburi 鯖味噌納豆丼

When I made natto with canned mackerel in miso sauce, the recipe suggested that this dish would be good as a drinking snack or on rice. So, I used the leftovers to make this donburi for lunch. I used frozen cooked rice which we always have in our freezer. (When we cook rice, we usually have leftovers so we freeze individual sized portions in small Ziploc bags with the date written on the outside. Then when we need rice we thaw it for 30 seconds in the microwave which makes rice to be separated but still semi-frozen. At this point, I put the rice in the bowl).

I also added precooked green beans (I usually  boil a package of green beans and keep it in the refrigerator). I microwaved it with a lid on (this donbri bowl has a lid) until the rice was warm (it comes out with a consistency and taste close to freshly made).

I also added a sunny -side-up fried egg (the egg yolk still runny).

This was quite good. I should have made more sauce.  I am sure freshly cooked rice would have been better but even with frozen rice, this was quite enjoyable.