Wheat berry salad 全粒小麦のサラダ

This is one of my wife's grain salads which we often include as a side in our brown bag lunches with our sandwiches. Wheat berry is the entire wheat kernel sans hull and is considered healthier than refined grain (milled wheat berry is whole wheat flour 全粒小麦). It has a nice crunchy texture and we like this salad.

We added sweet dried cranberries called craisins to give it a sweet savory flavor. The chick peas make it more interesting. Olives give a burst of salty flavor.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups wheat berry
1 cup of Craisins
1 large can of chick peas (with soft outer shell removed)
1/2 cup of olives, assorted chopped,
1 cup walnuts toasted and brown skin rubbed off
1/2 red onion finely diced
3 ribs of celery chopped
parsley chopped

Dressing: We used our usual honey mustard dressing which is a combination of Dijon mustard, honey, rice vinegar (1 tbs each) mixed and then add olive oil in thin stream while whisking. I stop adding oil as the dressing reaches the consistency and taste I want (probably 1 cup). I seasoned it with salt and black pepper.

Directions:
Toast the wheat berry in the toaster oven until they turn darker brown and smell fragrant (they may also start popping and that means they are done). Quickly rinse in cold water. Put in a bowel and cover with several inches of water. Cover and put in the refrigerator over night. Next day drain off the water put into a sauce pan with 3 1/2 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil then cook on simmer for 50 minutes. When they are done they should be firm but chewy. Drain any excess liquid.

Addendum: Cooking using the Instant Pot 

1cup wheat berry (toasted then washed in cold running water)

4cup water (or chicken broth)

Cook with high-pressure for 50 minutes with natural decompression.

*This is the second time we cooked wheat berry in the Instant Pot. We sued more liquid (4 cups) and more time (50min). It was a bit soft, may be we can try 45minutes.

After the wheat berry has cooled, add other ingredients (below).

This salad has a nice nutty flavor and chewiness. The other ingredients give it contrasts in texture such as the difference in the softness of the chick peas and the crunch of the wheat berry and little bursts of alternate intense flavor such as the saltiness from the olives and sweetness from the craisins.

Pork chop "Tonkatsu" ロースとんかつ

I have posted pork tenderloin cutlet or "hirekatsu" ヒレカツ sometime ago. This time I made tonkatsu from pork chops which is called "rosu" ロース in Japanese. I assume it is derived from parts of pork used for "roasting". I think  Japanese "rosu"  pork is a loin and usually does not contain any bones such as ribs or shoulder blade. Compared to "filet", this cut has more fat and is considered to be the original pork cutlet in Japan. In any case, I used bone-less pork chops here.

I served it with sauteed spinach seasoned with Dijon mustard and wedges of tomato.

Although the chance of trichinosis in US pork is very low, I do not take any chances and cooked the thickest center portion to 140F.

There is no real recipe. If the pork chops have a layer of fat at the edge, I usually cut into the fat (but not the meat below) in half inch intervals. l seasoned these with salt and pepper. I dredged them in flower, egg water, and panko bread crumbs. I deep fried them in 350F peanut oil for 5 minutes and then turned them over and cooked another 3 minutes. I  make sure the center of the thickest part is 140F using either the "cut and peek"  method or using a instant digital thermometer.

This looked really large but we ended up basically eating it all. We like "rosu" tokatus. It has more "porky" flavor and the layers of fat are sweet and succulent.

Panettone Italian Christmas bread パネトネクリスマスブッレド

When my wife baked Stollen bread for Christmas, which is Germanic, she also wanted to make Italian Christmas bread, Panettone, to cover all fronts but got delayed since she did not have appropriate baking vessels. I quickly went on line and ordered Panettone paper molds in two sizes. This delayed her baking Panettone but she managed to bake it on Christmas eve.

Since she did not have enough time before Christmas, instead of a yeast recipe which requires making sponge the day ahead, she chose a "quick bread" Panettone recipe.

It has very good flavors both savory and sweet the bread was excellent.

She made the larger one for us to enjoy and smaller ones to give as holiday gifts for friends. 

Ingredients (see above):

6 cups AP flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 sticks butter melted and cooled (one cup)

the grated lemon peel from 2 lemons

2 tsp crushed anise seed

1/2 cup slivered almonds toasted

1/2 cup raisins

2 tsp anise extract

2 tsp lemon extract

Directions: 

In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy and light yellow. Beat in the butter until it forms an almost mayonnaise consistency. Then add the lemon peel, crushed anise seeds, slivered almonds, raisins and extracts. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture alternating with the milk. Fill the molds about 2/3 full. Bake in a 325 degree oven. The small ones took about 45 minutes. The larger was about an hour or until it tests for done. (Sorry the times aren't more exact. I wrote them down on a sticky note and then promptly lost it.)

This is a very festive bread. The texture is very rich and all the flavors come through. Happy Holidays!!

Unboxing Sushi Taro Osechi Box すし太郎の御節重箱

Again this year,  we got an osechi box 御節重箱 from Sushi Taro すし太郎. In addition to the box, we also got hand-cut "Juwari-soba" 手打ち十割そば for "Toshikoshi soba" or "End-of-the-year soba" 年越し蕎麦 and even a desert. The desert was a Japanese style black bean steamed bread with "maccha" green tea 抹茶 and white sweet bean paste (I may be wrong just a guess, see the last picture).  This was how unwrapping and unboxing went on new year's eve.

The menu is in both Japanese and English. The soba and steamed bread are not listed on the menu.

The upper box looked like this (picture below). All the "good luck" new year foods and more. Miso marinated kazunoko 数の子の味噌漬け, and baby mackerel nanban 豆鯵南蛮漬け were among some of the new items this year. I have never tasted miso-marinated kazunoko. It had a nice sweet nutty flavor. This one also had a really nice crunchy texture.

This was the lower box (picture below). Among the simmered dishes simmered conch/whelk バイ貝の柔らか煮 was new and very good. This year's daikon namasu 大根なます included sweet dried persimmon. This combination is also a first for me and the sweetness and soft texture of the persimmon created a good contrast. (I made a more traditional daikon namasu, myself, this year).

The plate below shows the first serving of the new year's eve feast. Everything was good as we sipped cold sake. The monk fish liver terrine あん肝豆腐 (front row second from the left) was our favorite as before. But everything on the plate was a treat. 

And we went back for seconds. The version of matsukaze-yaki 松風焼き (square chicken loaf) was sherry flavored. Indeed, we could taste the sherry and it was a pleasing variation. This year, we ourselves tried a variation on matsukaze-yaki including one with dried fig and Gorgonzola cheese (subject for future post). The daikon namasu  with dried persimmon 干し柿 is shown on the right in the back), we really liked it 

Although I was thinking about serving the soba as an ending dish or "shime" 〆 we had to pass on it because we were quite full. (We never seem to be able to eat soba on new year's eve for the same reason every year--too full). 

On the second day of the new year, we had the soba. We knew Chef Kitayama 北山料理長 was into making hand-cut "Juwari" soba from 100% buckwheat flour without any binders or "tsunagi" つなぎ such as wheat flour or mountain yam. "Juwari soba" is indeed the pinnacle of soba making prowess that only a real soba master can accomplish. His soba was just such an accomplishment. It was slightly thicker than usual soba, but had a more delicate texture with subtle soba flavor. I made warm soba with cooked vegetables or shippoku soba しっぽくそば but in the haste of enjoying it before the soba got soggy, I completely forgot to take a picture. The soba was fantastic. But I did take a picture of his steamed bread or "mushi pan" 蒸しパン which we had as a dessert with our short-drawn espresso (green beans are from Sweet Marias, Espresso Workshop#37 blend, home roasted to full city roast).

This was a perfect combination. Although I am sure green tea instead of espresso could also have been an excellent accompaniment, the contrast of the coffee really accentuated the flavor of green tea in the bread. This was indeed an elegant desert.

A happy new year 2016 明けましておめでとう ２０１６

Happy New Year 2016! This December has been record-breaking warm in the DC area with temperatures in the 60's and 70's. On new year's day, it was more seasonal with temperatures of 42F (5.5C) cloudy sky and a rare glimpse of sun through the clouds. The nightly low however at 22 F was a rude reminder that this is winter after all.  As usual, I put new years decorations in the tokonoma 床の間 of our "tea" room. 

Since this is the year of monkey, we displayed two monkeys; one is made of fired clay and is a bell called "Do-rei" or 土鈴 and the other is made of wood and is a part a set of all 12 zodiac figures.

We had cappuccinos and toast for breakfast to gently slide into new year's day after the late night celebration of welcoming in the New Year. We had New Year's soup or "Ozouni" お雑煮 as a lunch. We did not open this year's osechi box 御節重箱 from Sushi Taro (yet) and I served only those dishes I made.

The only item I did not prepare myself on this plate is the herring roe or kazunoko 数の子 (left in the back). Since I could not get salted herring roe in time this year I bought already seasoned and prepared roe from our Japanese grocery store. Compared to what I usually prepare, it was too sweetly seasoned and had a strange soft texture. The next item in clock wise order is  "Matsukaze-yaki" 松風焼き chicken loaf; one garnished with green "ao-nori" 青のり is traditional with pine nuts and the plain one is with walnuts. This year I also made this with gorgonzola and dried fig which is a subject for a separate post. The next is kelp salmon rolls 鮭の昆布巻き, which was very good, much better than the commercial ones (this is my wife's opinion and at the risk of not being modest, I agree with her). Next (the right most) is salmon nanaban 鮭の南蛮 and front right is "Russian" pickled salmon ロシア漬け and datemaki 伊達巻 Japanese omelet which I make with hanpen fish cake はんぺん and eggs.

I served daikon namasu 大根なます  with boiled octopus slices ゆでだこ and ikura いくら.

I served Ozoni お雑煮 in a lidded real Japanese lacquer bowl which was given to us a long time ago for use on just such an occasion by my mother.

This year, I did not add chicken (intentionally) and shrimp (forgot). Mochi もち rice case was wrapped in deep fried tofu pouch as before but it can not be seen under other items. The soup also included shiitake mushroom, daikon, carrot, burdock root, freeze dried tofu called "shimidoufu" 凍み豆腐, snow peas, and red and white new year's fish cakes. I made Dashi broth from "Dashi pack" (kelp and bonito) and seasoned with mirin and light colored soy sauce.

As a result of the record-breaking warm December in DC area, our plum tree has been in bloom for several weeks.

Our plum tree has been known to blossom in February and we have pictures of it covered in snow but plum blossoms in December and January is a first. Unfortunately due to the warm weather some of the cherry trees in the DC area have been fooled into blooming prematurely. While we know the plum tree can sustain freezing temperatures after blooming we are not so sure about the cherry trees. It has indeed been strange weather--courtesy of el Nino.

We will be hitting the Sushi Taro Osechi box this evening.

Tako Grill assorted sashimi plates タコグリルの刺身の盛り合わせ

Our Izakaya substitute Tako Grill moved to its new location some time ago. The new restaurant is somewhat smaller, without sake bar, than the old one but it is a nice brand-new space nicely decorated. The new location has its own parking lot. While parking is a bit more expensive, even after validation from Tako Grill, than parking on the street at the old place, it is so convenient. It is worth it not to have to jump up in the middle of the meal to go feed the 1 hour street parking meter so as not to get a ticket. 

Mr. Segawa 瀬川さん has now started serving authentic yakitori 焼き鳥 cooked on a real charcoal grill (I keep forgetting to take pictures). Among the yakitori items, chicken liver or "reba" レバ and chicken meat ball or tsukune つくね are two standouts. We always have a great meal at Tako grill but the sashimi dishes we have had recently have been particularly outstanding. They have included a good variety of impeccably fresh fish prepared to highlight their best qualities. Here are some pictures of the assorted sashimi plates Chef Jose Calderon prepared for us.

Beside the usual toro トロ and ma-saba 真鯖 or chub mackerel, this evening geoduck or mirugaiミルガイ, sea urchin うに and octopus タコ (which was prepared at the restaurant) were excellent. The geoduck had a crisp crunch and fresh ocean taste; one of the best we've eaten.

This was another occasion featuring a similar line up in a different arrangement.

This evening, the scallops ホタテ were wonderful as well as the octopus and pacific saury さんま. And don't ignore the uni.

This was what we had on our most recent evening. The sumi-ika スミイカ or cuttle fish was by far the standout.  As an example of how the fish is prepared to accent its best characteristics Chef Jose, did a slight shimofuri* 霜降りtreatment for the squid. As a result the squid had a nice firm texture but was not chewy and had a pleasant sweet flavor. The Japanese halfbeak or sayori サヨリ was also excellent. On the several occasions, we have had sayori fish at Tako, it has always been good. We particularly like the way they take the head and skeleton, which was used as decoration, and then deep fry it. With this preparation, we could eat everything including the head; it was like a crunchy potato chip with great flavor. After moving to the new location, the chance of getting a variety of excellent sashimi has improved and the restaurant is always seems to be crowded while we are there. We even witnessed a line forming at the entrance one evening.

*Shimofuri: Means "frosted" since the surface turns white and opaque like frost. This is done by dunking raw fish or meat into boiling water very briefly and then immediately cooling it down by soaking in ice water. This slightly cooks the surface the fish.

Disclaimer: The above sashimi assortments are not on the menu. It is a sort of "omakase" sashimi assortment and may not be always available.

Information:
Tako Grill
4915 Hampden Ln, Bethesda, MD 20824
301-652-7030

Stollen bread クリスマスストールンブレッド

I am not sure when my wife started making stollen bread for Christmas. Initially, she bought it at the grocery store and then she began to bake it at home. While this one includes a lot of butter, it doesn't taste as greasy as some of the commercial ones we have tried.  It also has a very nice subtle flavor of lemon, almond and is not too sweet.

Instead of candied fruits, she only added raisins.

Ingredients:
5 cups AP flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamon
2 cups blanched almonds toasted and pulverized
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
4 tbs dark rum
1 cup raisins
the zest of 2 lemons

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, and pulverized almonds. Slice the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
In another bowel mix the ricotta, egg, vanilla, almond extract, rum, currants, raisins, and lemon zest. Stir the wet mixture into the flour mixture until ingredients are combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead a few times to bring the dough together into a smooth ball. Divide the dough into two portion. Roll a portion out into an oval. Use the rolling pin to crease the dough just off center. Brush with melted butter. Fold smaller half over larger half.  Repeat with other portion. (Instead of rolling into an oval which is the classic shape I make mine into squares. This makes it easier to slice into even pieces to heat in the microwave or toaster oven. I also sometimes make individual sized loaves to give as gifts.) Place on baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and tests for done.

This bread is very good and festive. It has a lovely almond flavor and is nicely moist. It really adds to the holiday festivities.