Juicy Tender Simmered Eggplant and Shimeji

This is my favorite recipe! Shimeji is a Japanese mushroom which is rich in umami (savoriness) tasting compounds such as guanylic acid, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid. I combined it with hon-dashi (packaged dashi powder) to give more of umami for eggplant to absorb! This tender eggplant really works up our appetite and goes great with white rice. Mmm yummy :P

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Juicy Tender Simmered Eggplant and Shimeji

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
200g (0.4lb.) shimeji mushroom
200g (0.4lb.) Japanese eggplant
100g (0.2lb.) ground beef and pork
A
* 2 tbsp. soy sauce
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 1 tbsp. sake
* 1 tsp. hon-dashi (packaged dashi powder)
* 1 tsp. grated shoga (ginger root)
* a pinch of sugar
sesame oil

Directions:
1. Chop eggplant into chunks and soak them in water to remove the oxalic acid and drain. Remove tough base of shimeji mushroom and break into bite-sized chunks.
2. Heat sesame oil in a pan, cook (stir around) ground beef and pork, add A, eggplant, and shimeji mushroom, and simmer until the liquid is almost gone and tender.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Have a good weekend!

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Maple Bacon Simmered Hijiki Seaweed

Hi there! After a looooong time, I translated my recipe!

This dish is cool! You can arrange it in many ways!!! I will show you how at the end.

Hijiki is a black seaweed known to be rich in dietary fiber and essential minerals! Instead of using sugar, I used maple syrup which is low in calories and also rich in minerals ;)

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Maple Bacon Simmered Hijiki Seaweed

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 8

Ingredients:
25g (0.8oz.) dried hijiki seaweed *150g (6oz.) rehydrated hijiki seaweed
3 slices bacon *about 50g (1.8oz.)
50g (1.8oz.) carrot
3 dried shitake mushroom
A
* 50cc = dashi broth + reserved soaking liquid of shitake mushrooms
* 1 tbsp. soy sauce
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 1 tbsp. sake
* 1 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. cooking oil

Directions:
I used maple syrup from Canada.





1. Put dried hijiki in a bowl. Wash them and soak in water for about 15 minutes, then drain. Thinly slice bacon. Cut carrot into thin strips. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water until soft (reserve the soaking liquid), remove stems, and slice thinly.
2. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan and saute 1., add A and simmer until the liquid is almost gone.



[How to eat #1]
With white rice.




[How to eat #2]
On a rice bowl, sprinkle the sliced shiso leaves over the top.




[How to eat #3]
Mix with rice, sprinkle chopped scallions over the top.


[How to eat #4]
In tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet).




[How to eat #5]
On top of the salad.




[How to eat #6]
On top of sliced tomatoes.




[How to eat #7]
With natto, sprinkle chopped scallions over the top.



My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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I want to get a pa'u skirt by next week!
What do you think of these three???
I like pink color, but somehow I want the blue one, like the ocean ;)


Have a good weekend!

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Ratatouille Pizza

It is warm again today! The high is 68F (20C)! I hope this weather lasts...

Have you seen “Ratatouille"? It is a movie released in June, 2007. Last summer, there was a contest related to this movie and my "Ratatouille Pizza" won the Second Prize! I will translate the recipe since it is fun for your party ;)


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Ratatouille Pizza

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 25cm (10inch) pizza

Ingredients:
100g (3.5oz.) eggplant
100g (3.5oz.) zucchini
100g (3.5oz.) diced tomato can
50g (1.8oz.) green bell pepper
50g (1.8oz.) red bell pepper
50g (1.8oz.) onion
0.5 clove garlic
1 dried bay leaf
0.5 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
25cm (10inch) pizza dough
sliced cheese
red bell pepper rings
black olive slices
thin strips of green bell pepper

Directions:
1. Dice eggplant, zucchini, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and onion. Soak the diced eggplant in water to remove the oxalic acid and drain.


2. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil, add the diced onion and dried bay leaf, stir until onion softens. Add diced eggplant, zucchini, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper, cook over medium heat.

3. Add another tbsp. olive oil, stir well. Add diced tomato can, crushed garlic, and salt, stir to combine. Then cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Uncover and cook until the liquid evaporates, season with salt if needed.




5. Spread 4. on the pizza dough.





6. Cover 5. with sliced cheese. Place in the oven at 400F (200C) and cook until cheese softens and crust is golden on bottom.



7. Draw Remy's face with black olive slices, red bell pepper rings, and thin strips of green bell pepper.




My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Enjoy!!!

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♥Please "Like" me on Facebook♥
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♥My Cookbook♥

Miso Cheese Simmered Eggplant Witch

Hello! It rained yesterday and the high was 78F (26C). It was little cool outside, but going up to 86F (30C) from today for about a week again. High temp low humidity is bearable, you know!

Today, as I said before, I will translate my eggplant recipe. I'm ahead of the season but it's a great Halloween recipe idea ;)



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Miso Cheese Simmered Eggplant Witch

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients:
4 eggplants (5-6 inches long)
50g (1.8oz.) cream cheese
A
* 1 tbsp. miso (preferably red miso)
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 1 tbsp. sugar
* 1 tbsp. sake
200cc dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
4 star-shaped thick carrot slices

Directions:
1. Cut cream cheese into small pieces.
2. Make "Chasen Nasu" and soak in water to remove the oxalic acid. The procedure for "Chasen Nasu" is HERE.
3. Microwave cream cheese on Medium 500 W (50-60%) for about 30 seconds until softened. Then add A and mix well.
4. Heat 3. in a pan and add dashi broth little by little. Keep stirring once every few times until dissolved.
5. Add Chasen Nasu and carrot slices, then cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Keep flipping eggplants once every few minutes until done and sauce thickens.
6. Pour the sauce on a dish, twist and press the eggplant by hand to form the witch shape.
5. Attach carrot slices with a toothpick (like a magic stick) and stick it on to the eggplant witch.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Actually, I was going to post this last night, but again I dozed off...
Monday is a holiday: Respect-for-the-Aged Day! On Wednesday, my boyfriend was busy and we couldn't go out for a dinner. Hope we could this weekend.

Have a good weekend :)

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Buri Daikon (Japanese amberjack or yellowtail simmered with daikon)

Hello!
It is raining and cold today.
The weather forecast says temperatures dropped :(

Crazy!

... is my supervisor, as well.
I think I shouldn't be positive about him.


Last night, I couldn't beat the sleepiness again, so I will translate a recipe today :)
Buri Daikon is typical Japanese home-cooked meal!
The recipe vary from home to home, so here I will write mine.
I once introduced it here.
It is one of my popular recipes.



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Buri Daikon (Japanese amberjack or yellowtail simmered with daikon)

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 2hr
Number of servings: 2-3

Ingredients:
3 buri (Japanese yellowtail or amberjack) fillets
7 daikon radish cut into 2cm (0.7inch) thick round slices
1 small shoga (ginger root) sliced
salt
kome no togijiru (is a cloudy rice water that you get when you wash rice)
A
* 300cc dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
* 100cc sake
* 50cc mirin (sweet sake)
* 50cc soy sauce
* 2 tbsp. sugar
B
* 100cc sake
* 2 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 2 tbsp. soy sauce
* 1 tbsp. sugar
C
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
thin strips of shoga (ginger root)
mitsuba (trefoil) leaves cut into 3-cm (1-inch-) -long pieces

Directions:
1. Cut buri into large bite-sized pieces, sprinkle salt on both sides and leave them for about 30 minutes.
2. Pour boiling water over the buri. Then wash off any remaining blood or dirt with running water. This process cleans away odors! When you use "buri no ara" (head and leftover pieces), I recommend you to wash them more neatly.
3. Use a peeler. Peel thick round slices of daikon radish and do mentori (plane off the corners) to prevent it from crumbling during long cooking.
4. Boil daikon radish with kome no togijiru (or water with a tablespoon of rice) for 15 minutes (it makes daikon clear colored and less bitter). Remove excess water with paper towel. This is called shitayude, to boil ingredients to certain firmness before cooking together with other ingredients.
5. Place A and slices of shoga (ginger root) in a pot. Bring to the boil, then add buri and cook for about 15 minutes. When you use "buri no ara", you cook 15 minutes before fillets, total of 30 minutes.
6. Add B and simmer for about 5 minutes until they blend.
7. Add daikon radish, cook on low heat for about 30 minutes till light brown.
8. Add C and boil over high heat for a few seconds to finish. Taste daikon radish and check if it's cooked all the way and absorbed the flavour of the buri and seasonings.
9. Serve with thin strips of shoga and mitsuba pieces on top.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Enjoy :)
Have a good weekend!

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Chicken Drumsticks Simmered in Tomato Vinegar Sauce

Hi! It is nice and calm today.

Last night, I was going to post this but I got drowsy and I couldn't... So now I will.

Last last night, when I got home, I realized that the rice cooker was open.
The rice was crisp and uneatable.
Since we place the rice cooker on the floor, I thought my boyfriend has kicked off when he walked by.
I called his cell immediately but he said he didn't.
After a while, I found a roll of plastic wrap on the floor.
Then I realized that it had fallen on the rice cooker and opened!
Jeez!
I thought of telling my boyfriend that it was an April Fool’s joke, but I apologized to him.

Back to my cooking.
Once I wrote about my recipe using Mizkan's rice vinegar: 4 Advantages Using Japanese Rice Vinegar.
Luckily, this recipe has published in Mizkan's leaflet!
It is also on their website!
The leaflet will be used for the distribution.
So today, I will translate this in English.

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Chicken Drumsticks Simmered in Tomato Vinegar Sauce

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
350g (0.77lb.) about 6 chicken drumsticks
50g (0.11lb.) onion
1 clove garlic
A
* 30cc Mizkan's rice vinegar
* 30cc sake
B
* 200g (0.44lb.) diced tomato can
* 1 tbsp. whole-grain mustard
1 bag bouquet garni (or 1 dried bay leaf)
30cc milk
salt
cracked black pepper
cooking oil
dried parsley flakes

Directions:
1. Finely chop onion and garlic. Season chicken drumsticks with salt and cracked black pepper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. of cooking oil in a pan, cook chicken until nicely browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Clean the pan with paper towel, then heat 1 tbsp. of cooking oil, fry onion and garlic until soft.
4. Add A and the chicken (2.), cover and cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring often.
5. Add B and bouquet garni (or dried bay leaf), cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
6. Remove from pan, place chicken on plate. Add milk in the pan, cook on medium, stirring with a wooden spoon until thickened.
7. Pour the sauce (6.) over the chicken and sprinkle with dried parsley flakes.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Just remember :)
4 advantages using Japanese rice vinegar when simmering:
1. Cook meat less greasy.
2. Meat can be more easily separated from the bone.
3. Increase of amino acid gives the meat rich taste.
4. When simmering "chicken with bone", the acid of the vinegar act directly on the connective tissue of the chicken bone and the meat. As a result, collagen and calcium can seep into the broth.

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Simmered Chicken in Grated Potato

Hello!
Today, it was windy but clear and sunny!
Unfortunately, most of the cherry blossom flowers (not only the petals) were falling in the wind... It might have been the last chance to go to ohanami and take pictures!!!

Actually, I just came home. It is almost 0:00.
Tonight, after work, I went out to see cherry blossoms with my co-workers at Chidorigabuchi, where is famous for ohanami.
I was wondering whether I should go or not since I forgot to bring my camera (single-lens reflex camera) with me...
Also, I don't like to hang out after work...
However, the other co-worker let me borrow his camera so I went.

There were so many people that I couldn't really enjoy.
I hate the crowd!!!
Also, the camera I borrowed didn't work well.
I mean, the settings were complicated and I couldn't get used to...
Okay, enough!

Oh my god! There is too much to write!!!
Might write tomorrow.

Today, I will simply post the recipe that I translated at lunch break and go to bed.
It is one of my favorite dishes that my mother cooks!



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Simmered Chicken in Grated Potato

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
300g (0.66lb.) chicken breast (no skin)
100g (0.2lb.) potato
1 tbsp. sake
1 cup water (200cc)
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
salt
cooking oil
shiraganegi (thin stripped long onion (white part only), soak in cold water for a few minutes)

Directions:
1. Slice chicken diagonally into bite-size.
2. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan cook chicken until no longer pink.
3. Add sake and water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then Add sugar, soy sauce and a little bit of salt.
4. Grate potato and add into 3. and simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened.
5. Serve with shiraganegi

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Good night!

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