Sukiyaki

Hello. It is raining today. The forecast said this gloomy weather will last till next week. Too bad...

Yesterday, I cooked sukiyaki using the beef I won. It was really delicious!!!

Anyway, I have a very bad fortune today. This morning, my braces broke, I forgot my cell, the train delayed for 15 min, I heared that my cake I sent for the submission was hard when it arrived, and I lost the yodoran contest, which I really wanted to win. I somehow felt I'm gonna lose, because there is a certain rule that the same person won't win in a row... but kind of shocking if you make an effort, you know!!!

Hope the rest of my day ends peacefully :(

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Sukiyaki

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
400g (0.8lb.) thinly sliced beef
1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu)
8 musubi shirataki (bundles of translucent konnyaku noodles)
6 shitake mushroom
2-3 long green onion
1 nama-fu (fu is made from wheat gluten which absorbs the broth)
200g (0.4lb.) shungiku (garland chrysanthemum)
beef fat (or cooking oil)
1 cup (200cc) warishita (commercially available sukiyaki sauce)
fresh raw eggs if desired

Quick recipe for "warishita": 1/3cup sake, 1/3cup mirin, 1/2 cup soysauce, 3tbsp sugar, 1/2cup dashi broth.

Directions:
1. Cut yaki-dofu into bite sized pieces. Boil musubi shirataki 2-3 minutes in order to skim the scum. Remove stems and cut shitake mushrooms into half. Cut long green onion into 7cm (2.5inches) slices on the diagonal. Cut nama-fu into bite sized pieces. Cut shungiku into half.

2. Melt beef fat in Nabe (large casserole) and move around to oil the entire base. Cook few slices of long green onion, add beef, cover and steam until half-cooked. Then remove the beef and set aside.

3. Add vegetables and "warishita", and simmer until half-tender. Then put back the beef and simmer until everything is done.



If desired, serve with beaten fresh raw eggs.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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We dip sukiyaki into beaten fresh raw eggs to eat!
I don't like raw eggs, though...

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Awarding Ceremony: Dishes for Niigata Rice

Hello! It is raining and cold today. I'm glad it didn't rain yesterday!!!

Yesterday, I attended an awarding ceremony. It was about the contest that asked for recipes which goes good with white rice of Niigata prefecture (rice is the principal product in Niigata).

As a special guest, Maron-san (famous food stylist) was invited to the ceremony, and he gave us some feedback! He was a friendly person like we see on TV! There were 255 entries, so I am glad that mine got a place! I took many pictures with him for a keepsake ;)

This time, we didn't have to cook, but chefs at the restaurant cooked our award winning recipes to try out. Mine is "Yam and Tomato Scrambled Egg" and received the yummy award!

Moreover, what surprised me was that I met the same lady for the 3rd time at this ceremony. Whenever I see her, I always feel like seeing my old friend! She is really a nice person. Also, I saw a lady who I met 3 years ago at the cheese contest. Isn't this amazing?

Then last but not least, my high school classmate was working at the reception desk! It was after more than 10 years to see her!!!
I think I was very right to take a day off from work yesterday :)

The prize for this award was $300 worth of sukiyaki beef! I don't cook sukiyaki at home, but I will this weekend when it arrived! Should be delicious ;)

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Stir-Fried Komatsuna and Crab Meat

Hi! Thanks for your concern! My cold is getting better after taking the cold medicine behind-the-counter :) It works when I don't expect that much, you know!

For lunch, I again had the $10 Fugu Chiri Nabe! The menu ends in February, so I was lucky to go there again!

Anyway, do you know komatsuna? It is called "Japanese mustard spinach" in the US supermarkets. I have a really easy & delicious recipe for you!

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Stir-Fried Komatsuna and Crab Meat

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 5min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
200g (0.4lb.) komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach)
40g (1.4oz.) imitation crab sticks
cracked salt and pepper
2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. Cut komatsuna into bite-size and separate the stalks and leaves. Thinly tear up imitation crab sticks.
2. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, and fry the komatsuna stalks until slightly softened.
3. Add the komatsuna leaves and the strips of imitation crab sticks in the pan and stir fry until leaves are wilted.
4. Season with cracked salt and pepper and serve.

You can substitute komatsuna with spinach. But you need to precook (boil) spinach to remove oxalic acid. Komatsuna contains less oxalic acid than spinach, so you can stir-fry without precooking.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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I had my eyelash extensions done again this evening! I just thought it costs almost the same as juke tower... Never mind!!!

I am going to take off from work and attend an awarding ceremony tomorrow! I hope it is something worth to attend...

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