Japanese Cooking at Home

[rotuts]

"""   taste of lawn grass  """

 

are you referring to Green Bell Pep's ?

 

they are always near the top of my can't stand list.  in anything.  Pico amounts I can taste.

 

I do love green chile peppers 

 

Ill look for these at My Local Tj's

 

thanks

 

( BTW enjoying your Japanese Thread )

[radtek]

Thank you. I truly think it can be improved upon. Like fried rice in any cuisine there are likely as many different ingredients used as there are cooks. This needed something more. And strangely I am not a fan of ketchup and might've enjoyed it more with a tonkatsu-like sauce. But this is all new to me and I can enjoy the process even when the end result doesn't quite measure up. A fried rice filled omelette is so minimally more complicated than simple fried rice that I was intrigued by the very idea.

I was thinking some Bull-Dog would zing it up a bit.

 

Omurice looks/sounds like something right up my alley.

[radtek]

I've been making a lot of yakisoba lately. I've found some Chinese dried alkaline noodles last week but before I just used spaghetti. Anyway, any tips on making yakisoba?

 

Youtube has cooks doing precooked noodles several ways; one being done in the pan first then returned to steam on top of the veg and meat and the other just on top with no pre-heat. 

 

I've done it both ways but it doesn't seem to make any difference really. And I like to precook dried noodles, quench them, roll up between two kitchen towels and rest in the fridge before making yakisoba.

[Anna N]

"""   taste of lawn grass  """

 

are you referring to Green Bell Pep's ?

 

they are always near the top of my can't stand list.  in anything.  Pico amounts I can taste.

 

I do love green chile peppers 

 

Ill look for these at My Local Tj's

 

thanks

 

( BTW enjoying your Japanese Thread )

You were exactly the person I was thinking of, rotuts. I know you hate green bell peppers almost as much as I hate them. And thank you.

[Anna N]

I've been making a lot of yakisoba lately. I've found some Chinese dried alkaline noodles last week but before I just used spaghetti. Anyway, any tips on making yakisoba?

 

Youtube has cooks doing precooked noodles several ways; one being done in the pan first then returned to steam on top of the veg and meat and the other just on top with no pre-heat. 

 

I've done it both ways but it doesn't seem to make any difference really. And I like to precook dried noodles, quench them, roll up between two kitchen towels and rest in the fridge before making yakisoba.

If you are asking me I cannot be much help. Made it for the first time a few days ago or perhaps a week or so, I loved it but know nothing more about it.

[ElsieD]

image.jpg

I was thrilled when Kerry Beal spotted these shishito peppers at Trader Joe's in Buffalo this past Wednesday.

For those of you unfamiliar with them they are very mild for the most part but about 1 in 10 will pack some heat. In this small batch just one startled me. The heat is definitely there but by no means is it unpleasant, at least not for me. It adds a note of adventure to a small dish.

They are so simple to prepare. Give them a good wash, no need to trim them in any way, dry them on kitchen towels and saute in hot oil until they blister and char a little. Sprinkle with an interesting salt and serve with or without dipping sauce. I just had soy sauce. Eat them with your fingers or chopsticks leaving behind the stem and calyx.

Note to those who dislike green peppers. They have none of that taste of lawn grass.

For what it's worth, I have seen these at Loblaws. I too hate green bell peppers, but I love the red, orange and yellow ones, preferably roasted with olive oil.

[Anna N]

Since this meal lacks both the customary soup and rice bowl one can only call it Japaneseque. Still the pork belly was astonishingly good. I don't take the credit for it because I simply followed the directions in a recipe. It was braised for some hours in sake, mirin, sugar, soy sauce and ginger before being put under the broiler. Unctuous is overused but I can't come up with a close synonym. The side dishes were Japanese-style potato salad and quick pickled broccoli stems.

[rotuts]

""  quick pickled broccoli stems ""

 

were these 'vacuum' pickles ?

 

""   Japanese-style potato salad ""

 

Id like to hear more about this

[Anna N]

"" quick pickled broccoli stems ""

were these 'vacuum' pickles ?

"" Japanese-style potato salad ""

Id like to hear more about this

If you Google Japanese potato salad you will come up with almost as many variations as you would if you Googled North American-style potato salad. The one I made consisted of potatoes, cooked carrots, egg, cucumber and scallions. I tossed the cooked potatoes with salt and some rice vinegar, roughly mashed them and let them cool before adding the other ingredients. Final dressing was mayo. I did not have kewpie mayo on hand so it was Hellmann's.

The broccoli stems were tossed with minced garlic and salt and left to macerate for half an hour at room temperature. The exuded liquid was poured off and they were seasoned with soy, toasted sesame oil, and a little sugar. As with many Japanese condiments the word "pickled" is used quite loosely.

Edited to fix a pronoun.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[weinoo]

At home...

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Half a Japanese style steamed sweet potato.  Haiga rice (I actually much prefer white rice but am trying very hard to use it up).  Okura, blanched and chilled, sliced, dressed with marudaizu shoyu and shichimi togarashi.  A fresh pickle of julienned red radish and rice vinegar.  MR...don't know what the Japanese term is for that.

 

Oh, and ice cream for dessert.

[Duvel]

Hmm ... Maybe ロトツ 酒 ？

[Hassouni]

Hmm ... Maybe ロトツ 酒 ？

ロトツの酒 surely! 

[Dango]

My food isn't pretty like your guys but here's dinner tonight. Baked homemade potstickers filled with cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and corn on white rice with soy sauce. Kids loved it.

 

 

Originally I was going to make stir fry to go with them but we ended up at the pool till 6 pm and those plans fell through

[Anna N]

My food isn't pretty like your guys but here's dinner tonight. Baked homemade potstickers filled with cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and corn on white rice with soy sauce. Kids loved it.

 

 

Originally I was going to make stir fry to go with them but we ended up at the pool till 6 pm and those plans fell through

Japanese?

[Dango]

Japanese?

 

Japanese inspired. Mostly because we used the rest of our cabbage for a stew this weekend and I didn't want to do a traditional Potsticker. But this was a hit so I'll probably do it again sometime. The kids ate it so it's good LOL

[GlorifiedRice]

More like Polish without the potatoes

[Dango]

Eh my friend in Japan is the one who gave me the recipe. *shrugs*

Edited July 29, 2015 by Dango (log)

[Deryn]

Interesting. Very different from anything I have ever eaten or prepared that was Japanese, or even Chinese, in origin. Your friend suggested you bake them? And he/she calls them 'potstickers'?

[Dango]

Interesting. Very different from anything I have ever eaten or prepared that was Japanese, or even Chinese, in origin. Your friend suggested you bake them? And he/she calls them 'potstickers'?

She's done them baked and fried and I chose baked because of reasons. She calls her gyoza because of the dough. Mine were larger and thus more fitting to the name potstickers. It's probably a recipe she made up or altered. Just like not everyone in the cooks fried chicken the same there's alternatives for everything lol gyoza are typically smaller than potstickers and the filling finer. Edited July 29, 2015 by Dango (log)

[Dave W]

Ooh, an authenticity debate!

[Anna N]

Ooh, an authenticity debate!

Nah! If my Mexican friend gives me a recipe for deep-fried Mars bars does that make the bars Mexican food? Nah. On this plate the only "vague" connection to Japan might be the inclusion of rice and soya sauce. Cheese is simply NOT a traditional (authentic or otherwise) ingredient.

I am just fine with people incorporating ingredients from other cuisines when necessary. There are many Japanese ingredients which are difficult if not impossible to find in North America. I often substitute but cheese ....c'mon.

This is a new member and I hope one who is able to spend some time exploring our forums and learning a bit more about various cuisines. It is not about authenticity so much as it is about taking the time to learn a little bit about a community you choose to join and what it stands for. Similarly learning a little bit about Japanese cuisine before posting on the Japanese forum.

Doubt anyone would have objected had this meal had been posted in the Dinner topic.

Let's all try to forget it now and welcome Dango to eG and I will offer my personal apologies but I was completely taken aback and apparently forgot my manners.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I don't know if Dango is still reading but this sounds like an interesting Japanese cheese that I would like to try:

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/99562-sakura-cheese/

[Tony Mak]

Any suggestions for Japan cuisine influence / teachers in the USA ? As far as I know is Justonecookbook and Hiroko’s Kitchen... any other suggestions ? Thanks!!