SWEET SOY BEEF AND VEGETABLE HOTPOT – SUKIYAKI

Serve 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

In cold weather or rainy days, it is really good idea having a hotpot spicy soup like sukiyaki. Even the ingredients below already have assorted vegies and beef, you could always add anything you preffer to give the ultimate taste for this famous japanese soup.

INGREDIENTS:
10 dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems remove and discarded
500 g beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
250 g glass noodles (shirataki)
250 g firm tofu, cut into cubes
2 small leeks, rinsed and sliced diagonally
120 g spinach, wash and coarsely cut in sections
4 large eggs (optional)
2 tbsp oil

SAUCE:
180 ml (3/4 cup) soy sauce
60 ml (1/4 cup) sake
60 ml (1/4 cup) mirin
125 ml (1/2 cup) water

HOW TO MAKE:
1. If using dried mushrooms, soak in hot water for about 15 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out any excess water before use.
2. Arrange prepared ingredients on a serving platter. Break 1 egg each into 4 small serving bowls.
3. Combine the sauce indgredients in four small batches – mushrooms, beef, glass noodles or shirataki, tofu, and spinach – into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate.
4. Heat the oil into a hotpot on a table-top hotplate. Stir-fry the ingredients in batches, stirring continuously until foods are cooked to desired doneness.
5. Diners can then remove cooked meat or vegetables from the hotpot, using the egg as a dipping sauce for the hot food. If you prefer, use ponzu dipping sauce instead.
6. Replenish the cooking hotpot with remaining ingredients as needed. Ready to serve.

MISO SOUP WITH TOFU AND DRIED SEAWEEDS

Serve 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

To complete a Japanese dish, usually we include miso soupin a plate dish. This time, I will give you a miso soup recipe combining with tofu and dried seaweeds (nori).

INGREDIENTS:
180 g soft tofu, cut into cubes
1 piece dried seaweed (nori), sliced
1 liter basic dashi stock
3 tbsp miso

HOW TO MAKE:
1. Place basic dashi stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute and add the tofu.
2. Place miso in large ladle and dissolve it with some of the hot soup, stirring it with a wooden spoon. Stir the miso into the saucepan, and add the soy sauce and dried seaweeds.Bring the soup to a boil and ladle it into four bowls. Do not overcook. Serve immediately.

GRILLED SKEWERED CHICKEN – YAKITORI

Serve 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

One of the most popular dishes of Japanese food is grilled skewered chicken or yakitori. It is served best on a daily meals at dinner time or it’s so great having it on barbeque party.

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp sugar
60 ml mirin
125 ml soy sauce
125 ml sake
500 g chicken fillet
200 g chicken liver (optional)
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
2 bell pepper, cut in 3 cm squares
1 leek, cut into 2 ½ cm pieces
16-20 bamboo skewers , 20 cm long
Seven-spice chili powder
Lemon wedges for garnish

HOW TO MAKE:
1. To prepare sauce, combine sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and sake in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, reducing the sauce to 1 cup.
2. Dice the chicken fillet and liver (optional), then thread onto skewers, alternating with pieces of leek and bell pepper. If bamboo skewers are used, soak in water at least 10 minutes before use.
3. Heat the broiler. Baste the ingredients with the sauce.
4. Broil the skeweres for about 2-3 minutes, turning three or four times and basting each time, until the chicken and livers (optional) are just cooked. Do not overcook.
5. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle the skewers with seven-spice chili powder and serve with lemon wedges.

SALMON TERIYAKI

Serve 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes





Japanese way to cook salmon with spicy ingredients is salmon teriyaki. This special spicy sauce makes the salmon fish tastier and fun to make it for bbq party. It is best served either with steam white rice or baked potatoes or even French baguette, which ever you prefer.

INGREDIENTS:
500 g fresh salmon fillet, quartered
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp sake
1 tbsp oil
90 g daikon, peeled and grated

HOW TO MAKE:
1. Place salmon fillets in large bakin pan. Combine soy sauce, mirin, and sake in a small bowl and pour over salmon pieces to marinate for 10 minutes. Drain salmon, reserving marinade.
2. Heat the broiler and brush rack lightly with oil. Place fish on rack, skin side up, and brush pieces lightly with marinade. Grill until skin is lightly browned and crispy, about 4 minutes.
3. Turn salmon pieces and brush again lightly with the marinade. Grill until the salmon is just cooked through and the flesh flakes easily with a fork, about 4 minutes.
4. Remove fish to serving plates and spoon remaining marinade over the top. Serve immediately with grated daikon and steam white rice.

TIPS:
For equally delicious scallop teriyaki, substitute 500 g trimmed large scallops. For grilled vegetables teriyaki, use assorted vegetables such as asparagus, eggplants, red bell pepper, shiitake mushrooms, or even diced cut pinaples.

TEMPURA

Serve 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

When I have no idea to prepare a dish for my daughter, tempura is always come first. This yummy dish is not only delicious to have for a main dish but also not bad ideas for a snack. Maybe that’s why my daughter and her friends never get bored with all kind assorted tempura and dipping sauce.

INGREDIENTS:
60 g all purpose flour for dredging
1 eggplant, cut diagonally into long, thick slices
120 g pumpkin or sweet potato, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
100 g green beans, trimmed
1 small onion, cut in crescents
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
90 g fresh or frozen green peas
8-10 prawns, peeled and deveined, with tails intact
4 whitebait, about 60 g each, or white fish fillet, sliced
4 scallops, cleaned and sliced in half horizontally
Oil for deep-frying
Tempura dipping sauce

HOW TO MAKE:
1. Put flour for dredging in mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil In a wok or deep-fryer to 160 Celcius.
3. To prepare first batch batter, beat 1 egg yolk with 1 cup ice water in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add 1 cup flour all at once, and stir briefly with chopsticks or a fork until just combined. The batter may be lumpy but should be quite thin. Do not overmix.
4. Dredge the eggplant, pumpkin, green beans and onion pieces in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip a slice of vegetable into the batter and gently shake off any excess.
5. Carefully slip vegetables, 5 to 6 at a time, into the hot oil, and cook, turning once, until crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack or paper towels.
6. To cook mushrooms, spoon batter on the underside of the mushrooms, shaking off any excess. Place mushrooms in oil, batter side down, and fry, turning once, until tender, about 1 minute. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
7. Sprinkle green peas lightly with flour. Scoop about 1 tbsp peas into a slotted spoon and coat the peas in batter. Let excess batter from peas drip from spoon. Carefully place peas into the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning once, until batter is crisp. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel.
8. Heat oil to 180 C. Meanwhile, prepare second batch batter. Dredge the seafood with flour and dip into batter. Cook seafood until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. (Prawns may take 1 minute more, depending the size). Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
9. Pour about 3 tablespoons warm tempura dipping sauce into small bowls and serve with an assorted tempura.


TEMPURA DIPPING SAUCE:
This dipping sauce is made by blending 250 ml basic dashi stock, 4 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp mirin, 3 tbsp shredded daikon, and 3 teaspoons shredded fresh ginger. Stir well to mix.

BASIC DASHI STOCK – BONITO FLAKE STOCK

Makes: 1 liter
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

In most of Japanese soups, usually dashi stock is used as a basic ingredients. Even it’s easy to make, sometimes we are to lazy to do it. In case you do that, you can always find the ready to use dashi stock in Japanese store. This time, I will try to encourage you to make it the fresh basic dashi stock.

INGREDIENTS:
10 cm square piece konbu (kelp), wiped clean
1 liter water
60 ml cold water
90 g bonito flakes

HOW TO MAKE:
1. Cut konbu (kelp) square into 4 narrow strips. Place in a saucepan with 4 cups water and cook over medium heat. Heat until just about to boil, then discard konbu.
2. Add the cold water and bonito flakes to the konbu broth. Bring to a boil then remove immediately from heat, and set aside to cool.
3. When all the bonito flakes have sunk to the bottom, pour the liquid over a strain and discard the flakes.