Tag: East Asian

Kale Avocado Soba Noodle Salad

Kale Avocado Soba Noodle Salad

Kale Avocado Soba Noodle Salad

Soba noodles are made out of buckwheat and can be served cold in salads such as this one with kale. After the noodles are cooked, they are mixed with Japanese prepared seaweed salad, which you can find at any Asian market. It adds a brinyness to the noodles. The dressing’s base is made out of rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and white miso paste, which is a fermented soy bean. It has a savory/salty taste cut with acidity of the white wine vinegar. This kale soba noodle salad is topped with avocado, bean sprouts, cilantro, sesame seeds, and more miso dressing.
Prep Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: East Asian, Japanese, main course, noodles, salad, vegan
Servings: 4
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 3 bunches soba noodles
  • 1/4 cup seaweed salad
  • 1 bunch kale center rib removed, chopped
  • 1 cup bean sprouts
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Miso Dressing

  • 1/2 cup white miso paste
  • 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger grated

Instructions

  • Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
    Japanese, main course, salad
  • Bring a pot of water to boil. Boil the soba noodles for 5-6 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water until the noodles are chilled.
    Japanese, main course, salad
  • Mix in the seaweed salad with the soba noodles and 2 tbsp of the miso dressing.
    Japanese, main course, salad
  • Toss the kale with 2 tbsp of the miso dressing.
    Japanese, main course, salad
  • Place a bunch of the kale in the center of a plate. Place some of the noodles in the center of the kale. Top with bean sprouts, avocado, cilantro, and more miso dressing. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top.
    Japanese, main course, salad
Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu

Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu

Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu

Onigirazu are like small sushi sandwiches. The rice is pressed tight in a musubi or onigirazu press. This layer is like the bread of a sandwich. Then they can be filled with a variety of fillings: tonkatsu, bulgogi, ham egg and cheese…The list goes on. Then another layer of rice is pressed over the top of the filling. It is all wrapped in a sheet of nori. This particular recipe uses leftover teriyaki salmon and steamed asparagus.
Prep Time15 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: appetizer, East Asian, fish, Japanese, main course, snack
Servings: 4
Author: Alex

Equipment

  • musubi press

Ingredients

  • 4 teriyaki salmon fillets
  • 12 asparagus spears cut in half and steamed
  • 1 1/2 cups sushi or jasmine rice steamed
  • 4 nori sheets

Instructions

  • Place the musubi press in the center of a sheet of nori.
    Japanese, appetizer, main course, snack, fish
  • Place 2-3 tbsp of the cooked rice in the press. Press it down.
    Japanese, main course, appetizer, snack, fish
  • Put a skinned piece of the teriyaki salmon on the rice.
    Japanese, appetizer, main course, snack, fish
  • Put 4-6 half pieces on top of the salmon.
    Japanese, appetizer, main course, snack, fish
  • Put 2-3 more tbsp of the rice on top of the asparagus. Press it tightly.
    Japanese, appetizer, main course, snack, fish
  • Wrap up the onigirazu. Seal the edges with a little warm water.
    Japanese, appetizer, main course, snack, fish
Japanese, appetizer, main course, snack, fish
Slice in half with a sharp knife.

Teriyaki Salmon

When you go to an American grocery store, you will see countless varieties of pretty horrible tasting bottled teriyaki sauces on the shelves. Honestly, because of this, teriyaki has always been a huge turnoff for me. They all have too much salt and extra ingredients that you don’t need. Puke. In a Japanese grocery store, you won’t find any. Why? Because every household in Japan makes their own. The best part is, real Japanese teriyaki only has 4 ingredients: mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar. It’s simple with a proper balance of sweet and salty.
Japanese-style teriyaki Salmon is so much more complex than putting a sauce on salmon. The Japanese fillet their salmon at a 30 degree angle 1/2”-1” thick with the skin on instead of cutting a straight on 90 degrees portion out of the fillet. Cutting the salmon this way will do several things. It gives the salmon a wider spread of the flesh, allowing it to absorb the teriyaki. That also means that the fillets won’t require marination. Since the fillets are thinner, the salmon fillets will cook a lot faster and more evenly.
It is highly important to leave the skin on the salmon while cooking. I feel that I have to repeat this again because of all the recipes I see out there removing the skin before cooking salmon. IT IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT TO LEAVE THE SKIN ON THE SALMON WHILE COOKING. For several reasons…The skin holds the fillets together. If I were to remove the skin before cooking this salmon, you’d have flaked salmon in teriyaki sauce…Between the flesh and the skin is a nice layer of fat where you get your omega 3 fatty acids. You are throwing away essential nutrients by removing the skin…It also keeps your salmon moist…Nobody said you have to eat the skin. LEAVE IT ON! I bet the same people that remove the salmon skin eat boneless skinless chicken breasts with their snotty children, Cooper and Emily.
End of angry rant.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: East Asian, fish, Japanese, main course
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 1 lb salmon fillet head end of fillet
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • cracked black pepper
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp sake or rice wine

Teriyaki Sauce

  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp sake
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Instructions

How to fillet salmon Japanese-style

  • Instead of straight on cutting smaller portioned fillets out of the whole one, the Japanese will cut the fillets 1” thick at a 30 degree angle.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Thinly cutting the salmon this way gives a wider spread of the flesh, allowing to absorb more of the teriyaki.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Cut the entire fillet.
    Japanese, main course, fish

Teriyaki Salmon

  • Season each fillet with salt and pepper. Dust the fillets in flour. Shake off any excess.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the salmon fillets skin side down. Sear for 3 minutes.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Flip over. Add the saki and cover, cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Mix together all of the teriyaki ingredients.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Pour in the pan.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Once it starts to boil, add the salmon fillets back in.
    Japanese, main course, fish
  • Toss and coat each side in the teriyaki sauce.
    Japanese, main course, fish
One Pan Egg Toast Sandwich

One Pan Egg Toast Sandwich

One Pan Egg Toast Sandwich

While you can find a million different versions of egg sandwiches all over the world, this particular technique has gained popularity in Korea. There are countless fillings that you can put in the eggs sandwich: cheese and strawberry jam, spinach and feta, ham or bacon and swiss cheese, etc. Get creative. There is no wrong.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet. Pour in the beaten eggs. Take a wide slice of bread. Cut that in half vertically. Dip a side of each half in the eggs and place next to each other, dipped side up. Let the eggs firm up for 60-90 seconds. Flip the eggs and bread over. Take a spatula and fold the egg that hangs over the sides of the bread inward. Then add your fillings. Fold it over. And you’re done.
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American, Korean
Keyword: American, breakfast, East Asian, Eggs, Korean, snack
Servings: 1
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 piece bread cut in half

Filling Ideas

  • cheddar cheese and strawberry jam
  • spinach and feta
  • bacon or ham and swiss cheese
  • chorizo and potatoes
  • crab, cream cheese, and asparagus

Instructions

Korean Style Cheese and Strawberry Jam

  • Season the beaten eggs with salt and pepper.
    Korean, breakfast, snack, eggs
  • Melt the butter in a nonstick egg pan over medium heat. Pour in the beaten eggs. Dip each half of the bread slice in the wet eggs. Place wet side up next to each other. Let the eggs firm up for 60-90 seconds.
    Korean, main course, snack, breakfast, eggs
  • Flip the eggs and bread over.
    Korean, breakfast, snack, main course, eggs
  • Fold up each side of the overlapping eggs into the bread. Add cheddar cheese and strawberry jam.
    Korean, main course, breakfast, snack, eggs
  • Fold the sandwich over.
    Korean, main course, breakfast, snack, eggs

Spinach and Feta

  • Mix in 2 tbsp of chopped spinach with the beaten eggs. Melt the butter in a nonstick egg pan over medium heat. Pour in the beaten eggs. Dip each half of the bread slice in the wet eggs. Place wet side up next to each other. Let the eggs firm up for 60-90 seconds.
    Korean, breakfast, snack, eggs
  • Flip the eggs and bread over. Fold up each side of the overlapping eggs into the bread. Add feta cheese.
    Korean, breakfast, snack, eggs
  • Fold the sandwich over.
    Korean, breakfast, snack, eggs
Korean, breakfast, snack, eggs