Tag: East Asian
Tuna Kimbap
Tuna Kimbap
Koreans love tuna salad, and frequently use it in kimbap. Tuna kimbap has a few different ingredients from the traditional recipe. Obviously there’s the tuna salad in there, but it also has crab stick, cucumber, pickled radish, and perilla leaves on a bed of green lettuce. I specifically used a higher quality brand of canned tuna (Dolores yellowfin) because your basic everyday canned tuna is crap. Not in my kimbap. Tuna kimbap is best when served immediately. Over time, the tuna salad will make the vegetables soggy; and you want them to be crunchy.
Equipment
- sushi rolling mat
- serrated knife
Ingredients
- 1 can yellowfin tuna drained
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp celery finely diced
- tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 leaves romaine lettuce
- 4 perilla leaves
- 3 crab stick
- 1/4 cup cucumber seeded and julienned
- 2 strips pickled radish
- 1 1/2 cups steamed short grain rice
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sheets nori
Instructions
- Mix together the tuna, mayonnaise, dijon, lemon juice, celery, and black pepper. Set aside.
- Mix together the sesame oil, rice, and salt while the rice is still warm.
- Lay a piece of nori shiny side down on a bamboo sushi rolling mat. Spread 3/4 cup of rice in an even single layer across the nori.
- Place a large leaf of romaine lettuce on the bottom of the rice, creating a bed. Place 2 perilla leaves across the center of the lettuce. Then starting from the bottom up, arrange the ingredients in the following order: crab stick, tuna salad, pickled radish, and cucumber.
- Carefully roll the kimbap tightly with the rolling mat.
- Unroll it. Bring the roll towards the bottom of the mat and roll tightly again.
- Using a serrated knife, slice 1” pieces off the tuna kimbap roll.
Agedashi Tofu
Agedashi Tofu
Agedashi tofu can be found at just about every Japanese izakaya. This popular appetizer consists of tofu dredged in potato starch and lighty fried until golden brown. Then a dashi stock based broth called tsuyu is ladled over the fried tofu; garnished with green onions and grated ginger. Simple, yet very flavorful. The fried tofu soaks up some of the broth, giving it a sweet/umami flavor with a bite from the freshly grated ginger.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu pressed for 30 minutes; cut into 16 cubes
- potato starch or cornstarch
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1/2 cup dashi stock
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 1 pinch salt
Garnish
- green onions finely chopped
- ginger grated
Instructions
- Toss the tofu with potato starch, making sure all sides are evenly coated.
- Heat up 1/2” of vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Drop in the tofu.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes a side until the tofu is a light golden brown. Place on a wire rack to drain excess oil.
- Heat all of the stock ingredients together and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. This will take a couple of minutes.
Cashew Chicken
Cashew Chicken
Cashew chicken is another popular Chinese American stir fry dish that is on just about every menu. While I still love good quality Chinese takeout, it costs half the price to make double the quantity at home. Plus, you can make cashew chicken with 10 minutes prep time, 10 minutes cooking time.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Chicken ans Marinade
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs cubed
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp hoisin sauce
- 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
Stir Fry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup red and green bell pepper cubed
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 1/2 cup whole water chestnuts cut in half
- 2 green onions chopped
- 2 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp of water
Instructions
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Marinate the chicken with the marinade ingredients for 10 minutes.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the chicken. Cook for 6 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- Add in the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Add in the bell pepper, celery, and water chestnuts. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Toss in the green onions and chicken. Deglaze the pan with the cooking wine. Pour in the sauce. Continue stir frying for 1 minute.
- Add in the cashews. Cook for a minute.
- Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 1 more minute. Take off the heat.
