Tag: Japanese
Shrimp and Pork Belly Negiyaki
If using pork belly, lay the slices across the pancake once you pour the batter in the pan.
Crab Salad
Crab Salad
While we eat a lot of deli crab salad in America, its origins are actually Japanese. Imitation crab(kani) was created in Japan; made out of ground white fish paste called surmi. The Japanese version consists of crab, cucumber, carrots, Japanese mayo, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. This recipe is the American version, with a mayo/lemon juice/dijon mustard dressing and celery, shallots, and herbs mixed in. This salad is great on its own or on a toasted baguette. Step aside, Subway.
Ingredients
- 1 lb imitation crab flakes chopped
Dressing
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 ribs celery finely chopped
- 3 tbsp shallots finely chopped
- 1 tbsp dill finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chives finely chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix together the dressing ingredients.
- Stir in the crab meat. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
Kabocha Pumpkin Fried Rice
Kabocha Pumpkin Fried Rice
This Japanese-style fried rice uses one of my favorite ingredients: kabocha pumpkin. This pumpkin has the flavor between a butternut squash and a sweet potato. The skin is edible and adds a slight sweetness to the fried rice.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups kabocha pumpkin diced
- 5 strips bacon diced
- 1/4 cup shallots sliced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 green onions chopped
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat. Pour in the eggs.
- Scramble and remove from the wok.
- Add in the other tbsp of vegetable oil. Stir fry the kabocha pumpkin for 3 minutes.
- Add in the diced bacon. Cook for 7 minutes until crispy.
- Add in the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Break up the clumps of cooked rice and stir into the wok. Fry for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the soy sauce. Stir in the scrambled eggs. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the green onions. Season with black pepper to taste.
Kitsune Udon
Kitsune Udon
While you will rarely ever see kitsune udon in the U.S., it is a staple in Japan and is considered their soul food. The soup consists of udon noodles in a dashi stock base. The soup is topped with kitsune. Kitsune starts out as thin sheets of pressed tofu. The sheets are fried until crispy. At this point, the fried tofu sheets are now called aburaage. If you are pressed for time, you can buy already prepared aburaage at just about every Asian market. The aburaage are then simmered in soy, mirin, sake, and sugar until they soak up the sweet and salty liquid. The soup gets garnished with lots of green onions and togarashi pepper.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Kitsune
- vegetable oil for frying
- 3 tofu sheets pat dry with paper towel
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Udon Soup
- 4 cups dashi stock
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sake
- 16 oz frozen udon noodles
- 4 green onions chopped
- togarashi pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up 4 tbsp of cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the tofu sheets.
- Fry for 4-5 minutes a side until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
- Mix together the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and water. Bring to a simmer in a sauté pan. Add the fried tofu sheets. Simmer until they soak up all of the liquid. Set aside.
- Bring the dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin, and sake to a boil in a pot.
- Add in the udon noodles. Simmer for 5 minutes until the noodles are cooked through.
