Hakusai and Pork Nabe(Chinese Cabbage Hot Pot Dish) Recipe

In Japan in winter, the quintessential Japanese meal is nabe. Nabe is a hot pot dish traditionally cooked in an earthenware pot. It is often done at parties and cooked on a gas burner at the table. Various vegetable and meat ingredients are cooked in a broth. Guests take what they like and eat and more ingredients are added. There are infinite variations and recipes. Nothing warms a body better on a cold winter's day that a steaming bowl of nabe. This is a really simple and delicious recipe using Chinese cabbage and pork. Serves 1-2 people.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 large leaves Chinese cabbage
• 300 grams thinly sliced pork
• 1 half large onion
• 1 cup of water
• 5 grams or so of granulated fish stock-hondashi
• 1 Tblsp. salt
• 6 Tblsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tblsp. mirin(cooking sake)

Directions:

1. Wash and cut the Chinese cabbage leaves in half lengthwise.

2. Stack alternating layers of Chinese cabbage and sliced pork. Change the direction of the cabbage leaves each time. Stack until about 5 leaves thick.

3. Cut the stack into 5 cm/ about 2 inch lengths. 

4. Fill the nabe pot with the cut leaves standing up. Repeat with all the leaves and pork. Make a spiral pattern in the pot until no more fits. 

5. Cut half an onion into small pieces and stick into any empty spaces. 

6. Add the water, fish stock, and salt, cover and bring to a boil.

7. Once boils, reduce heat and add soy sauce generously. Replace lid and simmer until cooked. 

The pork and Chinese cabbage cooked in the broth makes a great combination. So tasty and hot!

Shaved potatoes and cheese Galeto(Cheesy hash-browns) Recipe

Here was an experiment that didn't look great, but tasted great. It's a kind of Japanese potato omelette called (galeto)  inspired from a french dish gallette . It's basically a hash-browns pancake with cheese and ham. The potatoes are supposed to be julienned like hash-browns, bu I was in a hurry, so I just used the potato peeler. I also didn't have pizza cheese, so I cut up some sliced cheese. It eventually formed a pancake. It didn't look like the recipe I saw, but it tasted great as reported by my friends.

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes
• 1 Tblsp. parmesean cheese
• 1 Tblsp. pizza cheese(I used 2 cut up pieces of sliced cheese)
• 1 Tblsp. flour
• 2 slices sandwich ham or 1 slice of lean bacon
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tblsp. of butter

Directions:

1. Cut the ham or bacon into small pieces.
2. Use a peeler and slice the potatoes into thin slices.
3. Mix potatoes, meat, cheese, flour, and salt in a bowl.
4. Heat a frying pan and add the butter.
5. Add the potato mixture and fry, turning and pressing down with a spatula into a pancake.

Easy Okonomiyaki(Japanese Savor Pancake) Recipe

Before

After

Okonomiyaki is probably my favorite Japanese food. It's like a pancake, but for dinner. It's also one of the most versatile and easy to cook. It's a balanced meal all in one. It has flour, meat, and vegetables. Okonomiyaki traditionally uses cabbage and thin strips of pork. My okonomiyaki is simple and tends to be dryer and thicker than you usually get at a restaurant. I usually use ground beef or tuna and just like my fried rice recipe, I keep to my rule of three different vegetables, three colors. It's great and anyone can make it. This recipe makes about 3 pancakes and serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour (about)
• 1 1/2 cups water (about)
• 1 egg
• 150 grams ground beef
• 3-4 cabbage leaves
• 1 carrot
• 1 leek(large green onion) or use regular onion
• 5 grams hondashi fish stock powder(bouillon)

Topping:

• okonomiyaki sauce(like worcester sauce)
• mayonnaise
• katsuo-bushi(bonito fish flakes)
• ao-nori power(blue seaweed). I really like this, but was out this time.

Directions:

1. Finely dice the cabbage and cut other vegetables into small pieces. 
2. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan, then add the vegetables and cook lightly together. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, water, egg, and fish stock powder.
4. Add the stir fry to the batter and mix everything well.
5. Use a ladle to spoon the batter on the frying pan one large pancake a a time. Fry and flip.
6. Serve with sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and seaweed powder. Sometimes the fish flakes will dance on top because of the steam. Enjoy.

Easy Tuna Chahan(Japanese Fried Rice) Recipe

Chahan or Japanese fried rice is simple, quick, and adaptable. I often make this tasty dish for the kids. My general rule is to use three different vegetables, different colors. You can use carrots, onion, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, or green peppers, whatever you have on hand. For meat, you can use sausage, shrimp, or other meat. I usually use ground beef, but today I used tuna. Sesame oil is the secret ingredient. It gives the chahan such a nice aroma. Unlike most recipes, I usually put my egg at the end. Just dump the whole raw egg in as the fried rice is cooking and stir everything together, hence the "easy" way. It gives the chahan a nice texture and helps it stick together. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of rice, cooked
• 1 large carrot
• 3-4 leaves of Chinese cabbage
• 1/2  large stalk leeks(big green onion)
• 1 can tuna
• 1 egg
• soy sauce
• salt
• sesame oil

Directions:

1. Cook the white rice.
2. Finely chop all the vegetables and stir fry on medium heat with a little sesame oil and 2 pinches of salt.
3. Add the can of tuna, mix thoroughly and cook together. 
4. Reduce heat, add the cooked white rice and mix together.
5. Add 4-5 Tblsp. soy sauce, or to taste, mix and cook.
6. Add 1 raw egg, mix and cook together.

Oishii!

Toshikoshi Soba年越しそば

And of course, there's traditional soba noodles. These are eaten on New Year's Eve, for good luck. this is called Toshikoshi Soba年越しそば. Simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

• raw soba(buckwheat) noodles..........................10oz.
• mentsuyu(dashi broth)..........................................6 cups
• mirin(cooking sake)..................................................3 Tblsp.
• sugar................................................................................2tsp.
• nori(seaweed)
• katsuobushi(bonito fish flakes)

Directions:

1. Add salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and add soba to pot and cook for a few minutes until tender. Drain noodles.
3. Combine dashi, mirin, and sugar in a seperate saucepan and heat on medium heat. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Serve soba noodles in bowls and add broth. Sprinkle crumpled nori and katsuobushi on top.

Chikuzenni 筑前煮 (Sauted Chicken with Root Vegetables)

There is chikuzenni 筑前煮, a stew with chicken, renkon(lotus root), carrots, mushrooms, and takenoko(bamboo shoots).　Chikuzenni is especially popular in late fall or winter. The steaming root vegetables and meat and savory broth keep a body warm in the cold winter months.

Time, about 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• chicken thigh or other white cut ..................300 grams/10 oz.
• dried shittake mushrooms ................................8
• gobo(burdock root).................................................100g/half a stick
• carrot.............................................................................1
• rennkon(lotus root).................................................100g/ about 1
• mirin(cooking sake....................................................5 Tblsp.
• Soy sauce.....................................................................5 Tblsp.
• dashi stock...................................................................200ml
• cooking oil

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into small chunks, season with salt and mirin.
2. Cut vegetables into bite sized wedges. Cut burdock root at an angle. Soak burdock and lotus root in vinegared water.
3. Put 1 Tblsp. cooking oil in a pan and saute the chicken. Add the vegetables and cook everything together.
4. Add the dashi stock and mirin and soy sauce. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer until everything is tender.
5. Seve with steamed snow peas if desired.

Curry Face

Here's a great face my girls made when we had curry and rice. Press the cooked rice into a small round bowl. Cut a fish sausage or ham for the rosy cheeks, carrot smile, potato nose, and ground beef eyes. Put the face at the bottom of the big bowl, then pour curry on the top part for hair. Awesome!

そうめん, Easy Soumen noodles Recipe

そうめん, Soumen noodles are a common dish in Japan, especially in the summer. Soumen is a thin, white noodle. It's much thinner when compared to udon, ramen, or soba. Unlike ramen, which is served hot and with a strong tasting soup, soumen is often served cold and in a thin, light broth. We ate a lot of soumen this summer. Here's dinner the other night. Besides the broth, it's served with tuna, cucumber, egg, and a little nori (seaweed). My wife has a great artistic sense of food. She said it wasn't special. She's so modest. One popular way to eat it is "nagashi soumen". This is soumen served sliding down a bamboo half-pipe. You have to catch it with your chopsticks and then dip in your soup and eat. I did this once this summer at my school's Mt. Daisen camp. Great fun. They put a bucket at the end to catch anything you missed. Beat the heat with soumen!


Ingredients:

• somen noodles
• tuna
• eggs
• cucumber
• nori seaweed
• mentsuyu dipping sauce base

Directions:

1. Hard boil eggs. Peel and cut in half. (about 1 per person)
2. Thinly slice cucumber.
3. Raw somen comes in taped rolls. Unroll and boil for 1 minute.
4. Drain and rinse with cold water.
5. Mix about 1/4 cup dipping sauce base and half a cup of water.
6. Serve noodles in a dish with toppings placed artistically.
7. Place dipping sauce in a separate cup for dipping, or simply pour sauce over noodles.
8. Replace noodles, sauce, and toppings as necessary.

Simple Pumpkin Croquette Recipe

Dinner tonight was Hiyasi Chuka, egg noodles served cold with sliced tomato, cucumber and ham and with a white sesame sauce. It's tangy and has a great sesame taste. It's a favorite dish in the summer. Also Junko made croquette with leftover pumpkin and potato salad. It tasted great served with a little okonomiyaki sauce(like Worcester sauce).







Pumpkin Croquette

Ingredients:

• about 1/2 Japanese pumpkin
• mayonnaise
• salt
• flour
• egg
• breadcrumbs
• cooking oil

Directions:

Pumpkin Salad

1. Japanese pumpkins are green very hard. You can peel if you like, but the peel is quite good in pumpkin salad. Wash and cut about half the pumpkin into small chunks and boil in a pan for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain pumpkin and mash pumpkin.
3. Add some mayonnaise and a pinch of salt and mix well.
4. Serve pumpkin salad or use for croquettes
5. Shape pumpkin salad into little rolls or patties.
6. Dip patties first in flour, then beaten egg, an finally breadcrumbs.
7. Fry in oil at 350°F(180ºC)until golden brown. Drip off or towel off excess oil.
8. Serve with tonkatsu , okonomiyaki, or Worcester sauce, shredded cabbage and rice.

Easy Hiyashi Chuka Recipe(Cold Ramen Noodles)

Dinner tonight was Hiyasi Chuka, egg noodles served cold with sliced tomato, cucumber and ham and with a white sesame sauce. It's tangy and has a great sesame taste. It's a favorite dish in the summer. Also Junko made croquette with leftover pumpkin and potato salad. It tasted great served with a little okonomiyaki sauce(like Worcester sauce). A road to a man's heart is through his stomach.






Hiyashi Chuka Recipe

Ingredients:

hiyashi chuka noodles(cold ramen egg-noodles)

sauce(tare)
You can buy pre-packaged sauce at Asian grocers or simply make your own. The recipe below is just a guideline, adjust to taste:

• 1/3 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. sesame oil

You could also use a white sesame sauce for salads

Toppings:

• 
  
• ham
• tomatoes
• cucumbe
• egg
• 
  

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles, rinse with cold water and serve in a dish with the sauce.
2. Cook a thin omelet sheet and julienne all toppings and place artistically on top of noodles.
3. Add more noodles an toppings as necessary. Enjoy

Beef Kimchi Stir Fry with Lettuce Recipe(Gyuniku-Kimchi-Itame)

Kimchi is Korean spicy pickled cabbage served on the side of many meals. It's very popular in Japan, too and available at your Asian grocer. Here's a beef and kimchi stir-fry with lettuce (牛肉とレタスのキムチ炒め)recipe. You can eat it two ways: you can stir-fry the lettuce together or use fresh lettuce leaves to make a stir-fry wrap, like eating fajitas..

Serves 3-4    112 cal./serving

Ingredients:

• 7 oz.(200g) beef, loin or rump, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup kimchi
• 1/2 head lettuce or 1 whole leafy lettuce
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 pinches salt

Directions:

1. Cut beef into 1-1/2 inch(4cm) strips. Cut kimchi into bite sized pieces. Mix beef and kimchi.
2. Tear lettuce leaves into bite sized pieces.
3. Heat sesame oil in a pan over high heat. Add beef and kimchi. Saute until meat turns color. Do not overcook.
4. Add lettuce, seasoned with salt and stir-fry briefly until lettuce just begins to wilt.
5. Remove from pan and serve immediately.

Alternative:

• To eat Korean style, stir fry beef and kimchi without lettuce. Serve fresh leafy green lettuce(not Iceberg) on the table with stir fry. Take a leaf, add some stir-fry with chopsticks and make a lettuce wrap like a fajita and eat.

Japanese Deep Fried Hamburger Cutlets Recipe (Menchi-Katsu)

Menchi-Katsu(メンチカツ) is a very popular, Japanese deep fried meat dish. It's called a deep fried meat cutlet, meat croquette, or fried meat cake. It's very similar to the Japanese korokke or croquette, but korokke are mainly mashed potatoes with some ground beef. Menchi katsu are basically a deep fried, breaded hamburger. They are served with Worcestershire sauce and cabbage. They can be eaten as a stand alone dish with rice, a "donburi" on top of a bowl of rice, with curry and rice(katsu-kare), or on a bun like a hamburger. Any way, they are delicious and satisfy any meat lover.

Serves 4     375 cal./serving

Ingredients:

• 11 oz.(300g) ground beef or pork
• 1/2 onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• fresh cabbage leaves
• vegetable oil
• flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• breadcrumbs
• mustard and/or Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Finely chop onion, bell pepper and 2-3 cabbage leaves.
2. Saute onions in an oiled pan until clear.
3. Season meat with Worcestershire sauce and salt. mix in sauteed onions, bell pepper, and cabbage.
4. Use ground meat mixture to make about 8 oval/football shaped cutlets. Indent the middle a little.
5. Dip each cutlet first in flour, then beaten egg, and finally breadcrumbs. Deep fry over medium heat until breadcrumbs turn golden brown.
6. Remove from oil and drain on a rack or absorbent paper. Serve with a mound of diced cabbage and/or other greens,and Worcestershire sauce, and mustard if desired.

Variation:

• You can also serve on a bun, just like a hamburger.

Chilled Chinese Noodles(Hiyashi-Chuka)

Hiyashi-Chuka are Chinese egg(ramen) noodles served cold with a refreshing vinegary sauce and topped julienned egg, ham, and cucumbers. This is a light, refreshing dish popular in the heat of summer, healthy and invigorating. Other alternative toppings include wakame seaweed or tomatoes.

Serves 4      460 cal./serving




Ingredients:

• 4 portions fresh chukamen, Chinese egg noodles, 4-1/2 oz./130g each(or angel hair pasta)
• 1 bag bean sprouts (9 oz./250g)
• 2 eggs
• salt
• vegetable oil
• 2 cucumbers
• 6 slices ham
• sliced tomatoes(optional)
• wakame seaweed(optional)

Chuka Sauce

• 6 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 5 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. sesame oil

Condiments:

• pickled red ginger, benishoga(optional)
• mustard(optional)
• roasted white sesame seeds(optional)

Directions:

1. Blanch bean sprouts briefly in salted boiling water until soft. Drain and set aside.
2. Beat eggs with a little salt seasoning. Heat oil in a frying pan and pour 1/4 of the egg mixture, spreading as thin as possible over the whole pan. Remove the egg sheet and fold in half on the cutting board. repeat with rest of mixture. Place all folded sheets on top of another and cut everything into thin strips. This is the traditional way to cook the egg in Japan. However, it's fine to just scramble the eggs and cut into thin strips.
3. Julienne all the cucumbers into thin, matchstick size pieces.
4. Cut ham into thin strips.
5. Cook noodles according to packet instructions, Rinse several times in cold water.
6. Serve noodles on individual plates, topped with bean sprouts, cucumber, egg, and ham. Adding some sliced tomato or wakame on top is great, too. If desired, serve with pickled red ginger, sesame seeds and place a dab of mustard on the corner of each plate. Finally, pour sauce over the top and eat.

Japanese Shabu-Shabu Recipe

At the heart of Japanese cooking is using fresh, high quality ingredients that are lightly cooked for a natural taste. This is no where more highly refined than in the art of Shabu Shabu. This is one of many hot pot dishes like Suki-yaki that is cooked in a at the table and diners take what they like and dip into a sauce and eat. The name, shabu-shabu comes from the sound of the cooking ,meat. Very thin slices of beef are used and dipped for only a few seconds in the boiling broth. There are other variations of shabu-shabu using pork or crab. There are 2 dipping sauces used; a lemon sauce and a sesame sauce. These sauces are probably available at your local Asian grocer, if so you can use them, or this recipe shows how to make them from scratch. This is a great party dish for a few friends, especially in winter. Enjoy.

Serves 4        1047 cal./serving

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 lb.(570 g) well marbled sirloin, sliced paper thin
• 2 quarts(2 liters) dashi bonito stock
• 4 leaves of Chinese cabbage(hakusai)
• 12-16 fresh spinach leaves with stems
• 3 leeks
• 1 block regular tofu, about 10 oz.(285g)
• 8 fresh shitake mushrooms
• 4 servings udon noodles(optional)
• 1 small, dried red pepper or 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup finely grated daikon(Japanese white radish) or turnip
• 4-5 finely chopped green onions

Lemon-Soy Dipping Sauce(ponzu)

• 2 inches(5 cm) piece kelp(konbu)
• 5 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Sesame Dipping Sauce(gomadare)

• 1/2 cup bonito stock
• 6 Tbsp. white sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp. white miso
• 2 Tbsp. mirin
• 2 tsp. rice vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 pinch of red pepper
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil

Preparation:

• Prepare in total, 8-1/2 cups of dashi bonito stock
• Blanch Chinese cabbage leaves and spinach. Squeeze spinach and lay a 3-4 spinach leaves at one end of a cabbage leaf and roll up. Cut the roll into 1-1/2 inch(4 cm) sections. Repeat with remaining cabbage and spinach. Stand the rolls up on a platter.
• Cut leeks diagonally into 1 inch(2-1/2 cm) lengths. Cut tofu into bite size cubes. Discard shitake mushroom stems and make an "X" cut on the caps. Lay strips of beef out on a platter.
• Soften dried pepper in water, then clip off the large end an squeeze out seeds. Cut and peel daikon. Make a hole in the center lengthwise with a toothpick or other utensil and stick in the red pepper. Grate the daikon with the red pepper inside, it will have a reddish tinge. If using pepper powder, simply mix with the grated daikon. Put grated daikon in a bowl and let diners put a little in their lemon dipping sauce.

Lemon-Soy Dipping Sauce:

• Do not wash kelp, as the white powder contains much of the flavor. Instead, wipe both sides of kelp with a damp cloth and cut 1/2 inch(1-1/2cm) slits at 1 inch(2-1/2cm) intervals. In a saucepan, combine kelp and other ingredients cold. Do not heat. Set aside for at least 10 minutes before eating, remove kelp before serving.

Sesame Dipping Sauce:

• Toast and grind sesame seeds or use already ground sesame. Dice and mash garlic. Combine sesame, garlic, and other ingredients. Blend mixture into bonito stock. 

Cooking:

1. Prepare small bowls for both dipping sauces for each person. Put out grated daikon and finely chopped green onions for each diner to add to the sauces.
2. Heat bonito stock in a pot at the table. Use a traditional Japanese earthenware pot(donabe), Mongolian-style hot pot(hoko-nabe) that has the cone coming up in the center, or an electric skillet. Fill the pot 2/3 full with the dashi stock and heat until just boiling. Each diner uses their own chopsticks to dip a slice of beef into the pot. Dip meat in broth for only a few seconds to cook, dip and eat. Let vegetable cook in the broth a bit longer and take what you like. Replenish ingredients, stock, or sauce when necessary. Skim off any foam.
3. After everything's been eaten, you can add cooked udon noodles to heat in the broth. Serve udon in bowls with broth, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Japanese Fried Meat and Vegetable Kebab Recipe(Kushi-Katsu)

Japanese deep fried kebabs or kushi-katsu(串カツ) definitely suits western tastes. Kushi-katsu restaurants are very popular. The kabobs can be ordered individually or as a platter. It comes with a Worcestershire based dipping sauce and raw cabbage leaves. The oil and sauce can be a bit strong, so the cabbage helps balance the flavor. Now here's an easy recipe so you can prepare this fun finger food at home. As with tempura, there are numerous possible ingredients. The recipe just offers a few choices, but have fun and experiment with this fun Japanese dish.

Serves 4-8     156 cal./serving

Ingredients:

• 5 oz.(140g) pork loin
• 2 inches(5cm) small eggplant
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 leek or 1 onion
• salt and pepper
• fresh cabbage leaves
• 2-3 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
• 1 orange or lemon sliced for garnish(optional)
• small bamboo skewers

Alternative Ingredients:

• beef
• chicken
• white fish fillets
• squid
• scallops
• pumpkin
• okra
• green beans
• quail eggs
• cheese

Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Breading

• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 beaten egg and 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 cup fine dried breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds and soak in cold water for a few minutes. Clean out and cut bell pepper into bite size pieces. Cut leek into 1 inch lengths or cut onion into half rounds. Cut pork into bite size pieces.
2. Make skewers of each ingredient or mix ingredients. Put about 4 pieces on each skewer. Pieces should be touching.
3. Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.  
4. Lay out breading ingredients in 3 bowls. Sprinkle skewers with salt and pepper. Coat skewers first in flour, then egg water mixture, and finally in breadcrumbs.
5. Heat oil in a skillet to (340°F/170ºC). Deep fry 4 skewers at a time, turning once until cooked and both sides are browned. Remove and rain on a rack or absorbent paper.
6. If desired, wrap skewer ends in foil for easier handling. Serve with lemon wedges and cabbage leaves. 
7. Take one skewer, dip in the sauce, and eat. Everyone can use the same sauce as long as you don't dip the same skewer twice. Alternatively, pour sauce over skewers beforehand.

Japanese Tempura Recipe

Tempura is a Japanese seafood and vegetables, deep fried dish. An influence from Portugal, this Japanese adaptation became popular in the 19th century. It can be served on the side with rice, or "donburi" style on top of a bowl of rice called ten-don, or even as a topping in ramen noodles. Besides the favorite shrimp, tempura has many various ingredients that are quickly dipped in batter and deep fried. It's dipped in a special sauce before eating, including grated daikon and ginger. My personal favorites are sweet potato, shrimp, pumpkin, and lotus root.

Serves 4-8    780 cal./serving

Ingredients:

• 8 large shrimp
• 1 squid
• 4 whiting(kisu) fillets or thin fillets of any white fish
• 3 bell peppers
• 1 sweet potato(satsuma-imo)
• 1 carrot
• 2 oz.(50g) green beans
• nori seaweed
• 1 eggplant
• 4-5 fresh shitake mushrooms or 4 fresh white mushrooms
• 7 oz.(200g) lotus root(renkon)
• 5-6 cups vegetable oil(tempura oil if available)

Alternative ingredients:

• Kabocha squash or pumpkin
• onion
• okra
• scallops
• ginger
• snow peas
• asparagus

Batter

• 2 egg beaten
• 1 cup ice water
• 2 cup all-purpose flour

Dipping Sauce

• 2 cups dashi stock
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup mirin

Preparation:

• Shrimp- Shell shrimp with tails still attached and devein. Make 3- small incisions on the underside of each shrimp to prevent curling. Gently straighten shrimp by pulling until you feel a slight give.
• Squid- Gut squid and remove thin membrane skin. Cut in half lengthwise, then into 3/4 inch(2cm) wide strips.
• Fish- Lightly rinse fillets.
• Bell Peppers- Seed and and cut into 2-3 inch, i inch wide strips
• Sweet potatoes- Wash and cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds.
• Carrot- Cut into 1/4 inch rounds.
• Eggplant- Quarter eggplant lengthwise. Lay cut side down and make 3 more lengthwise cuts, fan out, and cut off cap for slices. If using mini-eggplant, cut several slits lengthwise and leave cap.
• Green Beans- Tie 4-5 green beans together in the middle with some nori seaweed. Moisten strip with water and secure.
• Shitake Mushrooms- Discard the stems and make an "X" slit on the cap.
• Lotus Root(ren-kon)-  Peel and cut into 1/4 inch rounds. Place lotus root and sweet potatoes in a bowl of lightly salted water for a few minutes.

Dipping Sauce- Combine all dipping sauce ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Cool to room temperature.

Cooking:

1. Pat all ingredients with a paper towel to dry them. Arrange all ingredients close at hand before start frying.
2. Heat oil in a an for deep-frying to (350°F/180ºC). 
3. Prepare batter: Make batter just before frying, don't let it set out long. Mix egg and water first, then add flour all together. Mix lightly with a fork or chopsticks. Batter should be loosely combined and should be lumpy. 
4. Dip each ingredients quickly in the batter like a bird diving for fish. Spread ingredients out evenly in pan. Start with lotus root and sweet potato as they take the longest, then seafood, then other ingredients.
5. As soon as ingredients are cooked and crispy, remove from pan and let drip drain on a rack. Serve tempura immediately, line plates with absorbent paper and arrange decoratively.
6. Serve dipping sauce in individual small bowls. Set out grated daikon(Japanese white radish) and grated ginger. Take a little of both and mix in the sauce. Take the tempura you like, dip and eat.

Key Points to great Tempura

• Maintain a constant cooking temperature for the oil, otherwise tempura may turn out soggy. Check oil by dropping in a little batter. If it sinks halfway down and rises back up, oil is ready. When adding ingredients, temperature may go down, so add heat until it comes back up. 
• After batter has set on ingredients in the oil, pick up a piece and expose it to the air for a moment before putting it back. This will allow more air to enter and make crispier tempura.
• Occasionally, use a strainer to remove bits of batter so they don't burn.

Japanese Deep-Fried Breaded Shrimp Recipe(Ebi-fry)

This deep-fried breaded shrimp or ebi-fry(エビフライ) is a favorite in Japan. It's served with rice on the side or on top of a bowl of rice, "donburi" style. This Japanese dish definitely suits a western palette.

Serves 4    216 cal./serving













Ingredients:

• 12 medium or 8 large shrimp(prawns)
• all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• breadcrumbs
• cabbage
• tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 lemon cut into wedges
• mayonnaise, tartar sauce, or Worctershire sauce

Directions:

1. Shell shrimp with tails still attached and devein. Make 3- small incisions on the underside of each shrimp to prevent curling. Gently straighten shrimp by pulling until you feel a slight give.
2. Dip shrimp first in flour, then beaten egg, and finally breadcrumbs.
3. Heat oil in pan to medium(350°F/180ºC). Deep fry shrimp until golden brown. Remove and let drain on a rack.
4. Serve on individual plates with a mound of diced cabbage, sliced or cherry tomatoes, a lemon wedge, and choice of sauce. Or serve on top of a bowl of rice "donburi" style.

Japanese Stuffed Green Peppers and Eggplant Recipe

Here's a simple Japanese take on a western idea. Get your meat and vegetables all in one package. But these in the oven or fish grill. You could also add finely dices carrots to the mixture if you like.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4-5 green peppers
• 4-5 long eggplants
• 7-8 oz. (230g)ground beef
• 1 onion
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce

Directions:

1. Finely dice onion.
2. Cut all green peppers and eggplant in half lengthwise, clean out and discard seeds.
3. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, chopped onions, breadcrumbs, and soy sauce. 
4. Stuff green pepper and eggplant halves with meat mixture.
5. Place stugged green peppers and eggplant in an preheated oven on medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until meat is cooked. Or, put in a Japanese style gas fish grill for about 10 minutes. Watch peppers and eggplants closely, rotate when necessary.
6. Serve with rice. Season with a little salt or ketchup if desired.

Japanese Ginger Pork Saute Recipe(Shoga-yaki)

Shoga-yaki (しょうが焼き)is simply one of the best meat dishes in Japan. The simple combination of pork and ginger, sauteed in a soy based sauce is a perfect harmony. This easy to prepare dish can be served on the side with rice or it's equally well "donburi" style, served on top of a bowl of rice.

Serves 4    462 cal./serving








Ingredients:

• 14 oz. (400g) pork, thinly sliced
• 1 onion
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. mirin(or..1 Tbsp. sake + 1 tsp. sugar)
• 1 knob freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• vegetable oil
• cabbage leaves, diced

Directions:

1. Spread out all the pork slices, one on top of another.(Marinating 2 slices of meat staked together makes for a more balanced flavoring)
2. In a bowl, make sauce by combining soy sauce, mirin, grated ginger and sesame oil. 
3. Marinate pork in sauce for about 10 minutes.
4. Cut onion into slivers.
5. Saute pork over medium heat on one side, add onions and saute together until pork separates and both sides are lightly browned. 
6. Serve with diced cabbage.

Simple Japanese Croquettes Recipe (Korokke)

Croquettes are deep fried breadcrumb covered patties usually made from mashed potatoes and ground beef. This western food was introduced to Japan in the 19th Century where it became known as Korokke(コロッケ). Here's a simple Japanese style korokke recipe  you can make at home. Serve with tonkatsu or okonomiyaki sauce(like Worcestershire sauce), shredded cabbage, and rice and if you like, miso soup.

Serves 4


Ingredients:

• 5-6 oz. (150g) ground beef
• 3-4 potatoes
• 1 onion
• salt
• tonkatsu sauce
• cabbage
• flour
• egg
• breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks. Boil in a pan for about 10-15 minutes or until soft.
2. Drain and mash the potatoes in a bowl.
3. Finely chop the onion and fry together with ground beef in a pan. Add salt to taste. Drain excess oil.
4. Add ground beef and onions to mashed potatoes and mix well.
5. Form mashed potato mixture into rolls or patties.
6. Dip patties first in flour, then beaten egg, an finally breadcrumbs.
7. Fry in oil at 350°F(180ºC)until golden brown. Drip off or towel off excess oil.
8. Serve with tonkatsu sauce, shredded cabbage and rice.