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!

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.

Japanese Chicken and Egg on Rice(Oyako Donburi)

Oyakodon(親子丼) is a very popular Japanese "donburi" dish served on top of rice. Oyako literally means "parent-child", chicken and egg. It's lightly cooked in a broth and the consistency is much softer than an omelet, almost runny. A truly delectable Japanese dish.



Serves 4     433 cal./serving


Ingredients:

• 4 portions cooked short grain rice
• 1/2 lb.(225g) boneless chicken
• 1 onion
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups dashi bonito stock
• 3 Tbsp. mirin(or 3 Tbsp. sake + 1 Tbsp. sugar)
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• watercress leaves, nori seaweed or other greens(optional)

Directions:

1. Cook rice.
2. Trim of excess fat from chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.
3. Cut onion in half and slice thinly.
4. In a shallow pan, combine dashi stock, mirin, and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Add chicken and bring to a boil again over high heat. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes until onion is tender and chicken is cooked.
5. Beat 4 eggs and pour them in gently in a circular motion to cover all the chicken. Cover the pan and cook 1-2 minutes over low heat. When eggs are just set, but still runny, turn off heat and let pan sit, covered, a minute or so. 
6. Divide rice among 4 deep bowls and spread chicken and egg over the top of each and serve with shredded nori or other greens, if desired.

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 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.

Easy Japanese Potato Stew (Niku-jaga) Recipe

Niku-jaga(meat-potatoes) is a typical Japanese dish. It's a simple potato stew that's easy to make. All you need is potatoes, carrots, and hamburger meat. Often niku-jaga calls for sliced beef, but we usually just use ground beef at my house.

You boil everything in the broth. The seasonings are soy sauce, mirin(a kind of sweet cooking sake), dashi(fish stock both, my wife prefers katsuo, a kind of fish), and sugar. It's really tasty and has a slight sweetness. The picture shows the dish everyone shared from. Itadakimasu! Let's eat!


Ingredients:

• 5-6oz.(150g) ground beef
• 4 potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 cups water
• 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. mirin(sweet cooking sake
• 2 Tbsp. Dashi stock (katsuo)

Directions:

1. Peel potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces and wash them in cold water(to remove excess starch).
2. Cut carrot and onion into small chunk pieces.
3. Heat some oil in a pan and brown the meat and vegetables.
4. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add soy sauce, sugar and mirin to the pan and reduce the heat. 
5. Cook for about 15 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Serve in a large bowl at the table everyone can share from.

Variations:

It's also popular to add green beans or peas for a little green, or shirataki, the clear, gelatinous noodles often put in sukiyaki

Japanese Beef-Potato Stew(Niku-jaga) Recipe

Here's a simple and and delicious Japanese beef and potato stew recipe for niku-jaga（肉じゃが), literally"meat-potatoes" in Japanese. The broth is rich and a little sweet, great on cold days or anytime.

Serves 4









Ingredients:

• 5oz.(150g) thinly sliced beef
• 4 potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 cups water
• 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. mirin(sweet cooking sake

Directions:

1. Peel potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces and wash them in cold water(to remove excess starch).
2. Cut carrot and onion into small chunk pieces.
3. Heat some oil in a pan and brown the meat and vegetables.
4. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add soy sauce, sugar and mirin to the pan and reduce the heat. 
5. Cook for about 15 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Serve in individual medium sized bowls.

Variations:

Ground beef is often substituted for the sliced beef. It's also popular to add green beans or peas for a little green, or shirataki, the clear, gelatinous noodles often put in sukiyaki

Japanese Pork Cutlet on Rice (Katsu-don) Recipe

In Japanese, don(丼) means something served on a bowl of rice, often meat dishes. One very popular "don" is katsu-don（カツ丼）, fried pork cutlet cooked with egg, almost like an omelet. Katsu-don is made at home or served in most restaurants.You can put a Japanese twist on the typical pork cutlet. The recipe below is for one serving.







Ingredients:

• Boneless pork:                    1
• onion:                               1/4
• egg:                                  1

Batter

• flour
• egg
• breadcrumbs

Sauce

• dashi (stock):                         1/2 cup
• soy sauce:                             1-1/2 Tbsp.
• mirin(sweet cooking sake):        1 Tbsp.
• sugar:                                   1/4 Tbsp.

Directions:

1. Pound the meat with a steak tenderizer and season with salt and pepper.
2. Dip the meat in 1 flour, 2 beaten egg, and 3 breadcrumbs and fry thoroughly in oil at about 160ºC (320ºF).
3. After frying, cut the pork cutlet into 2cm thick slices.
4. Slice the onion thinly.
5. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a saucepan until just boiling.
6. Pour the sauce into a frying pan and boil the onions.
7. Add the pork cutlet to the frying pan. Cover with a beaten egg and cook until the egg sets.
8. Fill a large bowl not quite full of rice and pork and egg on top.
9. Garnish with a bit of parsley, green peas, or thinly sliced nori seaweed.

Easy Sukiyaki Recipe

Sukiyaki (すき焼き)　is a very popular hot pot dish, especially in the winter. People often have sukiyaki dinner parties or eat it at restaurants. Everyone enjoys cooking it together at the table. There are many varieties, but basic ingredients include; thinly sliced beef, grilled tofu, thick, long, green onions, shitake mushrooms, and shirataki, which are clear, gelatinous noodles made from a kind of potato. Other common ingredients are carrots, hakusai(chinese cabbage), and udon noodles. Sugar is added, so the meat has a slightly sweet taste. Each person at the table has a small bowl with a beaten raw egg. They take what they like from the pot, dip in the raw egg and eat. When the pot gets low, just re-charge with fresh ingredients and stock. It makes for a great party. You can get the sukiyaki stock from a local Asian grocer.

Ingredients:

· thinly-sliced beef:                                400g
· yaki-dofu (grilled tofu):                          1 block
· shitake mushrooms:                              8
· green onions:                                       3-4(the longer and thicker, the better.)
· beef fat:                                             50g(you could substitute oil)
· shirataki(clear gelatinous noodles):           2 packets
· Shungiku(edible chrysanthemum leaves):   200g

       raw egg beaten in a bowl                          (one for each person)

Stock

· Dashi(stock):                     2/3 cup

· soy sauce:                        1/3 cup

· mirin(sweet cooking sake):   1/3 cup

· sugar                               2 Tbsp.

Directions:

Stock

Mix all of the ingredients in a pan and heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and set aside for later.

Sukiyaki

1.    Cut the the grilled tofu into 8 cubes.

2.    Cut the shungiku into about 7 cm lengths.

3.    Cut the green onion diagonally into 5 cm lengths.

4.    Heat the hotplate and melt the beef fat. Fry the beef lightly in the fat.

5.    When slightly browned, add the other ingredients and stock and boil.

6.    Eat the sukiyaki by dipping in beaten raw egg first.