Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Twist

Okinawan Style Steamed Black Sesame Infused Pork

_DSC9034Early Summer-like weather once again demands our attention to the yard and garden. Newly planted pansies are already stressed out in the heat. I apologized as I water them –  talking to myself increases as I get older and plants are excellent listeners fortunately._DSC9011 Cabbage flower

I would like to have more gardening time yet I need to take care of strawberries and other things that are getting moldy so a large quantity of my time was spent in the kitchen…by the way, what am I making tonight? No answer of course. It would be spooky otherwise.

I love the sweetness and aromatic sesame flavor of this dish…perhaps it needs some acidity. On a long ‘to do’ list day like today, you can’t beat the easiness of this recipe. It was introduced in www.cookpad.com and I adjusted only a little.

Ingredients and instructions for 12 wrapped pork

Equipment: mortar and pestle, waxed paper or foil cut in twelve 7 inch squares steamer pan with lid.

  • Black sesame seeds 1/2 cup Ground well with mortar and pestle_DSC8997
  • Soy sauce 3 Tablespoons_DSC9009The reduced sodium Tamari soy sauce I used is gluten free.
  • Sugar 2 Tablespoons
  • Vegetable oil 2 Tablespoons
  • Parsley or green onion minced (optional) 1-2 teaspoons
  • Thinly sliced pork meat 300 g or roughly 1 lb. (pork belly or shoulder meat) cut in 3 inch strips
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  1. Mix everything except pork in a large bowl.
  2. Add sliced pork and coat with sesame mix. Marinate for 30 minutes._DSC9003
  3. Prepare steamer by boiling 3 cups of water. Divide meat into 12 piles. Put one pile in the middle of a square and gather the paper or foil and twist tight at the top.
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  4. Place the wrapped pork on the steamer rack an inch apart._DSC9023
  5. Cover and steam on medium high for 5 minutes then steam at low heat for 30 minutes.
  6. Serve with soy sauce, ponzu sauce, lemon juice or gyoza sauce._DSC9026_DSC9027

I made a true and tested strawberry honey roll cake for a friend who is recuperating from an injury. Glad! She is ok with gluten._DSC8930And I thought my husband would appreciate it if I made him one too. Yup, he did!_DSC8931_DSC8932

May is National Celiac Awareness Month –Experimenting on gluten free dishes. Not only gluten free, these non-dairy strawberry marshmallows are soft and light. It’s just not suitable for roasting. No s’mores for you._DSC8972The No, No and No (no gluten, no dairy and no fat) steamed strawberry cake had absolutely no flavor. I asked my husband to make chocolate sauce for this and it was upgraded to a maybe. As you can see, losing weight here is awfully hard._DSC8984

Many hours were spent making beets and turnip pickles, strawberry puree and burdock tea. I felt like a pioneer woman WITH modern conveniences like a dishwasher. That is not pioneer woman like, my husband chimed in. Hey, don’t comment, it’s just a monologue._DSC8990

We’re happy to have a vegetarian meal night once in a while....simply I didn't have time to defrost meat. Awesome pea rice! My son would be envious from Japan…not! _DSC8980

Cinco de Mayo is Children’s day in Japan. This is a gift from a quilter friend. Traditional Children’s day symbols include from top: carp, helmet and Japanese iris. Though each has special meaning, trying to explain would be lost in translation. DSCN2224Speaking of children, I met this little girl at a wedding reception last Saturday. Adorable isn’t she?DSCN2218

 

11 comments:

  1. OMG . . . your photos . . . so awesome!!!

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  2. That vegetarian meal looks so good. I love pea rice. Ha ha. Are you sure he's my brother?
    Also, I'm wanting that strawberry roll cake. Looks just like it came from a Japanese bakery!

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    1. Thanks Mariko. I would love to make you a roll cake but you're on a diet, right? Otherwise I will ship it to you overnight.

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  3. What an artistic pork wrapped you've done! and I could just stare, coveting for your strawberry cake roll....Mmmmmm:)

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  4. I am very glad to discover your blog. I like everything: photos, subjects, recipes and your sense of humour. This pork dish is so unusual and looks irresistible. I am a big pork fan and I'm crazy for sesame seeds, so I will not take any risk if I try your recipe.
    I'm seriously impressed by your roll. I wouldn't have the courage to make it (luckily for my waist!).
    Burdock tea sounds very intriguing...

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    1. Thank you very much. For some reason, I could not comment on your blog but I love your photograph technique, so stylish!

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    2. Thank you so much again for kind compliments and thank you for commenting on my blog. I'm really sorry for your commenting problems. I don't know why but there is something wrong with my server in recent days (short offline periods, for one minute or shorter). I hope it will end soon...

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  5. 私もよくお肉の解凍が間に合わなくて、外食になることがあります・・・・。うちの場合、お肉かお魚がないと、何か言われそう・・・。私はベジタリアンになれるかも?と思うくらい、結構野菜の方が好きですが、やっぱり焼肉とかしゃぶしゃぶとかリブとか諦められないから無理だな(笑)。美味しそうで手の凝ったお料理、いつも素晴らしいです。うちの母はご飯作るの結構適当でしたー。

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  6. This is a really good read for me. Must agree that you are one of the coolest blogger I ever saw. Thanks for posting this useful information. This was just what I was on looking for.

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