Chicken and Mushroom Sweet Rice

鶏ときのこの炊き込みおこわ

White rice was valuable and hard to obtain long ago in Japan. Putting ingredients in a stone pot along with seasoning added to the rice cooking method was welcomed because you could use less rice. It has evolved since then and hundreds of recipes are available now days but my favorite still is the five ingredients rice(五目ご飯), because I get nostalgic about my late mother…she made the best seasoned rice…my complaint was that she only made it on special occasions; 1-2 times a year.

It tastes great even if it gets cold, plus no need for side dish…maybe some pickle or salted plum(梅干)?…clear broth is not too bad a combination either…mmm…baked egg(卵焼き), I must add.

Ingredients and Instruction  for 3-4 servings (Print Recipe Here)
Revised recipe of Masahiro Kasahara

Necessary equipment –rice cooker

• 2 cups (rice cooker cup) sweet rice (もち米)
• 1 package shimeji mushroom, cut off ends, separate
• 1 package enoki mushroom, cut off the ends, cut in half then separate
• 4 shiitake mushroom remove stems, chop cap into 4-5 pieces
• 2 chicken thighs, boneless, skin on, butterfly the chicken so that the chicken is mostly flat.
• Combined seasoning (3 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, 2 Table spoons each of mirin and sake) mixed in a measuring cup.
• 2x4 dried kelp sheet, clean the surface with moist paper towel
• 1-2 stems of mitsuba/Japanese parsley (optional) roughly cut leaves.

1. Wash rice and soak in plenty of water. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. If you are using regular white rice then soak just 30 minutes.
2. Put all mushrooms in a non-stick frying pan. Dry sauté mushroom at low- medium heat until the volume goes down to about half and it becomes aromatic, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
3. Heat another pan (or quickly clean the same pan used in step #2) at medium-high. Place chicken skin side down to brown the skin only, about 4 minutes then remove from heat. When the chicken is safe to handle, cut in chunks. Set aside.
   
4. Drain the rice and put in the rice cooker, add sautéed mushroom, chicken, mixed seasoning, 1 cup water* and push kelp in the liquid. Cook as normal (if you have a ‘Quick’ feature in your rice cooker, you may opt for that). * if you like softer rice, add another 1/4 cup of water.
5. When it’s done, remove kelp, stir to combine with rice spatula, top with mitsuba and serve.

 

Some of my Today’s Sweets instagram post (#todayssweets…do not confuse with Today’s TAPAS) – Soy milk pudding with dark brown sugar syrup…not bad!

Some of my Today’s Sweets are store bought. This fruit tart from Saint-Honoré French pasty shop in downtown Lake Oswego. I liked it!

Speaking of French, oui, oui, we dined at Cocotte – Fried frog legs! Son goût comme le poulet (It tastes like chicken)!

Our Anniversary and my birthday were both last week. I received bouquets of flowers, a plant and some chocolate from my husband, friends and neighbor. I’m flowered…I mean, floored with gratitude!

Sunlartan/酸辣湯

Chinese Sour Soup

We’re officially in autumn, I see some leaves are turning colors. The cooler temperature calls for warm soup that should not be complicated.  I made this mostly from what’s in the refrigerator.

Ingredients and Instruction for two servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 pounds pork cut into small pieces  You may substitute with chicken
• 1 stalk green onion minced
• 2 inch ginger root, skinned and minced
• 2 Tablespoons sake
• 1-1/2 cup water
• 1 bok choy separate green and white parts then sliced thinly
• 1 small bag enoki mushrooms, discard bottom dark ends, cut in 2 inches length
• salt, white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1. Heat sesame oil in skillet at low heat. Add pork and cook until the meat just turns white.
   
2. Add green onions and ginger to the skillet. Sauté for 1 minute.
3. Turn the heat up to medium. Pour sake, water and sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper when the liquids boil,  turn heat to low, put the lid on and cook for 5 minutes.
   
4. Add bok choy’s white parts and enoki mushroom, put the lid back on and cook for a few minutes.
   
5. Add green parts of sliced bok choy, sugar and vinegar. Stir few times and it’s done! Take taste test, if you like more zing then add more vinegar
   

We drove to a hill to see the Super Moon last Sunday…wondered what it is like to see the moon form the airplane.

Still we had quite good spot to observed beautiful blood moon.

Goodnight Moon…

Sweet Sesame Dumpling

Japanese Summer treat ごまみつ団子

There were 43 (as of Saturday) wildfires in Oregon and Washington causing the haze in the vicinity of Portland last weekend. We were saddened by the news of firefighters’ death and at the same time we appreciate their courageous efforts...sincere condolences to the families.

Instead of the usual sweet azuki bean paste in the center, this unique dumpling uses black sesame paste and to me has just the right amount of sweetness. I‘m sure many of you have heard about its beneficial components (check here). I stock this in my pantry and on some mornings I spread it on toast with a little bit of honey…I know I have been blessed so much.

Ingredients and Instruction for 12 dumplings (Print Recipe Here) The recipe credit goes to Japanese food researcher and cookbook author Maki Watanabe

For filling -

• 1/4 cup black sesame paste
• 4 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered agar-agar powder

For dough -

• 150g (1 bag) shratamako (白玉粉/refined rice flour)
• 130 to140ml water

Ground black sesame seeds for garnish

1. Making filling - Put all the filling ingredients in a small pan, stirring continuously, cook at low heat until it almost starts to boil. Spread in container of approximately 6 inch by 5 inch. Smooth out with spatula. Freeze for 2-3 hours.
   
2. Making the dough - Put shiratamako in a medium size bowl, add water little by little while kneading the dough well to make a soft, moist dough, add little bit of water if the dough seems too stiff. Divide in 12 portions and form into balls. Note: shiratamako is lumpy and has big chunks so you need to crush the lumps as you knead it.
3. Shaping  dumplings - Boil plenty of water in a pot.Take out the frozen filling and cut in 12 pieces, set aside. Ready a moist paper towel nearby for wiping your fingers. Take one ball and flatten on your palm to about a 3 inch round. Put filling in the center of flattened dough and gather the dough and close tight at the top. Anytime your fingers get black with the filling, wipe with paper towel so that the dough won’t get messy…you definitely like to keep the dough neat and white! Do this step as quickly as possible so that filling won’t melt but if it starts melting put it back in the freezer
   
   
4. Cook the dumplings – Prepare the icy water in a large bowl. With slotted large spoon, gently place  3-4 dumplings in the boiling water. When the dumpling floats to the top of the water surface, cook for additional 2 minutes. Scoop up the dumplings with slotted spoon and put in the icy water until cool. Repeat the process with rest of dumplings. Sprinkle with ground black sesame seeds.and serve cold.
   Warning! dumpling get hard after a while especially If you keep in the refrigerator. Microwave for 15-20 seconds….then of course it is no longer a cold treat!

 

Blame it on the unusual Summer weather (?), something caused our Asian pears to drop on the ground it seems like all at once. My husband was able to save some..

The shiso/perilla leaves are dwindling…a sure sign of the end of Summer right?…I made juice (concentrated) for #todaystapas instagram post. Refreshing!

I gave in to my ramen craving the other day…

This is a healthier version of the ice cream sandwich recipe on the back of Honey Graham Cracker box.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Spicy Clam Noodle Soup

あさりのビーフン辛汁

Canadian Clams are on sale at the Japanese/Asian market….$3.99 per pound, $2 less…hmmm….what can I do with it?…this unexpected surprise  is like a curve ball…I’d love to hit it…it doesn’t have to be a home run but something pleasing….

It is quite hot outside, I must take them home safely, so I asked the clerk to pack the clams in  (free) ice…they are always nice about that (did you get it? I made a rhyme, ice, nice…no more rhymes now, I mean it! Anybody want a peanut?…with my love of The Princess Bride, those lines pop up in  my head in an instant). At the produce aisle, I grabbed an inexpensive a bundle of green onions to start working the game plan.

OK actually, I am remembering  the recipe in an old magazine… I think I have a budget friendly, low-calorie, gluten free… winning chance! I mean recipe.

Ingredients and Instruction for 2-4 people (Print Recipe Here)

• 1 pound (about) of clams, thoroughly cleaned with a stiff brush under running water. Note: I highly recommend soaking the clams in salted water for at least 1 hours to let them spit out sand. Check here for the method.
• 1 package of rice noodle
• Ginger root, about the size of an adult thumb, peeled and thinly julienned.
• 3 Tablespoons sake
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 stalks of green onion, cut 1/2 inch of root end and small round cut
• La-yu oil – depending on your preference, I used 5 drops.

1. With plenty of hot water, soak the rice noodle to reconstitute; about 5-7 minutes.
2. While soaking the noodles, boil 6 cups of water in a large pot. Add sake, ginger and cleaned clams. Reduce heat to low and cook until the clams open-up (discard any that do not open).. Scoop and remove the white scum that floats to the top.
   
3. Add soy sauce, salt, pepper.
4. Strain the rice noodle through a colander, shake to remove excess water. Add the noodle to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Do the taste test, add more seasoning to adjust if needed. Note: cut noodle in half or thirds with kitchen scissor for easier consumption…I used pre-cut noodle.
5. Serve noodles in individual bowls, sprinkle sesame oil, la-yu oil then top with green onion . Serve hot or chilled (I like it cold). 

My husband’s colleague makes the best kimchee…it goes well with this dish…고맙습니다 ! (Thank you).

Peaches are in season. I had to make peach cobbler for my Today’s TAPAS post (#todaystapas). I happen to have a mini casserole dish. My husband made amazing kefir ice cream…a little sour, sorbet like texture…so good!…What?…this pic is not focused? (but) You (peach cobbler) are wonderful! Thank you, I’ve worked hard to become so… (again the lines from The Princess Bride).

I taught a pretty 20 year-old piano virtuoso, student at Rice University, French macaron making. In the photo below, Strawberry macarons with dark chocolate ganache filling were délicieux! 

Next lesson, Italian macaron?  Si?