Cold Noodle with Meat Dipping Sauce

つけ冷麺

Summer is here! ‘School’s out’ I can almost hear the memorable Alice Cooper (my husband’s favorite song) singing…not so excited about summer break now that we don’t have school age children at home…on the other hand I’m glad that that stage of our life is gone too. Aging comes with some sadness and definitely relief.

The sadness comes from usual ‘should have, would have, could have blah blah  blah’ Regrets, I’ve had a few…But then again, too few to mention…I did it My Way (this is not on my list of top 10 favorite songs but perhaps in the top 100… perhaps). I got a little melancholy  because of Father’s Day last Sunday thinking about my late father and father-in-law…sob…I hope you had a fabulous Father’s Day!

Factoring in the rising temperature outside, the evening meal gets cool treatment too. The perfect summer dish recipe…I saw in a Japanese magazine…was it Today’s Cooking?… forgetful as you age?…oh no, oh no not me!…I did it my way.

Ingredients and Instruction for 2 servings (Print Recipe Here)

For dipping sauce -

• 1 teaspoon Chinese soup base (comes in granule or powder form) dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water and cooled.
• 5 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 6-10 shiso leaves chopped small 
• 1 stalk of green onion minced

Whisk Chinese soup base, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Add shiso leaves and green onion. Chill it in the refrigerator. Set aside.

For Seasoning sauce -

• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoon red miso paste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons tobanjan (豆板醤)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 cup water

Mix all of the above ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

For meat –

• Approximately 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced pork belly, cut in 1 inch strips.
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• Seasoning sauce (see recipe above)

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet at medium heat, add meat and sauté until it is a little crisp and nicely browned. I used paper towel to remove excess oil(optional).
   
2. Turn down the heat to low. Mix in seasoning sauce and continually sauté until liquid is mostly evaporated. If it’s too salty for you, add water and cook for few minutes. Set aside.

For noodle – 2 packages of instant ramen noodle, cook noodle in plenty of water, pour in 1/4 cup of water 2-3 times during cooking…this gives the noodles a nice chewy, firm texture. Cook slightly shorter than the package directions. Drain the water through colander, rinse the noodle well under cold running water. Shake off excess water, plate (cut noodle in 2-3 sections with kitchen shear for easy consumption if you like) I used green noodle( made with moroheiya  leaves) as well as regular instant noodle. Somen noodle or udon noodle is another good choice.

Assembly – divide dipping sauce into two individual bowls. Mound the meat in the middle. Dip the noodle in the sauce to eat!

 I love cherry pie!…Homemade by our neighbor…mmmm good!

On Father’s Day, I made my husband Frazier (French style strawberry short cake). It was good but there were so many steps to this recipe…I don’t know why I didn’t go the ice cream sundae route?

Today’s TAPAS, the Instagram post (#todaystapas) is on-going still. I think I’m getting better with filtering app on iPhone…plating leaves much to be desired though. The below picture is cheesy stuffed shiitake mushroom.

And someday, Tapas is not actually tapas…carrot smoothie for cleansing…phew…that’s a lot of beta carotene………………..that……………………I…

(ate it up and) spit it out…  I must say, excellent lyrics to the song ‘My Way’ don’t you agree?

Paris Brest

Chou à la crème

The circular chou or choux (pronounce shu) is way elegant and fancy, even the name. I spied this recipe on ‘cookpad.com (recipe#3179131)’. 
It is just (Lord of the) Ring…(just kidding)… style cream puff yet chic enough that it is presentable as a dessert for precious guests.

Strawberries in our yard are tired looking and probably won’t last too much longer…marrying the last crops of strawberries…with this ring (recipe)…I thee wed…phew, I had a very long day.

Martha Stewart version of ‘Paris Brest’ YouTube video is worth watching.

Ingredients and Instruction for two 6 inch Paris Brest (Print Recipe here)

Necessary equipment: food scale, 2-3 piping bags with 1/2 inch round tip and star tip, sifter/fine mesh sieve, parchment paper

• For microwave whole egg custard cream – 1 egg, 1 Tablespoon low viscosity flour, 50 g sugar, 200 cc milk, 20 g, butter,  1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 50 g regular butter, if you using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt cut in cubes
• 140 cc water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 40 g bread flour, combine with low viscosity flour below and sift
• 40 g viscosity flour
• 3 eggs
• Chantilly cream – recipe here
• strawberries (optional)
• powdered sugar

1. Make microwave whole egg custard cream -  combine egg, flour, sugar with whisk in a medium size bowl. Add milk and mix well, strain the mixture through sieve into larger bowl. Put in a microwave for 2 minutes 30 seconds with 60% power, whisk and put back in the microwave for 2 minutes with 60% power. If it’s still runny then microwave an additional 30 seconds until creamy but not too thick. Cover with plastic directly on the custard. Chill in refrigerator. Set aside.
   
2. Chou batter – Draw two 4 inch circles on the parchment paper (I traced 4 inch bowl) and flip. Set aside. Heat oven to 400F.
3. Put butter, water, sugar and flour in a thick bottom pan and cook to full boil at medium heat . Remove from heat then add flours at once. Bring back to cooktop.
    
4. Cook batter at medium heat while continually stirring with wooden spoon until a thin film coats the bottom of pan about 1 minute. Remove from heat and wait mixture to cool down little bit 3-5 minutes.
5. Add egg one at a time, mix well each time – stop adding eggs when you achieve the right texture – when you lift the wooden spatula, the batter will form a triangle and drop slowly to bowl (see the pic). I used 2 and 1/2 eggs.
   
6. Put batter in a bag (I recommend 16 inch or larger piping bag for easier fill). Pipe out batter on the perimeter of the circle (make sure the circles you drew are on the back side of the parchment paper). Then pipe out another time around that one. Pipe out more batter on top of two circles. Repeat the process for another circle. Make smooth with wetted finger for neater look. Brush with egg wash (mix I egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon water) on the top for shine if you like.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. :Warning: never open the oven door! at any point during cooking. Without opening door, change the temperature to 375F .Bake for 10 minutes. Again without opening the oven door, change temperature to 320F. Bake for 30 minutes. Now you’re done! Take out from the oven and cool.
8. Assembly – When the Paris Blest is cooled, slice horizontally in the middle – take your time on this process. Fill the bottom half of the ring with chilled custard cream (use piping bag with 1/2 inch tip if you prefer but not necessary). Place strawberries if using. Put Chantilly cream in a piping bag with star tip, pipe out between the strawberries. Top with upper half of the ring. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Of course you could just make humble cream puffs.

From Today’s TAPAS instagram post (#todaystapas)….satsuma sweet potato kinpira….was really good! See the Meiji Era, hand painted antique plate? Nice huh?

And to celebrate King Kamehameha Day (6/11), I made SPAM musubi.I love it with basil leaf.

Wishing you a ‘sunshine in your heart’ kind of day!

Pork Bowl

もこみちの豚丼/Pork Bowl by Mokomichi

This dish is perhaps not for everyone…especially those who don’t care for slimy textured (Japanese word for slimy is never, never…I mean neva,neva)food, like fermented soy beans AKA natto (納豆). Do not be afraid, it does not contain natto and doesn’t smell as offensive as that. And quite…what should I say, unique?…different!

Mokomichi Hayami (速水もこみち), the Japanese actor, appears weekly on a short cooking segment of a popular morning news show called Zip! His second cookbook ‘Moko  Meshi’ (roughly translated, Moko Dish) has a cheesy subtitle ‘ Cooking that makes you smile’ …right. He is so beautiful I’m sure it will be delicious, if I eat with you …oops, that is the title of his first cookbook.

I star marked* ingredients as the culprit of sliminess for warning.

Ingredients and modified Instruction for 2 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 5-6 inch cucumber, small or no seed variety preferred. I used English cucumber, minced
• 2 myogas (Japanese ginger, see pic below), you may substitute with ginger, minced
• 1/2 pack of white radish sprout (カイワレ大根), remove roots and mince the rest
• 3-4 okra, remove top and mince the rest *
• 2 Tablespoons white dashi stock, I used bottled dashi stock because I needed so little. For a homemade recipe check my past blog here (step#1,#2) and keep the rest in refrigerator for later use. Also there are many YouTube videos to learn from. Search ‘How to make dashi’
• 1/2 pound thin pork belly meat, cut in about 5 inch strips
• Salt and pepper to season the meat. I used white pepper.
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 cup Chinese yam, 長芋 remove skin and grated *
• egg yolk
• Seaweed strips (刻みのり)
• Cooked rice

1. Mix cucumber, myoga, radish sprout and okra in a medium bowl. Add white dashi stock. Set aside.
2. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides. Heat sesame oil in large skillet on medium heat. Brown meat well till near crisp. Note: I think this pork belly is too thin.
3. Put cooked rice in an individual rice bowl. Top with some cucumber mix then grated Chinese yam, meat, egg yolk, finally seaweeds. Serve with soy sauce (or tamari sauce), hot sauce or La-Yu on the side.

With the temperature in low 90’s, I have to get relief from the heat. This healthy popsicle recipe uses fresh strawberry and kiwi, the sweetness comes from agave syrup instead of sugar. I posted this photo on Instagram (#todaystapas).The recipe is from cookpad.com.

My husband and I enjoyed Lake Oswego Saturday Market…last Saturday. Quickly blanched (and chilled) Sea Beans and breakfast radish we bought there, to make salad with sesame oil and soy sauce dressing…simple yet effective wafu salad, 

Microsoft and Google fixed my blogging tool finally!…I’m so happy, I want to do a happy dance…yeah! Let’s!

 

 

Angel Hair Pasta Salad

Quick Main Pasta Dish for warmer weather

Hello Microsoft and Google people, please fix the ‘Live Writer’ program fast! Unable to post my blog since last week,  ‘Copy and Paste’ approach is not so cool! I thought the smart people who work there can all straighten up the problem in the matter of couple hours but….really?

The temperature was pushing upper-80’s last weekend, we turn on the air-conditioning rather than endure…The month of May’s hasty departure, I wasn’t ready for…a basket full of clean clothing ready to be folded…three days ago…in my defense, visiting sick friends take priority. I hope they like this weather appropriate light meal…even though it doesn’t look pretty in a plastic container.

Ingredients and Instruction for 3-4 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, white balsamic preferred if you have it.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 peppers, I used yellow, thinly sliced…to bring bright color in!
• 10 or more basil leaves thinly sliced
• 4 slices of thick cut bacon roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
• Angel hair pasta, about 3 oz. per person
• Parmigiano reggiano cheese thinly shaved

1. Make dressing - In a medium bowl vigorously whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
   
2. Add tomato, pepper, basil (leave a little bit for garnish) and toss to coat. Chill it in the refrigerator until needed.
   
3. Cook pasta my way - Lay the pasta (break in half if the pasta is too long) in large skillet and barely cover with cold water. Cook the pasta on medium heat, stirring occasionally so that pasta won’t stick together until al dente. Drain water through colander.Set aside.
4. Heat the same pan on medium heat; sauté bacon until it renders the fat and begins to brown, add garlic and cook for a few minutes longer. Note: do not brown garlic. Turn off the heat.
   
5. Bring the drained pasta back in the pan and combine with bacon and garlic.
   .
6. Divide pasta in 4 bowls. Top with chilled vegetables. Don’t forget to spoon over the dressing. Garnish with shaved cheese and basil. Salt and pepper to adjust flavor.
   

Arrangement #1: Add red pepper flakes (about 1/4 teaspoon) in the dressing for accent.

Arrangement #2 If you like lot more green then use salad green mix that comes in a bag.

From the TAPAS (#todaystapas) – Incredibly soft, light yogurt bread dough recipe from a Australian blogger Bake for Happy Kids…my husband made into cinnamon rolls…Fabulous! He took some to his office and got nice reviews…he will make more for the other critics/ foodies.

More of garden jewel – dangling earing like Gumi tree

Although the temperature dropped 20 degrees yesterday, still no complaints here. My sincere prayers are with those affected by terrible weather…