Yakisoba

Here I am with another exciting recipe. My eldest son is very much into Japanese cuisine. Everytime we're out, he'd always choose Japanese food or any restaurant where he can use chopsticks. The other day, he was watching some cooking demos on YouTube, particularly how to cook Yakisoba. We watched the video together and he asked me if we can cook it. So the following day, I went to a nearby grocery store and bought ingredients. Please take note that whatever ingredient is seen on this post, are mostly the very same stuff used in the Japanese cooking demo (link below), except for the sauce which I made myself. I also added carrots and bell pepper.

Yakisoba is a variant of fried noodles in Japan. Yakisoba noodles are made from wheat flour fried in chunks of pork, shredded cabbage, carrots and mixed in tonkatsu/ oyster- like sauce, topped with fish flakes and paired with pickled ginger.

For my recipe, I used egg noodles, some suggests angel hair pasta.

Yield: 3-4
Ingredients

Main:

• 400g egg noodles (boiled, drained)
• 3 chicken breasts ( sliced into chunks or thin pieces)
• 4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 medium carrot ( sliced thinly)
• 1/4 of whole cabbage (chopped)
• 1 small green bell pepper (sliced thinly)
• 2 scallion stalks (sliced thinly)
• 4-5 pcs. Shiitake mushrooms (sliced thinly)
• 3 tbsp sesame oil 
• a dash of salt 
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 
• chili (optional)
• pickled ginger (Benishoga)
• Aonori (dried seaweeds)

  Sauce: 

• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1 tbsp  Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Kikoman soy sauce
• 1 tsp chopped ginger

Tip: Mix Worcestershire sauce and catsup, you'll have Tonkatsu sauce.

Procedure:

If you noticed, I have ginger. Ginger is a good flavoring agent. I often mix ginger in Kikoman soy sauce to get a "certain" Japanese flavor. I also prefer using sesame oil because it gives a distinct Asian flavor.

Sauce:

• In a small sauce pan, heat 1 tsp sesame oil and saute ginger in low heat for about 10 seconds.
• Mix catsup, Worcestershire sauce, Kikoman soy sauce in a small bowl and add it with the ginger.
•  Let it simmer in low heat for a few seconds.
• Set aside.

Main:

• Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil and pan fry chicken until cooked. Set aside.
• In the very same pan, heat another 1 tbsp of sesame oil and saute garlic until light brown. 
• Add chicken and stir fry for a few seconds.
• Add shiitake mushrooms, carrots and bell pepper and stir fry until vegetables are half- cooked.
• Add cabbage and half of the scallions and stir everything until well- combined.
• Add the cooked egg noodles.
• Add prepared sauce and mix everything together.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve in a platter, garnish the remaining scallions.

I didn't have pickled ginger (Benishoga) and Aonori (dried seaweeds) but in every Yakisoba dish, they're essential in adding flavor and texture.

One of the things I learned in this recipe is how to cook using chopsticks. Though I'm not sure if I'm using the right kind, but over- all, it made me aware that I can cook noodles better with chopsticks. It doesn't stick. 

Next is a realization, that I need to seriously go to a Japanese grocery and buy Benishoga,  Aonori and other essential Japanese condiments and--- that we have a Japanese grocery nearby--- and I didn't even know. Hehehe!

Yakisoba on YouTube

Home Cooked Beef Sukiyaki

Beef Sukiyaki, Beef Gyudon they're almost the same. It's the sauce that makes these two dishes different from each other.

The key ingredient to a delicious Beef Sukiyaki meal is the Sukiyaki Sauce. Sukiyaki Sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sake, mirin and broth.

Beef Sukiyaki is a one-pot , hot pot dish, which is compose of slices of beef, cuts of tofu, Shiitake mushrooms, any leafy vegetables, scallions, traditionally served with wheat noodles and Sukiyaki sauce. In restaurants, they have an iron pot waiting at the center of your table. Then, slowly cook the beef together with the rest of the ingredients. The ingredients are dipped in beaten eggs before being eaten. Others, mix the Sukiyaki sauce with beaten eggs. Some, like the ingredients simmered in Sukiyaki Sauce before they dip it in egg.

My Beef Sukiyaki was served like any rice bowl. A bowl of white rice was prepared, then I topped it with the ingredients (as seen in the picture above), then I poured a cup of beef broth and Sukiyaki Sauce mixture.

Planning to add Beef Sukiyaki in your home-cooked list? Here are the ingredients:

Servings: 2-3
Ingredients:

• Cooked white rice or noodles
• 2 tbsp Sesame oil
• 1/2 kg beef cubes or beef strips
• 100g tofu sliced
• 100g mung bean sprouts
• 100g asparagus (chopped)
• 40g Shiitake Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 white onion (chopped)
• 2 stems of Scallions (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Sukiyaki Sauce: 

• 6 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 5 tbsp mirin
• 5 tbsp sake
• 4tbsp sugar

 How To:

•  Prepare a cup of rice in a bowl.

*Since I don't have an iron pot for my table. Beef is already boiled to perfection, then, I stir-fried each ingredient in Sesame oil using a shallow non-stick pan.

• Top the rice bowl with each ingredient.
• In a saucer mix 1 cup of "hot" beef broth and 1/2cup Sukiyaki Sauce. Pour over the prepared rice bowl.

ENJOY!

Crispy Shrimp Tempura

It's a Thursday which means weekend is just around the corner, and my younger sister paid us a visit today. And when sisters get together, the kitchen is expected to get busy.  I have some Tiger Prawns waiting,  aside from having a good conversation, a tempura dish would be wonderful.

To start: Tempura is a Japanese dish that is dip in batter then deep-fried. It goes with seafood or vegetables. The Tempura batter is compose of cold water, all-purpose flour, eggs, baking soda, oil, and seasonings like salt and pepper.

*Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches using chopsticks to obtain its fluffyness.

*Please take note when making tempura, prawns should be peeled, deveined and washed well.

Aside from the usual flour and egg batter, I coated each with Japanese- style bread crumbs to make it crispy. Then deep-fried until golden brown.

Tentsuyu sauce: is the traditional Tempura Sauce