Japanese Pan-fried Chicken
Why is it that the picture in cookbooks always always look so much more attractive then the real thing that you cook in your kitchen? Hubby says it is all in the touching up of the pictures. Well, sometimes, I wonder.
The picture of the Japanese Pan-fried Chicken look so good and crispy that I just had to try and make it. Yep, this is another recipe in "The Quick and Easy Japanese Cookbook" by Katsuyo Kobayashi. This time I will be using sake that we had just bought. The ingredients list the items I used and if you would like to know the original then you should just check out the cookbook.
Hmmm ....
Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken thighs
2 tbsp sake + 1 1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
broccoli
carrot
1. For the sauce, combine sake, sugar and soy sauce. Set aside.
2. Heat up the pan. Place the chicken skin-side down and fry over medium-high heat til crisp and golden brown. Turn the other side and do the same.
3. Add broccoli and carrots.
4. When meat is just cooked, add sauce. Turn chicken and vegetables repeatedly to develop the flavour.
5. When the sauce thickens, remove chicken and cut into bite-size pieces.
* The broccoli and carrots were my addition. Katsuyo Kobayashi's recipe had fresh shiitake mushrooms and shishito green peppers (or small bell peppers). She also listed optional seasonings which are Japanese sansho pepper and shichimi togarashi red pepper or chili flakes.
Mixed Rice with Shrimp and Vegetables
This is second recipe I am trying out from "The Quick and Easy Japanese Cookbook" by Katsuyo Kobayashi. This dish is also the first recipe in the book. I don't have any sake so according to the an internet page, I can use shaoxing wine instead. Hmmm ... wonder if that will work.
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked rice (will last two meals for two of us)
2 2/3 cups water (I didn't really follow this measurement rather just added my own estimation)
1 small carrot - julienned (I love carrots so I added more)
1 section (7oz/200g) renkon lotus root or boiled bamboo shoot (I saw the lotus root being sold in TNT and they were broken up in sections and surprisingly the section I bought weighed exactly that amount) - sliced thinly
8 to 10 large shrimp (I added about 14 of the shrimps of the 51/60 size ... whatever that is)
1 tbsp rice vinegar + 4 tbsp rice vinegar
8 to 10 dried shiitake mushrooms (I don't know about dried shiitake mushrooms, I just used whatever dried mushrooms I had and they were big so I used only 6)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp salt
There were other stuff like the 4 inch strip dried konbu kelp which was optional and the 2 to 3 stalks mitsuba trefoil or italian parsley which I didn't have on hand. I didn't use these two but I did add in spring onions.
The instructions below were what I did since I didn't follow her instructions to the 'T'. If you would like to know the exact instructions, please refer to the book.
1. Wash rice and drain.
2. Julienne the carrot.
3. Cook the shrimp in a small pan of boiling water til they turn colour. Add 1 tbsp vinegar in the pan for flavouring, stir briefly and remove from heat.
4. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water til they soften. Drain, cut of the stems and reserve the mushroom water. 5. Squeeze the mushrooms to let out any excess water and saute both sides in sesame oil.
6. Add soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar and mushroom water to the mushrooms and simmer over medium heat. The mushroom water was just enough to cover the mushrooms. When most of the water have evaporated, cool and cut mushrooms in thin strips. Mmmm ... they were delicious ... just couldn't stop myself from having a piece. (Hubby says: "PIECES you mean! That means more than one piece!!!")
Ingredients all prepared ....
7. Mix sake, salt, 4 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tbsp sugar. Add the mixture and water to rice in rice cooker or cooking pot. Stir briefly. Arrange the carrots, lotus root evenly over the rice then the shrimp.
8. Cook rice. Allow it to steam for about 10 minutes after it is cooked.
9. Mix the rice gently to spread the ingredients out evenly and serve with mushroom strips and spring onions.
Hubby's portion
What did taste like? Well, a bit vinegar-ry but it was different. I loved the mushrooms and the lotus root was nice and crisp. Would I try it again? Yes but the next time I am going to use sake instead of shaoxing wine.
Anderson’s Home-made Unagi Sushi Rolls… yummm :P
Yummy broiled eel and avocado encased in rice and seaweed.
Unagi is basically "broiled fresh water eel". I had prepared this delicacy on August 7, 2009. Yes, I am a big fan of Japanese food. Well I am a big fan of seafood in general, and an even bigger fan of anything roasted, broiled, fried, or barbequed! Yum! Anyway, the following is a quick list of ingredients used:
1 cup Sushi Rice (Kokuho Rose)
2 cups of water
2 Tbsp of Seasoned Rice Vinegar (Mitsukan)
6 sheets of roasted seaweed (Takaokaya Yakinori Tokusen)
1 Avocado
Broiled Fresh Water Eel
The Takaokaya roasted seaweed comes in an affordable pack of 50 sheets. I had bought it at T&T Supermarket in Metrotown awhile back.
