Tag: japanese cuisine
Yaki Udon with Chicken and Tofu
My daughter loves to eat yaki udon whenever we go to a Japanese restaurant, she absolutely loves it! I guess what is there not to love about a yummy, steaming bowl of noodles… especially udon noodles. I love how thick and delicious they are! Now that we have the Asian store nearby, I have been buying fresh noodles from there. I got a pack of fresh udon noodles from there. The key to delicious yaki udon are just a few ingredients- mirin, a sweet cooking wine and dashi granules. They give Japanese dishes that particular flavor we all taste in Japanese cuisine.. the rest of the steps and ingredients are easy…
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 large shallot, sliced
- 1 large chicken breast, sliced thin, sprinkled with salt
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup snow peas, sliced
- 1 pack firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 1 16 ounces pack of fresh Udon noodles, cooked according to package directions
- 2 green onions, sliced
Sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons dashi powder
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Mix the dashi powder, mirin, soy sauce, chicken broth and corn starch in a small bowl and keep aside.
Heat a wok like pan with the oil and add the shallots. Saute on high heat for a minute. Add the chicken breast and sauté on high heat till golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Take out of the pan leaving the shallots in there. Add the carrots and snow peas and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tofu and the cooked noodles. Saute for a minute and add the chicken back and the sauce. Bring to a boil and stir well and cook till chicken slices are cooked through. Taste for seasonings and garnish with green onions.
Miso Udon Noodles with Chicken and Scallops
We love anything with noodles in our house. So, when we visited a Japanese grocery store in Edgewater, NJ, we were thrilled to find fresh Udon noodles in the freezer. I was inspired by the yaki udon my daughter orders at our favorite Japanese restaurant. The key ingredient is to have white miso which is readily available at grocery stores. Try this dish- it is delicious!
- 1 pack udon noodles, cooked according to package instructions
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- ½ pound scallops, cleaned and sliced in half
- 2 to 3 chicken cutlets, sliced thin
- 2 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
- 1 10 oz pack Cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small bunch of bok choy, chopped, whites and greens separated
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Miso Sauce
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon low sodium tamari
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and keep aside.
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Mix the cornstarch into the chicken broth and keep aside.
Heat a wok like pan with the oil. Brown the scallops and chicken slices on high heat, in 2 to 3 batches and keep aside. Add the ginger and mushrooms to the pan and sauté on high heat until the vegetables are golden brown- about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the white parts of the bok choy and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the greens parts, noodles, scallops and chicken. Saute for a minute and add the miso sauce and chicken broth. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cook till the chicken strips are cooked through. Check for seasonings and garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.
Day Six- Buying A Aritsugu Knife in Kyoto
Day 6 was our second day in Kyoto. As I mentioned the night before, the chef at the hot stone restaurant told me about the most famous knife store in Kyoto (well he called it the most famous in Japan) was called Aritsugu and it was walking distance to our hotel room- what???
My initial plan was to visit the street in Tokyo that has all sorts of kitchen stuff including knives. I was thinking of going there once we get back to Tokyo- but once this new piece of information was passed on to me, it changed everything. I had to go- my husband kept asking me what the big deal was about Japanese knives. He reminded me about the high-end knife set I already enjoy in my kitchen. I told him that the Japanese are famous for their knife making skills and this store has been in business for 460 years- they must be doing something right.
We had our usual breakfast and ventured into the food market. I previously checked on the internet and looked at a map to find out where the store was- it was in the beginning of the market. We got there a little early but the store was open. I had read it is usually super busy and takes a while to get someone to help you. It was my lucky day- it had maybe, two or three customers none of whom were asking any questions. I looked around with huge eyes at the gleaming knives all over the walls. They ranged anywhere from $350 to $600! I certainly was not looking to spend that kind of money. I then turned around and saw some knives in a glass case labled santoku– which is my favorite kind of knife to use. It is a multipurpose knife for cutting vegetables, meat and fish. I love the one I have at home and thought of buying another one. These were more reasonably priced. All the knives have the name of the store engraved on the blade as well as the type of metal. The sales guy, who was extremely helpful told me they could also engrave my name in Japanese if I decide to buy.
After a bit of thinking (didn’t take long), I decided to buy the 8 inch knife. I told the salesguy and he took it to the person who was going to sharpen and engrave my knife. I was given proper care instructions for my gleaming knife. I wrote my name and the salesguy translanted it into Japanese for the engraving. Two minutes later I had my knife in a box wrapped in beautiful paper.
I was thrilled. I planted two big kisses on my husband’s cheeks and decided this is better than buying anything else in the whole world. I can’t wait to unpack this beauty and start using it in my kitchen.
Stay tuned for my closing thoughts on this wonderful trip to Tokyo….
Vegetable Udon Noodles served with Breaded Tofu
This is a great vegetarian meal with tons of flavor. After watching Food Inc, I am trying to incorporate more vegetables and different proteins (other than meat) into our diets. Besides being careful about where our chickens and beef are coming from, I am also very careful about buying local fruits and vegetables.
We all love tofu in our family but again- I have started looking for non-GMO soy products. I found this extra firm tofu at Whole Foods. I usually use tofu in a stir fry but this time I wanted to make something different. I decided to marinate tofu sticks and then use the same breading technique I use to make crunchy chicken fillets. The tofu sticks were delicious- crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside- really good.
I also found Udon noodles in Whole Foods- the best part is the noodles are made out of whole wheat. I chopped up some broccolini and used the shredded carrots I always have in the fridge and made a delicious noodle dish. It was a great looking dish and we all ate it up. My daughter loved both the noodles and the tofu.
Try this fabulous vegetarian dish and I bet your kids will love it…
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Bok Choy and Fresh Corn Fried Rice
I served this rice with the salmon marinated with miso. When my husband and I ate at Ming Tsai’s restaurant, my lobster dish had the most delicious fried rice I have ever tasted. As I enjoyed and devoured the rice, I realized it had butter in it. Now, of course I am health conscious and don’t want to use extra fat but I realized that if I saute the rice in a mixture of butter and olive oil, I can get great flavor as well.
So that is what I did with this rice dish. I had farm fresh corn and bok choy and decided to combine the two in the dish- the more the merrier. Actually the two went really well together. The sweet corn was great with the earthy taste of the bok choy. I sauteed everything together and cooked the rice in chicken broth.
I love making fried rice as a side dish. You can put anything you want in there, really- no rules.. It’s easy to make and all sorts of vegetables can be added to make it healthy.
I was happy to serve a really healthy protein with this fried rice full of vegetables- it was a great combination. My daughter didn’t eat the fish but loved the rice. There was no mention of the strange green vegetable floating around- that is another reason to make fried rice- kids will eat it with whatever you add to it.
Overall it was a successful dinner- no complaints.
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, olive oil and add the rice. Saute for a minute on medium heat or till the grains begin to look opaque. Add the chicken broth and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium once bubbles begin to show on the surface. Cover the saucepan once the broth has evaporated and cook on low for 15 minutes or till rice is cooked. Take out and let cool.
- 1 large head of bok choy, cleaned and the white and green parts separated and chopped.
- 2 ears of corn, husked and kernels taken out
- 3 inch piece of ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon white miso
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons tamari
Mix the white miso, honey and tamari together and keep aside.
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
In a wide wok-like pan, heat the olive oil and add the ginger. Saute for a minute and add the chopped white parts of the bok choy. Saute on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Next, add the green part and the fresh corn kernels. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked rice and the miso mixture. Saute the rice on high heat for 5-6 minutes. Check for seasonings.
Miso Marinated Salmon
I love miso flavored anything. I first had the alaskan butterfish marinated in white miso at Ming Tsai’s restaurant, Blue Ginger in Boston. It was so fabulous that I replicated it at home with great success. Alaskan butterfish or black cod is quite expensive and is definitely not for a regular weeknight meal. I wanted to use similar flavors and try it with another fish. Salmon came to mind since it is one of the healthiest fish to have and it is not as expensive.
I bought fresh Alaskan salmon at Whole Foods. I am a little leery about using the farm raised variety, especially since they add color to make the salmon pink- I really don’t like that idea at all. I would rather have salmon less often and pay more for the wild variety.
I bought a big piece and and marinated it with white miso, tamari and a little mirin. The flavors are wonderful together and compliment the fish really well. I also made a fried rice with the fish – I had fresh corn and bok choy in the fridge and decided to combine the two in the rice (recipe to follow on Monday).
It was great healthy meal. My daughter does not like salmon- at all. So, I had her try a bite (she hated it) and then gave her the fried rice and made a chicken sausage for her on the side. She is usually such a good eater that I didn’t have a problem with her not enjoying the fish. It is probably the only fish she doesn’t like. All in all it was a successful meal.
- 4 salmon fillets (6 oz each, about an inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon butter
Mix the miso, tamari, sugar, honey and mirin together and marinate the salmon for 2-3 hours.
Arrange fish in a shallow dish lined with aluminum foil. Spoon the left over marinade evenly over the fish. Distribute the butter evenly over all the fillets.
Broil 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Serve with fried rice.
Miso Marinated Black Cod with Bok Choy Fried Rice
This is now my favorite fish- all time favorite!! My husband has been obsessed with it for many years- actually since he ate it at Blue Ginger- Ming Tsai’s restaurant in Boston. I recently found it at our local fish store. I was so excited to bring it home and cook with it. Wasn’t sure what I was going to do, so, I decided to look at the Ming Tsai’s recipe. Since it was quite complicated, I used it as my inspiration. I bought white miso paste- which I have discovered, is a great ingredient to use. It gives the dish a very mild and complex flavor. I marinated it in miso, mirin, ginger and sugar. Kept it in the fridge over night and then broiled it. It melts in your mouth- the most delicious, buttery flavored fish you will every have- guaranteed!
When we were at Blue Ginger recently, I ate their other signature dish- Lobster fried rice. It was very flavorful and delicious. The flavor that stuck in my mind was the butter in the jasmine rice- it came through really well, especially with the lobster. I wanted to replicate that for the bok choy fried rice I was going to make. I decided to saute the rice with a combination of oil and butter and then cook it in chicken broth. Once the rice was cooled off, I took the left over fish marinade and used it as the base flavor. I added the bok choy with salt and pepper. It is a very simple dish- but extremely flavorful. The fish marinade gives it a great earthy flavor. The buttery rice goes really well with the chopped bok choy. If you have never cooked with this vegetable- you must! It’s delicious- it reminds me of eating cabbage and broccoli rabe. The crunch is great and the flavor is mild and goes great in Asian dishes.
My husband was thrilled to eat this meal- reminded him of the Blue Ginger experience! Now, it is an expensive fish to buy but it is a lot cheaper than what you would pay at a restaurant. With the money you save, you can buy a great bottle of wine and make it a fantastic meal!