Well, I guess I jumped the gun calling Brooke on in my last post (do you remember my last post? No? That's because it was so long ago). Now she has shown me. In an attempt to prevent her from changing the name of the blog to Brooke's Blog, No Court Allowed, I decided to go back and pull out some oldie but goodie photos and try and remember what they were of. Now I'm not just cursing Brooke for forcing my hand, but also myself for leaving this so long I won't be able to include the detail this should have. Oh me - I'm the worst! The above is from our hotel (The Westin) which ended up being very swanky. We got upgraded to VIPs thanks to our frequent use of airmiles for hotel booking and got a nice little cocktail hour every night. Don't mind if I do!
Naha,
the capital city, isn't huge, and it really only has one main strip that is filled with all the major shopping, We only went to the main strip one night for dinner. It was like being at a carnival with carnies trying to lure you over to their booth, only here it was to their restaurant or bar. We wanted to try one of these BBQ type places where you pick your meat and then it comes and you grill it and eat it yourself with your sides. Tricky since no one at the restaurant spoke English and none of their menus were in English. FYI, Japanese isn't one of those languages where you can just pull out your translation book and easily translate (unless you are maybe very good at seeing subtle differences between characters). We pointed at one in the category with a picture of a cow beside it, and one that was pig. The beef is shown, and really they don't over hype what fat marbling like this is like. It is amazing. We didn't even know how to cook it with the BBQ thing, but it just melted in my mouth.
Once we realized that the food in Okinawa was so different from what we were eating elsewhere, we decided to really go in a different direction one night. We were hungry, it was late, and there was a very busy tapas place just down the block from our hotel. It ended up being amazing. They had no real English menu, but one that someone had roughly translated and written out on a piece of paper. We ended up getting a chef's choice sampler plate (sadly, here is one of the gaps in my memory, I'm not sure what everything was), an octopus and pesto salad, and a four cheese pizza which was so good we went back and had one each night the rest of our stay - even when we had already eaten dinner. I think one of the cheeses was something like a haloumi or kefalatari since it held its shape even though it was cooked, and it had that great saltiness to it.
Okinawa
is a strange place. With the US troops having been there for so long, and with the distance from the rest of Japan, and the proximity to south east Asia, it ends up offering an unusual mix of foods. Here is what we had at the aquarium (P.S. If you go to Okinawa, definitely hit up the aquarium, it is unreal). I had a curry dog on a naan bun, and my husband had a local specialty - taco rice.
This dude made us dinner our last night on the island. This is a special kind of place there, and the guide book had a name for it. Too bad I don't even have the guide book anymore. It is a restaurant where various pig parts are all cooked up (look to the left and you will see where the parts are all cooking). Okinawa is known for pork. This dude also ran a hotel up above, and he spoke very good English and talked to us for pretty much the whole meal.
Okay, I realize this post is not my best work. I guess I should be better at posting when I say I am going to. Hopefully you will hear from me again before another month passes!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Eating in Okinawa
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
In my quest to improve my Japanese reading comprehension, I've started using Cookpad to search for new recipe ideas. One poster came particularly recommended, and this is my first try at one of her recipes (with minor changes - i.e. beef instead of pork and omitting the potatoes). I was impressed by how easy this was to make, as for some reason I always imagined sweet & sour would be difficult to make at home. This is particularly vinegar-y, which I like, but if you don't you may wish to reduce the vinegar in the sauce down to 2 tbsp.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs (serves 2):
200g ground beef
1 tsp sake
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp sesame oil
1 section lotus root (renkon), peeled, sliced & rinsed
splash of rice wine vinegar
Sauce
100ml chicken stock
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 1/5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Mix the beef, sake, and corn starch together and roll into small meatballs. Heat the sesame oil in a fry pan and roll the meatballs until cooked through. Meanwhile, in a pot with boiling water and a splash of vinegar, cook the lotus root slices for about 5 minutes.
Once the meatballs are cooked, use the pan to make the sauce. Before adding the cornstarch to the mixture ensure you have made a paste with the starch and a little liquid, just to ensure there are no lumps. Reduce until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the meatballs and lotus root and stir until they are heated up, serve with brown rice.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Chikuzen-ni
Winter is nearly over but I am still kind of in winter-mode and craving simmered dishes like stews or this one. Without the stick-to-your-bones gravy of most stews though, this is a pretty light dish that is heavy on vegetables and uses the konnyaku (almost calorie-less) to fill you up.
Chikuzen-ni (serves 4-5):
450g chicken thighs, diced in 2cm cubes
4-6 shiitake mushrooms
2 carrots, cut into rolling wedges
1 burdock root (gobo - pictured), cut into rolling wedges
1 cake konnyaku, sliced and twisted
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup dashi
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp soy sauce
60g snow peas or green beans, parboiled
Heat 
the oil over high heat and add the chicken, konnyaku, mushrooms, carrot, and burdock. Cook for about 3 minutes, ensuring everything has a light coating of oil and is partially cooked. Next add the dashi and bring to a boil, then add the sugar and soy sauce. Cover with a drop lid (or a vent-lid like pictured) and simmer until reduced by about 1/3. Add in the cooked snow peas just prior to serving.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Almost Pocky
I thought it would be a cute idea post-Japan to give home-made Pocky out as a Christmas treat, so this weekend I roped Court into helping me out. As she said, our efforts were "not quite Not Quite Nigella" (whose recipe & instructions I pinched). The dough was not the easiest to make without a stand mixer but I managed, and the results are remarkably close to the real thing. It also made for a fun afternoon of decorating, even if our artistic skills are approximately Grade 4 level (and I'm being generous here). For toppings, we had dark, milk, and white chocolate, and some green tea chocolate made by mixing matcha into white chocolate. Everything else was whatever I could find in the pantry: - dark chocolate shavings - yellow & pink decorating sugars - cashews - dried cranberries - ground almonds - candied ginger - kinako powder - sea salt - pepper - chili powder
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sobagetti
I found this in one of my Japanese cookbooks when I was looking for something quick that didn't require leaving the house for any ingredients. I always have bacon on hand (frozen in sets of 4 strips), and found some chopped spinach in my freezer from last summer's harvest. Soba is high in essential amino acids and antioxidents, as well as being one of my favourite kind of noodles. It has a nice bite to it and is takes less than half the time to cook that regular pasta takes. This was a little bit western and a little eastern, but mostly just delicious.
Soba with Bacon & Spinach (for 1):
100g soba noodles
2 tbsp olive oil
3 pieces bacon, cut in 1/2 cm strips
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
50g chopped spinach
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt & pepper
In a fry pan with olive oil, cook the bacon until crispy. Add the garlic and cook another couple of minutes before adding the spinach. Flavour with soy sauce, salt & pepper. While you are doing this cook the soba noodles in boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain and toss with the spinach/bacon mixture.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sweet & Spicy Roast Kabocha
This makes a yummy alternative to roast potatoes or sweet potatoes, with the added benefit that it takes less time to cook and you can eat the peel. Most squash is a pain to peel, and one of the reasons I love kabocha is not having to deal with that. It's also high in beta carotene and iron. Of course, since I've added a bunch of sugar to it I'm not sure how healthy the final product is.
Sweet & Spicy Kabocha Squash:
1 kabocha, deseeded and sliced
grapeseed oil, or other flavourless oil
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp szechuan pepper
sprinkle of soy sauce or salt
Preheat oven to 375F/190C and line a baking tray with a silicone sheet or parchment paper. In a bowl drizzle just enough oil to lightly coat the squash slices (or use spray oil). Put the sugar, coriander, cumin, and pepper in a plastic bag and shake to mix. Drop the kabocha slices into the bag a handful at a time and shake to coat in the mixture. Lay the slices on the baking tray and sprinkle a little soy sauce or salt on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the slices over and bake another 10 minutes.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Renkon Chips
I actually cook with lotus root (or renkon) quite often, mostly because it makes such a pretty addition to my bento lunches. Luckily, it turns out it's also quite good for you. It has a delicate flavour and a lovely crunchy texture (even when not deep fried).
1 section renkon
vegetable oil for frying
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp shichimi togarashi or szechuan pepper
Peel the vegetable, then slice thinly. I used a mandoline for this as I wanted paper-thin slices for the chips. Drop them in a bowl of water with a generous splash of vinegar to keep them white, as they start to discolour quite quickly. Once cut, briefly dry on paper towel and drop them into a plastic bag with the flour and spice, then shake around to coat.
Drop into the heated oil in batches, pulling out when lightly browned. This only took a couple of minutes as my slices were so thin.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Marc's Creamy Salmon Miso Soup
I have been dreaming of this since I saw it 9 months ago on No Recipes. Mine doesn't have the lovely glistening fat that Marc's does, since it is so difficult to find salmon belly in land-locked Edmonton (and I didn't bother making the trek to any specialty shops to check for it). Still, it was ridiculously good and 
incredibly simple to make. I luckily had most of the ingredients on hand so only had to pick up soy milk and parsnips. And what was even better is that I got all the leftovers to myself!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Pork Dumplings
Although I have not yet had any cravings that seem to be consistent (other than for Glosette peanuts), like many pregnant ladies, I am very susceptible to food suggestions at the moment. Especially early on (before the sad nauseous bit), I craved meat like a mad woman. I decided I needed a meat based snack that I could nibble on when the cravings struck, and as I often do, I roped Brooke into coming over and helping me invent something. I had dumplings on the brain, and so we looked at a variety of recipes, and then put the computer down and forged ahead with a recipe of our own making based on what was around the house.
Pork Dumpling Filling:
one small tenderloin pork (these are surprisingly inexpensive right now thanks to the swine flu scare, even though you don't get swine flu from eating pork - take advantage of the deal and stock your freezer!)
8 large shrimp peeled and uncooked
1/2 cup green onions
1 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp mirin
Wrap using wonton wrappers
We didn't bother with much chopping, and instead just tossed everything in the Kitchenaid food processor and whirred it around until it had an even consistency. It is very strange to do this with uncooked meat.
We took the meat mixture and sat in front of the TV watching mindless chick shows on Slice, as we dropped a small spoon of meat into the middle of the wonton wrappers, and tried to fashion them into pretty looking envelopes. There were a lot of imperfect parcels, but by the end we had made almost 100 and were getting the hang of it. I popped most of them in the freezer, but to prepare them, we pan fried them in oil to brown the outside (2-3 minutes per side), and then steamed them after for about 8 minutes. This was enough to cook the meat through, and give them a nice texture, although a few of the wrappers tore a bit, making them not look as nice. They tasted fantastic though, and that is what matters most right? 
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Beef & Leek Udon Soup
This soup is so quick and easy to make that I seriously made it before work this morning. It's about 15 minutes from start to finish, and that's including boiling and chopping time. The only thing that needs to be made in advance is the kaeshi, but that can also be purchased at most asian grocery stores - I usually have it on hand all summer, as soba is one of my favourite quick summer meals. I am looking forward to a tasty and healthy lunch today!
Beef & Leek Udon Soup (serves 2):
200g dried udon noodles
1 tbsp vegetable oil
150g beef, sliced thinly
1 leek, thinly sliced diagonally
1 inch chopped fresh ginger
50 ml kaeshi
600 ml water
2 tbsp miso
pepper
Bring a pot of water to the boil then add the udon noodles and cook for 6 minutes. Empty the noodles into a sieve and run through cold water, then set aside. In the same pot, heat the oil and saute the beef and leek for a couple of minutes, then add the ginger, kaeshi, and water. Slowly mix in the miso, ensuring there are no lumps, then add the noodles and heat for another 2 minutes. Once the miso is in, make sure the soup does not come to a boil.
This makes 2 generous servings, and you can top with pepper to serve.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tofu & Wakame Miso Soup
Miso soup, I feel your loving... If you're confused, check this out. But I really do love miso soup, although I don't love paying the crazy prices they charge for it at Japanese restaurants. Once you start making it at home, you realize how cheap and easy it is to make - and there are endless variations on it.
Miso Soup:
1 cup dashi stock
wakame seaweed
soft tofu
1-2 tsp miso to taste
I normally draw the line at making my own stock, simply because I don't have the space to store it and there is only so much you can do from scratch. Since I have no problems with a little msg, dashi granules are fine with me. Also, bonito flakes are super expensive, so making dashi stock can be a little cost-prohibitive in Edmonton. For one cup of water, use 1/2 tsp dashi granules. Heat the stock to boiling over medium heat, and while this is heating toss in the wakame. Once it has come to the boil, remove from the heat and in a large spoon mix the miso with some of the hot stock to thin out the paste, then mix everything together. Add the tofu then return the pan to the heat until it is nearly boiling. Remove & serve immediately.
Alternately, instead of using dashi stock some miso has dashi already mixed in with it. If you check the ingredients on the back, it should say bonito or かつお.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Pork and Asparagus Stir Fry
I bought a giant bunch of asparagus when it was on sale, and now I feel like it's all I've been eating for the past week. In attempting to do something a bit different from what I normally have (either roasted or Norm's Jamies's version), I threw this together last night. If you wanted to do a spicy version of this, you could replace the sesame oil & sesame seeds with chili oil & crushed dried chilis. Or, presumably, it would be just as good with green beans or broccoli.
Pork & Asparagus Stir Fry (serves 4 as a side):
3 tbsp vegetable oil
450 g asparagus
200 g finely chopped pork
2 garlic cloves, squashed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
ground pepper
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
In a bowl, mix the pork, soy sauce, cornstarch, and pepper and let marinate while you prepare the asparagus (break off the woody ends and cut in 5cm/2" lengths). Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add the asparagus. Cook for around 3 minutes, until done but still firm. Remove the asparagus, add the remaining oil to the hot wok and then add the marinated pork and whole garlic cloves. Stir fry for 3 minutes until the pork browns, then fish out the garlic. Add the asparagus back to the wok, pour over the sake, sesame oil, and sesame seeds and stir to combine.
This also makes a great addition to a bento (I'm going to have a good lunch today!). The one pictured below has 1 serving of the stir fry, 2/3 cup rice, 2 hard boiled quail eggs (with sesame seeds & salt in a furikake shaker), and 2 small chocolate chip cookies.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Chahan - Easy Peasy Japanese-y
It seems like most of our posts recently have been about quick meals that use up leftovers. And nothing is changing today, because this does both. Basically, you can put anything you want into it as it seems to taste good regardless of the meat/vegetable combination you use. I have even used hot dogs, and it was still good.
Chahan (Japanese Fried Rice):
1 tbsp canola oil
1 carrot
3 green onions
60g chopped cooked pork
1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 cups cooked japanese rice
1 tbsp sake or mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 eggs
handful of chopped greens (today I used rocket, but usually it's spinach or chinese cabbage).
Heat the oil over medium heat. Add any ingredients that need to cook first - I put the carrot, green onions and pork in now, and because I had shredded the carrot instead of chopping it this only required 1-2 minutes of cooking time. Stir in the ginger then add the cooked rice. Break the eggs on top of the rice and quickly mix everything around so the rice grains are coated with the uncooked egg. Add the sake & soy sauce then the greens, and serve.
To serve it as I have above, line a bowl with cling film, put the cooked chahan in, and overturn onto a plate. You definitely want to move fast when making this; if you let the eggs overcook it tends to be a bit too dry. Remember, the heat from the rice will keep cooking the eggs while you're plating it.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sesame Tonkatsu - Breaded Pork Cutlet
I am trying to get out of my February rut... but I am still feeling pretty lazy about cooking lately. Most of the meals I make are of the quick and easy variety, but I suppose anything is better than making no effort at all. Hopefully the warmer weather (and better produce!) will bring back my inspiration.
With the sesame and pepper, this makes a nice change from a regular breaded pork chop. I normally use a mixture of black and white sesame seeds just to up the prettiness factor. Not so healthy, but super tasty!
Tonkatsu:
2 pieces boneless pork
1 egg, beaten
cayenne or sansho pepper
3/4 cup panko
3 tbsp sesame seeds
peanut oil
I normally use pork shoulder because it is well marbled, but pork chops would work fine too. In a bowl, beat the egg and add a bit of cayenne pepper for flavour. On a plate next to it, mix together the panko & sesame seeds. Dip the meat in the egg, then roll in the panko to coat fully. Heat the oil (if you don't have peanut you can use another flavourless oil - not olive) over medium heat, then add the meat and cook for around 4 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Simple Stir-fry
We all have those days. Those days when you feel like you have no energy to make a decent dinner, no ideas for something different, and no good left overs to toss in the microwave. I seem to have more of those days through Feb/March. I think it is just plain old fatigue that sets in. How can you get jazzed about cooking when you live somewhere like Edmonton where at this time of year fresh produce seems like a distant memory? Not only are there few fresh local ingredients to work with, but even going to the store seems like a huge endeavor, requiring car pre-heating, and then dashing through cold parking lots just to get in. It is times like this that people all catch colds and/or the flu, and times like this that I fall back on the basic stir-fry.
Stir-frys of all sorts were a staple when I was back in school. You can make noodles or rice once, and then use the left overs for days, and that leaves you with one pot a day for cooking something to put on top. The elements are always the same: a meat (sometimes that gets skipped), whatever veg happens to be in your crisper, and a sauce so that it is all pulled together somehow. Today I was lucky enough to have left over coconut rice, so I didn't even have to make that.
I started by chopping up a pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is such a great lean protein. It is still really inexpensive compared to other meats, and my favorite part is that one small tenderloin is perfect for a meal for two and leftovers. Next, I rummage around for the veg. I have some baby corn, broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper, and onions - not too bad really - stir-frys can be really great nutritionally, which helps with the above mentioned cold/flu problem. The key to a good stir-fry in my opinion is a hot pan. I sometimes use a wok, but other times just use a really large frying pan. Add a bit of oil, and toss the meat in until it starts to brown a bit. Once browned, add the veg one at a time, starting with the one that will require the most cooking. I allow enough time in between to allow the pan to get nice and hot again. At some point a whole pile of garlic and grated ginger go in as well. Finally, right at the end, I throw in the sauce. If the pan isn't hot, the sauce will stay watery instead of getting that nice stickiness that makes it like the take out you get.
Sauce:
Garlic and ginger to be added with veg (I used 6 garlic cloves and about a teaspoon of finely grated ginger)
1/4 chicken broth
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp corn starch
The last three ingredients should be mixed in advance so that the cornstarch is all dissolved, and not in little clumps that will otherwise turn into dumplings. The sauce is very flexible in being altered to your own personal taste, but these proportions will give everything a nice coating of flavor. I also like to throw some sesame seeds or cashews into the pan at the very end for a second.
Who could ask for a meal that is faster? It's a great fridge cleaning meal that incorporates a lot of veggies - the food group we probably skimp the most on through the winter.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Ochazuke
I've been knocked out by bronchitis for the past week and have completely lost my appetite. I have only been able to eat things with very mild flavours, so this is perfect. It is my ultimate comfort food when I'm not feeling well.
Ochazuke:
3/4 cup cooked rice
green tea
I've been eating it plain like this or with crumbled senbei (rice crackers) on top, but you can top this with many different things. Check it out here!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
These spring rolls make a fabulous lunch out of leftovers, and will really impress your co-workers. They only take about 15 minutes to make, but look like they take a lot longer. I made this with my leftovers from the Smoked Duck and it was super tasty, but really they can be made with any meat, or even tofu or just vegetables if you want to keep it simple. I served them with Thai Peanut Sauce (thinned out a bit with milk to make dipping easier).
Vietnamese Spring Rolls (4):
2 small bundles dried rice vermicelli
assortment of veggies and greens
(I used carrot, snow peas, & spinach)
green onion
4 round rice papers, 20cm/8" dia.
1/3 of a cooked duck breast, sliced
Bring water to the boil in a small saucepan, and lower the vermicelli into the water in a strainer. Cook according to package directions, or for around 10 seconds until al dente. Drain & run through with cold water to keep the noodles from sticking; it may make it easier to separate the noodles now into 4 piles. Arrange all of your fillings on a tray to prepare the rolls.
Separate and soak 2 rice papers at a time in a tray with room-temperature water for 1-2 minutes. Set a clean dish towel beside the tray, and when the papers are softened move them to the dish towel and blot them dry. Add the fillings to the papers, and roll as you would a burrito - that is, work about 1" from the edge of the paper, fold the bottom edge over the fillings and fold in the sides. The only tricky part here is getting the papers tight enough to keep the filling solidly together, but not so tight that the papers rip.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Thai Peanut Sauce
Inspired by Court's last post, here is a sauce adapted from Michael Smith's Chef at Home Easy Thai Dinner episode. The chile and lime give the peanut sauce extra depth of flavour, and it keeps in your fridge for several months so it's a great staple to have on hand.
Thai Peanut Sauce:
1 cup peanut butter
juice & zest of 1-2 limes
half of a minced & deseeded thai bird's eye chili
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
Put everything in the food processor and whizz together. Like this, you can jar it and keep it in the refrigerator. If you want to thin it out a bit when using it, just heat it up on a low heat and combine 2 parts sauce with 1 part milk or coconut milk. This gives a creamy sauce that makes a great dip for appetizers.
Bird's eye chiles are about 3-5cm long and very narrow and pointy. You can always find them at asian grocery stores, but the bigger chains often have them as well. If you can't find any, you can substitute a 1/2 tsp of dried chile flakes or hot sauce. I used natural peanut butter, so the sauce thicker, oilier, and less sweet than it would be if you use regular peanut butter. You may want to reduce the amount of sugar if the peanut butter you use is already sweetened.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Earl Grey Smoked Duck
I had been thinking about doing a tea-smoked duck breast for a few years now, and finally worked up the courage to try it. Once I got started, I realized it is a lot easier than it sounds. Most of my hesitation came from the fact that I had never tried smoked meat and therefore was not sure what it was supposed to taste like... although really, what does that matter as long as it tastes good to me? Also, there was the worry that I would smoke out the condo and trip the fire alarm (not an unfounded fear, as my fire alarm goes off at the drop of a hat). In truth, there were absolutely no problems with this; happily, the smoke stayed entirely contained in the steamer leaving me with a deliciously fragrant and tender - and perfectly cooked - duck breast which I served with my version of the 4th and Vine salad.
Earl Grey Smoked Duck Breast:
2 duck breasts
salt
4 tbsp earl grey tea leaves
4 tbsp long grain rice
4 tbsp brown sugar
star anise (optional)
Score the fat on the duck breasts and rub it with salt - this will help the fat get crispy later. I find the thickness of fat on a duck breast a bit much if it hasn't had a chance to get crispy. Next, line the bottom of a wok with 2 layers of tin foil. Mix together the tea leaves, rice, brown sugar, and star anise and add to the wok. This amount should do 1-2 breasts (or possibly 3); if you're making more, just increase each ingredient in the smoke mixture in an even ratio.
Place the duck in a bamboo steamer or on a trivet in the wok & tightly cover with foil. I put a layer of foil over the duck before covering it with the steamer lid to ensure it was almost air-tight. The foil at the bottom should also be tight around the base of the steamer.
Over medium to medium-low heat smoke the duck for 12 minutes - this basically just means turn the heat on; as soon as the wok heats up the dry mixture will start smoking. Next, remove the wok from the heat and let it sit 5 minutes still covered, then place the duck fat-side down in a fry pan over medium heat for 5 minutes to crisp up the fat. When that is done, remove the duck breasts and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. With the large salad I had, 1 breast was enough for 2 servings.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Chinese Cabbage & Bacon Soup
Because I like to try new things all the time, I often end up buying ingredients I don't normally use and am then stuck with no ideas on how to use up the leftovers - and I hate wasting food. This happened recently when I bought a chinese cabbage and found half of it sitting in my refrigerator for a week. I've really been on a soup kick this winter (probably because it's freeeezing), and this soup is particularly quick and easy to make. It is also delicious - but how could it not be when there is bacon involved?
Chinese Cabbage & Bacon Soup:
6 slices bacon, ~ 150g
1/2 chinese cabbage, sliced lengthways
2 cm ginger, peeled & grated
100 ml sake
300 ml water or dashi
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Take the cabbage and arrange the bacon in layers through the leaves, leavi
ng pats of ginger with each strip of bacon. Tie it together with string and place in a medium saucepan, then add the sake and water (the liquid will seem low, but it is fine). Bring to the boil over medium-low heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Next, add the soy sauce and rice vinegar and keep warm. Remove the cabbage and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Put the cabbage & bacon into serving bowls and pour the soup on top, then garnish with green onion or leek. I served this with rice so that it was filling enough for dinner.
