Teriyaki Beef

This dish is super tasty yet incredibly simple and quick to make. For me it's especially great on a weekday when I usually get home from work at dinner time. In the morning before I leave for work, I would marinate the beef cubes in about half the marinade without the honey and leave it in the fridge. I find the beef tends to burn and caramelize a bit too easily while cooking if I marinate it with the honey from the start.

So I use equal amounts of soy, mirin and sake for the marinade (about 1 tablespoon each). For the teriyaki sauce, I use the other tablespoon of soy, mirin and sake mixed together with a tablespoon of honey. Also having a piece of good quality beef fillet with a decent amount of fat running through it makes all the difference. :)

Teriyaki Beef

• 250g beef fillet (diced into 2cm cubes)
• Cooking oil

For marinade & teriyaki sauce

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon honey (try to choose one that has a milder flavour) <-- add later for teriyaki sauce

Method:

1. Marinate the diced beef in light soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. Leave in the fridge overnight or through the day. Let the beef come back to room temperature before cooking.
2. Heat a large frying pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of cooking oil. When hot, add the beef and stir fry quickly to prevent the meat from burning and to cook the pieces evenly. When the beef is about 70 per cent cooked, dish out and set aside.
3. To make the teriyaki sauce, just add the honey to the reserved marinade of soy, mirin and sake back into the wok. Boil over medium-low heat until the sauce is glossy and thickens slightly. It should take on a caramelized taste but be careful not to let it burn.
4. Add the beef back to the wok and stir well to coat with the thickened sauce. Let the sauce caramelize a bit more with the beef then remove from the wok onto a serving plate.

Ponzu Sauce

This is the recipe for the Ponzu dipping sauce I used with the Beef Tataki. Ponzu is actually a good accompaniment to other meat or fish dishes and can also be used in salads as a vinaigrette.

Ponzu is a citrus flavored soy sauce that is simple yet adds another dimension to the item you have it with. It should be perfectly balanced in terms of saltiness and tanginess without overpowering the dish it is paired with. Ponzu can be used as an alternative for soy sauce when eating sashimi.

For best results, try to use fresh lemon and limes for the citrus juice. Grapefruits can be used as well.

Ponzu Sauce

Recipe adapted from In the kitchen with a southern sushi chef

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime and lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon each)
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon bonito granules (dissolved in 2 tablespoons of hot water)

Method:

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients together and cover and let sit in the fridge overnight. Let the ponzu come back to about room temperature before using.

Beef Tataki with Ponzu Sauce

Every fortnight, a few of my foodie colleagues and myself get together for dinner and try out a restaurant. We actually put a list together on google wave of about 18 different places that finishes with Tetsuya. It's with this group that we also try to do a monthly cookingfest at one of our places. The last time I went, I made the pork belly confit (yes.. that means I had the pork belly confit twice). The theme this time is small dishes that goes with sake. I thought I'll stick with a lighter dish this time round, so went with the beef tataki with ponzu sauce and some tsukune chicken meatballs.

The term tataki refers to meat (usually beef or fish) that has been marinated, seared, then chilled and thinly sliced to serve. This is something we always end up ordering at a Japanese restaurant. So was nice to learn how to make it at home.

Beef Tataki with Ponzu Sauce

Recipe adapted from In the kitchen with a southern sushi chef

• 300g high quality beef fillet (trimmed of fat)
• 1/2 cup Japanese light soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar

Garnish

• 1 stalk Spring onion (green & white part, finally sliced)
• 1 teaspoon fresh Ginger (peeled, grated through a microplane grater to remove the fibrous parts)
• 1 teaspoon fresh Daikon Radish (peeled, finely grated through a microplane grater).

Additional items required:

• Ice cubes
• Clingwrap

Method:

1. In a Pyrex or ceramic bowl, mix soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar. Place beef fillet in bowl and turn several times to coat all sides of beef in marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes, flipping the beef over after 10 minutes.
2. Remove beef from marinade and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Discard marinade.
3. Prepare a bowl large enough to completely submerge your beef with an ice bath. Fill it 1/2 way with some ice and set aside.
4. Heat a heavy-duty saucepan over high heat. Add just enough cooking oil, about 1 tablespoon, to keep beef from sticking to the pan.
5. Place beef in pan and quickly sear each side until lightly browned, about 15-20 seconds.
6. When all sides have been seared, remove from pan and wrap with some clingwrap before plunging the beef into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Wrapping the beef in the clingwrap before tossing it into the ice bath means that the meat wont come into contact with the water and therefore wont dilute the taste.
7. To serve, cut across the grain into the thinnest possible slices possible with a very sharp knife. Lightly tap each piece a few times with the blade of the knife to score, being careful not to cut all the way through.
8. Fan the slices, overlapping, on a platter and let stand for 10 minutes. Drizzle with the Ponzu sauce and serve. Garish with some finely sliced spring onions and some grated ginger and daikon radish on the side.

my tower of beef tataki.. :)

Notes:

• If you're not confident about getting really thin slices with the beef, about 45 minutes before you plan to serve, place the clingwrapped beef in the freezer (this will firm the beef and make it easier to cut even slices).

Miso Soup - Miso Shiru

I've finally got most of my backlogged posts published. Which considering the last two months was no easy feat. I never mentioned it before, but I was out of the country during the last two weeks of January and traveled back home to Perth to be with my extended family during Chinese New Year. Then I ended up scheduled to work every weekend since I was back in Sydney until now. I actually got most of my posts finished up last weekend, when I was working onsite. I had to wait for the other teams to finish before I had to do my part. That wait took 5 hours. Most data centers are like a large and very noisy walk-in refrigerator. This one was one of those. All I could think of while waiting (and typing up my posts), was that I wish I had a nice hot bowl of miso soup with me.

In that environment, I don't think there could be anything that could be as soul satisfying than sitting there with my hands cupped around a hot bowl of miso soup, sipping away, savouring each mouthful.

And you guessed it, as soon as my part was done, I got home, boiled some water, added some dashi granules, miso paste and some other ingredients found in my pantry and fridge and 10 mins later... ta-daaa.. Miso Soup...!

Miso is a great base for a seafood based soup too. Whenever I do have enough seafood bits and pieces on hand (and the spare time), I make a Fisherman's Soup with the off cuts of seafood (eg. Fish head, Mussels, salmon, prawn) with miso. But this time, it was just a simple miso soup with some Enoki mushrooms thrown in... And boy did it hit the spot. :)

Miso Soup - Miso Shiru

normally serves 2, or 1 in this case (if you want seconds)

• 1 teaspoon Dashi granules
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons White miso paste *
• 1/2 tablespoon Mirin
• 1 piece package Silken tofu (diced into cubes - 1 piece is about 75g)
• 1 tablespoon Wakame seaweed
• 70g Enoki Mushroom (washed, brown roots removed) - Optional

* you may need to adjust this depending on the type of miso used

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add in the dashi granules to the water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium, pour in the mirin and whisk in the miso paste.
3. Add in the Enoki mushrooms and seaweed.
4. Stir in the tofu cubes.
5. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Agedashi Tofu

After making the Steamed Tofu with Fish Paste & Black Bean Topping, I still had quite a bit of tofu leftover. In a standard box of 900g Silky Firm tofu, you get about 12 pieces. I still had 6 pieces remaining after yesterday night's dinner. I also still had a bit of fish paste left, but I'll leave that for later. Right now I just wanted a quick snack.

Tofu.. Snack ? Agedashi Tofu ?

Fried tofu with dashi stock ... humm.. yes pls.. :)

If your not looking for an over rubbery version of Agedashi Tofu, then Potato starch probably works best, better than cornflour actually. Also try to look for Silken Firm Tofu in the grocery store. The softer tofu types makes it a bit harder to handle during the coating and frying process. I actually had quite a bit of dashi stock still leftover, feel free to halve the dashi stock or just fry more tofu pieces. I prefer to retain some of the crispiness of the tofu pieces. To do this, just avoid pouring the stock over the tofu pieces and only pour enough so that it comes to about 1/2 way up the tofu pieces.

Agedashi Tofu

• 3 pieces of Silken Firm Tofu
• Potato starch (with a couple grinds of salt) - enough for dusting the tofu pieces
• Grapeseed oil - enough for shallow pan frying
• 3/4 cup dashi stock (1 tablespoon dashi granules dissolved in 3/4 cup of hot water)
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce

For the Toppings:

• Daikon - Japanese white radish (grated)
• Roasted seaweed strips
• Bonito flakes
• Spring onions (finely sliced)

Method:

1. Place the tofu pieces on top of paper towels, and let sit for about 15 mins to remove the excess moisture. Carefully turn the pieces over let sit for another 5 mins.
2. While the tofu pieces are drying, mix the dashi stock with mirin and light soy sauce and set aside.
3. After the tofu pieces have dried, coat them thoroughly with the lightly seasoned potato starch.
4. In a saucepan, pour in enough oil so there is about 0.5cm layer. Enough to shallow fry the tofu pieces. Carefully put the coated tofu pieces in to fry, turning every couple mins on each side. When every side has turned golden, remove and drain on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
5. Place the tofu pieces in a bowl. Garnish with roasted seaweed strips, grated daikon, bonito flakes and sliced spring onions. Pour some of the dashi stock into the bowl (not over the top of the tofu pieces), until it reaches about 1/2 way up the tofu pieces and serve immediately.

Onsen Tamago - Hot Spring Eggs

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was googling around for something completely different. Well.. probably not totally different, or else google wouldn't have returned this as part of its search results .. albeit way down in about the 4th page of results.

By the way, I was searching for silky tofu japanese recipes. And one of the returns was a recipe for Onsen Tamago.. at home. I've had this before when I was travelling around in Japan. So the thought of being able to reproduce this as home got me interested.

To put it simply, Onsen Tamago is an egg disk that is commonly served as a breakfast item at the accommodations around the hot springs in Japan. The reason being that the temperatures of the hot springs are perfect for poaching these eggs over a long period of time. The resulting egg is so delicate and silky that it just slides down your throat. The eggs are poached inside it's shells until the yolks are set on the outside, but the whites are still only loosely set and creamy.

Which.. if you explore the physics of eggs, I remember reading somewhere that egg white begins to set at 63C, while egg yolk begins to set at 65C. Which means that the egg had to be poached at about 64C constantly so that the whites so not completely set and go hard. Afterall, I'm not looking to make a hard boiled egg here.

Quite the opposite.. Think Joël Robuchon's Egg Cocotte. But a more simplified.. Asian version.

So.. back to the recipe. The amusing part about this was that you use a rice cooker to simulate the cooking phase from the hot springs. Apparently, when the rice has finished cooking, the rice cooker will automatically switch to the handy ‘keep warm’ setting – which coincidentally maintains the a similar temperature for making onsen tamago. All you need to do then is wrap the egg in a layer of kitchen paper (this is just to make sure the eggs aren’t heated directly) and set it gently on top of the cooked rice. Cover, and leave to ‘cook’ for one hour.

Onsen Tamago - Hot Spring Eggs
Recipe adapted fromTastyTreats - Serves 4

• 4 eggs
• Kitchen paper
• 1 sprig spring onion (finely sliced)
• couple of coriander leaves

Dashi Broth:

• 1/2 cup of hot water
• 1 tablespoon of dashi broth granules
• 1 tablespoon Mirin
• 1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce

Method:

1. Dissolved the dashi broth granules in 1/2 cup of hot water, add in mirin and light soy sauce. Mix until its all combined together and leave to chill in the fridge until needed.
2. For the Eggs: Run them under warm water if you take them straight out of the fridge and want to use immediately. With a rice cooker that’s just finished cooking some rice and is on the 'keep warm' setting, get some kitchen paper and wrap each egg individually.
3. Place into the rice cooker to cook for 45mins.
4. When time’s up, gently crack your egg open and let it slide into the dashi mixture you’ve made in advance. Sprinkle over some chopped spring onions and coriander leaves.

I put a piece of steamed tofu into each of the dashi broth bowls as well. Remember..? I was originally looking for a silken tofu recipe so I can use up my tofu somehow. Given the similar texture, they actually worked pretty well together in the dashi broth. :)

Tsukune - Japanese Chicken Meatballs

If you've been to an Izakaya joint in Japan, then you'll know why I'm such a sucker for these mince chicken meatballs. For those who haven't.. An Izakaya is a type of 'Japanese Drinking Establishment' which serves all sorts of tapas style food to accompany the drinks. If I remember correctly, these chicken meatballs are usually found at the BBQ skewers or Yakitori section of the menu. And they are absolutely delicious. :)

This is my first attempt at replicating these. I managed to find a few reference recipes online, but as always.. its hard to find authentic japanese recipes written in english. I was actually pretty pleased with the end result, as it actually tasted quite similar to what I remember having in Japan.

After mincing and putting all the ingredients together in my Magimix food processor aka Petals, I found the mixture to be quite flimsy. I had already added some cornflour to help the mince meat stick together. But I wasn't sure if the chicken mixture would be able to hold it's 'meatball' shape when I grilled it. So instead of throwing them straight on a grill pan, I decided to put them in some boiling water so that the outer 'meatball' shell is formed first.

Thats about when I stumbled upon this recipe from Rasa Malaysia and realised the author also boiled the meatballs prior to grilling them. Her yakitori sauce also made a bit more food sense. I had run out of ginger at home, so that may account for the slight discrepancy in taste. The next time I make these, I'll definitely try with some ginger.

Tsukune - Japanese Chicken Meatballs
Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia

For the Chicken:

• 300g chicken mince
• 1 cup chopped spring onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 teapsoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cornflour

Additional Items:

• Skewers (soaked in water for at least 30 mins)
• Water
• tablespoon salt

Yakitori Basting Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons sake
• 5 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon corn starch blended with 1 teaspoon water

Method:

1. Blend the spring onions and garlic into the food processor
2. Using the bigger bowl in the food processor, mince the chicken, then added processed spring onions and garlic and combine well.
3. Add egg and the rest of the seasoning ingredients to the chicken mince. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.
4. Wet your hands and scoop about a tablespoonful of the mixture into your palm. Shape it into a small ball about the size of a golf ball.
5. Bring a saucepan of water with about a tablespoon of salt to boil
6. Add the chicken balls and boil for about 7 minutes, or until the color of the meat changes and the balls float to the surface. Scoop out and drain on a plate covered with paper towels.
7. In a small pan, mix all the ingredients for the yakitori sauce, except for the corn starch solution. Bring the mixture to boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the sauce slightly reduced. Add the corn starch solution and stir until the sauce is thickened. Transfer to a small bowl.
8. Thread 3-4 balls on to each bamboo skewer. Grill the skewers on a grill pan. Brush them with the yakitori sauce and turn the skewers frequently until the balls turn brown.
9. Serve while its hot with a wedge of lemon. Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi (Japanese chile powder with sesame seeds) and some yakitori sauce if you like.

Steamed Sea Urchin Egg Custard

This creation is probably a by-product from watching too many episodes of Iron Chef (Japanese version). I picked up a packet of Uni - Sea Urchin at the Sydney Fish Market for $11.50. I used about 1/4 of the packet for the mix sashimi platter that we devoured during the day. And for the remainder, I turned it into a Steamed Sea Urchin Egg Custard, that I had vaguely remember seeing one of the Iron Chefs do. Straining the Uni through a fine sieve and then incorporating it into an steamed egg like custard. This recipe is based off my chinese steamed egg dessert. The only difference is that I added uni, omitted the sugar, used a dashi broth base, added mirin, light soy and used cream instead of milk.

I have had something similar in Japan before, but that was with a whole sea urchin that was steamed with some sort of cream custard. The result was something that was surprisingly light and delicate with the sweet taste of uni.

Steamed Sea Urchin Egg Custard
Serves 2

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup Dashi broth (1 tablespoon of dashi granules with 1/3 cup of hot water)
• 1 tablespoon of full cream
• 1/2 pack of sea urchin (strained through a sieve, reserve a couple for decoration).
• 1/2 tablespoon of Mirin
• teaspoon of light soy sauce

Method:

1. In a bowl, beat the egg and combine with the dashi broth and cream. Add the Mirin then the teaspoon of light soy.
2. Strain the sea urchin through a fine sieve placed on top of the bowl. Discard any stringy parts.
3. Pass the egg and sea urchin mixture through the fine sieve again.
4. Bring a wok with some water to boil to be used as a steamer. Place a plate on top of the steaming rack.
5. Divide the egg and sea urchin mixture between two ramekins.
6. Remove any foam that may have formed around the rims.
7. Once the water starts to boil, move the wok to the smallest stove top and keep the heat on the lowest setting.
8. Cover the ramekins with some glad wrap. Place on top of the plate and steam for about 25 minutes or until the egg custard wobbles when you move the ramekin.
9. Uncover the glad wrap, and place a couple of the reserved whole sea urchin roe on top of the egg custard.
10. Cover, turn the heat off and let the ramekins rest for about 3 mins.
11. Serve immediately.

Sushi 寿司 - Daring Cooks Challenge

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen . They chose sushi as the challenge.

There is only one Asian grocery store within a 5km radius of where I live at the moment. Actually the Asian grocery store is the only thing I have. No fishmonger, butcher or supermarkets. And me being car-less at the moment, meant all my ingredients had to come from the Asian grocery store.

I'm actually allergic to Eel, I get rashes everytime I have eel. So gave the dragonroll a miss.

These are the ingredients I used in my sushi:

• Sweet Egg Omelet
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Faux crab meat mixed with Japanese Mayo
• Canned Tuna mixed with Japanese Mayo
• Seaweed
• Japanese Mayo

I have made sushi many times before, but learning to make it the 'proper way' was definitely a challenge and a lot of fun. Thanks to Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen for picking a great challenge!

The challenge is in four parts:-

Part 1: Making proper sushi rice – you will wash, rinse, drain, soak, cook, dress, and cool short grain rice until each grain is sticky enough to hold toppings or bind ingredients. Then you will use the cooked rice to form three types of sushi:
Part 2: Dragon sushi roll – an avocado covered inside-out rice roll with a tasty surprise filling
Part 3: Decorative sushi – a nori-coated rice roll which reveals a decorative pattern when cut
Part 4: Nigiri sushi – hand-shaped rice rolls with toppings

This challenge is all about learning how to make restaurant-grade sushi rice plus the techniques for making creative sushi !

PART 1 : SUSHI RICE (makes about 7 cups of cooked sushi rice)

Preparation time: 1¾ hours consisting of :-

Rinsing and draining rice: 35 minutes
Soaking rice: 30 minutes (includes 5 minutes making the vinegar dressing)
Cooking and steaming time: 25 minutes
Finishing the rice: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2½ cups uncooked short grain rice
• 2½ cups water
• For superior results use equal volumes of rice and water

Optional Ingredients

• 3 inch (75mm or 15 grams) square dashi konbu (or kombu) (dried kelp seaweed) wipe with a damp cloth to remove white powder & cut a few slits in the sides of the kelp to help release its flavours
• 2½ teaspoons (12.5 mls) of sake (Japanese rice wine)

Sushi vinegar dressing

• 5 Tablespoons (75 mls) rice vinegar
• 5 Teaspoons (25 mls or 21 grams) sugar
• 1¼ Teaspoons (6.25 mls or 4.5 grams) salt

DIRECTIONS:

Rinsing and draining the rice

1. Swirl rice gently in a bowl of water, drain, repeat 3-4 times until water is nearly clear. Don't crush the rice in your hands or against the side of the bowl since dry rice is very brittle.
2. Gently place rice into a strainer and drain well for 30 minutes.

Soaking the rice

1. Gently place the rice into a heavy medium pot with a tight fitting lid (if you have a loose fitting lid use a piece of aluminium foil to make the seal tight).
2. Add 2½ cups of water and the dashi konbu
3. Set the rice aside to soak for 30 minutes, during this time prepare the sushi rice dressing.

Preparing the Rice Vinegar Dressing

1. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat on low setting.
3. Stir until the mixture goes clear and the sugar and salt have dissolved.
4. Set aside at room temperature until the rice is cooked.

Cooking the rice

1. After 30 minutes of soaking add sake (if using) to the rice.
   
2. Bring rinsed and soaked rice to the boil.
3. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed, 12-15 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this process. Turn off heat.
4. Let stand with the lid on, 10-15 minutes. Do not peek inside the pot or remove the lid. During this time the rice is steaming which completes the cooking process.

Finishing the rice

• Turning out the rice

1. Moisten lightly a flat thin wooden spatula or spoon and a large shallow flat-bottomed non-metallic (plastic, glass or wood) bowl. Do not use metallic objects since the vinegar will react with it and produce sour and bitter sushi rice.
2. Remove the dashi konbu (kelp) from the cooked rice.
3. Use the spatula to loosen gently the rice and invert the rice pot over the bowl, gently causing the cooked rice to fall into the bowl in one central heap. Do this gently so as not to cause the rice grains to become damaged.

• Dressing the rice with vinegar

1. Slowly pour the cooled sushi vinegar over the spatula onto the hot rice.
2. Using the spatula gently spread the rice into a thin, even layer using a 45° cutting action to break up any lumps and to separate the rice. Don't stir or mash rice.
3. After the rice is spread out, start turning it over gently, in small portions, using a cutting action, allowing steam to escape, for about a minute.

• Fanning & Tossing the rice

1. Continue turning over the rice, but now start fanning (using a piece of stiff cardboard) the rice vigorously as you do so. Don't flip the rice into the air but continue to gently slice, lift and turn the rice occasionally, for 10 minutes. Cooling the rice using a fan gives good flavour, texture and a high-gloss sheen to the rice. The vinegar dressing will be absorbed by the hot rice. Using a small electric fan on the lowest speed setting is highly recommended.
2. Stop fanning when there's no more visible steam, and all the vinegar dressing has been adsorbed and the rice is shiny. Your sushi rice is ready to be used.

• Keeping the rice moist

1. Cover with a damp, lint free cloth to prevent the rice from drying out while preparing your sushi meal. Do not store sushi rice in the refrigerator leave on the counter covered at room temperature. Sushi rice is best used when it is at room temperature.

* Tip: To make sushi rice: for each cup of rice use 1 cup of water, 2 Tbs rice vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp sake. For superior results use equal volumes of rice and water when cooking the sushi rice since the weight of rice can vary. Weight of 2½ cups of uncooked rice is about 525 grams or 18½ ounces.

PART 2 : Dragon Rolls (also called Caterpillar Rolls)

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice
Cooking time: about 5 minutes (grilling the eel)

Yield: 2 inside-out (uramaki) sushi rolls

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 sheet 7”x8” (17.5cmx20cm) of toasted nori (dried seaweed sheets), cut into halves
• 1/2 Japanese cucumber
• 2 cups of prepared sushi rice
• Glazed Barbecued Eel (ungai) (about 3½ ounces or 100 grams)
• 1 Avocado
• Vinegared Water – ½ cup of water combined with a dash of rice vinegar
• Various small amounts of sauces to use as the flames of the dragon (or legs of a caterpillar)

Optional

• 2 tablespoons (25 grams or 1 oz) Fish Roe (Fish eggs)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut cucumber into strips ¼ inch (6mm) x 7” (175mm) long, then salt, rinse & dry the strips.
2. Grill (broil) the eel for about 2-5 minutes until bubbling. Cut into two lengthwise strips.
3. Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Cut the avocado halves into thin even 1/8 inch (3 mm) slices. Fan out the cut avocado into a 7 inch (175 mm) overlapping pattern.
4. Cover bamboo mat with plastic wrap. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down, lengthwise, on the edge the mat.
5. Moisten lightly your hands in the bowl of vinegared water.
6. Place one cup of rice on the nori and gently rake your fingertips across grains to spread rice evenly. Do not mash or squash the rice onto the nori, the rice should appear loosely packed and be evenly distributed over the entire sheet, you should be able to see the nori sheet in a few places.
7. Flip the rice-covered nori over (so the bare nori is now on top) and place on the edge of the mat closest to you.
8. Arrange one of the eel strips across the length of the nori, not quite centred on it but a little closer to you. Place half the cucumber sticks next to the eel.
9. Lift the edge of the mat closest to you with both hands, keeping your fingertips over the fillings, and roll the mat and its contents until the edge of the mat touches straight down on the nori, enclosing the fillings completely. Lift up the edge of the mat you're holding, and continue rolling the inside-out roll away from you until it's sealed. Tug at the mat to tighten the seal. If the rice doesn't quite close the roll add more rice in the gap and re-roll using the mat to completely cover the inside-out roll. Place the roll on a damp, clean smooth surface.
10. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the optional fish roe along the entire top of the rice-covered roll. Using the plastic covered mat gently press the fish roe so it adheres to the rice.
11. Slide a knife under one fan of avocado and transfer it onto the top of an inside-out roll. Gently spread out the avocado layer to cover the entire roll. Lay the plastic wrapped mat over the avocado-covered roll. Squeeze very gently to shape the roll.
12. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the roll. Slice the roll into 6-8 equal, bite-sized pieces, wiping your knife with a damp towel before each slice. Discard the plastic wrap. Repeat the above to make one more roll.
13. Arrange the cut pieces on a serving plate with the sauces so the finished dish appears as a dragon breathing fire and flames (or a caterpillar with many legs).

* Tip: The most common mistake is having too much filling the golden rule is less is more when it comes to making sushi it is easier to roll an under-filled roll than an over-filled roll.

* Tip: Dampen your knife with a moist lint-free towel before every cut – this prevents the sushi rice from sticking to your knife.

* Tip: Excellent videos on making Dragon Rolls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQZGRohVNFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo55iBN9FQs&feature=related

PART 3 : Spiral Sushi Roll

This is easiest 'decorative' sushi roll.

Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice

Yield: One Roll, cut into 8 pieces

INGREDIENTS:

• 2½ cups prepared sushi rice
• 2 sheets of toasted nori, each sized 7”x8” (17.5cmx20cm)
• Six assorted fillings, each filling should be the size of a pencil (see note below)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Join 2 sheets of nori by moistening the adjacent edges and overlapping them about ½ inch (12mm)
2. Place this double sheet shiny side down on a rolling mat, part of the nori will extend beyond the mat.
3. Using moist fingers place 2½ cups of rice on the nori and gently rake your fingertips across grains to spread rice evenly, leaving ¼ inch (6mm) nori showing on the both ends of the sheet. Do not mash or squash the rice onto the nori, the rice should appear loosely packed and be evenly distributed over the entire sheet, you should be able to see the nori sheet in a few places.
4. Using your fingers form six grooves (in the same direction that you will be rolling the mat) at even intervals across the bed of rice. Make the first groove about 2 inches (50 mm) from the edge of the nori sheet. Form the grooves by pushing the rice away, do not mash or squash the rice, leave a loose one grain layer of rice in the bottom of the grooves. Level the areas between the grooves where you have pushed the rice.
5. Place your fillings in the grooves. Fill the grooves a little higher than the surrounding rice bed.
6. Then roll the sushi up from the edge closest to you, this will form a spiral pattern of nori, rice and fillings inside the roll.
7. Slice into 8 pieces with a very sharp wet knife, wiping the blade with a damp cloth after each cut.
8. Place the pieces on a platter and garnish.

NOTE:
Make each groove about a finger-width wide they will hold about 1-2 tablespoons of filling. Use fillings that compliment each other and are highly coloured. Use parboiled vegetables cut into strips, seafood, left over eel, smoked fish or chicken, whole cooked beans, edible flowers etc....

PART 4 : Nigiri Sushi

Nigiri sushi is the type of sushi most often made in sushi bars. In Japanese, nigiri means “squeeze”.

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice

Yield: 14-16 pieces of sushi

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups prepared sushi rice
• 8 pairs of assorted toppings, 200 gms/7 ozs total of fish, meat or vegetables (see note below)
• 1 tablespoon Wasabi (paste, reconstituted powder) or any other paste to adhere topping to rice

Optional

• Garnishes such as Ginger (pickled), chilli strips, vegetables flowers etc
• Thin strips of nori or vegetables (for tying topping on)

DIRECTIONS:

1. When handling sushi rice, make certain your hands are very clean. To keep the rice from sticking to our hands moisten your hands with vinegared water.
2. Form nigiri sushi by scooping up a small amount (about 2 tablespoons) of rice with your forefinger and second finger of your right hand and placing it in your cupped left palm.
3. Use the fingers and thumb of your right hand to form it into a long, narrow mound (about 2 inches x 1 inch wide or 50mm x 25mm) in your cupped palm.
4. Press enough to make the rice hold firmly together. Place the nigiri on a damp cutting board flat side down. Don't let sushi touch or they'll stick to each other. At this point, you can cover the sushi with plastic wrap, and they'll keep at room temperature (not the refrigerator) for several hours.
5. Smear a thin line of wasabi on top of the rice and place the topping piece on it. You may need to press the topping down lightly with your fingers and adjust the shape of the rice accordingly to form an attractive piece of nigiri sushi. If your topping is very loose like fish roe you can place a strip of nori (higher than the rice) around the nigiri and form 'battleship' sushi. The cavity that the nori forms holds the topping so it does not fall off.
6. Garnish as desired and use strips of nori (or vegetable) to tie the topping to the nigiri if needed.
7. It is customary to make nigiri sushi in pairs, so make two of each variety.

* Tips: A great video on making nigiri sushi
http://www.howcast.com/videos/270-How-To-Make-Sushi
A great web page on slicing fish for nigiri
http://www.sushilinks.com/sushi-recipes/how-to-buy-fish/index.html

Atsuyaki Tamago - Sweet Egg Omelet

I've always watched in awe from the sushi bar when the chefs make Atsuyaki Tamago - the sweet egg omelet used in maki sushi rolls and nigiri sushi pieces. So learning how to make this egg omelet (and eating it) was a lot of fun. :)

I research a bit online for a recipe that was easy to follow. One of the recipes I found, calls for 3 tablespoons of sugar, which between 6 eggs seems a bit too much. So I reduced it down to 2 tablespoons. For my tastes, the resulting omelet was definitely sweet enough with 2 tablespoons. Sieving the egg mixture is a step that shouldn't be skipped. It removes the parts of the egg whites that couldn't be broken down making the egg omelet a lot more smoother.

I don't have a proper Tamago pan, but I managed to do this fine with a normal frying pan.

Atsuyaki Tamago - Sweet Egg Omelet
Recipe adapted from kikkoman.com and Grab York Fork

• 6 Eggs
• 1 tablespoon of dashi powder dissolved into 1/2 cup of hot water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon mirin
• 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
• pinch of salt
• oil for the pan

1. Beat the eggs until they are glossy and smooth without creating too much froth. Strain the eggs through a fine sieve.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the egg and mix well, taking care not to beat any air into the mixture and strain through the sieve again.
3. Heat a lightly oiled pan and pour in about 1/4 of the mixture. Take care that the heat is moderate so the egg doesn't brown.
4. When the egg is half set, roll 1/3 of the mixture forward over itself, and flip and roll again until you have a flattened egg omelet. Use a spatula to lift the egg slightly and chopsticks to help roll it over.
5. Push the roll to the back of the pan and grease lightly again, making sure that oil gets under the egg.
6. Pour in another quarter of the mixture and continue to roll the egg roll forward.
7. Repeat until there is no more egg mixture left.
8. If required, use the sushi mat to press the egg omelet into shape. Cool in the fridge until you are ready to slice and serve on rice or used in sushi
   

Grilled Eggplant with Miso Sauce - Nasu Dengaku

This is a healthy, nice and easy snack or side dish to make if you manage to get your hands on some eggplants. If you have the thin & long version, then you will need at least 4-6 eggplants. Eggplants is probably the only vegetable that you cannot under cook. With this recipe, I first grill the eggplant pieces until they are nearly done, then I brush on the miso sauce, and place the eggplants under the broiler (in the middle of the oven - so the miso sauce doesn't burn too easily) for about 5-10 mins. Until at least the miso sauce has start to bubble and brown just a bit. I also find that if I soak the sliced & scored eggplant in some cold water for about 1 hr beforehand, then it retains its white fleshy colour. Even after grilling. :)

Eggplants on the Grill Pan

Grilled Eggplant with Miso Sauce - Nasu Dengaku

For Eggplants:

• 2 big round eggplants (cut into halves & score a criss-cross pattern across the eggplant)
• vegetable oil for brushing
• sprinkle of sesame seeds

For Miso Sauce:

• 1/2 cup dashi (I mixed 1 tablespoon of dashi granules in 1/2 cup of boiling hot water).
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoon sake
• 1/3 cup of miso paste
• 2 teaspoons corn starch

Method:

1. To prepare the miso sauce, place all the content into a measuring cup (except the hot water). Mix to combine it together (the sake and mirin should help thin out the miso paste), then pour in about 1/2 cup of boiling hot water (the water line should come up to the 1 Cup mark now). Continuing mixing until all the contents have dissolved into the hot water, making a slightly thick sauce.
2. To prepare the eggplants, slice them in half lengthwise and then using a knife score a criss-cross pattern into them. This helps with cooking and to retain the sauce.
3. Brush the eggplants with some oil and place on a grill pan to grill until the eggplant is cooked. This should take about 5 mins on each side, and the eggplant should be soft to touch when cooked through. Remove eggplants from the grill pan and place into a foil-lined baking tray.
4. Start the oven in 'grill' mode.
5. On the criss-cross sides, brush a thick coating of the miso sauce then sprinkle with sesame seeds over the top of the sauce.
6. Place the eggplants on the middle tray section of the oven, with the grill setting to get the miso sauce to caramelise a bit. This should take about 5-10 mins.
7. Remove eggplants from oven when you see the miso sauce start to bubble and start to turn brown.

Notes:

• If you aren't using dashi granules, then you will need to place the dashi broth and the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan and heat it up until the contents dissolve and start to thicken.
• When grilling the eggplant in the oven, try to keep an eye on the eggplants as the sugar content in the sauce makes the sauce burn rather easily.
• I find that placing the eggplants in the middle section (instead of directly under the broiler\grill) helps cook the eggplants for a bit more as the sauce is able to caramelise slower.

Soy Milk & Miso Hot Pot

We love our hot pots (or steamboats). Fish and Century old egg with coriander soup base. Satay hot pot... Ma-lak (super chilli hot) or even just plain chicken stock with some tomatoes and potatoes thrown in. Its probably one of the easiest things to prepare when you know you have a group of people that is going to come raid your apartment in the next hour. Which in my case, was exactly just that.

Soy Milk & Miso Hotpot
First tasted in Osaka, Japan - Recipe put together by Astrogirl

Soup Base

• 2 tablespoons Miso paste
• 1 piece of kombu
• 300 ml of unsweetened soy milk
• 2 L of water
• 2 tablespoon of dashi stock granules
• 2 tablespoon of Mirin
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Soya sauce to taste (if required)
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 1/2 chinese white cabbage (sliced 5cm pieces)
• 2 green spring onion (in 5 cm pieces)
• 6 re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms (stems discarded, halved - optional)

Bring water and kombu to boil in large pot, add dashi and mirin. Then add mushrooms, onion, white cabbage and white parts of spring onion. Boil until cabbage has soften. Add in Miso paste, sugar and salt. Add in the soy milk right before serving and bring the soup back to a simmer. Serve the hot pot on top of a portable gas stove or in a shabu-shabu pot.

Other Ingredients to throw in:

• Defrosted cuttlefish \ pork \ fish balls
• Thinly sliced beef, fish or pork
• Shelled Prawns or any type of oyster, shellfish or molluscs
• Tofu
• crab stick
• fresh corn
• fresh mushrooms & Enoki mushrooms
• Fresh Fish paste (added in separate spoonsfuls)
• Vegetables (e.g. sliced carrot, coriander, spring onion, chinese radish or any other greens)

Taste the soup base and season with some soy sauce is required. It should taste a bit on the saltier side. Choose any combination from the 'Other Ingredients' list. For this hotpot, I added in some of the defrosted balls, crab stick, tofu and fish paste. Once it starts to boil add in all of the soy milk. And then turn the heat down. If you keep it boiling for too long, the soy milk will start to split.

Things to add at the end of the hotpot:

• Cooked plain white rice
• Mochi (glutinous rice cake)
• Egg
• Noodles (eg. instant, egg noodles, udon).

Nearing the end of the hotpot, when the soup base has absorbed the essence of all of the additional ingredients that was boiled in it... (Don't let this soup go to waste !)

You can poach an egg in the soup or spoon out some soup into a bowl and have it just like that. Or keep the soup bowling and add some rice or noodles into it. The 'japanese' way would be to have it with Mochi.

Notes:

• Dried shiitake mushrooms are available at nearly every asian grocery store. To re-hydrate them, rinse them under water to get rid of any dirt, then place them in a bowl of warm water with a smaller saucer on top to keep them under water. Best to keep overnight.
• Enoki Mushrooms needs to have the bottom brown parts (roots) trimmed and washed thoroughly.
• If you are preparing prawns for the hotpot, a good way to make sure they retain the 'fresh texture' and wont suffer any 'over-boiling', is to put the shelled prawns into a bowl of cold water with about 1-2 teaspoons of salt for about 30 mins. Pour out the water when ready.
• Raw meat like pork or beef is easier to slice if you leave it in the freezer for about 1 hr or so.
• The white powder substance on the Kombu is where most of the flavour is. Don't be tempted to wash it off.