A Little Change.

Instead of me (busy and no energy to cook), Amu has been taking over the kitchen slowly but surely.


That is definitely a great move!


Since we both have been busy, we eat out more often especially on weekends. However, I still need something Japanese. Or I can make it less strict and say, "I want something Asian."

Kimuchi Chige

Love Korean food as well as Japanese!! I just watched a cooking show and they were making this so I wanna try it;)


Ingredients:

• kimchi 300g
• paper thin pork 200g
• garlic 2 cloves
• onion 1/2 
• olive oil 1tbs
• tofu 1 pack
• green onion 2~3 pieces　２～３本
• butter 10g
• sugar just for adjusting flavor
• salt just for adjusting flavor
• konbu seaweed broth 500ml

Recipe:

1. Chop garlic, cut kimchi a bite size, cut tofu 2 bites size, slice onion, cut green onion small.
2. Pour the olive oil & chopped garlic in a medium size pot and warm with medium high heat.(Heat 5 at our stove.)
3. Once you smell the garlic, add pork and cook.
4. When you cook pork well, add sliced onion, kimchi, and butter. Cook like 2 to 3 min.
5. Add konbu seaweed broth , put the lid on, and cook with medium heat for 20min.
6. Adjust flavor with sugar and salt.
7. Add tofu and green onion and close the lid again. Cook for 15min.

 Dekiagari!　できあがり！

キムチ大好きー。
お漬物として食べるなら、ヤングキムチのほうが好きだけど、
キムチチゲにはオールドキムチが合うよ。ぶた肉なしでもいいよ。

Busy and no use so...

I gave up.

Good Bye:)

For now.

Sake Flake

Salmon and saki in Japanese are the same pronunciation but salmon is sake, saki is osake for me.

Salty flavored salmon is so good with rice. It is a fancy version of Furikake. It will be the season of salmon soon so here's my favorite recipe for さけフレーク！p.s. if you buy it from stores, probably a lot of them use MSG or preservatives so that is why I prefer YOU make it;-)

Ingredients:

• wild caught salmon about half a pound
• sea salt less than 1tbs ( だいたい写真くらいカバーできればOK）
• soy saurce 1 tbs
• osake (saki) 2 tbs
• mirin 1 tbs
• rice vinegar 1 tsp
• avocado oil 1tbs

Recipe:

1. Put salt on the salmon, rub gently, and wait for 10 min.
2. Pour oil in the pan, place the salmon, and broil it until the inside color changes.
3. When the salmon is cooked, move it on a piece of the parchment paper and take bones and skins off.
4. Put the meat back into the pan, add osake, soy sauce, mirin, and smash the meat so it becomes pieces.
5. When the moisture is evaporated, turn off the stove, and add vinegar.
6. Cool it down.

 






Dekiagari! できあがり！

これ、めちゃめちゃおいしいよ。ごはん、もりもり食べれるよ。お茶碗３杯は、いけると思う。お弁当にいれてもいいし、おにぎりの具にしてもいいし、さけフレークは子供に大人気だよ。

 

Exception 1

I love them :) especially Mo' Joes' lobster bisque!

Oh, don't forget about chicken wings from Kraus' pizza.

Buffalo Stew

Ingredients: for 2 people though, it was not enough for us.

• buffalo shoulder meat 0.6 pounds
• onion 1 big yellow or white one
• carrots 4 long ones
• diced tomato in a can 200ml~230ml (using 1/3cup 3 times)
• potatoes 2 
• red wine 200ml
• olive oil 2 tbs
• garlic 2 or 3 big cloves
• tomato ketchup 3 tbs
• bouillon 5g (We have powder type now. It's no additives and no preservatives.)
• butter 1tbs
• salt and pepper

Recipe:

1. Cut veggies except potato- chop garlic, carrots bite size, slice onion big.
2. Cut meat bite size and put 1tea spoon of salt and about 5 shakes of pepper on them.
3. Pour olive oil in a pot and warm. (I usually use 5 at our stove.)
4. Put chopped garlic in the pot.
5. Once you smell the garlic aroma, add meat and cook them until changing color. 
6. Add all ingredients except potato and also add 1 pinch of salt.
7. Lower heat (setting at 2~3 at our stove), put the lid on, and cook for 1.5hours.
8. During the waiting time, peel potatoes and cut them the bigger than a bite size.
9. After cooking for 1.5hours, add potatoes, close the lid again, and cook 30 more min.
10. Check potatoes are soft enough to eat. If not, 10 more min and check again.
11. When potatoes are done, dekiagari!

Dekiagari! 出来上がり！

日本の家庭料理の代表はビーフシチューだけど、うちは牛肉の代わりにバッファロー肉だからね。これを夜ごはんにするなら、絶対たくさん作ってね。そうじゃないとケンカになるよ、今日みたいに。たくさん作りたいからスーパー行こうよって言ったのにさ。

Zaru Soba

Ingredients:

• soba
• mentsuyu
• toppings like green onion, nori, wasabi, sesame seeds, shiso, ginger, tororo, etc.

 Recipes:

1. Make the water boil and put soba into the boiling water for 4~5min. (Look at the package for minutes.)
2. During stage1, prepare for your toppings like cutting onions and grinding ginger.
3. つゆを用意する。冷蔵庫に入ってるからね。
4. おそばができたら、水と氷で洗う。
5. ざるにあげて、水をきる。
6. トッピングをつゆにいれたり、おそばにかけて、そばをつゆにつけて食べる。

Dekiagari! 出来上がり！

ゆでるだけだし、簡単だよね。お昼ごはんでも夜ごはんでも、どちらでもいいよ。冷たいそばのときは、スーパーで買ってきたつゆを使うよ。今使ってるのは無添加・保存料不使用だよ。 温かいそばのときは、自分で作ったつゆのほうがスキ。その作り方はまた今度。

If you are thinking take out food...4

Kiki's is great.














I've only had their chicken katsudon though, it's the best in town comparing other Japanese restaurants. You know one of my favorites is katsudon and whenever we go to a new Japanese restaurant, I always order chicken katsudon. I should try something new at Kiki's though, I love their chicken katsudon, so maybe I'm missing their other good food out. That's ok, if you go there, they have my favorite.

Organic Soy Sauce

I just want you know soy sauce that we usually use.

Our soy sauce is organic. I can say we try to get organic of everything as possible. You know that.
When you see 無添加,保存料不使用,無着色,有機, and 天然, that means no additives,no preservatives, no coloring, organic, and natural/natural caught. Sometimes you might see 遺伝子組換え不使用, that means things are not modified genetically.

無添加＝むてんか、保存料不使用＝ほぞんりょうふしよう、無着色＝むちゃくしょく、有機＝ゆうき、天然＝てんねん、遺伝子組換え不使用＝いでんしくみかえふしよう

Tamago kake Gohan

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh egg (pasteurized would be better in this means pasteurized egg shells.)
• soy sauce( We've been using the kikkoman bottle but actual soy sauce is organic. When you buy it, look at the ingredient list carefully because sometimes modified or other weird things are added.)
• steamed white rice

Recipe:

1. Stir an egg well with chopsticks or a fork.
2. Serve rice in a rice bowl.
3. Pour the egg on the rice.
4. Drop soy sauce one quick second like drawing a small circle.

Dekiagari! 出来上がり！

たまごは新鮮なのでお願いします。産まれたてとか買ってきたばっかりとかね。産まれたては難しいけどね。将来、にわとり飼いたいなぁ。産みたてたまごと、できたてアツアツごはんで、たまごかけごはんが食べたいよ！それから、しょうゆは、ぐるっと１回のまわしかけでヨロシク。そのあと、ちゃんとぐるぐる、ふわふわになるまでかきまぜてね。←ここ、ほんと重要。

If you are thinking take out food...3

Get osashimi from Pacific Mercantile in downtown. Albacore, squid, or uni would be great. At home, we can prepare some okazu, rice and miso soup. We have organic tamari for osashimi in the fridge.

Ex. Ika no Osashimi (squid)

Also makizushi & inarizushi are good snacks for me (and you.) Yum yum:)

Shrimp Broth

I usually make shrimp broth whenever I make shrimp for dinner. Save the heads for yummness.

Ingredients:

• shrimp heads (depends on how many shrimp you used.)
• water

Recipes:

1. At medium heat, warm a small pot. (I usually use pots for miso soup.)
2. Put shrimp heads in the pot.
3. Make them change their colors.
4. Add water.
5. Once you see a layer like pics, collect them with a ladle, and throw out in the sink.
6. Keep doing it for 30min. If boiling too much, lower the heat.
7.  Keep throwing away the layer.
8. After 30min, turn off the heat, and cool it down.
9. Use a mesh separator, pour the broth in a tupperware. 

I like using the shrimp broth for miso soup. すっごくおいしいよ。

How to Prepare Frozen Shrimp

We buy wild caught shrimp with head still on (flavor is better than headless, I think.) Usually Hmart sells it on sale so as you know we always buy extra and froze them. I will tell you how to prepare those frozen shrimp.

1. Put frozen shrimp the amount you use in a bowl in the kitchen sink.
2. Keep pouring fresh water in the bowl gently for 10min.
3. Usually frozen shrimp should be melted pretty quickly in the water.
4. Once shrimp is soft enough, you can peel the shell.
5. Break head off and put it in another bowl.
6. Then pull up the tail toward head and break it off first. (When you do this step, a gray string looking inside of shrimp is coming off with the tails. That's the part we don't wanna eat. If eat, you might feel eating like sands. Yuck. If it wouldn't come off with a tail, use a toothpick and stab it on the back body after peeling shells, then move the toothpick up breaking the part. You probably can pull the gray part out. Maybe I should make a video for this. It's hard to explain in English.)
7. Break legs off.
8. Then peel and break the body shell off.
9. Wash it with water and ready to use.

Trash legs, tails and shells, but save the heads for making shrimp broth. You can use shrimp broth for miso soup and risotto or more.

それと、ゴミはちゃんとその日のうちに捨ててね。くさくなっちゃうから。

Shishamo

Ingredient:

• shishamo (We buy mezashi style like the picture below. They are connected through their mouths by a straw.)

Recipe:

1. Defrost shishamo (I usually put them in the fridge night before I cook.)
2. Cut parchment paper right size of your pan and put it in the pan.
3. Take shishamo out of plastic.
4. Put them on the parchment paper and put lid on.
5. Turn on high heat first and after you hear sounds of grilling, make heat low.(It's probably about 5 min for high heat.)
6. Keep grilling about 13min. It should be ready to eat. If you want more brown, make shishamo up side down and grill 5 more minutes.

 
 


Dekiagari! できあがり！ 

I remember you asked me when you had shishamo first time. "Are you gonna eat head,too?" "I kinda feel bad to eat eggs." Now, shishamo is one of your favorite? Mmmm, I say, "Not!" but I know you still like shishamo. I just don't see the speed yet, the speed of when you are eating your favorites.

Natto Gohan

Ingredients:

• steamed white rice
• natto (I personally prefer kotsubu=small sized or hikiwari=minced natto.)
• soy sauce (our soy sauce is organic.)

Recipe:

1. Open a natto packet. (it should be dissolved when you are ready to eat. we usually buy frozen one.)
2. Trash a liquid sauce and mustard came with natto. It contains high fructose corn syrup.
3. Move the plastic on the natto on to the top cover so it is less messy.
4. Stir the natto with chopsticks in the plastic packet. Do it parallel to the bottom. If you push down and stir, you just make a hole in the bottom. Stir at least 30 times.
5. Serve warm steamed rice for 1 in a medium size bowl.
6. Put the well mixed natto on the rice.
7. Pour 1ts soy sauce on the natto.
8. Mix well when you eat, and after the first bite, adjust flavor with more soy sauce.
9. Simple is the best though, mayonnaise, tororo, minced ginger, thin sliced green onion, or sesame seeds are great toppings. I had this with mayonnaise a couple days ago for my lunch. 

Dekiagari! 出来上がり！

ぐるぐるかきまぜて食べるのがスキ。子供のころ、おばあちゃんが「納豆３つぶ食べると１年長生きする」ってよく言ってた。それだけ納豆は栄養満点なんだよ。だからがんばってスプーン３口くらいは食べてね。

If you are thinking take out food...2

L&L is great.

Kalua pork, chicken katsu, laulau, locomoco...!
Anything else except spam is fine for me. I wish they were closer from us. The best thing is that we can go to Hawaii again;)

Tuna Tomato Cream Pasta

 Ingredients:

・1 big tomato (if small, use 2 like that picture)
・1~2 big clove of garlic
・1 can of tuna (usually we use tuna in spring water)
・2 table spoon olive oil
・1 table spoon sake (if we don't have sake, use white wine instead.)
・1/3 table spoon of tomato ketchup
・black pepper&salt appropriate amount for adjustment (maybe 3~4pinches, do taste check at each pinch.)
・2.5 oz heavy cream
・whole wheat pasta for you and me. (ex. fusilli, penne)

Recipe:

1. Peel the tomato skin, how to peel↓
(put it in the boiling water for a couple min, after that put it in the iced water, then peel the skin with fingers.)
2. Cut the tomato diced, chop the garlic minced, get rid of water from the tuna can
3. Warm the pan at the medium heat, pour olive oil, and add chopped garlic
4. After you smell aroma from the garlic, add the diced cut tomato and make it boiled a little bit
5. Add pepper&salt (a couple pinches each as a starter), add sake, ketchup, tuna
6. Add heavy cream and stir.
7. Lower the heat, keep stirring about 5 min.
8. Mix with your favorite al dente pasta (we usually use whole wheat penne)
9. Taste check and add salt if needed.




Dekiagari! 出来上がり！


This is your favorite pasta so I'm sure your future kids would love it as well:) You would probably fight with them like who gets left over. 次はもっとたくさん作ろうね。いつもおかわりするとき、もうないって残念がるから。

If you are thinking take out food... 1

KOKORO is fine.

Get gyu-don super size with ginger for me. Don't forget using their coupon if we have. Also I like their chickenkatsu and kara-age. Hint, hint!
Oh, and we do have their point card, Arigato card.

たまに食べるよね、こういうのも。食べたいよね。
でも、これだけじゃ体に悪すぎるから、ちゃんとサラダか野菜の
おかずも作ってね。