Donabe Saffron Rice...So fluffy and aromatic

Donabe Saffron Rice with Ground Pork & Okra Curry

When I make curry dish, I often make this Saffron Rice with short grain rice. It's so easy, aromatic, and fluffy. My double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", does the perfect job!


Sauté shallot and garlic in olive oil. Add the short grain rice and continue to sauté until the outer layer of each rice grain is translucent.


Add saffron-infused water and vegetable stock, and bay leaves. Cover and cook for about 12 minutes.


Saffron rice is ready. Discard the bay leaves and fluff the rice. It's so aromatic.

Here's the recipe.

Fluffy Saffron Rice
(for double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san")

Ingredients: (5 servings)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 rice-cups (360 ml) short grain rice (I use partially polished brown rice), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (60 ml) boiling water
a good pinch of saffron
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves

Procedure:

1. Put the saffron in a bowl and pour boiling water. Set aside to let the saffron infuse.
2. In "Kamado-san", heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
3. Add the rice and and continue to sauté until the outer layer of each rice grain is translucent. (4-5 minutes).
4. Add the saffron-infused water (make sure it's already cooled down), vegetable stock, and salt. Stir.
5. Put the bay leaves on top and cover with both lids. Cook for 12 minutes over medium-heat.
6. Turn off the heat and let it rest (with lids on) for 20 minutes.
7. Uncover. Discard the bay leaves and fluff the rice. Serve with your delicious donabe curry.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Steamed Oolon Tea Chicken

I got inspired by a Chinese steamed chicken recipe with oolong tea leaves. So, I made it in my own way with my donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe". For this recipe, it's very important to use premium-quality oolong tea leaves, because the chicken not only absorbs wonderful aroma from the tea leaves but also will be eaten with the leaves! I really enjoy this dish, because it's so easy to make, yet the flavors are so complex and deep.


Once the oolong tea leaves are rehydrated and mixed with sake and ginger, they are steamed with chicken.


Chicken becomes so aromatic. The cooking juice under the chicken is also very precious, so I use it for the sauce.

Steamed Chicken with Oolong Tea Leaves

Ingredients: (for 3-4 servings as part of a multi-course meal)
16 oz (450 g) boneless chicken thigh meat
1 tablespoon shio-koji (or 1 teaspoon salt)
1 tablespoon high quality oolong tea leaves
1 knob ginger, sliced into fine shreds
2 tablespoons sake

(black vinegar sauce)
2 tablespoons Japanese black vinegar ("kurozu")
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon doubanjiang (Chinese hot bean paste)
1 small garlic, grated
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds

Procedure:

1. Marinade the chicken in the shio-koji (or simply season with salt) overnight in refrigerator.
2. In a bowl, set the oolong tea leaves and pour just enough amount of boiling water to cover the leaves. Set aside for 5 minutes. Drain the water from the leaves.
3. Combine the leaves with the ginger slices and sake. Mix well.
4. Get "Mushi Nabe" ready according to the basic steaming instructions.
5. Put a piece of parchment paper on the grate and spread the half amount of the oolong tea leaf mixture (about the size of the chicken). Gently wipe off the shio-koji from the chicken and place on the top, then spread the rest of the oolong tea leaf mixture over the chicken.
6. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
8. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Gently wipe off the oolong tea leaf topping and set aside. Slice the chicken into bite-size pieces. Arrange the sliced chicken on a serving plate. Place the oolong tea leaf topping back on the chicken (mince the tea leaves if they tend to be firm). Drizzle some chicken juice from cooking (there should be a small pool of juice on the parchment paper), followed by the sauce. Serve immediately.

Happy donabe life.

Super One-pot Donabe dish...Hot & Sour Pork Sesame Sukiyaki

I call this dish "Super" one-pot donabe dish, because it's basically you assemble all the main ingredients in a donabe and just cook them together all at once. You cook and serve in one pot and it tastes really great. I love the combination of the spiciness and a slight tangy kick from the black vinegar. You can adjust the amount of doubanjiang according to your taste. With pork and different kinds of vegetables, it's also nutritiously-balanced. Serve with freshly-made donabe rice, then it makes a tasty meal.

For this dish, I used my beautiful classic-style donabe, "Hakeme" (medium-size).

Hot & Sour Pork Sesame Sukiyaki

Ingredients: (3-4 servings)

(marinade)

1 clove garlic, grated

2-3 teaspoons grated ginger

1/2 tablespoon doubanjiang (Chinese hot bean paste)

2 tablespoons sake

2 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon raw brown sugar

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/3 cup (80 ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 cup (60 ml) ground white sesame seeds

10 oz Kurobuta pork, cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 head medium-size napa cabbage, sliced crosswise into 1/2" (1 cm) thick

1.5 oz (50 g) burdock root ("gobo"), thinly sliced by using peeler

4 medium-size shiitake mushrooms, thinly-sliced

3.5 oz (100 g) enoki mushrooms, roughly separated by hand and cut into half

7 oz (200 g) medium-firm tofu, drained and sliced into 12 pieces

1 oz (30 g) carrot, thinly-sliced crosswise

1/2 cup (120 ml) Chinese chicken stock or dashi stock

1/2 tablespoon black vinegar ("kurozu")

some extra ground sesame seeds (optional)

2 scallions, thinly-sliced crosswise

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the marinade until smooth. Add the pork and mix well by hand. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. In donabe, spread the napa cabbage evenly on the bottom. Add the burdock root, shiitake mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms in layers.

3. Add the tofu pieces and arrange them to make a circle along the rim. Arrange the carrot slices next to tofu pieces. Add the chicken stock.

4. Lay the pork with the marinade in the center and press gently to make a even layer.

5. Cover and set donabe over medium heat. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes or until the broth starts simmering and the pork starts to cook. Stir.

6. Cover again and cook for additional 3-4 minutes or until everything is cooked through. Add the black vinegar and stir again. Remove from the heat.

7. Garnish with more sesame seeds (optional) and sliced scallions. Serve immediately.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Rice Recipe...Chicken & Fermented Black Bean Rice

Lately, I've been using Chinese fermented black beans (豆豉) quite often. It adds nice deep flavor and saltiness to a dish. Fermented black beans are normally sold in a package and easy to find at most of Asian grocery stores (including large Japanese chain stores). It's a nice ingredient to keep in the pantry.

This time, I used the Chinese fermented black beans for a rice dish to cook in my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".


Chicken & Fermented Black Bean Rice


Cut 10oz chicken thigh (boneless and skinless) into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, combine the chicken with 2T fermented black beans, 2T sake, 1tsp soy sauce, 1tsp oyster sauce, 1/2tsp raw brown sugar, 1/4tsp Chinese five spice, 1tsp thinly-sliced dry red chili, 1/2T potato starch, and 1tsp sesame oil. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


In Kamado-san, combine 2 rice-cup (360 ml) rinsed short-grain rice with 350 ml Chinese chicken stock (or just water is also fine). Let it rest for 20 minutes. Arrange 3-4 shiitake mushrooms (sliced) over the rice, then add the chicken mixture on the top. Cover with the both lids and cook over medium-high heat for 13-15 minutes.


Let it rest (covered) for 20 minutes. The rice is ready! Serve with a mixture of some thinly-sliced scallion, cilantro, and yuzu rind.

Really tasty.
Happy donabe life.

Donabe-steamed Vietnamese-style Black Cod with Mushrooms

I am often asked if I have any recommendation for an English-language cookbook for donabe cooking.


This year, my top recommendation is Vietnamese Home Cooking by Chef Charles Phan of San Francisco's popular restaurant, Slanted Door. This book contains many delectable recipes which can be made with classic-style donabe or donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe". Yes, authentic Japanese Iga-yaki donabe are great for Vietnamese cooking, too!

This steamed black cod dish is inspired by one of Chef Phan's recipes in the book.

You need donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe" for this recipe.

Vietnamese-style Steamed Black Cod with Mushrooms

In a ceramic bowl which can fit Mushi Nabe, arrange 3oz enoki mushrooms, 4 shiitake mushrooms (sliced), and1oz dry glass noodle (cut if too long) on top of the mushrooms. Spread 1T thinly-sliced ginger shreds over the glass noodle. Arrange 14-16 oz black cod (cut into 4-5) on the top. The fish should be seasoned with salt and pepper and let rest for 20-30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towel before being added to the bowl. Pour the broth (3/4C Chinese chicken stock, 2T sake, 2T light-color soy sauce, 1T fish sauce, 1T raw brown sugar) into the bowl.

Cover and steam in the hot Mushi Nabe for 10-12 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.

Garnish with thinly-sliced scallion and some cilantro. Divide into individual bowls to serve.

The fish is so buttery, and the broth tastes so deep with all the infused flavors with the ingredients. This dish is really great.

Happy donabe life.

Vegetable Chapchae (Korean-style glass noodle dish)

Chapchae (or Japchae, Korean glass noodle dish) is one of the best known Korean dishes among Japanese people.  There are many short-cut recipes for this dish, but for the best result, instead of cooking everything together, you want to cook some ingredients separately and assemble at the end.  By making this extra effort, the dish creates more layers of flavors and also look much nicer esthetically.

Most typical style of chapchae contains beef, but my version is vegetarian with a lot of mushrooms.
So, here's my style chapchae.


Cook 3.5 oz dry Korean glass noodle according to the package instructions.  Drain and cut by scissors.  The quality of the noodle makes a big difference, so I get a nice kind, made from sweet potato starch in Korea.  The dry noodle is really tough and the color is grey.


Saute 1/2 color bell pepper and 1/3 carrot (both julienned) in olive oil and transfer to a plate.
Saute 1/3 burdock root (gobo - julienned ), and 1/4 onion (thinly sliced) in sesame oil for a few minutes.  Add 6 medium-size shiitake mushrooms (sliced) and 5 oz shimeji mushrooms and continue to sauté until the mushrooms are soft.


In a small bowl, combine 2T soy sauce, 2T sake, 1T raw brown sugar, 1T mirin, 1/2T grated ginger, and 1 clove garlic (grated).  Add the mixture to the pan and stir.  Also add 1/2C soybean sprouts, cooked glass noodles, 1T white sesame seeds, 1T pine nuts, and the cooked bell pepper & carrot.  Stir.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.


To finish, add 1/2C sugar snap peas (blanched and halved in angle), and thinly-sliced scallion.  Drizzle a little amount of black vinegar (optional).  Garnish with shredded dry chili and cilantro.

This dish contains a variety of healthy ingredients and it makes a nice complete meal.

Donabe-Steamed Clams with Fennel

I love cooking and eating clams, and while I always love the simple sake-steamed clams, I also do different recipe variations.

This time, since I cooked them with fennel.  When fennel soaks the rich broth which is infused with clam juice, it tastes really good.  For this dish, my tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", is the perfect cooking vessel.  It's a very simple recipe, yet it makes a beautiful presentation and tastes really great.  Here's how I make it.

Donabe-steamed Clams with Fennel

Saute thin-wedges of a fennel bulb with 1 clove garlic (thinly-sliced) in 1Tbsp olive oil in Fukkura-san for a minute.  Add 2T water, cover with lid, and steam-fry until the fennel is tender for 7-8 minutes.

Add 1.5 pounds of clams (rinsed) and 1tsp sliced dry chili.  Add 2T sake and cover again.  Cook until the clams are open.

Add 1/2T fish sauce (nan pla) and a small handful of basil leaves (torn by hand).  Squeeze some lemon.  Stir and turn off the heat.  Serve immediately.

So delicious.  Clams are so meaty, fennel is tender, and the broth is really flavorful.

Happy donabe life.

Dan Dan Mein at home

I made my own version of Dan Dan Mein (noodle in sesame sauce), topped with miso-flavored kurobuta pork.


Sauce (2 servings) is 4 tsps sesame paste, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, ½ tablespoon black vinegar, ½ tablespoon la-yu (hot sesame oil), ½ tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoon minced scallion, 1 teaspoon, agave syrup, and some ground Szechuan pepper. They were whisked together and divided into two bowls.

For the pork, 3-4 oz ground kurobuta pork was mixed with 1/2T Chinese rice wine and a pinch of salt. It was sautéed in a pan. ½ teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground Szechuan pepper, 2 teaspoons each miso and Chinese rice wine were added and simmered. At the end, 1 tablespoon minced cilantro stems were added and stirred.

Cooked Chinese noodles were added to the bowl, and topped with the ground pork mixture.

The dish was finally topped with some roasted minced almond, soft-boiled egg, cilantro, and my homemade chunky la-yu (hot oil).


To enjoy this dish, all the ingredients need to be mixed in the bowl and eat. It was so perfect and so satisfying!

Thai-style vermicelli salad...another version

I made a Thai-style vermicelli salad again. I tend to make it more often in the summertime, and tend to change the recipe every time.

This is my improved version... It was really nice.

Thank-style vermicelli salad with chicken and vegetables

Ingredients

(sauce)

1.5 tablespoons each lemon juice and lime juice

2 tablespoons nan pla (fish sauce)

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1/2 tablespoon dry red chili slices

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon dry baby shrimp, soaked in 1 tablespoon of sake, drained and minced

4 oz ground chicken

2.5 oz bean thread noodles (dry)

2 leaves cabbage, thinly sliced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup mung bean sprouts

1/2 Japanese cucumber, julienned

8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved

some thinly sliced scallion and chopped cilantro

Procedure

1. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan. Saute the garlic, ginger, baby shrimp, and ground chicken until cooked through. Add to the sauce in a bowl immediately.

3. Boil the water in a large pot. Add the bean thread noodles and turn off the heat. Let it stand for 3 minutes. Cut the noodles with the scissors. Drain. Add to the bowl while the noodles are still hot.

4. Add the vegetables and half amount of scallion and cilantro to the bowl. Toss.

5. Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with the remaining scallion and cilantro. Serve immediately while the noodles are still warm.

Power salad...Thai-style vermicelli with seared Fiji Albacore

To serve with the donabe rice and miso soup...

I also made a "power" salad dish. It was Thai-style vermicelli salad with seared Albacore. I got the very fresh wild-caught albacore from Fiji at Fish King, so I made the pan-fry and sliced them. Vermicelli was soaked in the very hot water for 5 minutes and cut into bite-size length. Then, it was tossed with some lettuce, blanched snap peas, carrot, red onion, scallion, cilantro, tomato, roasted almond, sesame seeds, donabe-steamed eggs, and jumbo shrimp (pan-fried with dry hot chili, ginger and garlic in sesame oil). What a nicely balanced dish! Here's the recipe for the dressing.

Dressing for Thai-style vermicelli salad

Ingredients

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons nan pla (fish sauce)

1.5 tablespoons agave nectar

some la-yu (hot sesame oil)

Procedure

1. Whisk together the ingredients.

2. Toss with the salad ingredients.

*You can also whisk together only the first 4 ingredients and drizzle la-yu over the tossed salad at the end.

I love the summer taste.

Beef and lettuce salad with kochujang apple sauce

I had some leftover beef tri-tip slices and Kochujang apple sauce from Yaki Yaki San grilling dinner, so I made this very easy salad. The dish was made from all the leftover ingredients from the previous night's Yaki Yaki San dinner, except for the donabe steamed eggs. It's almost like a "deconstructed" grilled beef lettuce wrap!

First, I marinated the beef with some Kochujang apple sauce for 30 minutes. Then, I pan-fried the beef and served over the lettuce and cherry tomatoes. The remaining Kochujang apple sauce was poured to the dish and served.

It was so delicious that I want to make it again as an "official" appetizer (by getting the ingredients just to make this dish) next time.

Chinese-style Grilled Eggplant Salad with Fermented Black Bean Sauce

I wanted to make a quick appetizer out of what I had in the fridge. So, I came up with this dish. Grilled whole eggplant is so easy to prepare and brings the nice smokiness to the dish. I tossed the eggplant with fermented black soy bean sauce and okra.

Ingredients

4-5 medium-size eggplant

some okra

1 tablespoon, thinly shredded ginger

thinly sliced scallion

ground white sesame seeds

la-yu (hot sesame oil)

(Sauce)

2/3 tablespoon fermented black beans

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or sake

1/2 teaspoon Chicken powder

1 tablespoon boiling water

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Procedure

1. On a stove top grill over high heat, grill the eggplants (all sides) until the skin is charred and inside is soft. Transfer the eggplants to a cutting board.

2. Cut off the heads, and peel off the skins while the eggplants are still hot. Cut the peeled eggplants into bitable sizes.

3. Blanch the okra in boiling water for about 1 minute. Cut into small pieces.

4. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.

5. In a bowl, combine the eggplant, okra, ginger and the sauce and toss.

6. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl. Garnish with the scallion, ground white sesame seeds, and la-yu.

Thai-style Grilled Eggplant and Shrimp Salad

This is another wonderful summer appetizer. This dish with great with the ground pork, too.

Thai-style Grilled Eggplant and Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

(sauce)

2 tablespoons nan pla

2.5 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 tablespoon sugar

some grated ginger, sliced dry red chili pepper, and ground black pepper

4-5 medium size eggplants

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 pound peeled shrimp

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon sake

some bean sprouts

some chopped cilantro

Procedure

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.

2. Grill the eggplants until very soft. Peel the skin immediately, cut into small pieces and add to the bowl.

3. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

4. Saute the garlic until aromatic. Add the shrimp and saute until they are cooked through.

5. Deglaze with the sake, turn off the heat, and wait until it stops sizzling.

6. Add the shrimp (with the juice in the pan, if any), bean sprouts, and cilantro to the bowl.

7. Toss them together.