Donabe Meat Sauce with Preserved Lemon

Another donabe dish with my "moshio" preserved lemon.
This time, I made the meat sauce to enjoy with spaghetti. I always loved my mom's spaghetti meat sauce when I was a child, and this variation I made still reminds me of it. The preserved lemon adds the fantastic depth and hint of lemony touch to the dish.

The process is pretty very similar to my last dish of chicken in preserved lemon tomato sauce. The main differences in ingredients is it's ground beef, and good amount of red wine is used.

If you can't get preserved lemon (whether homemade or store-purchased), you can make it without and simply adjust the seasoning with a little more salt.


Of course, I made this dish with fantastic soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru" Nabe. I just love this dish so much.


Tomato Meat Sauce with Preserved Lemon for Spaghetti
(for large-size soup & stew doanbe, "Miso-shiru Nabe")

Ingredients: 3 - 4 servings

1 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-small onion, minced
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds, optional
1 clove garlic, thinly-sliced
1/2 medium carrot, cut into small dice
8 oz (240 g) white mushrooms, thinly-sliced
1 pound (450 g) ground beef
1 3/4 cups (400 ml) crushed tomato (or tomato sauce)
1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine
3 pieces preserved lemon, minced plus 1 teaspoon of its syrup (*each piece is 1/8 of medium-size lemon)
1 cube/ packet consommé, optional
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dry oregano
a pinch of nutmeg powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce
salt and pepper

spaghetti
Parmesan cheese


Procedure:

1. In Miso-shiru Nabe, sauté the onion and fennel seeds in 1 tablespoon olive oil over moderate heat until the onion is very soft (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and carrot, and sauté until aromatic. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until they are soft.
2. Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the beef. Sauté until the meat is cooked through. Add the crushed tomato, red wine, preserved lemon with its syrup, consommé cute (optional), bay leaf, oregano, and nutmeg. Cover. As soon as it starts boiling, turn down the heat to simmer. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Skim as necessary. 
3. Add the soy sauce and a good pinch of black pepper. Adjust the seasoning with a little salt, if necessary. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.
4. Cook spaghetti according to the package's instructions. Serve into pasta bowls and pour the meat sauce over the spaghetti. Serve immediately. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

You can also find the recipe in toiro kitchen's website.
Happy Donabe Life.

Quick Donabe Recipe...Shio-koji Chicken in Preserved Lemon Sauce

Ever since I made my first batch of "Moshio" (seaweed salt) preserved lemon, I've been crazy about it. Here's how I make "moshio" preserved lemon.


I finished my first batch so fast last year, so the end of last year, I made more to fit in a large jar. The preserved lemon becomes ready to use after 1 month.


After over 6 months, the preserved lemon is at its beautiful stage. The lemons are very nicely fermented in salt and covered in salty syrup. It's like lemon marmalade with no sugar. I learned that preserved lemon should keep for a few years when stored at a dark and cool storage, but I'm sure I would finish this big jar much sooner. The other night, I made simple chicken and vegetables in preserved lemon and spice sauce in my tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san". I will post the recipe soon.


Last night, I made another chicken dish with "moshio" preserved lemon. This dish is super easy and so delicious. It's the collaboration of two fermented seasonings. Both shio-koji and preserved lemon add such nice depth and flavors to this extremely simple dish. It cooks really nicely in soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru" Nabe.


Shio-koji Chicken in Preserved Lemon Sauce
(for large-size soup & stew doanbe, "Miso-shiru Nabe")

Ingredients: 2-3 hearty servings

1 pound (450 g) boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into large bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon shio-koji (can be substituted with 1 teaspoon salt)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-small onion, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 clove garlic, thinly-sliced
2 tablespoons sake or white wine
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) crushed tomato (or tomato sauce)
2 pieces preserved lemon, minced plus 1 teaspoon of its syrup (*each piece is 1/8 of medium-size lemon)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dry oregano
4 oz (120 g) green beans, cut in half
salt and pepper


Procedure:

1. In a Ziploc bag, combine the chicken and shio-koji and mix well by hand. Tightly close (with the air out) and let the chicken marinade in refrigerator for at least a few hours to overnight.
2. In Miso-shiru Nabe, sauté the onion and fennel seeds in 1 tablespoon olive oil over moderate heat until the onion is very soft (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic.
3. Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the sake and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the crushed tomato, preserved lemon and syrup, bay leaf, and oregano. Cover. As soon as it starts boiling, turn down the heat to simmer. 
4. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, pan-fry the chicken in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned outside but not fully cooked to inside. Transfer the chicken (but leave the oil in a pan) to Miso-shiru Nabe and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Clean the sauté pan after chicken was transferred. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the green beans over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Transfer the green beans to Miso-shiru Nabe (but leave the oil in a pan). Continue to simmer for additional 2-3 minutes. Add a pinch of pepper and adjust the seasoning with salt, if necessary. Turn off the heat and let it rest (with lid on) for 10 minutes. Serve into individual bowls at the table.

You can also find the recipe in toiro kitchen's website.
Happy Donabe Life.

Umami-packed "Moshio" Preserved Lemon...Finally Ready

"Moshio" Preserved Lemon, after 1 month

I've been a fan of umami-rich "moshio" sea salt for quite some time.


This "moshio" sea salt is made in an ancient method in a small island in Hiroshima.


I found a recipe of making preserved lemon by using "moshio", so I tweaked it a little and made my own preserved lemon. In a sterilized jar, combine 1 lb (450 g) lemon (each is cut into 8 pieces) and 2.5 oz (70 g) salt and mix well. (Salt is about 15% of the lemon by weight.) Add a bay leaf and a seeded dry red chili. Cover and leave at a room temperature for 4 weeks. Meanwhile, shake the jar upside down every few days for even distribution of the salt.


After exactly a month, my "moshio" preserved lemon was so nicely ready.


To begin with, I made simple vinaigrette with my "moshio" preserved lemon. I whisked together 1 piece of preserved lemon (minced) with 1/2 tsp juice, 2 tablespoons Kyoto-style "Awase-zu", and 2 tablespoons olive oil (I love Pasolivo!). Add some ground black pepper. I made a salad with some kale, grilled zucchini, grilled corn, radish, roasted almond, and feta cheese, and tossed in this vinaigrette. It came out so flavorful and gorgeous.


And, of course, I really wanted to make Chicken Tagine! So, I marinated bone-in chicken thighs with minced preserved lemon flesh, minced onion, grated ginger, garlic, and some spices (turmeric, saffron, ras el hanout, etc.) for overnight.


In my tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", I cooked the marinated chicken and fennel bulb.


After 1 hour over low heat, my donabe tagine chicken came out so delicious! With the "moshio" preserved lemon, chicken was so rich and aromatic. Because the tagine-style donabe has a nice shallow body, the ingredients cooked perfectly in one layer. This time, I kind of played around with spices and other ingredients as I cooked so I didn't really write down the recipe. But, next time, when I will, I want to post the recipe in my blog.

Happy donabe life.