October donabe cooking classes!

After crazy-paced past few months, we are pleased to announce that we are secured to host a couple of dates in October.

October 1 (Sat) Starts at 11.00 am
Homemade Tofu Making
This popular class is back by high demand! We will make fresh square tofu from very scratch (with soybeans) and healthy tofu dishes with donabe.

October 8 (Sat) Starts at 11.00 am
Kamado-san cooking class at Tortoise General Store
We will come to Tortoise General Store in Venice! You will learn and taste two donabe rice dishes and two "okazu" side dishes, which are among the most popular items from our past cooking classes.

Please check out our website for sign-up info and more details.

Happy donabe life.

The Spice Table's Kaya Toast

In my last visit at the Spice Table in Little Tokyo, they had Kaya Toast in the menu!

Our waiter cracked perfectly soft "hotspring egg" in a small bowl, then we were suggested to add the special sauce and salt to it and mix. Kaya (the coconut flavor paste) and the bread were also homemade of Chef Bryant. To eat, I took a piece of kaya bread and put some egg mixture on it. It was sooo nice! I would love to eat as breakfast, too.

Oyster omelet, which was one of the specials, had nice plump oysters and had very good flavors. Beef rendang had the very nice balance of the spice and the meat was super tender. Everything was great, as always.

Last Hollywood Bowl Donabe Rice Balls ("Onigiri") of This Year

Last Sunday was my already 7th and last Hollywood Bowl concert of this year. I will miss picnicking here until next year!

This year's last Hollywood Bowl Onigiri (rice ball) was Kyoto Green Tea & Plum Kombucha Onigiri, made with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, Kamado-san! Green Tea is special "Tencha" (base flakey tea leaves before ground for matcha - powdered green tea). I cooked 2 rice-cups 50/50 brown and white rice, mixed in 5 teaspoons tencha leaves, 3 teaspoons "ume" (plum) kombucha, and 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds.

Onigiri is ready!

We enjoyed onigiri and okazu (side dishes) at the concert. Green Tea & Plum Kombucha Onigiri was so elegant and special. Really fun concert. The National was rocking!

Happy donabe life.

Chinese-style shio-koji chicken somen with sesame sauce

Another recipe with shio-koji chicken!

We had such warm days last week.

I made somen again...this time, a little different style.

First, I made shio-koji chicken. For about 10 oz chicken tender, I used about 2 tablespoons each sake and shio-koji. Chicken was marinated for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

Chicken was put on the grate (black-side up) in the skillet of microwavable steam-roaster, TOCHINSAI. (Remaining marinade was discarded.) It was covered and cooked in microwave for 2.5 minutes (700-watt) and rested with the cover on for 5 minutes.

Super aromatic shio-koji chicken! Each piece was shredded roughly by hands. I couldn't help but snacking on some, because it tasted so delicious and tender. I thought this itself can become a dish on its own. Oh, and the chicken juice left in the skillet was so precious, too. It's a super-rich broth. I drank it up this time, but you could save it for something else, if you like.

I cooked somen noodles and rinsed in cold water. The drained somen noodles were plated with boiled egg, sesame sauce (recipe will follow) was poured, and topped with some shredded radish and thinly-sliced scallion. The condiments were my homemade chunky la-yu (hot oil) and lime wedges. Perfect! I even used Tochinsai's skillet as a serving plate!

Now, here's the sesame sauce recipe:

(for 4 servings)

Ingredients

1 cup regular soy-base dipping sauce for somen (I make my own kind as below, but you can shortcut and use a store-purchased kind).

6 tablespoons white sesame paste (tahini sauce is fine)

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2-3 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds

Procedure

Whisk together the ingredients.

Basic dipping sauce for somen or soba noodles

Ingredients

200ml dashi sock

1.5 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon raw brown sugar

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons light-color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")

Procedure

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and set over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts boiling, turn off the heat.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe steam-roasted "shi-koji" chicken breast...microwave cooking

I made another quick and wonderful meal for 1 with the microwavable donabe steam-roaster TOCHINSAI.

Boneless-skinless breast is no longer a "boring" ingredient. I marinated a breast with some homemade shio-koji, and let it rest in the fridge for a few hours.

The marinated chicken was brought back hear room temperature and placed on the lightly-oiled grate of Tochinsai. I pre-heated the grate for 2 minutes in the microwave (without the lid) so that the roasting effect would be enhanced (but it's optional). It was covered with the lid (pre-soaked in water for 1-2 minutes) and cooked in the microwave for 4 minutes.

The chicken was ready! I sliced and served with some thinly-sliced scallion on top and some lime wedges. Wonderful meal.

Happy donabe life.

Ground pork, mushroom & okra curry in donabe

The weather was becoming hot again during last week, so it made me crave for a nice hot curry dish!

To make curry, my Soup & Stew Donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe", is the best tool. This donabe does the best stewing/ braising job with its slow and steady heat distribution. Because of this effect, flavors of meat (protein) tends to be kept inside and develops umami flavor during cooking, while you tend not to need skim much.

This curry recipe is a variation of my original Pork and Okra Curry.

First, I sauteed cumin seeds with grated ginger and garlic in olive oil + butter until aromatic. Then, minced onions were added and sauteed until caramelized.

Ground pork was added. Once the pork was almost cooked through, chopped mushrooms were added.

Once everything was cooked through, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and chili powder were added and sauteed until aromatic. Then, my homemade shio-koji, fond de veau (you can substitute with beef or chicken stock) and tomato sauce were added.

The curry was simmered for about 25 minutes. Then, cut okra and garam masala were added and simmered for additional 10 minutes. The seasoning was adjusted by addition of some salt and pepper.

After turning off the heat, the curry was rested in the donabe for 10 minutes (meanwhile, carryover heat continued to simmer the curry). Then, the curry was ready! It was served with turmeric rice, boiled egg, lime wedge, and chopped cilantro and scallion.

So delicious and so deep! The "secret weapon" of shio-koji definitely added extra depth to the flavors.

Here's the recipe.

(Kheema-style) Ground Pork, mushroom & okra curry with hint of shio-koji

Ingredients

1.5 tablespoons each olive oil and butter

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 tablespoon grated ginger

2 medium-size onion, minced

1 pound ground pork

8 oz white mushrooms, cut into small cubes

1.5 to 2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1.5 cups fond de veau (can be substituted with beef or chicken stock)

2 tablespoons shio-koji (can be substituted with 1 teaspoon sea salt)

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 bay leaves

12 okra, cut into 1/2" crosswise

1 teaspoon garam masala

salt and pepper to taste

(condiments)

mixture of chopped cilantro and sliced scallion

boiled egg

lime wedges

Procedure

1. Heat the olive oil and butter. Saute cumin seeds, ground garlic and ginger until aromatic.

2. Add the onions and saute in medium-low heat until mildly caramelized (about 30-45 minutes).

3. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the ground pork and saute. Once the pork is almost cooked through, add the mushrooms.

4. Once everything is cooked through, add the curry, cayenne, and chili powder. Stir until aromatic.

5. Add fond de veau, shio-koji, tomato sauc, and bay leaves. As soon as the broth is almost boiling, turn the heat to simmer.

6. Line the surface with a piece of foil, cover the donabe with lid, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

7. Add the okra and garam masala. Continue to simmer for additional 10 minutes. Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper, if necessary. Turn off the heat and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

8. Serve the curry over donabe turmeric rice and condiments.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Turmeric Brown Rice

To accompany my donabe curry, I made donabe turmeric rice. I used short grain brown rice (Sukoyaka Genmai brand), which cooks just like white rice.

It's so simple to make, and the flavor is outstanding. To make this rice, of course, I used my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".

First, I heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stirred in 1.5 teaspoons turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder over medium-high heat of gas stove top (you will keep this heat level throughout the cooking of this rice). Stir until aromatic.

Then, 2 rice-cups (360 ml) short grain rice (already rinsed and drained) was added. Rice was sauteed until outer layer of each grain is translucent.

350 ml chicken stock was added. At this point, you could add 1/2 teaspoon salt if you would like to "flavor" the rice to eat on its own. But in this case, I didn't add any salt, because it was going to be served with the curry so the entire dish wouldn't become over-seasoned.

The donabe was covered with both lids and cooked for 12 minutes. Then, the heat was turned off and it was rested for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of resting, both lids were uncovered, and the rice was ready! It was fluffed with a spatula. The aroma was so nice. The bottom part of the rice was even nicely crispy!

My donabe turmeric brown rice with ground pork, mushroom, and okra curry. It was fantastic! I will post the curry recipe in the next one.

Happy donabe life.

Colorful Radicchio salad with Miso Balsamic Vinaigrette

With my homemade miso, I make miso balsamic vinaigrette. It's a multi-purpose vinaigrette.

Here is the list of ingredients:

1/4C balsamic vinegar

1T dijon mustard

2T miso paste

1 shallot, minced

2 small cloves garlic, grated

1/2 tablespoon grated ginger

3/4C extra virgin olive oil (optional: replace 2 tablespoons with avocado blood orange oil)

a little squeeze of lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients. Slowly add the oil while continuing to whisk.

Adjust the flavor by adding a little lime juice, salt and pepper.

This vinaigrette goes very well with radicchio, so I mixed radicchio. The deep miso flavor with the bitter radicchio flavor go well together. In this salad, I have radicchio, shaved fennel, haricot verde, carrot, swiss cheese, chick peas, and roasted sesame seeds. Very nice.

Quick Lunch at Inc.Sack

I stopped by at Inc.Sack (Chef Michael Voltaggio's take-out sandwich place) for a quick bite a few days ago.

I had Spicy Tuna (miso-cured, seared albacore with sriracha mayo), and Banh Mi (I think it was pork belly and pork cheek?). Both are cold sandwiches.

These gourmet sandwiches were cute and easy to bite without becoming messy:-)

Chirashi lunch at Aburiya Toranoko

Lunch menu at Aburiya Toranoko is also great.

I had Chirashi Sushi the other day. Only $14. Rice had the nice texture and was seasoned just right, and the seafood toppings were very fresh.

That's why I keep going back there.