Donabe-steamed Shrimp & Tofu Dumplings 2 ways

Shrimp, Tofu, and Bamboo Shoot...you can't go wrong with the combination. Here's another variation of the filling for steamed dumplings.

With the filling, this time I did gyoza-style and mushroom shumai style. I had a few friends came over and we enjoyed both on the tabletop.



Shrimp &Tofu Dumplings 2 ways

Ingredients:

(For the filling)

8 oz peeled & deveined shrimp
6 oz medium-tofu (moisture drained)

4 oz bamboo shoot

1  scallion, thinly-sliced crosswise

1/2T grated ginger

2T potato starch
egg white from 1 egg

1T sake

1/2T shio-koji (or 1/4 tsp salt)

1tsp light-color soy sauce

1/4 tsp  sansho pepper (or white pepper)

1tsp sesame oil

20-25 gyoza wrappers
10-12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
8 wonton skins, thinly-sliced
some extra potato starch

Procedure:

1. Mix the ingredients for the filling in a bowl until smooth by hand.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. For the gyoza-style, wrap the mixture in gyoza wrappers and set aside.
3. For the mushroom shumai-style, dust the inner side of each shiitake mushroom with potato starch by using a small strainer. Fill each mushroom with an optimal amount of the filling. Toss the thinly-sliced wonton skins and top each dumpling with a small amount of the wonton skins.
4. Get the donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe"ready. For the gyoza-style, set the dumplings on the grate. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes or until they are cooked through. For the shumai-style, the cooking time is about 7-8 minutes or longer, depending on the thickness of the dumplings.

3. Serve with ponzu or your choice of dipping sauce.
*In order to prevent the dumplings from sticking, I suggest that you line the steam grate with parchment paper (with small holes), some napa cabbage, or bamboo leaves like you see in the picture.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe-smoked Camembert and Walnuts

To be honest, I've never been a big fan of baked Camembert or Brie. I always thought I'd rather eat the cheese unmanipulated.

However, when I smoked Camembert in my donabe smoker, "Ibushi Gin", it was such a shocking experience...I couldn't believe how great it tasted! I smoked  Camembert and walnuts together and they turned out to be the awesome combination.

It's super easy to smoked Camembert and walnuts, because you can just let the donabe do the job. And, they become something really special. You don't even need to get a fancy Camembert. Just a regular French kind is fine.


Smoked Camembert and Walnuts

1. Put Camembert (in a case) in freezer for 2-3 hours (semi-freezing the cheese will help keeping it from getting too runny when smoked).

  
2. Remove Camembert from the case and remove the wrapping paper. Discard the wrapping paper. Put Camembert on a piece of foil and wrap so that only the top surface is not covered. Set it back in one half of the case.


  
3. Line the bottom of IBUSHI GIN with aluminum foil.  Place a small handful of smoke chips (about 1/2 oz or 15 g). Set only the middle level grate in IBUSHI GIN.


 
4. Set IBUSHI GIN over high heat (medium-high heat for the high calorie burner) on gas stove. Once the chips start smoking (about 7-8 min.), put Camembert in the center of the grate and put the walnuts around the cheese.  Put the lid on IBUSHI GIN and fill the rim with water. Smoke for 5 minutes.



5. Turn off the heat and let IBUSHI GIN stand for 20 minutes (covered).Uncover and transfer Camembert and the walnuts into a serving plate. Serve immediately or at room temperature with crackers, honey, etc.

Cleaning of IBUSHI GIN after use is super easy, too. Just remove the used smoke chips and foil and rinse the donabe.

Smoked Camembert was so nicely runny and aromatic. Smoked walnuts were so nutty-smokey. They were great together on a cracker with a little drizzle of honey, too!

Happy donabe life.

Donabe-steamed Eggplant with Walnut-Miso Sauce

I love eggplants and steaming might be my favorite way of cooking eggplants.

Steamed eggplants are especially nice to serve cold with simple sauce so that your palate can focus on the delicate texture and flavor of the vegetable itself.

With my donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", because of its intense steam, a pile of cut eggplants can be steamed really nicely. This salad dish is a true delight. It's steamed Japanese eggplant with roasted walnut & miso sauce. This shojin (Buddhist temple-style vegan) dish is so satisfying, yet no oil is used in it. Both the eggplants and the sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead and assemble right before service.

Steamed Eggplant with Walnut-Miso Sauce

Ingredients:

5  medium-size Japanese eggplants

(Walnut-Miso Sauce)

1 oz  walnuts, roasted for 8 minutes in the 400F oven

1/2 tsp  raw brown sugar

1T  dark miso

1/2 tsp  shio-koji or a 1/4 tsp soy sauce

3T or more  dashi stock (shiitake & kombu dashi)

some thinly-sliced shiso leaves for garnish

Procedure:

1. Cut off the head of each eggplant. Cut each into quarters. For a very long eggplant, cut each piece further into half crosswise. Soak them in cold water for 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Get donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe"ready. Set the eggplants on the steam grate. Cover and steam over high-heat for about 10 minutes or the eggplants are soft. *For easy removal I use a shallow bamboo basket to steam eggplants. I can just pile up the eggplants in the basket and set it on the steam grate. When the steaming is done, I just remove the whole basket.

3. Transfer the eggplants into a plate and let them cool down. Once the eggplants are cooled, chill them in the refrigerator.

4. To make the sauce, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor and make into a puree. Add more dashi stock according to your preferred consistency. 

5. To serve, arrange the eggplants in a plate and pour the sauce. Garnish with sliced shiso leaves.

This dish is great as an cold appetizer!

The sauce is very versatile. These are a couple of variations...one if with Haricot Verts, and the other with blanched Komatsuna (Japanese spinach). I just tossed the ingredients with the sauce!

Happy donabe life.

Donabe-steamed Tofu & Pork Shumai on Shiitake Mushrooms

Welcome to the donabe dumpling house.

Here's another donabe-steamed dumpling recipe.

It's actually a variation of my previous pork shumai.  You can simply substitute half of the pork with well-drained medium-firm tofu in the recipe. The dumpling becomes so fluffy and nice.

Then, get shiitake mushroom caps ready. You can dust the inside of each shiitake with potato starch and fill with the pork-tofu mixture.

Steam in donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", for 8-10 minutes, then they are ready. I topped them with the fried garlic sauce, and they were so nice. 

Happy donabe life.

Classic Donabe Recipe...Quick Tofu & Chicken Stew

I call this dish a "stew", but it's kind of like soup, too. In any case, this dish is so soothing and makes my heart warm. Just a few basic ingredients can make this great one-pot donabe dish. For garnish, I use finely-minced yuzu rind and chopped mitsuba (Japanese parsley) for the nice accent, but if you can't find these ingredients, you can simply omit them and the dish would still taste very nice.

You can make this dish with any classic-style donabe. I used medium-size Yu-Kizeto. This is an extra-light weight donabe, so it's especially handy for a quick this like this.

Tofu & Chicken Stew

Ingredients:
1T sesame oil
1/2T thinly-sliced (into threads) ginger
5oz  ground chicken
2oz  daikon, thinly-sliced crosswise, then quartered
5oz  shimeji mushrooms
1.5T sake
1.5T mirin
1C  dashi stock
14oz  soft tofu
1.5T light-color soy sauce ("usukuchi shoyu")
salt to taste
1T potato starch
2T water
sansho pepper to taste (optional)
1/2tsp finely-minced yuzu rind (optional)
some chopped mitsuba (optional)

Procedure:
1. In donabe, heat the sesame oil and sauté the ginger for 1 minute over medium heat.


2. Add the chicken and daikon, and sauté until it's mostly cooked through and crumbly.


3. Add the shimeji mushrooms and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes.


4. Add the sake, mirin, and dashi stock. Bring to a simmer.


5. By using a spoon, break the tofu and add to the broth. Cover and simmer for a few minutes.
6. Add the soy sauce and stir. Adjust the seasoning by adding salt, if necessary. In a small cup, whisk together the potato starch and water. Drizzle the mixture into the broth and stir to thicken.


7. Remove from the heat and sprinkle a pinch of sansho pepper. Garnish with the yuzu rind and mitsuba.

Each ingredient gives a nice flavor profile, yet they are nicely integrated on the palate. Very lovely.

Happy donabe life.

Seafood Spring Rolls with Shiso and Okinawa Citrus

Here's my new version of seafood spring rolls ("Harumaki" in Japanese).

The addition of the shiso leaves and shekwasha (Okinawa citrus) totally upgraded this dish and added such nice "fresh" flavors. I brought back a bottle of straight shekwasha juice from Japan. This special citrus from Okinawa has such a rich citrus flavor. But, you can substitute it with lemon juice if you can't get shekwasha juice.

Seafood Spring Rolls with Shiso and Shekwasha

For the filling, combine 6oz shrimp (peeled and deveined, then minced), 4 large scallops (sliced), 1/2T potato starch, 10 shiso leaves (thinly-sliced), 1T shekwasha juice (or lemon juice), 1/2T shio-koji (or 1/4tsp salt), and 1/4tsp black pepper and mix well.

Get 6 square spring roll skins and cut each in half diagonally. Divide the filling into 12 and roll with the skins. (To roll, put the filling in the longer side of the skin, fold two corners in and roll. Seal the end with egg white.


Deep-fry the spring rolls at 350F for a few minutes until golden brown. Serve with cilantro and lettuce. (You can wrap a spring roll with some cilantro and dip in the sauce to enjoy.)

To make the Sauce:
Combine 1/4C rice wine vinegar, 2tsp raw brown sugar, 1/2T soy sauce and some dry red chili slices in a bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.


The following night, I made vegetarian spring rolls with tofu, shiso, and camembert cheese...these were also super tasty!

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 and Pan-fried Daikon Cakes

Pan-fried daikon cake is one of my favorite dim-sum dishes, and I love the crusty outside and very chewy interior texture of the cake. But, sometimes I wish the cake was made a little lighter, as this dish tends to be quite filling on its own.

So, I came up with a lighter version of this dish. Instead of a heavy load of rice flour, I use just a few tablespoons of whole wheat flour. In fact, it's more like a Japanese "Okonomiyaki" style, because I used okonomiyaki flour and mountain yam powder! The addition of the mountain yam powder helped the texture to become nicely chewy inside while keeping the dish light. But, this addition is optional and you can still make the nice Daikon Cakes!

The key to dish is to pre-cook the daikon by steaming in the donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", then steam the batter in the donabe again before pan-frying. It's really good. Steamed daikon retains all the nutrients and pure "sweet" flavor, so it results in the really flavorful daikon cakes.

Okonomiyaki-style Daikon Cakes

Ingredients:
10 oz  daikon, sliced into 1/8"x 2" battons
1/2oz  dry baby shrimp
2  rehydrated dry shiitake mushrooms, thinly-sliced
2  scallions, thinly-sliced crosswise
1/2T  shio-koji (or 1/2tsp salt)
1/4tsp  black pepper
4T  okonomiyaki flour (or regular wheat flour)
2T  potato starch
1/3oz  dry mountain yam powder or 2T grated mountain yam, optional

sesame oil
sliced scallion for garnish
your choice of dipping sauce such as ponzu

Procedure:


1. Get donabe steamer Mushi Nabe ready, and spread the daikon on the grate. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until the daikon is very tender. Remove the daikon from the donabe and let it cool down.


2. In a bowl, combine the daikon and next 8 ingredients until mixed through by a wooden spatula.


3. Transfer the mixture into a square mold and set it in Mushi Nabe. Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Once it's cooled down. Refrigerate the steamed cake for at least one hour.


4. Slice the cake into your desired size pieces and pan-fry both sides in sesame oil in a sauté pan until golden brown.


5. Serve with some sliced scallion and your choice of dipping sauce. (This time I used donabe skillet, "Toban", as a serving dish.)

Happy donabe life.