Donabe steam-fry shio-koji chicken, asparagus, and tomato

Back to basic. Golden basic.
I made super simple steam-fry chicken with vegetables.
This dish is extremely easy to make but never gets old in my home.
I use tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", for this dish. With this unique donabe, I can sear the chicken first, then once with the cover on, the insulated body and FIR (Far-Infrared Radiation) distribute the heat evenly and makes really juicy chicken fast. I use shio-koji to marinade the chicken, but if you don't have it, you can simply substitute it with sea salt.

Steam-fry Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomato

Ingredients: (for 3-4 servings as part of multi-course meal)
1 pound boneless chicken thighs (preferably skin on), cut into large bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons shio-koji (or you can substitute with 1.5 teaspoons sea salt)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sake
8 oz (240 g) medium-thick asparagus, trimmed and cut each into 3 pieces at an angle
2 tomatoes, cut into large cubes
some ground black pepper
3-4 lemon wedges
some shichimi pepper

Procedure: 

1. In a bowl, mix together the chicken with shio-koji by hand. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to overnight. (If you simply don't have time, just 30 minutes is still okay.)
2. Heat the olive oil in the skillet of "Fukkura-san" over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and sauté until golden (about 3-4 minutes).
4. Turn over the chicken pieces, add the garlic, and continue to sauté until the garlic is aromatic (1-2 minutes).
5. Pour the sake and cover with lid. Turn down to medium-heat. Cook until the chicken is almost cooked through (about 2-3 minutes).
6. Add the asparagus and tomatoes. Cover again and continue to cook for 3 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and let it rest (with the lid on) for 3 minutes.
8. Uncover and season with some ground black pepper.
9. Serve into individual bowls. Squeeze lemon and sprinkle some shichimi pepper to enjoy.

Shio-koji marinated chicken was simply steam-fried with a little amount of sake.


Then, vegetables are added to finish. That's it.

Happy donabe life.

Kurobuta pork "Tonjiru" with Donabe

Tonjiru (literally translates into "pork soup"), is a hearty miso soup with pork and different kinds of vegetables, and is one of the most beloved rustic dishes for Japanese people.

Although the flavor is hearty, it's still a light and healthy dish, as the broth is miso-based, a little amount of oil is used, and the amount of pork used in the dish is normally quite limited. Pork is more about the flavor for the broth, and we enjoy the balance of it with other ingredients.

I use Kurobuta pork in this dish for its rich flavor.
To make this dish, my soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe", does the best work. It builds heat so slowly, so the root vegetables turn out really nice texture and flavor, while they retain original shapes (without falling apart).


Donabe Kurobuta Pork and vegetable stew (“Ton-jiru”) 

Ingredients: 
8 oz (240 g) Kurobuta pork belly slices, cut into 1.5” (4 cm) wide pieces
4 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon sesame oil
5 oz (150 g) daikon radish, cut into 1/8” (3 mm) thick slices, and further cut into quarters
2 oz (60 g) carrot, cut into 1/8” (3 mm) thick slices, and further cut into half
4 medium-large shiitake mushrooms, quartered
1 japanese green onion (“tokyo negi”) or 3 scallions, green part only
2 ¾ cups (650 ml) dashi stock
4 oz (120 g) satsuma sweet potato (“satsuma imo”), cut into 1/4” (6 mm) thick slices, and further cut into quarters
7 oz (200 g) medium-firm tofu, cubed into bite-size
2.5 tablespoons red or yellow miso
1 tablespoon saikyo miso (sweet white miso) (can be substituted with ½ tablespoon red or yellow miso) some light-color soy sauce (“usukuchi shoyu”)
some minced green onion or scallion

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, combine the pork and 2 tablespoon sake. Mix by hand and set aside for 15 minutes.


2. In “Miso-shiru Nabe”, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the daikon, carrot, shiitake, and green onion. Stir for 2-3 minutes.


3. Add the pork and continue to stir until the pork is almost cooked through (3-4 minutes).
4. Add the remaining sake and continue to cook until the sake is reduced to less than half. (2-3 minutes)


5. Add the dashi stock and cover. Bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer. Skim as necessary.
6. Uncover and put a drop lid (“otoshi buta”) or line the surface with a piece of parchment paper. Cover again and simmer over medium-low heat (or low) for 10 minutes.


7. Add the satsuma sweet potato, cover with lid, and continue to simmer for additional 10 minutes, or until the potato is just cooked through.


8. Add the tofu. Put the miso in a bowl, and take a ladleful of the broth and add to the bowl. Whisk gently until the miso is dissolved.


9. Add the miso content to “Miso-shiru Nabe” and stir. Adjust the seasoning by adding a little amount of “usukuchi shoyu” if necessary.
10. Serve into individual bowls and garnish with minced green onion or scallion.

I think my "tonjiru" is very close to my mom's, and that's why I love it. I made it for her when I went back to Japan last month, and she loved it so much!

Happy donabe life.

Donabe hot pot recipe...Miso-tomato Nabe

This is a nice eclectic donabe one pot dish with really nice flavors. I always enjoy the flavor combination of miso and tomato. With fish and different kinds of ingredients, the broth becomes really enriched. I use soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe", for this dish.


Hope you will try it at home. Here's my recipe.

Seafood Miso Tomato Hot Pot 

Ingredients: 
12 oz (350 g) ocean trout filet, cut into smaller pieces
4 oz (120 g) peeled and deveined large shrimp salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ medium-size onion, minced
1 clove garlic, grated
1 knob ginger, grated
2 tablespoon sake
1 cup (240 ml) tomato sauce
2 cups (480 ml) dashi stock about
1 cup (240 ml) combination of leftover vegetables such as cauliflower florets, brussels sprouts, satsuma sweet potato (“satsuma imo”), and shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons red or yellow miso
8 oz (240 g) clams, scrubbed some chopped chervil

Procedure: 

1. Season the fish filets and shrimp lightly with salt and pepper, and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil and butter in “Miso-shiru Nabe”, and sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger, over medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until the onion is very soft and starting to caramelize. Reduce the heat, if the onion is getting burned.
3. Add the sake and continue to cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce and dashi stock, and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.
5. Add the vegetables, and simmer until everything is barely cooked through (about 5 minutes).
6. Add the miso and whisk gently until it’s dissolved.
7. Pat dry the ocean trout and shrimp with paper towel and add to “Miso-shiru Nabe”. Also add the clams.
8. Cover and simmer until everything is cooked through and the clams are open. Adjust the seasoning of the broth with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
9. Serve into individual bowls and garnish with some chopped chervil.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe-smoked "onigiri" rice balls and "tamago-yaki" rolled omelet

Since I got a lot of English peas...


I made more English Peas & Hijiki Rice with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", and made onigiri (rice balls) with it.


With a leftover onigiri, I decided to smoke it along with slices of my tamago-yaki (Japanese rolled omelet) including 9 kinds of Japanese seaweed, in donabe smoker, "Ibushi Gin". Wow, yes, I did! For this I used walnuts wood smoke chips.

Smoked Onigiri and Tamago-yaki with Ibushi Gin


Ingredients: for 1 serving
1 rice ball ("onigiri")
2 slices of Japanese rolled egg omelet ("tamago-yaki")
olive oil

Ohter things you need:
a piece of aluminum foil
a small handful (about 1/3 oz) of smoke chips
a piece of parchment paper

Procedure:

1. Line a foil in the bottom of Ibushi Gin. Place the smoke chips on the foil and arrange them in a ring shape. Make sure the foil is tightly attached to the bottom.
2. Set Ibushi Gin (with no lid) over high heat. Wait until the chips starts smoking (about 7-8 minutes).
3. Set the mid-tier rack and place a parchment paper. Rub a small amount of olive oil on one side and place a onigiri. Also place tamago-yaki slices on the other side.
4. Cover with lid and pour water into the rim surrounding the lid. Continue to heat for 5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and let it rest (with the lid on) for 20 minutes.

My leftover onigiri and tamago-yaki become something really special! I even sprinkled some smoked Szechuan pepper over the dish, and used smoked olive oil as a dip for the tamago-yaki. They tasted really nice. Onigiri had the nice smoky surface and inside was still fluffy. Honestly, I like my smoked onigiri much better than grilled onigiri! The walnut wood smoke chips added subtle nutty flavor to the dish and worked really great.

Happy donabe life.

Smoking oil and spices with donabe

Donabe smoker can smoke so many different things.

I smoke soy sauce often and use it to drizzle over sashimi, etc.

And, yes, with Iga-yaki donabe smoker, "Ibushi Gin", you can smoke oil, salt, and pepper, too!

Olive oil was poured in to a shallow bowl and put on the middle rack. Black pepper corns, Chinese Szechuan pepper corns, and Maldon sea salt are put in each small plate and set on the top rack. This time, I used classic sakura (Japanese cherry blossom) tree smoke chips.

Smoked Olive Oil, Black Pepper, Szechuan Pepper, and Sea Salt

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
2 tablespoons each black pepper corns, Szechuan pepper corns, and sea salt

Ohter things you need:
a piece of aluminum foil
a small handful (about 1/3 oz) of smoke chips

Procedure:

1. Set the olive oil in a shallow bowl which can fit the middle rack of Ibushi Gin. Set each peppers and salt in a small saucer.
2. Line a foil in the bottom of Ibushi Gin. Place the smoke chips on the foil and arrange them in a ring shape. Make sure the foil is tightly attached to the bottom.
3. Set Ibushi Gin (with no lid) over high heat. Wait until the chips starts smoking (about 7-8 minutes).
4. Set the mid-tier rack and carefully place the olive oil.
5. Set the top-tier rack and place the peppers and salt.
6. Cover with lid and pour water into the rim surrounding the lid. Continue to heat for 4-5 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and let it rest (with the lid on) for 30 minutes.

Smoked Olive oil, black pepper, Szechuan Pepper, and Sea Salt... They came out so beautiful and aromatic.


Once the peppercorns were ground, they were even more aromatic and smokier.


With the freshly donabe-smoked seasonings, I quickly prepared a simple salad. I used donabe steam-roaster, "Tochinsai", to cook sliced kabocha and brussels sprouts (about 4 minutes in microwave), then sprinkled both kinds of ground smoked peppers, smoked sea salt, and smoked olive oil. What a great smokey-aromatic dish these simple ingredients made! Simply great.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe-smoking with different smoke chips from Japan

I'm back in sunny LA!

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a private donabe class for a group. We didn't use donabe smoker in the class, but one of them found it in the shelves and asked me about it. So, I showed it to everyone, opened the empty donabe smoker and let them smell the lid. Instantly, they got so attracted to it and just by the smoke aroma of the empty donabe, and they even became interested in doing a donabe smoking class next time!

Yes, the donabe smoker has that magical power. And, I can never resist this power.

We haven't made an official announcement yet, but in addition to Sakura (Japanese cherry blossom) wood smoke chips for our donabe smoker, "Ibushi Gin", we now have 4 other varieties of smoke chips! Other varieties are:

Walnut: Has subtle nutty aroma.

Apple: Hint of fruity sweet aroma. 

Oak: Mild aroma with darker color.

Hickory: Rich aroma.

Walnut, apple, and oak tree chips are all Japanese. Hickory wood is from the US.

All are 100% natural wood with no additives, and they made by a company in Japan. Japanese smoke chips are much finer pieces (in size) compare to American smoke chips. Unlike American kinds, Japanese smoke chips don't need to be soaked in water before use. You just put a small amount directly into a smoker and ready to go. So easy, yet they make real fine results.

I tried walnuts and kamaboko (Japanese fish cake, sliced) with apple smoke chips, first.


Very nice result. Indeed, apple gave a hint of sweet aroma. Nice!


Chicken drummettes, kamaboko, and Swiss cheese were smoked over walnut smoke chips. Walnut wood gave the subtle nutty aroma to them. Very nice, too!

More donabe smoking postings to follow. Different kinds of smoke chips are available and you can order from toiro's website. Just click on the order page link, then you can choose smoke chip options from there.
Happy donabe life.

Trip to Chicago…Dinner at Takashi

(Day 6 - Tue, March 5)
The last day of the trade show was a snowy day.

 
Big snow storm was coming to hit the city, and hundreds of flights for the day were already cancelled in the morning. In the snow, we still managed to the venue and completed the final day of the exhibition. We did a very successful show. All the donabe on exhibition were packed and they will go back to Iga tomorrow.


Our final snowy evening in Chicago was dinner at Takashi. The restaurant is a cute 2-story house with the nice homey ambience. Chef Takashi is a renowned Japanese chef, who creates modern Japanese cuisine with French essence. We did his “omakase” tasting menu.


Amuse bouche was sesame tofu with burdock root salad. Really rich and nice. It was followed by Crudo of buri yellowtail, monkfish “foie gras”, tororo kombu, miso-mustard sauce.


Washugyu beef tataki, seared Oregon waghy beef, Trumpet royale mushrooms, garlic, chips, chitrus-pepper sauce. Sauteed maine scallops and soba gnocchi, trupet royale, celery root-parmesan foam. 


Soy-ginger caramel pork belly, pickled daikon salad, steamed buns. Roasted Indiana duck breast, duck rillette roll, baby turnips, yellow and green bean salad. 


The egg and pistachio macaron, milk chocolate crème brulee in brown egg, caramel custard foam. They have a rather short but thoughtful wine list. We enjoyed both white and red. 2010 Reserve du Sanglier, Chablis. 2010 Coca I Fito, Jaspinegre (DO Montsant) (45% Garnacha, 25% Carinena, 15% CS, 15% Sy).

At the end of the dinner, Chef Takashi came to our table and we had a very nice chat. He and Nagatani-san even exchanged each other’s books! The dinner was very nice, and we had a memorable final evening in Chicago. Now, we only hope that the snow will go easy by tomorrow morning and our flights will depart on schedule tomorrow.