Time taken: 5 - 10 minutesApproximately 300 kcal per serving About This Dish:I head over to my freezer when I find myself hungry and in need of a substantial and healthy Japanese meal at home. Why? Because I usually have a stash of udon hidden in my freezer! Yaki-Udon (Fried Udon) is one of Japan's most popular noodles, udon, stir fried with a bunch of vegetables and optionally meat. This recipe adds a delicious taste to the dish by adding a little bit of sesame oil and Japanese soy sauce! Be creative in your additions and you might end up with an amazing dish for lunch! My mom actually used to make this for me for breakfast. Good old days :) While you're at it, why not check out my other udon recipe as well? What You Need:(Makes 2 servings) - 1 package of udon noodles (I use frozen ones)
- (Optional) Vegetables of your choice (I use onion, cabbage, red pepper, mushrooms, carrots...)
- (Optional) Meat of your choice (I often use thin sliced pork)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 - 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Steps:- Cook the udon noodles as instructed on package (I usually throw in the vegetables in the last few minute or so to boil together with the noodles)
- Heat a pan on MEDIUM heat and throw in the noodles, vegetables and meat (if you have it). Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper.
- At the end, season with sesame oil and serve!
Have you tried making this amazing beef bowl using this recipe I posted a while ago? Since I had the chance to go to a large Korean supermarket (H Mart in Burlington, MA), thanks to Zipcar, I stocked up on thin sliced beef and pork usually used for Shabu Shabu or Japanese style stir fry dishes! Since the meat is usually packed in large portions, I usually wrap the meat up in smaller portions using saran wrap and freeze them for future usage. Using the fresh thin sliced beef, the first thing I made was gyu-don! Beef bowl! Perfectly sweet, perfectly savoury. Rice turns heavenly and irresistible when topped with this beef dish! I changed around the ingredients this time. I didn't use mirin! What I Used:(Makes 2 servings) - 250ml water (~1 cup)
- 200g (7oz) thin sliced beef (I used top blade boneless beef)
- 1/2 large onion
- Some eringi mushrooms
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Dashi stock
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp Japanese sake
- 2 and 2/3 tbsp (or simply 3 tbsp) Japanese soy sauce
- 1 or 2 tsp grated ginger
Steps:I used the same procedures as this recipe, but I'll post it in text here anyway :) - Chop onions and other ingredients you wish to add. Heat up the water and put the onions and other ingredients into the pan with the dashi stock. Heat until soft.
- Add the sugar, sake, soy sauce and meat. Stir well. Put a lid onto the pan and cook on LOW-MEDIUM heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the grated ginger.
- Heat on low for an additional 5-15 minutes so the taste sinks in (with lid).
- Serve on rice!
Love avocado? I do. I've been meaning to use up the avocado I got at Whole Foods ASAP. What better way than to use it in a sweet dessert while your city is on lock down? This pound cake uses no butter, no sugar. Instead I used avocado, cinnamon and honey! The pound cake turned out to be super moist, perfectly chewy and the taste emphasized more on the avocado. If you aren't an avocado lover, I suggest you add a little more honey or cinnamon to mask the taste of avocado! Like always, my desserts are not as sweet compared to those desserts often sold in the US, so if you are a sweet tooth, make sure to add more honey. Perfect for breakfast or a snack with some lovely tea or coffee!What You Need:(For 5 inch x 2.5 inch container)
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 4 tbsp honey (Remember, I don't make my sweets overly sweet so if you are a sweet tooth, add more!)
- 2 eggs
- 100g (1/3 cup and 1+ tbsp) all purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Steps: (Due to the simplicity, I'm going to go with text based steps rather than posting a photo for each step!) - Preheat the oven to 320F (160C)
- Cut up the avocado into cubes (so that they are easily mashed up later) and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds
- Mash up the avocado (I used a spoon/fork) until smooth, mix.
- Add the honey little by little to the avocado, mix.
- Add the eggs, mix.
- Add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon, mix.
- Pop into the oven for 35+ minutes. Stick a wooden stick into the cake; if there is no residue on it, it should be done!
As you all probably know, Boston has been going through a chaotic couple of hours with the suspect of the Boston Marathon Bombing incident on the run. With a "shelter in place" order, it was a great chance to use up some left over ingredients in the fridge! "Negi Yaki" is basically a savoury pancake made with just green onions ("Negi"). You usually fold the pancake up and enjoy it like a crepe. I hid some cheese in mine. Since you fry it, the outside becomes very crunchy and since we use starch in the mix, the pancake itself becomes pleasantly chewy. The smell of the sesame oil is perfectly appetizing as well. I mixed some soy sauce, sesame seeds and chopped up garlic as a dipping sauce. What You Need:(Makes 1 pancake)
- A bunch of chopped up green onions/spring onions
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
- 1 tbsp starch (I used corn starch)
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp Hondashi soup stock
Steps:- Simply mix the ingredients in a bowl.
- Heat a skillet on HIGH with oil (I put it about a tsp of olive oil), pour in the mix like a pancake. Fry till crispy.
- Place any toppings of your preference (I put in some cheese), turn the heat down to LOW heat, fold the pancake in half like an omelette.
- Fry on MEDIUM to HIGH heat until crispy on both sides. Make the dipping sauce and enjoy!
Izakayas are basically casual restaurants who concentrate on serving drinks and small Japanese tapas dishes such as edamame, fried chicken, salads, etc. Back when I lived in Japan, I went to an izakaya on a regular basis to enjoy the "All you can drink" menu as well as regular menus. There are fancy izakayas to regular type of izakayas. Izakayas made for specific target customers too; some izakayas focusing on seafood lovers, some on older business men. It's really fun to scavenge around for your favourite izakaya since there are so many; especially around popular stations. Back to this recipe of cabbage mixed with salt and sesame oil called "shio-kyabetsu" in Japanese. It's a very simple dish and very popular amongst izakaya lovers and yakiniku (Korean bbq) lovers. It's always served as an appetizer. It's just a perfect salad to accomodate other meaty dishes or alcoholic beverages. Please give it a try, it only takes a minute to make! What You Need: - Several leaves of cabbage (chopped, I used around 5 leaves)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- Salt and pepper (as much as you want)
Simply mix all the ingredients together. Yup, that's it.
For those of you who haven't tried this popular recipe on my blog, YOU MUST! Chicken or pork katsu (essentially Japanese style fried chicken or pork) is a very popular dish in Japan and in the US. This recipe provides a healthy alternative; it uses absolutely no oil. It's as crunchy, delightful and satisfying as the deep fried version, I promise. I also must mention that it is much less of a hassle to make since you don't have to clean up the oily mess on your counters. Instead, you pop it in the oven to bake! Last night, I topped one of the katsus with some mexican cheese. It simply melted in my mouth! Why did I decide to make katsu last night? Not only because it's delicious; but also because it signifies good luck! Many students applying for schools/jobs eat katsu dishes to wish for a good result; to win ("katsu" (勝つ) in Japanese) !
Number of steps: 5 stepsTime taken: 15 - 20 minutesApproximately 240 kcal per serving About This Dish:If you have followed my blog you probably know by now that I love chicken! With so much shredded cheese leftover in my fridge, I had to think of a quick and simple dish to make for dinner. This dish may sound childish and too simple, but let me tell you...It is definitely worth trying! The cheese is placed in the center of the chicken then is wrapped up. After cooking, the cheese then melts in your mouth. Additionally, the pan makes some of the melted cheese crunchy and irresistible. Enjoy with just salt and pepper! The taste of the chicken and cheese is perfection. You could also try frying or making this chicken a fake katsu using this popular recipe! What You Need:(Makes 3 servings) - 1lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup cheese (I used Trader Joes' Lite Shredded 3 Cheese Blend)
- ~1 tbsp oil (I used Trader Joes' Organic Virgin Coconut Oil)
1. Cut the chicken into smaller pieces and flatten. You can buy thin sliced chicken if you want to skip this step.
 4. Heat a pan on HIGH heat and pour some oil in it. Once the pan and oil is heated, place the chicken onto the pan. Make sure the chicken doesn't open up!
|  2. Place the cheese onto the flattened chicken.
 5. Flip the chicken once the surface is crispy and brown. Once both surfaces are crispy, turn the heat down to LOW, cover the pan and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.
|  3. Wrap the chicken up like a spring roll. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the surface.
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Number of steps: 5 stepsTime taken: 15 - 20 minutesApproximately 280 kcal per serving About This Dish:As mentioned in my past recipes, Japanese hamburger steaks (called "Hambaagu" in Japaneses) are a very popular dish in Japan for all ages. Casual family restaurants serve great Hambaagus! Not to mention all the moms and dads around Japan who are great at it too. There are restaurants like Hungry Tiger who solely serve Hambaagus (and steaks). I've posted a recipe using ground turkey, tofu, ground chicken and a quick recipe for delicious demi glace sauce which is superb with these "Hambaagu"s. I've been posting healthy options for Hambaagu in the past, but today I'll be posting a recipe for a legitimate beef hambaagu (most restaurants serve these). My boyfriend and I melted after eating a bite, so I hope you enjoy it too! One important tip I have is to make sure the onion and whatever you mix into the ground meat to be cold when mixing. Even your hands; stick them into ice water. We don't want the juicy fat of the meat to run away, we aim to trap it into meat until we serve these goodies. What You Need:(Makes 2 servings) - 250g or 7-8oz of ground beef (I used lean beef)
- 1/2 onion
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup panko
- Salt and pepper
- Sprinkle of numeg
- 1 tbsp oil
Sauce - I mixed 2 tbsp of ketchup with 1 tbsp of katsu. I have a demi glace sauce recipe but I wanted something quick and easy today.
 1. Chop the onions into small pieces, cook in a pan until clear. Now, cool the onions down. I left it out for a couple minutes and put it in the fridge. Once again, we don't want the heat of the onion to melt the juicy fat of the meat when we mix it.
 4. Heat both sides on HIGH heat until they get crispy and brown. This will trap the juice of the meat and deliciousness. Once both sides are well cooked, put the heat on LOWEST and cover the skillet for a little less than 10 minutes.
|  2. In a bowl mix the cold ground meat and salt with your bare hands. Add the cold onion and cold egg. Finally, add the panko, pepper and nutmeg. Create two patties, wrap it up in saran wrap and store it in the fridge until you are ready to grill them!
|  3. Heat up a skillet on HIGH and heat up 1 tbsp of oil of your choice. Once the oil is hot, place the patties on the pan. Make a little dent in the middle of the patties to prevent the patties from falling apart due to swelling.
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My favourite fish to cook is probably salmon. I especially love to cook it in foil! It's mess free and best of all, I can throw in all the veggies I want. I've posted a recipe for this in the past using miso-mayo as a sauce on top. Today, I layered chopped raw onions, raw arugula, raw broccoli then the raw salmon (salt & peppered) and put a tablespoon of Japanese soy sauce and a tiny bit of butter on top. Popped it in a 470F oven for 15 minutes. EASY and DELICIOUS. Fresh squeeze of lemon prior to eating too :)
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