Long time no see!
I'm back! 

Holiday season is here. 
My boyfriend and I have been to multiple potlucks this month....So, introducing the Holiday Potluck series! I will share with you what I have been making this busy season. Of course, all of these recipes are EASY, FAST and HEALTHY.

The first recipe I'm sharing: Super soft mochi-like potato pancakes on turkey bacon.
The potatoes are cooked in butter and have a little bit of mozzarella cheese in them. Sweet but salty, perfect as an appetizer!

Things you need:
- 1 medium sized potato
- 4 slices of turkey bacon, cut into bit sized pieces
- 1/2 - 1 tbsp of unsalted butter
- As much cheese as you want (I used shredded mozzarella)
- Potato starch (3-4 tbsp), or until the potato paste becomes dough-like.
- (Optional) Sprinkles of basil for decoration

Steps:

1. Peel and cut the potato into bite sized pieces and boil until super soft (you can also microwave them).
2. While you're boiling the potatoes, you can start cooking the bacon and cut them into pieces afterwards.
3. Once they are soft, start mashing them up, until it becomes super smooth.
4. Add potato starch (optionally, cheese, salt & pepper)
5. Keep massaging the potato paste. Once it becomes like dough, start separating them into small flat balls.
6. Heat your pan with butter (medium to high heat)
7. Once the pan is hot enough, cook the patties! We want them nice and brown.
8. Place on top of the bacon & sprinkle some greens.

Number of steps:  3 steps
Time taken: 10-15 min

About This Dish:
Mochi, mochi, mochi. My favourite word and food. I whipped this dish up for my father who was craving for an "otsumami" with his sake and beer. In the fridge, I had a potato, so I used that! It turned out to have a great texture, very mochi like. I put in some butter and cheese so the taste is something an adult or child will love. You can make a ton of it and freeze it for future use.

What You Need:
(For 6 mini jaga-mochis)

• 1 medium to large potato
• 2 tbsp of potato starch (I guess corn could work too?)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp butter (or margarine)
• Cheese (however much you like)

Number of steps:  3 steps
Time taken: 10 min
Approx. 120 kcal per serving

About This Dish:
 Though I've been attending school for the last 4 years in the United States, I still have no clue on how to celebrate Thanksgiving...We ended up ordering a "Thanksgiving dinner package for 2" at Whole Foods. Delicious, and it lasted us 2 days. 

With the mountain of sweet potatoes in my fridge, I decided to make this Japanese snack, "Daigaku-imo". Deep fried sweet potato coated with sugar (or honey). Some people eat it as a snack, some eat it as a side dish for dinner. All up to you :) The crunch and the softness which comes after is just something you must try. According to Wikipedia, this dish is called "University-potato" since it was a trending snack near Tokyo University in the Taisho period.


What You Need:
(2 serving, plenty to share between two)

• 1 large sweet potato or 2 small ones
• 1.5 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Oil for deep frying
• Pinch of sesame seeds

Number of steps:  3 steps
Time taken: 10 min
Approx. 220 kcal per serving

About This Dish:
It's fall in Boston and all I see at supermarkets are pumpkins, sweet potatoes and more potatoes! This recipe uses sweet potato and transforms it into a savoury side dish which will make you crave for Japanese rice. "Kin-pira" is a cooking style which involves sautéing and simmering a vegetable (most commonly lotus root, carrot, tofu or seaweed) with soy sauce and mirin. The potato ends up being slightly crunchy, just hard to resist for another batch!

What You Need:
(2 serving, plenty to share between two)

• 1 large sweet potato (around 200g or 0.4lb)
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sake (or mirin)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Number of steps:  9
Time taken: 20-30 min 
Approx. 170kcal per korokke 

About This Dish:
Japanese korokkes are said to have a great influence from French croquettes. French croquettes are known to have cream inside, but original Japanese croquettes have potato and ground beef inside. My first impression was "Wow, it's deep frying stuffed potato and meat, it must be so hard". After trying it out few nights ago, I realized that it was VERY easy to make, even though it involves deep frying. 

Many Japanese families get creative with their korokkes. Though the original korokke is known to be potato with ground beef, some make it with cream + bits of crab, yakisoba, veggies, tofu, cheese, the list goes on. This recipe is the original potato and ground beef filling! Additionally, there are korokke stands in Japan selling these goodies. I used to get 1 korokke after school and eat it in the winter while walking to the station. If serving at home, eat it with rice and cabbage with katsu sauce! Yum! 

What You Need:
(Makes 8 korokkes; suggested 2 korokkes per serving)

• 2 large potatoes
• 100g (1/4 lb) ground beef or less *Keep in mind that the potato is the leading actor here! 
• 1 small onion 
• 1 tbsp of milk
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Batter

• Breadcrumbs/Panko (start off with half a bowl) 
• All purpose flour (start of with half a bowl) 
• 1 egg (add more if you run out)
• Oil (for deep frying)

Number of steps:  7
Time taken: Approx. 30 - 40 min
Approx. 250kcal per serving (this recipe makes approximately 2 servings)

About This Dish:
Today I was stuck at home because of Sandy the hurricane, so I ended up making this Japanese homemade winter dish! This is also a type of comfort dish where every family has a distinct taste; some families might make it a strong taste using more soy sauce where some might make it more light. It's eaten with rice and miso soup (and other veggies like salad of course). Yes, I guess we love carbs. This plate is more potatoes than anything else so don't kill it with too much meat! 

What You Need:
(Makes 2 servings)

• 1/3 pound of thin sliced beef or pork (I used beef and put of it, around 15 slices maybe?)
• 1 large potato
• 1/2 onion (I used red onion but it's usually regular onions)
• 7 baby carrots 
• 1/2 - 1 pack of shirataki noodles (They sell these at wholefoods or shaws, click here to see what the packaging looks like) 
• 2 cup water
• 1 tbsp Japanese sake
• 1/2 tsp of hondashi 
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp mirin (adjust to your taste, I ended up putting in 1 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (adjust to your taste, I ended up putting in 1.5 tbsp)