Cuisine The Recipes thread

[destiny4ever]

This is a thread to share recipes for our favorite Japanese/Korean/Chinese dishes, or dishes we may not have eaten but that we would like to try to prepare or that we find interesting.

Note: If possible, please include a pic of the recipe you're posting.

Here’s my first contribution to this thread :

Onigiri Recipe
Rice balls are called onigiri in Japanese. Rice balls are usually shaped into rounds or triangles by hands. Onigiri are often put in Japanese bento lunch boxes.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups steamed Japanese rice
• 8 strips of dried nori (seaweed)
• Salt to taste

• *For fillings:
• ume (pickled plum) / grilled salted salmon (small chunks) / kombu tsukudani

Preparation:
Cook steamed rice. Put about a half cup of steamed rice in a rice bowl. Make a dent in the center of the rice and place fillings, such as ume (pickled plum), kombu tsukudani, and grilled salmon chunks. Wet your hands in water so that the rice won't stick. Rub some salt on your hands. Place the rice in the rice bowl on your hands. Form the rice into a round or a triangle, by pressing lightly with your both palms. Wrap the rice ball with a strip of nori.

Makes 8 rice balls.

Thanks to Hiroyuki Nagashima for the info!

How to make basic rice balls.

1. I paint a hand with water
2. I paint a palm with a little salt
3. I grasp rice

 

[<.Haruka.>]

This are my favorite japanese dishes and somehow a bit easy for me to make:

Taiyaki
is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, or cheese.
Taiyaki is made using regular pancake or waffle batter. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold for each side. The filling is then put on one side and the mold is closed. It is then cooked on both sides until golden brown.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
3 Tbs. water
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tbs. honey (optional)
1 1/2 cups anko, room temperature

Preparation:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Beat together the eggs, honey, if using, and sugar till frothy and to it add the flour mixture and water. Whip till smooth.

Preheat a taiyaki-ki and brush it lightly with oil. Pour in a small amount of batter to the preheated pan, add a tablespoon of anko and more batter as necessary to fill in the details. Close and latch the pan.

Turn the heat to medium low and cook about 30 seconds then turn the pan over. Heat evenly for a minute and turn again. Repeat. The taiyaki are done when you can easily open the iron and the taiyaki are a golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 Taiyaki
_____________________________________

Tempura
is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.

Shrimp Tempura
Ingredients:
12 large shrimps
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup ice water
Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

Remove heads and shells from shrimps without removing tails. Devein the shrimps. Make two or three incisions in the stomach sides of the shrimps to straighten them. Lightly press the back of shrimps to straighten. Remove the dirt from the tails of shrimps, using a knife. Dry shrimps on paper towels. Make tempura batter. Heat the oil to 340F degree. Flour shrimps before frying. Dip the shrimps in the tempura batter. Fry the shrimps until crisp.

For the dipping sauce (known also as tentsuyu):

Ingredients:

1 cup dashi soup stock
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar

Preparation:

Put mirin in a pan and heat. Add soy sauce and dashi soup stock in the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil.

 

[destiny4ever]

Those recipes sound very tasty. I’m going to try to make them soon.

Octodog (hot dog octopus)

"Japanese-style bento lunches for kids often feature the infamous “octodog”, a mini-sausage shaped like an octopus."

How to make an octodog (hot dog octopus) (Click on the link for more info)

Recipe Video

 

[Crude]

Yakiniku Beef
Basically grilled beef, though in tiny slices.

Ingredients:
•3/4 lb beef loin, thinly sliced
•1 Tbsp grated apple
•2 Tbsp soy sauce
•1 Tbsp grated garlic
•1 Tbsp sesame oil
•1 Tbsp white sesame seed

Preparation:
Mix apple, soy sayce, garlic, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a bowl. Marinate beef in the sauce for 30 minutes. Heat a large skillet on high heat and stir-fry the beef.

I ignore the apple and sometimes sesame seeds. Sometimes I use teriyaki sauce instead of soy. I don't think I can make actual teriyaki, but what I do end up making is still pretty good. Maybe the beef I use is different..?

By the way, does anyone know the name of a Chinese dish similar to yakiniku? There's one I usually eat everytime I go to a Chinese restaurant in Portugal, but the name is pretty vague. It usually comes with mushrooms as well.

 

[destiny4ever]

Japanese Christmas Cake Recipe

Guest Author - Jillian Michelle Williams

Believe it or not, the Japanese do celebrate Christmas, even though most of the nation is not Christian. The holiday is a time for celebrating family and romance, and what a better way to celebrate than eating lots of delicious food! If you would like to experience Christmas the Japanese way, you can try the following recipes:

Christmas Eve Dinner

Fried Chicken: Don’t even bother cooking. If you want to experience Christmas the Japanese way, just head to your local KFC and pick up the family dinner bucket. Yes, KFC’s do exist in Japan, and on Christmas Eve, they become very busy as the Japanese file in to purchase fried chicken instead of the typical ham or turkey that is eaten in America.

Dessert

Christmas Cake: With dinner, comes dessert, and on Christmas Eve in Japan, it’s almost always a round sponge cake topped with whipped cream and fruit/ fruit toppings. The following recipe is bound to make you want to hop on the next flight to Japan:


• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter

For topping:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 tbsp sugar
• Fruit of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put eggs in a bowl and whisk well.
Place the bowl over hot water in another large bowl and whisk further, adding sugar little by little.
When the mixture becomes a very light yellow, slowly sift flour into the bowl, and mix lightly.
In a separate dish, melt butter and mix with milk. Then add this mixture to the egg mixture and gently stir.
Place wax baking paper inside of an 8-inch round cake pan.
Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for 25-35 min.
Remove and let cool.

While the cake is cooling, whip the heavy cream and sugar in a bowl.
Divide in half and add chopped strawberries, peaches, or other fruit of your choice to one half of the whipped cream.
Cut the sponge cake in half, horizontally, and spread the fruit and cream mixture on one of the two cake slices. Then, place the remaining slice on top of the first.
Spread the fruitless whipped cream on top and around the cake.

Finally, decorate the cake with more fruit of choice. Serve and enjoy on Christmas Eve!

 

[Newkerzy]

I would like to add a suggestion, maybe it would be better if you also added pictures for the recipes.

 

[destiny4ever]

I would like to add a suggestion, maybe it would be better if you also added pictures for the recipes.

That is a very good suggestion, Newkerzy. I’ll add it to the opening post.

Btw, here are some pics of two Japanese Christmas Cakes :

Cake 1

Cake 2

 

[Bugzee]

Those cakes look yummy. I always like the more decorative and stylish cakes as oppose to the normal kind that just have the typical celebrative text on them. ^^ Those cakes reminded me of a very famous and special cake shop; Konditor & Cook. They make the best cakes in London and they're sooooo good.

Anyway...back on topic.

I've thought about cooking some Japanese food now and again but it's so hard to turn down the takeout option. So I've recently looked around to see what would be a relatively easy, enjoyable and satisfying Japanese recipe to try out at home! The one that I liked the look and sound of is Salmon Teriyaki! I haven't tried it out just yet but I'll definitely will!

There's also a link to an article on the "8 Useful Japanese Ingredients" which is quite an interesting read.

 

[<.Haruka.>]

Here's something sweet for the Valentines..

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Daifuku

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mochiko
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbl. plus 1 tsp corn syrup
1 tsp. almond extract
red food coloring
potato, corn or wheat starch for dusting
10 maraschino cherries, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, minced

Directions:
1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate on high in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and return to microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Mix again. Repeat the steps until the chocolate is melted.
2. Dip the cherries in the melted chocolate and coat them well. Drop them onto a plate lined with wax paper and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. After the cherries have been in the freezer for 15 minutes, make the mochi by whisking together the mochiko, sugar, water, 1 Tbl. corn syrup and extract. Remove 1/2 cup of the mochiko mixture and tint it a desired shade of red or pink with the food coloring. Set aside.
4. Dust a clean work surface liberally with starch. Keep a bowl filled with starch handy for dusting your hands and any utensils used. Place the tsp. of corn syrup in a small bowl and keep it nearby.
5. In a medium saucepan, cook the uncolored mochiko mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Spoon some of the cooked mochi onto the dusted work surface. With either a well dusted rolling pin or with well dusted hands, carefully roll or pat the hot mochi to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness, depending on your preference. Cut out circles two and half times as big as the chocolate cherries.
6. Place a well chilled chocolate cherry in the center of each of the mochi circles. Quickly wrap the mochi circle around the cherry, pinching the bottom to seal it. If you’ve having problems smoothing or sealing the bottom, use a tiny bit of warm water to seal up the mochi. Place the finished mochi on plate dusted with starch. If the mochi cools too much when you’re working with it, heat it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
7. For the hearts, repeat Step 5 with the pink mochi, but cut out hearts instead of circles.
8. To decorate the mochi, you can:

- Attach the hearts to the finished mochi with a dab of corn syrup.
- Coat the finished mochi in the leftover chocolate.
- Wrap some cherries in pink mochi and make white hearts for contrast.
- Drizzle some chocolate over the finished mochi.
- Sprinkle colored sugar onto the warm mochi then form the balls.

Makes 10 Bon Bon-sized Daifuku
---------------------------------------

Matcha Green Tea Chocolate Ball

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb white chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Matcha (green tea powder)
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 1/8 or 1/4 cup heavy cream
- matcha green tea powder for coating

Preparation:
*Put finely chopped white chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
*Put 2 tsp of green tea powder in a small bowl.
*Pour warm milk over green tea powder and stir well. Set aside.
*Pour heavy cream in a small pan and heat on medium heat.
*Stop the heat before cream starts to boil and stir in the green tea and milk mixture.
*Pour the cream mixture over white chocolate. Melt the chocolate, stirring well.
*Cool the chocolate mixture for about one hour in the room temperature.
*Scoop the chocolate into about 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on a sheet of aluminium foil.
*Cool them in the refrigerator for about one hour, or until firm.
*Round chocolate balls by hands and coat with green tea powder on a tray.
*Cool green tea chocolate balls until firm.

Makes 12 green tea chocolate balls.

***

 

[Asarii]

Here's a common cuisine that's eaten on New Years Day in Japan. You don't have to follow the recipe exactly; it's possible to take out or add in a few ingredients that suits your taste. HOWEVER, MOCHI IS THE MAIN THING SO IT MUST BE INCLUDED!!

Ozoni (お雑煮)

Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breasts
2 to 4 dried scallops (optional)
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced into 2-inch strips
1 1/2 cups daikon, peeled and sliced into 2-inch strips
1 cup mizuna
1 package red kamaboko (fish cake) (I prefer brand name Yamasa)
1 package mochi (pounded rice cake)
Salt to taste

Directions
Make chicken stock by cooking chicken breasts in 8 cups boiling water and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes, (add dried scallops here if you like) then lower heat and cook for about 30 minutes. While making stock, wash and drain all vegetables. Cut mizuna into 2 strips (you won't need much of this-just to add green color). Slice the kamaboko fairly thin. Put a few mochi into toaster and toast until puffy.

Remove chicken from stock onto a plate. While chicken is cooling, strain the soup in either cheesecloth or some kind of cloth to strain* to a clean pot. Add the carrots and daikon and cook until tender (about 10 to 15 minutes). (Shred 1 breast of chicken and add to broth. Save the rest to make chicken salad or whatever for another time.) Check flavor and add salt if needed. Just before serving, put mizuna in soup just to parboil-must be crunch/crisp. Put toasted mochi in a bowl, pour the soup over mochi, then put several slices of kamaboko on top and serve.

*I prefer using old restaurant linen because it strains better!

 

[mikkih]

@asari
The recipe looks delicious. Each prefecture has different kind of zoni. I believe that Tokyo style is clear soup with rectangular mochi/rice-cakes. In Kyoto, they serve white miso soup with taro, small daikon raddish and non-toasted round white rice-cakes. I wish I could try different o-zoni soup from different areas of Japan. A Happy New Year.

 

[Asarii]

It's pretty cool that each prefecture has their own sets of flavours and ingredients. I forgot which one, but I know that a prefecture (Kumamoto?) uses udon instead of soba for the noodles.

Happy New Years to you too!

---

Another New Years dish is Osechi ryori (おせち料理) which is a very colourful dish.

Here's what goes in osechi ryori.

This is what each ingredients mean.