3 posts tagged “cooking”

Inspired by No Reservations - Osaka I've been wanting to try making homemade okonomiyaki ("Japanese pizza").  This dish is a favorite late-night snack or pupu made with a pancake batter, cabbage, various meats and other vegetables - all topped off with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise.  I found a nice site with a recipe and step-by-step instructions with pictures so I finally decided to make it last night.  First step was to go to the Pearl City Don Quijote for ingredients.  The recipe calls for Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie) and okonomi sauce.  I also picked up the requisite head cabbage from Don Quijote.  It's very easy to make.

Ingredients for a large single serving:

1 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup water or water with dashi no moto (soup stock made with bonito)
1 t sugar
1/8 to 1/4 head cabbage finely shredded

Optional things to add:

chopped meats (I used roast pork and char siu that I bought from the chinese take out place in the food court by DQ)
sliced onion
chopped green onion
cheese
You can use your imagination here and add shrimp or fish cake, etc.

Toppings:

Japanese mayonnaise (actually Best Foods would've been fine)
Okonomiyaki sauce
Katsuobushi (shaved bonito flakes - I chose not to use this here)
Furikake (nori or dried seaweed flakes, sesame seeds, and other seasonings) 

For this type of cooking, preparation is eveything - slice the vegetables and meats and shred the cabbage first.  I'd also recommend sauteing the onions with a little salt and pepper.  If you are using raw meats or seafood I'd also recommend sauteing them as well.  Just be mindful of not overcooking so as they will be cooked further in the pancake.

Mix your wet ingredients (egg and water) and whisk into the flour.  Add the raw cabbage and mix.

Heat a large skillet or (as in my case) a griddle to medium-high heat with a little cooking oil.  Pour half the batter onto the heated griddle and then add your meats, other vegetables and cheese. 

 

Pour the rest of the batter over this.  Use the back of a large spoon  or a spatula to press everything down.  When the underside is cookied to golden brown, use 2 spatulas to flip the okonomiyaki over. 

For a large okonomiyaki, it may take two or more flips to fully cook the pancake.

 Slice and serve with the toppings.  I think Anthony Bourdain said it best:  "Served piping hot, it goes good with beer."  ...something like that. ;-)

The title sounds kind of mean-spirited but it's true.  My wife does so much for me and the kids and puts up with so much of my ...  stuff, that she really does deserve bigtime lavish treatment on Valentines Day and Mothers Day.  In the last couple years we've noticed that going out to eat on VD is just not worth it anymore.  First, if it's a weekday, we have to rush the kids off to a sitter and/or rush home from work (and everyone has the same idea, making traffic a nightmare).  If you're lucky enough to get reservations, you still have to wait for seating.  The service is usually poor due to the huge volume of customers and the food is usually not up to par.  Last year I had the brillant idea of ordering food from Golden Wheel, our favorite Chinese restaurant while I sat in traffic.  When I got to the restaurant I still had to wait about half an hour for my order.  Seems like a dozen other guys had the same brilliant idea.  Duoh!

So this year along with the dozen red roses, I decided to put my culinary skills to the test.  I bought a nice pork loin roast from Sam's Club last night.  I roasted it very simply and made a pan gravy for it.  To go with it, I made Rice-A-Roni (OK, someone I know is chiding me for this, but we actually like the stuff on occaision).  I also made a nice mocha chocolate-silk pie.  It's an adaption of Roy's Kona coffee white-chocolate silk tart.  For one thing, I think strong instant coffee works in a pinch (I used Member's Mark Columbian Instant - Sam's Club, remember?).  Also, my wife and I prefer "real" chocolate over white chocolate.  So anyway, here's the recipe with some anotations:

Roy's Kona Coffee White Chocolate Silk Tart

 

Servings: 8-10
8-10 prepared tart crust
or 1 prepared pie crust (I use one of those Oreo prepared crusts)

Kona Coffee Pudding:
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly pack
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/4 cups milk
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. + 1/4 cup extra strength Kona Coffee, brewed (here's where I use the instant stuff - just make it strong)
1 package powdered unflavored gelatin, about 2 1/2 tsp.
1/4 cup cornstarch, packed
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

To Make the Pudding:
In a small medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the dark brown sugar and cook, stirring until melted and bubbly. Gradually add in the heavy cream and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the milk and salt. Remove from the heat and set aside until lukewarm.

To Make Gelatin Mixture:
Pour the 2 tablespoons of Kona Coffee into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top, do not stir. Set aside to let the gelatin bloom. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining 1/4 cup Kona Coffee. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the pudding mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat to low; stir briskly, and bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin mixture and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour into a prepared tart crust or piecrust. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

White Chocolate Silk
4 oz. white chocolate (I use bittersweet chocolate)
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs

(I also mix in about 1/3 cup of Mounds sweetened coconut flakes)

Melt chocolate over a double boiler. In a mixing bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the sugar and beat until pale white. Drizzle in white chocolate and add eggs one at a time. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes for each egg addition. Spread white chocolate filling over the top of the Kona Coffee pudding and allow to chill for 3 hours or until set.

Serve with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  ( I use the canned stuff and skip the shavings)

 

And if you're wondering, dinner was a smash. ;-)

 

I do enjoy cooking.  Generally main dish-type of dishes.  Tonight since I'm home on vacation and my wife won't be home until 7 or so, I'm braising some pork chops in the crock pot.  It's a very simple recipe; a variation on shoyu pork.  All quantities are "eye-balled" to taste.

Braised Shoyu Pork Chops (works well with chicken too)

5 assorted pork chops lightly salted and peppered
Braising liquid:
1 cup or more shoyu
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Mirin (sweet rice wine)
1/4 cup wine (try not to use that nasty cooking sherry - if the wine's good enough to drink, it's good enough to cook with)
3 cloves garlic crushed and minced
3 slices ginger root (each about the size of a quarter but twice as thick) peeled and chopped into slivers
hot red pepper (optional)
diced green onion tops (optional for garnish)

1.  Mix all braising liquid ingredients well and set aside. 

2.  Lightly salt and pepper pork chops and brown in a little vegetable oil in a skillet set on Med-high.

3.  Place browned pork chops in crock pot, pour braising liquid on top, cover and set on high.

4.  At about the 1 hour mark, re-arrange chops in the liquid to get equal distribution of braising seasoning.  Repeat as needed.

5.  At about 2-1/2 to 3 hours, the chops are ready to serve.  Garnish with chopped green onion and serve with hot rice.

Ka ono, brah!