easy lunch, easy dinner

I didn't feel like having something from a bake shop or sozai (prepared foods) for lunch yesterday, so I made a sandwich that I grew up with.

In Hawaii, we call satsumaage, tempura (or that is what my family calls them anyway). The tempura patties are bigger in Hawaii, almost 4 inches in diameter. You can usually buy them with 2 in a bag and they come with different stuff inside like gobo (burdock), veggie (carrots and green beans).

We make these tempura sandwiches by putting some mayo on bread, laying down a tempura patty and lettuce. (You can blot the patty with a paper towel if you wish.)

Somehow this version wasn't too much like home, I think it is the mayo and maybe my mom's touch. At home we use BestFoods and here I use an organic Japanese brand, I think they put a little vinegar in their mayo. Still, it was easy. I had my sandwiches with some kaki no tane (spicy rice crackers that look like the seeds of persimmons) and cold mugicha (barley tea).

For dinner last night, I wanted to use some things that were in the freezer, so I took out some hamburger, a piece of ginger and bought a half of a cabbage.

The recipe I followed was in the "Orange Page Haru ni Oishi Kondate" cookbook.

Nikudango to Shin-cabbage Amakarani (meat balls and spring cabbage simmered in a sweet salty sauce) (serves 4)

400g minced pork
1 egg
4 tablespoons minced green onion
1/2 tablespoon ginger juice
700g cabbage
50g kinusaya (snow peas)
sake (rice wine)
shio (salt)
kosho (pepper)
shoyu (soy sauce)
katakuriko (cornstarch)
salad oil
mirin (sweet rice wine)

1. In a bowl, put the meat, egg, green onion and ginger juice. Then add 2 tablespoons sake, 1/2 teaspoon shio, pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon shoyu and mix with your hand until the mixture gets sticky. Add 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix. Form into bite size balls.

2. Clean the cabbage and snow peas. Break the cabbage into random pieces.

3. In a fry pan, put about 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the meat balls, rolling them around as you fry them. Take them out after they brown and set aside.

4. In a pot with a lid, put half of the cabbage in then put the meat balls on top. Put the rest of the cabbage onto the meat balls. Turn the heat on to about medium.

5. After the cabbage starts to wilt, add 2 tablespoons sake, 2 tablespoons shoyu,1 tablespoon mirin and 2/3 teaspoon salt. Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat.

6. Then carefully stir the pot so that the items on the bottom go to the top and vice versa. Add the snow peas and simmer for another 5 minutes.

7. Enjoy!

NOTES: I couldn't find nice looking snow peas, so I didn't buy any. The only hard part about this recipe was frying up the meat balls, my mixture was a bit wet, so it didn't make very nice ball shapes. I translated the recipe for 4 people but you can easily pare it down for two or one and this could easily be a busy week night dinner, just prep the meat balls (by cooking them) ahead of time.