sweet sour spareribs

Sunday, I was looking at some of the market's ads.

Since we needed rice, I chose a market that was having a sale.

They also advertised spareribs, so we picked that up as well.

This was the first time I used this recipe (I think), it was so easy and the meat was fall off the bone tender!

The amount of meat I used was a less than the recipe called for, but I made the full amount of gravy.

With some of the leftover gravy, I made ajitama.

The other night, I sauteed some lotus root in a little oil then added 3 tablespoons of the leftover gravy and cooked it until the gravy evaporated and caramelized the lotus root...so ono!

Satoshi said I should use the leftover gravy for fried rice, so we'll try it that way too.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make the spareribs.

From "Recipes Please"

2 pounds spareribs

3 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup oil

Gravy:

1.5 cups water

3/4 cup brown or white sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup shoyu

1/2 teaspoon salt

Coat spareribs with flour

Brown spareribs in heated oil

Add the browned spareribs to gravy and boil until tender, approxiamately 1.5 hours.

NOTES: I didn't use the amount of oil it called for and only sifted a little flour onto the ribs.

I brought the gravy up to a boil then simmered the ribs for the 1.5 hours turning the meat every so often because I used a shallow pan.

Luckily I made this early enough in the day so I was able to scrap off lots of the oil before dinner.

My cousin saw my post on Instagram and asked if I used Grandma's recipe, I think it is similar but not the one she used when she used to make this dish.

Our weather still isn't cool enough to be cooking like this but it was definitely comfort food.

reconnect

Over the summer I reconnected with a dish from my past...Italian Delight.

I didn't realize this but the recipe was actually from my Grandma's stash of recipes.

My mom used to make this and freeze some for a weekday dinner, just popping it into the oven before eating.

Italian Delight : not sure where the original recipe is from

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (about 450 grams)
• 1/2 cup salad oil (use just enough to brown ground beef)
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 green pepper chopped (optional)
• 1-8 ounce can tomato sauce (about 226 grams)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1-3 ounce can sliced mushrooms (about 80 grams)
• 1-8 ounce pkg spaghetti (about 226 grams)
• 1-12 ounce can whole kernel corn (about 340 grams)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to directions, drain.

Brown ground beef in oil with minced garlic.

Add onions, corn and saute.

Add rest of ingredients, except cheese and spaghetti.

Cook for 10 minutes.

Mix spaghetti in sauce.

Place in 3-quart casserole dish.

Sprinkle with cheese (about a cup).

Bake at 350F (180C) for 40 minutes.

NOTES: My grandma's version uses spaghetti noodles, but my mom's version uses macaroni.

I added my own addition of fresh maitake (hen of woods), eliminating the oil to cook the meat and also eliminated the can of sliced mushrooms and worcestershire (didn't have any).

My supermarket didn't have tomato sauce, so I used a can of crushed tomatoes.

Also, as I was looking for local beef, I ended up getting little amounts of local ground chicken, pork and beef instead.

My oven isn't too big, so I baked everything in a square pyrex dish for the 40 minutes, uncovered.

This was perfect comfort food for the day after that krazy typhoon...

foodie sunday

Last week, the weather was a little "wintry" in Hawaii.

Lots of rain and dare I say a little "cool".

Even though the rain stopped and sun came out, BFF and I checked out Shiro's Saimin Haven for lunch on Sunday.

Dare I also say that it was my first time there...gasp!

See, after studying abroad in Japan, I used to be a "snob" thinking ramen was "better" than saimin.

But after coming back to work in Hawaii, then living abroad in Japan since 2001, I have come to my senses in recent years.

Reconnecting with foods from my past.

You can't beat the broth, it's neither oily nor heavy like ramen broth can be and has just the right amount of salt.

Paired with a teri beef stick (and the won bok from BFF's saimin) this was the perfect comfort food lunch.

Though the sauce on the beef stick was a bit too sweet and goopy for my liking, the meat was very tender.

I'd definitely go back.

After lunch, we checked out Zippy's.

They advertised "made to order" and "hot and fresh" malasadas...pffft!

Yeah, I also think there is fine print on that ad.

Because the Zippy's we were at had these malasadas in their display cases and I didn't see anything being "made to order".

I also didn't ask why they weren't being "made to order" probably because my mouth was wide open in shock as I watched the girl behind the counter putting it into a bag.

We also tried their banana andagi which was also advertised on that same ad.

3 words--hard.as.rock.

Probably because they are stored in that same display case.

Plus, the banana was flavoring not real (no flecks).

Utter disappointment...I knew I should've stuck to my favorite Champions.

Oh well, at least the company was good and weather beautiful.

Shiro's Saimin Haven
98-020 Kamehameha Highway
Waimalu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.488.8824

it's a new year

Happy 2010!

Awhile back I spotted this recipe for beef and dark beer chili on Serious Eats.

I like dark beer, I like chili, so I thought this would be perfect to try.

I don't know about you but I tend to skim through recipes, sometimes omitting steps by accident and/or ingredients.

Well, my brain somehow didn't connect ground chuck with "hamburger", so I instead bought cubed steak.

Here's the recipe for the chili, I've put what I did in parentheses:
Beef and Dark Beer Chili - serves 6 -
Adapted from Bon Appetit, seen on Serious Eats

Ingredients

3/4 tablespoon cumin seed (used ground)
1/2 tablespoon coriander seed (used ground)
2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (used cubed steak)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 onions, chopped (used 1/2 an onion)
2 red bell peppers, chopped (used 1 red bell pepper)
1 jalapeno, stemmed and chopped
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (used 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped (used 1 teaspoon dried chipotle)
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice, chopped
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
6 ounces dark beer (like stout)
Sour cream (used plain yogurt)
Scallions, thinly sliced (left out)
Grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Procedure
1. Add the cumin and coriander seed to a small skillet set over medium heat. Toast the spices, shaking the pan often, until they darken slightly, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Then grind.
2. Cook the beef in batches in a large skillet set over medium-high until it is no longer pink. Set the cooked beef aside for a few minutes. Drain off any fat and juices that collect.
3. Meanwhile, pour the canola oil into a large pot set over medium-high heat. Add the onions, red pepper, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring often, until very soft. This should take about 15 minutes. (on a gas range it took about half the time)
4. Add the browned beef, spices, chili powder, chopped chipotles, tomatoes, beans, and beer to the large pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle some chili into a bowl. Top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of scallion and cheese.

NOTES: For the chili I used a stout from a neighborhood brewery, which I've written about before here.

I liked the spiciness of the chili, it creeps up on you but doesn't keep burning for long. Since I didn't have scallions, I left them out and garnished with a little Italian parsley, yogurt & white cheddar.

I also made some cole slaw and cornbread muffins to go along with the chili. I had tried a cornbread recipe in the past, but I think the cornmeal I used was too coarse.

This time around I decided to try a new recipe and used one I found in "Southern Homecoming Traditions" by Carolyn Quick Tillery.

The original recipe is for "Jalapeno Corn Muffins", but I figured since I already added a jalapeno to the chili, I shouldn't make the muffins spicy also. I also subbed corn flour in place of the bulk of the cornmeal.

Here's the recipe for the muffins, again I have put what I have done in parentheses: makes 12 muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal (used 15 tablespoons corn flour + 1 tablespoon coarse cornmeal)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (made my own with 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar)
1/4 cup cooled, melted butter (equals 56 grams)
1/2 cup jalapeno jelly (omitted)

Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Butter 12-2.5 inch muffin cups (I used muffin papers). In a bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and paprika. In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add buttermilk and melted butter to eggs; beat to blend. Combine the buttermilk mixture with the flour and mix until just moistened.

Evenly divide half of the batter into the buttered muffin cups. Top the batter with 2 teaspoons of jalapeno jelly. Evenly divide the remaining batter amongst the cups and place in the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until a golden brown muffin springs back when lightly pressed in the center and begins to pull from the sides of the muffin pan (I baked them for about 20 minutes and used a toothpick to test).

NOTES:The cornbread muffins came out good. Nice texture and flavor. Subbing most of the cornmeal for the corn flour was a good call. Though I don't have jalapeno jelly, I should try making these again with jalapeno bits in them.

It's a New Year, what are you eating?

p.s. I'm also sending this to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sundays.

p.p.s. we also had the leftovers as "chili moco", I know the Zippy's version also has a hamburger patty---ours was just rice, chili and egg.

foodie find

I'd been reading about Manchego and Comte cheeses for some time now on many blogs, so I was happy to "run into" them at a department store cheese section recently.

They were pricey, but I figured buying some would be the fastest way to taste them rather than wait until I had a chance to try them at a restaurant. The Comte was 104 grams for 1048 yen (about US$10.48), and the Manchego was 117 grams for 1106 yen (about US$11.06).

The Comte cheese is made in France from cow's milk. This was slightly hard with a mild flavor. It reminded me of swiss cheese. The Manchego cheese is made in Spain from goat's milk. This was softer with a tangy flavor.

I grated 31 grams of the Comte and 36 grams of the Manchego for a baked pasta.

For the filling, I sauteed eggplant, onion, red bell pepper with a tablespoon of EVOO.

Then with a cup of skim milk, I mixed in some whole seed mustard, cayenne, black pepper, oregano and nutmeg. I stirred this mixture with the veggie and warmed up the milk.

Instead of macaroni, I used shells.

While assembling everything, I crumbled two slices of crispy bacon into a paper towel to get out as much oil as possible, then sprinkled the bacon onto the shells.

I then poured the milk-veg mixture over and then sprinkled the cheese.

The pasta baked in a 190C (375F) oven for 20 minutes, just until the cheese melted.

It was great comfort food on a rainy evening. I want to try the rest of the cheeses with wine.

prune mui

So with all this dreary weather, I've been craving comforts of home. One of which is prune mui.

Prune mui is a local favorite in Hawaii. It is a preserve of dried fruits, the sweet and sour sauce is addicting and most times you eat the fruits with your fingers, licking them after putting some into your mouth (well, I usually do this). I tried the recipe from Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi's pamphlet.

2 packages prunes
2 packages apricots
1 package wet li hing mui
1 package dried lemon peel

Sauce:
1/2 teaspoon Hawaiian salt
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3 teaspoon whiskey

Combine all sauce ingredients and mix well. Add the fruits to the sauce and shake.

NOTES: I only had some prunes, so I bought some apricots (actually I like the apricots more than the prunes), but didn't have the li hing mui (chinese preserved plums) or dried lemon peel, so I bought some candied yuzu (citron). Another recipe indicated letting the mixture sit for a week, so that is what I did. This recipe didn't have much liquid so, I kept turning the bottle upside down and laying it on its side to get everything coated. I think it would have been better if the yuzu wasn't candied, it made it a little sweeter than I like.

Still, it was ono (delicious).

comfort foods

The weather for the past week has been...well, crappy, I think it rained almost every day.

I was craving some comfort food and decided I wanted kimbap, or as my friends in Hawaii call it, korean sushi.

In order to make the kimbap I had in mind, I needed to first make a batch of bulgogi...so I did.

The only nori (seaweed sheet) that I have is pre-cut and only about 2 or 3 inches wide and maybe 8 inches or so long, perfect for making musubi, but not necessarily for sushi.

Since I hadn't made sushi for several years, I had forgotten how much rice to put in it. (sorry Grandma, she would totally be disappointed to hear this...)

The results, my filling was off center and I had a LOT of nori to spare.

What did I put into the kimbap? Bulgogi, some kim chee, several slices of cucumber and some takuan (pickled white radish). Even though it didn't look good, the kimbap hit the spot.

With some of the bulgogi I made bi bim bap for dinner another night....fried egg, kim chee, bulgogi and rice...mmm.

And yet another dinner was bi bim kook soo. I usually use somen for this dish, but didn't have any, so I used some udon. It was delicious.

On yet a different night, we had the salmon with the sweet and spicy rub as a salad. Actually as I was grilling it on my grill pan, one side REALLY got burnt, I mean black! there was no burning smell to let me know it and when I went to turn it over...blackness! I made the lemon and dill dressing from her chopped salad in "The Food You Crave" and it went nicely with the salad.

I was reading a copy of Saveur that my mom had packed into our Christmas box and they were talking about the Egg McMuffin, so of course, I had to make my own for breakfast one morning. The egg had to be a little firmer...but it was still delicious.

And then Kathy gave me an idea for another dinner, in her comment she said, "Mmm I bet the asparagus dish would be awesome with a sunny side up egg over the top"...I did a fried one, but it was.

With the gloom that comes with winter, what comfort foods have you been eating?

sophisto joes

How long has it been since you've eaten sloppy joes? I have a feeling the last time I had one was as a school lunch in elementary school.

The last time I was home, I saw this recipe in "Gourmet" and I wrote it down in my recipe notebook.

Since I had recently opened a bottle of wine, I figured that this was a good time to try this recipe. On top of that, it has been really cold and kind of gloomy and I've been in the mood for some comfort food.

Sophisto Joes from Gourmet, October 2007 : Serves 4

Ingredients
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 1/2 lb ground beef chuck
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
4 kaiser rolls, split

Preparation:
Purée tomatoes in a blender.

Cook onion and garlic in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add carrot, celery, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add beef and brown, stirring to break up lumps, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add chili powder, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Add puréed tomatoes, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 6 minutes.

Season with salt and sandwich inside rolls.

NOTES: First off, I cut the recipe in half, since there is only the 2 of us. I used a canned tomato sauce which had garlic and onion blended in. The sauce also had some sugar in it, so I think when I added the suggested amount of sugar, this made the sauce a bit sweet. The next time I make this, I think I'll either leave out the sugar or not use the canned tomato sauce.

Also, I used some roasted garlic that I had in my refrig instead of fresh garlic and EVOO instead of butter. I also did not know what chuck was in Japanese, so I just used the ground beef that is sold in the markets. Is it the same thing?

I didn't use the amount of salt they had listed, I just did a little sprinkle and several grinds of pepper. I couldn't find hamburger buns nor kaiser rolls at the supermarket, so I ended up getting butter rolls. Can you believe that they only sell 6 rolls in a bag here? Anyway, they were smaller than hamburger buns, but tasted good with this recipe. (I actually wanted to get the rolls with wheat/grains in them but they had some weird butter substitute in them.)

I served the sophisto joe with some cole slaw. This was a great combination of comfort foods. (I actually had another sophisto joe after eating the slaw and the one in the photo.)

Up until now, I have never used the canned version of sloppy joes nor have I ever made sloppy joes, but I think this recipe is a keeper--it is fast, easy and delicious.

Hope you have a nice weekend.

it's been cold

It's been really cold the past couple of days, even though we've had sun, the temperature has been in the single digits...brr, but still no signs of snow where we are. (I don't want to be snowed in or anything like that, but I would like to at least see some flurries...being from Hawaii, snow/flurries is still a novelty for me.)

Anyway, since it has been so cold and Satoshi's been working late, we've been eating a lot of soup lately.

One that I made recently was a beef barley.

150 grams minced beef (about 1/4 pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
half an onion, chopped
half a carrot, chopped
3 small potatoes, chopped
4 cups water
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 consomme cube
1/4 cup of barley, rinsed
salt, pepper
a pinch of thyme

Put meat and onions into a pot and brown with oil.
Add veggies and coat with oil.
Add water and bring to a boil.
Add consomme cube, can of tomatoes and barley.
Simmer for 20 minutes while taking off the scum from top.
Season with salt, pepper & thyme.
Serve with toasted bread.

Fast, delicious and a great way to warm-up!

I'm sending this one to Deb's Souper Sundays, check out her blog on Sunday for her round-up. I am amazed at all the varieties of soup there are.

nuchi gusui part 2

After coming back from our vacation, I was kind of eager to get back into the kitchen to use the produce we got from Mirai Ginoza. Mirai Ginoza is a roadside farmer's market (there are actually a lot of these roadside markets here and there, each showcasing fruits and veggies from their area). Farmers from the area bring their veggies and fruits to sell. The prices were so reasonable, I wished I could shop here everyday!

Dragonfruit was going for about 200 yen each (about US$2), mangoes depended on the size, one was 900 yen (about US$9..okay that wasn't too reasonable...but the aroma was so sweet)!

Okra were longer than my fingers and were 100 yen a package (about US$1). The okra we get on mainland Japan are stubby and cost a little more, plus there are only 10 in a package, the one in Okinawa looked to have more.

Kabocha pumpkins were going for 300 yen a piece (about US$3), I've never seen a whole pumpkin in our markets.

Togan (winter melon) for about 300 yen a piece (about US$3)...for the whole thing! you'll never see this price in the markets on mainland Japan, especially for togan this big and fresh.

After oohing and aahing at everything that they had to sell, I bought some beni-imo (purple sweet potato), 2 for 200 yen (about US$2...not as reasonable as the roadside for 300 yen, but carryable on the flight home) and a pack with 22 shiquasa (I counted), a lime found in Okinawa, for 157 yen (about US$1.57)

With 10 shiquasa, I was able to squeeze 1/4 cup of juice and diluted that with water and added some blueberry honey to make a shiquasa drink for breakfast. (did this two times for two breakfasts, very refreshing.)

Also with some shiquasa (2 to be exact), I used it to make some fig jam (post on that a little later).

With the beni-imo (purple sweet potato), I steamed it. We ate part of it as is and it was really sweet. With the rest, I made a creamy dill dressing and we had beni-imo salad. 1 tablespoon mayo (Best Foods if possible), 2 tablespoons plain yogurt, several dashes of dill...delicious.

With the rest of the King's sweetbread that we got from Nate, I made some french toast for a breakfast and a bread pudding for another breakfast...delicious (thanks again, Nate!)

Did you know that Ginoza has a sister city in Italy? Thought that was pretty cool.

This little guy said it all "watashi wa shiawase" (I'm happy).

funny foodie wednesday

Today Satoshi had the day off. Our day started off with leftover chocolate bread made into a bread pudding. I put fresh blueberries onto the bottom of the ramekin then layered bits of chocolate bread in. Then I added a scrambled egg, some milk and cinnamon and baked the whole thing for 30 minutes. It was nice way to start the day.

Then we were out and about. I wanted to go to the DIY store but we weren't in the mood to walk, so we rode the train to Nakayama. (We actually have a DIY store nearby but we would need to walk at least 15 minutes to get there and the sun was blazing today.)

The DIY store is about 5 minutes walking from the Nakayama train station, so we quickly got out of the heat and walked around the DIY store. They didn't have what I was looking for, but did have an 18 roll pack of TP (toilet paper) at a really reasonable price, so we ended up buying this instead.

As we walked out of the DIY store, we noticed a Western-style restaurant, Oazo. Since it was almost lunchtime, we decided to check out this place. Satoshi ordered the B Lunch (1200 yen about US$12) this came with a hamburger, fried fish and fried shrimp, salad and potato salad. It also came with a little plate of rice.

I ordered the Fried Shrimp curry (900 yen about US$9). I also added a salad and drink for 450 yen (about US$4.50). The curry was really spicy, but I was disappointed. Fried shrimp curry by their standards means 1 fried shrimp cut in half to look like 2...sigh.

After lunch we decided to walk the aisles of the supermarket next door. We were surprised at how big the market was and how empty it was. We decided to have dessert and picked up some ice cream from their frozen section.

I had the crunchy mac nut brittle ice cream bar from Haagen-Dazs. The vanilla ice cream had bits of caramel mixed in. The outside was milk chocolate with mashed brittle. It was delicious.

The funny part of this foodie day happened at dinner.

I had a lesson so I met Satoshi in Umeda afterwards. We went into a restaurant that we've never been to before.

The menu was mainly appetizers so we ordered several off the menu.

While we were waiting for our food, I began to "really" look at the english that was written on the menu.

After I pointed out all the mistakes to Satoshi, we were laughing out loud. Like the first photo says, "combustion eggplant and egg-tofu salad of shrimp". Be careful, it may explode...actually it should read, Roasted eggplant with tiny shrimp egg tofu salad.

"Grilled mix seafood--Italian Basil source"...should be sauce instead of source.

"Oven ware of the scallop Kirkpatrick style"... now "yaki" can mean ware as in "chinaware" but in this case it should be baked... "Oven baked scallops Kirkpatrick style"

"shrimp and the ethnic dust in oil saute of the mushroom" we didn't know how to really translate this but "ethnic dust"??...yipes.

"Seafood Paeria (It takes 30 minutes a little in time)"---Paella....does it really take 30 minutes?

"Spicy Grass Bread Crumb Burning condition Province style of a lamb"....first of all Province is way different from Provence and if you are burning it, we don't want it. We didn't know what to make of this.

Anyway, I could go on and on, so take a look for yourself...we did order a few things from the menu but were disappointed with the sparse amounts of food that were served for the prices they were charging. We'll never go back to this place, we did leave a bit hungry, but we did have a good laugh.

Oazo (which means Oasis in Esperanto)
5-10-25 Nakasuji
Takarazuka, Hyogo
Phone: 0797.82.1401
Open 10:00-22:00

using the gadgets

So, I wrote about the dishers...

Well, I decided to put the big one to use.

I bought some ribs and made hoisin sauce ribs with this recipe.

1 mini plate lunch--one scoop brown/white rice (gravy on the rice), one scoop mac salad and 2 hoisin sauce ribs.

NOTES: Since I only had 6 ribs (they don't sell in big portions at the supermarket, plus there is only the 2 of us), I cut the marinade recipe in half.

Have a great weekend!