hoisin shrimp with bok choy, shiitakes & peppers

Our weather has been dreary. Rainy.

Yesterday, there was even a chance that a typhoon would pass over us.

Luckily, we didn't receive much rain or damage. Other areas in Eastern Japan weren't so lucky. Lots of flooding.

I hope they can get back to their daily routines soon...

I recently tried Family Circle's recipe for Hoisin Shrimp with Bok Choy, Shiitakes & Peppers.

The recipe is super easy. Just throw everything on a sheet pan and bake.

Hoisin Shrimp with Bok Choy, Shiitakes & Peppers : serves 4
Ingredients
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, plus more for serving (optional)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 large bok choy, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 sweet red peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 pound small shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Chopped scallions (optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 450F (230C).
Line a 13 x 9-inch rimmed sheet pan with nonstick foil.
In a small bowl, combine hoisin, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sriracha. Set aside.
Place bok choy, peppers and shiitakes on prepared sheet pan.
Combine 3 tbsp of the hoisin mixture with canola oil. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat.
Toss shrimp with remaining hoisin mixture. Place shrimp over vegetables.
Roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds and, if using, scallions. Serve with additional soy sauce if desired.

Tip
For Best Results Use a rimmed pan and line with nonstick foil or parchment.

NOTES: I don't have an oven to actually bake a sheet pan in, so I threw everything into a baking dish lined with parchment and baked it off.

Instead of shiitake mushrooms, I used shimeji and maitake. I made half the recipe for the sauce and just drizzled it over everything.

This dish is perfect with rice. I like the flavors of this dish, reminded me of the hoisin sauce chicken and ribs my mom used to make.

The hardest part of this dish is cleaning the shrimp.

I'm making this again.

wow?!

The weather has cooled down quite a bit. We had some humidity, but it was due to the typhoon that passed by. Luckily, we got off with just a little rain and some wind. There are still some semi (cicada) chirping just to remind us that summer isn't quite over yet.

I usually don't buy iceberg lettuce, but since I wanted to make this recipe, I needed iceberg lettuce for the lettuce cups.

I couldn't believe that it was 380 yen a head (about US$3.80)! I don't ever remember it being that high before.

In fact, I think the last time I bought iceberg lettuce it was only 198 yen (about US$1.98).

So, instead of paying an outrageous price for the lettuce, I bought butter lettuce which was 158 yen a head (about US$1.58).

Since the lettuce was too soft to wrap the filling, I just chopped it up and made a warm salad out of it. (apparently, the last time I made this the lettuce was too puny to make cups out of, so I made a warm salad out of it too.)

Delicious.

I wanted to show you these "vintage" matches.

Awhile back I was talking to my MIL and asked her if she had extra matches, she said "yes, I do".

I told her, if there are several that you don't want, please give them to me as I was running out and most places do not give out matches anymore (I usually use matches to light my incense cones or incense sticks, plus I wanted to get rid of some of her pack rat clutter.)

To my surprise, she gave me a box filled with about 40 matchboxes! The other night, while I was rummaging through the box of matches that she gave me, I was surprised at how many looked like they were from the 1960's or 1970's, and they still work too....

Satoshi's working today, so it is just another day at home.

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!

foodie kind of weekend

Friday, I went to check out the Annual Bead Show at Ward Warehouse. This bead show is small compared to others, but a nice way to check out local and mainland vendors. About two years ago, I went and it was packed with people! Today, since everyone was still at work, it was nice to be able to leisurely browse. I picked up some pewter findings and a bead stopper gadget. Afterwards, I met my Aunty and cousin D for dinner. We went to Assagio's--a local Italian restaurant located in the Ala Moana Shopping Center. The food was good and we had a nice time chatting and catching up.

Saturday, my parents had a luncheon in Waikiki, so I dropped them off and took the car. I stopped in at Palama Market near Kaheka. This market caters to Korean foods and groceries. Ever since coming home, I've been craving Korean sushi or kimbap (US $3.66). This sushi has takuan (pickled radish), egg, carrots, either watercress leaves or spinach and bbq beef. The nori (seaweed) is coated with some sesame seed oil.

Paired with a bottle of tea, this lunch was perfect for sitting on a bench at Sans Souci Beach to watch the waves and the people.

As I waited for my parents to give me "the call" to pick them up, I wanted something sweet and I remembered my Aunty M telling me about Diamond Head Market & Grill having great scones (my fav!) So, I drove up the street to the market and checked out what they had. The scones looked way too big and kind of oily, so I had a package of their cookies in hand...while standing in line at the register, I noticed the refrigerated case and found this...

Okinawan sweet potato with haupia (coconut pudding) pie(US $3.66)--a mac nut crust topped with Okinawan purple sweet potato and haupia pudding. Their crust wasn't as crisp as I like it, but it was a very generous portion and the fillings were a bit too sweet. What can I say? my mom's is WAY better!

Still, I enjoyed this dessert while looking at a glimpse of Diamond Head through the trees. Thank goodness they called after eating this dessert or else who knows what else I might have bought to eat or drink!

Tonight for our weekly Sunday dinner, mom made hoisin sauce (Chinese barbeque sauce) ribs. I really like this dish--meaty and the sauce is delicious!

Dessert was a pie from Anna Miller's, this restaurant is known for their pies and I hear they even have a restaurant in Japan! Cousin D picked out a strawberry-haupia pie, it was freshly made but hadn't quite set yet, so it was a bit soft, but the crust was really good and the pie still tasted delicious!

Whew! lots of eating the past couple of days...hope you had a nice weekened and have a great week!

easy dinners

I don't know about you, but I like to make meals as painless as possible. That means not too much fuss or steps to follow...

Last night's dinner was a keema-like curry. I couldn't find a recipe that I liked, so I took the type of spices that were in several recipes and came up with this.

150g ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
celery leaves, diced
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. ginger, ground
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin
4 grinds pepper
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. clove
1 tsp. garam masala
1 can of diced tomatoes

Brown onions, celery leaves and beef. Add spices and then can of diced tomatoes. When everything is heated through, serve on rice or with naan.

NOTES: No matter what curry I make, I always put in a can of diced tomatoes, I saw this technique on a television show here and it has stuck with me ever since. I served this with my rice mixture of genmai (brown rice), haigamai (half-polished rice) and multi-grains. I also thinly sliced carrots, zucchini and potato and baked them in the oven with olive oil, pepper and salt to make my own chips. It doesn't start off too spicy, but has a kick towards the middle.

The other night's dinner was a simple stir-fry. Since I had all these veggies and some roast pork, I cut everything up, and while it was sweating, I added some pepper and added 2 teaspoons of hoisin sauce at the end.

Serve with rice.

NOTES: the hoisin flavor can be strong so don't use too much, the sauce kind of thinned out with the water that came out of the veggies while cooking, which balanced everything out.

hoisin sauce chicken

The other day, I posted about finding hoisin sauce at the gourmet supermarket. This is what the bottle looks like--just in case you were wondering.

I decided to make a dish that my mother would sometimes make for our Sunday dinner get-togethers.

She would sometimes bake ribs and sometimes chicken thighs with this marinade.

Since I couldn't find ribs, I decided to try making this dish with chicken wings. I didn't have her exact recipe, but found a similar one in a cookbook that I did have. It came out almost like hers. And the aroma that filled the kitchen was mouth-watering!

Because the chicken would have strong flavors, I served it with a warm salad of zucchini, shiitake, asparagus, red onion and tomato, seasoned with just salt, pepper and some olive oil.

Be sure to have lots of rice on hand, you'll want to pour some of the gravy onto it! (at least that's my favorite way to eat this dish...)

Here's the recipe: Hoisin Baby Back Ribs from the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Ohana Cookbook

5 lbs. baby back ribs
1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, sliced + 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 T. sake (rice wine)
Cilantro for garnish

Cut racks into individual ribs or, if you prefer, 3 or 4 rib sections.
Place in a large pot and cover with water.
Add slices of ginger.
Boil gently for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Drain ribs and discard ginger.
Combine sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, grated ginger, garlic and sake.
Marinate the cooked ribs in this mixture for 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat broiler.
Place ribs in a roasting pan and broil for 15 minutes, turning, if necessary.
Ribs can be put on the grill just to glaze.
Garnish with sprigs of cilantro.
Serves a crowd.

Notes: For chicken, I didn't do the boiling part of the recipe, instead I just marinated the chicken overnight. Also, I cut the sauce portions in half, because there are only 2 of us. I baked 10 chicken wings in a 325F(170C) oven for 30 minutes then under the broiler for 20 minutes.

TIP: For a simple way to marinate, I usually put everything into a ziploc bag with a tray under it and turn the bag over and kind of massage it every so often--the tray is there just in case the marinade drips out, saves cleaning up the refrig if it should spill!

Enjoy!

minced chicken with lettuce cups

I want to thank everyone for your concerns. Most of my family and friends emailed me to say that they were okay--a bit shaken up and with no electricity for almost a whole day, but safe...whew!

Today it rained off and on--kind of a lazy, hang in bed and read day....

There is a dish that I have been wanting to try to re-create...minced pork with lettuce cups. It tastes like the inside filling of moo shu pork with lettuce to wrap the filling instead of the thin bread-like ones.

One ingredient in this dish is hoisin sauce--which I finally found in the gourmet supermarket! Hoisin sauce is a type of Chinese barbecue sauce. In Hawaii, my mother used to bake ribs and chicken with it...delicious!

I surfed the internet for a recipe and came up with one, which I adapted to get the flavors that I had in mind.

Here's the original recipe: Martin Yan's Lettuce Cups
Makes: 2-4 servings
8 ounces ground turkey (or minced chicken)
1 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoons dry sherry or rice wine
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoons minced ginger
6 dried black mushrooms
1 small carrot, cut into l/ 4-inch cubes
1 small zucchini, cut into l/ 4-inch cubes
1 cup diced water chestnuts
12 leaves small iceberg lettuce, cups
hoisin sauce
3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
Asian chili sauce (optional)

1. Place meat in a bowl with oyster sauce; stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Soak mushrooms in warm water to cover until softened, about 15 minutes; drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid.
3. Trim and discard stems. Chop caps.
4. Place a wok over high heat until hot.
5. Add cooking oil, swirling to coat sides.
6. Add ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
7. Add meat, stir-fry until meat crumbled and no longer pink (1-3 minutes).
8. Add carrot, zucchini, and water chestnuts; stir-fry for 30 seconds.
9. Add mushrooms and reserved mushroom soaking liquid.
10. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.
11. Add sherry/wine and sesame oil; cook until heated through.
12. If using, add walnuts and toss to coat.
13. To eat, spread hoisin sauce on a lettuce cup, spoon in meat filling, wrap in lettuce cup, and eat out of hand.
14. For spicier palates, top with Asian chili sauce.

Enjoy!

Notes: This was just what I was craving!...I used minced sasami (minced chicken breast) and added 1 teaspoon of Chinese 5-spice powder and 2 teaspoons of hoisin sauce to the oyster sauce marinade. Some people do not like minced turkey or chicken, by all means, use minced pork. Also, I did not put hoisin sauce onto the lettuce cup before eating. And instead of walnuts, I toasted a handful of pine nuts--unfortunately, I forgot to sprinkle them on top before I took the photo! I served this with an egg drop soup and multi-grain rice. It was messy goodness!

I also wanted to introduce you to an American clothing company, Life is good! They make t-shirts and other casual clothing. I never knew about them until I found them in a shopping mall in Osaka!

Each shirt has this little character on the back, too. Cute!

Life is good(most of the time!)...I wanted to make bagels today, but after measuring out some of the ingredients, I found out that I ran out of yeast! (darn!)...So, I will have to get some more before I can post about it....Enjoy the week.