Kohcha Buta- Tea Boiled Pork

My friend brought this dish to a potluck party. The taste was amazing! The meat was so tender and full of taste. I could even smell the nice aroma of earl grey tea! I decided to try to make it. It was successful on my first attempt!!

Ready in: 2 days and 35 minutes, including 2 days of marinating

Ingredients for four:

1kg of pork tenderloin

6 bags of earl grey tea bags

In a pot:

400 ml of water

100 ml of soy sauce

100 ml of white vinegar

Equipment:

Large pot

Small pot

Large ziplock bag

Step 1: In a large pot, boil water and throw tea bags in to make very very strong tea.

Step 2: Remove the tea bags, and place the meat in. Lower the heat to medium to simmer it for 30-50 minutes. Add water to cover the meat. Cut the meat into a half if it doesn't fit in the pot.

Step 3: In a small pot, warm up water, soy sauce and vinegar togeter. Put it in a ziplock.

Step 4: Put the cooked meat in the bag. Throw out the tea. After cooling it down, leave it in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Step 5: Cut the meat as thin as possible.

Step 6: Eat it on a salad, in a sandwich, on ramen noodles, or make gravy with the marinating sauce.



Tamago Kake Gohan- Raw Egg on Rice

Japanese people love eating raw eggs.
This is a classic Japanese fastfood- just crack an egg and put it on rice.

My friend runs a farm in town (Riverglen Farm in Nepean), and I got fresh eggs (a hen was still on them!) from his farm this morning.

This is a real treat for me!!

Ready in: 5 minutes

Ingredients for two:
2 fresh eggs
2 cups of cooked rice
Some soy sauce

Step 1: Crack an egg, and put a couple of dropps of soy sauce.

Step 2: Put rice in a bowl.

Step 3: Put the egg on tp of the rice, and mix it.

Chirashi zushi- Vinegar Flavoured Rice with Toppings

I lived with a South Korean guy and a French Canadian girl from Quebec when I was studying abroad. We decided to cook a traditional dish from own country 3 nights in a row. The Korean guy would cook Bibimbap, and the girl would make a French dish. They of course asked me to make Sushi. You can easily imagine how much we were excited.

However, the shared meals didn’t turn well!

His Bibimbap was just fried rice, and her French dish was broccoli with white roux on top. He said that meaning of Bibimbap was “mixed rice”, and she said white roux represented French.

I cooked this Chirashi-zushi, and could tell both of them disappointed to see another “mixed rice” on the plate!

Chirashi-zushi is a classic Sushi we make at home for a special occasion such as a birthday party. Sushi rice means simply vinegar rice in our language. 

But I understand their disappointment for those who expected Sushi dressed with raw fish.

Well, we learned something new in other cultures.

 Ready in: 15 minutes with cooked rice

Ingredients for two:

Prepare the same ingredients as Chakin Zushi- VegetableSushi Wrapped with Thin Omlet till Step 6

Some smoked salmon slices or cooked shrimp

Some cucumbers

Shredded Nori

Step 1: Strip the thin omelet

Step 2: Put everything on a plate

Jyaman Potato- Baked Potatoes with Bacon and Egg

In Japan, the combination of potatoes with bacon is called "German Potatoes". This dish is a very popular pub food.

I put eggs on top to make it rich breakfast.

You can also cook it in the oven.

Ready in: 20 minutes

Ingredients for two:
2 potatoes
3 slices of bacon
2 eggs
Cheese
Green onions
Black pepper

Step 1: Slice potatoes very thin and soak them in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water.

Step 2: Cut bacon and cook it in a frying pan. Remove it from the pan onto a plate.

Step 3:  In the same pan, cook sliced potatoes till golden.

Step 4:  Add the cooked bacon onto the potatoes.

Step 5: Put some cheese and crack eggs on top.

Step 6: Cover the pan till the eggs are ready.

 

Onigiri (or Omusubi)- Rice Ball with seaweed paper

Onigiri (also called Omusubi) is very standard food in Japan, just like a sandwich in North America.

 

Ready in: 5 minutes with cooked rice

Ingredients for one ball:

1 cup of cooked sushi rice
1/8 of Nori seaweed paper
Some fillings

Step 1: Wet a small bowl and sprinkle some salt in it.

Step 2: Place a half cup of rice in the bowl and make a dimple in the middle.

Step 3: Put a filling in the dimple, and put the rest of the rice onto it to cover. Sprinkle some salt on it.

Step 4: Roll the bowl to put rice together like a ball.

Step 5: Wet your hands, and take the rice in your hands. Try to make a triangle ball.

Step 6: Put Nori around the ball.

Kare- Japanese Curry and Rice

Who doesn't like curry!? Curry is world favorite food, isn't it? Japanese curry is brown and think. Try to cook it up to 24 hours, and you will know what I mean by "world favorite"!

Ready in: 24 hours! (incl. 10 minutes preparation)

Ingredients for four:

1 tablespoon of butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1 onion, sliced

Any vegetables in your fridge

4 Japanese curry cubes

If needed, meat or seafood such as beef, chicken or shrimp, cook in a pan

Japanese Curry Cubes

 

Step 1: Cut vegetables into fine cubes.

Step 2: Cook onions and garlic with butter.

 Step 3: Put everything into a crock pot, and set as low.

12 hours later

Step 4: Put curry cubes and meat a couple of hours before eating. Shrimp should only go on the plate when serving.

Niku Jyaga- Potato and Pork Stew

Who doesn't like Niku Jyaga!?

You can make it without meat.

Ready in: 15 minutes

Ingredients for two:
1 onion, sliced
30g of sliced pork or ground pork
1 carrot, cut into cubes
2 potatoes, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons of honey/ maple syrup
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
100ml of chicken broth (100ml of warm water+1 tea spoon of chicken broth powder)
Sesame oil

Step 1: Brown onions with sesame oil.

Step 2: Add pork.

Step 3: Add carrots and potatoes.

I added Konnyaku noodles.

 Step 4: Once they are all mixed, add honey, broth and soy sauce. Cook till carrots get soft.

Step 5: Voila!

Yose Nabe- Japanese Style Fondue

Where's spring?

One day, we had  a +24 degree day, and the weather immediately went back to minus something degrees.  I guess we just have to be patient..... , it will come eventually, won't it?

On colder days, Nabe warms you up.



Ready in: 7 minutes

Ingredients for two:
Any vegetable in your fridge
e.g.) Nappa cabbage, carrots, green onions, Daikon radish, or leeks
Tofu
Cubed chicken, minced and cooked pork, or meat balls
Vermicelli noodles
1 portion of egg noodles
<Prepare the following in a pot>
1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder
200ml of water
1 tablespoon of soy sauce

Step 1: Cut vegetables.

Step 2: Place the vegetables, meat, tofu and vermicelli noodles in the pot you prepared soup.

Step 3: Cook it, and eat.

Step 4: When you feel it, add egg noodles

Enjoy in different soup) Korean spicy soup

Tofu to Wakame no Miso Shiru- Misso Soup with Tofu & seaweeds

Miso Shiru in Japan isn't a main dish.

Ready in: 7 minutes

Ingredients for two:
50g of Tofu
1 tablespoon of wakame seaweeds
1.5 tablespoons of Miso paste
<Prepare the following in a pot>
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of Dashi

For unfamiliar ingredients, see <Seasonings and Sauce>.

Step 1: Place the pot on the stove.

Step 2: Cut Tofu into cubes.
<Tip> Cut it on your hand. Don't slide a knife, slightly push it down.

Step 3: Add Wakame seaweeds and Tofu in the pot.

Step 4: Using a strainer, add Misso paste. Make sure it all melts in the pot.
<Important> Turn off the stove immidiately after Misso paste melts in the soup, otherwise the aroma will be gone.

Vola! It's a classic Japanese breakfast.

Nori paper, Grilled salmon with grained daikon radish, Kim chee, Chili powder for Misso soup, Rice