BBQ Dinner with Friends in FL

Last night we went out to dinner with our friends Ryan and Nichole. We sadly don't get to see them very often since we live so far apart, so this was a good opportunity to meet up- yay Christmas! They suggested Lee Roy Selmon's for some good BBQ so off we went. Jeremy and I split the BBQ family platter which included "Soul Good Pulled Pork", ribs, BBQ chicken and meatloaf. They allowed us to switch the meatloaf for something else, so we went for the brisket. We also got two sides and chose the baked beans and cornbread casserole.

When our food came though, we still had meatloaf on our plates, so our waitress (who was quite good) told us to keep our meatloaf and she would bring out the brisket. It was all quite tasty and the bread they brought out was delicious too- yeast buns with BBQ sauce dripped on top. If I were to rank the meats, I'd put it in the order of... top choice pulled pork hands down, then ribs, then chicken, then brisket (probably because it was drenched in sauce), and last meatloaf. I really liked the sides, especially the corn mush type side we had even though I do feel like I should have vegetables right about now... it's been a lot of meat and potatoes with vegetables covered in some sort of sauce... salad anyone? I can get that when I go home though :) Nichole got the cheese and bacon grits which I wanted to try also, but oh well some other time it shall be! It was a great time at dinner and so good to see them- what more can you ask for good friends and good food!

Some Nesbitt Adventures in Nov and Dec

It's been a while since I last posted, but here are some of the Nesbitt adventures over the last few months:

1) Apple Caffe Macs breakfasts:

The first time I came for breakfast, I got a wheat germ pancake with strawberries, bananas, and chocolate chips. It sounds healthy until the chocolate goes in... but oh so good and huge. The other thing I finally tried is the Crazy Potatoes. May I recommend half hash browns and half potato squares, then add the toppings! I didn't know they had egg whites only, which I would have chosen, but boy they were delicious. I would be obese if I ate that every day but if you're willing to splurge, go for that!

2) Chick-Fil-A in San Diego (over Thanksgiving vacation):

After many sad sundays for Jeremy in which we passed the Fairfield Chick-Fil-A, we decided to meet my friend for a second lunch at Chick-Fil-A. To be honest, I don't really see the big deal

of the place, but Jeremy has a sentimental value attached to it and we were finally able to meet that! I'm all for being a supportive wife!

3) Okan Japanese Restaurant in San Diego

My Dad wanted to take me to this Japanese restaurant because of the concept that he thought I'd like. It is a restaurant centered around "mom's home cooking"and has some quick foods already on display in bulk as well as a full menu. The food was good and healthy- I would definitely consider a business similar to this concept but try to make it more efficient!

4) Harry's Hofbrau in San Jose for Jason's birthday

The idea here is very neat- very homey feeling comfort foods served cafeteria style. Everyone can order what they want, pay, and sit togeth

er. I got the open faced turkey sandwich as recommended by the birthday boy. It comes with their famous roast turkey on top of toast with mashed potatoes, and TONS of gravy smothered on top. I meant to ask for the gravy on the side but mistakenly answered yes to everything in the rush of things. Jeremy ordered tri tip which was the special for the day and it was delicious. It was like thanksgiving all over again!

4) Lobster Shack in Redwood City for Emily's birthday

The place looks very casual but is very expensive but I have to remember it IS lobster after all. Jeremy got the lobster bisque in a sour dough bowl which was very tasty. I splurged for the naked lobster roll, meaning the lobster isn't tossed in a mayo dressing (since I don't like mayo and I want to taste the lobster I pay for). The roll was good but I don't think I'd pay $19 again for that roll... on the other hand, the free oyster crackers were delicious!

5) Cracker Barrel in Florida (Christmas vacation)

I had heard many friends from Florida and the South talk about Cracker Barrel as a must go once place so we went during out Florida Christmas trip. I ordered the chicken and dumplings plate with country green beans and hash brown casserole. It also came with a biscuit and corn muffin. The chicken and dumplings were good- more of a noodle consistency on the dumplings than the biscuit type I was expecting, but quite good- just very heavy since it is a creamy sauce. The green beans were good but nothing special- thankfully they weren't doused in butter (I don't think). The hash brown casserole which has potatoes, lots of cheese and onions baked together was good but again very heavy and I couldn't finish it all. I had high expectations for the biscuits, but they were nothing special to tell the truth, and the corn muffins were bland. I'm not sure if I'm just not cut out for heavy southern cooking but again I would be obese if I ate this all the time in the portions they served! It was good but let's just say it's not my first choice.

6) Cici's Pizza Buffet in Florida

$5 for a pizza buffet already set my expectations, but it was actually not bad! I learned that the key is to order what you specifically want (in my case a red sauce veggie pizza) since that ensures that it is hot. The other pizzas were under heat lamps but it didn't really seem like it. I guess I can't complain for $5... I will say their desserts were quite good- I liked the cinnamon rolls that kept coming out the best. I actually also liked the fudgy, seemingly undercooked brownies, as well as the apple pie pizza. Definitely not healthy and definitely not an all the time thing, but as Jeremy says "we're on vacation!"

Florida food vacation to continue :)

"Bon Voyage" Brenda Lunch

Today I had lunch with my good friend Brenda in Millbrae because she's moving to Thailand for 8 months- crazy! She isn't Asian, she doesn't speak the language, and this is a new job... way to go Brenda in jumping out there! Anyway, before she leaves the Bay Area, I had to see her, catch up, and wish her good luck abroad. Hopefully Jeremy and I can make a trip out to Japan as I am hoping, and maybe Brenda can meet us over there- that would be fun and something we have talked about doing since high school :)

So for lunch we went to the Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae my friend Cindy told me about. Apparently there is a SF branch also, and that shop just so happened to come up in conversation with a few other friends... very strange and coincidental indeed! We ordered some xiao long bao which is something they're known for and some pan fried pork buns. We also got the Shanghai wonton soup and dajanmien (black bean sauce noodles).

Overall, I must say that it was not the best I've had before, but you don't find the xiao long bao in very many places around here so not bad! Everything was good, but not great, thats all. Besides I was going there for the company more than the food. Plus, I didn't know if Brenda wanted Asian since she is going to Asia, but the location was crucial as a place for us to meet somewhere in between and not too far south from her since she has a lot to do before her trip.

Brenda, I'll miss you but be safe and have fun!!

Top 3 Dish Recipes

Thank you to my friends that have commented on my blog along the way! Who knew I had friends that actually read my craziness :) As suggested by Miss Molly, I have decided to pick my top 3 surprise favorite dishes and put the recipes I used here with my slight tweakings. Enjoy!

#3: Mabo Tofu

• Ground beef 70 g
• Ginger (minced) 1 tsp
• Garlic(minced) 1/2 tsp
• Soft tofu 80g- cut into large cubes since they will break apart
  
• Miso 1 tsp
• Soy Sauce 1 tsp
• Brown Sugar 1/4 tsp
• Sake 1 Tbsp
• Dashi 1/2 cup
• Corn or potato starch 1/2 tsp dissolved in 1 tsp water
• Green onions 1 strand chopped for garnish
  

1. Heat a little oil (a little bit of sesame oil enhances flavor), then cook the ground beef, ginger and garlic together. Try to break up the meat pieces.
2. When cooked mix in the ingredients from miso to dashi and distribute flavors evenly. Then add in tofu trying not to mix too much as the tofu breaks apart easily.
3. Add in the corn starch and water mixture and cook a few minutes longer, so that it thickens a little.
4. Turn off the heat, add the green onions, and enjoy with some rice!

#2: Sukiyaki

• Dashi 1 cup
  
• Brown sugar 2-3 Tbsp
  
• Sake 1/2 cup
• Mirin (sweet cooking sake) 1/2 cup
• Soy sauce 1/2 cup
• Water 1 cup

1. Feel free to chop up any vegetables you want to put in! I would recommend Napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, firm/grilled tofu, shirataki/konnyaku noodles, and green onions. Don't forget the thinly sliced beef available at asian markets to swish around in the soup as you cook your dinner!
2. Mix those together for the base of the soup. These should heat together to cook the alcohol off (plus it'll cook off while the vegetable are put in).
3. Put the vegetables in and when they're ready to be eaten, start getting vegetables and "shabu shabu"ing the meat!

*Traditionally it is dipped into raw egg (it gets cooked by the heat so not dangerous) but I didn't make my friends do that :)

And now drumroll please...
#1: Nikuman (steamed beef buns):

For the bun:

• bread flour 150g
• all-purpose flour 150g
• sugar 30g
• a pinch of salt
• instant yeast 4g
• baking powder 10g
• milk 40ml
• water 100ml
• butter 15g

1. Mix them all together until it combines and forms a dough. I had to knead it with my hands after the standmixer was finished to bring it all together. Let it rest for 30 min. You can make the meat filling (recipe below) in the meantime.
2. After 30 minutes, break off pieces and roll them out into thin rounds (as round as you can get it) and add the filling. Wrap it up and twist at the top to create a seal.
3. Let it rest again for 15 min.
4. After 15 minutes, steam them for 15 minutes and you're done!

For the meat filling:

• thinly sliced beef- 6 slices - pre flavored with the cornstarch and sake combo below
  
• japanese cooking sake wine 1 TB
• cornstarch 1/2 TB

Mix the cornstarch and sake together to dissolve, then add the meat while you prepare everything else and start adding it in. Mix everything well!

• chinese cabbage about 4 leaves (I cheated and used leftover sukiyaki cabbage with konnyaku noodles since it was already cooked)
  
• garlic 2 cloves, minced
• ginger about half the size of a golf ball, minced
• shiitake mushroom 1/4 cup, sliced
• slight sale and pepper

I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you try any of them or if you have any other dish or project suggestions!

Last day!

Today is the last day of the project and I made it! 30 Japanese dishes in 30 days! I had a hard time deciding what to make as my last 2 dishes, and wondered if I should've invited my old roomies over to celebrate the last day, but I was a little too last minute on it. I ended up deciding on shira-ae which I had wanted to make, and the reason I bought my suribachi. I also made crispy rice balls with salmon... and to top things off, I even made mitarashi dango or sweet mochi balls that I love.

Dish 29. Shira-ae- This is one of my favorite light side dishes that my Mom makes so I needed to give it a whirl. It is basically vegetables cooked in a soy sauce, then mixed with ground sesame and "smashed" tofu. It all mixes together to almost make a vegetable dish with a creamy tofu sauce. I know it probably doesn't sound very good and the picture doesn't help its cause either (I forgot to take a picture before I took some on my plate), but if done well, it really does taste awesome! I guess you have to like the taste of tofu though... either way, my version was fine but definitely way below the level of my Mom's shira-ae. Next time I go home I'll have to study up on what my Mom does!

Dish 30. Yaki Onigiri aka Crispy Rice Balls with Salmon- What I did was use the toaster oven to crisp up the rice balls that I had molded with a little soy sauce on the outside. I tried a low heat and cooked it for quite a while, but maybe the best way is to broil it in a short period of time so it really crisps up. In the end, it wasn't too crispy, and the bottom side stuck to the foil when I tried to flip the rice balls. It still tasted good with the salmon and green onions placed on top, but it just was not the same as, say a Gochi, crispy rice ball! I'll definitely have to experiment on that some more to see how I can create it without a nice grill or some special tools.

Bonus Dish: Mitarashi Dango aka little mochi balls with a sweet sauce- This is one of my favorite street food items when I'm in Japan. Little grilled mochi balls on a stick covered with a sweet sauce. I used a mix of mochi flour and shiratama flour to make the little mochi balls. The texture didn't come out perfectly the way I had hoped, but they were still quite tasty. It was actually better when it cooled off rather than right away. I made the sweet soy sauce, but added a little sesame and it made it even better!

Overall, I think the project was great and I can't really believe it is finished. It was a bit anti-climactic tonight since I didn't share it with anyone and the food wasn't fantastic but I did it! Now I'll have to go back through the items that I was good at or that I think would be good items to further experiment on! Wish me luck as I continue on this journey of trying to figure out what would be potential future business opportunities!

2 more days! 2 more dishes!

There are only 2 more days and 2 more dishes to go... I am definitely going to make shira-ae with my new suribachi before this project is done, but what should that last dish be? A dessert or a big BAM! finish dish? Mitarashi dango, a cooked fish dish, miso stir fry... the list goes on... It is also difficult since this week is fiscal year end close which means... unpredictable work hours and a tired Amy that comes home.

I'll have to think a bit but if anybody has good ideas for a simple but exciting finale dish, let me know! Of course I'll need this idea tomorrow or wednesday afternoon at the latest :)

J-Food Day 27: Nikuman and Ginger Potato Beef

I'm blogging on time before bed! Today's food was actually quite exciting and delicious! I decided to make Nikuman, or steamed meat buns, and a ginger potato-beef dish for dinner. For dessert we still had the array of desserts that were in abundance in our home this week!

Dish 27. Nikuman- I had never made steamed meat buns before but I had this odd craving for one so I decided to make it and I'm going to say they were awesome. The bun came out fluffy, soft, and not too sweet, and the filling was

quite tasty also! I followed the bun recipe I found online but tweaked it slightly by mixing different types of flour and decreasing the sugar.

For the meat, I used thinly sliced beef pieces

and actually ended up using the napa cabbage and other veggies that I had from the leftover sukiyaki! The flavors were bold so they worked out perfectly and saved me time- win win! Both Jeremy and I loved these buns. There were 7 made, and only one remains in our fridge... maybe I'll become a bun specialist if they were this good the first time :)

Dish 28. Ginger-Potato & Beef- I used the same thinly sliced pieces of beef, but prepared it ahead of time with a little sake and potato starch to soften it up. I then flavored it with ginger, and added in the potatoes to cook and soften. Once that was done, add a little soy sauce flavor, some green onions and sesame seeds... voila! Simple and tasty! Jeremy and I swallowed this up too, even though my favorite of the night was still the buns! I heart carbs :)

J-Food Day 26: Sushi

I'm one day behind on actually posting my blogs now, but last night was sushi night! I made both nigiri and rolls, yummmmm...

Dish 26. Sushi- Everybody knows I love sushi, so I've made these at home before! Plus growing up, we used to make sushi at home all the time so I've had some practice :) This time we had salmon nigiri and I stepped up the rolls by including salmon, unagi, avocado, cucumber, and shiso leaves. Yummmmmmm... I still have to step up my cutting skills a bit more, but after talking to my Mom a bit about how to cut without squishing the rolls (and not getting a super expensive sushi knife), she gave me some tips and I definitely did better! Jeremy loved them too and we swallowed up all the ones that I made! I would definitely say it was a success :)

J-Food Day 25: Sukiyaki

Yesterday I think was the first time I cooked for a crowd during my Japanese Food Project! I made Sukiyaki for a birthday celebration dinner for me. They gave me a hard time for cooking my own birthday celebration, but given the circumstances, and given how much our friends do for us, this was something I was delighted to do- plus sukiyaki is so easy!

Dish 25. Sukiyaki- For those that don't know what sukiyaki is, it is basically hot pot but with a stronger, sweet soy sauce broth. All I had to do was create the sauce with a mix of mirin, dashi, dashi soy sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger, sake, and brown sugar. Cook it up to let the flavors meld, and add in all the chopped vegetables! The vegetables I included were napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, and tofu. We also had thinly sliced beef to "shabu shabu" in, as well as rice and udon as complements for the meal.

There were 6 of us eating; Jeremy and I, the Ls, and the McCarthys at the McCarthy home. We had some edamame as an appetizer, sat with the hot pot in the middle of the table and swooshed our way through dinner! I think this was the first time for all of them with sukiyaki and they liked it, woohoo! I think it's a super easy and fun thing to do with a party, plus it accommodates a lot of different tastes. Who doesn't like sweet soy sauce? Well who in their right mind doesn't like Japanese food is my real question, but then I'm sure Jeremy would tell me I'm biased :)

The other fun part of the evening was the collection of desserts. We brought our package of cookies that I've made throughout this week, the Ls brought chocolate covered macadamias from Hawaii, and the McCarthys provided me with a wonderful pink frosting birthday cake. I got to blow out my Winnie the Pooh, 1 year old(er) candle. What other way would I want to celebrate my birthday than with good friends, good food, good desserts (separate category), and good conversations?

J-Food Day 24: Shoyu Ramen & Gyudon

I'm not sure why the blog is messing up the dates because I definitely did not post all the blog entries on the same day as it says I did last wednesday... in any case, it is Day 24! The weekend were packed with birthday parties and for my birthday, I saw Wicked which was fantastic! That also meant that I didn't cook. I also had another birthday celebration at Gochi yesterday with my old roomies so I didn't cook yesterday either. But I did bake for the retail bake-off which made for a late night! I had baked a few days ago to practice too which is why we have a growing tub of cookies! And notice the cookbook holder with glass to protect the cookbook- a wonderful bday gift from my lovely husband!

The cookies I made last night for the bake off were cookies with a hint of peanut butter in the dough with a chocolate spread center, topped with walnuts. I didn't win the bake off but boy my stomach feels like it weighs a ton from all that I ate! I still wasn't very hungry but I'm back in cooking mode and today I made 2 dishes.

Dish 23. Shoyu Ramen- I used the same chuuka noodles as the cold noodles, and made a warm broth for them with dashi, dashi soy sauce, soy sauce, sake, and brown sugar. I had also sauteed some ginger and garlic in sesame oil prior to making the broth to give it a little depth of flavor. For the ramen, I added wakame/seaweed, enoki mushrooms, a bit of carrots, and a few sugar snap peas for color. I didn't make it extremely brothy because I know Jeremy doesn't like too much broth, but it tasted good. It wasn't as good as ramen places that spend a lot of time cooking the broth from bones, etc but it was a good attempt for homemade ramen!

Dish 24. Gyudon aka Beef Bowl- Japanese food has very similar ingredients in most of its cooking since it is some variation of a sweet soy sauce flavor. So again, the flavoring was based on ginger, garlic, dashi, dashi soy sauce, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and brown sugar. I sauteed ginger, garlic, and onions prior to adding the broth flavors along with some enoki mushrooms and konnyaku yam noodles. I used thinly sliced beef and debated whether to saute them at the beginning for flavor or add it at the end, and decided for the end so it didn't overcook. I thought this actually tasted really good! I wish I was more hungry so I could eat a whole bowl full!

I'm also happy to announce that I finally acquired a suribachi! I can now make my shiraae or any other items that require something to be ground. You can always count on Daiso to have useful things for pretty cheap- $6 for the bowl and stick!

J-Food Day 21:Kinpira Gobo, Katsudon, Gomaae

Day 21 was another catch up day since this weekend didn't allow for very much cooking. I cooked up Kinpira Gobo, Katsudon, and Gomaae of sugar snap peas.

Dish 20. Kinpira Gobo: This is a very home-y dish made with burdock roots and carrots. I actually took a short cut by buying the frozen package of unflavored but cut up burdock root and carrots. This meant I didn't have to peel, or cut vegetables- what a time saver! I then flavored it with a little red chili, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and dashi. I thought it turned out really well, even though it was a little spicier than I originally intended to make it. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and voila, a yummy and quick side dish!

Dish 21. Katsudon: We still had some chicken katsu left over, so I decided to make katsudon, which is basically a rice bowl dish. Start with sauteed onions, then simmer in a sweet soy sauce flavored dashi broth. After it simmers for a while, add the katsu, and then finish off with a beaten egg poured on top. The egg puts a nice covering on top to seal in all the goodness... well in my case I may not have had enough egg to cover it all so some of it mixed into the broth. Overall, Jeremy liked it even though I thought the flavor could have been stronger. My initial broth tasting and finished product didn't quite taste the same! I further added to the flavor after we grabbed our dinner, to improve for Jeremy's round two and tomorrow's lunch. He liked it enough for seconds and lunch, woohoo!

Dish 22. Sugar Snap Pea Goma-ae: Gomaae literally just means mixed with sesame, but you can make this with any vegetable. I wanted to use something other than sugar snap peas since sugar snap peas are so good plain, but I didn't feel like going to the store so peas it was! (My laziness at its best even during my food project.) It's a very simple but delicious side dish that is really just a sauce mix of sugar, soy sauce and ground sesame seeds. Jeremy liked it, but of course he likes all things sweet, so I think this was right up his alley. Plus we're both big fans of sugar snap peas, so can't go wrong there! This sauce is actually really good with baked plain mochi too... mochi with sweet soy sauce, wrapped in seaweed... yummm... ok I digress but you get the drift that this sauce can be used for many other things!

On a side note, I also made a practice batch of cookies yesterday to take to dinner as well as to test for the bake off coming up at work. I made regular chocolate chip as well as nutella walnut with chocolate chips. I think these were a hit but I'm going to experiment some more before the bake off.

Overall, today was a success- I also didn't try too much that was new but I actually hadn't made the kinpira gobo myself so that was good. It was almost like my Mom's! I still have a ways to go before my katsudon tastes like my Mom's though!

J-Food Day 19: Kabocha Croquettes

After a few days of birthday celebrations, I'm back on day 19 with the 19th dish!

Dish 19. Kabocha Croquettes- I had prepared the inside of the croquettes a few days ago but never got around to finishing the product, but today I did! I had basically mushed together the kabocha squash, with carrots and onions. I took that mixture, put some cheese in the middle, floured it, and fried it. I would have breaded it like a regular croquette, but I didn't realize I had so little Panko bread crumbs. It didn't come out as crispy as breaded croquettes, but I thought they tasted really good!

This was also my first time with the Fry Daddy, so it was fun! The inside was already cooked, so I just needed to fry it for a little bit to get the outside golden brown and cook the flour. Jeremy only ate a bite because he wasn't hungry but he liked it. He especially liked the cheesy parts! Maybe I should've added more cheese!

J-Food Day 16: Oyaki & Hiyashi Chuuka

Day 16- I didn't end up finishing the croquettes but I did make oyaki which is like Japanese pancakes but different because they have a very thin batter. I also ended up making HiyashiChuuka or cold noodles with sauce.

Dish 17. Oyaki- I made this thin pancake (which didn't really turn out like a pancake) with bean sprouts, garlic chives, and carrots. I mixed them together with a little batter and tried to pan fry it... but any crispy parts stuck to the pan while everything else just stayed mushy and fell apart. I was expecting something similar to the pancakes you order at a korean restaurant but it definitely did not come out like that. It also tasted bland without adding sauce... so mushy and bland... very NOT awesome!

Dish 18. Hiyashi Chuuka aka cold sesame (?) noodles- I think I actually cheated on this one so I'm not sure if I can call this a dish I made, since I didn't make the sauce. It was a packet sauce that I had from when I bought a Hiyashi Chuuka sauce before. Jeremy isn't a big sauce person, nor am I for that matter, so we never use all the sauce that comes with packaged food. For the noodles, I actually prepared correctly the noodles I previously used for the yakisoba. This time I boiled them in enough water so they didn't become gobbly goo as I called it before. The noodles came out great, I added wakama/seaweed, bean sprouts, carrots, and sugar snap peas. I just boiled them and added the sauce and sesame noodles so yes I may have cheated, but it was a work day!

Tomorrow we have a friend's birthday party, then Jeremy's birthday the day after that, so I'll have to hold off on cooking for a bit until the weekend! By the way I'm still looking for a suribachi so I may call Daiso to see if they have one!

J-Food Day 15: Kabocha and Mabo Tofu

Japanese Food Project Day 15... Jeremy was playing raquetball tonight so I got home and started cooking. I started out really ambitious but didn't make everything I intended to, but still made 2 complete dishes.

Dish 15. Braised Kabocha- I love kabocha squash, which is Japanese pumpkin, but similar to butternut squash. I braised it with onions, carrots, yam noodles, and shiitake mushrooms in the usual sweet soy sauce and dashi flavoring. Japanese food really isn't that complicated when a lot of the flavors are consistent. This is one of my favorites and go to dishes so I think it turned out good. The only issue that I encounter is if I don't pick a good kabocha and it's not very tasty to begin with. This one wasn't the best, but I think it turned out fine!

Dish 16. Amy style Mabo Tofu- We had ground beef that I needed to use up, so I decided to make mabo tofu even though I didn't have the "tobanjan" chili paste but I added some red chili pepper to add a little spice to it. I flavored it wth miso, soy sauce, a little sugar, and simmered it all together. It actually turned out great! I had never made mabo tofu from scratch before, but I really liked my first attempt... this is my first awesome dish on the first try!

Jeremy definitely liked the mabo tofu a lot better than the kabocha, but I liked both of them!

I was also trying to make kabocha cheese croquettes at the same time, but I was a bit overambitious with that. I got to the point where it is ready to be shaped and breaded, but that will have to be tomorrow or the day after!

Week 2 Ratings

Here is the week 2 recap and ratings of the dishes I made for the Japanese Food Project.

Yamakake Soba
Yakisoba- 1 1/2 stars... must try again
Curry (improved over 3 days)- 3 1/2 stars
Chicken Katsu- 3 stars- next time I'll fry it
Hijiki- 4 stars
Hijiki Mixed Rice- 3 1/2 stars
Rolled Cabbage- 3 stars... I'll go back to the tomato version

There are a few things I definitely need to improve on but it has been a good project so far! Many more to come!

Next week I'm looking at making braised kabocha squash, kabocha squash croquettes, salmon avocado rolls, kinpira gobo, shiraae (if I can find a suribachi/mortar & pestle), miso stir fry, miso soup, and maybe ichigo daifuku dessert! But again, we know how schedules change based on my mood or desire! 8 dishes a week and I'll make it to the 30 dish goal by September 30!

J-Food Day 12- Lots of Dishes

Japanese Food Project Day 12 meant LOTS of dishes because I was slacking throughout the week for numerous reasons. Today I ended up making 5 dishes before 1pm- don't mess with this determined girl!

Dish 10. Veggie Curry from scratch (not cubes)- I was determined to make curry without the cubes sold in stores, so this was trial #1. I thought I had all the spices for the "make your own garam masala" mix but it turned out I didn't... but it was okay despite that! I put onions, potatoes, and carrots into my curry and thickened it with a roux (which I messed up a little so it didn't thicken as much). I also wanted to add some grated apple for added depth of flavor but I clearly didn't plan well enough to follow the recipe to a tee. I started the curry yesterday and finished it today- don't try to squeeze in cooking when you have to be somewhere for dinner that night! Overall, Jeremy had seconds so that must mean it wasn't too bland!

Dish 11. Baked Chicken Katsu- I know it is never going to taste as good as fried chicken katsu but it was worth a try. I needed to pre-season it a little better also since it would have tasted better if it were flavored more ahead of time. Since it went in for katsu curry though, it wasn't so bad! If we were to eat it alone, I would've made some tonkatsu sauce for it too, so either way, I guess it's not so bad! It wasn't as crispy as it would have been fried, so lesson learned!

Dish 12. Rolled Cabbage (dashi style)- The usual rolled cabbage I have made many times before is a tomato sauce type, which I didn't think was super Japanese so I tried the simple dashi type. The cabbage didn't stay together for the rolling as much as I had hoped, so there were 4 fully rolled cabbage pieces and the remainder were meatballs with cabbage pieces on top. For some reason there was a bit of a buttery flavor to it (there was no butter added), but it was simple and good. I still think I personally prefer the tomato version but again, this project is a learning experience!

Dish 13. Braised Hijiki- Hijiki is dried seaweed that needs to be soaked in water for about 15-20 minutes to return it to cooking shape. I added carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and a few sugar snap peas for color. I braised it in dashi, soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, and sake until the liquid was practically gone. That would be the one dish today that I think turned out just as I hoped! My Mom's is still better, but for my first time, it was pretty close!

Dish 14. Mixed Hijiki Rice- I cheated a little by combining the hijiki I was braising and the hijiki I was going to mix into the rice, because the braising liquid was only slightly different. After making so many other dishes, I thought "not worth the minor change, combine it!" I cooked them together, then mixed it in to the freshly cooked white rice. This is the first time I made mixed rice, not to be confused with takikomi rice, because mixed rice is adding flavors after the rice is cooked. Takikomi rice cooks the flavor in during the rice cooking process. I would say this rice was fairly successful too!

I'm going to a 4 year old's birthday party tonight so pizza and cake doesn't allow for more Japanese cooking. I'm still well within reach of the 30 dishes in 30 days!

J-Food Day 10, "Yakisoba"

Japanese Food Day 10... yesterday was dinner at a friend's place so I had big dreams to make several different easy dishes... you have your on days and your off days- this was an off day.

Dish 9. "Yakisoba" Seems simple enough when you make yakisoba out of the packet, but I tried all different things this time. I wanted to make "shio yakisoba" or translated to salt stir fried noodles, instead of the usual saucy kind. Mistake #1 at the store was that I assumed "Chukamen" or Chinese noodles were the same noodles as the yakisoba noodles, and that I could treat them the same. It ended up becoming... well gobbly goop as I like to call it. (I don't know if the picture makes it look goopy enough.) The stir fry of veggies was fantastic- ginger, garlic, cabbage, onions, carrots, bean sprouts, onion chives, and ham. Mistake #2 was deciding to add the noodles which were already looking like an issue before I added it to the stir fried vegetables. Part of me regrets adding the beginning of a gobbly goo mess, but it was done and that's the end of it. I also ended up making a saucy yakisoba, instead of a salt one, in an attempt to save the dish. I figured with the goo ball, it would be better saucier than as a salt goo ball. Trying to save this mess took forever and I didn't get around to making other dishes also... it looks like the weekend or the next few weeks are going to be packed with dishes!

Overall, it was okay but neither one of us really liked the texture of the finished "yakisoba". I wonder if the leftovers will be eaten... yes, I think it was that bad. I kept thinking to myself "but I'm not a cooking failure!" I thought about doing it again to improve but I don't have a strong desire to someday offer a noodle option. I'm leaning more towards rice bowls or rice bentos so maybe I'll give the noodles another try after this month is over!

J-Food Day 8: Yamakake Soba

How is today day 8 of the project when Friday was day 7 you ask?
I knew I was going to be away during Labor day weekend so I substituted the last weekend of August for labor day weekend. Which means Sat-Mon don't count! I'm starting to thinkthat fitting in 30 dishes is going to be tough especially with birthdays and events I know we'll be attending, but I will make it happen!

Dish 8. Tonight was "Yamakake soba" which is basically warm soupy noodles with yamaimo or white grated mountain yam on top. I cheated and used dashi powder instead of making my own stock... next time! I also added dashi soy sauce, soy sauce, and mirin for the soup base. I added shiitake mushrooms for flavor, some daikon, cabbage, and carrots for a healthy mix of flavors and colors. I then added in the soba noodles and voila! Dress up with a little green onion, pour on some of the grated yam "goo" and dinner is served!

I really liked it and Jeremy liked it too. He mixed the yam into the whole thing so he didn't really taste the "stickiness" of it. I don't think it has much flavor but definitely adds to the texture. It was delicious but not something that could be served as a bento-type item. Maybe the soup could be a side soup on its own! No matter, it was a successful Amy concoction!

I have a lot of ground to make up for this week, but the plan so far is:
Braised Kabocha Squash
Pilaf or flavored rice
Kabocha squash croquettes
Baked chicken katsu
Curry
Another type of pickled vegetable
Maybe sushi rolls
Maybe miso soup