Go Check out the Round-up!

Wandering Chopsticks has posted the round-up for Regional Recipes Japan! Thank you to everyone who participated and thank you to WC for an excellent round-up. Lots of great entries, so definitely check it out!

For the next region, Wandering Chopsticks has picked Thailand! I definitely like that one. The deadline is officially December 15, but I'll accept entries up until I post the round-up on the 20th. Send entries to me at blazinghotwok(at)gmail(dot)com.

Hope you will participate!

Saucy Broccoli and Tofu Stir-fry

We eat a lot of broccoli in this house. It’s one of the vegetables my son will actually eat without a lot of bitching and moaning. It might be a bit boring as far as vegetables go, but it does often save me a trip to the Asian market because it’s a good substitute for Asian broccoli. Not quit as sharp as the Asian varieties, but that’s made up for with a wonderful texture. If you haven’t tried biting into a tender-crisp piece of stir-fried broccoli, the sauce that’s trapped in the floret releasing into your mouth, then you’ve missed out. That’s not an exaggeration.

Try this easy stir-fry and you’ll see what I’m talking about.



I found this stir-fry in Martin Yan’s latest cookbook, Martin Yan's China. He originally presents this as a shrimp stir-fry, but in an effort to eat less meat, I decided to use tofu and broccoli. In fact, if you substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water, this would be a vegan dish! Imagine that?!

Saucy Broccoli and Tofu Stir-fry
Adapated from Martin Yan’s China
Serves 3

• 1 block firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
• 2 to 3 cups of broccoli (more if you’d like), cut for stir-frying
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• ¼ cup ketchup (see note)
• ¼ cup Chinese rice wine
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 to 2 tbs chili garlic sauce (see note)
• ½ tbs sugar (more to taste)
• squirt of toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce (more to taste)

Note: Those who turn their noses up to using ketchup in Asian cooking should not be so snobby. It can work beautifully, like in this dish. Remember, if it's good enough for Martin Yan, it's good enough for you. Also, if you haven’t figured it out, there is a difference between the Chinese andd Vietnamese version of chili garlic sauce. Lee Kum Kee is probably the most popular Chinese version here in the States. We don’t think it’s very spicy and are able to use the full 2 tbs in this dish. The Vietnamese version is a heck of a lot spicier, and the one I prefer, but if I use 2 tbs in anything, Sonny wouldn’t be able to eat. The choice is yours; both work well.

Start by heating a wok over medium-high heat. Add 2 to 3 tbs oil and when hot add the tofu. Fry the tofu, turning only every minute or so. This will allow it to sear so that the outside is semi-crisp and the inside is soft. It may take 10 minutes to get them browned to your liking.

While the tofu is cooking, make the sauce. Start by dissolving the cornstarch in the broth and soy sauce. Add the ketchup, rice wine, chili garlic sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Adjust the flavor to your liking by adding more of any of the ingredients. Bare in mind that the rice wine may seem strong, but it will evaporate once cooked. Set aside until needed.

Once the tofu is browned to your liking, add the broccoli and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Better to undercook than overcook because you’ll be giving it a little more time at the end. Remove everything to a bowl.

Turn up the heat. To the wok, add another tbs of oil and the garlic. Fry for just a few seconds, making sure it doesn’t burn. Add the sauce mix and allow to reduce until it thickens. This shouldn’t take too long if your wok is hot. Add the tofu and broccoli back in and stir to coat. Cook for about another minute. There should be a nice sauce and it should be quite thick. Remove from heat and serve immediate with steamed rice.


I'm submitting this dish to Weekend Wokking, a food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks that spotlights a theme ingredient. The host this round is Wiffy of Noob Cook and the theme ingredient is broccoli. If you're interested in participating in the future, check out Wiffy's blog for the round-up, which will be posted on Dec 3. You'll get to see all the delicious entries and the next secret ingredient will be revealed!

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Despite what I said in my previous post, I didn’t cook a turkey this year. And you know what? The world didn’t implode! I don’t feel lost. In fact, I feel thankful. Not about not making turkey, but about life in general. I’ll spare you my philosophical gurglings, but suffice it to say, I’m bursting with thankfulness.

You see, Sonny was sick. So sick, in fact, that on Tuesday we decided to cancel our annual Thanksgiving party. After days of nursing a sick child with a mysterious illness (that showed signs of being bacterial, but thankfully ended up being viral), all I could think about was helping him get better. I couldn’t even fathom the idea of entertaining 20 people.

But don’t worry, Sonny’s better now! Woke up on Thanksgiving morning fever-free. Just like that. Disappeared as quickly as it started. In fact, you would never even guess the little booger was sick.

So we didn’t do the big shindig, but we still had a nice little celebration. The upside to being just the three of us is we got to do it the way we wanted. We set an elegant table with candles and wine glasses (Sonny had Gatorade). Then we sat down, in our pajamas (that's right, we stayed in our pajamas all day!) to a simple meal. It turned out to be a very nice Thanksgiving after all.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

What's on the Table this Holiday Season?

I’m pretty traditional when it comes to the holiday foods. For Thanksgiving I always do turkey, even though I’m not really a fan. One year, a good friend asked if we should do two chickens instead of a turkey. Um, no. Chicken is more towards the “everyday spirit” than the “holiday spirit”, even if there are two of them. Hubby has suggested duck but I’m not feeling that either. If I don’t do turkey, I’ll feel lost. So it’s going to be turkey again this year, only this time I’m doing the dry brine. No icky salmonella liquid to get rid of at the end of the day.

Christmas is still up in the air. I think we’re supposed to do brunch with friends. Last year I did a prime rib roast for the first time and it was spectacular. Turned out to be the easiest roast I’ve ever done, thanks to my trusty $6 thermometer. I recently did a roast beef using a top round roast, which was also fantastic and probably more appropriate given the state of the economy. Ham is always a crowd pleaser and it’s a no-brainer, but maybe this year I’ll go as far as curing my own ham using a recipe out of Charcuterie (see right side bar). Or I can just keep it simple and do a Cuban-style pork roast.

I'm not going to think about New Year yet. It's only the week after Christmas but still seems so far away.

What do you think I should make for Christmas? Any suggestions? Our Christmas is in your hands, Interwebs! Okay, not really. But I’d really love some suggestions.

In the meantime here are some holiday-appropriate recipes for you just in case you need some inspiration as well. Some are mine but I threw in a few from around the web that piqued my interest. I'll probably update the list as I find interesting recipes.

Meats:
Perfect Prime Rib Roast Impress your guest with this deceptively easy roast. If I do it again, I'm going to try Citymama's suggestion of coating with brown sugar, Hawaiian salt and garlic.

Picnic Pork Roast A delicious alternative to the beef roast.

Ham with Thai Tea, Cardamom, and Clove Sauce May sound weird, but tastes great. This post has details on how to make a proper pan sauce for ham.

Salt Rub and Butter Turkey from Wandering Chopsticks I'm doing the dry brining this year!

Duck Adobo Confit from Burnt Lumpia Love confit. I'm considering it for Christmas dinner since it might just be me and the boys.

Homemade Bratwurst and Red Cabbage from We Are Never Full This dish reminds me of the Danish Julefrokost, which is a meatfest Christmas brunch (eaten throughout month) accompanied by a lot of drinking. Think smorgasbord with hard liquor.

Appetizers and Accompaniments:
Tasty tomato jam Wonderful accompaniment to strong cheese

Danish-style pate Eaten all year round, but made extra special by serving with crispy bacon and sauteed mushrooms. No Julefrokost is complete without it. Invite your cardiologist friend, just in case.

Danish meatballs Another staple of the Danish Julefrokost. Delicious with red cabbage and/or pickled beets.

Hummus What kind of gathering would it be without hummus? Use sun-dried tomatoes to make it extra festive.

Cranberry Chutney Nice alternative to regular cranberry sauce.

Danish curried pickled herring Definitely an acquired taste, but worth trying if you're adventurous. I normally only eat this during Christmas as part of my Danish Christmas brunch.

Gravlax from Citymama A must at any Julefrokost. I do it similar, but add a light layer of ground fennel before the dill (I also used dried dill).

Swedish Potato and Rutabaga Casserole from One Perfect Bite Rutabagas are an underrated vegetable. I love the taste and bet they are perfect in this casserole.

Brunede Kartofler (caramelized potatoes) also from One Perfect Bite How could I forget these? I ate these every Christmas when I lived in DK. Perfect accompaniment for roasted duck and easy to do!

Pumpkin Rosemary Dinner Rolls from Sass and Veracity I just made these (using canned pumpkin) and they were a hit! A nice, seasonal alternative to dinner rolls. Makes a big batch (I stopped at 16 rolls and froze the rest of the dough), but any leftovers can be used to make Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding!

Desserts:
Pumpkin Coconut Crème Brulee Elegant alternative to pumpkin pie.

Thai tea Crème Brulee What can I say, I love creme brulee, and this is my favorite so far.

White Chocolate and Star Anise Crème Brulee from Culinary Delights I'm planning on trying this for Christmas. Don't see how it could go wrong.

Kugelhof from All-Purpose Girl This reminds me of something I ate in Denmark. May be a good alternative if you're not a fruit cake fan.

Fruit Cake from Burnt Lumpia The fruit cake loves fruit cake. I'm talking about myself, of course. But only if it's good. And this looks good. How can it not be? It's spritzed every other day with brandy for 2 weeks! Imagine the moist, alcoholic goodness.

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies from No Special Effects Come on, don't gingerbread people just scream Christmas? And the kiddies can have fun decorating them.


So what's on your table this holiday season?

Better-Than-Any-Restaurant Chicken Katsu

I know I should be studying. I have a comprehensive, test-how-well-you-can-remember-everything-from-your-undergraduate-career type of exam coming up in less than 2 weeks. For me that was years ago (guess how long that was?!). But what am I doing instead? Finding things to distract me. It has become absolutely imperative I clean the grout in my bathroom. And the moss from between the cracks on our front steps. And sort out our junk drawers (yes, we have more than one!). But as you can tell from my lack of posts, cooking and blogging have not been part of those distractions. Those would be fun activities, and if I’m going to waste time doing anything but what I’m supposed to be doing, then I shouldn’t enjoy it, right? Like my logic?

And who could really concentrate with the election drama these last two weeks? Even before Tuesday, I realized how emotionally invested I was in this election. Tuesday was the climax, with all that stress and anxiety building up. Wednesday saw the gradual release of all that tension and a sense of exhilaration. Friends and relatives from overseas have emailed me to congratulate us. People I didn’t even think were paying attention! Finally today, I’m getting a sense of “back to real life and work.” My tile grout might look sparkling clean, but the dishes and unpaid bills need to be addressed! Not to mention that test. Gaaah!

But lest you think I’ve been feeding my family microwave dinners these past weeks (okay, only occasionally), I have come with proof otherwise. In essence it’s chicken katsu, but really that doesn’t say anything but chicken and panko. This is more than that because I’ve added miso paste before dredging the chicken. Still, that doesn’t really describe how good this is. It’s not just dipped in miso, but miso that has been spiked with ginger, garlic, and tamari. Then the pieces are dredged in flour, egg, and panko and pan-fried till golden brown, sealing in that awesome punch of flavor.

I know this picture just doesn't do this dish justice. All the good stuff is underneath that crispy panko coating. And the dipping sauce is a slightly sweet, yet very savory compliment.

If you haven’t used miso before, this is the perfect time to try. I know buying special ingredients can be annoying because you may use it for one dish. And if you end up not even liking that one dish, then it's a real waste of money. But no worries here. This dish will be a hit and you’ll want to make it over and over again. And miso lasts just about forever stored in your fridge, so you don’t have to make this over again and again all in the same week.☺





Miso-dipped Chicken Katsu
Serves 4 to 5

• 2 tbs white miso
• 1.5 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs tamari (regular soy sauce if fine)
• 1 tbs mirin (optional)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 knob ginger, minced or grated (about ½ to 1 tbs minced)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or pork loin chops), pounded to a thin, uniform thickness
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten for coating
• All purpose flour for dredging
• panko crumbs for coating

For the dipping sauce:

• 3 tbs mirin
• 3 tbs tamari
• 1 tbs sugar (more or less to taste)
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• dash of toasted sesame oil
• toasted sesame seeds (to taste)
• pinch of Japanese or Korean chili powder (to taste, optional)

Start by combining the miso, sugar, tamari, mirin, garlic, and ginger to make a paste. Rub all over the chicken or combine with the chicken in a large bowl and allow it to rest for a little while you prepare the sauce, the dredging ingredients and get your rice (or whatever you want to serve with this) going.

To make the sauce, just combine everything in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set it aside until ready to serve. You may want to give it a quick stir every now and then to make sure the sugar goes into solution.

Put the flour, beaten eggs and panko crumbs into 3 separate deep plates (or whatever setup you like to use for dredging) close to where you are going to do the frying. In a skillet, heat about a half inch or so of oil for shallow pan-frying over medium-high heat. Deep-frying is another alternative, but I find no advantage doing it that way. It’s just a waste of oil. When the oil is hot (test by adding dry panko crumbs; they should sizzle right away), quickly dredge the chicken in flour (shake off excess), then egg, then panko. Add to the hot oil and allow to fry until golden on one side. Turn and do it on the other side. Don’t crowd the chicken; you may need to fry in batches, depending on how large your skillet is. And here’s where you need to watch the heat. If the panko is browning too fast, turn down the heat a little. Cooking time will depend on how thick the pieces are. I think it took anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and allow to rest on paper towels or on a rack (my preferred method).

Serve with Japanese sticky rice, dipping sauce and whatever other tasty side dishes you’d like. I’ve done a carrot-ginger stir-fry and a cabbage-celery stir-fry. Even steamed broccoli will do.

Did I mention this works beautifully with boneless pork loin chops? Be sure to pound them thin as well if they are too thick.


I’m submitting this recipe to Regional Recipes, a blogging event celebrating world foods! The region this time is Japan and the host is Wandering Chopsticks. If you have a tasty recipe, please do share! Deadline for submissions is November 15th and you can send them to wanderingchopsticks(at)gmail(dot)com. Check out the rules on the Regional Recipes main page. And be sure to check out the round-up around the 20th to see the other submissions and find out the next region. Wanna host a future event? Let me know and I’ll put you on the list.


Other Japanese-inspired dishes you may like:
pan-fried udon noodles with shiitakes and beef