Loooooong time ago when me and Wendell were dating we used to go to Hanohano Room a lot, and the shrimp cucumber salad was a fave.
Here's my copy cat version and it couldn't be simpler. I sliced up cucumbers, threw it together with some Costco Garlic Shrimp Poke and drizzled on some of my sister Didi's Ume Sesame dressing.
So refreshing.
The people we encountered in Kyushu were so sweet and friendly. It made the trip especially enjoyable.
I met a young man named Gurung Bahadur at a Family Mart near our hotel in Hakata. He and the gal working with him were both from Nepal. He said that he had been in Japan for 3 years and was a student. I congratulated him and wished him a blessed future life. He invited me to visit him in Nepal someday. We exchanged email addresses. I told him about my blog and later that evening he put a comment on one of my posts.
Didi recently recreated her husband's favorite chili from Outback Steakhouse and he loved it.
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE COPYCAT TASMANIAN CHILI
1 ½ # chuck roast, 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1 TB vegetable oil
½ medium onion, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB tomato paste
14 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 c. beef stock
1 TB chili powder
1 ½ tsp. cumin
½ tp. paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper, as desired
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
2 TB masa harina or cornmeal
2 TB water
Garnish: crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped green onions
Generously season cubed chuck roast with salt and pepper. In a large saucepot over medium-high heat brown meat on all sides. Remove from saucepot; set aside.
In the same pot, add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Return browned meat to pot. Stir in tomato paste until coats meat and vegetables evenly. Add tomatoes, stock, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover saucepot; simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and flavors are well combined.
In a small mixing bowl combine masa harina and water until a paste forms. Stir into chili until thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serve, garnish as desired. Serves 3-4.
One of the best things about Traindor Bakery in Hakata Station besides the delicious pastry was that it opened at 6:30 a.m. Great for people just arrived from Hawaii who can't help waking up at 4:00 in the morning.
On November 17, 1990 Mt. Unzen Fugendake erupted after being dormant for 198 years. The pyroclastic flows (numbering 9,432) lasted for 5 1/2 years with the last flow occurring on May 1, 1996.
Mizunashi-Honjin Fukae is a road station preservation park for some of the houses affected by the debris flows.
MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH OVEN BAKED BALSAMIC SOY MUSHROOMS
4 ½-5 c. chicken broth, as needed
1 TB olive oil
2 TB butter
½ c. shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 oz. oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced (HOME HARVESTED !!)
2 c. arborio rice
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 c. white wine
Salt, freshly cracked black pepper
¼ c. heavy cream, as needed
½ c. parmesan cheese, grated, divided
Garnish: Italian Parsley, chopped
Balsamic Soy Mushrooms:
6-8 oz. oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped
¾ tsp. olive oil
1 TB balsamic vinegar
1 ½ tsp. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. thyme, chopped
¼ tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
pinch salt
In a medium saucepan over medium heat simmer broth. In a large saucepan over medium heat saute shallots and garlic in oil and butter. Add mushrooms; cook until slightly browned. Stir in rice until opaque, about 1 minute. Add thyme and wine. Stir until completely evaporated. Add 3/4 cup of stock, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until stock is nearly completely evaporated. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time until previous addition is nearly absorbed, until rice is tender and risotto is creamy, 18-20 minutes. Stir in cream, 1/2 cup of cheese.
Remove from heat. Taste for seasoning. Top with Balsamic Soy Mushrooms, remaining cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Balsamic Mushroooms: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl toss mushrooms with ingredients well. Arrange on an aluminum foil lined baking pan in a single layer. Roast until mushrooms are tender, about 14-16 minutes, mixing halfway through. Time will be dependent on size of mushrooms. Serve immediately.
Earlier this year I asked my siblings to send me a photo of their three favorite knives. You can check out that post here.
Based on my brother Cy's and my cousin V's choices, and mostly because the knife was staring me in the face at a Loft store in Tenjin, Hakata, I got this knife. It was actually the floor model, the last one. It was 10,000 yen, so around $70.
Only seven people entered this giveaway so if you were one of them, your chance of winning was pretty good.
You can click on the photo below to watch Kai picking the winnah.
We arrived at our hotel in Hakata, Fukuoka at around 8:30 pm. Even though our flight took 10 hours and we were pretty tired, we quickly dropped off our stuff and hurried to Yodobashi Camera which was right around the corner from our hotel. Our main goal there was to find Tomica train toys for one of Geri's grandsons.
We didn’t find anything on grandson's list, but while we were there we decided to check out the food on the 4th floor.
We weren't really that hungry, but the tempura place was still open and the tendon looked so good and WE WERE IN JAPAN after all. And so at 2:00 am Hawaii Time we had our first meal. And it was good!
You can click on the photo below to see a short video that my sister Geri took of a hot spring in Unzen, Nagasaki, Japan.
