Dd's Yakisoba

Our cousin V asked about the yakisoba that accompanied Didi's Asian Short Ribs.  Didi said that it was "super fast and easy" and provided the recipe.

YAKISOBA

Sauce:

2 TB Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. catsup

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. oyster sauce

1 ½ tsp. agave nectar

Yakisoba:

1+1 tsp. vegetable oil

1/3 fishcake (I use gobo fishcake)

½ small onion, thinly sliced

½ medium carrot, thinly sliced

1 c. head cabbage, coarsely chopped

3 stalks green onion, separate whites and green

Freshly ground black pepper

1 serving yakisoba noodles (I use single packet of Sun Noodle)**

Garnish: green parts of green onion, pickled red ginger (Glenn doesn’t really care for it, so I add to my dish)

 

Sauce: in a small mixing bowl combine ingredients well. Taste as needed (dependant on brands, might need to add more agave nectar. We like it more on the tangy side). Set aside.

 

In a skillet/wok over medium heat toss noodles (**the Sun Noodle brand comes in a “tight block”) in 1 tsp. oil, cooking until noodles have broken up. Remove to plate. Set aside.

 

Into skillet/wok over medium heat stir fry fish cake in remaining 1 tsp. oil. Add onion and carrot. Stir fry until vegetables are limp and fishcake is slightly browned. Season with pepper. Stir in cabbage, white parts of green onion, noodles and sauce as desired (start with half of sauce as add as needed). Toss well to combine (we like crunchy cabbage). Turn off heat; allow to sit 1-2 minutes. Garnish as desired. 

Serves 2.

Dd's Buta Nikujaga

The potatoes seem like an unusual addition, but I think it would be my favorite part of the dish.

BUTA NIKUJAGA

 

10 pc. snow peas, trimmed

Salted water as needed

1 TB canola oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 medium onion, wedges

2 cloves garlic, smashed

½ -inch knob fresh ginger, peeled, crushed

½ # sukiyaki-style thinly sliced pork

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, stew cut

Seasoning:

2 c. dashi

¼ c. mirin

¼ c. soy sauce

2 TB sake

1 TB agave nectar

 

In a small saucepan over medium heat blanch snow peas 30-45 seconds.  Immediately place in iced water; set aside. 

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat saute onion, garlic and ginger in oils. Add pork stirring to coat well with oils. Cook until no longer pink. Add dashi to almost cover ingredients. Add potatoes. Bring to a boil. Skim any scum and foam from surface with a skimmer. Add remaining seasoning ingredients. Cover; allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until potatoes are cooked through; about 15-17 minutes depending on your preference.  For this dish, I prefer my potatoes a bit overcooked.  Allow to sit covered, 15-20 minutes.

For service: top with snow peas. Serves 3-4.

Easy Spanish Rice

I made this Spanish Rice to go with pasteles that we had for dinner awhile back.  I used jasmine rice for a less sticky texture.  My favorite part was the bits of crunchiness that accidentally happened.  I hope I can reproduce that the next time.

The recipe is from the AllRecipes site.  I substituted salsa for the called-for picante sauce.

2 tbs. oil

2 tbs. chopped onion

1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup bottled salsa

1.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion; stir until tender, about 5 minutes.

2.  Add rice; stir until rice begins to turn golden brown.  Stir in chicken broth and salsa.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until liquid has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Dd's Jambalaya

Didi's Jambalaya includes chicken, andouille sausage AND shrimp . . . WOW!! 

 

JAMBALAYA

 

1 chicken breast, 1 ½-inch cubes

2 links andouille sausage, sliced diagonally

10-12 pc. shrimp (dependent on size), peeled, deveined

Salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic salt

1 tsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 stalk celery, chopped

½ small green bell pepper, chopped

½ small red bell pepper, chopped

1 TB tomato paste

1 c. long grain rice

2 c. chicken broth

1 TB Cajun seasoning*

1 bay leaf

Garnish: chopped green onion

 

*Cajun Seasoning:

1 ¼ tsp. paprika

1 tsp. each salt, garlic powder

½ tsp. each freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper

½ tsp. each oregano, thyme

½ tsp. each cumin, dry mustard

¼ tsp. ground bay leaves

 

*In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients for Cajun seasoning well. Set aside. Makes approximately 2 TB.

Season chicken and shrimp with seasoning mix. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepot over medium heat sauté chicken until cooked through. Add sausage, onion, garlic, 

celery and peppers. Cook until vegetables are limp. Add seasoned shrimp. Cook until shrimp are “just” pink. Remove shrimp, set aside. 

Stir in tomato paste stirring until completely incorporated. Add rice, chicken broth, remaining seasoning mix and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and let simmer 20 minutes. 

Add shrimp; allow to sit 1 minute to warm through. 

Serve immediately. Garnish with green onion. Serves 2-3.

My Scalloped Potatoes

Landon bought choke potatoes so I decided to make this.  I didn't use paprika or cayenne pepper.  Instead I sprinkled seasoned salt in between the layers.  I also added in some parmesan cheese because it seemed like a good idea.  And I topped with chopped up cilantro to make it look good.  It came out ono.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups thinly sliced potatoes, (Yukon Gold or Russet; about 2 pounds give or take)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, , divided
• paprika

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 1.5 quart baking dish (8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish will work). 
2. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and stir in flour. 
3. whisk in the milk and season with salt and cayenne. 
4. Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk. 
5. Reduce heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. 
6. Place a half of the sliced potatoes in the baking dish. Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes. Repeat with second layer of potatoes and cheese sauce. 
7. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese on top. Top with some paprika for color. 
8. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour at 350°F or longer until the potatoes are fork tender.

Dd's Indian Chicken and Basmati Rice

 

INDIAN CHICKEN

 

Chicken:

8 pc.chicken thighs, boneless & skinless*

1 c. plain yogurt

1 c. olive oil

1 TB curry powder

1 TB chili powder

½ TB cumin

½ TB ginger powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. salt

Basmati Rice:

1 c. basmati rice

1 ½ c. chicken stock

2 TB onion, thinly sliced

1 TB massaman curry paste

 

In a mixing bowl combine marinade ingredients. Marinate chicken at least 30 minutes. Remove chicken from refrigerator; allow to sit 15 minutes.

Broil 8 minutes; turn, continue broiling 8-10 minutes until slightly charred. * If using bone in thighs, broil 25 minutes; turn and continue broiling additional 20 minutes. Serve with seasoned basmati rice. Serves 3-4. 

Basmati Rice: Combine all ingredients in rice cooker; cook as directed. Fluff with fork for service. Serves 4.

Eri's Crab Rice

I blogged about this dish 9 years ago, and it is by far my most viewed recipe. I thought I'd repost it for those of you who might've missed it. 

Pat 3 cups of cooked rice in a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Sprinkle with furikake.

Combine the following and layer on top of the rice:
1 can crab
1 package imitation crab, separated and shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1/4 cup tobiko

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  If it doesn't brown, place under a broiler for a few minutes.

Wendell's Arroz Con Pollo

Wendell made this a couple of weeks ago, and it's a total keeper.  He found the recipe here. 



INGREDIENTS

Chicken

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, about 2 1/2-3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup of flour for dredging
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Paprika

Rice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

METHOD

1 Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat.

Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.)

Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2 Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let the rice brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3 Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice.

In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Wendell's Hainanese Chicken Rice

💟 I like this one a lot!💟

Wendell saw this recipe on Facebook and decided to try it. I searched online and found the recipe here. It's one of those cool Tastemade videos that shows you real fast how to cook something. Make sure you watch the chicken video that follows after the rice video because the guy is cute.

This is actually a rice dish and calls for only one chicken thigh.  Wendell did it with four thighs and turned it into a meal. He used 2 1/4 cups uncooked rice, 2 1/4 cups water, 6-inch green onion, 1-inch thinly sliced ginger (Wendell's metric conversion x 1 1/2 . . . well . . . sorta).

There are three different sauces that you can serve with the chicken. All three are good, my favorite being the ginger sauce. The recipe for the sauces is also included. It's at the bottom. 

• 1 chicken thigh
• 300 grams uncooked rice
• 360 ml water
• 10 cm piece green onion
• coriander
• fried onions
• (seasoning)
• 15 grams ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp powdered chicken bouillon
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
  
  
  1. In a large skillet, combine washed rice, water and the seasonings. Give it a quick mix so ingredients are well combined. Add the chicken thigh and the stalk of green onion on top. 
  2. Cover and cook over high heat until boiling. Turn down the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit covered for 10 more minutes. 
  3. Slice the chicken into 1 cm pieces and set aside. Discard the green onion stalk and mix the rice to combine the flavors.
     
     
  Serve with the below sauces along with some fresh coriander and fried onions.
  
  
• (soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp honey
  
  
• (chili sauce)
• 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
  
  
• (ginger sauce)
• 2 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp green onions, minced
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sugar

  
  

  Addendum:  This is the fried onions that Wendell got from Safeway. I forgot to sprinkle it on, but it was still delicious without.
  

  

Wendell's Potato Gratin

"That's damn good potatoes!" "That's damn good potatoes!" Landon said exactly that. And he said it twice.

Wendell got the recipe from this month's issue of bon appétit magazine, and . . . happy, happy . . . I found the recipe online.  You can find it here.

Wendell's Fried Noodles

Wendell made these noodles following a recipe from this past week's Midweek's Cooking Hawaiian Style.  The recipe doesn't call for it, but Wendell threw in some char siu. He said the noodles are Chun Wah Kam noodles from Times Supermarket. It was very tasty and a bit spicy.



Here's the reason for the spiciness . . . "sambal oelek". Wendell said that all of the markets carry it in the Oriental section.


1 pound fresh noodles
1 tbs. sesame oil

Veggie Stir Fry
1 tbs. canola oil
1 tbs. sesame oil
1/2 onion, julienne cut
2 stalks celery, julienne cut
1/2 bell pepper, julienne cut
4 ounces bean sprouts
6 ounces won bok, julienne cut

Sauce
4 tbs. shoyu
1 tbs. sherry
1 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. oyster sauce
1 tbs. sambal olek
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. ginger, minced

In a large bowl massage sesame oil into the noodles to ensure that they do not stick, then set aside. In a large pan, add canola oil and let heat for 1 to 2 minutes on high. Add onion, celery and bell pepper. Stirring frequently, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until onions begin to brown.  Add bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, won bok and noodles. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until bean sprouts and won bok begin to soften.  Add sauce and continue to stir frequently until sauce is mostly evaporated and soaked into noodles and veggies. 

Wendell's Garlic Fried Rice

Here is another recipe that Wendell found in the Star Advertiser.  The turmeric gave it a Middle Eastern flavor.

8th grader Charlise Limjoco-Ragasa created this grand-prize winning dish for a competition held by Ewa Makai Middle School to help celebrate the launch of their culinary arts program.  

4 tablespoons olive oil

5 lup cheong (Chinese sausages) diced 

3 tablespoons minced garlic 

2 tablespoons powdered turmeric 

2 teaspoons ground black pepper 

2 teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon powdered dashi (Japanese seasoning) without MSG 

5 cups cooked long-grain jasmine rice 

2 tablespoons carrot, finely diced 

3 tablespoons green onion, chopped 

6 eggs 

3 tablespoons green onion, thinly slivered 

1/2 cup Chinese parsley (cilantro), chopped

In skillet, saute 1 tablespoon oil with sausage until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

Use 1 tablespoon oil to saute garlic until translucent, then add turmeric, pepper, salt and dashi, and cook a few minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and add 2 tablespoons oil, rice, carrots, green onions and cooked lup cheong, reserving 6 tablespoons of sausage for garnish.

Place skillet back on stove over medium heat and stir continuously for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, microwave 1 beaten egg and cook until done, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining eggs.

To plate, place 1 portion scrambled egg, top with large scoop fried rice over the egg and garnish with slivered green onions, reserved sausage and Chinese parsley. 

Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Wendell's Irish Soda Bread

This recipe was in last week Monday's Honolulu Star-Advertiser.  It came out so good that Wendell made it a couple more times for his softball team(s).

Heat oven to 375 degrees (350 degrees for loaf pan). 

Whisk together 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar (5 tablespoons for loaf), 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2    teaspoon salt. Stir in 1 cup raisins and 2 teaspoons caraway seeds.

In a separate bowl, whisk 1 large egg, 2/3 cup buttermilk (1 cup for loaf) and 4 tablespoons warm, melted, unsalted butter. Add flour mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter will be stiff but sticky. Scrape the batter onto a cookie sheet and shape into a mound about 7 inches across. Use a sharp knife to make a large X on the top.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes (45 to 50 minutes in a loaf pan). A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Cool before serving.

—Mike Gordon

Landon's Potato Wedges

I love when Landon makes potatoes this way.  It's my favorite.  He said that all you do is wedge the potatoes and coat them with a mixture of mayonnaise and grated Parmesan cheese. He just puts everything in a big bowl and mixes them all up.  Then he bakes the wedges for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  He said that they'll probably be done sooner if your wedges are small.  How easy yah!

Landon's California Roll

I wanted to call this Landon's Crab Bomb 'cause it was da bomb, but he said to call it a California Roll.




Here's his "recipe".  Sorry, he doesn't know the amounts.

Imitation crab
Mayo
Tobiko
Cucumber tsukemono or cucumber kim chee
Sesame oil
Sriracha hot sauce
Shichimi togarashi
Avocado, chopped

Eri's Crab Rice Dish

Happy New Year everybody.  I'm home with Kona right now.  I left a party early tonight so that I could keep Kona company during the firecracker popping.  I gave him some tranquilizers, but he's still a bit trembly.  Poor thing yah. 

My favorite dish at the party tonight was Eri's rice dish. She was kind enough to give me the recipe.  I hope you get to try it.  It was really, really good.

Pat 3 cups of cooked rice in a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Sprinkle with furikake.

Combine the following and layer on top of the rice:
1 can crab
1 package imitation crab, separated and shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1/4 cup tobiko

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  If it doesn't brown, place under a broiler for a few minutes.



It was really ono eaten with some nori.

Wendell's Soba with Leek

Wendell made this last night.  Most impressive was that he made his own "char siu" topping.  Recipes are here.

Michele's Somen Sushi

Coworker Michele made this lunch for me today.  Soooo nice, yah!  It made me really, really happy.  I loved it.  She said all you gotta do is make the somen noodles,  add seafood salad (the green stuff), chopped kamaboko and Tropics Oriental dressing.  Then stuff the mixture into those premade aburage sushi pouches.  Sounds like something even I could make.

Didi's Grilled Corn

This is what I was trying to post last night.  Glad Blogger fixed the problem.  They've been having a lot of issues lately. 

I liked the ko-ge (burnt) part of this corn the best.



8 ears yellow or white corn
Salted water as needed


Sauce:
¼ c. soy sauce
¼ c. mirin
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 quarter size ginger, peeled, crushed

In a large saucepan over medium high heat; cook corn in boiling water 3-5 minutes. Drain well. In a saucepan over medium heat; bring soy sauce and mirin to a boil. Add garlic and ginger, simmer 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Cook corn on charcoal grill; basting with sauce until cooked to desired charring. Serves 8-12.

Geri's Hot Potato Salad

My sister Geri, the tankobu sister, said that she kinda made up this recipe as she prepared it. Pretty awesome yah. I wish I could do that. My son Landon liked it so much that he asked me to stash a small container in the 'fridge for him.



I just cut and pasted the following from her e-mail to me (the milk part surprised me):

I used around 10 potatoes - cooked peeled and cut into big chunks

MIX together: 1 pkg imitation crab, 1 cup mayo, 8 oz sour cream, 2 cups cheeses (I use whatever I have), 3 cloves garlic minced, 1 small round onion minced, salt and pepper to taste. (Texture is like potato salad)

Mix in together with potatoes - put into large baking dish - add 2 cups milk and bake 375 for 45 minutes.