Tokyo diner food, at home.
katsu:
2 chicken fillets
1 egg
flour
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 slice white bread
sauce:
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2" fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp dry red pepper flakes
Start by making panko bread crumbs (panko is a japanese brand for white bread crumbs). Don't buy them, they're pointlessly expensive. Whiz the bread in a food processor until it's small crumbs, then bake in a dish at 150C for about 10 minutes.
Beat the egg. Roll the chicken fillets in flour, coat them in egg, then press them into the bread crumbs until they're covered all over. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side at medium heat. I used high heat and they were done on the outside before the inside; we rescued them by baking at 150C for 10 minutes (which worked fine).
Meanwhile, make a tonkatsu sauce, which is a hilarious mixture of ingredients but tasty. Slap all the ingredients into a pan, cook at medium heat, stirring constantly until it suddenly transforms from an odd goo into a nice sauce. It could have been a bit spicier; might try doubling the red pepper flakes next time.
Serve with steamed rice and a veg side dish.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Coffee cake
SWC wanted coffee cake for his birthday so I cracked open the wonderful, 'Classic Home Desserts' by Richard Sax cookbook and made the Quintessential Coffee Cake.
It's not what I think of as coffee cake - I think of a white, fluffy, moist cake with thick brown streusel on top. This cake was made with brown sugar so was more molasses-y. And I messed up the streusel by putting the sugar-butter-flour mixture in the food processor, so when I put it on the cake, instead of nice little buttery-sugary chunks, it was like dusting the cake with flour. Yuck! I saved it by applying copious quantities of butter and sugar to the top of the cake about 5 mins before it was done baking.
So the result was nice. A very moist, soft cake. The topping was crunchy and sweet enough, with no flour chunks - a decent save.
But next time: do the butter cutting with knives and make sure the streusel is chunky before applying to cake. Also may want to investigate other coffee cake recipes in order to achieve My Perfect Coffee Cake. Or maybe just try this recipe with white sugar, not brown?
3/4 cup butter, unsalted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt thinned with milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F/180C (160C fan). Butter a 13-by-9-inch dish or two 8-inch squares.Cut butter into brown sugar and flour with pastry blender or knives until crumbly. Save 1 cup for topping.
Beat baking soda into buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients. Add egg, vanilla and salt and stir until smooth. Scrape batter into pan, smooth on top. Sprinkle crumbs over the top.
Bake until golden brown, about 30 mins. Cool on wire rack. Cut and serve.
It's not what I think of as coffee cake - I think of a white, fluffy, moist cake with thick brown streusel on top. This cake was made with brown sugar so was more molasses-y. And I messed up the streusel by putting the sugar-butter-flour mixture in the food processor, so when I put it on the cake, instead of nice little buttery-sugary chunks, it was like dusting the cake with flour. Yuck! I saved it by applying copious quantities of butter and sugar to the top of the cake about 5 mins before it was done baking.
So the result was nice. A very moist, soft cake. The topping was crunchy and sweet enough, with no flour chunks - a decent save.
But next time: do the butter cutting with knives and make sure the streusel is chunky before applying to cake. Also may want to investigate other coffee cake recipes in order to achieve My Perfect Coffee Cake. Or maybe just try this recipe with white sugar, not brown?
3/4 cup butter, unsalted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt thinned with milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F/180C (160C fan). Butter a 13-by-9-inch dish or two 8-inch squares.Cut butter into brown sugar and flour with pastry blender or knives until crumbly. Save 1 cup for topping.
Beat baking soda into buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients. Add egg, vanilla and salt and stir until smooth. Scrape batter into pan, smooth on top. Sprinkle crumbs over the top.
Bake until golden brown, about 30 mins. Cool on wire rack. Cut and serve.
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Beef stew with parsnips and carrots
This was an attempt to cook all of the parsnips and carrots we've been hoarding from our veg box - we had nearly three weeks' worth on hand! On that count, it succeeded. On the tasty count, it was pretty good. The gravy/broth was nice but there wasn't enough of it. And it was a little too sweet for my tastebuds.
So... next time add more water as it cooks. And use fewer parsnips and carrots, and instead add some potatoes, and some frozen peas at the end for greenness. Might try substituting beer for wine to make it less sweet. As for all those parsnips and carrots, next time they stack up, try to make a dedicated soup for them which can handle their sweetness (I'm imagining ginger and curry spices will be needed).
Also: The meat was good but I'm not convinced we need to dust it with flour before cooking - doing away with that step might make this recipe even easier.
All our parsnips
All our carrots
4 small onions, quartered
650g stew beef
Olive oil
Butter
Thyme
Oregano
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 bottle red wine
500 ml beef stock
1 can tomatoes
Preheat oven to 160C. Sautee the onions in the olive oil and butter with the thyme and oregano. Dust the meat with the flour and add it, browning only very briefly. Add the parsnips, carrots, bay leaves, tomatoes, red wine and stock. Cook in the oven for 2 hours.
So... next time add more water as it cooks. And use fewer parsnips and carrots, and instead add some potatoes, and some frozen peas at the end for greenness. Might try substituting beer for wine to make it less sweet. As for all those parsnips and carrots, next time they stack up, try to make a dedicated soup for them which can handle their sweetness (I'm imagining ginger and curry spices will be needed).
Also: The meat was good but I'm not convinced we need to dust it with flour before cooking - doing away with that step might make this recipe even easier.
All our parsnips
All our carrots
4 small onions, quartered
650g stew beef
Olive oil
Butter
Thyme
Oregano
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 bottle red wine
500 ml beef stock
1 can tomatoes
Preheat oven to 160C. Sautee the onions in the olive oil and butter with the thyme and oregano. Dust the meat with the flour and add it, browning only very briefly. Add the parsnips, carrots, bay leaves, tomatoes, red wine and stock. Cook in the oven for 2 hours.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Just finished this last night. Still ruminating on it. It had a sympathetic narrator, a strong first-person voice, some good storytelling. I was heartbroken by the unfairness to the main character, and liked how the way it was told - with two competing explanations for past events - made me think about the validity of memories.
I was slow to invest, though the writing at the beginning was sharp, but by halfway through I was caught up. Then - the ending. Too much clean wrapping up of the mysteries the story held. A coincidence which seems more and more lame the longer I think about it. I was hoping for some solid hints at what *really* happened but more of it left open and unclear. I have this suspicion that an editor asked for more to be resolved at the end, or the author wasn't sure how to accomplish a more mysterious ending. I dunno. Still thinking about it, eager for the book group discussion next week.
I was slow to invest, though the writing at the beginning was sharp, but by halfway through I was caught up. Then - the ending. Too much clean wrapping up of the mysteries the story held. A coincidence which seems more and more lame the longer I think about it. I was hoping for some solid hints at what *really* happened but more of it left open and unclear. I have this suspicion that an editor asked for more to be resolved at the end, or the author wasn't sure how to accomplish a more mysterious ending. I dunno. Still thinking about it, eager for the book group discussion next week.
Sausage stir fry
Another variation on the simple Thai-esque stir fry.
1 lb sausages
2 eggs
2 large leeks
2 tomatoes, cut in 8 wedges each
2" fresh garlic, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, sliced thin
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Prepare the sauce in a bowl by mixing together the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and sesame oil.
Cut the sausages into pieces such that each piece is about as long as it is wide. Any sort of nice sausage will do; I've used sweet chili pork, Cumberland, venison, anything good. Heat the oil in a wok and add the sausage. Stir occasionally, cook until the sausage is firm and brown on all sides.
Beat the 2 eggs with a little water in a bowl, as if you were making an omelette. Move the sausage all to one side of the wok and pour the egg mixture in. Move the sausage into the egg mixture and let it cook until the egg starts to firm, then stir. The result should be egg-coated sausage bits.
Remove the sausage and egg, leaving as much oil behind as possible. You may need to add a little extra oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and stir fry for about a minute, then add the leeks. Stir fry until soft. Turn off the heat, return the sausage and egg to the wok, add the tomato, and pour the sauce over everything. Stir until nicely mixed.
Serve over rice or noodles.
1 lb sausages
2 eggs
2 large leeks
2 tomatoes, cut in 8 wedges each
2" fresh garlic, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, sliced thin
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Prepare the sauce in a bowl by mixing together the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and sesame oil.
Cut the sausages into pieces such that each piece is about as long as it is wide. Any sort of nice sausage will do; I've used sweet chili pork, Cumberland, venison, anything good. Heat the oil in a wok and add the sausage. Stir occasionally, cook until the sausage is firm and brown on all sides.
Beat the 2 eggs with a little water in a bowl, as if you were making an omelette. Move the sausage all to one side of the wok and pour the egg mixture in. Move the sausage into the egg mixture and let it cook until the egg starts to firm, then stir. The result should be egg-coated sausage bits.
Remove the sausage and egg, leaving as much oil behind as possible. You may need to add a little extra oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and stir fry for about a minute, then add the leeks. Stir fry until soft. Turn off the heat, return the sausage and egg to the wok, add the tomato, and pour the sauce over everything. Stir until nicely mixed.
Serve over rice or noodles.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Sliced duck with mushrooms and leeks over crispy noodles
4 duck breast fillets
2 leeks
1/2 lb mushrooms (we used chestnut mushrooms)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of fresh ginger, minced
Thin Chinese egg noodles
Put 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok, and heat it until it's nearly smoking. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir fry for about one minute. Add the mushrooms and stir fry until soft. Add the leeks and continue to stir fry until they're wilted and soft. Store the result in a convenient bowl.
Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut the meat underneath, but cutting all the way through the skin. Score the entire breast, with lines about 1/2" apart. Salt and pepper the duck, using a bit more salt than you think, and rub the result into the skin. Heat a skillet until it's very hot (normally we would use an iron skillet, but we used an All Clad instead because we needed the extra space, and it worked fine - we added a drizzle of vegetable oil to the All Clad, which we wouldn't have done in the iron skillet). Place the duck skin side down, and fry for about 12 minutes. All of the fat should render out from under the skin, and the skin should be extremely crispy. Turn and fry for another 6 minutes, then remove and let stand for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the Chinese egg noodles however the package directs. Usually this involves boiling them for about 3-5 minutes. It's easiest to separate them with chopsticks after putting them in the water, and always rinse them thoroughly with cold water when they're done to prevent them from cooking any further in their own heat and becoming mushy.
To make the crispy noodles: Put 4 tbsp oil in the wok and heat it until it's nearly smoking. Add the noodles, and spread them out into a disk about 1" thick. If you have more noodles than will fit, do them in batches - if the noodles are too thick in the wok, they don't come out right. Fry them for 3 minutes, then flip the pancake-esque result and fry them for another 3 minutes on the other side. The resulting crispy noodle disc should slide easily out of the wok (unlike the flipping part, which is always a bit tricky).
Serve a portion of crispy noodle covered in leeks and mushrooms, with sliced duck breast arranged in a line on top. Hoi sin sauce goes nicely with the duck, but I just slather mine with sriracha.
2 leeks
1/2 lb mushrooms (we used chestnut mushrooms)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of fresh ginger, minced
Thin Chinese egg noodles
Put 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok, and heat it until it's nearly smoking. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir fry for about one minute. Add the mushrooms and stir fry until soft. Add the leeks and continue to stir fry until they're wilted and soft. Store the result in a convenient bowl.
Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut the meat underneath, but cutting all the way through the skin. Score the entire breast, with lines about 1/2" apart. Salt and pepper the duck, using a bit more salt than you think, and rub the result into the skin. Heat a skillet until it's very hot (normally we would use an iron skillet, but we used an All Clad instead because we needed the extra space, and it worked fine - we added a drizzle of vegetable oil to the All Clad, which we wouldn't have done in the iron skillet). Place the duck skin side down, and fry for about 12 minutes. All of the fat should render out from under the skin, and the skin should be extremely crispy. Turn and fry for another 6 minutes, then remove and let stand for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the Chinese egg noodles however the package directs. Usually this involves boiling them for about 3-5 minutes. It's easiest to separate them with chopsticks after putting them in the water, and always rinse them thoroughly with cold water when they're done to prevent them from cooking any further in their own heat and becoming mushy.
To make the crispy noodles: Put 4 tbsp oil in the wok and heat it until it's nearly smoking. Add the noodles, and spread them out into a disk about 1" thick. If you have more noodles than will fit, do them in batches - if the noodles are too thick in the wok, they don't come out right. Fry them for 3 minutes, then flip the pancake-esque result and fry them for another 3 minutes on the other side. The resulting crispy noodle disc should slide easily out of the wok (unlike the flipping part, which is always a bit tricky).
Serve a portion of crispy noodle covered in leeks and mushrooms, with sliced duck breast arranged in a line on top. Hoi sin sauce goes nicely with the duck, but I just slather mine with sriracha.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Little Women
Just finishing up Little Women. Got this at the library because I'd somehow never read it and was looking for something light and fun for the trip to the States. Must have forgotten I was travelling with a toddler and thus didn't crack the book the whole time I was away.
Cute and classic - very readable for something written in the 1860's. Quite moralistic but that's par for the course for girls' stories esp of that era. Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Wasn't swept away by the characters and story.
For a girls' classic my money is on 'Anne of Green Gables'.
Cute and classic - very readable for something written in the 1860's. Quite moralistic but that's par for the course for girls' stories esp of that era. Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Wasn't swept away by the characters and story.
For a girls' classic my money is on 'Anne of Green Gables'.
Friday, 2 January 2009
Christmas meatballs
In a quest to add Even More Meat to an already delightful spread on Christmas Eve, I made a triple portion of these meatballs using a mix of the Cook's Illustrated recipe and the Marcella Hazan recipe. The real key to these is to get your 13-year-old niece to do all the work. Don't use veal, as it's too bland.
2 slices decent white bread (we used Pepperidge Farms potato bread)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (we used Asiago because it was purchased by accident, worked fine)
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
ground nutmeg
ground black pepper
Tear up the bread and combine it with the buttermilk in a large bowl. Mash it with a fork until it's a fairly even paste. Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl and mix with a fork at first, and then with your hands, until evenly combined. Use a light touch, as too much pressure will create hockey pucks instead of meatballs.
Shape the meatballs from the mix, using roughly 3 Tbsp of mix for a 1 1/2-inch meatball. Too small and they will be crunchy all the way through; too large and they will be gooey on the inside. Handle them too much at this stage, and you will again get hockey pucks.
Fry the meatballs in a skillet in about a 1/4 inch of nearly smoking hot vegetable oil, leaving space between the meatballs. Turn regularly to get them brown and crunchy on all sides. It takes about 6 minutes per batch.
2 slices decent white bread (we used Pepperidge Farms potato bread)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (we used Asiago because it was purchased by accident, worked fine)
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
ground nutmeg
ground black pepper
Tear up the bread and combine it with the buttermilk in a large bowl. Mash it with a fork until it's a fairly even paste. Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl and mix with a fork at first, and then with your hands, until evenly combined. Use a light touch, as too much pressure will create hockey pucks instead of meatballs.
Shape the meatballs from the mix, using roughly 3 Tbsp of mix for a 1 1/2-inch meatball. Too small and they will be crunchy all the way through; too large and they will be gooey on the inside. Handle them too much at this stage, and you will again get hockey pucks.
Fry the meatballs in a skillet in about a 1/4 inch of nearly smoking hot vegetable oil, leaving space between the meatballs. Turn regularly to get them brown and crunchy on all sides. It takes about 6 minutes per batch.
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