Mrs. Donabe's Rustic Japanese Kitchen

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...First night "home" dinner

2010-09-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

After lunch, we arrived to our condo in Kahana.

We have a very cute ocean-front 1-bed room unit with the great view!

This is our beach at our condo. Just gorgeous.

The view from our room is amazing and our place is so cozy. We both felt we just want to stay here and not go anywhere (except for the wedding) throughout this trip! I was also excited about cooking with all the local ingredients. Although it's small, the kitchen is nicely updated and equipped with all the basic stuff. And, I brought a lot of pantry items from home. So, we decided to just cancel all the dinner reservations for the next nights and enjoy the best out of this place. (Besides, I'm not very keen on the restaurant scene in Maui in general...nothing has really updated in the past 15 years.)

So, for our first night, we picked up some ingredients from local stores and fixed simple dinner. I made Ahi Poke with wakame and Maui onion, miso soup, pan-fried opa fish (I marinated in sake, soy sauce, mirin, and yuzu rind), and brown rice. The only thing was that the knife in the kitchen was so dull that I had such hard time slicing the ingredients (that's why the scallion on the fish look so sloppy!). So, I was going to pick up a new nice the following day.

Having the private dinner in our lanai overlooking the ocean was simply so delicious and special.

Trip to Hawaii (Maui - September 2010)...Arrival Plate Lunch

2010-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Aloha from Maui!

This is our 2nd Maui trip this year in just 6 weeks. We are here to attend another wedding! We are very excited to be part of the special celebration weekend with them.

Our trip started last Thursday. As soon as our plane arrived at Kahului Airport, we rented a car and headed for lunch. This time, we are staying in Kahana in West Maui, so we stopped by at Honokowai Okazuya, which is near our condo, for plate lunch.

I had simple broiled Mahi Mahi with stir-fry vegetables and steamed rice. Food in Maui is not cheap in general. This plate lunch was like $16. I enjoyed the first bite of the island in this trip. Tartar sauce was pretty nice with the fish.

Homemade Chunky La-yu ("Taberu La-yu")

2010-09-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

La-yu (hot chili sesame oil) is one of my favorite condiments, and I love drizzling it to many different dishes. With just a tiny amount, it gives a nice kick to a dish. Original la-yu is from China, but it has been loved by Japanese people for so long and is very much localized in Japan.

Maybe since last year, a new type of la-yu was introduced and making a sensational hit throughout the nation of Japan. It's so-called, "Taberu La-yu", or chunky la-yu, and you can find different versions from so many different producers at stores. In my last trip back to Japan, I picked up one of the most sought-after kind from Kyoto Hotel Okura, and I thought it was really nice. I've also tried other versions from different producers.

Because I love la-yu so much, after tasting different versions, I thought I should make my own chunky la-yu at home! I studies different recipes for inspiration and reached to my original. I wanted to make something rather simple than too big flavor kind which can be fortified by adding dried shrimp/ scallop or fermented black beans. So, my version is pretty straight-forward, and best of all, it tastes so good...with just about anything!

The recipe is very easy. I simply infused all the ingredients (except for soy sauce) in the oil (EVOO + sesame oil) and added the soy sauce at the end. After resting it for 24 hours, the very flavorful chunky la-yu is ready. You can find the recipe on toiro's website, so please check it out.

It's great with the steam-fried donabe fish, steamed vegetables, donabe rice, etc.

Donabe Rice and Black Bean Salad

2010-09-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

We were invited to a pot luck party at our friends' house last weekend. The theme was "Southern" (American), so I made my interpretation of Southern-style spicy black bean and rice salad, with the double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".

I wanted to make something really healthy and tasty at any temperature, so I test-kitchened a few times to get to the final recipe. Well...I was so happy with this final version! I like to cook the rice with the stock (chicken or vegetable stock) before tossing it with the vinaigrette for the extra layer of flavor. The rice is cooked slightly firm, so that it's nicely fluffy after soaking the moisture from the vinaigrette and other ingredients. Minced red onion, bell peppers, and roasted almond add the nice texture variation as well as the flavors, too. You can find the recipe on toiro's website, so please check it out. This donabe salad is so wonderful that you can keep the leftover in the fridge (in a tight-sealed container) and it still tastes so nice cold right out of the fridge on the next day.

On the day of the pot luck, I increased the recipe by cooking 3 rice cups of brown rice. Then, I also made about 1 rice cup amount of millet and quinoa. All the other ingredients were doubled from the original recipe amount, and everything was tossed in a large bowl. I also added some chopped Slow-roasted Umami Tomato to the salad. It came out fantastic! It was a complete vegan version (I cooked the brown rice with the vegetable stock) multi-grain salad, and I was so happy to see everybody enjoyed it, too.

Other dishes at the party were all delicious, too.

With the live band music, we had a blast until the very late hour.

King Salmon and Vegetables with Chunky La-yu (tagine-style donabe recipe)

2010-09-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

We got the wild-caught King Salmon from Canada. It was extremely fresh, so I wanted to make a very simple preparation for the fish to enjoy the natural flavors of it.

I decided to use the tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", for the simple delicious dish.

I simply steam-fried the halved fingerling potatoes, salmon filets, and haricot vert in olive oil and sake. The seasoning was only salt and pepper. Here's how I made.

1. Seasoned halved fingerling potatoes are steam-fried in the oiled skillet (with the lid on) for about 10 minutes (or until the potatoes are almost tender) over medium heat.

2. Seasoned salmon filets and a splash of sake were added to the skillet, covered again, and steam-fried for 5-6 minutes.

3. Haricot vert was added, covered again, and steam-fried for additional 2-3 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 2-3 minutes.

5. Enjoy with squeezed lemon and a drizzle of la-yu (hot sesame oil).

Instead of a regular commercial kind of la-yu, I drizzled my homemade "chunky" la-yu, and the fish tasted incredible with it!

I also made Donabe Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad with the double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".

Everything was so nice. I will try to post the chunky la-yu and Donabe rice & black bean salad recipe soon. They have become ones of my favorite summer items.

Happy donabe life.

Asian-style Spicy Yakitori and Hijiki Onigiri Picnic Dinner

2010-09-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we went to see Chemical Brothers at Hollywood Bowl!

This time, I made everything which can be eaten by hand. The main dish was oven-roasted Asian-style Spicy Yakitori (skewered chicken). It came out so juicy and nice!

Here's the recipe.

Asian-style Spicy Yakitori

Ingredients:

(for 10-12 yakitori skewers)

1/4 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1 small knob ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon nam pla

1 tablespooon brown rice vinegar

2 teaspoons tobanjiang (Chinese hot bean paste)

2 teaspoons raw brown sugar

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Szechwan pepper corn

1/4 cup cilantro

2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into cubes

Procedure:

1. Put all the ingredients except for the chicken in the food processor and puree into sauce.

2. Marinade the chicken in the sauce for 2-3 hours.

3. Skewer the marinated chicken and bake in the 400F oven for 12-13 minutes.

4. Finish under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until the surface is nice brown and chicken is cooked through.

5. Serve with some sprinkles of sansho pepper and ichimi pepper (optional).

Our picnic food...yakitori, onigiri (rice balls), salt-roasted donabe fingerling potatoes (click here for the recipe), and edamame.

Onigiri was hijiki seaweed and sesame seeds. The rice was so fluffy and tasty even after 3 hours because it was cooked with the double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san"!

Happy donabe life.

Power vegan donabe supper

2010-09-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

Vegetables are so delicious.

Who said vegan dishes are boring?

I actually didn't plan to make it vegan, but I just prepared what I wanted to eat, and there they are. These are all vegan dishes, but not "Shojin" (Buddhist vegan), because I used ingredients such as scallion and garlic.

I'm so addicted to the slow roasted "umami" tomatoes. I knew my kitchen was going to be so hot, but I made another batch of slow roasted tomatoes (3-3.5 hours), and they came out gorgeous. I didn't use the olive oil this time, and they came out more concentrated in umami flavors and the flesh was even softer. The aroma was incredible.

This time, I made the plain donabe rice, then rubbed a thin layer of my special miso sauce (made with my homemade miso), covered the sauce with the herb mixture (scallion and cilantro), topped with the "umami" tomatoes and young ginger, then drizzled my homemade "chunky" la-yu.

AMAZING rice bowl!! This one dish can make a full meal and make me happy.

But, I did make two other dishes to serve with the rice. Simple daikon and mizuna miso soup was also wonderful. I mean, miso soup made with my own miso is just so special and the best. It was cooked in the soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru Nabe". I can't do my soup without this donabe. I also made the steam-fry tofu steak with the tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san". With the effect of FIR (Far-Infrared Radiation) of this donabe, the tofu became so fluffy and very nice.

I finished everythin...what a wonderfully humble power dinner!

Happy donabe life.

Okinawa Purple Yam Blancmange

2010-08-31T03:22:00.000-07:00

Cold dessert tastes especially nice in the hot summer. I had a bag of natural purple yam flakes from Okinawa (it was a gift from a friend chef in Kyoto), so I made blancmange dessert with it.

This is a vegan dessert...there is no egg or cream, and it tastes really nice.

Okinawa Purple Yam Blancmange

Ingredients

1-2/3 teaspoons powder gelatin

3 tablespoons cold water

2-1/4 cups soymilk

4 tablespoons Okinawa purple yam (sweet potato) flakes

4 tablespoons raw brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum

some coarse red bean paste

Procedure

1. In a ramekin, combine the cold water and gelatin and let it sit for 5 minutes.

2. In a pot, whisk together the soymilk, yam flakes, sugar, vanilla extract, and soaked gelatin over medium-low heat.

3. Once everything is dissolved and almost boiling, remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl.

4. Add the rum, and cool down the mixture by whisking while keeping the bowl in a ice bath.

5. When the mixture becomes thicker, divide into 5 cups.

6. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until the mixture becomes nicely jiggly. Garnish with a little mound of red bean paste on top to serve.

Spicy Cold Udon

2010-08-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Another summer-style cold noodle dish.

Only with the ingredients I already had in the kitchen, and I came up with the really fantastic spicy cold udon! Red yuzu kosho gave the really refreshing kick.

Spicy Cold Udon

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

(sauce)

1 teaspoon red yuzu kosho

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)

2 tablespoons satsuma yam vinegar (or black vinegar)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1.5 tablespoons almond

1 tablespoon dry baby shrimp

1/2 cup mizuna

1 teaspoon sliced dry red chili pepper

some thinly sliced young ginger

some thinly sliced scallion

some tofu, cut into smaller pieces

some seaweed

some chopped cilantro

2 servings udon noodles

Lemon wedges

Ground roasted sesame seeds

Procedure

1. Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce. Keep it cold in the refrigerator.

2. In a small pan, heat saute the garlic in 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil until fragrant. Add the almond and dry baby shrimp and continue to saute for a couple more minutes. Add the mizuna and saute until mizuna is wilted. Add the dry chili pepper, stir, and turn off the heat. Set aside.

3. Cook the udon noodles according to the package directions. Rinse in cold running water. Drain and divide into two bowls.

4. Take the sauce out of the refrigerator and drizzle over the noodles.

5. Arrange the young ginger, scallion, tofu, seaweed, and cilantro on top of the noodles. Make a small mound of the sauteed almond mixture in the center.

6. Serve with lemon wedges and ground sesame seeds.

You can mix the ingredients with the noodles as you eat. It's really tasty.

Tagine-roasted "Dirty Miso Corn"

2010-08-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Corn tastes so good right now.

I love simple way of preparing corn, and this is probably my favorite corn recipe (if you call it a "recipe"). It's super-easy and super-delicious.

The lid of the tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", was filled with water for 5 minutes and drained (this will give the "steam-roast" effect). Corn was roasted in the Fukkura-san over medium+ heat for about 15 minutes with the lid on. Meanwhile, each corn was rotated every 4-5 minutes. When the corn was ready, I simply spread my homemade "multi-purpose" miso-sauce all over the corn. That's it!

So, here's my "Multi-purpose" miso sauce recipe. I made it with my homemade miso, and it's so delicious and versatile. You can use it as a condiment for rice, or just mix in your stir-fry, etc.

Multi-purpose Miso Sauce

Ingredients

3/4C miso

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons sake

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons raw brown sugar

5 tablespoons water

Procedure

Combine all the ingredients in a small pot. Over medium-heat, whisk the mixture until thickened. Turn down the heat to low once it starts bubbly. When the mixture is shiny and thickened, remove from the heat and let it cool down. The mixture can keep in a tight-sealed container for 3-4 weeks.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Steam-fried Black Bean Bittermelon and Pork

2010-08-28T03:31:00.000-07:00

Another quick summer donabe recipe...

I would say this is a variation of Goya Chanpuru. While Goya chanpuru has the very simple seasoning, this variation is steam-fried with the rich-flavored sauce. There is also no egg in this dish. With the tagine-style donabe, "Fukkura-san", this dish is made very easy and can be served right over to the patio table from the kitchen!

Donabe Steam-fried Black Bean Bittermelon and Pork

Ingredients

1/2 lb. thinly-sliced pork butt or pork belly, cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons sake

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

1 medium-size bitter melon, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, and thinly sliced crosswise (about 1/8"-thick)

7-8 oz medium-firm tofu, drained

(sauce mixture)

1 tablespoon fermented black beans, minced

1.5 tablespoons Chinese rice wine

1 teaspoon Chinese hot bean paste (doubanjiang)

2 teaspoons miso

1 teaspoon mirin

1/4 cup Chinese chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Some mizuna leaves

Chopped cilantro

lemon wedges

Procedure

1. Marinate the pork in sake and soy sauce for 15-30 minutes.

2. Heat the sesame oil in the skillet of Fukkura-san over medium+ heat. Saute the pork until almost cooked through. Transfer the pork to a bowl. Set aside.

3. (Add more sesame oil if necessary) Saute the garlic, ginger and bitter melon for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the tofu and roughly break by the wooden spatula. Continue to saute until the tofu is lightly browned.

5. Combine the ingredients for the sauce. Add the sauce mixture to the skillet. Stir.

6. Add the pork back to the skillet. Stir, and cover with the lid.

7. Steam-fry for 3 minutes. Uncover, add the mizuna, cover again.

8. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 2-3 minutes.

9. Uncover at the table and garnish with a mound of chopped cilantro in the center. Serve with lemon wedges.

The dish was rich but so refreshing and summery.

It was served with the donabe rice (half brown/ half white), and simple daikon & mizuna miso soup made with our homemade miso. Miso soup tastes just so special with our own miso!!

Happy donabe life (with my "dirty miso corn").

Okara sweet...Okara Madeleine

2010-08-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Now, I can't stop cooking with okara (soy pulp). There are nothing but benefits about using okara in my cooking. 1. It costs almost nothing, because it's basically the leftover of making soymilk for homemade tofu. 2. Okara retains more than 20% of the protein from whole soybeans and it's also rich in fiber. 3. It tastes good!

I made madeleines with okara, and they were so delicious. Here's my recipe. These are much lower in calories and healthier than regular madeleines.

Okara Madeleine

Ingredients (for 12 shell-shaped Madeleines)

5 oz okara

3 oz butter, room temperature

2 oz raw brown sugar

2 medium-size eggs, whisked

1/4 cup soy milk (un-sweetened)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 oz whole wheat flour

1 oz almond meal

Procedure

1. Saute the okara in the pan to make the excess moisture evaporate for about 5 minutes. Set aside to let it cool down.

2. In the KitchenAid, whip the butter. Add the sugar in 2 times and continue to whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Slowly add the eggs and whisk together. Add the soy milk and vanilla extract.

4. Add the okara and continue to whisk until smooth. Turn off the KitchenAid.

5. Sift together the baking powder, whole wheat flour, and almond meal. Add the flour mixture to the okara batter in 2 times and gently fold with a spatula until fully incorporated.

6. Pour the batter into the madeleine mold (oiled and dusted with flour). Bake in 350F degrees oven for 30-35 minutes.

More cold noodles

2010-08-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so hot these past days, and it makes me want to eat more cold noodles.

Our tagine-style donabe is not only a wonderfully versatile cookware, but it also works super as a "mini fridge" because of its remarkable insulation ability. I simply spread the ice cubes in the skillet and arrange the somen noodles on top. Once I cover it with the lid, the noodles stay very cold for a long time while the ice melts slowly.

I served the somen noodles with various condiments including soft tofu, crab meat, scallion, shiso leaves, young ginger, etc. etc. The dipping sauce was made in the morning and chilled in the fridge. It was the dashi stock, mirin, and soy sauce, and the ratio is 5:1:1. I prefer my dipping sauce this way more than 4:1:1 ratio, which is a little too salty to my taste and I get thirsty quickly.

Because my sauce is not too strong, it's good to just pour over the noodles, too. So, with the leftover cold sauce, I made a "bukkake" (pour-over) style cold udon with the simple toppings including tororo konbu (vinegard shaved kelp), tofu, etc.

I love summer noodles.

Santa Barbara Sea Bass on Santa Barbara BBQ Grill

2010-08-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

I got the wild-caught sashimi-grade sea bass from Santa Barbara. So, we decided to do a cedar plank grill with it on our Santa Barbara BBQ Grill.

The sea bass filets were seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and herb de Provence. Then, I also sprinkled some raw brown sugar on top, so that the fish could absorb the smokey aroma from the mesquite better.

Cedar plank was lightly oiled and grilled before the fish was placed, and the fish on the plank was put on the grill (with the cover on) for about 15 minutes over medium-heat. It came out exactly the way I wanted! The aroma was so beautiful.

The fish was served with my homemade hummus, cold corn "surinagashi" soup, donabe rice salad with edamame and roasted almonds, and steam-fried donabe tagine snap peas with enoki mushrooms. We had a nice "eclectic" outdoor dinner!

Donabe cooking class report...Summer "Izakaya" Dishes

2010-08-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we hosted summer version of "Izakaya" class. We were excited to have those enthusiastic Japanese/ Izakaya food lovers and had a wonderful time together.

These dishes went especially well with the chilled junmai sake.

We've received many requests for this class from those who couldn't come last Saturday, so we plan to offer the "encore" summer izakaya class in September. As soon as we have the schedule confirmed, you can sign up from toiro's website. So, please check back on our website soon.

Here's the menu...

Menu

Cucumber and wakame “sunomono”

Cold somen noodles with sesame dipping sauce and condiments

Donabe braised spicy kabocha

Steam-fry Kurobuta pork hamburg in daikon sauce

Donabe rice

Sake Selection

Kikusui Shuzo, “Ryoma” Junmai-shu (Kochi, Japan)

Happy donabe life.

Matcha & Okara Sweets...power of soy

2010-08-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

I've been baking a lot lately. Here are some of the matcha desserts I made this past week. I've been making more desserts by using okara (soy pulp), which I have so much from making homemade tofu. Okara is not only protein-rich and healthy, it also tastes very nice and make the cake very moist texture.

Pound cake of matcha (green tea powder from Kyoto), soy milk, wholewheat flour, okara (soy pulp), black sugar (from Okinawa), butter, roasted almonds and amanatto (sweet beans). Jason and I finished more than half of the loaf after dinner, because it was so good.

I also made the simple Matcha & Okara muffins. Because of the addition of the okara, you can make the same amount of muffins by using much less flour and butter, and it's actually more moist than regular muffins. The flavor was incredible, too.

I don't have time today, but I will post the recipes for these cakes sometimes.

Making dashi stock with Donabe

2010-08-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

I make dashi stock in the morning. I normally soak the dashi konbu (dry kelp) in a bowl overnight, transfer the konbu with the soaking water into the donabe (classic-style all-purpose donabe), and immediately start heating it when I get up. You can, of course, make the dashi stock by using a regular pot. But to me (and to most of serious Japanese chefs), donabe can make the best dashi stock. It's the way this traditional clay pot distribute the heat inside to infuse the konbu flavors...donabe does the even distribution of the heat and makes the really nice "complete" flavor of dashi stock. (Sorry, it's really hard to explain by words, but I know so by the aroma and taste.)

Over medium+ heat, konbu is infused and removed before the water starts boiling.

Shaved dry fish mix (from Kyoto) is added. (For a different version, I also use my special "Hongare-bushi" dry bonito by hand-shaving it right before adding to the broth. In this case, I add the shaved bonito right before turning off the heat and let it sit for about 2-3 minutes - until the shaved bonito sink in the bottom - then strain.)

After 3-4 minutes of simmering (shaved fix mix is good for simmering to infuse), I turned off the heat and strained the broth into a bowl. This is the pure dashi stock. You can find the full recipe of basic dashi stock making on toiro's website.

The used konbu and shaved fish are never wasted in my kitchen. I thinly sliced the konbu and minced the shaved fish, then simmered them together in a small amount of water (to make the konbu softer and also to infuse more flavors). Once the water is reduced to almost nothing, I added some Japanese sea salt, black sesame seeds and drizzled some sesame oil and stirred with the mixture. After cooking down, the mixture is transferred to a container. This is my homemade "furikake" (seasoned topping) for rice. It tastes really nice with a freshly cooked donabe rice. You can keep it in the fridge for a few weeks.

Happy donabe rice.

Hand-shaved bonito with homemade tofu

2010-08-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

I enjoy humble luxury of eating simple food made with cared ingredients and process.

This is my precious "Katsuobushi Kezuri-ki" (bonito shaver). It's a hand-made traditional artisan kind with the special blade. It's extremely sharp.

This is also my precious "Katsuobushi" (dry bonito). Dry bonito has different kinds and grades. This premium katsuobushi is called, "Hongare-bushi" (from Kagoshima, Japan), which was dusted with mold and aged for longer time (so that the mold takes away the moisture and concentrate the umami flavors inside of the bonito). Hongare-bushi is the hardest kind of dry bonito also, and in fact, it's the hardest "food" you can find in the world! Seriously, it's so hard that you can use it as a weapon. It looks like a piece of hard dry wood. And, of course, the flavor of this bonito is incredible. It's so deep and lingers in your palate. Regular bonito flakes would taste so bland once you experience Hongare-bushi.

I carefully shaved the bonito into flakes. Then, I topped my homemade tofu (made with the homemade tofu kit) with some scallion and bonito flakes, and drizzled some dashi-soy broth with grated ginger. The dish was sublime...as many Japanese people say often, I feel so lucky that I was born as Japanese so I can really appreciate a dish like this.

Japanese Donabe Home Cooking...I did dinner catering.

2010-08-20T04:57:00.000-07:00

I was asked to cook at a Japanese-theme dinner party, which was hosted by a friend of my friend. So, I catered dinner for the group of 8 people at the host's house in Hollywood the other night.

It was such a pleasure to introduce healthy home-style Japanese dishes including donabe dishes to American people.

The evening started with two kinds of tofu dishes. Tofu "Shira-ae" (creamy tofu salad), and my homemade rectangular tofu.

"Shojin" (Buddhist-style vegan) Kabocha soup was served cold.

I made the young "shin-shoga" ginger and edamame rice with the double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san".

With my donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", I left the steam grate and used it as a classic-style all-purpose donabe to make the chicken sukiyaki!

Two kinds of dessert...azuki filled dumpling cookies, and houji-cha cake.

I had a lot of fun, and I was also very happy that everyone told me how much they enjoyed the dinner!

Happy donabe life.

Slow roasted "umami" tomato with donabe rice

2010-08-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

In a Japanese gourmet magazine, there was a recipe for roasted tomato rice bowl from Ivan Ramen. It looked so good. So, I was inspired by it and made my own version.

And, it was insanely delicious!!

Large tomatoes were halved and seasoned with salt and pepper. Some olive oil was drizzled over the tomatoes and they were roasted in the 300F degrees oven for about 3 hours. The aroma was incredible when I took them out of the oven.

Then, I made the donabe rice with my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san". I cooked it with chicken stock with a little amount of salt. Once the rice was ready, I tossed it with shelled edamame. To finish, I topped the rice with the slow roasted tomatoes and let rest for additional 10 minutes, so that the flavors of the tomatoes sink into the rice.

To serve I put the rice and tomato in a bowl and topped the tomato with some thinly sliced scallion, ground roasted sesame seeds, and drizzled some la-yu (hot sesame oil). The combination of all the flavors was so fantastic. After slow roasting the tomatoes, the fresh flavors turned into the deep umami flavor and coated the fluffy donabe rice so well.

I have to make this again. So good.

More Homemade Tofu

2010-08-18T14:16:00.001-07:00

I can't stop making tofu! I just love the "art" of it, and of course the flavors of my own homemade tofu. It's really, really special.

From real tofu fans who have ordered Homemade Tofu Kit from us, I received several inquires about where to get the quality soybeans to make the best tofu. The kind I recommend is Laura Soybeans by Chambers Farms in Iowa. Their soybeans are organic and non GMO. The flavor is mildly nutty and very nice. I just ordered another bag of 13 lbs. Laura Soybeans, so I can make many more tofu!

Once again, here's the process of tofu making at home.

10 oz soybeans (rinsed and soaked in 1,200 ml water overnight) were pureed with the soaking water in VitaMix until smooth.

Wooden tofu box and lid are soaked in cold water. Cotton bag is wet and wrung before use. Pureed soybeans are added to 1,300 ml boiling water. Any remaining puree in the VitaMix is rinsed with additional 200 ml water and drained to the boiling water, too.

After heating the mixture for 5-8 minutes (when the mixture smells like soymilk, rather than raw soybeans), the mixture is strained through the cotton bag and strainer into a large bowl. The remaining solid is "okara" (soy pulp), which is still filled with protein and vitamins, so I save it for cooking!

The strained liquid is the pure soymilk. It's transferred to a classic all-purpose donabe over medium+ heat. Once the soymilk is almost boiling, turn off the heat, and nigari solution (2.5 teaspoons of nigari liquid and 3 tablespoons hot water) is stirred in. Donabe is covered, and let rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the soymilk is now curdled. To me, using donabe in this process is essential, because donabe distribute the heat gently, and also have the great heat retention after turning off the heat. So, the soymilk gets curdled evenly.

The curd is gently transferred to the wooden box with a perforated ladle. After transferring most of the curd, the remaining in the donabe is just the clear separated water.

With the weight, the soymilk curd is shaped into tofu. In 15 minutes, tofu is ready!

It's quite huge. I keep the fresh tofu in the cold water bath to keep the texture and freshness.

Homemade tofu is the best.

Donabe cooking class report...Summer "Shojin" Dishes

2010-08-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

I was excited to host another "Shojin" (Buddhist-style vegan) class last Saturday. This time, we did summer-style shojin dishes.

We had the wonderful time with the wonderful guests.

Here's the menu...Happy donabe life.

Menu

Broccolini “karashi-ae” (marinated in a light Japanese mustard broth)

Tofu “shira-ae” salad

Steam-fry tofu steak with mushroom sauce

Young “shin-shoga” ginger and edamame rice

Kabocha and shiitake miso soup

Wine Selection

2009 Jean-François Mérieau, L’Arpent des Vaudons (AOC Touraine)

Donabe cooking class on DailyCandy

2010-08-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

Our Donabe & Japanese Cooking Class was introduced on "The Weekend Guide" of DailyCandy. Yay!

You can check out our class schedule on toiro's website. Our next class is "Summer Izakaya" on August 21 (Sat). We also plan to announce our September class schedule soon, so please check back our website often, or sign up with our newsletter from our website.

Happy donabe life.

Naoko (a.k.a. Mrs. Donabe)

Goya Chanpuru (Okinawa-style stir-fry of bitter melon etc.)

2010-08-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Goya Chanpuru is a very popular dish in Japan. It's a traditional Okinawan dish of stir-fry bitter melon, tofu, pork, and egg. It's one of the dishes I like to make in the summertime (when bittermelon is in season). The refreshing bitter flavor of the bittermelon is so nice.

Goya Chanpuru

Ingredients

1/2 pound thinly sliced pork butt

1 tablespoons each sake and soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 medium-size bitter melon, halved lengthwise. Remove seeds by spoon. Sliced into (a little thinner than) 1/4" thickness.

9-10 oz firm tofu, drained

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon ginger, sliced into thin shreds

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

some thinly sliced scallion and bonito flakes as garnish

Procedure

1. Marinate the pork in 1 tablespoon of each sake and soy sauce for 15 minutes.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a skillet. Stir-fry the bitter melon over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

3. Break the tofu by hand and add to the skillet. Continue to stir-fry with the bitter melon until both are lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside.

4. Add the garlic, ginger, and marinated pork to the skillet and stir-fry.

5. Return the bitter melon and tofu back to the skillet. Stir-fry together with the pork.

6. Add the soy sauce and stir.

7. Drizzle in the beaten egg. Once the egg is almost cooked, stir lightly.

8. Season with salt and pepper and stir again.

9. Serve in a large serving bowl. Garnish with sliced scallion and bonito flakes.

With the goya chanpuru, I served summer vegetables "Nanban-zuke", and donabe rice (half white and half brown), cooked in the double lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san". Goya chanbpuru was so delicious with the shiny donabe rice!

Happy donabe life.

Donabe steamed fish...variations

2010-08-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

I simply just don't get tired of donabe steamed fish...It's so easy, delicious, healthy, and I love the dish so much.

Donabe steamer makes wonderful steamed dishes. Really. These are some variations...

I got the really fresh (sashimi grade) wild-caught yellow tail and steamed it with vegetables and konnyaku.

The other night, I did sanma (mackerel pike) from Japan. I cleaned and beheaded the fish and inserted some young ginger slices into each of them.

Then, the fish was steamed with vegetables and mushrooms. For steamed fish, my favorite sauce is definitely ponzu (either soy-base or salt ponzu) with sometimes grated daikon. You can find the basic recipe in my previous blog post here.