The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo

I have always loved Japanese food, both in its traditional forms and its more western forms. For about a year now I have made Nori Maki rolls on a somewhat regular basis, but I’ve wanted to learn Japanese cooking more in depth. The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo is an exhaustive source of information on Japanese ingredients and cuisine and a comprehensive collection of traditional Japanese recipes. The book begins with an overview of ingredients, tools, and terms used in Japanese cooking. It then goes into a discussion of staple Japanese ingredients and how to make and use them. For example, there are a few recipes for different kinds of dashi, a delicate but nicely flavored fish stock made from kelp and dried bonito flakes that is used in Japanese cooking as often as chicken and veal stock are used in French cooking.

Shimbo explains how Japan is a country that, because of it’s weather, has always had an abundance of fresh ingredients, especially seafood and vegetables. As a result, Japanese cooks never had to heavily spice foods to disguise rotten flavors. The cuisine revolves around the freshness of ingredients, is minimalist yet discreetly complex in its preparation and presentation, and had plenty to offer in terms of techniques and interesting ingredients. Also, when you’re done eating a Japanese dinner, your body feels great. This is my biggest problem with French food and other cuisines that use large quantities of butter, cream, and meats. It tastes good when I’m eating it, but afterward I feel terrible. Japanese cuisine uses mostly seafood and vegetables, and preparations that offer plenty of interesting sensations without straining your body.

If you’re looking to explore Japanese cooking in depth this is definitely the book to get. It touches on all aspects of Japanese cooking and gives equal attention to all facets of the cuisine.

Links:

Hiroko’s Kitchen

1 comment July 29th, 2008

Sweet and Spicy Vidalia Onion Barbeque Sauce

I made this barbeque sauce as a combination of a vinegar based barbeque sauce, which I prefer, and a sweeter, sugar based barbeque sauce.  I wanted to keep the looser consistency and tangier taste of a vinegar based sauce but add some sweetness.  I took advantage of the fact that Vidalia onions are in season and used caramelized onions as the sweetener.  This sauce is great because it has spice, tanginess, sweetness, and a nice onion flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 T. butter
• 3 Vidalia onions, sliced thin
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1 c. cider vinegar
• 24 oz. ketchup
• 2 T. hot sauce
• 1/2 c. water
• S+P

Melt the butter in a sauce pot over medium heat.  Add the onions and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Cook the onions for about an hour until they decrease significantly in volume, become extremely soft, and have a deep brown color.  Deglaze with the vinegar and molasses then add the remaining ingredients.  Cook for 5 minutes then either serve or chill and store in the refrigerator.  I made bacon wrapped water chestnuts and tossed them in this barbeque sauce.

6 comments July 25th, 2008

Bacon Ice Cream

For those of you who watched the Top Chef Chicago finale, you probably remember Richard Blais’ dessert of Bacon Ice Cream with Banana Scallop.  Head judge Tom Colicchio and company said it was fantastic so immediately I knew I absolutely must make bacon ice cream.  I mean, ice cream is delicious, and bacon is pretty much the king of foods (it’s hard to think of foods bacon doesn’t go well with).  I made two different batches of bacon ice cream:  some with smoked bacon and some with maple cured bacon.  I enjoyed both kinds but some people were off put by the smokey after taste of the smoked bacon ice cream.  I tested my creations on coworkers and friends and some didn’t like it, some were relatively neutral, but most thought it was delicious.  The ice cream itself soaks your taste buds in bacony goodness and the bacon pieces add much needed texture and little explosions of saltiness.  This ice cream is the ultimate drizzled with rich maple syrup.

Ingredients:

• 12 slices maple cured bacon
• 1 qt. vitamin D milk
• 1 qt. heavy cream
• 5 oz. granulated sugar
• 3 oz. maple syrup
• 8 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Cut 10 of the bacon slices into 1 inch strips and leave two slices whole.  Place the bacon on a baking sheet lined with parchment and roast for 10 minutes, or until some of the fat has rendered out, but it is still soft.  In a large sauce pot combine the milk and heavy cream and heat on medium.  Add the cut bacon and place the remaining two slices back in the oven for 5 more minutes until they are brown and crispy.  Let the bacon and dairy heat while you prepare the yolks and sugar.  Add the sugar and maple syrup to the egg yolks and whip with a whisk or a mixer on high speed until the mix becomes lighter in color and slightly frothy.

Bring the milk, cream, and bacon mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat and transfer to a blender.  Blend on high for 30 seconds and pass the mix through a fine mesh strainer to remove any bacon particles.  Discard the ground bacon.  Add the dairy mix back to the sauce pot and turn the flame to medium low.  Temper the egg yolks by adding two ladels of the hot milk and cream to the whipped yolks and whisking vigorously.  Add this mixture to the sauce pot and stir with a wooden spoon.  Stir carefully for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture thickens and can coat a spoon.  Remove from the heat and strain the mix (in case there are any bits of curdled egg).  Chill the bacon ice cream mix in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

When you’re ready to make the ice cream, simply follow the directions on your ice cream maker.  When the ice cream begins to thicken, but before it’s ready to be transferred to a container and frozen further, about 15 minutes in the machine, chop the two remaining bacon slices into bits and add to the ice cream.  It seems so wrong but so right at the same time.  Transfer the ice cream to a pre-frozen container and freeze for 2 hours.  Serve with a drizzling of maple syrup and more bacon bits, in case there’s just not enough bacon here for you.

6 comments July 23rd, 2008

Homemade Pierogis

Certain people had been hounding me to make pierogis for a while.  I had never made them before and they turned out surprisingly good.  These are filled with buttery mashed potatoes and sauted with bacon, onions, and a bit of butter until nicely browned.

Ingredients:

• 7 c. all purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 2 c. water
• 4 russet potatoes or equally starchy potato
• 8 T. butter
• 1/2 c. half and half
• 1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
• 6 strips bacon, chopped
• 1 spanish onion, large dice
• White pepper
• S+P to taste

Begin by making the pierogi dough.  Season the flour with 1 t. each of salt and white pepper.  Mix the eggs together with the sour cream and 1 cup of the water.  Place the flour in a large bowl and form a well in the center.  Add the egg mixture to the well and slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs.  Mix the dough for about 5 minutes, removing it from the bowl and onto a floured work surface to knead slightly.  The purpose of the kneading is to incorporate the ingredients until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky, not to develop the gluten in the dough like you would with a leavened bread dough.  Once the dough is smooth and slightly sticky in the middle, cover it and let it stand for 30 minutes to allow any developed gluten to relax.  In the meantime, make the potato filling.

Peel and cut the potatoes into large chunks and either boil or steam until tender.  Pass the potatoes through a foodmill or a ricer, or simply fluff with a fork if you don’t have either of these pieces of equipment.  Season with salt and white pepper and add half the butter, the half and half, and shredded parmesan cheese.  I used European style butter for these pierogis because I prefer the sweeter, slightly sour flavor, but you can use any butter you like.  Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces.  Roll each piece on a floured work surface to 1/8 inch thickness.  Using a pastry cutter, cut large rounds out of the dough.  Place 1 1/2 t. of potatoes into the center of the dough circles.  Fold the dough over and press the edges to seal.  If the dough is too dry to seal on its own, brush a little eggwash around the edge and then seal the pierogi.  This should make around 40 piergis.  Boil the pierogis in salted water for 5 minutes, or until they float and become tender.
Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat.  Add the bacon and onions and season with ground pepper and salt if needed.  Once the bacon renders its fat and the onions become tender, add the remaining butter and brown the pierogis, in batches if needed, until the outside of the dumplings become brown and crispy.  These can be enjoyed as is or you can eat them like we ate them, with a side of kielbasa and sauer kraut.

Add comment July 22nd, 2008

Key Lime Pie

1 comment July 21st, 2008