Apple Salad

June 1, 2011

in Apple,Celery,Quick & Easy,Salad,Vegetarian

Apple Salad

This salad is my mom’s recipe.  Well, precisely speaking, I was trying to recreate her recipe with my memory of her salad.  I wish she was making a recipe book like me, then I would have my mom’s entire home cooking recipes by now.  And that’s exactly why I’m organizing my recipes for my kids.  One day when they grow up and try to cook on their own (I hope!), they at least have a reference, either this blog or a soft copy.  I used Myer lemon this time since my friend gave me a lot of organic Myer lemons from her backyard.  It was sweet and really juicy, which added a nice final touch to the salad.

Difficulty: Easy
Cooking Time: <30 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings
[Click here for the recipe…]

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Spinach Goma-ae (Spinach with Sesame Sauce)

June 1, 2011

in Appetizer,Quick & Easy,Sesame Seed,Side Dish,Spinach,Vegetarian

Spinach Goma-ae

Goma means sesame seed and goma-ae is dishes seasoned with sesame sauce.  We usually mix this sauce with spinach or green bean.  This is one of the most common side dishes (Osouzai お惣菜) and you might find it in obento (lunch box) or teishoku (lunch set).

If you use “pre-roasted” sesame seed, step 2 is not necessary.  However I highly recommend this extra step so the sesame seed will bring more fragrance and flavor to the sauce.  And the frying pan will stay clean so you don’t have to wash it (important tip, right?).  Enjoy!

Difficulty: Easy
Cooking Time: <30 minutes
Makes 4-6 servings
[Click here for the recipe…]

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Stir-Fried Pork with Taro & Edamame

June 1, 2011

Stir-fried dish is always easy to make when you prep all the ingredients first.  Right before dinner time, you just toss everything in a pan to cook.  This stir-fried dish has sliced pork, taro, and edamame and is seasoned with a typical Japanese sauce.  Whether this is a side dish or main dish, it’s nice [...]

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Napa Cabbage Gyoza

June 1, 2011

In my website so far I have introduced Chicken & Shiso Gyoza with Yuzu Kosho Ponzu Sauce and basic Gyoza recipes.  You can be really creative with gyoza filling.  You can stuff any ingredients you like in the gyoza wrappers.  Today I added napa cabbage.  Some families use napa cabbage as an ingredient instead of [...]

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Tonjiru

June 1, 2011

  Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <60 minutes Makes 4-6 servings

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Tandoori Chicken

June 1, 2011

  Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <60 minutes Makes 4 servings

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Stir-Fried Kabocha & Pork with Gochujuang Sauce

June 1, 2011

Kabocha is sometimes referred as Japanese pumpkin or Kabocha squash in the US.  It has very hard, deep green skin and the inside is intense yellow-orange color.  It has very sweet flavor, even sweeter than butternut squash and it is rich in beta carotene.  It’s a very nutritious and fulfilling vegetable. Today I used Korean [...]

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Pork Teriyaki Don

June 1, 2011

This is a very quick teriyaki donburi meal using sliced pork.  Crunchy shredded lettuce gives you a nice refreshing texture.  When you are busy or don’t feel like cooking, I hope you try this recipe. Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <30 minutes Makes 2-3 servings

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Teriyaki Pork Loin Salad Donburi

June 1, 2011

I have introduced a similar dish called Pork Teriyaki Don before, but this donburi has a different version of Teriyaki sauce and uses pork chops instead of sliced pork.  I normally use pork chops for western meals, but I tried cooking them for Japanese food this time.  Compared to Pork Teriyaki Don, you probably feel [...]

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Tori Soboro Donburi

June 1, 2011

Tori Soboro Donburi Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <30 minutes Makes 2-3 servings Ingredients: ½    lb ground chicken (I buy a ground chicken package in Japanese market, but you can also mince chicken breasts/thighs) Seasonings 2    Tbsp. sugar 2    Tbsp. soy sauce 1    Tbsp. cooking sake 1    Tbsp. Mirin 1    tsp. grated ginger, including juice 1   [...]

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Stir-Fried Pork & Potatoes

June 1, 2011

Stir-Fried Pork & Potatoes is more of a comfort food than anything else.  My Taiwanese American husband always wonders why the Japanese likes potato dish so much.  He says this dish is better without potatoes, and I say this dish is not  complete without potatoes.  He told me most Chinese dishes don’t use potato, and [...]

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Chicken with Garlic Onion Sauce

May 18, 2011

My Tuesday evening is pretty hectic as my son has a swim lesson after nap time and I have Yoga class right after our dinner time.  When I’m too busy to prepare a couple of dishes, I usually choose to serve food on one plate, like a lunch set.  That way, it doesn’t look so….lonely?  [...]

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Gobo and Miso Takikomi Gohan

May 16, 2011

Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <60 minutes Makes 4-5 servings

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Spaghetti Meat Sauce

May 13, 2011

Only difference I can think of when I compare with American meat sauce and Japanese meat sauce is that we include ground pork. Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <90 minutes Makes 3-4 servings Ingredients: ½     lb ground beef ¼     lb ground pork (Today I use ground beef & pork package from Japanese market) 3   [...]

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Stir Fried Beef & Asparagus with Oyster Sauce

May 11, 2011

  Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <30 minutes Makes 3-4 servings Ingredients: 1    Tbsp. oil 10 asparagus, thinly sliced diagonally (pick thin asparagus so it’s faster to cook) 1    inch ginger, thinly sliced 2    cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1    pkg sliced beef for Shabu Shabu or sliced “Komagire” beef Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 2    [...]

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Eggplant & Unagi Donburi

May 9, 2011

I usually keep one package of Unagi in the freezer in case I need to make a quick dinner.  If you are tired of the regular Unadon (Unagi Donburi),  this might give you an interesting twist to the original version.  Shiso leaves give a great accent to the combination of Unagi and eggplant and play [...]

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Chicken Miso Yaki

May 6, 2011

A quick grilled chicken recipe using Miso and garlic.

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Pork Shabu Salad with Ponzu Dressing & Egg Flower Soup

May 4, 2011

Difficulty: Easy Cooking Time: <45 minutes Makes 2-3 servings

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Agedashi Tofu

May 2, 2011

Typical Agedashi Tofu that you normally eat in Japanese restaurants is deep-fried tofu served in dashi-based sauce and topped with finely chopped green onion, grated daikon and katsuobushi.  This time I cooked differently.  I coated the deep fried tofu in Teriyaki style sauce.  Since the sauce is not soupy at all, it’s a perfect finger [...]

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Beef Donburi with Shiso Garlic Soy Sauce

April 29, 2011

Today I want to share a Japanese cooking website that I often visit.  It’s called Cookpad (http://cookpad.com/) and it’s a website where people post their recipes and share with others.  People are very creative and always inspired me with new ideas.  Some ordinary housewives became popular by posting their recipes on this site and receiving [...]

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