Japanese Tsukemen - cold ramen recipe

Usually when we talk about Japanese ramen, we think of a big bowl of broth with ramen inside, serve hot... but cold ramen exists too! It is served separately from the hot broth.

This recipe is so good, I really love taste - sour & salty taste blends well with pork!

Ingredients
100g pork belly slices
1 small dried red chili pepper

400ml water
1/2 tbsp chicken stock powder
2 tbsp sake
1 long scallion
1 clove garlic, medium size
1 fresh ginger root, 2"

3 tbsp soy sauce

40g Shiitake mushrooms
40g Shimeji mushrooms
1 leek

1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vinegar

2 bags fresh ramen or Tsukemen noodles


1 soft boiled egg, click here for recipe
1 scallion, thinly sliced

bonito flakes

Instructions
1. Remove pork belly skin if there is any
Divide it into 3" wide portions

Crush garlic and ginger with a wooden spoon, do not chop them at all
Slice red chili pepper into thin rings

Slice the leek diagonally

2. In a cooking pot, without oil, fry pork belly until fat releases
Add in red chili pepper, stir fry until fragrance releases

3. Add in water, chicken stock powder, sake, scallion, garlic and ginger
Bring to boil, when boil turn down the heat to low, let it simmer for 10 mins

4. After 10mins, remove scallion ginger & garlic
Add in soy sauce, mushrooms & leek, let it simmer for 5 mins

5. Add sesame oil and vinegar
Turn off the heat and cover the lid to keep hot

6. In another pot, boil water to cook ramen/noodle for 1-2 mins
Discard water, rinse ramen/noodle under cold water

7. Serve ramen/noodle on a plate, place 1/2 boiled egg at the edge

Serve pork mushroom broth in a bowl, sprinkle bonito and scallion

8. Take some ramen/noodle into the bowl, dip the broth and eat

Enjoy!

Oyakodon - Japanese chicken & egg rice

After making Japanese beef rice (click here for recipe), I want to make chicken rice :) 

Using chicken thigh is the best, since the meat is really tender and smooth, serving with silky egg is wonderful!

Ingredients (2 servings)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp dashi stock, click here for recipe
1/8 tsp sugar

50g chicken thigh, no skin no bone*
50g onion

2 stalks parsley, cut into 2cm pieces

2 eggs

rice


Toppings:
shredded Nori seaweed
1 fresh egg yolk

*We used 100g chicken thigh since we eat this dish as unique dish

Instructions
1. Prepare the rice, with slightly less water => the broth will soak the rice & make it softer when serving

2. In a medium-small sauce pan, place soy sauce, mirin, dashi stock and sugar, mix well so that sugar dissolved completely in the pan

3. Slice chicken thigh into small pieces, place them into the sauce pan, flip the chicken to another side so both side soak the sauce

4. Slice onion finely and separate between layers
Place them into the pan

5. Turn on the heat to boil the chicken, cover with a lid

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, eat the eggs briefly

6. When the chicken starts turning its color to become cooked, flip the chicken to the other side

When it's nearly cooked, add in parsley

7. Distribute the beaten egg over the pan, let it cook until 50% done to have silky egg effect when serving

Note: for safety reason, you can cook the egg completely

8. Place rice on a serving bowl

Then place the chicken egg mixture onto the rice

9. If you add an egg yolk, make a little hole in a center of the bowl, place the yolk

You can also add the shredded nori seaweed 

Enjoy!

Butternut squash coconut curry

During the autumn season we can find pumpkin and butternut squash everywhere here, it is good to make some special dish by using these seasonal ingredients!

I found this recipe nice because we both like curry, it has been a while I haven't cooked any Indian dish :(

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
1 medium (about 1.25kg) butternut squash 

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/2" knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 jalapeño chile, chopped (seeds optional, for extra heat)
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)*
2 small dried red chilies (optional)*

1 tbsp tamarind paste/lemon juice/vinegar
400g coconut milk
1 cup water
salt

* for extra heat, I didn't add them

Instructions
1. Dice the squash into bite size pieces

Note: you can peel off the skin if you don't like but I didn't, as it is edible

2. Warm the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat
Add shallot, garlic and ginger, stir regularly until the shallots are soft and translucent

3. Add in coriander, cumin & fennel seeds, turmeric, chile, cayenne, red chiles
Stir to release fragrance, cooking for 2-3 minutes

4. Add in squash, tamarind paste/lemon juice/vinegar, coconut milk, water and salt

5. Bring to a boil then lower heat, simmer for about 45 minutes until squash is tender and just beginning to break down => The squash will thicken the curry as it cooks down

Note: If you want an extra-thick and creamy curry, puree a cup or two of the squash with an immersion blender and mix it back into the curry

Serve hot with basmati rice
Enjoy!

Soy sauce ramen

After trying my first ramen recipe,  I am more courageous and confident to try other ramen recipe :) This recipe is delicious, it is less heavy.

This recipe is from a Japanese cook. Thanks so much!

Ingredients (2-3 servings)
2-3 packages fresh ramen

Soup:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2" ginger, minced
2 tsp bean paste (either spicy or not according to your taste)

2 cups chicken stock
2 cups Dashi, click here for the recipe
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Toppings: (Add any ingredients below according to your taste)
sea weed
scallions, finely chopped
corn
ramen egg, click here for the recipe
bamboo shoots
roasted pork

Instructions1. Prepare toppings

2. In a pot (at least 1L), prepare soup -
Heat up sesame oil over medium heat, add in garlic and ginger, fry until fragrant releases
Add in bean paste, stir and let the fragrant releases

3. Add in chicken stock, dashi stock, soy sauce, sake, salt & sugar, bring to boil
When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low, let it simmer

4. Strain the soup by cheese cloth and pour the soup back to the pot
Simmer the soup until serve

5. Prepare ramen -
In another pot, boil water

When water starts boiling, cook ramen for 2 mins, it is still firm, but when serving with soup and soak in the soup, noodle will become softer

6. Assemble -
- Place ramen in a serving bowl
- Pour soup
- Place toppings

Serve hot!
Enjoy!

Ramen egg for Japanese ramen

Japanese has hot spring egg (see step 2 on the link) for serving with beef rice, but they have ramen egg for serving with ramen!

It is simple to make them, all you need is time to marinate the egg.

Boiled egg is marinated in the seasoning overnight

Ingredients
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
6 tbsp water

2 large eggs, let it stay in the fridge until step 3

Instructions

1. In a small ziplog bag, combine soy sauce, mirin & water

Set aside

2. In a small pot, fill enough water that you can cover the eggs when cook them

Bring it to boil

3. When it is boiling, take out eggs from the fridge and use a ladle to place them into the boiling water

Reduce heat to medium & cook it for 7 mins (with lid), water should be simmer but not too hot that eggs bounce around the pot

4. After 7 mins, take the eggs out and soak them in iced water to stop them from cooking further

Let it cool for 3 mins

5. Peel the egg shell gently because the egg is still soft

6. Place the eggs in the ziplog bag with seasonings

Let them marinated for 4hours, or overnight is even better

7. When you eat them, take the eggs out and discard the seasonings

Cut them into half and serve them as topping of ramen

Or you can keep them up to 2 days

Enjoy!

Kimchi hot pot with udon noodle

As recently I made some kimchi, I wonder what dishes I can make. Then I found this Japanese hot pot in Korean style, so I want to give it a try :)

The result is so good, Korean fermented chili paste is the key of this recipe. It makes the whole dish to become sweet and spicy.

I wish I could add kimchi in this hotpot but my husband couldn't stand such spicy taste :( I have to eat kimchi apart as side dish, but it's ok!


Warning: if you can't eat too spicy, omit kimchi, I know it is called kimchi hot pot but I don't want you to choke by the spice!! Korean fermented chili paste can be spicy enough :)

Ingredients
Dashi Stock:
450ml or 2 cups water
2  dried baby sardines
2g dried kombu seaweed, shredded

Hot pot:
1 onion, sliced
2 packages Udon noodles
100g Kimchi
40g green onion, sliced
40g Shimeji mushrooms
1 clove garlic, crushed
7g fresh ginger, shredded
3 tbsp sake

1 1/2 tbsp Korean fermented chili paste - Gochujang
1 tbsp miso

150g silken tofu

2 pieces cod fish
80g spring onion or scallions
sesame oil

Instructions
1. In a mixing bowl, place water, soak sardines & kombu for 30 mins

2. After 30mins, in a cooking pot, place onion, then udon noodles on the top
add in Kimchi, green onion, mushrooms, garlic & ginger
Pour dashi stock with sardines & kombu, you can remove them by the end if you like
Add sake

Turn on the heat to high, bring it to boil

3. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium
In a small bowl, place gochujang & miso, add in 1-2 tbsp boiling soup, mix well
Pour the mixture back to the boiling soup

4. Add in tofu, let it simmer for 3mins
Add in cod fish and spring onion/scallions
Drizzle sesame oil on the top

Serve hot!
Enjoy!

Korean kimchi tofu pork stew

I made some kimchi recently, looking at my Korean cook book to discover what dish I can make. 

This recipe is easy, so I tried it.
Please note that I didn't add pork in it since I am no longer fan of pork. 

Warning: it is extremely spicy so if you can't eat too spicy, don't add too much kimchi... or it will burn your throat!

Ingredients
300g kimchi
200g tofu
1/2 stalk green onion
150g pork shoulder
1 tsp vegetable oil

Seasoning for pork:
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp ginger juice
pepper

Instructions
1. Cut pork into small bite-size pieces and marinate with the seasonings for 15mins

2. Cut kimchi into 3-4 cm long pieces
Slice tofu into flat rectangles 1/2" thick
Slice green onion diagonally

3. In a pot, heat up oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add in pork and stir fry it, until pork color starts changing

Add in kimchi & stir fry it with pork for about 3 mins, until the pork just cooked

4. Pour water just cover kimchi & pork and let it boil
When it boils, turn the heat down to low, let it simmer for 20 mins

5. Add tofu & green onion & boil for another 5 mins

Serve hot with rice!
Enjoy!

Roasted pork belly Hong Kong style

When I found this recipe, I'm so happy :) I am not fan of roasted pork belly, but my husband is! I can imagine he would be more than satisfied when he can eat it here, especially it is home made :)

Ingredients
1 Pork belly with skin*

Water
Fresh ginger, peel off skin and use a knife press it gently
Scallion
1 tbsp fine salt
1 tbsp rice wine

Marinate pork:
1 tbsp fine salt
1 tbsp rice wine

Cooking coarse salt

*the skin lays flat instead of one side higher & another side lower

Instructions
1. Prepare the pork belly the night before
Boil water in a cooking pot, place ginger, scallion, salt & wine 
When water boils, place pork belly, reduce heat to medium, let it cook for 30 mins

This step is to remove bad smell of pork belly, also to remove blood in the meat

2. Discard water, run cold water on pork to let it cool down a bit
Use kitchen paper to absorb excessive water, as dry as possible

Place pork in a mixing bowl, add in seasonings, use hand to rub the seasonings over the pork evenly
Wrap the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, place it in the fridge to marinate the pork overnight

3. The day you cook, take the pork out from the fridge
Use kitchen paper to absorb excessive water, as dry as possible (with the skin facing upward)

Preheat the oven to 150°c

4. Place an aluminium foil on the tray, then place another foil to wrap the pork - only meat part, to keep meat juice when bake, also not to burn the meat
Place coarse salt on the skin

Bake for 1 hour

5. After 1 hour, take the pork out from the oven, raise the temperature of the oven to 200°c
Remove all coarse salt from the skin, then open the foil

When oven is ready, place it back to oven at the upper rack, and bake for 20 mins
You can see the skin appears bubbles and it becomes dry and golden color

6. After 20 mins, take it out and leave it cool down for 10 mins

7. Slice the pork on a chopping board

Serve immediately with a bowl of rice!
Enjoy!

Sukiyaki-style Niku Dofu (Simmer beef & tofu)

It is getting colder and colder, something hot will be nice :) I saw people start posting hotpot photos on Facebook, that makes me want to have one too! This recipe is not hotpot but simmer dish, which I like too.

Ingredients
260g Grilled firm tofu
100g Onion
80g Shimeji Mushrooms
2 stalks Shungiku leaves (tongho)* 
5g Ginger root
150g Thin beef slice

Broth:
150ml Dashi stock
2 tbsp Sake
1 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp cane sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Soy sauce

*substitute: bok choy, scallions or napa cabbage

Instructions
If you want tofu absorbs more broth flavor, you can -
Freeze tofu a night before or at least 4 hours ahead. Defrost it several hours before use
When it is defrosted, squeeze out the water from the tofu by using a cutting board & gently pressing your hand on it

1. Slice tofu into 1/2" wide pieces
Slice onion into 6 portions, separate slices
Remove mushrooms root and separate them
Cut Shungiku leaves or other vegetables into small portions
Shred ginger lengthwise

2. In a deep pan, combine all ingredients of broth
Place tofu into the pan, turn the heat to medium heat
When the broth starts boiling, flip tofu regularly, add in onion, let it simmer for 2-3mins

3. Add in mushroom, let it simmer for 2-3 mins
Add in beef slice and ginger root

4. When beef turns color to brown, add in Shungiku leaves
When the leaves become soft, turn off the heat

5. In a serving plate, arrange the ingredients
Pour the broth by a ladle onto the ingredients

Serve hot with rice :)
Enjoy!

Japanese pumpkin stew

Another recipe of pumpkin, this time is Japanese style. That reminds me a lot of my Japanese friend, who cooked me this dish when I visited her.

Ingredients
1 pumpkin with green skin (it is firmer)
water

4 Tbsp Sake or Mirin

3 tsp sugar

4 tsp soy sauce

Instructions
1. Remove seeds and cut Kabocha into 3" square pieces. Cut off sharp edges of the Kabocha pieces

2. Put Kabocha in a pot and pour water cover 1/4 height of pumpkin. Cook Kabocha covered until tender at medium heat, about 20-30 minutes depending on how hard your Kabocha is (10mins if using orange pumpkin). Check regularly if water all gone => add some water (fill 1/4 height of pumpkin)
3. Add sugar, salt and wine to the Kabocha. Reduce heat to medium low, cover by aluminium foil, poke few holes with a chopstick, cook another 15 -20 minutes (10 mins if using orange pumpkin) to reduce the broth a little.
4. At the end add soy sauce, let it cook a bit until the sauce only covers the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat and let it sit covered until cool. As it cools, Kabocha will absorb more of the flavor from the broth. If you like it warm, reheat before serving.

Detox Vegetables chicken vermicelli soup

I like green bean vermicelli soup, the taste is not strong, it is healthy. I believe having healthy meal regularly is important for my body, even though I don't eat any deep fried food. 

This recipe is specially healthy because it helps to detox your body waste. 

Ingredients
10 Chinese mushroom
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1/2 broccoli (keep stalk)
1 ear of corn (keep corn cob & silk)

3 cup water (include Chinese mushroom water)
1 slice ginger

1.5 cup chicken stock
1 chicken thigh* 

Green bean/Mung bean vermicelli (glass noodle)

*It is optional to keep bone, but I will suggest keeping bone, which produces stronger flavor

Instructions
1. 4-5 hours before cooking, wash Chinese mushroom and then soak it until it is soft, keep the water

2. Peel off carrot, slice carrot, celery & mushroom briefly
Cut broccoli into smaller portion, slice the stalk briefly

3. Remove corn husks (outer shell) & discard them
Rinse corn silk and set aside
Wash corn kernel & cut it into 3 portions

4. In a large pot, add in 3 cups of water, including Chinese mushroom water
Add in corn silk & ginger
Cook for 15mins after boil, then remove silk & discard it

5. Put all vegetables EXCEPT broccoli flowers into the pot, add in chicken stock
When it is boil, reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 hour

6. When time is up, add in chicken thigh & simmer for 20 mins

After 20 mins, add in broccoli flowers and let it cook for 5 mins

7. At the end add in vermicelli

Serve hot!
Enjoy!

Baked salmon & broccoli in Asian style

Salmon is rich in omega 3, healthy food. I like eating salmon in Japanese way - sashimi :) but I also like frying salmon on the pan, the half-done salmon with crispy skin is delicious! What about in the oven? May be I can explore some other ways to make salmon, so here is baked salmon.

Ingredients
1 head broccoli, broken into florets*

4 skin-on salmon fillet
juice 1/2 lemon 
3 stalks spring onions, sliced

Optional: olive oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

* If you want to keep the trunks of the broccoli as well, use boiling method - see step 1 **note

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 180°C
Wash and drain the broccoli and, while still a little wet, lay them on the tray (no fillet for the moment)

Pour some lemon juice over broccoli. Bake for 10mins**

**Note: instead of baking the broccoli, you can boil the broccoli at medium heat flower part: 1-2mins & trunks: 5mins, run the broccoli immediately under cool water when time is up, drain water and set aside

2. After 10mins, take the tray out from the oven, push the broccoli aside, lay fillets with skin facing the bottom

3. Top with the rest of lemon juice on the fillets

Sprinkle spring onions & drizzle with a little olive oil over everything

Put the tray back to oven and bake for another 15mins

4. After 15mins, take the tray out from the oven once more, sprinkle everything with the soy sauce

Then return to the oven for 4 mins more until the salmon is cooked through

Serve hot with rice!
Enjoy!