Persimmon and Chicken Teriyaki

Recipe adapted from Today’s Cooking

My husband’s co-worker gave us persimmons harvested from her own tree…my favorite, Fuyu variety with no seeds. As child, I would climb on a stone fence and snatch one…maybe two from neighbors. Some persimmon varieties are very astringent and inedible yet I knew the way to remedy the problem – peel the fruit leaving the stem intact then string it to dry in the sun. They turned very sweet…where did you get those? I don’t know why my mother bothered asking the question when she already knew the answer? I’m sure the neighbors would have gladly gave us of the abundance of the fruits since they can’t eat them all but perhaps pretending to be a shinobi (忍び /incognito) girl was thrilling…occasional scratches and bruises were part of the occupational hazard.

I like to eat these like an apple, maybe with cream cheese though,  I would like to venture out for savory dish. Again I’m on the internet, search for savory persimmon recipe. Today’s Cooking caught my interest. Luckily, I have almost everything to make it happen and it seemed very easy. I also love the speedy clean-up at the end of the meal!

Ingredients and Instruction for two servings (Print Recipe Here)

Sauce

• 4 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
• 4 Tablespoons mirin
• 4 Tablespoons sake
• 2  teaspoons sugar

Other ingredients

• 10-12 green beans, cut both ends off, then cut in half
• 300g boneless chicken thigh (about 2 chicken thighs), cut in one inch cubes.
• 1 Tablespoon flour or cornstarch for gluten free version
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 fairly firm persimmons (Fuyu variety recommended), cut in 4ths, peel skin (remove seeds if they have) then slice in 1/2 inch slices so that it will be a triangular shape.
• 1/4 cup shelled walnuts, roughly chopped if they are whole
• Juice from 1 kabosu (かぼす)  Note: I was not able to find this type of citrus, I substituted lime and satsuma orange.

1. Mix sauce ingredients in a measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside
2. Ready ice cold water in a bowl. Blanch green beans in salted (approximately 1 Tablespoon salt to 3 cups of water) boiling water about 1 minute. Drain water then quickly submerge the green beans into the prepared cold water bowl. When the green beans get cold, remove the beans. Set aside.
   
3. Lightly coat chicken with flour or corn starch. Heat oil in large non-stick frying pan at medium heat. Brown chicken until golden in color.
4. Push the chicken to the side of the pan and spread persimmons in the rest of the pan. When browned, flip over to brown the other side, about 3-4 minutes per side.
   
5. Add blanched green beans and walnuts to the pan and stir.
6. Pour in the prepared sauce, simmer at low heat until sauce thickens. It takes only 1-2 minutes so keep an eye on it so as to not let it burn.
7. Squeeze lime and orange juice in. Stir. Serve warm.Voila!

 Other persimmon recipes we tried and  I posted on Instagram(#todaystapas,#todayssweets) are great I think.

Caramel persimmon and banana bread…next time I have to double the recipe and would like to share with neighbors…I follow the Japanese recipe and barely filled 3x5 pan. No-wonder Japanese people are skinny (me not included).

Persimmon Bread by my husband….so many persimmons so little time. Next stop - Angie’s Persimmon Streusel

We like persimmons yet a change of pace was inevitable….oven baked cheesy meatloaf in a kabocha bowl.

My mischievous Shinobi girl days are long gone…I can’t climb any fence over 3 feet tall now.

Chicken and Mushroom Sweet Rice

鶏ときのこの炊き込みおこわ

White rice was valuable and hard to obtain long ago in Japan. Putting ingredients in a stone pot along with seasoning added to the rice cooking method was welcomed because you could use less rice. It has evolved since then and hundreds of recipes are available now days but my favorite still is the five ingredients rice(五目ご飯), because I get nostalgic about my late mother…she made the best seasoned rice…my complaint was that she only made it on special occasions; 1-2 times a year.

It tastes great even if it gets cold, plus no need for side dish…maybe some pickle or salted plum(梅干)?…clear broth is not too bad a combination either…mmm…baked egg(卵焼き), I must add.

Ingredients and Instruction  for 3-4 servings (Print Recipe Here)
Revised recipe of Masahiro Kasahara

Necessary equipment –rice cooker

• 2 cups (rice cooker cup) sweet rice (もち米)
• 1 package shimeji mushroom, cut off ends, separate
• 1 package enoki mushroom, cut off the ends, cut in half then separate
• 4 shiitake mushroom remove stems, chop cap into 4-5 pieces
• 2 chicken thighs, boneless, skin on, butterfly the chicken so that the chicken is mostly flat.
• Combined seasoning (3 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, 2 Table spoons each of mirin and sake) mixed in a measuring cup.
• 2x4 dried kelp sheet, clean the surface with moist paper towel
• 1-2 stems of mitsuba/Japanese parsley (optional) roughly cut leaves.

1. Wash rice and soak in plenty of water. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. If you are using regular white rice then soak just 30 minutes.
2. Put all mushrooms in a non-stick frying pan. Dry sauté mushroom at low- medium heat until the volume goes down to about half and it becomes aromatic, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
3. Heat another pan (or quickly clean the same pan used in step #2) at medium-high. Place chicken skin side down to brown the skin only, about 4 minutes then remove from heat. When the chicken is safe to handle, cut in chunks. Set aside.
   
4. Drain the rice and put in the rice cooker, add sautéed mushroom, chicken, mixed seasoning, 1 cup water* and push kelp in the liquid. Cook as normal (if you have a ‘Quick’ feature in your rice cooker, you may opt for that). * if you like softer rice, add another 1/4 cup of water.
5. When it’s done, remove kelp, stir to combine with rice spatula, top with mitsuba and serve.

 

Some of my Today’s Sweets instagram post (#todayssweets…do not confuse with Today’s TAPAS) – Soy milk pudding with dark brown sugar syrup…not bad!

Some of my Today’s Sweets are store bought. This fruit tart from Saint-Honoré French pasty shop in downtown Lake Oswego. I liked it!

Speaking of French, oui, oui, we dined at Cocotte – Fried frog legs! Son goût comme le poulet (It tastes like chicken)!

Our Anniversary and my birthday were both last week. I received bouquets of flowers, a plant and some chocolate from my husband, friends and neighbor. I’m flowered…I mean, floored with gratitude!

Sweet Sesame Dumpling

Japanese Summer treat ごまみつ団子

There were 43 (as of Saturday) wildfires in Oregon and Washington causing the haze in the vicinity of Portland last weekend. We were saddened by the news of firefighters’ death and at the same time we appreciate their courageous efforts...sincere condolences to the families.

Instead of the usual sweet azuki bean paste in the center, this unique dumpling uses black sesame paste and to me has just the right amount of sweetness. I‘m sure many of you have heard about its beneficial components (check here). I stock this in my pantry and on some mornings I spread it on toast with a little bit of honey…I know I have been blessed so much.

Ingredients and Instruction for 12 dumplings (Print Recipe Here) The recipe credit goes to Japanese food researcher and cookbook author Maki Watanabe

For filling -

• 1/4 cup black sesame paste
• 4 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered agar-agar powder

For dough -

• 150g (1 bag) shratamako (白玉粉/refined rice flour)
• 130 to140ml water

Ground black sesame seeds for garnish

1. Making filling - Put all the filling ingredients in a small pan, stirring continuously, cook at low heat until it almost starts to boil. Spread in container of approximately 6 inch by 5 inch. Smooth out with spatula. Freeze for 2-3 hours.
   
2. Making the dough - Put shiratamako in a medium size bowl, add water little by little while kneading the dough well to make a soft, moist dough, add little bit of water if the dough seems too stiff. Divide in 12 portions and form into balls. Note: shiratamako is lumpy and has big chunks so you need to crush the lumps as you knead it.
3. Shaping  dumplings - Boil plenty of water in a pot.Take out the frozen filling and cut in 12 pieces, set aside. Ready a moist paper towel nearby for wiping your fingers. Take one ball and flatten on your palm to about a 3 inch round. Put filling in the center of flattened dough and gather the dough and close tight at the top. Anytime your fingers get black with the filling, wipe with paper towel so that the dough won’t get messy…you definitely like to keep the dough neat and white! Do this step as quickly as possible so that filling won’t melt but if it starts melting put it back in the freezer
   
   
4. Cook the dumplings – Prepare the icy water in a large bowl. With slotted large spoon, gently place  3-4 dumplings in the boiling water. When the dumpling floats to the top of the water surface, cook for additional 2 minutes. Scoop up the dumplings with slotted spoon and put in the icy water until cool. Repeat the process with rest of dumplings. Sprinkle with ground black sesame seeds.and serve cold.
   Warning! dumpling get hard after a while especially If you keep in the refrigerator. Microwave for 15-20 seconds….then of course it is no longer a cold treat!

 

Blame it on the unusual Summer weather (?), something caused our Asian pears to drop on the ground it seems like all at once. My husband was able to save some..

The shiso/perilla leaves are dwindling…a sure sign of the end of Summer right?…I made juice (concentrated) for #todaystapas instagram post. Refreshing!

I gave in to my ramen craving the other day…

This is a healthier version of the ice cream sandwich recipe on the back of Honey Graham Cracker box.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Cold Noodle with Meat Dipping Sauce

つけ冷麺

Summer is here! ‘School’s out’ I can almost hear the memorable Alice Cooper (my husband’s favorite song) singing…not so excited about summer break now that we don’t have school age children at home…on the other hand I’m glad that that stage of our life is gone too. Aging comes with some sadness and definitely relief.

The sadness comes from usual ‘should have, would have, could have blah blah  blah’ Regrets, I’ve had a few…But then again, too few to mention…I did it My Way (this is not on my list of top 10 favorite songs but perhaps in the top 100… perhaps). I got a little melancholy  because of Father’s Day last Sunday thinking about my late father and father-in-law…sob…I hope you had a fabulous Father’s Day!

Factoring in the rising temperature outside, the evening meal gets cool treatment too. The perfect summer dish recipe…I saw in a Japanese magazine…was it Today’s Cooking?… forgetful as you age?…oh no, oh no not me!…I did it my way.

Ingredients and Instruction for 2 servings (Print Recipe Here)

For dipping sauce -

• 1 teaspoon Chinese soup base (comes in granule or powder form) dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water and cooled.
• 5 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 6-10 shiso leaves chopped small 
• 1 stalk of green onion minced

Whisk Chinese soup base, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Add shiso leaves and green onion. Chill it in the refrigerator. Set aside.

For Seasoning sauce -

• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoon red miso paste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons tobanjan (豆板醤)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 cup water

Mix all of the above ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

For meat –

• Approximately 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced pork belly, cut in 1 inch strips.
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• Seasoning sauce (see recipe above)

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet at medium heat, add meat and sauté until it is a little crisp and nicely browned. I used paper towel to remove excess oil(optional).
   
2. Turn down the heat to low. Mix in seasoning sauce and continually sauté until liquid is mostly evaporated. If it’s too salty for you, add water and cook for few minutes. Set aside.

For noodle – 2 packages of instant ramen noodle, cook noodle in plenty of water, pour in 1/4 cup of water 2-3 times during cooking…this gives the noodles a nice chewy, firm texture. Cook slightly shorter than the package directions. Drain the water through colander, rinse the noodle well under cold running water. Shake off excess water, plate (cut noodle in 2-3 sections with kitchen shear for easy consumption if you like) I used green noodle( made with moroheiya  leaves) as well as regular instant noodle. Somen noodle or udon noodle is another good choice.

Assembly – divide dipping sauce into two individual bowls. Mound the meat in the middle. Dip the noodle in the sauce to eat!

 I love cherry pie!…Homemade by our neighbor…mmmm good!

On Father’s Day, I made my husband Frazier (French style strawberry short cake). It was good but there were so many steps to this recipe…I don’t know why I didn’t go the ice cream sundae route?

Today’s TAPAS, the Instagram post (#todaystapas) is on-going still. I think I’m getting better with filtering app on iPhone…plating leaves much to be desired though. The below picture is cheesy stuffed shiitake mushroom.

And someday, Tapas is not actually tapas…carrot smoothie for cleansing…phew…that’s a lot of beta carotene………………..that……………………I…

(ate it up and) spit it out…  I must say, excellent lyrics to the song ‘My Way’ don’t you agree?