Shabu Pork Salad in Homemade Miso Dressing

There's a shortcut to this recipe. It shouldn't be too hard to find Japanese sesame dressing at the grocery store, you know the brownish-looking goma sauce. So if you just want to kick back and have a healthy but hassle-free meal, definitely go with the store-bought dressing. 

However if you feel a bit more adventurous and would like to make everything from scratch, come and give this homemade miso dressing a try.

Shabu pork salad in homemade miso dressing - 

Ingredients (about 4 to 6 portions)?

• 250 grams pork slices
• 100 grams mixed salad greens
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 8 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 big sheet dried nori
• 1 small can/140 grams corn kernels
• 1 box/480 grams semi-firm tofu (I used sesame flavored tofu)
• 1 small bundle/1 cup loosely packed mitsuba leaves

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Some lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons light sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon grated young ginger
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

How?

Destem the shiitake mushrooms. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil then add in the shiitake mushrooms. Boil for about a minute then scoop out. Slice into quarters.

Slice the pork to shorter pieces if needed. Still using the same pot of water, add in the pork and wait till just turn fully cooked through. Scoop out and set aside. Need to make sure both the shiitake mushrooms and pork have been cooled down before mixing with other ingredients later on.

Prep the salad greens, let it be rinse, drain, or tear to smaller pieces. Once done, transfer the salad to a big mixing bowl. Use mitsuba leaves only, about 1 loosely packed cup, add that to the bowl too.

Halve the cherry tomatoes then add into the bowl. Drain the tofu and hand-tear to medium size chunks to the bowl. Drain the canned corn and add to the bowl. Once the shiitake mushroom and pork slices have been cooled off, add them to the bundle too.

Have another bowl or measuring cup ready, add in all the ingredients listed under the "dressing" section. Mix till the sugar has been dissolved. Pour that dressing to the big mixing bowl and gently fold the ingredients till evenly blended.

Scoop to serving plate. Hand-tear some dried nori sheet on top right before digging in, otherwise the nori/seaweed will turn soft and soggy soon after.

You know what, let it be the store-bought Japanese sesame dressing or this homemade miso dressing, there's also a greedier route by using both.

Yes, don't worry about over salty or that sort of thing. Just combine the two then you'll get this savory and nutty aroma packed dressing in the end. I mean if you'd like your salad on the heavier side, this is one way to go.

Other salad recipes:

• Chopped kale and chickpea salad with roasted chicken in red wine vinaigrette dressing
• White bean and tuna salad (insalata di tonno e faglioli)
• Japanese katsuo tataki salad with miso and ponzu dressing
• Persimmon salad with mozzarella and Jamón Ibérico

Pan-Fried Chicken and Chinese Basil Rice Paper Rolls (Please Enjoy Right Away)

Once a long while I'd like to dig into more troubled hassled work in the kitchen. Things like making bread and noodles from scratch, or this pan-fried rice paper roll recipe.

Some might find it a soothing process, but trust me, all that handcraft work doesn't necessarily translate to therapeutic especially when you have to cook up few other dishes at the same time. But it's definitely fun and especially fulfilling once the result is successful.

Pan-fried chicken and Chinese basil rice paper rolls - 

Ingredients (about 20 medium small or 10 medium large pieces)?

• 20 medium small or 10 medium large rice paper
• 380 grams chicken tenders
• 40 grams Chinese or Thai basil
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Some olive oil
• Some sweet chili sauce (optional) 

How?

Remove the tendon from chicken tenders then slice the meat to smaller cubes. You can simply use ground chicken but I think hand-slicing the chicken to smaller cubes adds more texture.

Marinate the chicken with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of rice cooking wine.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem, remove the seeds and pith from the red bell pepper, then slice to small cubes. Save some whole basil sprigs for garnish in the end, and chop the remaining leafy part.

Have a pan ready and drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat then add in the garlic. Give it a quick stir-fry till aromatic but not burnt.

Add in the chicken, try to stir-fry while breaking the meat to smaller bits, cook for about a minute. Add in red bell pepper and stir-fry for another minute. Add in chopped basil leaves and cook for a quick 30 seconds.

As for the seasonings, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Mix till evenly blended and continue to cook till the whole thing appears more concentrated and darker color. Scoop them out and set aside till cool-off.

You have to really wait till the chicken filling has completely cooled-off, that means the temperature won't affect the rice paper much.

Have a plate with some depth filled with drinkable room temperature water. Also try to find a non-stick working surface to lay the rice paper on top.

So take out the dry rice paper, doesn't matter the package shows Thai or Vietnamese rice paper, gently soak one rice paper in the water till softened and shapable. The package should also have some instructions on it for you to follow.

Move the softened rice paper to the working area. I actually put a damp towel on the working area too to further prevent any possible sticking issue. Spoon over some of the chicken filling then wrap into a roll. Remember to tug in both ends. Repeat till you finish up all the rice paper or chicken fillings.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets hot. Carefully pick up the rolls one by one and add to the pan. Make sure these rolls do not touch one another, otherwise they might stick together.

Just leave the rolls there and sear till you feel the bottom has been set and turned golden color. Carefully flip to the other side and sear till golden again.

Set up a big plate lined with paper towel. Once both sides get that good sear, transfer the rice paper rolls there. You might have to pan-fry these rolls in few batches depending on the size of pan. If so, drizzle more oil and repeat the process. 

It's better to sear fewer rolls at once instead of crowding the pan. Once these rolls touch and stick to one another, that'll definitely give you a big headache, way more troublesome then searing these rolls in few batches.

Once all set, transfer pan-fried rolls to serving plate. Garnish with whole basil sprigs and see if you'd like to serve with additional Thai sweet chili sauce on the side. However, the filling is flavorful enough, these rice paper rolls still taste great even without the extra sauce .

Working and folding the semi-sticky rice paper is no easy job at first, but trust me you'll get a hang of it after a few tries. So don't get discouraged or frustrated when the first few pieces turn out somewhat mis-shaped.

And even if you do have some slightly deformed rolls, you can still pan-fry them till nice and golden as long as the filling is still nicely sealed inside. The final look won't be so bad after all with golden pan-fried color on both sides.

One final note, please make sure to enjoy these pan-fried rice paper rolls right away. As they turn cold, store overnight, or even reheat afterwards, the rice paper will become soggy and soft. It'll be like eating a sheet of gelatinous mass instead, not good.

Other recipes using ground chicken:

• Mountain yam, shio kombu, and ground chicken patties 山藥塩昆布雞肉餅
• Ground chicken and shiitake mushroom congee 香菇雞肉粥