Beef and King Oyster Mushroom Stir-Fry With Miso Tomato Sauce

Have you ever tried Taiwan yellow cattle? If you get a chance to visit Taiwan, please go seek any restaurant that sell Taiwan yellow cattle. Let it be beef noodles or beef hot pot, you'll be amazed by its distinct beefy aroma that cannot be found nearly anywhere else. Not high-end Japanese wagyu nor USDA prime, only Taiwan's yellow cattle.

That being said, well, as much as I would like Taiwan yellow cattle for this recipe, it's not always an easy find even in Taiwan. Of course you can buy it from local butchers, but Taiwan yellow cattle is such a popular item and usually sold out fast. And I rarely see Taiwan yellow cattle being sold at a fancy supermarket.

Plus, Taiwan yellow cattle can be quite expensive sometime. Definitely costs more compared to USDA choice but still cheaper compared to wagyu. But we're making a stir-fry here, there is no need to bring out the wagyu beef. Just try to use any beef that is on the leaner side but won't turn tough and chewy after cooking.

Beef and king oyster mushroom stir-fry with miso tomato sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 400 grams tender beef
• 230 grams king oyster mushroom
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons yellow miso (not the very dark color kind)
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

How?

Destem and slice the tomatoes into wedges. Peel and do the same for onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Slice the king oyster mushroom to big bite size chunks.

Slice the beef to big chunks too, which will give you a fuller bite in the end. So make sure to choose tender beef that won't toughen up after cooking. Otherwise that fuller bite will become chewy bite instead. Season and rub the beef with some salt and black pepper.

Bring out a big pan or a wok, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and switch to medium high heat. Once warmed up, add in the beef and sear till some sides colored or even slightly browned. Scoop out first.

Still using the same pan or wok, wipe out excess oil if needed. Continue using medium high heat. This time add in onion and garlic. Sear till slightly browned but not burning the garlic bits.

Add in king oyster mushroom and tomato wedges. Cook till tomato turn slightly smushy or charred on sides.

Add the sauce mixture, which are 2 tablespoons of miso, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce. Depending on your preference, use 2 tablespoons of ketchup for a sweeter taste.  Mix and cook for one more minute.

Mix back the beef chunks. Stir-fry till evenly blended. Scoop to serving plate and crack some more black pepper on top.

It's a rare find to see beef dishes in my household, especially I'm more leaning towards white meat when planning homemade meals. Usually chicken, fish, and pork are the main protein on our dining table.

So once a long while, it's like a satisfaction boost for Mister, who gets to enjoy biting into that chunky beef. Well, I also tend to include beef in our meals after periods, so it's like a happy meal for Mister and some iron boost for the lady. 

Extended reading:

• Japanese fried tofu pouch and beef udon 日式豆皮牛肉烏龍麵
• Clear stewed beef soup with daikon and corn 無油煙版清燉牛肉湯

Potato and Dried Seaweed Flakes Pancake 馬鈴薯海苔煎餅

One big whole serving of savory pancake has been a thing for me lately. Since I haven't make such food for years, I can't believe I forgot how easy and hassle free it is. Literally, I mean literally you just mix all the ingredients together, pour them to the pan and just sear till slightly browned on both sides. 

And it's hard to go wrong with all sorts of savory pancake. Well, only if you messed up the consistency of the batter, but even that it's usually kind of hard to go wrong. Give it a try once and you'll know what I mean.

Potato and dried seaweed flakes pancake 馬鈴薯海苔煎餅 - 

Ingredients?

• 2 medium potatoes
• 4 tablespoons dried seaweed flakes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

How?

Peel and grate the potatoes into strips, I actually hand-cut it myself, quite some work there. Add the potato strips to a container filled with water, preferably drinking water. Let it soak for 10 minutes.

After some time, you'll start to see some starch being released to the water. Pour that out. Dry and maybe use a paper towel to future remove any moisture from the potato strips. Transfer to another clean and dry container.

From there, also add in 4 tablespoons of dried seaweed flakes, 1 1/2 tablespoons of toasted white sesame seeds, 4 tablespoons of corn starch, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix till evenly blended.

Bring out a round and flat pan, drizzle about 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and switch to medium heat. Wait till warm then pour in the potato batter. Even the batter out to create consistent thickness throughout. 

Sear till the bottom turns slightly browned then flip and sear the other side till the same.

Once ready, invert the pancake to a serving plate. You can pre-slice them to triangular pieces if preferred. I simply like to tear and eat along the way.

The seasoning listed should be enough, especially if you're going to enjoy the potato pancake with some ketchup on the side. So keep that in mind if some sort of dipping sauce will be involved. That means don't over-season the batter in the beginning.

Chopped Kale and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Chicken in Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing

Was it a trend or something? Have you noticed that our "regular" salad has become much more vibrant and packed with nutrients, colors, and actual portion these few years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here. Instead, I'm embracing the change. 

Have a big full serving of healthy but also delicious salad as a normal meal is now something I do once a while. So after trying many versions of nutritious salads at the restaurants, I've taken some inspirations here and there and came up with this recipe.

Chopped kale and chickpea salad with roasted chicken in red wine vinaigrette dressing - 

Ingredients (about two big servings)?

• 1/2 can or 120 grams chickpeas
• 1 chicken breast
• 80 grams kale (about one small bundle)
• 1 small chunk red cabbage
• 1/2 medium small broccoli
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/3 cup or 28 grams dried cranberries 
• 1/4 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
• 1 avocado
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How?  

Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsious/390 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Destem and remove the pith and seeds from the yellow bell pepper. Cut to medium thickness strips. We will need about half of the yellow bell pepper for the salad. Transfer the strips to one side of the baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Toss till blended.

To the other half of the baking sheet, transfer the chicken breast over. Season both sides with some salt and black pepper. Also rub with 1/4 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs. 

Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the edge of the yellow bell pepper strips start to turn slightly charred.

Once done baking, remove the sheet from the oven and let cool. After the temperature drops and able to handle by hand, slice the chicken breast to big bite size pieces.

As for the broccoli, trim-off the tougher outside layer for the stem then cut the whole thing to medium pieces. We will only need about half of the broccoli here. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in one small pinch of salt. Transfer the broccoli chunks over and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Use the leafy part for the kale only, chop to smaller pieces. Slice the red cabbage to thin strips.

Bring out a big container, add in the yellow bell pepper, kale, broccoli, red cabbage, drained chickpeas, and dried cranberries.

Also have a big cup ready, in there we're going to mix together 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of alt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Pour most of that dressing to the big container with veggies. Toss till evenly blended.

Arrange the vegetables to serving plate. Halve the avocado and remove the seed. Slice then lay on top of the salad. Also lay the roasted chicken on top too. Drizzle the remaining red wine vinaigrette dressing all over.

I only used half of the avocado here for the picture. Later on I simply mixed in the other half of the avocado. Leftover red cabbage or yellow bell pepper are easy to utilize, but better just finish the entire avocado right away.

It's a shame that I didn't find silvered almonds anywhere, otherwise sprinkle some on top of the salad sounds like a really healthy and delicious idea. Should look even better too.

Extended reading:

• White bean and tuna salad (insalata di tonno e fagioli)
• Japanese katsuo tataki salad with miso and ponzu dressing
• Persimmon salad with mozzarella and Jamón Ibérico

Kouji Pork and Shiso Spaghettini, Looks Light but Packed With Flavors

Sometimes I would have a "pouch" of Japanese kouji/koji stored in the fridge. It's like cooked rice that has been going through some sort of fermentation. It is also essential for making sake, more so the prerequisite of sake. No kouji no delicious Japanese rice wine (don't drink and drive).

And Japanese knows exactly how good and nutritious kouji can be, so it's also been widely used in Japanese households. Usually as a flavoring ingredients, and commonly used as a marinade for both meat and vegetables.

So I'm going to use kouji and make a wafu pasta this time. The end result might look plain, but trust me, the spaghettini is packed with flavors plus an elegant shiso leaf aroma.

Kouji pork and shiso spaghettini - 

Ingredients (about 2 to 3 portions)?

• 200 grams matsusaka pork
• 4 tablespoons kouji
• 1 Japanese long green onion or 2 regular stalks scallion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 pack/120 grams brown beech mushroom
• 20 slices shiso leaves
• Half pack/250 grams spaghettini
• Some pasta cooking water
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• Some olive oil

How?

Matsusaka pork is our top choice, it's like the neck area of the pig and will not turn dry and chewy at all after extended cooking time. However, if you can't find it just substitute with what you'd normally enjoy instead.

Slice the pork to about 1mm thick pieces. Massage with 2 tablespoons of kouji. Cover with cling foil or a lid then let the meat marinate in the fridge for at least one hour. Mine was marinated for 2.5 hours.

Japanese long green onion is preferred also, but that comes with hefty price. So even myself decided to switch to a much more bargained regular scallion. Destem and chop the scallion. Try to use the white part first. Only mix in the green part if not enough white part to use.

Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Julienne the shiso leaves. Destem and separate the beech mushroom.

Bring out a big pot and filled with water. Add some salt over, a few good pinches at least. Bring to a boil then cook the spaghettini or other similar pasta till almost al dente. Remember to save some pasta cooking water towards the end. Once ready, drain out the rest.

Use a pan and drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat. Add in chopped scallion, need about 1/2 cup here. Also add in the garlic slices along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Sear till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits.

Push these ingredients aside and add in the pork together with the marinade to the center. Sear till cooked through, slightly browned on the edges is good too. 

Add in the mushroom and stir-fry all the ingredients inside the pan, cook for about 30 seconds.

Transfer drained pasta over. Also pour in 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water and 2 additional tablespoons of kouji. Change to medium high heat. Toss and swirl the pasta in order to mix in some air to the sauce. It might appear slightly bubbling, which is good. We are working on some emulsification chemistry here.

Taste and adjust with salt or kouji if needed. I actually added 1/2 teaspoon more salt here. Mix in half of the julienned shiso. Toss till evenly blended. 

Plate and garnish the remaining shiso leaves on top.

If you never had kouji marinated meat before, you might imagine something strong and perhaps slightly bitter taste as an association of Japanese sake. However, it's nothing like that.

When used in cooking, kouji actually only adds a delicate touch of umami per my opinion. Like some sort of savory note to the food. It's not overly strong at all, and definitely much lighter compared to other common Japanese seasoning ingredients such as tsuyu, soy sauce, or miso.

Give it a try if you ever find kouji in the market. It can be found at the fridge section. That being said, remember to store kouji in the fridge before and after use. 

Extended reading:

• Shio koji flavored vegetable pork rolls (鹽麴豬肉捲)

Dashimaki Tamago だし巻き卵

So what's the difference between a tamagoyaki and a dashimaki tamago? Well, they are basically the same thing, just that the dashimaki tamago has more Japanese stock mixed in, so the texture is more pillowy or juicy so to speak.

I also think that Dashimaki tamago has a more mouthful name. Sometimes I would just explain this dish to others as dashi tamagoyaki, easier to be understood by westerners. 

Dashimaki tamago だし巻き卵 - 

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 pieces)?

• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Japanese tsuyu
• 1 teaspoon mirin
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Some olive oil

Dashi/Japanese stock:

• 800ml drinkable water
• 1 medium piece kombu
• 10 grams katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

How?

Start with homemade Japanese stock/dashi. Use a medium pot and add in one medium piece of kombu. Use a scissor to cut into smaller pieces if the size doesn't fit. Pour in 800ml of drinkable water and turn on the heat.

Keep it just under boiling temperature. Once hot enough, turn-off the heat and let the kombu soak in there for an hour.

Later on bring the pot close to boiling temperature again. Once achieved, heat-off and add in 10 grams of bonita flakes. Soak for couple minutes.

Drain out the ingredients and keep the stock, that'll be our basic Japanese stock/dashi. Wait till cool enough before using it dashimaki tamago, at least cool enough so that it won't cook the egg when beating together.

For the egg mixture, crack 4 eggs to a bowl, I used a measuring cup instead. Also add in 4 tablespoons of dashi, 1 teaspoon of Japanese tsuyu, 1 teaspoon of mirin, and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Beat till the sugar has been fully dissolved.

Use a tamagoyaki pan, also have a piece of paper towel folded into a square on the side. Drizzle just a little bit of olive oil to the pan and use that paper towel to evenly smear the oil throughout the area.

Switch to medium or medium low heat and wait till the pan warms up a little. Scoop some egg mixture to the pan and sear till the bottom almost set. Start rolling the egg from the outside then inward, to create almost a tube in the end. 

Push that tube outward then use the paper towel again to smear some more oil to the empty area. Scoop some egg mixture to the empty area. Meanwhile lift up the egg tube a bit, so that the newly added egg mixture can flow underneath. It'll help binding the earlier egg tube with the new layer.

So again, wait till the bottom seems set then roll in the tube to form an even bigger tube. By now the shape should resemble a rectangular block more than a tube. Repeat the step one more time if you prefer a bigger sized dashimaki tamago in the end. Once all set, carefully move the dashimaki tamago to serving plate.

I'm using single serving tamagoyaki pan here, so the final portion is perfect for one serving. If you're using bigger tamagoyaki pan, most of the time you can slice the final egg block and turn into few individual servings.

You'll definitely have way more dashi left after making dashimaki tamago. You can use that as a stock for other dishes. What I did this time is that I used the leftover dashi to cook the rice, substituting the usual plain water. It'll give you a lightly flavored rice as a result, gentle yet won't overpower any other dishes served with the grains.

Other tamagoyaki recipes:

• Stronger tasting tamagoyaki with a brush of sesame oil
• Kanikama and shiso tamagoyaki 蟹肉棒紫蘇玉子燒

Salmon and Dashi Takikomi Gohan Using Brown Rice 炊き込みご飯

No fuss rice cooker recipe, especially hassle-free for people who doesn't want to deal with greasy kitchen in the end.

This time I'm using brown rice and homemade Japanese stock. However, if you would like to skip the stock making process, simply add some Japanese dashi powder instead, can't be easier than that.

Salmon and dashi takikomi gohan using brown rice -

Ingredients (about 6 portions)?

• 4 rice measuring cups brown rice
• 2 or about 440 grams salmon fillets
• 700ml Japanese dashi (or use some dashi powder instead)
• 1 medium fried bean curd skin 油豆腐皮
• 1/4 cup hijiki
• 1 small bundle or about 250 grams Japanese mustard spinach コマツナ
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 pack or about 100 grams brown beech mushroom
• 2 tablespoons Japanese tsuyu

How?

Rinse the brown rice, basically just like how you would prepare the rice usually. Once ready, drain and set aside first. 

You can make the Japanese dashi from scratch by soaking the kombu and katsuobushi in water. I have an old post Japanese fried tofu pouch and beef udon, from there you will find more details on how to make Japanese dashi.

However, if it seems too troublesome, simply add some Japanese dashi powder to warm water instead, or use any sort of already made Japanese stock.

Add 2 tablespoons of Japanese tsuyu to the rice then pour in dashi till it reaches about 3.5 cups measurement inside the rice cooker pot. Mine was about 700ml. Give it a quick mix. Set aside while prepping other ingredients.

It's important to soak the rice first especially we are using brown rice. Otherwise the grains can be too tough or not fully cooked through in the end if skipping the soaking time.

Double making sure there are no bones hidden somewhere inside the salmon. Remove the skin before use.

Either use hot water to rinse the fried bean curd skin or soak in hot water for a short moment. This will help drawing out excess oil from the tofu skin. Once ready, squeeze out the liquid then cut into strips.

Peel and cut the carrot to strips, like julienne the carrot, but it doesn't have to be too thin. Trim-off the mushroom ends then separate to individual pieces. Destem the Japanese mustard spinach and cut to shorter sections. You can use bok choy instead or other similar Asian leafy greens.

Transfer prepped ingredients to the rice cooker. I would add the carrot first then leafy greens last, putting bean curd strips, hijiki, and mushroom in between.

There is no need to mix the ingredients with rice. Mostly because we are using brown rice, so I prefer to keep the rice on the bottom, suppose to get fully cooked-through more easily that way.

On the very top, transfer salmon fillets over.

Press that button on the rice cooker and simply cook away. If you have a specific setting for takikomi gohan, choose that instead.

Once ready, remove the inner pot from the rice cooker.

Remove the fish fillets. Fluff the rice and make sure all the ingredients are evenly blended together.

Roughly break the salmon into large chunks then add back to the rice mixture. Just give it a few gentle mix again. The salmon rice should be ready to serve.

Remember not to over-mix the rice once adding back the fish. We are aiming for chunky salmon texture, so over-mixing can cause the salmon to break into tiny pieces instead, not good.

Other takikomi gohan recipes:

• Pork bamboo shoot and shiitake takikomi gohan
• Chicken and gobo takikomi gohan (鶏ごぼうの炊き込みご飯)
• Japanese hijiki no takikomi gohan ひじきの炊き込みご飯

Seared Eggplant with Dried Shrimp and Garlic 醬燒蝦米茄子排

If you want a little change on the usual ways of cooking eggplant, this post might be the right place to look for.

Let it be sliced, diced, or even mushed, these are the common ways to prepare eggplant in both eastern and western countries. But how about steak-shaped? Or more so like a fillet. 

Ready the eggplant into a big square or rectangular steak was somewhat a fun thing to do over the past year. There are many short videos on social media, mostly for Chinese and Japanese recipes using seared eggplant steak. The basic idea is the same, steam then sear the eggplant steak first then added with somewhat heavier seasonings. And here's my version of the recipe.

Seared eggplant with dried shrimp and garlic 醬燒蝦米茄子排 -

Ingredients?

• 1 long eggplant
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimps
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 stalk scallion
• Some toasted white sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine 米酒
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

How?

Peel the eggplant then cut into 2 or 3 long sections.

Steam the eggplant for about 10 minutes. Once ready, remove and wait till cool enough to handle by hand.

After cooling off a bit, make a slit on the eggplant but don't cut all the way done. Gently spread out the eggplant from the cut to flatten it. Score one side, usually the top side of the eggplant steak if needed to help it to stay flattened. 

While preparing the eggplant, soak the dried shrimps in drinkable room temperature water for 10 minutes. Once ready, drain and pat dry then give the dried shrimps a fine chop.

Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and chop the scallion, we are going to use the green part only for garnish in the end.

Have a pan ready and drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil or other preferred cooking oil. Switch to medium high heat and wait till warm. Add in flattened eggplant pieces scoring side down. Sear till the bottom turn slightly golden, flip and sear to other side till golden again.

Once ready, have a big plate lined with paper towel. Transfer eggplant over. The paper towel will help in absorbing excess oil.

Still using the same pan, drizzle more oil if not enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the dried shrimps and garlic. Stir-fry and cook till aromatic. It might be slightly darkened but definitely not burning the garlic.

Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Cook till the sauce has been reduced a little.

Add back the eggplant and make sure both sides are evenly coated with the sauce. Once checked, transfer to serving plate. Sprinkle toasted white sesame seeds all over then garnish with some chopped scallion greens.

This is my Chinese way of prepping eggplant "steak." I've also scrolled through some Japanese recipes, in which they turn the eggplant into a more kabayaki style of seasoning. And the look highly resembles unagi don, one of the Japanese classic rice dishes. 

That would be fun too, with the sweet and savory flavor often found in Japanese dishes, I suppose you can even sprinkle some sansho powder for a pop of refreshing aroma. 

Other recipes using eggplant:

• Eggplant rollatini with marinara and pesto sauce
• Eggplant and minced pork spaghetti 魚香茄子義大利麵
• Cubed eggplant and ground pork stir-fry with spicy fermented bean paste
• Eggplant and tomato stewed rice 雙茄豬肉燴飯