sweet potato sushi roll

It's Autumn, sweet potato season! Yummy sweet potato roll has a crunchy surprise inside.

Instead of making sweet potato tempura, I just steam the sweet potato and add some tempura flakes. You can purchase tempura flakes at any Japanese market.  They can be kept in your refrigerator for future use.

Makes 2 rolls


Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups prepared sushi rice 
1/2 lb. sweet potato, peeled and sliced (1/3 inch each)
4 Tbs. Mirin
2 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. roasted sesame seeds
1 full sheet of nori, cut in half along the line
1 Tbs. tempura flake 


Prepare the sweet potato and sweet soy sauce:
In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup water, the Mirin and sugar and bring to boil.
Add the sweet potato and cook until it's softened. 
Remove the sweet potato from the saucepan and set aside. Add soy sauce to the saucepan with remaining liquid and simmer until it becomes syrupy.
How to roll:
Cover a bamboo mat with plastic wrap.
Place a sheet of nori rough-side up on the bamboo mat. Moisten your hands with water and scoop a 2/3 cup of sushi rice on nori. Spread the rice evenly and sprinkle the sesame seeds. Carefully flip over the nori so it's rice-side down on the bamboo mat.
Arrange a few slices of the sweet potato evenly equally in a middle of the nori.
Place the tempra flake right below of the sweet potato. Firmly roll up from the end nearest to you. Cut the roll into 6 pieces. 

apple cider teriyaki chicken

Enjoy the Autumn flavor of Teriyaki chicken. 

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken thigh
1/2 cup apple cider
1 small apple, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. soy sauce


Directions:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat lightly and evenly with flour. 
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, warm the butter. Add the garlic and chicken to the pan and brown one side. Flip the chicken and add the apple, apple cider and soy sauce.
Reduce the heat to low, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Poke a few holes in the foil with a folk to release the steam. Simmer about 10 - 15 minutes.
Take off the aluminum foil and increase the heat to medium high. Scoop the liquid with a spoon and poor over the chicken.
Repeat this a couple times until the liquid is completely reduced and thickened.
Serve immediately.

fried eggplant with tuna fish / Nagaimo with pickled plum paste

Enjoy two easy summery side dishes. You will love this sweet and tender flavorful eggplant and fresh crisp Nagaimo with pickled plum paste. Pickled plum is one of Japan's ancient medicinal foods. I like to serve these dishes with cold Soba or Somen noodles in mid-Summer to Autumn. 

Serves 4


-Fried Eggplant with Tuna


Ingredients:
3 or 4 Asian eggplant, cut into 1-inch
1 can (4 to 5 oz.) tuna packed in water, drained and flaked
2 Tbs. Mentsuyu / Japanese seasoning soy sauce
1/2 cup water
vegetable oil for frying
3 Shiso leaves, chopped 


Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together the Mentsuyu and water. Set aside.


In a wok or deep fry pan, heat enough vegetable oil for frying over mediam high heat. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant and cook turning often until the eggplant has softened about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer it to the bowl of Mentsuyu. Add the tuna and gently mix the eggplant and tuna.


Transfer the eggplant and tuna to a serving bowl and garnish with the Shiso.


-Nagaimo with Pickled plum paste


Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Nagaimo, peeled and slice thinly lengthwise
2 pickled plum, seeded and chopped into paste
4 Shiso leaves, chopped


Directions:
Divide sliced Nagaimo into 4 serving plate, plum paste on top then garnish with Shiso.

UMEBOSHI / pickled plum

Fight fatigue fast

Food poisoning

Hangover

Fatigue

Appetite stimulant

SHISO / beefsteak plant

Sleep easy

Insomnia

Allergies

Immune system

Food poisoning

Diarrhoea

salmon & avocado donburi

Japanese casual and comfortable meal : donburi. Quick and perfect for weekend's lunch or main dish for dinner with miso soup.

serves 2
1/2 lb. sashimi grade salmon, skin removed, cut in small pieces
1/2 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. chopped scallion
3 shiso leaf, finely chopped
1/2 nori sheet, break into small pieces
1 1/2 cups cooked short grain rice


In a medium bowl, combine the salmon, avocado, lemon juice, soy sauce, scallion and 
shiso leaf. Gently stir together, being careful not to break up the avocado.
Serve it on top of each bowl of rice. Finish with nori sheet. Drizzle some soy sauce if you like.

Tamagoyaki / Japanese sweet rolled omelet

It's often served in Japanese breakfast and lunch box. In my classes, we use this omelet in decorative sushi rolls. You can get a square Tamagoyaki pan at Asian market. Alternatively, you can use a small non stick frying pan.

serves 4


Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon Mirin
vegetable oil for cooking

Directions:
Combine the eggs, sugar, soy sauce and Mirin in a bowl and mix well with fork or chopsticks.
Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and pour 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Using paper towel spread the oil evenly. When the frying pan gets hot, turn down the heat to low.

Pour a scoop about 1/3 of the egg mixture in the pan and spread over the surface evenly. Cook it about 30 seconds or half done and roll the egg toward in the bottom side of the pan.

Spread the oil by using paper towel in the empty part of the pan and pour another 1/3 of the egg mixture. Spread evenly including under the rolled egg.

Cook it until half done and roll the egg again, this time towards the top side of the pan.
Repeat this for the rest of 1/3 egg mixture. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 1 inch thick pieces.

Gyudon / beef bowl

Quick, fuss-free and yummy Gyudon.

serves 4


Ingredients:
1 lb. thinly sliced beef (available at Asian market)
1 onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. Mirin
1 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. vegetable oil


Directions:
In a bowl, combine the soy sacue, Mirin and suger and stir well.
Heat a fry pan over medium heat, pour in the vegetable oil. Add the onion and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook until the meat color will turn to almost brown about 1 minute. 
Pour the combined mixer into the fry pan and cook a few minutes.
Place warm cooked rice in individual bowls. Cover up the rice with cooked beef and onion. Garnish with Mitsuba or Kaiware.

tuna tataki with lemon zest rice

Simple and sumptuous main dish for lunch or dinner.

Serves 4


Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless skinless tuna fillet
4 cups cooked short grain rice
2 Tbs. lemon zest
4 Tbs. chopped scallion
1 sheet Nori sheet, break into small pieces with hands
a pinch of sea salt, black pepper 


For tuna marinade
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. Japanese Sake
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed


Directions:
Whisk all the tuna marinade ingredients and transfer the marinade with the tuna in a ziploc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Take it out from the refrigerator at leaset 5 minutes before you cook the tuna.
Take out the tuna from the ziploc and pat it with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper each side of the tuna. Briefly sear both sides of the tuna in a little sesame oil.

In a nonstick saute' pan over medium-high heat, arrange the tuna in the pan and sear, turning once, about a minute per side. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1/8-inch strips.

Mix cooked warm rice with lemon zest with a rice paddle or flat wooden spoon. Place the rice in a bowl and arrange the tuna slices on top, sprinkle with the chopped scallion and Nori. serve with soy sauce.