Nikomi Hamburg Steak

Posted January 15th, 2015 in Food | No Comments »

hamburg3

One of my son’s book shows typical Japanese food for kids such as curry & rice, omu-rice and spaghetti Napolitan, and it made me want to eat hamburg steak tonight!  Hamburg is one of typical kids meal in Japan.  Most family restaurants in Japan have hamburg steaks on their menu, and there are restaurants specialising hamburg steak (e.g. Bikkuri Donki) too.  There are few different types of hamburg steak, like melted cheese hamburg steak, curry hamburg steak, wafu (Japanese style) hamburg steak, etc.  Yummo!

hamburg5

I decided to make nikomi hamburg steak with fried egg.  Nikomi means “stew” or “simmered”, but the cooking method is more like “braised”.  The hamburg steak is first seared, then cooked in the sauce.

hamburg6

Hamburg steak covered in thick shiny sauce… I recommend to serve this with steamed rice but it also goes well with your choice of bread. 🙂

Here is the recipe:

hamburg2

 

serves 4

  • Pork mince .. 360g
  • Onion .. 1
  • Egg .. 1
  • Breadcrumb .. 1/4 cup
  • Milk .. 1/4 cup
  • Tomato sauce … 4 tablespoons
  • Sugar … 4 tablespoons
  • Soy Sauce … 1 tablespoon
  • Vegetable stock cube*  .. 2
  • Water .. 500ml
  • Cornflour .. 3 teaspoons + Water 2 tablespoons

* I use MASSEL salt reduced Bouillon stock cubes

 

  1. Chop up onion finely.  Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, and sauté the onion until it becomes transparent.  Transfer the onion to a plate or tray to cool.
  2. Mix breadcrumbs and milk.  Set aside.
  3. In a bowl, mix mince, onion, breadcrumbs+milk, egg, salt and pepper very well until the mixture becomes sticky.
  4. Divide the mixture into 4.  Shape them into flat ovals.
  5. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a deep pan (wide enough to place all 4 patties), and sear the patties both side.  Absorb any extra oil with kitchen paper if required.
  6. Add water, sugar, and stock cubes.  Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to medium to simmer.
  7. Add tomato sauce and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  8. Mix cornflour + water.  Turn up the heat, and pour the conrflour mixture into the sauce. Stir lightly, then simmer for another 2 minutes.

 

Fried eggs, baked potatoes and vegetables are optional.  Serve with steamed rice or your choice of bread.

 

 

 

 


Miso-Marinated Pork

Posted September 13th, 2014 in Food | No Comments »

buta-misozuke

 

Meat is not my most favorite food, but I do get a craving for yakiniku (Japanese version of BBQ- it literary means “grilled meat”) sometimes.  Usually I go for thinly sliced beef if having yakiniku at home here in Perth, but marinated chicken thigh or pork fillets are actually great alternatives.

Marinating in miso based marinade gives meat tender and full of flavour.  I bet you’ll love it with freshly cooked steamed rice and some shredded cabbage!  Yummmm…  So does other marinated meat, this one gets burned easily when cooking so make sure you keep an eye on it while grilling.  Searing the meat in a hot pan gives great flavour of caramelised sweet miso paste to the meat.    You can cook this in a yakiniku plate and eat as you cook in the table, or cook in a pan and serve with shredded cabbage and hot steamed rice.  You can also make it in a donburi style by arranging the meat and cabbage on a bed of steamed rice in a serving bowl.

This pork is also great to have with somen noodle in summer.  Chilled somen noodle with dipping sauce sometimes doesn’t satisfy your hunger, but serving that with this freshly grilled pork and some summer salad makes a great treat for a hot day!

<Miso-Marinated Pork> serves 2~3 people

  • Pork fillet 300g (I used pork loin fillet)
  • Miso paste 3 tablespoon (I used red miso paste)
  • Mirin (sweet cooking wine) 1 tablespoon
  • Sake (cooking wine) 1 tablespoon
  • Honey 1 tablespoon
  • Soy sauce 1 teaspoon
  • Sesame oil 1 teaspoon
  • Garlic & ginger, grated, around 1 teaspoon each

 

  1. Mix all the ingredients except pork.
  2. Place pork fillets in a ziplock bag with the mixed sauce.  Marinate half-day or overnight.
  3. Remove pork from the marinade.  Cut into 1~2cm width.
  4. Heat a frying pan and spray oil.  When the pan is really really hot, add the meat and quickly move around the pan to sear the meat.  Be cautious not to burn the meat.
  5. Serve with rice while hot.

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Grilled Miso-Marinated Pork

Posted January 24th, 2013 in Food | 2 Comments »

It’s been beautiful days in Perth.  I only remember Perth’s summer as hot and dry, but this year is very different (last year too, maybe) – humid, rain, and sometime very cool.

Today  I visited my friend’s new house and enjoyed swimming in their yard.  It’s a sunny day with nice breaze – so perfect to just sit on the poolside and chat.

When I got home I felt like something grilled meat.  In Australia we happen to have bbq quite often, and I’m used to this type of food.  I love it.  Australia Day is approaching and I definitely think we are gonna have some bbq with family on the long weekend.

Today I made grilled pork.  The pork is marinated in miso-mixture so it’s got some Asian flavour.

This miso-marinated pork is great to have with steamed rice, and is best to make with pork belly.  The fat makes the meat juicy, soft and tasty.

But this time I had this with somen noodle.  Somen noodle is like a king of summer food in Japan.  Simply boil the noodle, cool down in cold water, then eat with soy sauce-based dipping sauce with some condiments.  Love it.

<Grilled Miso-Marinated Pork>

 

  • Pork Belly 2 fillets (around 500g)
  • Miso paste 3 tbs
  • sake (cooking wine) 1 tbs
  • Mirin 1 tbs
  • Honey 1 tbs
  • Soy Sauce 1 tsp
  • Sesame Oil 1 tsp
  • garlic 1 clove – minced
  • ginger 1 small knob – minced

 

  1. Mix everything except pork belly in a shallow plate or in a plastic bag.  Marinate pork belly in the mixture overnight.
  2. Take out the pork, and slice in 1cm width.
  3. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a skillet pan over high heat, and grill the pork.  The meat is easy to get burnt because of the miso marinade, so be careful.  Turn around the meat with tong often so it won’t go black.
  4. When the meat is fully cooked, golden and crispy, take out from the pan.  Serve immediately with salad and rice/noodle.

 


Dry Curry Soboro – OmuRice Style

Posted September 21st, 2012 in Food | 2 Comments »

The title might have confused you….   the dish looks like this  ↑↑↑

Juicy dry pork curry over steamed rice with fluffy thin omelet.

Serve it on a large plate then people can dig in….   Great for kids party too.

Make omelet fluffy – not over-cook it.  Soft and runny egg goes well with curry 🙂

I used zucchini, but you can use broccoli, capsicum, peas, or eggplant instead.

 

<Dry Curry Soboro> serves 3~4 people

  • Pork Mince 500g
  • Onion 1/2
  • Carrot 1
  • Zucchini 1/4
  • Ginger & Garlic, minced, 1 tsp each
  • Soy Sauce 1 tsp
  • Mild Indian Curry Powder 1/2 tsp  (adjust to  your liking)
  • Oyster Sauce 1 tbs
  • Tomato Sauce 1 tbs
  • Salt & Pepper (optional)
  • 3 Eggs
  • Milk 1 tbs
  • Steamed Rice (to serve)

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  1. Chop onion, carrot and zucchini.
  2. Heat a frying pan and add oil.  Saute onion, carrot, ginger and garlic for a couple of minutes.  Add pork and zucchini.  Pour soy sauce over the meat, and cook until the colour of the meat starts to change.
  3. Add curry powder, oyster sauce, tomato sauce and 1 tablespoon of water.  Simmer until the liquid is almost gone and all the juice is absorbed.  Set aside.
  4. Heat a wide frying pan with oil.  Beat egg lightly with milk, and pour into the pan to make soft omelet.
  5. To serve :  Scoop some steamed rice (hot) on a large serving plate.  Place the omelet on top of the rice, and scatter the dry curry over.  Serve immediately while hot.

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Pork Gyoza

Posted September 13th, 2012 in Food | No Comments »

Gyoza – although it originally came from China, I believe gyoza has became one of the most eaten food in Japan.  It’s became part of “Japanese food” now.  You’ll find it on menu at most Japanese restaurants in Perth as well.  In Japan you’ll find it everywhere, even in convenience stores.

Packs of frozen gyoza are available at Asian grocery shops in Perth, but they are mostly from China.  I don’t see much difference, but I personally prefer making them by myself as it’s much cheaper and more safe – you know what’s inside. 🙂

I usually use store-bought gyoza skin, but this time I made everything from scratch.  Making gyoza skin is quite easy, though I found it hard if you have a child/children around you in the kitchen nagging to go outside to play.

<Gyoza Skin>  makes around 30 ~ 35

 

  • plain flour 150g
  • baker’s flour 50g
  • boiling water 150cc
  • corn flour to dust when kneading/shaping

  1. Place flour in a bowl, and pour boiling water.  Stir with chopsticks until it’s cool enough to tough.  Knead for 5 minutes till smooth.  Shape into a ball, and cover with plastic wrap.  Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  2. Roll into a thin dough.  Cut into around 8g pieces, and roll into flat round wraps using a rolling pin.  Dust with corn flour whenever you feel the dough is sticky.

<Gyoza>

  • Pork Mince 2oog
  • Cabbage 6 leaves
  • Onion 1/2
  • Minced Ginger 1 tsp
  • Minced Garlic 1 tsp
  • Oyster Sauce 2 tbs
  • Sake (cooking wine) 2 tbs
  • Soy Sauce 2 tbs
  • Sesame Oil 2 tbs
  • Salt & Pepper
  1. Chop up cabbage leaves and onion.  Place with other ingredients in a bowl, and mix well using fingers.
  2. Take 1 wrapper in the palm of your hand.  Use a spoon to take a small amount of filling and put it in the center of the wrapper.  Dip a finger in the bowl of water and draw a circle around the outer 1/4” of the wrapper so it’s wet all around.  Fold the wrapper in half like a taco.  From the left edge, start sealing the wrapper by placing a pleat about once every ¼”.  Make sure the two sides are sealed by pressing folded pleat tightly against the flat edge.  (how to wrap a gyoza)
  3. Heat up a frying pan.  Pour 1 tbs of oil, and place gyoza.  Add 100ml of hot water then place a lid.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
I eat with “soy sauce + dash of sesame oil” dipping sauce, but you can eat with anything such as Japanese mayonnaise, chilli oil, or ponzu 🙂

Rolled Cabbage

Posted June 7th, 2012 in Food | 1 Comment »

Japanese calle it “roll cabbage”, but this dish is basically a ball of hamburg wrapped with cabbage leaves.  This is usually cooked in soup until the cabbage is really soft and almost melts. Sometimes served with variety of sauces such as tomato sauce, teriyaki sauce, and savoury bechamel sauce.

One of the reason I don’t cook this roll-cabbage too often is that it’s bit troublesome to make.  First you need to sautee vegetables then mix with meat.  Cabbage leaves need to be blanched in boiling water first so that it doesn’t rip when wrapping the meat mixture inside.  After all the preparation you will need to then cook the rolled-cabbage in a pot for 2 hours.  (or you can use slow-cooker instead)

But I made them anyway.  I felt like eating rolled cabbage, and I thought Hiro could also eat one.  It takes time, so if you want to make this chose the day you have time to spend in the kitchen.

<Rolled Cabbage>  makes around 20

  • cabbage 1 whole
  • pork & beef mixed mince (or you can use just pork/beef mince) 400g
  • onion 1, medium
  • carrot 1/2, medium
  • celery stalk 1/3
  • unsalted butter 2 tbs
  • tomato sauce 1 tbs
  • salt 2/3 tsp
  • pepper to taste

  1. Chop up onion, carrot and celery.
  2. Melt butter in a frying pan, and sautee the vegetables with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes over low-medium heat.  Remove from the pan and spread on a flat plate.  Let it cool. (or you can keep them in the fridge until you are ready to cook rolled-cabbage)
  3. Remove the core from a whole cabbage.  Boil water in a large, deep pan.  Add a pinch of salt into the water, and place a cabbage.  Cook until the cabbage is well-cooked and soft.  Cabbage leaves should be easily come off.  Place the cabbage leaves into a bowl of iced water.  Repeat with the remaining leaves.  Pat it dry.
  4. Place mince meat in a bowl.  Add salt, and mix well.  Add pepper, tomato sauce, and sauteed vegetables.  Mix well.
  5. Place a cabbage leaf on a kitchen bench or on a chopping board. Place 1 tablespoon of meat mixture on the cabbage leaf.  Roll up tightly.  You can push the one end towards inside to close up.

Chose a pot that is wide.  Place rolled-cabbage into the pan, ensuring that all of them are nicely and tightly fit inside the pan.  (photo above)  Make sure the end of cabbage leaves are facing bottom.  Pour water to just cover the rolls, and place a lid.  Cook over high-medium heat.

Once it starts to boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for 2 hours over low heat.

*Add more water if needed.

Enjoy while it’s hot!  The cabbage leaves melt and meat should be juicy 🙂

Teriyaki Spam Onigiri

Posted May 20th, 2012 in Food | No Comments »

Little onigiri (rice balls) with teriyaki spam.  I made them in nigiri-sushi style.

To be honest, spam is not my favorite meat.  But considering that it is a long-life food and can be always available at the pantry, I’d say it’s very easy snack to prepare anytime you want to eat.

Using spam is cheap too.  I’m saying this because it is actually nicer to use ham steak instead of spam.  Ham’s got better texture and juiciness (to me).  But, ham steak is more expensive than a tin of spam, and again, spam can be available in the pantry anytime.  So here is teriyaki spam onigiri.  If you like spam then this is a perfect snack for you (?!).

The key is the teriyaki sauce.  Caramelize the sauce until spam is shiny!

<Teriyaki Spam Onigiri>  makes around 10 – 12

  • Spam 340g tin x 1/2
  • Soy sauce 1 tbs
  • Mirin 1 tbs
  • Steamed rice (cooked & warm) 1.5 ~ 2 cups
  • Nori sheet to decorate

  1. Slice spam into 5mm thick squares.
  2. Spray oil in a frying pan, and grill the spam both sides until coloured.  Remove excess oil with kitchen paper, if there is any.
  3. Pour soy sauce & mirin into the pan.  Cook over low-medium heat until the sauce thicken and the spam is shiny.
  4. Divide steamed rice into 10 – 12, and shape into flat balls.  Place spam on top of rice, then decorate with nori sheet.

Now they are ready to serve!

Onigiri always goes with Japanese tea.  I accompanied my spam onigiri with hot barley tea.

I served spam onigiri with seafood yakisoba.  D & I love yakisoba!  It’s not as oily as Chinese fried noodle (people say it’s rather dry though 😐 ) and sprinkle of bonito flake (katsuo-bushi) and ao-nori powder gives the final touch 🙂


Japanese Style Slow-cooked Pork

Posted January 31st, 2011 in Food | No Comments »

Suddenly I had a craving for Japanese style char siu (yakibuta). It’s quite different from those Chinese style char siu – Japanese one tastes more like ham.  I like eating yakibuta with Japanese mayonnaise, and that’s what I had in my mind when I was making this dish.  It turned out, not exactly what I expected it to be, but it tasted great anyway and is a perfect meat dish to be served with simple steamed rice.

I served this slow-cooked pork dish with carrot rice – which is a simple steamed rice with grated carrot.  The rice doesn’t taste like carrot, but it boosts the nutrition.

To make this dish, you need an oven.  What you do is just marinate the pork in the sauce and cook in the oven – very easy.  You can use any part of pork for this dish: this time I used pork thigh.

<Japanese Style Slow-Cooked Pork>

  • 300g pork meat
  • 40ml soy sauce
  • 20ml sake (cooking wine)
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 40g sugar
  • 3cm spring onion
  • 1 tbs white sesame seeds
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  1. Marinate the pork in the sauce (mixture of all the ingredients) overnight.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 200°.
  3. Place aluminium-foil on an oven tray, bending the edge high so that all the marinade sauce can go inside.  Place the pork and marinade sauce in the foil, and close the top.  You can also use 2 pieces of aluminium-foil : one to keep the pork and marinade sauce, and another to cover up the pork and sauce.
  4. Cook the pork in the oven for 45 minutes.
  5. Leave the pork for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
  6. Serve with steamed rice and your choice of vegetables (or salad).

Miso Hamburg Steak

Posted October 9th, 2010 in Food | 2 Comments »

One day I was thinking about hamburg family restaurants in Japan – Big Boy, Bikkuri Donkey, etc…  Although I’m not really a meat person, I sometime got a craving for a juicy delicious hamburg steak.  Besides, family restaurant was like my nest when I was a teen. 😀

If you want to try Japanese hamburg steak restaurant, try Bikkuri Donkey!  I love the food, and also the atmosphere there.

The other day, I wanted to eat like the hamburg steak plate that you can get from family restaurants.  Hamburg steak, rice, salad, all in one plate.

I mixed miso paste to the mince mixture to add extra flavor.  The patty was soft and fluffy, and it smelled delicious.

With fried egg and special sauce.  Add a cup of soup to make it a perfect “hamburg steak lunch plate”!

<Miso Hamburg Steak> serves 2

  • 300g mince (I used 50% beef and 50% pork)
  • 1 onion, medium
  • 1 egg
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 2tbs breadcrumb
  • 1 tbs miso
  • 1 tbs milk
  • 100cc white wine
(sauce)
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1tbs tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

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  1. Chop onion finely.  In a mixing bowl, mix the mince, onion, egg, nutmeg, breadcrumb, miso and milk together until well combined.
  2. Divide the meat mixture into an uniformed-size balls, and flatten the centre to make them into patties.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan.  Place the patties and cook over medium-high heat until the bottom side is nicely colored.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat, and pour the white wine around.  Flip the patties, and place a lid.  Cook until the patties are cooked.
  4. Mix the ingredients from “sauce”.
  5. Serve the hamburg on a plate along with the sauce.
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Japanese Curry with Winter Vegetables

Posted August 4th, 2010 in Food | No Comments »

Just to keep up this winter, I’ve been trying to focus on the balanced diet.  Eat fruits, vegetables, and drink lots of water.  Otherwise I will be eating same thing over and over again!  I would just sit down on the sofa after work and boil a pot of water to cook instant noodle or something.

I know that using a ready-made seasoning may not be a healthy option, but last night I felt like Japanese curry and made it with packet roux.  I added lots of vegetables including lotus roots and cauliflower.  I always add crushed tomato (tin) to Japanese curry to give a fruity taste, extra nutrition and to dilute the roux (animal fat).

Japanese curry can be made with any vegetables/meat/seafood, but I love pork meat (thinly sliced pork belly, or pork cushion) the best.

<Japanese Curry with Pork and Winter Vegetables>

  • 200g pork meat
  • 1 potato
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 5~6 slices lotus root
  • 2~3 bunch spinach
  • 50g cauliflower florets
  • 200g tomato in tin
  • 100g Japanese curry roux
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  1. Cut vegetables into bite size.  Slice meat if you are using a chunk pork meat.
  2. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a deep sauce pan.  Saute onion over low heat until transparent.
  3. Add meat, and cook until the colour starts to change.  Add carrot, lotus root, cauliflower and about 500ml of water (just to cover all the vegetables).  Add tomato and bring to the boil.  Turn down the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.  Scam needed.
  4. Turn off the heat or down to very low.  Add curry roux, and mix until dissolve.  Turn up the heat and simmer, stirring often, for another 10 minutes.  Add spinach 3 minutes before turning off the heat.
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Pork Soboro with Root Vegetables

Posted July 12th, 2010 in Food | No Comments »

I love root vegetables!!  The crunchy texture is a great accent on the dish.  They are winter vegetables, so you can find fresh root vegetables at grocery shops now.  (I saw fresh lotus roots at VHT in Northbridge, and Local Fresh in Carousel shopping centre)  Otherwise you can always get frozen root vegetables at Asian grocery shops.

The seasoning is simple, but this dish is very tasty; all the flavours from pork and root vegetables come together and is agreat accompaniment for steamed rice.

Garnish with crispy lotus root slices 😉

<Pork Soboro with Root Vegetables> served 4

  • 200g pork mince
  • 100g lotus roots
  • 100g bamboo shoots (in can in brine)
  • 1/2 carrot, small
  • 1/2 onion, medium
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1tsp minced garlic
  • 1tbs sesame oil
  • 1/4cup oyster sauce
  • 1tbs soy sauce
  • steamed rice to serve
  1. Chop up onion and carrot.  Dice lotus roots and bamboo shoots. (if you are using fresh lotus roots, leave in a bowl of cold water with dash of vinegar for 20~30 minutes.)
  2. Heat oil in a frying pan and saute onion, carrot, garlic and ginger.  Add pork, drop soy sauce onto the meat, and cook until the colour starts to turn. Stir well.
  3. Add lotus roots and bamboo shoots, stir.  Add oyster sauce, and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is almost gone.
To make lotus root chips:
  1. Slice lotus roots very thin.  Deep-fry in hot oil until crispy.
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You can also enjoy as a condiment for porridge.
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Camem-burg Pasta

Posted July 1st, 2010 in Food | No Comments »

Meatball pasta!!  Everyone’s favorite 🙂  Add Mozzarella cheese to the big size meatballs and enjoy the mild, melty texture on delicious juicy hamburg.

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<Camem-burg Pasta> serves 4

  • 300g beef mince
  • 200g pork mince
  • 10g breadcrumb
  • 50g onion, chopped
  • 800g tomato tin, peeled
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • 50g onion
  • 50g celery
  • 50g carrot
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 100g mushrooms
  • 1tbs margarin
  • 60g Camembert cheese

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  1. Mix the mince, onion, breadcrumb and a pinch of salt in a bowl until well combined.  Divide into 8 and shape them into balls.  Stand-by in the fridge.
  2. Chop onion, celery and carrot.  Slice mushrooms.
  3. Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a medium sauce pan, and saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic until fragrant.  Add tomato paste and saute, then add tomato tin. Bring to the gentle boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
  4. Place margarin in a frying pan, and heat over medium-high heat.  As the butter start to sizzle, add mushrooms and saute.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt, and remove from the heat.  Add the mushroom into the tomato sauce.
  5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and cook pasta.
  6. Meanwhile, heat the same pan with 1 tbs of oil.  Flatten the centre of the meatballs, and sear one side.  Flip the meatball around, reduce the heat, and place a lid.  Grill until cooked through.
  7. Slice Camembert cheese into 8.  Remove the lid, and place the Camembert slices on each meatball.  Place back the lid, and turn off the heat.  leave it for 1~2 minutes.
  8. Arrange pasta in each serving plate.  Pour tomato sauce, and top with 2 pieces of hamburgs.
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Honey Oyster Pork Ribs

Posted November 30th, 2009 in Food | 1 Comment »

Although I have just few friends here in Perth, they’ve been a great motivation and support for me to stay here being away from my family. Most of my friends are older than me, (5 ~ 20 years older) but we’re close and are good friends. Because they have more life experience than I do, their words and advices are such valuable and I really appreciate that.

Some of them have their own business here, and some of them have bought their own home and settled themselves in this state. They all work so hard and I want to be same as them! And, I have a few friends who are mothers and they also give me a good advice on cooking too 🙂

I’ve got this recipe from one of my friends who has moved from Cairns to Perth 2 years ago and is a mother of 1 year old boy. I love this recipe and so does my family here 🙂

<Honey Oyster Pork Ribs>

  • 500 g pork ribs – boned
  • 1 tbs oyster sauce
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
<some vegetables to accompany pork ribs>
I used cabbage and bean shoots. You can use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge.
  • cabbage – roughly chopped
  • bean shoots
  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  1. Cut ribs into 2~3 cm thick.
  2. Heat frying pan without oil, and grill ribs over medium heat until it’s golden on both sides. The idea of doing this is to take away unwanted fat from pork as much as possible.
  3. Remove ribs from pan, and set aside. Throw out the fat from pork.
  4. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper roughly, and heat sesame oil. Stir-fry cabbage and bean shoots until they’re soft. Drizzle soy sauce and turn off the heat.
  5. In another pan, place oyster sauce, soy sauce and honey. Turn on the heat, stir consistently until it starts to boil. Add ribs and stir, until ribs are caramelized and sticky.
  6. Arrange ribs on a bed of stir-fried vegetables.

I had it as dinner with chirashi-zushi (scattered sushi rice with pickled vegetables) and o-suimono (Japanese clear broth). It was delicious!


Crispy Bacon & Green Salad

Posted November 19th, 2009 in Food | No Comments »

Branched greens and crispy bacon salad.

  • 2 rushes bacon
  • 1 bunch broccoli
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 tbs corn
  • fresh lemon juice or orange juice
  1. Boil water in a large sauce pan.(you can add salt to the water when you put the pan on the stove) While waiting for the water to boil, cut broccoli and asparagus into 2~3cm long.
  2. Branch broccoli in the boiling water, then scoop out and drop into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain. Repeat with asparagus. Never leave broccoli and asparagus in the cold water.
  3. Slice bacon into 1cm wide. Place bacon on a frying pan (no oil) and turn on the heat. Cook over low to medium low until bacon is golden and crispy.
  4. Turn off the heat. Wipe off any excess fat, and turn on the heat again, to high. Add broccoli, asparagus and corn, then stir through.
  5. Turn off the heat. Squeeze lemon juice (or orange juice) over, and season well with salt and black pepper.
  6. Serve immediately.

Japanese style Chili Tofu (Mabo Tofu)

Posted October 19th, 2009 in Food | No Comments »

Mabo Tofu is a typical Chinese food we eat in Japan.  Apparently it’s little different from the original dish, but we still call it “Mabo Tofu” and we enjoy it.  Some people add more chili to make it spicier, and that’s became one of “summer food” in Japan.  (In Japan we eat hot & spicy food in summer)

There is a dish called “Mabo Donburi”, it’s basically a rice served in a bowl, covered with mabo tofu.  You can find it even in convenience stores in Japan during summer.

Mabo Tofu (ma-bo dofu)

<Mabo Tofu>

  • 50g pork mince
  • 300g silken tofu
  • 1tsp grated ginger
  • 1tsp grated garlic
  • 1tsp tobanjan
  • 1tbs sesame oil
  • 1tsp corn flour + 1tsp water
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  • 1/2tbs sake (cooking wine)
  • 1tbs miso paste
  • 1tbs soy sauce
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 150cc water
  1. Cut tofu into cubes. Mix the ingredients from <a>.
  2. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, and saute ginger, garlic and tobanjan. Once you start to smell nutty aroma, add pork mince and stir. Break down the mince with wooden spoon while stirring.
  3. Pour the mixture <a> into the pan, and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for few minutes.
  4. Add tofu cubes in the pan. Try not to break the tofu as they are pretty soft. Gently stir the sauce, avoiding to crush the tofu, and stir through the corn flour water to thicken the sauce.
  5. Garnish with chopped spring onion.

Easy Oven Roasted Spare Ribs

Posted May 10th, 2009 in Food | 2 Comments »

Very easy!  Just marinate and cook in the oven.  You won’t even need to marinate meat for hours.

< Oven Roasted Spare Ribs >

  • 7~9 spare ribs
  • 1 tbs Worcester sauce
  • 2 tbs tomato sauce
  • 3 tbs soy sauce
  • 3 tbs marmalade jam
  • 1 tbs white wine or sake
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 tsp grated garlic

– Heat up oven to 200

  1. Season ribs with salt and pepper.  Mix all the ingredients in a heat-proof bowl.  Marinate ribs in the sauce and glad wrap, then heat up in the microwave for about 5 minutes.
  2. Place ribs on an oven tray with sauce.  Cook for about 30minuts or until meat is cooked.

* If the meat starts to burn on surface, cover with aluminum foil and let it cook through.