This is one of my favorite donburi dish – beef and tofu. It is just like beef donburi (gyu-don), with tofu. Normally, firm tofu is used in cooking as it’s more likely to hold its shape than soft silken tofu, but I love the silky smooth texture of silken tofu and I used it in this recipe.
Donburi is like Japanese version of fast food. Make it in one pot, and eat it all together with rice.
Mix them up and eat it like a man!
<Recipe> serves 2
200g beef, thinly sliced
1/4 brown onion, small
100g silken tofu (Japanese)
1/4 tsp dashi stock powder
1 cup water
1.5 tbs sake (cooking wine)
1 tbs sugar
1.5 tbs soy sauce
red ginger, chopped spring onion, steamed rice to serve
a
Slice onion. Place beef, onion, water and dashi stock in a sauce pan, and bring to gentle simmer.
Place tofu on your left palm, and drop into the pan as you slice. Add sake, sugar and soy sauce. Turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Pour the beef mixture over steamed rice. Garnish with red ginger and spring onion.
Since my friend told me that her kids eat either toast or onigiri (rice balls) for breakfast, I’ve been having a craving for onigiri! Why not eat onigiri in the morning? I ask myself. Sometimes I wake up with empty stomach and onigiri may be a good food to eat for breakfast to fill me up.
There are many many fillings and flavors for onigiri you can find in Japan. The typical ones include umeboshi (pickled plum), katsuo (seasoned bonito flakes), konbu (seasoned seaweed), and sha-ke (cooked and seasoned salmon), and unique ones include pork katsu, raw fish roe, sweet azuki bean paste, cheese, yakisoba, kimuchi, and natto. I like these onigiri with fillings in the centre, but also love origiri which the ingredients mixed with rice (mazekomi-onigiri). My favorite mazekomi-onigiri is shake-wakame (cooked & seasoned salmon and wakame seaweed). Yummmmm! Onigiri is usually triangle shape so that you can get to the filling in the centre on each bite from any angle.
People make onigiri in different ways : some use hands, and other use plastic wrap. I use my hands because that’s how my mum used to make onigiri for me It may get messy, but is the original way to make onigiri. You will need a bowl of water to dip your palms each time you make each onigiri otherwise the rice sticks to your palms. Here is a short video of how to make triangle onigiri by hands:
This time I made onigiri with katsuo filling in the centre, and wakame & goma (roasted sesame seeds) mazekomi-onigiri. I’ve also posted few onigiri recipes here and here.
<Onigiri > makes 6
1.5 cup short or medium grain rice
salt
katsuo onigiri :
5g bonito flakes
1tsp soy sauce
seasoned nori sheet (you can use non-seasened one, if you like)
mazekomi onigiri: (for about 1 cups cooked rice)
1 tsp dry wakame
1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds
1/4 tsp salt
Cook rice according to pack instructions. (with just water) Stand it for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix bonito flakes with soy sauce, and set aside. In another bowl, soak wakame in little amount of water (about 1.5 tbs). When the wakame absorbs the water and becomes soft, drain and chop up. Mix with sesame seeds and salt, and set aside.
Prepare a bowl of clean water, a bottle of salt (e.g. table salt), shamoji (a flat rice paddle), seasoned bonito flakes, wakame, and seasoned nori sheets next to steamed rice. (hot)
Wet your hands and sprinkle salt over the palms. Scoop about 1cup of rice and place on a palm. Quickly make a hole in the centre, and place the filling (seasoned bonito flake) inside. Shape the rice into triangle, and decorate with nori sheets. Make two more.
Mix the leftover rice with wakame mixture. Wet your hands, and scoop 1/3 f the rice into a palm. Shap the rice into triangle. Repeat to make two more.
a
* You can use plastic wrap to shape onigiri instead of using your hands. The rice is pretty hot, so it may burn your hands if you do the shaping too slow.
If you are using plastic wrap:
Place about 20cm x20cm plastic wrap on the kitchen bench.
Spray water on the surface of wrap, and sprinkle salt. Place about 1 cup of rice and make a hole in the centre.
Place the filling inside the hole, and close the 4 edges of the wrap together and shape the rice into triangle over plastic wrap.
* Onigiri doesn’t have to be in triangle shape. Make them in ball or square too.
This Asian style sweet porridge is one of my favourite winter sweets.
I normally eat it warm, but it can be eaten at room temperature or chilled. It is usually eaten with dash of coconut cream.
You can cook this in a slow cooker or in a deep pan, just like making congee. Adjust the amount of water to achieve right consistency.
It should be thick in consistency. The chewy black sticky rice is so juicy and delicious
I added fresh persimmon to it, and the combination was lovely. With seasonal fruit and eating it warm or chilled, this sweet pudding can be served all year round!
<Black Sticky Rice Porridge>
500g black sticky rice (can be found at Asian grocery shops)
water to soak the rice
2L ~ water
3 tbs ~ palm sugar
a pinch of salt
a
Wash the rice thoroughly and soak in water for about 2 hours to overnight.
Put the rice, salt, sugar and 2 L water in a deep pot on high heat until water boils, then lower it to the lowest heat your stove can do. Stir constantly. Simmer.
When the liquid is almost gone, check the rice – if it’s still too hard, add more water to it. Keep during this until it achieve the right consistency.
I made this creamy curry risotto to accompany the spicy roasted chicken which I picked up from a poultry shop. It’s very easy to make, and delicious ♪ I think you should try this!
a
<Creamy Curry Pilaf> serves 2
2 cups cooked rice
4 green beans, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
10cm spring onion stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1.5 cups chicken stock
1 tsp curry powder
50ml cream
a
Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute onion, garlic, and curry powder until fragrant.
Add green beans, tomato, and rice. Stir, and pour chicken stock. Bring to gentle boil, and turn down the heat to simmer for few minutes, until the liquid is almost gone.
Stir in cream, and season well. Remove from the heat, and serve on a plate.
Beef donburi, gyu-don, is one of Japanese popular donburi dish. I’m sure you sometimes order this at Japanese restaurants (if you like beef).
Normally, gyu-don is simmered beef and onion dish in sweet soy sauce flavoured dashi broth. This recipe, however, doesn’t require dashi broth and simmering process. It’s more like a stir-fried dish (with plenty of sauce/broth/juice from the beef and onions). It’s a quick meal, and taste great
<Quick Beef Bowl> serves 4~8
500g beef, thinly sliced
2 onions (medium size)
4 cloves garlic
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs sake (cooking wine)
2 tbs mirin
2 tbs soy sauce
a
Slice the onions and garlic thinly.
Heat the sesame oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic and onion, and stir-fry until the onions are almost transparent.
Add beef, and cook for 2~3 minutes. Add sugar, sake, mirin and soy sauce.
Turn down the heat to low, and cook further 5 minutes.
It may get messy, but is the original way to make onigiri. You will need a bowl of water to dip your palms each time you make each onigiri otherwise the rice sticks to your palms. Here is a short video of how to make triangle onigiri by hands:
Email: me@umeboss.com
Recent Comments