Light and Crispy Tempura

The keys to delicious, crispy and light tempura are:

• Don’t mix the batter too much ( as it will develop the gluten from the flour)
• Cold batter x hot oil 

If you do so, the tempura stays crispy even when it’s cold.

• 45 g plain flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 80 ml water
• 1/2 tbs sake (cooking wine)
• 2~3 ice cubes

Try…

• Thinly shredded onion and carrot, and chopped onion.  (equal amount) Mix into batter.  Using a spoon, scoop the mixture and carefully drop into hot oil.  Deep-fry both sides until cooked through. 

• Fresh herbs (eg: basil, parsley, coriander etc).  Coat with batter lightly and deep-fry for 30 seconds. (both sides)

Grilled Miso-mayo Salmon

If you get bored with teriyaki salmon, why not try this creamy miso flavored grilled salmon?  It’s as easy as toasting a slice of bread.  Simply spread the mixture on the salmon and grill it.  Enjoy with steamed rice and a cup of miso soup 

<Miso-mayo Salmon>

• salmon fillet, skin free
• miso paste
• Japanese mayonnais

1. Mix 2 tsp of Japanese mayonnaise and 1 tsp of miso paste.  You can use either red or white miso depending on your taste.

2.  Spread the miso paste on salmon (skin side).  Grill under Salamander or in the oven until cooked.

If the miso paste starts to get colored but the salmon is not quite cooked through, cover the top with aluminium foil to prevent it from burning.

Japanese people often use Japanese mayonnaise in cooking.  Some people really LOVES mayonnaise, and they eat it with anything… my mum is one of them.  She even eats pickles, nimono (simmered dish, mostly vegetables), grilled fish, meat, natto, noodle .. anything with mayonnaise.  I don’t usually eat mayonnaise except when eating okonomi-yaki or tako-yaki, so I always get surprised how quickly my family finish one bottle of mayonnaise at home :p

Some of the recipes using Japanese mayonnaise are little weird to me, and some of them are actually delicious.  I wouldn’t like stir-fried rice with mayonnaise (:p) or mayonnaise pan-cake (supposed to be eaten with maple syrup… eww) but I would eat mayonnaise omelet or mayonnaise hamburg.  …  who knows, maybe they’d all taste pretty good.  It’ll be high cholesterol for sure though.

Creamy Prawn Gratin

Creamy tasty prawn gratin ♪This is also one of popular yo-shoku dish in Japan.  You can find this “Prawn Gratin” in family restaurants, cafes, and even at convenience stores.

<Prawn Gratin>

• 15g butter
• 15g plain flour
• about 2 cups milk
• 1 cup prawn
• 2 tbs macaroni
• 1/4 onion
• 1 tbs white wine
• grated mozzarella cheese + bread crumble

1. Slice onion.  Cook macaroni till just before al dente.
2. Melt butter in a sauce pan.  (Do not burn)  Add flour and stir.  Add milk little by little,  stir well at each addition of milk.  (using warmed milk is easier than cold milk)  Adjust the consistency with extra milk if needed.
3. In another pan, heat up olive oil and saute sliced onion.  Add prawn, then pour white wine and burn up the alcohol.
4. Pour bechamel sauce into 3.  Add macaroni, and stir through.  Season well.
5. Pour the mixture into a plate, and sprinkle grated cheese and bread crumble on the top.  Bake in the oven (200 ~ 220) until golden colored.  Sprinkle chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Easy Pizza

This long weekend was lovely!  Nice weather, nice food….  On Saturday night we were invited to aunt’s house for BBQ.  We had a drink, sung karaoke…  it was fun :)  Sunday I went out with friend, and chatted for 2 hours over 1 cup of coffee and 1 piece of cake.  Talking never end…  That night D’s family and I went to South Ocean for dinner.  It was pretty disappointing that waiters mistook our orders twice :(  2 dishes out of 3 were not what we ordered, and waiters seemed to not understand what we were saying.  It actually happened few times in the past…  It was much nicer with their previous manager.  Shame that he no longer works in this restaurant.

Anyway,

Tonight I cooked dinner at home.  Asian Salad, 3 kinds of pizza, and Takoyaki.  A bowl of Edamame as appetizer too

I like the base of pizza to be thin and crispy.  Light taste and nice texture.

< base >

• 4g sugar
• 7g dry yeast
• 80ml warm water
• 250g plain flour
• 2g salt

1. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water.  Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.  Pour yeast mixture and stir well.  Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed.
3. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl.  Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.  Cover with damp cloth or kitchen paper, and them plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 245.
6. Deflate the dough and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface for about 1 minute.  Pat the dough into a sheet, and bake in the oven for about 5~10 minute (until just cooked).

U-maki

• 1/2 ~ 1 packet of frozen unagi
• 4~5 eggs
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 tsp mirin 
• 2 tsp sake (cooking wine)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• salt