Pork Soboro with Root Vegetables

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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Small Wafu Plate

Sometimes I suddenly feel like eating these food.  They are some of the ordinal Japanese food that can be seen at normal Japanese houses.  We eat roots vegetables quite often.  They are high in fiber and very healthy.

Clockwise: Spinach ohitashi, kinpira-gobo, simmered egg in a pocket of abura-age (fried bean curd), and chikuzennni (simmered roots vegetables).

I personally like light-seasoned food with no much sauce nor oil. (Especially people from Kyoto side in Japan prefer light-seasoned food.)

Eating these food makes me feel that I am a Japanese.

<Spinach Ohitashi> serves 2~3

• 1 spinach
• 3 tbs hot water
• 1/2 soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp dashi powder
• 1.5 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp mirin
• bonito flake (katsuo-bushi)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Branch spinach for about 1 minutes. Remove from the water and immerse in a bowl of iced water. Drain water and squeeze out any excess liquid.
2. Cut the spinach into 3~5cm. Pour 1/2 tbs of soy sauce, and squeeze out the liquid well. Discard the liquid.
3. Place dashi powder into water and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and add soy sauce and mirin. Let it cool slightly.
4. Immerse spinach in the liquid and leave it for 20~30 minutes. You can refrigerate.
5. Arrange on a plate and garnish with bonito flake.

<Kinpira Gobo>

• 1.5 cup gobo (burdock root) - frozen
• 1 carrot - Julienne
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs sake (cooking wine)
• 2 tbs mirin
• 1 tbs soy sauce

<Egg in Bean Curd> serves 2

• 1 egg
• 1/2 abura-age - frozen

<Chikuzenni> serves 2~3

• 1/2 wafu yasai mix - frozen
• 1 tsp dashi powder
• 1.5 cup water
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs sake (cooking wine)
• 1 tbs mirin

** Those frozen vegetables can be found at Asian grocery shops.

Crispy Bacon & Green Salad

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.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

I used to make many kinds of doughnuts when I was back in Japan, such as sweet potato doughnuts, carrot doughnuts,  kinako (soy bean powder) coated doughnuts, doughnuts with vanilla ice cream and azuki an (chunky azuki paste), etc.  I love doughnuts with carrot, sweet potato or pumpkin as they are not too sweet and high in nutrition.  Good for kids

• 100 g pumpkin
• 150 g plain flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 50 g sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• vanilla essence 

  

1. Cut pumpkin and peel the skin off.  Steam or microwave until it’s soft.  Drain well, an  mash up until smooth.
2. In a bowl, place mashed pumpkin, egg yolk, sugar and few drops of vanilla essence.  Mix with a wooden spoon or a spatula.  
3. Shift in flour and baking powder and mix well.  (* at this point add 1 tbs of water into the dough if the mixture is too tough.  If the dough is already soft, there is no need to add water.)
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and rest for 20 mins in the fridge.
5. Heat up oil to 160~170 ℃.  Using two table spoons, slowly drop half table spoon of dough into oil, one at a time, and deep-fry until it’s golden.
6. Drain, and serve on a plate.  Dust with icing sugar.

  

As I mentioned earlier this doughnut is not too sweet, so if you want to add more sweetness you can either:

drop into a tray of cinnamon sugar while it’s hot.  

or,

you can dip into melted chocolate,

or,

enjoy with some icing.  :)

  

You can also make them in different shapes such as rings and sticks.

  

 

Ring : cut baking paper into appx 10cm square, and pipe out the mixture into ring shape onto the baking paper.  Slowly drop the paper (with the mixture on) into 160~170 ℃ oil, facing the doughnuts side down, and deep-fry.  The paper will come off itself.

 

Stick : Drop a tiny amount of oil on your hands, and shape the dough into a stick, then quickly drop into heated oil.  Be careful not to burn yourself!

Now, if you excuse me I need to go back to the kitchen and finish up my doughnut while it’s hot.