Memories in the Cooking

This is another recipe we tried using our Bruno Compact Hotplate - Okonomiyaki.  Ingredients: - 1 head of cabbage, chopped finely - chopped spring onions (amount as desired) - Japanese red ginger, shredded (amount as desired)  - 1 cup of flour - 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder  - 1 cup of dashi stock  - 4 eggs  - a pinch of salt and sugar  - 1 packet of streaked bacon  - bonito flakes  - Okonomiyaki sauce  - mayonnaise  Procedures: 1) In a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, dashi stock, eggs, salt and sugar. Mix well.  2) Add cabbage, spring onions, red ginger and mix well.  3) In the hotplate, add the cabbage mix. Top up with streaky bacon. Flip the okonomiyaki over when one side is brown.  4) Top up with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise,  bonito flakes and spring onions. Serve. 

Recently, my family bought a Bruno Compact Hotplate and it has been a great help for weekday dinners. For Father's Day celebration this year, we made Takoyaki with it.  Ingredients: - 1 cup of flour - 2 teaspoons baking powder - 1.5 cup of dashi  - a pinch of salt  - half tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 2 eggs  - Japanese pickled red ginger, shredded - spring onions, chopped  - takoyaki sauce  - mayonnaise  - bonito flakes  - cooked octopus legs, cut into small pieces ( or other ingredients) Procedures:  1) In a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, dashi, eggs, salt and light soya sauce. Mix well. Place them in a measuring jug for easy pouring.  2) Brush vegetable oil on each Takoyaki well.  3) Pour the batter to the Takoyaki hotplate. Add octopus pieces to each Takoyaki well. Top up with spring onions and red ginger. Turn the batter occasionally until Takoyaki balls are formed.  4) Brush the Takoyaki balls with Takoya...

This recipe involves a home-made Cajun spice-mix.  Ingredients: - 1 tablespoon of paprika powder - 1 tablespoon of Cayenne pepper powder - 1 tablespoon of dried Italian herbs  - 1 teaspoon of salt  - olive oil  - fishes (I used 10 sardines)  - 1 lemon, sliced Procedures: 1) Marinate the fishes with all the herbs.  2) Bake at 180 degree celsius for 30 minutes.  3) Serve with lemon slices. 

This is a hassle-free recipe for mashed potatoes. Typically, one will need a few pots and a strainer to make mashed potatoes. This involves some amount of washing. For this recipe, you only need to wash one pot!  Ingredients: - 5 large Russet potatoes  - 1 packet of fresh basil  - 1 can of nestle cream  - 5 cloves of garlic, minced - suitable amount of olive oil  - salt and pepper  Procedures: 1) Cut Russet potatoes into cubes. Place it in a pot. Add enough water to just cover the potatoes.  2) Boil it until the water dries up and the potatoes are soft.  3) Mash the potatoes in the same pot.  4) Add chopped (or blended) basil, minced garlic, olive oil, cream, salt and pepper to taste. 

This dessert really brings on the Christmas mood with preserved fruits, spices and a touch of alcohol. It tastes like Christmas fruit cake with mulled wine.  Ingredients:  - assorted preserved fruits (ginger, yuzu, cranberries, raisins, dates etc)  - 1 tablespoon of honey  - 1 dash of alcohol (whiskey or rum)   - vanilla ice-cream  Procedures: 1) Place all the fruits in a pot. Add enough water to just cover the fruits. Let the mixture boil and simmer until the liquid is reduced to a syrup-like consistency.  2) Add honey and alcohol. Let it continue to simmer for another 5 mins. 3) Serve with vanilla ice-cream. 

I tried my first sushi baked at my sister's bake. It is a basically a deconstructed sushi who is easier to make than the traditional sushi. I am making it even easier by not baking it! And it is still delicious.  Ingredients:  - 2 cups of Japanese rice  - 6 half mackerels  - a packet of bonito flakes - half a cup of sushi vinegar  - 1 tablespoon of miso paste  - 5 shitake mushrooms, sliced - half a cup of mayonnaise  - 1 tablespoon of mirin  - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 1 tablespoon of honey mustard  - sushi seaweed  Procedures: 1) Marinate mackerels and sliced mushrooms in miso paste and half a cup of water overnight.  2) Add Japanese rice and 2 cups of water in rice cooker. Add the marinated mackerels and sliced mushrooms on top of the rice. Cook according to rice cooker instructions.  3) Set aside the mackerels. Mash the mackerels (remove the bones). Add mayonnaise, light soya sauce, honey mustard and mirin. Mi...

Here is a recipe for a simple Chicken Yakitori.  Ingredients: - 3 large boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite-size  - Spring Onions/Leek  - 2 tablespoons of mirin  - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of sake  - 1 tablespoon of sugar  - some grated ginger  Procedures: 1) Marinate chicken meat and light soya sauce, sake, sugar, mirin and ginger overnight.  2) Skewer 2 pieces of chicken with one piece of leek in between. 3) Add vegetable oil to frying pan. Panfry chicken meat until brown.  4) Pour all marinates into the pan and let it reduce into a sticky glaze. Serve. 

Here is another simple Japanese Izakaya dish - Potato Salad.  Ingredients: - 3 large potatoes, cut into chunks  - 1 carrot, diced  - 1 cucumber, diced - 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise  - black pepper - a pinch salt - a pinch of sugar  - 1 tablespoon of sushi vinegar  - 50g of Ebiko  Procedures: 1) Boil 3 potatoes until soft. Add diced carrot to soften during the last few minutes of boiling.  2) Mash the potatoes. Add diced carrot and cucumber to it.  3) Add sushi vinegar, mayonnaise, salt, sugar, black pepper and half of the Ebiko and mix well.  4) Place in serving bowl and top up with more Ebiko. 

This is a simple, comforting and delicious Japanese Izakaya dish - Shogayaki.  Ingredients:  - 500g of Shabu Pork Belly  - 1 tablespoon of mirin  - 1 tablespoon of sake  - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of sugar  - 1 large piece of ginger, grated - 1 dash of dark soya sauce  Procedures: 1) Marinate Shabu Pork Belly in mirin, sake, light soya sauce, sugar and grated ginger.  2) In a frying pan, add vegetable oil. Fry Shabu Pork until brown.  3) Add the leftover marinate and dark soya sauce for colour. Adjust taste if needed with salt/sugar/pepper. Garnish with chopped spring onion. 

This is a sauteed mushrooms with a Japanese twist.  Ingredients  - mixed mushrooms (shitake, enoki, king mushrooms etc)  - vegetable oil  - butter  - light soya sauce  - black pepper  Procedures: 1) Add vegetable oil to frying pan. Add mushrooms and fry until soft.  2) Add butter, soya sauce and black pepper. Mix well. Serve.