Protein meal with Salmon, Tofu and Vegetables

Japanese eat fish quite often. I think it is because the country is surrounded by oceans that have an abundance of fishes. We have varieties of fish meals, not only Sushi which is something we normally eat only on special occasions. My mom used to make fish meals at least 3 times a week. She used to cook meat and fish alternately everyday. Sadly, it is hard to find blue-skin fish, like sardines, mackerel, and pacific saury at supermarkets in the US. We like eating these fish more often as they are inexpensive fish in Japan and have lots of DHA(omega-3 fatty acid), EPA(unsaturated fatty acid), and Taurine.

Salmon is also a popular fish in Japan. Needless to say, it has lots of vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2, D, and also DHA/EPA. Luckily, it is easy to find salmon in California so I usually buy salmon. I'd recommend to use wild caught salmon if you could get because it tastes way different compared with a package of frozen salmon or farm raised salmon (I usually avoid buying color added salmon as well). Wild caught salmon is very good and it doesn't taste like fish to me. It is firm and has a great texture just like a meat! And it is said that wild caught salmon is lower in fat than farm raised salmon. As wild caught salmon is usually expensive, I buy it when it's on sale and put it in small bags to stock in the freezer.

This is actually a favorite meal of my husband who didn't like salmon before. You could also use another fish such as cod, mahi-mahi, or any other white fish if you prefer.

Serve 2 to 3
Total time: about 30 min

• 1 lb of Salmon (Thaw fish if frozen. Rinse fish; Pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 2 to 3 serving-size pieces if necessary.)
• 1 or 2 green bell peppers 
• 2 carrots              
• Half of onion               
• 1 package of Firm Tofu
• A dash of salt & pepper
• Cornstarch (or potato starch) to coat the salmon
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (or potato starch) for sauce
• 2 teaspoons of water
  [Sauce: mix them all together]
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of seasoning paste or asian chicken broth powder
• 300ml of water

1. Put Tofu in a microwavable bowl and microwave it about 3 or 4 min to get rid of the water inside the tofu. Leave it until it cools down.

2. Cut the green bell peppers into about 1/4 inch pieces. Cut the onion in half in lengthwise sections and slice thinly. Peel the carrot and cut into 1/8 inch rectangular slices or just slice thinly.

3. Cut tofu in half in lengthwise sections and slice thinly into about 1/2 inch pieces. Absorb the excess water with paper towel.

4. Coat tofu evenly with cornstarch or potato starch.

5. In a skillet, cook the tofu in hot oil over medium heat until it gets light brown on both sides. Then, set aside in a plate.

6. Season salmon with salt & pepper. Coat salmon lightly and evenly with cornstarch or potato starch.

7. In a skillet, place the salmon skin side down (if skin is on) in hot oil over medium heat. When the fish has turned white about halfway up on the side, flip it over. Cook until it gets brown on both sides. Make sure not to burn it.

Set aside in a plate with tofu.

8. In a skillet, cook onion and carrot in hot oil over medium heat until tender.

9. Add green bell pepper to skillet; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.

10. Add the sauce over the vegetables and stir it well. 

11. In a separate small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons of the water. (Please do this right before next step because it will separate as time goes.)

12. Reduce heat to low and add the cornstarch dissolved water over the vegetables. Cook and stir for about 1 minute more or until it is heated through.

13. Pour vegetables over salmon and tofu in a plate. Done!

$$ Approximate budget I spent for this recipe (excludes seasonings) $$

• 1 lb of Salmon                         : $6.99
• 2 green bell peppers               : $0.50
• 2 carrots (80g = 2.82oz)         : $0.12
• Half of onion (110g = 3.88oz) : $0.12
• 1 package of Firm Tofu           : $0.99
  -----------------------------------------------
  Total                                       : $8.72
  

Nagoya style sesame chicken

When you travel to other cities in Japan, you will find various local dishes. There is this famous dish called Tebasaki (chicken wings) in Nagoya, which is located in the middle of Japan. Unfortunately I was not able to try it when I traveled to Nagoya several years ago as I was busy for trying another dishes, but here is the recipe so you can make it at home or wherever you are!

I made this for our family Christmas this year. I used boneless and skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken wings. It will be easier to eat but you could make it either way.

Serve 4 to 5
Total time: about 20 min

• 2 lbs of boneless and skinless chicken thighs (or chicken wings) cut into bite size pieces
• Flour to coat the chicken
• Oil for deep frying
  
  [Sauce]
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of Mirin
• 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of Sake
• 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of Soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of white sesame
• 1 teaspoon of grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper

1. Combine the ingredients of the sauce in a large bowl.

2. Coat the chicken evenly with flour.

3. Pour at least 2-inches vegetable oil in deep skillet or wok. Heat oil over medium heat. (Drop a bit of batter or a small chicken piece into hot oil. If batter or a chicken piece rises to surface immediately, oil is ready for frying.) Slide the chicken gently into hot oil. Fry the chicken for about 6 or 7 min.

4. Transfer the chicken into the sauce bowl and soak it well. Repeat 3 and 4 until all the chicken for the meal has been fried and soaked in the sauce.

5. Enjoy while it's hot! Add some black pepper or Shichimi Togarashi (Assorted chili pepper) if you like it spicier.

$ Approximate budget I spent for this recipe (excludes seasonings) $

• 2 lbs of boneless and skinless chicken thighs  : $2.98 ($1.49/lb at Sprouts*)
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total                                                            : $2.98

* Price effective thru Dec. 22, 2010 at Sprouts

Avocado Tempura

When I ate avocado for the first time, I was only 13 years old. My cousin, who had eaten avocado while he was in the US to study abroad, bought it at a supermarket that had rare fruits and vegetables. He brought it to my family to let us try. He told me it was sort of a fruit so I expected it to be sweet or tart, but he recommended to eat it with soy sauce and wasabi. As I expected, it tasted...weird, buttery and tasteless. My first try was not so good. However, after several years from the experience, I heard that Avocado was very nutritious so I tried it again. By that time, avocado was getting more and more popular in Japan and was known as a kind of vegetable. Still, eating avocado with soy sauce and wasabi is the most popular way to eat because people say it tastes just like Sushi of Tuna or Toro (fatty tuna which is very expensive). This time, I decided to think it was like a vegetable or maybe sushi instead. It was a good idea. Since then, I've loved it so much!

The other popular way of eating avocado in Japan is tempura style, which is also good. I recommend avocado tempura when the avocado is still a little firm. By heating it up, it gets a little softer. As you can also eat fresh avocado, you will not need to fry it long or need to use a lot of oil.

Serve 2
Total time: about 20 min

• 1 and 1/2 Avocado
• 2/3 cup of Shirakiku Tempura batter mix
• 100ml (a little less than 1/2 cup) of ice water 

1. Halve the avocados and slice each half lengthwise into 4 to 6 slices.

2. I usually use this Shirakiku TEMPURA Batter mix to make tempura. You could also make tempura as directed in the back side of the package.

Pour ice water into a bowl and sprinkle in the Tempura batter mix. Then, stir quickly with chopsticks or a fork making sure not to beat. The batter should be thin and lumpy so that the tempura will be crunchy.

3. Add avocado into the bowl and coat it with the batter gently.

4. Add about 2 tbsp of oil in a skillet and cook the avocado in hot oil over medium heat until the bottom gets crispy.

5. Flip over the avocado and cook until the batter gets crispy.

6. Done! Remove the avocado tempura from the pan and place it on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Tips to make a crunchy tempura are to use ice water, to prepare the tempura batter just before cooking and not to beat when making the batter.
I eat this avocado tempura with soy sauce, ponzu (citrus-based sauce), or salt.

If you still have the batter left, I recommend you to use it for any other vegetables such as slices of onion, carrots, green peppers, or maybe for shrimp. Making tempura at home is not as hard as you think if you have tempura batter mix.

Broccori and Shrimp with Thick Sauce

I always care about color scheme in food. I want there to be red (or orange), yellow, and green colors in the meal because these colors will give an edge to your appetite and look gorgeous as well. So, I love the great combination and color of Broccoli and Shrimp. Also, it will warm you up since it has ginger. If you are not used to the spiciness of ginger, you could cut it out or use less ginger than directed in the recipe below.

Serve 2
Total time: about 20 min

• 1/2 lbs of broccoli
• 1/3 lbs (or as much as you like) of shrimp
• 1 ginger clove, minced
• A dash of salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or potato starch)
• 2 tablespoons of the water
• 1 teaspoon of sake for shrimp
  [Sauce]
• 1 teaspoon of seasoning paste or asian chicken broth powder
• 1 tablespoon of sake
• 200ml (about 1 cup) of  water

1. Cut the broccoli into bite-size chunks. Remove the shells from all the shrimp and season with 1 teaspoon of sake. 

2. Boil the broccoli for about 2 min. (Or, you could microwave it for 1 min.)

3. In a medium pan, cook and stir ginger in hot oil over medium heat for 15 seconds. Add shrimp and cook.

4. Add the sauce and bring it to a boil.

5. Add the broccoli. Cook it for about 2 to 3 min or until it gets the firmness you desire. Add salt and pepper.

6. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of the water. (Please do this right before the next step because it will separate over time.)

7. Reduce heat to low and add the cornstarch dissolved water over the broccoli and shrimp. Cook and stir for about 1 minute more.

8. Done

For the pork bowl recipe, go to this page.

Pork Bowl with Onion

This is quite easy to make. We love it so much that I always regret not having made more for leftovers. If you love pork, you've got to try it! As for rice, I usually cook more rice than needed for a meal, then divide it into meal-size portions. I store the cooked rice in an airtight container in the freezer so that I can eat rice whenever I want to.  

Serve 2
Total time: about 20 min (If you cook rice by rice cooker, it will take about 40 min depending on how fast it cooks.)

• 0.6lbs(300g) to 1 lbs of pork boneless country-style ribs
• 1/2 to 1 onion
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of dashi powder (Bonito Fish Soup Stock)
• 1 tablespoon of cooking sake
• 1/2 tablespoon of mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine)
• 2 cups of cooked rice
  - Optional -
• Green onion for topping
• A pinch of pepper

1. Cut the pork into bite-size chunks. Cut the onion in half in lengthwise sections and slice thinly.

2. In a skillet, cook the pork in hot oil over medium heat for about 3 to 4 min.

3. Flip over the pork and cook until it is no longer pink.

4. Add the sliced onion. Cook and stir it for about 2 minutes or until tender.

5. Add sugar, mirin, sake, dashi powder, and soy sauce.

6. Cook and stir until the sauce is almost gone. Add the green onion for topping and pepper if you like.

7. Done! Serve it over the steamed rice.

For the Broccori and Shrimp with Thick Sauce recipe, go to this page.