Sep 07 2008

Teriyaki Chicken-Asparagus Roll

This teriyaki chicken recipe is so good I made it twice in a row!
Teriyaki Chicken-and-Asparagus Rolls

When I made the teriyaki sauce this time I didn’t hover over the stove
watching nervously.
By mostly ignoring it, the sauce cooked nice and thick, like honey.
It developed a delicious caramelized complexity.

Teriyaki Chicken-and-Asparagus Rolls

Teriyaki Chicken-and-Asparagus Rolls

Asupara-maki Tori no Teriyaki
serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as a meal

Soak skewers in a tall bottle.

Soak skewers in a tall bottle.

page 201

  • Soak 8 to 10 bamboo skewers for at least an hour

Marinate:

  • 2 large boned chicken thighs, with skin attached
  • 2 Tablespoons shoyu
  • 2 Tablespoons mirin
  • 2 Tablespoons sake
  • 1 Tablespoon finely grated ginger

Combine the shoyu, mirin, sake, and ginger in a shallow bowl or small baking dish. Marinate the chicken for about half an hour, turning several times. Remove the thighs from the marinade and dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade.

Assemble and Grill:

  • 6 thin spears of asparagus, cut to fit the thighs
  • 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (recipe)

boned chicken thighChicken thighs vary very much in size! Try to choose two that are similar! If they are uneven in thickness, make a horizontal cut to butterfly the thicker meat off to the side. With smaller thighs, pound the meat to even the thickness. Don’t pound too much or the skin will separate from the meat.

chicken and asparagus rollskewered chicken rollsArrange the asparagus on the chicken and roll. Secure cross-wise with bamboo skewers: thread the skewers through the overlapped part of the chicken in a fan shape. The long ends of the skewers make it easy to turn the chicken as you broil it.

skewered chicken rolls

Heat your grill or broiler. Place the chicken, skin side toward the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for 6 minutes.
Remove the chicken rolls from the heat and apply a coating of teriyaki sauce to both sides. Return to the heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to dry the sauce. Repeat several times until the rolls are coated with a nice glossy layer of sauce.
Teriyaki Chicken Rolls

Serving:

  • warm the remaining teriyaki sauce
  • mixed salad greens
  • sansho pepper

When the chicken is cooked, twist the skewers to loosen them, but don’t take them out. Let the chicken sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Slice the rolls into 1″ disks. Lay the disks on a plate a bed of mixed greens. Drizzle with a little teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with a bit of sansho pepper.Teriyaki Chicken and Asparagus Rolls

  • Note: This is enough marinade to use 4 chicken thighs!
  • The first day I made this recipe, the thighs were very large and I cooked them to an internal temperature of 160°F. The next day, I applied and dried the sauce the same number of times but the thighs were small so the temperature came up to 180°F. Never mind! They still were good, unlike the way chicken breast would dry out. I’m liking dark meat more and more.
  • Note: I was using a boiler and my chicken was on a foil lined cookie sheet, so I applied the sauce one side at a time.
    Teriyaki Chicken and Asparagus Rolls

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    Sep 06 2008

    Inari Sushi Recipe

    Inari sushi is a deep-fried tofu pouch stuffed with seasoned sushi rice. Yummy! Give the recipe a try, it’s easy, rewarding, and looks great when added to a plate of sushi.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups of cooked sushi rice
    • 10 deep-fried tofu pouches
    • SugarFried tofu Inari sushi
    • Mirin
    • Light Japanese soy sauce
    • 10 deep-fried tofu pouches
    • Japanese or English cucumber
    • Dried shittaki mushrooms
    • Small carrot

    Preparation

    Preparing tofu pockets

    1. Cut each of the 10 tofu pockets in half
    2. Pull tofu open
    3. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
    4. Add tofu to boiling water and let them cook for about 3 minutes. This process helps to remove grease. Drain them well.

    Preparing the sauce

    1. In a large saucepan combine the following ingredients:

    • 4 tablespoons of light Japanese soy sauce
    • 1/2 cup of sugar
    • 1 1/2 cups of dashi stock
    • 3 teaspoons of mirin

    Add tofu pockets to the saucepan and over medium heat cook for about 15 minutes or until the cooking sauce has been absorbed. Remove the tofu pockets and let them cool to room temperature.

    Preparing the filling

    1. Soak 3 or 4 dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water until they are soft. This may take about 10-15 minutes. Keep the water!
    2. Remove stems and any other hard pieces and shop into very small pieces.
    3. Finely chop a small carrot.

    Cook the shiitake mushrooms and carrot in 1/3 cup of dashi stock, 2 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of sake, 1/3 cup of the shiitake liquid.

    Finely slice half of a Japanese or English cucumber and soak in salted water. Drain and squeeze using a sushi mat or your hands.

    Mix the cucumber with the vegetables and seasoned sushi rice. Fill each of the tofu pockets with this mixture.


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    Sep 05 2008

    Cucumber Roll Recipe

    For a refreshing departure from the sushi-in-seaweed theme, try wrapping your rice roll in cucumber!
    This recipe isn’t as hard as it seems, with a bit of patience and this recipe, you will have a dinner to die for!

    Recipe

    Begin By Making The Rice
    Often, up to 80% of product consumed during a sushi meal is rice. Getting your sushi rice right is a crucial element in successful sushi making at home. Follow our Sushi Rice Recipe.

    Prepare The Wraps
    Cutting a good cucumber wrap is a bit tricky, but don’t be daunted - it just takes a bit of practice to get it right.

    Begin by cutting the ends off a straight, evenly shaped cucumber. Peel the cucumber and slice it horizontally to make two cylindrical halves. To make a thin, nori-like sheet, hold a cucumber half against an 8-inch knife and carefully make a spiralling cut along the outside of the cucumber. For a visual aid, imagine you’re trying to peel the skin from an apple from top to bottom in one piece.

    Toss away any lingering seeds, and voila, you now have your very own cucumber wrapper. If you’d prefer a shortcut, you can just scoop out the insides of the cucumber halves, leaving a thin skin into which you can stuff the rest of your ingredients. If you prefer this alternative, finish by dividing your stuffed roll into bite-sized segments.

    Ready To Roll
    If you’re feeling up to the adventure of actually rolling the cucumber around the rice, start by placing a cucumber wrapper on a bamboo mat (makisu).

    The wrapper should form a 5 inch sheet and lay relatively flat. Cover the cucumber with an evenly spread layer of rice. About 2 tablespoons is a good amount. Add some wasabi and Japanese mayonnaise to taste.

    Place the rest of your ingredients in the centre of the wrap. With the help of the makisu, roll the cucumber until its edges overlap slightly. This will allow the rice of the top layer to stick to the bottom one.

    Slice & Serve
    Slice the roll in half and then slice those again in halves to produce 4 pieces. And there you have it - perfect cucumber rolls!


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    Sep 05 2008

    Sunomono Salad

    This dish serves as a great accompaniment to most Japanese meals. Sunomono translates into English roughly as vinegared food. The following recipe is both light and refreshing. It is particularly good to eat in the hot summer months.

    Recipe

    Ingredients:

    Sushi Recipe For Japanese Sunomono Salad - Sushi Salad 100 g Dried Harusame Noodles
    200 g Crab Meat [I love the Phillips brand]
    1 English Cucumber
    1 Small Carrot
    1 Small Ginger Root
    1 Small Japanese Daikon Radish

    Marinade:
    100 ml Seasoned Rice Vinegar [Marukan or Mitsukan]
    15 ml Sake
    dash Soy Sauce [Kikkoman or Yamasa]
    dash Sesame Oil

    Directions:

    • Step 1
      Mix all marinade ingredients and set aside.
    • Step 2
      Boil noodles — 3 minutes — stirring occasionally then rinse well with cold water and drain.
    • Step 3
      Drain crab meat.
      Slice thinly crosswise 10 pieces of English cucumber.
      Shred 1/2 cup carrots [I love using my katsura muki-ki for this].
      Grate finely 2 tsp ginger root.
      Shred 1/2 cup Japanese radish [Use your katsura muki-ki for this too].
    • Step 4
      Combine all ingredients and toss well while adding the marinade.
    • Step 5
      Garnish with lemon wedges and wakame seaweed if desired.

    Serve Chilled and Enjoy!


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    Sep 04 2008

    Standards for Sushi Grade Tuna

    Standards for Sushi Grade Tuna

    Article Written By: Marisa Baggett

     tunatataki2.jpg

    Thoughts on Frozen Tuna

    I was recently in a local supermarket with a decent seafood selection. I was waiting my turn, but couldn’t help listening to the dialog between a frustrated shopper and the seafood counter attendant over the type of tuna she should purchase for her sushi party later on that evening. As is usually the case, the pink not quite as appealing chunks of previously frozen “sushi grade” tuna were iced down and positioned next to the immaculately beautiful bright red chunks of yellowfin tuna that glistened like hunks of giant rubies. She was frustrated because the tuna deemed sushi grade was a definite turn off. “I wouldn’t want to eat that tuna cooked, much less raw!” She exclaimed. She couldn’t understand why the more appealing tuna wasn’t “sushi” grade. After all, you weren’t supposed to use frozen tuna for sushi. And what’s more, she pondered if the “sushi grade” tuna could be used for sashimi.

     

    On Sushi/Sashimi Grade Tuna

    Please be advised that consuming raw tuna carries with it a risk for food bourne illness such as parasites. It is for this reason that many markets carry “sushi” or “sashimi” grade (these terms are more for marketing than they are an actual grade) tuna that has been previously frozen. Other than cooking to a proper temperature, freezing can help to kill potential parasites that could be problematic.  But even eating tuna raw that has been previously frozen still carries a risk.

     

    Are You Eating Frozen Tuna?

    Tuna found in sushi bars and restaurants that serve tuna steaks generally do not serve the style of pinkish, previously frozen “sushi” grade tuna marketed to home consumers. The less than desirable tuna filters down the market and lands where the tuna buying dollar is the weakest – the home consumer. Top tiered tuna commands a hefty price and sells in high quantities giving restaurants a definite advantage. Much of that tuna sold has not been previously frozen. That’s not to say that frozen tuna is not sold in restaurants. In fact, many restaurants have to freeze portions of tuna in order to have a steady supply on hand for customers that will not accept “we’re out of tuna” as an answer.  Some purchase high quality, super frozen tuna, or tuna that has been frozen to extremely low temperatures. All frozen tuna is not created equal. What makes the difference is the quality of the tuna before it is frozen, how rapidly it was frozen and to what temperature it was frozen. In some cases, frozen tuna looks and tastes fresher than tuna that has never been frozen. How? If extremely fresh tuna is frozen to a low temperature within hours of being caught, there is no time for the tuna to lose freshness as it would in distribution.

     

    But many people are still uncomfortable with the idea of eating frozen fish. Somehow the notion of frozen has become synonymous with low quality. And though this is sometimes the case as with the “sushi” grade tuna our frustrated shopper friend pondered, various freezing technologies have changed things dramatically. So rather than asking, “Am I eating frozen tuna?” perhaps we should reconsider our concept of fresh and ask instead, “How long will it take me to embrace it?”

     

    So what did our frustrated shopper do in the end? Still very deep in thought, she stepped aside to let me make my selections, one of which was the nicer tuna. She turned and asked, “Do you think that tuna is good enough for sushi? I just don’t think I could eat tuna that’s been frozen.” 

     

    I nodded. The tone in her voice suggested that she had already made up her mind to buy the nicer tuna and I never revealed my profession to give her a justifiable reason to take my word on it. Comforted that I agreed, she gave the seafood counter attendant her order. As I started to walk away, she added, “This is a great price. Do you think I could buy a little extra and freeze it for the next time I make sushi?”  

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