When I was 14, I went on my first trip to Japan. I met my extended family, learned about the culture, and ate a lot of great food. It’s a trip I’ve never forgotten. It led me to be very proud of my Japanese background, something I struggled with for a long time as I grew up in a small “white” town. During my trip, I visited my mom’s hometown and met a couple that was a part of my mom’s life during her childhood. It was then that I fell in love with mitarashi dango. I devoured them and impressed the older couple who had learned that not only did this “American” girl like mitrashi dango, but that I also loved natto, ikura, and other very distinct Japanese dishes.

So, what’s mitarashi dango? Well, dango is a Japanese dumpling made from sweetened rice flour (aka mochiko). Mitarashi is the sweet soy sauce glaze that is poured onto the dango. Delicious!

I recently made mitarashi dango for a work potluck. Growing up, I helped my mom make dango, but this was my first solo attempt. I have to say, it was pretty easy and I was impressed with myself – I didn’t screw it up! There were a couple of odd things about the recipe I followed, but it turned out well. Not the best, but it was good.

The recipe I followed, called for mochiko and interestingly tofu. I don’t remember using tofu growing up, I thought we used mochiko and water. But for this particular recipe, the tofu provided the moisture to make the dough/mochi.

After I finished rolling them into small balls, I dropped them in boiling water . After a few short minutes, they began to float. If they didn’t float, it meant something went wrong. For the first few, I intensely watched to make sure they floated, luckily they all did. After they floated, I left them in the boiling water for a few extra minutes. So, here’s the other quirky thing about this recipe. When I scooped them out, I placed them directly onto a plate lined with a paper towel. I thought I would need to put them in bowl of ice water, but the recipe/directions didn’t mention any of that. Strange…either way it worked out okay.

Next, I made the mitarashi sauce. For that, all I needed to was mix up soy sauce, katakuriko/potato starch, water, and sugar and bring it to a boil while constantly mixing. Super easy!

Lastly, I needed to essemble. The only slight obstacle I ran into was skewering the dango. Since I placed the dango directly onto a plate with a paper towel lining, the dango kept sticking to my fingers. Eventually, I wetted both my hands and skewers and that seemed to help out. Once skewered, I placed them on a pan on low heat to brown them. Finally, I poured the yummy mitarashi sauce on it. All done!

I took it to my work potluck and everyone seemed to enjoy them. It had a nice chewy, mochi-mochi consistency. It could have been a bit softer, but I got approval from a Japanese coworker, so it made my day!

In all of my previous posts, I shared my experiences, both good and bad on cooking dishes that I had made several times. But now, I’m on dishes that I’m making for the first time. This means, I’ll need advice from my readers because I will be making LOTS of mistakes.

This week, I attempted to make harumaki. I wouldn’t say it was a complete disaster. It was edible. I want to make them again, but I would like some advice first.

Let’s talk about what harukami is before getting into the details of my first attempt. Harumaki are spring rolls.  Haru means spring and maki means roll. Like many other dishes in Japan, spring rolls originated from China, but has evolved to fit the Japanese palate. Spring rolls are consumed in many Asian countries and is pretty popular here in the US.

So, what went wrong with my first attempt? At first I thought I was doing okay. The recipe called for pork, bean sprouts, carrots, bamboo shoots, and green onions. I wanted to make a veggie version, so I purposely left out the pork. However, my intention was to include everything else. As usual, I forgot something – bamboo shoots. It wasn’t until I finished cooking the vegetables that I realized I had forgotten them. Oops!

Next – wrapping the filling. I successfully wrapped them, not ripping a single wrapper, so I thought I was back on track and doing well. But then I started to cook them. Here’s where it went downhill. The directions stated high heat, but I went with medium heat. Even at medium heat, it basically burned them. What’s the deal – were the directions wrong? Should I have gone with low heat? Then there was the seriously hot oil that was splattering everywhere. Specks of oil kept landing on my hands and damn was it hot! I thought at some point the spring rolls were going to burst! Is that due to the heat too?

The last flop – although the spring rolls appeared crispy they were actually a bit soggy in the middle. Should I have cooled the filling before wrapping them? Does it make a difference? Or is there something else I’m missing?

Overall, it wasn’t a disastrous attempt. Both my husband and son ate them and said that they were pretty good (maybe they were being nice). Any advice would be helpful? Any readers out there?

It feels like every country has their own version of meatballs. In Japan, it’s tsukune. I remember the first time I had it. I was in middle school and we went to a small Japanese restaurant called Kuni’s in an artsie area of Buffalo, NY. It was amazing! There were three meatballs per skewer, each having a soft texture with sweet soy sauce glaze. I ended up eating the entire plate by myself instead of sharing it with my family. Oops! I haven’t been to the restaurant since I graduated from high school many moons ago, but I hear it’s still open and very successful. One day I’ll make it back there and hopefully it will still be on their menu.

So what’s tsukune? It’s a Japanese chicken meatball. The main ingredient is ground chicken, which gives it the softer texture over ground beef or pork. It’s generally cooked yakitori style, but it can be pan fried, which is what I do or it can be baked. In most restaurants its skewered, but when I make it home I just plate it. Tsukune can be served as an appetizer or a main dish.

As always, the first few attempts of making tsukune have been disastrous. I take zero accountability and blame my mother for those disastrous attempts. Like my mother, I didn’t follow the directions. When the directions say, finely chop the onion, you need to follow it. Big chunks of onion in tsukune don’t go well together. The meatball should have a nice soft texture and the onions, if not finely chopped takes that texture away. Take the time and finely chop up the onion.

The sweet soy sauce glaze is what makes tsukune super tasty. However, the sauce is another area where I have made mistakes. There have a been a few times where I had the heat on too high and the sauce thickened up way to quickly. That resulted in a slightly burnt sauce that became way too thick and stringy/stretchy. It tasted okay, but it was definitely not the best. Make sure the heat is at the right temperature before pouring on the sauce.

Other than those pretty minor mistakes, it’s a super easy, tasty, kid friendly dish. Try it out sometime! If you have kids, they will enjoy it for sure. My 4 year downs about 6 -7 per meal!

Recipe:

• 1 lb ground chicken 
• 1/2 an onion
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 – 1 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 4 tbsp of potato starch (for the meatball)
• Enough oil for the pan and rub on your hands
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 2 tbsp of mirin
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 3 tbsp of water
• 1/2 tsp of potato starch (for the sauce)

Mix together the sugar, mirin, soy sauce, water, and the potato starch for the sauce. Make sure the sugar and potato starch dissolve. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine ground chicken, onion, egg yolk, salt, and potato starch. Thorough mix until it gets sticky. Rub oil on the palm of your hands. Form small/medium size balls and flatten them out.

Heat a sauce pan and oil at medium heat then add the chicken meatballs to the pan. Cook on eat side for a few minutes – until it slightly brown. Add the sauce, lower the heat if necessary. Make sure to turn the tsukune over so both sides are coated with the sauce. Then it’s time to eat!

Japanese strawberry shortcake was the first cake I attempted to make on my own. Looking back, I should have definitely started with something a little easier. The cake looked great, but it was so incredibly dense I could have thrown it and put a hole in the wall. I took it to a party and although everyone was nice about it, I’m pretty sure their jaws were feeling the pain. Since then it has gotten much better, but I was always need to fully concentrate or I mess it up. On numerous occasions I forgot all about the simple syrup. We have ended up pouring it on after the cake had been constructed. Then there’s the whipped cream…I’ve ended up having clumpy unflavored gelatin in the whipped cream. So yea, it’s been a journey in perfecting this cake.

The Japanese strawberry shortcake is a bit different than the strawberry shortcake you would eat in the US. The American version isn’t really a cake since it uses sweet biscuits with whipped cream and strawberries. The Japanese version uses sponge cake, layered with whipped cream and strawberries. Like other western influenced dishes in Japan, the origin of the dish came from another country and over time it has evolved to fit the Japanese palate. In Japan, you’ll find this cake in almost every cake shop. It’s the most popular cake!

So, the hardest part, in my opinion is making the sponge cake. If you’re looking to throw around some sponge cake and cause some damage, go crazy mixing the cake batter. I didn’t realize until later that over mixing is what caused my cake from 10 years ago to be amazingly dense. The egg whites needs to be mixed thoroughly so it gets nice and fluffy, but after that all the other ingredients need to be folded in gently so that you don’t loose the fluffiness.

Next, the whipped cream. The recipe calls for unflavored gelatin to add a bit of stiffness and that has become my enemy. You dissolve the gelatin, but for some reason, I have ended up with clumpy gelatin in my whipped cream. It’s unflavored so there’s no taste, but I’ve had to tell my cake eaters that it’s nothing to worry about and it definitely doesn’t make the cake look pretty.

The easiest part is making the simple syrup. You just need to heat up sugar and water. But for some reason I always forget to brush it on the cake. I’ve had it sitting right in front of me and I’ve still forgotten it. I literally have to keep saying “simple syrup”, “simple syrup”, “simple syrup” when I start constructing the cake so I don’t forget.

This is the perfect cake if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth. My son doesn’t eat much sweets, but has requested this cake for his birthday for the last 3 years. I’m hoping by his 10th birthday I’ll really perfect it!

Ingredients:

• Sponge Cake
  • 4 eggs
  • 120 grams of granulated sugar
  • 120 grams of cake flour
  • 3 tbsp of whole milk (room temperature)
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 22 grams of melted & cooled unsalted butter
• Whipped Cream
  • 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin
  • 4 tsp of cold water
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 of powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• Simple Syrup
  • 1/4 of granulated sugar
  • 1/4 of water
• 6-8 fresh strawberries

Recipe:

Sponge cake

• Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Beat the egg whites and granulate sugar until it’s nice and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and gently mix until it’s incorporated.
• Add the whole milk, vanilla extract, and cake flour to the egg mixture. Fold them in, DO NOT mix. It will take a decent amount of time folding to make sure the flour is incorporated into the mixture.
• Add the melted butter and again fold into the batter.
• Line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper. Butter the sides of the cake pan and dust on the cake flour.
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Drop the cake pan on the counter a few times before putting it in the oven to rid of any air bubbles.
• Place in preheated oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
• When the cake is done, place it on a cooling rack in the pan until cool.

Whipped cream

• Sprinkle the unflavored gelatin onto cold water in a small saucepan. Let is sit for about 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes, place the saucepan on the stove top at low heat.
• When the gelatin has dissolved remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
• In a mixture, mix the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until it gets slightly stiff.
• Lower the mixing speed and add the dissolved gelatin in with the cream mixture.
• Beat on high until it gets stiff.
• Place the whipped cream in the refrigerator.

Simple syrup:

• Add the granulated sugar to the water.
• Bring the water to boil, don’t forget to stir. After bringing it to boil, remove from the heat and cool.

Building the Cake:

• Once the cake has cooled, slice in half to form the cake.
• Brush a generous amount of simple syrup on the cut side of the bottom half of the cake. Then spread a thin layer of the whipped cream. Place sliced strawberries on the layer of whipped cream. Add another layer of whipped cream on top of the strawberries.
• Place the top half of the cake back on. Brush a generous amount of the simple syrup on the top part of the cake.
• Spread the whipped cream on the top and sides of the cake.
• Halve the strawberries or keep it whole and decorate the cake.
• DONE!

I came to a realization – I really like ginger. Shortly after I started blogging I noticed I use ginger a lot. Not only do I like the taste, but I love the smell. Maybe I should try some ginger candy some time.

One of my favorite dishes that highlights ginger is pork shogayaki. Four years ago, my dad was hospitalized and the hospital restaurant had shogayaki on its menu. Since then, I have eaten it every time I go to Japan, even though my dad is no longer in the hospital. My trips to Japan don’t feel complete unless I eat shogayaki during my annual trips.

What’s pork shogayaki? Well, “shoga” means ginger and “yaki” means to grill/fry. I use pork, but you can use beef as well. So, it’s basically pork with a gingery sauce. Yum!

The dish is super easy. All you need is the sauce, pork, and cabbage. The sauce includes grated ginger, soy sauce, and mirin. I really love the smell of grated ginger. There’s a sweetness to it as well as a spicy kick. As for the pork, I like to use thin slices and tenderize it by putting light slices into the pork.

The rest is super simple. I brown both sides of the pork – be careful not to overcook or it will get tough. When it’s browned, I pour the sauce over the pork and cook it for a minute or so. I usually flip it once to make sure the sauce gets on both sides. I then plate it with some shredded cabbage and pour the thickened sauce on the pork. Now it’s time to eat!

The pork shogayaki goes well with rice to balance the intensity of the ginger and the sauce. The sauce has a sweetness from the soy sauce and mirin, while the ginger gives it a nice kick (not the type that burns your mouth, but more of a bite). What’s great about shogayaki is that it can be eaten warm or cold (great for bento).

Next time you want something flavorful, but you don’t have a lot time, try making pork shogayaki. You will love it!

Ingredients:

• sliced pork loin
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• cabbage

Recipe:

• Grate the ginger and combine with the soy sauce and mirin. Set aside
• Heat oil on medium heat, then brown both sides of the pork
• Pour the sauce on the pork and cook for a minute or so. Flip once during the minute. The sauce will thicken.
• Thinly slice some cabbage and place the pork on the dish with the cabbage. Add remaining sauce from pan to pork.

When people hear tofu, I don’t think they think flavorful. Tofu on its own does have flavor, but it’s pretty subtle. As a kid, I don’t remember craving it and it’s something I’ve come to appreciate as I’ve gotten older. On a hot day, eating plain tofu with a sprinkle of scallions and a dash of soy sauce is quite refreshing. Then there’s agedashi tofu, oh so delicous. Agedashi tofu is fried tofu served in tsuyu (hot broth) and garnished with scallions and bonito flakes. There’s tons of other tofu dishes, but today I’m going to focus on mapo tofu or mabo tofu or mapo doufu. There’s a few different ways to spell it.

If you know what it is, you might be thinking – that’s a Chinese dish, which is true. But like many other popular dishes in Japan, the origins of the dish came from China, but over time it has evolved to fit the Japanese palate. The Japanese version uses miso for flavoring and although it can be spicy, it’s generally not as spicy as you would get a Chinese restaurant.

Mapo tofu is a great go-to easy dish. There’s not much prep involved and once you start cooking it doesn’t take too long. I start by cutting up the tofu into smaller pieces. I tend to like it in bigger chunks, so I go with the medium firmness, which prevents it from breaking into smaller pieces when I’m cooking it. So, the only way I know how to cut tofu is what my mom did, which I have no idea if it’s correct or not. I put the rectangular tofu on the palm of my hand, then cut the tofu while it rests on it. I am being careful and slow, but there’s got to be a safer way. Any thoughts?

I then brown the minced garlic and ginger in the pan before adding the ground pork, which I also brown. My favorite part is the amazing aroma that will fill your house as you brown the garlic and ginger. It smells so good! Once the garlic, ginger, and ground pork have browned, I add the miso flavoring, which I bring to a boil, then add the tofu. One thing I forgot to mention is that prior to adding the miso flavoring I season the ground pork, garlic, and ginger with cayenne. Normally, you would use Japanese dried red pepper, but since it’s not readily available in Cleveland I go with cayenne.

After the tofu is cooked, the only thing left is to add sesame oil and some scallions, then you’re done! Now, you can eat it just on it’s own, but it’s really amazing when you pour it over a bed of rice. But like I mentioned in a previous post, don’t skimp on the rice! Get a rice maker and make some good sticky rice, don’t use the stuff from a box.

For tofu skeptics, mapo tofu is a great dish. My husband doesn’t go out of his way to eat tofu, but he will get seconds and thirds of mapo tofu. There is one thing to keep in mind when eating this dish. Tofu does get super hot, so don’t go chowing down right away even though you want to. I have made this mistake several times. I’ve made it even worse by swallowing it when it’s piping hot and I’ve had that not so nice burning sensation going down my throat. Hot, hot, hot!

This week I opted for an easier dish – sata andagi. It’s been a rather long week and I needed a combination of something comforting and easy. With only requiring a handful of ingredients, sata andagi was the perfect dish. And who doesn’t like a little fried food when feeling a bit stressed.

So, what is sata andagi? It’s an Okinawan doughnut. In Okinawan, sata = sugar and andagi = deep fried (anda = oil). Doesn’t that sound delicious? I mean who doesn’t like fried, sugary goodness? I don’t know much about Okinawan cuisine, but from what I know it’s a combination of Chinese and Japanese techniques, as well as some American influences.

This fried, sugary goodness requires combining cake flour, sugar, egg, baking powder, and oil. You’ll not only need oil for frying the dough, but you’ll also need to add oil to the batter and to rub some on your hands as your form it into a ball. Once the oil is at the right temp and the batter is ready, rub some oil on your hands. Then, use a spoon to scoop some batter and roll it into a ball before dropping it in the oil.

My favorite part is frying the dough. The trademark for sata andagi are the cracks that form on the outside. The cracks are supposed to resemble a smile. Interestingly, I seem to get a smile on my face when the cracks start to form. I don’t know if that happens because I can’t wait to eat them or if I’m just a bit strange. My other favorite part is watching them flip on their own in the oil. I’m like a little kid, watching and trying to figure out which one is going to flip on their own first. Yea, I’m a bit of a dork. Once they’re done, put them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil and wait for them to cool down a bit. I highly recommend eating them on that day or when their a bit warm. Fried, sugary goodness. I can’t repeat that enough.

So, my last batch was yummy, but it was a bit dry. I don’t know if I over mixed it or if I over cooked them. Thoughts from those who have made this before? Was it a combination of both over mixing and over cooking or just over cooking? Any advice?

In the fall of 2011, my husband began having some intestinal issues, don’t worry I won’t get into the details. Like every other man, he waited till the last minute to see a doctor. Around the same time, we were getting ready for his first ever trip to Japan. Now, I was seriously pissed that he waited for so long to see the doctor, but I do have to give him credit in that he pushed his way through and made it to Japan. I’m sure the first few days for him was a blur, between battling jet lag, not understanding the language and his intestinal issues.

Everything changed when we stopped at a chinese-style restaurant called Gyoza No Ohsho on our way to Naritasan Shinjoji Temple. That’s when we introduced him to gyoza and it was love at first bite! He went from barely eating, to wanting a second order of gyoza. He was cured!

So, what’s gyoza? Well, it’s like a potsticker. It is quite similar to the dumplings you can get at a Chinese restaurant, but there are some definite differences. The most obvious is the wrapper. The gyoza wrappers are much thinner than the Chinese dumpling. Also, there is a difference in the amount of meat and garlic. Gyoza is less meaty, but there is far more garlic than a dumpling.

So in the recipe that I follow, it calls for ground pork, cabbage, scallions, lots of garlic, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil. All you have to do is thoroughly combine those ingredients then wrap it with a gyoza wrapper. I use the Dynasty gyoza/potsticker wrappers. I think it’s been around for quite some time. My mom may have even used them when they lived in the US. You can find this brand and others in the frozen section of most Asian grocery stores. One thing to keep in mind about Asian grocery stores – always check the expiration date and there’s a high probability that the stuff in the freezer section is freezer burnt. I hate to say anything bad about “my people”, but the reality is that there’s a lot of expired food in Asian grocery stores.

Wrapping gyoza is my favorite part. I actually find it therapeutic. I hate to brag about myself, but I have to say I’m pretty awesome at making the pleats when wrapping gyoza. Some people just wet half of the wrapper, but I wet it all around before I meet the two ends and put in the pleats. Now even though wrapping is my favorite part, it’s also the most time consuming part of the process. I usually spend about 20 minutes wrapping 30 gyoza. And now due to the sheer quantity that’s consumed by my husband and son, I have to make a double batch. There may be quicker ways to consider. I have seen the dumpling press, but I’ve never used them so I have no idea if it makes any difference.

After wrapping them, all that’s left is to cook them! They need to be in a tightly packed line in the frying pan when cooking. Once the bottom is nicely browned, I add  water, put the lid on the pan, and wait for the steam to cook the rest of it. After all the water evaporates, it’s time to chow down!

A couple of things to keep in mind about gyoza. Just like Lays potato chips, you’ll never be able to eat just one. My soon to be four year old son can eat about 10 gyoza in one sitting (that’s why I’ve started making a double batch). You’ll also have “gyoza breath” for the rest of the day, be prepared for that. Your hands/fingers will have the scallions and garlic stank. Yes, I said stank. Washing your hands with a lemon helps with that though. But with all of that,  I promise, you will not regret it one bit.