Chicken & Egg Nimono

This is one of my favorite that my mom makes. This is salty and sweet, and so soft! chicken meat comes off from the bones and has good flavor. Goes perfect with some rice. I was going to serve this for dinner but Josh couldn't wait so we are going to eat it for lunch :P

Chicken & Egg Nimono

6 chicken tights with bones
6 boiled eggs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup water

1. Boil eggs, peel off the shell
2. mix soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and water and bring it to boil.
3. Add chicken and eggs, cover with drop lid, boil with low heat / until the sauce is reduced to half.

Zucchini Bread

When I was in Hokkaido, one of my friend (she is my mom's age) baked some Zucchini bread for me. It was my very first time to try it, and I totally fell in love with it! Ever since, I wanted to make one but never had a chance. But today, I finally did!! Zucchini bread.


Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini - I chopped finely this time

1. Grease and flour pan. Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into the pan. 
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Sunday Morning Bagel - Bake with Oven Toaster

I know this one looks a little fat, but yes! It is homemade bagel! And it's so easy!! This is perfect with butter and honey for Sunday breakfast. Very filling.


Sunday Morning Bagel (4)

2 cups bread flour
1 tsp dry yeast
4 tsp brown sugar
140 ml warm water (50℃/122°F)
1/2 salt


1. In a large bowl, put bread flour and make a dint. In the dint, put sugar, yeast and warm water. Mix a little bit and add salt. Then kneed the dough for 5 minutes until smooth.
2. Divide the dough unto 4, wrap with saran wrap and leave it for 5 minutes.
3. Boil water. While boiling water, shape the dough into rings.
4. Boil the dough on both sides, 1 minutes each.
5. Preheat the oven toaster 1000w (250℃) for 3 minutes. Then put the bagel in the oven toaster and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Put aluminum foil over the bagel (to avoid burning the surface) and bake 5 more minutes.

Juicy Japanese Garlic Chicken

I believe that there is no man on earth who doesn't like this flavor! Soft and juicy, and smells sooo good!!


Juicy Chicken

1 chicken breast
1/4 onion
1 clove garlic
*2 TBS soy sauce
*1 TBS mirin
*1 TBS cooking sake
*1TBS honey
* pepper to taste
potato starch
salad oil


1. Cut chicken bite sizes.
2. Shred onion and garlic (almost paste)
3. Put 1 & 2, and all the ingredients with "*" in a ziploc bag and marinate for 1 hour
4. Take out chicken, and wipe the chicken with paper towel. (Do not throw away the marinate sauce)
5. put potato starch around chicken. Bake with medium low heat, both sides until golden.
6. Pour over the marinate sauce, cook until it is liquid is evaporated.

Throw In Pasta

So easy, so yummy, and so fast! All you need to do is cut the veggies and throw everything in a pan and leave it until it is cooked! I wanted spaghetti but because we didn't have any, I used macaroni.



Throw In Pasta


Pasta
1/2 tomato
Spinach - as much as you want
1/2 onion, thinly sliced 
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Dried basil to taste
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Mountain salt and pepper
2 cups water
Cheese to sprinkle on top

1. Cut veggies. 
2. Throw everything in a pot
3. Boil everything with medium heat - about 9 minutes until most of the water is evaporated.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and ready to serve!

Easy Cheese Cake

It is one of the "gifts" for Josh. We both love cheese cakes so I wanted to make one for him. It is very easy, because your juicer will help you mix everything! Too bad I did not have any fruit sauce. It would have been better :)


Easy CHeese Cake


Crust
2 cups (475 ml) cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
5 Tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling
2 boxes cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar 
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream 
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream 

1. Preheat the oven at 350°F
2. Crush the cracker and mix with melted butter. Put them on the bottom of baking pan, neatly.
3. Mix all the filling ingredients in the mixer. Mix well until everything is smooth.
4. Pour over the crust.
5. Reduce the oven temperature down to 325°F, bake for 90 minutes.
6. Open the oven just a little bit, leave it like that for at least 20 minutes. This will avoid the surface to crack.
7. Cool it down in the fridge over night.

Mabo Nasu (egg plant)

Josh hates egg plant. I don't understand! Because I LOVE it! But because he wouldn't eat it, I haven't bought it for a looooong time. But because Josh was gone on a trip for a couple of days, I bought one for myself! This is almost same as mabo tofu, just a little bit different ingredients. And it is so yummy! I am in love!


Mabo Nasu

2-3 egg plants
1 green pepper
200g minced pork
1 clove garlic
15g ginger
1 TBS sesame oil
*1 cup chicken stock
*2 TBS soy sauce
*1 TBS cooking sake
*1 tsp Tou ban jan
1 TBS potato starch
2 TBS water

1.  Chop garlic and ginger. Cut egg plant and green pepper. Mix all the ingredients with "*"
2.  Heat the pan, add sesame oil and cook minced pork. One pork is cooked, add "*" sauce and then add egg plants and green peppers. Put the lid and cook with low heat for 7-10 minutes
3. Mix potato starch and water, then pour into the pan. Mix well and done!

Tofu & Okura

Okura is one of my favorite vegetable. It is sticky so some people may not like it, but it is very good for you. This recipe is very simple and easy, and makes you feel healthy from the inside, and is especially good on a hot summer days.



Tufu & Okura

1/3 pack tofu
4 okura
sesame
4  TBS mentsuyu 

1. Boil water to cook okra. *Do not cut okrura before boiling.
2. Cut tofu into small dices and keep it in fridge.
3. Cut okra and mix with tofu.
4. Pour over mentsuyu, sprinkle sesame and cool it down in the fridge.

Salmon Patties

Over the past few months, we always have 1-2 potlucks over the weekends! Lately it's been so hard to pick what to bring, because most of my friends that I have potlucks with are pregnant! So they are very picky on what they can eat and can not. I thought my friend might not like the salmon but she actually enjoyed it :)

Salmon Patties

5 potatoes
1 can salmon
1 chopped onion
crazy salt to taste
pepper to taste
a little bit of chopped long onion
1 egg
bread crumbs
butter to fry

1. Cut potatoes into small bite size and boil until soft (but not too soft!) Mush.
2. Add chopped onion, salmon, crazy pepper and salt, long onion and egg and mix well.
3. Shape them into small round shapes
4. Put bread crumbs around them
5. Heat the pan and melt butter. Cook both sides.
6. Done!

Mini Easy Corn Dogs

My friend's baby turned "100 days". The family is from Hong Kong and they have a custom to celebrate their baby's 100th day to wish for their health, long living, etc. I wanted to bring some finger food and this mini corn dog was a great choice! Easy, don't require much and tastes like the real corn dog! I highly recommend you to try. It would be a good snack for kids too.



Mini Easy Corn Dogs

*150g flour
*7g baking powder
*25g sugar
50g milk
2 eggs
vanilla extract
mini sausages
3 TBS flour (for sausage)
Toothpick

1.  Whisk together the ingredients with (*). Add milk, egg and vanilla and mix. (If you have time, let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. But I skipped this process this time)
2. Put took pick to the sausage. Put flower around the sausage
3. Dip the sausage in the batter.
4. Deep fry with medium heat. No need to turn because they will turn by themselves!
5. Done when it is golden.

Crispy Chicken + Tomato Pasta

My friend gave me a small bottle of cumin the other day, and I just wanted to try to use it. And it turned out something like this! My main focus was chicken, but the pasta is pretty nice too. Everything can be done in 30 minutes!




Crispy Chicken 

1 chicken breast
salt, pepper and cumin to taste
3 TBS corn starch
olive oil
2 cloves garlic

1. Boil water, cook penne.

2. While cooking penne, cut chicken breast into half (to make it thinner), wipe with paper towel. Season it with salt, pepper and cumin. Cover chicken with corn starch.

3. Heat a pan, crush garlics and throw them into the hot olive oil. Cook chicken both sides until golden.

4. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Tomato Pasta

Penne pasta
1 onion
1 clove garlic
olive oil
1/2 canned diced tomato
1 TBS butter
1 tsp crazy salt
pepper to taste
dried basil to taste

1. Chop onion and garlic. Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Add cooked penne and mix well.

Ginger Pork

If you like Japanese food, or cooking Japanese food. I highly recommend you to buy some soy sauce, cooking sake and mirin. Everything else you probably already have. But these 3 ingredients makes a HUGE difference! I used cheap costco pork to make this recipe, but the meat turned out really tender because of sake. I made some extra so it will be Josh's lunch for tomorrow. Yes, most of the Japanese don't eat sandwiches for lunch, we make bento! (boxed lunch) 

And ginger pork is something men loves :)

Ginger Pork

250-280g thin pork

Marinate

*1 TBS Cooking sake

*1 tsp Ginger juice

*1 tsp Soy sauce

2/1 - 1 Onion

2 tsp flour

Salad oil 

Sauce

1 TBS sugar

2 TBS mirin

2 TBS cooking sake

3 TBS soy sauce

1 tsp shredded ginger

sesame for topping

1. Marinate pork with ingredients with "*". Slice onions. Mix all the ingredients for sauce

2. Mix flour with marinated pork. Heat salad oil in a pan and cook the pork and onion.

3. Once pork and onion are cooked, add the sauce into the pan and mix well.

4. Done

Chinese Honey Chicken

I didn't know my husband likes honey chicken! He even said "It's my favorite!!" Why didn't he tell me earlier!? haha. But it turned out to be really nice.



Ingredients

1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)
Oil (for deep frying)

Batter
4 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white

Sauce1 ½ tablespoons oil
2 teaspoon ginger (minced)
3 tablespoons garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 teaspoon water)
Sesame seeds 

1. In a large bowl mix all batter ingredients together until smooth. Cover and allow the batter to site for at least 30 minutes. Add the chicken to the batter tossing to coat.

2. Heat a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Fry chicken bits in patches for 2 minutes or until batter becomes firm. Drain on paper towels.

3. To make the sauce. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in your wok. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds.  Add salt, honey, vinegar, and water. Mix well. Combine 1 teaspoon of water with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Add to the sauce and Simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with white rice.

Refreshing Cucumber Stick - Japanese

I grew up in a family that eats only a little bit of meat. We probably could have been vegetarian if we didn't have my brother who is the only fan of meat. I didn't like any kind of meat when I was little. Then I learned to like chicken, then pork, then beef. Now that I married to an Aussie, I cook lots of meat. But still, my love for fresh and good quality vegetables still exists in the center of my heart!

This recipe is a imitation of my mom's recipe. It is really easy and makes you feel really good as you eat it.  Taste especially good when it's cold!


Refreshing Cucumber Stick

1 Cucumber
1/4 Sesame Oil
1 TBS salt
Shichimi to taste
Sesame

1. Wash cucumber and put it on a cutting board
2. Pour over salt. Roll it with both of your hands (it helps to reduce the astringency of the cucumber)
3. Cut it into sticks
4. Put them in a bag with the rest of the ingredients. Rub well. Add some salt if needed.
5. Put them in the fridge and let it rest. Serve when it is cold.

The Basic - Japanese Katsu Curry

Who DOESN'T Japanese curry?? Yes, nobody!  This is not just my husband's favorite but all of his friends and my friends both Japanese and non Japanese. It is easy, and super delicious, and very cheap. If you make katsu it takes a little bit extra time but it will make you extra happy too, so I think it totally worth making it!



Katsu 
chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1egg
1 cup flour
1 cup Japanese bread crumbs
Oil to deep fry

1. Cut the chicken thin. salt and pepper them.
2. Coat with (1) flour (2) egg (3) bread crumbs
3. Deep fry until golden brown


Japanese Curry
1 onion
2 carrots
2 potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
water - enough to cover the ingredients in a pan
Curry cubes - you can buy them at the asian store
1 tsp soy sauce - my secret ingredient!

1. Cut all the veggies into bite sizes.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, put everything and cook until soft with salt and pepper
3. pour water to cover all the ingredients. Let it boil for 5-10 minutes
4. Add curry cubes. Stir until think.

Then you just serve with rice and put katsu on top!

*If you are not making katsu, you can cut up the chicken with the veggies and cook altogether  by following the same procedure.

Dad's Recipe - French Creamy Chicken

This is my dad's recipe. When he was younger, he used to travel to Europe and eat different foods, and meet different people and touch different cultures. So according to him, this is something similar to what he ate when he was in France. I don't know how close it tastes to the real one, but this dad's recipe tastes absolutely great! So I decided that this should be one of our family recipe.

French Creamy Chicken

Chicken Breasts
1 pack cream (the kind you use for whipped cream)
1 onion
spinach
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp consomme

1. Cook chicken both sides on the pan until nicely brown. At the same time, cook sliced onion on the side of the pan.
2. Pour over cream. Add salt, pepper and consommé and cook until cream gets thicker
3. Add spinach and cook until soft
4. Done!

This time I put it on rice but you can serve with bread, pasta, anything!

Kimpira Gobo

This is one of the very traditional Japanese dishes. Kimpira means strong, energetic, and gobo is a type of very unique Japanese vegetable. You might be surprised if you see actual gobo before it is cooked, because it looks like a root - and it is a type of root! And it's nutritious, and very very healthy. This is one of my very favorite dish. If I eat this with rice, I can not stop eating!



Kimpira Gobo

1 1/2 sticks gobo
1 carrots
2 TBS sugar
1 1/2 TBS soy sauce
1/2 TBS mirin
sesame oil
sesame

1. Cut gobo and carrots very thin like the phone
2. Heat sesame oil in the pan, and cook gobo and carrot to let it coat with sesame oil
3. Add sugar and cook a little more
4. Add soy sauce and mirin. Cook until liquid is gone.
5. Done!

Easy Mini Meatballs + Butter Tomato Mushroom Sauce

This recipe is easy and yummy, and easy! We had potluck with our friends today and I brought this, and it was all gone in few minutes! I especially love the sauce.


Easy Mini Meatballs + Butter Tomato Mushroom Sauce

Meatballs
500g minced beef
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup bread crumbs
5 TBS milk
1 egg
2 TBS flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Oregano to taste



Sauce

2 TBS Olive oil
Mushrooms (as much as you want)
1 diced canned tomato
5 TBS ketchup
2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp consomme powder


1. Cook minced onion until brown and let it cook down. In a small ball, mix bread crumbs and milk to soften the bread crumbs.
2. Combine all the meatball ingredients and kneed it until it feels a little sticky.
3. Shape into one bite size meatballs. Cook well on the flying pan. Put them aside on a plate.
4. Slice mushrooms. Heat olive oil on the same pan and cook mushroom.
5. Add all the sauce ingredients in the pan. Add back the meatballs and cook together for 15 minutes with low heat.
6. Done!

Butter Honey Muffin

It is a nice breakfast on the weekends! Only takes 20 minutes to make! You don't use sugar, only honey. It's got very rich, and sweet taste.


Butter Honey Muffin

70g butter
90g honey
1 egg
100g flour
1/2 baking powder

1. Put butter in a ceramic bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds. Add honey and mix. Then add beaten egg little by little and mix.
2. Whisk together flour and baking powder in another bowl. Add it to the butter and mix lightly. (Do not mix too much!)
3. Pour into muffin cups / baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.



Butter Honey Muffin

Char Siu

Make the sauce

Marinate the pork for 2-3 days

They will turn into shiny brown

Bake! The sauce tend to burn a little bit, and it is sticky and bitter on the bottom so I usually put some toothpicks to give it a space in-between.

Cut it into as thin/thick as you would like!

This is one of our favorite recipe! Before I even tried to make char siu, I thought it is going to take a lot of effort to make one. But to be honest, this is one of the easiest recipe! You only need 3 steps - Cut, Marinate and bake! We love to have this with home-made ramen, or just slice them and put them on top of rice, sprinkle some cut seaweed, then some mayo. It would be a perfect Saturday lunch!

Char Siu

500g - 1kg Pork
200g Sugar
140cc soy sauce
Shredded ginger to taste
1 TBS oyster sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
(3 crushed cloves garlic)



1. Cut the pork 2-3 cm thickness
2. Mix all the ingredients in a pan
3. Add the pork. Seal the pan. (I usually double the saran wrap so the whole fridge won't smell like char siu)
4. Marinate it in the fridge over night. Turn upside down, and marinate it one more night.
5. Bake at 420°F for 40 minutes.
6. Done!

Spaghetti Fried Potatoes - Sea salt Lemon + Rosemary Flavour

Spaghetti Fried Potatoes - Sea salt Lemon + Rosemary Flavour

1. Cut potatoes really thin
2. Wipe off the starch with paper towel
3. Deep fry little by little - make sure the oil is hot enough so the potatoes will be crunchy
4. Mix with Seasalt, Lemon juice and Rosemary
5. Done!

Chinese Beef Broccoli

Chinese Beef Broccoli

3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
1/2 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 TBS oyster sauce2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
hot cooked rice


1. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.
2. Add beef and toss.
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.
4. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.
5. Return beef to pan.
6. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.
7. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
8. Serve over rice.

Tomato Chicken Pasta

Tomato Chicken Pasta

2 chicken tights
spinach
3 leaves of cabbage
1 can crushed tomato
1 tsp dried garlic
2 tsp crazy salt
1 tsp consome
1/2 pepper
2 tsp soy sauce (the secret)

1. Boil pasta
2. Cook chicken until golden with 1 tsp crazy salt, garlic and pepper
3. Add spinach and cabbage. Cook until soft.
4. Add tomato can, soy sauce, and consome. Add some more seasonings as you would like.  Cook with medium - low heat until a little thicker.
5. Done!

Chili Chicken & Egg plate

Chili Egg & Chicken Plate (Serving of 2)

1 chicken breast

2 eggs

1 clove chopped garlic

4 tsp long onion

2 TBS salad oil

1-2 tsp broad bean chili paste (chinese chili paste)

2 TBS cooking sake

1/2 TBS sesame oil

Marinate

- 1TBS cooking sake

- squeezed ginger juice to taste

- shredded onion to taste

- salt to taste 

Sauce

- 4 TBS ketchup

- 1 TBS sugar

- 1 TBS soy sauce

- 1/2 TBS potato starch

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 4 TBS water

1. Cut chicken into bite size, marinate in ziploc with Marinate ingredients. (5 minutes)

2. Mix everything that's listed as Sauce

3. Cook marinated chicken with salad oil. Once chicken's color changed, add chopped garlic, long onion,  and cooking sake.

4. Add eggs and make scrambled eggs on the size of the same pan. 

5. Add broad bean chili paste, and Sauce. Pour sesame oil and done.

Tsukune - Japanese Chicken Meat Balls

Tsukune 

400g chicken breast

1 finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

1 tsp ginger juice (squeezed) - I used ginger powder this time)

1. MIx everything in a bowl until sticky.

2. Scoop with spoon and drop into a pan (greased) 

3. Cook both sides until brown. Put them out aside.

Sauce

6 TBS soy sauce

6 TBS mirin

2 TBS cooking sake

2 TBS sugar

★1 TBS Potato starch + 1 TBS water

1. Mix everything in a cup

2. Pour in a pan until boiling.

3. Add ★ and stir.

Then.....

1. Add cooked tsukune into the sauce.

2. Add some long onions if you would like.

DONE!

Crunchy Pepperoni & Potatoes Plate

Crunchy Pepperoni & Potatoes Plate (Servings of 2)

15-20 slices pepperoni

3 potatoes

1 TBS butter

2 eggs

1 tsp Crazy Salt

1 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 tsp paprica

Pepper to taste

Dried Parsley to sprinkle on top

1. Cut the potatoes into bite size. And however size you would like for Pepperoni.

2. Melt the butter on the pan, add potatoes, crazy salt, garlic, paprika and pepper.

3. When the potatoes are cooked half way through, add pepperoni.

4. Cook until the surface of the potatoes are crunchy. (For me it took  about 20 minutes with medium heat)

5. Make sunny side up and put it on the potatoes. Sprinkle parsley on top!

Sunday Banana Cake

Banana Cake

3 Bananas

1 stick butter

130g sugar

2 eggs

140g flour

1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven at 345°F

2. Mush bananas, and melt butter (microwave it for 40 secs)

3. Shift flour and baking powder

4. Mix well eggs and sugar until thick

5. Pour (3) in (4) and mix lightly

6. Add mushed bananas and mix

7. Bake at 345°F for 55 mins

Meat Balls + Lazy Broccoli Rice

Meatball

1.  Cook onion and minced garlic until soft.

2. Mix minced beef and pork. Add 1 egg, some bread crust, paprika, rosemary, crazy salt, pepper.

3. Make into balls

4. Deep fry it until well cooked.

Sauce

1. In a pan, boil diced canned tomato. Add some ketchup and tonkatsu sauce.

2. Put meatballs.

Lazy Broccoli Rice

1. Cook chopped onion with butter until soft

2. Add broccoli

3. Add cooked rice and some water

4. Add crazy salt, consome, pepper