Okonomiyaki!

So what's okonomiyaki (OH-ko-no-me-YA-kee)? Think pancakes, except more savory and with bacon and veggies instead of blueberries or other fruit. This is one of my favorite dishes in the world, mainly because you can throw almost anything into it.

I live within ten minutes of two different Asian stores, so the recipe I've posted here is fairly traditional. In many of these stores, especially Ranch 99, you might even be able to find okonomiyaki flour or mix-- but there are a number of substitutions you can make if you can't find some of the ingredients. You can use cake flour, potato starch and chicken stock for the wheat flour, nagaimo and dashi, and you can skip the tenkasu (or use panko or even Rice Krispies). For the oko sauce, you can combine 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of ketchup, and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Use Miracle Whip for the kewpie mayo. And as for the other ingredients, remember, you can use any kind of veggie or meat you want.

Since this process has a few steps, I'm going to try something different...I'm adding more pictures. Let me know what you think!

Okonomiyaki

INGREDIENTS (To Make 2)

1 cup wheat flour
2/3 cup dashi
2 Eggs
1/4 cup grated nagaimo (mountain yam)

STIR INS (bottom, clockwise)
4 cups cabbage, shredded and roughly chopped
2 cups bean sprouts
6 strips bacon, cut in half

Not pictured:
2 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup tenkasu (Tempura bits)


TOPPINGS (top left to right)
Okonomi Sauce
Kewpie Mayonnaise  
Katsuobushi (Bonito Flakes)
Furikake (dry rice seasoning)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS (not pictured):
1/2 cup Raw shrimp cut into approx 1cm (1/2") chunks    
1-2 links Chinese sausage, cut diagonally
1 oz Beni Shoga (Pickled Ginger)


INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large bowl, whisk the okonomiyaki flour and dashi/stock until smooth. Add the eggs and combine.

Add the grated nagaimo. (Try to freeze it before you grate it, otherwise you'll have a gooey,slimy mess. The smallest holes on the grater are traditional, but I prefer the bigger ones--it's faster.)

 Add the other items (but not the bacon or toppings!) and mix lightly.

 Heat a skillet on the stove and add a tablespoon of oil to it. Swirl the pan to coat it with the oil. (I add a tiny amount of sesame oil for taste, but it's optional.)

 Add half the mixture to the pan. Press it down to the best of your ability with a spatula. It should take up most of the pan. Let it cook for three minutes or until browned on one side.

 Place the bacon strips on top of the oko and (carefully) flip the whole thing over. You may need another spatula for this, but it's OK if it gets messy.

Let it cook until it's brown on the other side and the bacon is cooked, about 4 minutes. Flip it one more time and cook for another three minutes.

 Slide the Oko onto a plate. But wait, there's more! Drizzle the okonomiyaki sauce and the kewpie mayo over your oko. Sprinkle the furikake and katusoboshi on top.

Eat it while it's hot!

Gumbo Part II--A Confession

So I decided to make gumbo for dinner tonight. In reviewing my recipe, I realized that you, my dear readers, have been bamboozled. Yes, the earlier recipe is my dad's. Yes, he really did put cream of chicken (and occasionally cream of mushroom) in his recipe. But... hang on, I need a moment...

*takes a deep breath and lets it out*

I've only made it that way once.

I have a lot of health issues, and I knew that adding cans of soup to my food was not a good way to manage them. I also discovered that Alton Brown, my favoritest food chef ever, had a recipe for gumbo too. So I decided to take mine and combine it with his and see what we got. So here is my revised and renewed gumbo recipe.

Gumbo...again

1/2 cup, aka 4 oz flour (preferably by weight)

1/2 cup oil

10-12 crayfish, whole (optional)

1 lb raw, head and shell on shrimp

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

4-8 Louisiana hot links, sliced into rounds

1 whole chicken, cut up into parts

1-2 crabs, washed and cut up into quarters, legs removed and set aside

1 package chicken gizzards (no hearts)

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon file powder (if you made a brick roux)

1 pot of cooked rice

Put the flour and oil into a large, oven safe pot and whisk it together. Place the whole pot into the oven at 350 degrees for an hour, or until the roux has cooked to a dark brown or brick color (peanut butter color is fine too).

While the roux is cooking, take the heads off the crayfish (if using) and the shrimp. Take the shells off the shrimp too, putting the heads and shells into a small pot. Put the shrimp meat and crayfish bodies aside. Cover the heads and shells with water and bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour.

Prep the vegetables. Set aside. Do the same with the hot links and chicken, as well as the crab (gizzards too, if they need to be cut apart).

Once the roux is done, pull it out of the oven and put it on the stove. Add the spices. Add the vegetables and cook them, stirring, for about seven to eight minutes.

Strain the shrimp stock you just made from the heads and shells. Discard the heads and shells and pour what's left into the pot as you whisk. Add the hot links and chicken, as well as the crab and gizzards. Turn the heat up to a boil, then down to medium for 1 hour, or until the liquid reduces and the meat falls off the bone. Add the shrimp and crayfish. Stir in the file, if using.Turn off the heat and let the gumbo sit for at least ten minutes.

 Serve with a pot of rice.

KFC (no, not the Colonel's recipe)

As a treat for a couple of friends, I made Korean Fried Chicken. The link is from Modernist Cuisine, a site dedicated to the technical side of cooking.  I'd heard about the dish on the Food Network, but I didn't know it could be made at home. After going to my local Asian food store and picking up a few ingredients, I was ready to cook. Instead of doing chicken wings, however, I  quadrupled the amount of ingredients and cooked an entire chicken. This left me with extra sauce, but considering that it's absolutely delicious (I'm going to have to try it on ribs next time), I really don't mind.

The only criticism that I have about this recipe is that it takes a couple of hours to make--this is not a quick night's dinner. The Modernist Cuisine website gives you an idea of this by the exact nature of their recipe; don't get thrown off by the use of both grams and cups as well as percentages (and this is why I didn't want to post the recipe here, since they do a much better job). I'd save this for a good weekend dinner, but in the end, it's worth it.

Hot Chai, Winter in the City..

Back in December, I took a trip to Oregon, where a friend and I had some of the most delicious chai tea I've ever had. Now, spring is here in my little West Coast town, and I've been hit with a sudden craving for chai.  I decided to try to make my own as soon as I could afford the supplies.

My first attempt was OK, but it tasted a bit medicinal--too much cardamom and cloves, not enough of every thing else. My second attempt was much milder and smoother, and that's the recipe I'm giving you today. This makes enough for four people instead of one, because let's be honest--who's really going to drink just one cup? And if you multiply these ingredients by three, you'll have enough for twelve cups, which should get you through the week (or at least a few days, in our house).

Chai tea for four

Liquids:
 3 cups water
2 cups Half-and-Half
 4 full teaspoons / 2 tea bags of British black tea (Tetley seems to work nicely)

Spices:
4 pods green cardamom
1 thumb sized piece (or 2 inches) fresh ginger, crushed up or at least chopped up
4 whole black peppercorns
1/2 a cinnamon stick
1/2 a cup of brown sugar

Combine the liquids and the tea into a pot and set the heat to medium. Get a ziplock bag and put all the spices and ginger together, then crush them either with a pot or a rolling pin ( you can stop when you can see the cardamom pods break open and the cinnamon break up). Dump the spices into the liquid, then stir frequently for 30 minutes, or until the liquid level drops by roughly half an inch. Strain the solids out, add the brown sugar and stir till dissolved. Serve hot or ice cold.

Fabulous Frybread

My students, as part of their final projects, are required to do a Powerpoint presentation on a topic, usually a family dish of some kind. One of my students happens to be Native American; not only did she do her presentation on frybread, but she brought some in for the class. It was a good lunch. :)

I had to attempt this recipe a few times, but I finally got it to work. When you take a look at the ingredients, you'l be able to figure out why this probably shouldn't be eaten very often--yes, I did use both sticks of Crisco. And no, the 2 tablespoons of baking powder is not a mistake. This will make at least six or seven good sized frybreads. Get a big container of honey or taco fixings, because you'll be needing them. 

Fabulous Frybread

4 cups flour

2 tsp salt

2 tbsps baking powder (more if necessary)

1 tbsp powdered milk

1 1/2- 2 cups water

2 sticks butter flavored Crisco

Honey, powdered sugar, or taco toppings

Combine the first four ingredients and stir lightly till blended. Add the water sparingly until the ingredients just come together. Shape into a ball, then let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour. Melt the Crisco in a pan. Pull off  medium size pieces of dough, shape them into balls, then roll them  into flat circles. (Be careful not to make them too thin!) Carefully place each circle of dough into the hot Crisco. Fry on each side until puffy and golden. Serve hot, with either honey and powdered sugar or taco toppings. 

Flapjack Flash

Hey, it's been a while! I've been hesitating to post lately because my camera crashed and burned on me, but then my friend Michelle at delishiono posted an amazing recipe for District 12 cheese buns. So I decided to use pics from my Blackberry instead. By the way, you should go to Michelle's site and check out her recipes. Like, now.

Anyway, before I got distracted by her cheese buns (Ha!) I ended up making flapjacks. those of us here in the US immediately think of pancakes when we think of flapjacks, but the Brits know it as a granola bar type thing--crunchy on the outside, slightly soft and chewy on the inside. Remember that the recipe says the oats should be "coated"--think the process for making Rice Krispie treats. they shouldn't be swimming in the butter/sugar mix (as good as that sounds).

The first time I tried to make these, I burned them. The second time, they came out perfectly (I turned my oven down to 325 instead of 350 and moved them to the middle rack of my oven).I put the original recipe here just to be accurate, but feel free to use my pointers. If you don't have access to golden syrup (aka dark corn syrup), use honey; you can also add dried fruit and/or nuts. Make a big batch for the week!

British Flapjacks (courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine)

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup*
2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)
Pinch of salt

* A type of syrup popular in Great Britain; available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and British import shops.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until butter melts, sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt; stir until coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread out in even layer.
Bake until top is golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut into 4 squares; cut each into 4 triangles (mixture will still be soft). Cool completely in pan before serving.

Happy Mardi Gras! Shrimp n Grits

So a friend of mine called me at the last minute because she'd decided to throw a Mardi Gras party at another friend's house. "We need Southern food," she said. "What're you bringing?"

Now, considering that my friend is originally from Texas, I personally thought *she* would have been the official judge in that category. My family's Southern, but I was born and raised here in California. But hey, what do I know? I decided to make it easy on myself and make shrimp and grits.

This particular version is pretty and tasty. Just make sure you season the grits before you cool them (a mistake I made on the first batch). This can easily be modified for people with food allergies too. Issues with MSG? Swap the cajun seasoning for good old salt and pepper or come up with your own spicy blend. Can't have shrimp? Cook up some chicken and cut it into pieces. No dairy? Skip the cheese.

Shrimp N Grits

3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. salt
Cajun seasoning or salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups grits or cornmeal
Shredded cheddar cheese
Cooked shrimp (large, at least 24 of them)

Spray an 8" square pan and a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Set aside. Preheat the oven to "broil" and place a rack at the top.

Combine the water,seasonings and salt till boiling. Slowly pour in the grits or cornmeal, and start whisking as you pour. Continue whisking until there are no lumps. Allow grits/cornmeal to cook for five minutes or until thickened. Once thickened, quickly pour into the square pan and allow to cool completely.

Slice cornmeal into squares and place on the cookie sheet. Add cooked shrimp to the top of each square and add shredded cheese. Place cookie sheet into preheated oven for 3-4 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.