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Homemade Authentic Sukiyaki (Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Homemade Authentic Sukiyaki (Kansai Region Style)”. Sukiyaki is a savory-sweet beef hot-pot dish. I said Kansai region (west part of Japan) because the cooking process is different from the Kanto region (east part of Japan).

It’s a beef dish, but is unlike American beef dishes. It is a very healthy dish because we use small amounts of very thinly sliced high quality beef and tons of fresh vegetables. It has a savory-sweet taste, so kids who usually don’t like vegetables very much tend to love sukiyaki vegetables.

As vegetables ingredients, I use tofu, Shimeji mushrooms, Napa cabbage, and Japanese leeks.

You can use any kind of mushrooms substitute for Shimeji mushrooms.

Japanese leek, which is called Naga-Negi, is slightly different from the leek found at many grocery stores in the US. Japanese leek doesn’t have dirt between the layers so we just wash the outside, cut and cook. You can use green onion or American leek as a substitute.

Sukiyaki is a hallmark of Japanese food. Cook the meat in a pot, season, and add several kinds of fresh vegetables. You can cook at the table if you have a portable induction cooktop. And while you enjoy the dish with your family or friends, you can add more ingredients and seasonings so it’s always hot from the oven.

In Japan when we eat Sukiyaki we dip in beaten raw eggs. Japanese eggs are under extreme hygiene control from laying to selling and they set a very short best-before period so it can be eaten raw. Of course, we generally don’t eat raw egg in the US so you can eat Sukiyaki without raw eggs.

My book Bento for Beginners: 60 Recipes for Easy Bento Box Lunches

is now available on Amazon!!

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The recipe is

Heat beef tallow or cooking oil in a pot. Cook some sliced beef until some parts change their color.

Add soy sauce and sugar, and stir.

Add some vegetables and cooking Sake.

Cook until the vegetables get tender.

You can eat the beef first. While eating that, the vegetables should get tender.

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 Tbsp. Beef Tallow or Cooking Oil

1 1/2 lb. Very Thinly Sliced Spencer Roll Beef

1/4 heart Cut Napa Cabbage

2 Cut Japanese Leeks or 4 Green Onions

8 oz. Shimeji mushrooms or any kind

1 pack (14 oz.) Diced Tofu

4 Tbsp. Gluten-free Soy Sauce

4 Tbsp. Sugar

4 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

Enjoy!!!

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Homemade Egg Drop Soup (Vegetarian / Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Homemade Egg Drop Soup”. I always say you can be healthy and eat anything, but your overall meal must be well-balanced. Your meal should include many COLORFUL ingredients, some different COOKING METHODS, and some different TASTES in dishes.  For details to You can Eat Anything You Want! But…

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I know many people are too busy to prepare so many dishes at each meal. So I am going to show you how to quickly cook this delicious, fluffy and healthy egg drop soup. You can cook this dish within 10 minutes total. It is great to add the soup to your meal as the weather turns cold!

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There are many ways to cook egg drop soup but mine is very simple with only 3 ingredients. If you want, you can add some other ingredients, such as cabbage, carrot, onion, ham, or bacon. In addition, if you prefer thick egg drop soup, you can add slurry which is a mixture of water and corn starch.

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Here is my recipe video “How to cook Egg Drop Soup” on YouTube.

Ingredients (2 servings)

3 cups Vegetable Broth

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp. Salt

(Some Chopped Green Onion to taste)

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Bring broth to a boil and add salt.

Pour beaten egg into the soup gently and slowly.

Immediately turn off the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with some chopped green onion to taste.

Enjoy.


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Miso Marinated Grilled Salmon (Gluten-Free)

Today I will introduce you to “Miso Marinated Grilled Salmon”.

It is very easy to make and incredibly delicious! I use only 4 ingredients. The preparation time is quick (but you need to marinate for at least an hour) and the cooking time is only 10 minutes!! In addition, I cook the salmon in a pan lined with parchment paper so there is no messy cleanup!

Marinated food with miso is very common and has a long history in Japan because it can be stored for a long time. We marinate various vegetables, meats and fish. The miso marinated vegetables are basically eaten without cooking and the miso marinated meats and fish are cooked and served. All ingredients have a lot of miso flavor and are slightly salty so very delicious!!! Lately in Japan, TOFU and EGG YOLK are becoming popular ingredients to marinate with miso.

This miso marinated grilled salmon is great for dinner by itself and also is great with your salad! The marinated salmon can be stored for 3 days in the refrigerator. So you can marinate some salmon fillets at once and cook lunch or dinner for your busiest days! Cooking takes only 10 minutes!

The recipe is

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Mix the marinated sauce and marinate salmon for an hour in the refrigerator.

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Cook in the pan lined with parchment paper.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Miso Marinated Grilled Salmon

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Ingredients (servings 2)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

1 Fillet Salmon

3 Tbsp. ORGANIC Miso Paste

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

2 Tbsp. Organic Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Miso Marinated Grilled Salmon


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The Best Salmon Recipe! Juicy and Tender “Steamed Salmon with Butter” (Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to Steamed Salmon with Butter. The dish is very tasty and is great for fancy dinners, but it is so easy because it is cooked in the oven. You can do other things while the meal cooks. Plus the cleanup is also easy because the salmon is wrapped with foil. Best of all, because the salmon is wrapped and cooked, the dish has great flavor and a very tender and juicy texture, which is very difficult to achieve when salmon is baked.

Salmon is high in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), and high in vitamins. More important still, salmon’s pink color is from Carotenoid Astaxanthin which is a very strong antioxidant material. However, today we see mostly farm-raised salmon in stores and the salmon may be bred to make their color brighter. So you should choose wild salmon if you can.

The recipe is very easy.

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Preheat oven to 400 °F. Place some sliced onion on greased foil. Put salmon on the onion. Season with salt and pepper, and put some butter on the salmon. Add any side vegetables you like. Cook in the oven for 25~30 minutes (depending on the thickness of salmon).  I recommend thinner salmon for all salmon recipes because it is easy to cook through evenly and quickly.

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Steamed Salmon With Butter

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Ingredients (servings 1)

1 reasonably thin Salmon fillet

½ Onion

1 tsp. Butter or Margarine

Salt and Pepper

Vegetables (such as carrots, broccoli, bell peppers to taste)

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Steamed Salmon With Butter

Here is “Steamed Salmon with Butter” recipe video on YouTube:


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Potato Croquette (Vegetarian)

I introduce you to “Simple Potato Croquette”. This is a great main dish for dinner and also a great snack for kids after school. The ingredients are potato and onion. Usually we add ground meat to the patties before frying in Japan, but when you don’t have any ground meat in the refrigerator or if you follow a vegetarian diet, you don’t need to add any meat. You can use sweet potato if you want. Just adjust the seasoning because sweet potato has a different taste from regular potato. Also you can add various ingredients, such as carrot, broccoli, spinach, corn, cheese, crab meat and so on.

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Boil potatoes, sauté onions and mix well like mashing potatoes. Season with some salt and pepper.

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Make into patties, flour, dip in beaten egg and dredge the patties in bread crumbs.

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Fry. To store, put the patties in a plastic zipper bag and keep in the freezer. You can store before and after frying either way.

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Potato Croquette

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Please do not drain the used oil in the sink. Put some kitchen papers in a can or a jar which you don’t need and pour the cooled used oil in. Throw it out as regular garbage.

Ingredients (about 8 pieces)

2 large Potatoes

1 Onion

¼ cup Flour

1 Egg

¾ cup Bread Crumbs

Salt and Pepper (for seasoning)

Water (for boiling potatoes)

Vegetables Oil (for cooking onion and frying croquettes)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Potato Croquette


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Japanese-Style Hot Pot (Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to Japanese-style chicken tenderloin hot pot. It is great for dinner on cold nights,  and also great for dinner on busy nights because the recipe is very easy. You can just set the ingredients in a skillet and simmer with soup. The soup ingredients are Dashi stock, soy sauce and cooking Sake. You can use any kind of Dashi stock.

My book Bento for Beginners: 60 Recipes for Easy Bento Box Lunches

is now available on Amazon!!

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Here is my “Kelp Dashi Stock” recipe post:  Homemade Kelp Dashi stock / Salted Kelp (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)
Here is my “Anchovy Dashi Stock” recipe post: Homemade Anchovy Dashi Stock (Gluten-Free)

Also you can use instant Dashi stock powder to save time. Here are my recommended Dashi powders on Amazon.

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Ajinomoto – Hon Dashi

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Kelp Dashi Powder

The dish is very nutritious because the soup contains a lot of Umami and great vitamins and minerals from all ingredients. And it uses no oil and is gluten-free! Also, chicken tenderloin is high in protein and low in calories. In fact, some Japanese who want to lose weight eat this for dinner everyday. Once they reach their ideal weight, they will go back to their normal diet.

The recipe is very easy. You can cook using one skillet.

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Set vegetables in a skillet and add Dashi stock and seasoning.
Once the vegetables get tender, add green onion and chicken tenderloin.

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in my recipe PDF: Japanese Style Hot Pot

Ingredients (servings 2)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

7 oz. (½ pack) Firm Tofu

3 Green Onions

2 pieces Chicken Tenderloin

8~10 leaves Napa Cabbage

1 Carrot

5 Shiitake Mushrooms

2 cups Dashi Stock (any kind)

3 Tbsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Japanese Style Hot Pot


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Easy Salmon Escabeche (Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to Marinated pan-fried Salmon. My mother used to cook this a lot for our dinner. I think it is a similar method as Escabeche but a lot easier! The pan-fried salmon has a great crunchy texture outside and is very tender inside. The salmon and some sautéed vegetables are marinated in a mainly vinegar and soy sauce mixture. It is a non-fatty, non-greasy, very nutritious and incredibly delicious dish!

My recipe is very easy.

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Marinate sautéed vegetables and pan-fried salmon in the sauce.

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Salmon Escabeche

In fact the traditional recipe is a little bit more complicated than my recipe. However, my recipe (which is NOT traditional) tastes awesome! You can barely tell which one is the traditional dish and which one is not. I used onion, carrot and cucumber, but you can also use paprika, mushrooms, eggplant, broccoli and so on.
You can store this dish for 4 days in the refrigerator. It is great for lunch boxes because you don’t need to heat it up. We can have it as cold dish. This dish is great when you want to add a slightly vinegar taste dish in your meals.

Ingredients (servings 2)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

1 Fillet Salmon
1 Onion
1 Carrot
½ Cucumber
2 Tbsp. Corn Starch
3 Tbsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)
2 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine
3 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil (total)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Salmon Escabeche


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Very Flavorful “Authentic Tofu Miso Soup” (vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free)

Today I will teach you “How to make Authentic Homemade Miso Soup” with recipe video and detailed PDF direction. It is very easy to cook and has great flavor and wonderful taste, but I am sure you have never tasted authentic miso soup at most of restaurants in the US.

One of tips for cooking miso soup is to use great Dashi stock. I use different Dashi stocks depending on ingredients in my miso soup. I like to use bonito Dashi stock for vegetable miso soup. I tend to use kelp or anchovy Dashi stock for seaweed and seafood miso soup. Sometimes I use blended Dashi stocks which is very flavorful! If you follow a vegan diet, you can use kelp Dashi stock. I have some homemade Dashi stock recipes in my blog.
Here is “Kelp Dashi Stock” recipe post:  Homemade Kelp Dashi stock / Salted Kelp (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)
Here is “Anchovy Dashi Stock” recipe post: Homemade Anchovy Dashi Stock (Gluten-Free)

But you can also use instant Dashi stock powder to save time. There are a lot of great ones in many Asian markets and also on Amazon.

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Bonito Dashi powder              Kelp Dashi Powder

I want to tell you one more tip to cook delicious miso soup. Basically I use 2 Tbsp. of miso paste for 2 cups of Dashi stock. But you can use less or more miso paste. I tend to use a little bit more miso paste than 2 Tbsp. for vegetable miso soup. I use less than 2 Tbsp. of miso paste for seafood miso soup because I can enjoy the seafood flavor!

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Miso soup is an important dish in the Japanese diet. Miso (Soybean paste) is a traditional fermented food product. It is a very nutritious food, and Japanese say it may help keep the doctor away. In fact, there have been many studies of the beneficial effects of Miso on human health. I like to eat miso soup for breakfast more than anything else because I feel energy, my stomach feels comfortable and my head becomes clear. I think my body gets ready for school or work when I have miso soup in the morning.

In this recipe I use tofu. I like tofu miso soup because it is the quickest and easiest miso soup recipe! You can use any vegetables such as onion, potato, spinach, Daikon radish, mushrooms, carrot, bean sprouts, and so on. You can also use any seafood and seaweed for miso soup such as Wakame seaweed, clam, freshwater clam, oyster, lobster, and so on.

The recipe is very easy.

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Boil Dashi stock and cut tofu. Dissolve miso paste.

Ingredients (servings 2)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

7 oz. (1/2 pack) Tofu

2 cups Dashi Stock (any kind is okay)
(recommended instant kelp Dashi powder)Kelp Dashi Powder
(Recommended instant bonito Dashi powder)Ajinomoto – Hon Dashi

2 Tbsp. ORGANIC Miso Paste

Some minced Green Onion (to taste)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Tofu Miso Soup

Recipe Video on YouTube:


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Sesame Tofu (vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free)

“Sesame Tofu” is not a traditional Japanese dish. I have never had “Sesame Tofu” in Japan. When I had “Sesame Tofu” at a Chinese restaurant in the U.S., I was amazed at how delicious it was! So I tried to cook it myself.

This sesame tofu recipe is perfect! It is not too sweet and not too greasy, so it is in keeping with my dishes. It is a gluten-free and vegan dish! Delicious!! In addition, tofu has a lot of nutrition. As you know, tofu is high in great protein so it is often used as a meat substitute for vegans and vegetarians. Also tofu itself is low calorie (33 kcal / 2 oz.) so it is good food for people who care about their diet.

In this recipe 7 ounces (1/2 pack) of tofu can serve 2 people. You may think it is too small an amount compared to many Chinese restaurants in the U.S. In Japan, people traditionally eat many dishes containing soy beans. For a balanced-diet, which I highly recommend on the post You can Eat Anything You Want! But…, I suggest eating 1/4 pack of tofu every day depending on your other protein sources. If you make this recipe as a main dish, you might want to add some small side dishes to your meal.

The recipe is easy. We can cook with one pan.

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Dry tofu and dredge in corn starch.

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Cook and season.

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Ingredients (servings 2)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

7 oz. (½ pack) Firm Tofu

¼ cup Corn Starch

1 Tbsp. Pure Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

1 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

1 Tbsp. White Roasted Sesame Seeds

Some Chopped Green Onion (to taste)

 

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF:Sesame-Tofu


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Homemade Chicken Teriyaki (Gluten-Free)

Today I will introduce you to “Homemade Chicken Teriyaki”.

This is a main dish I highly recommend. It is a very popular dish all over the world because it is very flavorful and extremely delicious!!

However, in my opinion in the U.S. the taste (from the sauce) is slightly different from Japanese Teriyaki. In the U.S. the Teriyaki sauce is too sweet by Japanese standards.

I want you to be able to taste “Authentic Teriyaki,” which has a great taste and is not greasy. And also I want to show you how to cook juicy chicken using a pan. The tip is pan-frying and steaming. This makes the chicken soft, juicy and perfectly moist.

The recipe is very easy. It takes less than 20 minutes.

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Cook chicken and simmer it with seasonings.

Ingredients (servings 2)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

2 pieces Chicken Thigh

3 Tbsp. Cooking Sake (total)

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

2 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

1 tsp. Sugar

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Homemade Chicken-Teriyaki

 

 

Recipe Video on YouTube “How to Cook Chicken Teriyaki”