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Japanese-style Braised Chicken Thighs with Tomato (Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Japanese-style braised chicken thighs with tomato”. 

In the recipe, I use cooking sake, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper as seasonings and it is marvelous! The reason to add cooking sake is that it makes chicken soft and juicy and it rids the meat of its smell.

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In Japan, people sometimes season tomato sauce dishes with soy sauce too. This adds great Asian flavor to the dish. 

The dish is very hearty but the recipe is not complicated. You can cook with just one pan.

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Cook chicken in a pan and set aside. With the pan, make tomato sauce. Put chicken back in the sauce and simmer.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Braised Chicken with TomatoIMG_4454_Foodgawker2

Ingredients (servings 2)
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2 chicken thighs

½ tablespoon vegetable oil

½ onion

1 small carrot

A pinch of salt and pepper

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomato (no salt added)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon Cooking Sake

1 dried bay leaf

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Braised Chicken with Tomato


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Pan-Fried Tofu with Delicious Sweet-Savory Dashi Sauce (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Pan-Fried Tofu with Delicious Sweet Savory Dashi Sauce”. This dish is typical Japanese homemade dish which is called “Agedashi Tofu” in Japanese.
*When you use my homemade kelp dashi stock, this dish is going to be vegan dish. And if you want it to be gluten free, please use gluten free soy sauce.

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*My Kelp Dashi recipe is here: Kelp Dashi stock

*You can buy vegetarian kelp dashi powder on Amazon:  Kombu Dashi Powder with No MSG (Vegetarian Soup Stock) 

In regular recipe for this dish, tofu is deep-fried but sometimes I feel deep-frying is a little bit too much work so in my recipe I cook tofu in a pan using only 2 Tbsp. of oil. It is easy, healthy and delicious, and also it still has great crunchy texture!

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The recipe outline:

  • Drain tofu in the microwave.
  • Coat the tofu with corn starch and cook in the pan.
  • Cook the sauce and drizzle the tofu with it.

 

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Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Pan-Fried Tofu with Dashi Sauce

Ingredients (Servings 2)
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½ pack (7 oz.) Firm Tofu

1 cups Dashi Stock (any kind)

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp. Mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine)

3 Tbsp. Corn Starch

2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

Some chopped Green Onion to taste

Graded Ginger to taste

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Pan-Fried Tofu with Dashi Sauce


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Flavorful Ginger Chicken (Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Homemade Ginger Chicken.” This is an incredibly flavorful dish marinated mainly with ginger and soy sauce.

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As you know, ginger is extremely healthy. When you cook ginger, Gingerol, which is a flavor ingredient, changes chemically to Shogaol. This warms up our body and increases our metabolism. I often use ginger in my meals to make dishes flavorful and healthier!!

In this recipe I use chicken, but you can use pork instead of chicken if you prefer. If you use pork just make sure it is sliced thinly.

The recipe is very easy.
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Marinate cut chicken in a zipper plastic bag. Cook it with sliced onion in a pan.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Ginger Chicken Thigh

Ingredients (Servings 2)
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2 pieces Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh

1 Tbsp. Grated Ginger

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

4 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

2 Tbsp. Mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine)

1 Onion

1 Tbsp. Pure Sesame Oil  

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Ginger Chicken Thigh


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Microwaved Japanese-Style Fried Egg (Vegetarian/Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Microwaved Japanese-Style Fried Egg ”. Usually we use a special rectangular pan. Here is a quick instruction: Cook thin fried egg and fold up twice. Under the egg, make another thin fried egg and wrap the first fried egg. Continue this 3 or 4 times. Once you get used to cooking this, it is easy, but we need practice so here I will show you how to cook in the microwave. It doesn’t have the exact same shape as pan-fried egg but it is similar and of course it tastes delicious!

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In Japan, this kind of fried egg is a very popular dish, even more than scrambled egg or sunny side up. We frequently add to our meals as a side dish and also add to lunch boxes.

Interestingly, there is a difference in the fried egg seasoning between west and east Japan. In western Japan, it tastes savory, seasoned with soy sauce and Dashi stock. In eastern Japan, it has a slightly sweet taste because sugar is added. 

In this recipe I made sweet fried egg so that kids will like it too. The seasonings are sugar and milk (any kind is okay). If you want to try authentic fried egg, you can add 1 tsp. of cooking sake and soy sauce to the beaten egg. This makes the egg more flavorful!!

Here is a tip to cook egg in the microwave. Because of the egg’s elements, eggs sometimes change to purple-ish blue color in the microwave. This is natural and doesn’t harm you. However, in Japanese cuisine, the final presentation is very important so we add a splash of vinegar to the beaten egg. This keeps the egg from changing color when we cook in the microwave.

The recipe is very easy.
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Whisk eggs and seasonings. Microwave. Make the shape with plastic wrap and microwave again.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Microwave Fried Egg

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Ingredients (servings 2)

3 Eggs

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 Tbsp. Milk (any kind)

1 tsp. Vinegar

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Microwave Fried Egg


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Tofu and Edamame with Flavorful Thick Sauce (Vegan/Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to a great high protein dish  “Tofu and Edamame with Flavorful Thick Sauce”. This is an incredibly easy, healthy and delicious dish so it is great for weeknight dinners. 

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The seasonings are soy sauce and cooking sake. Also I use corn starch slurry to make the sauce thicker. The thick sauce coats tofu and edamame and you can enjoy all the flavors together. 

I used frozen edamame in the recipe but you can use fresh too. Edamame is a very useful, versatile and nutritious ingredient. You can add it to many dishes, like omelet, soup, salad, rice, pasta and so on. Or you can just snack on boiled edamame! In Japan we traditionally eat edamame as an appetizer when we drink beer at dinner. The reason being that edamame may help the function of the liver which helps breakdown alcohol. At some common Japanese restaurants, Izakaya, they serve edamame right after we are seated before we  order, like bread sticks in an Italian restaurant (mostly the cost is included in the price as a service fee).

The recipe is very easy and quick.

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Place tofu, edamame and seasonings into a pan and cook. Add slurry and serve!

It is a vegan and gluten free dish when you use kelp dashi stock or your favorite vegetable broth, and gluten free soy sauce.

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Ingredients (servings 2)
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½ pack Firm Tofu

½ cup Frozen Edamame

1 cup Dashi stock (any kind)

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

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake 

1 Tbsp. Corn Starch (for slurry)

2 Tbsp. Water (for slurry)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Tofu and Edamame Dish


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Sautéed Salmon and Asparagus (Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Sautéed Salmon and Asparagus”. 

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If you are tired of baked or grilled salmon, you should try this! It is very delicious, flavorful and has a very soft texture because I steam it with cooking Sake in a pan. This is the key to cooking the asparagus and salmon all the way through in such a short time. If you are not comfortable with using alcohol for cooking, you can substitute some broth.

The recipe is very easy.

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Cook salmon and asparagus in a pan. Season and steam with cooking sake.

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

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[Ingredients (Servings 2)]
*Click the blue text to the product on Amazon*

1 Fillet Salmon

7 Asparagus

½ Tbsp. Garlic Powder

¼ cup Cooking Sake

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

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

Here is the cooking video in YouTube:


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3 Ingredients! Super Easy “Corn Side Dish in Buttery Soy Sauce”

Today I introduce you to “Japanese-Style Corn Side Dish in Buttery Soy Sauce”. This is a super quick and easy recipe which takes only 15 minutes or so. It is a great side dish for your family and friends during this holiday season! In this recipe I use soy sauce and butter (or margarine) for seasoning so it has a very different taste from a corn dish seasoned with just salt and pepper, but it is incredibly flavorful and delicious!! As an aside, have you ever tried to season a sautee dish with soy sauce and butter/margarine? If not, please try it sometimes!! You can season sautéed meat, seafood, vegetables…almost anything! I love sautéed mushrooms seasoned with soy sauce and margarine, which is totally divine!! 

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The recipe is very easy.

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Cook frozen corn kernels with butter/margarine over medium-high heat and season with soy sauce.

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Corn Side Dish in Buttery Soy Sauce

The reason I used frozen corn kernel is I always keep them in the freezer. I buy many fresh ears of corn, steam them for a short time, cut the kernels off and freeze in a plastic bag. This is why I cook over medium-high heat to evaporate the water from the frozen corn. You can use fresh corn kernels for this recipe and cook over medium-low heat.

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Ingredients (Servings 2)
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3 cups (20~24 oz.) Frozen Corn Kernels

1 Tbsp. plus 1 Tbsp. (to taste) Margarine or Butter
If you follow vegan/vegetarian diet, please use your favorite vegan/vegetarian margarine

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

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Corn Side Dish in Buttery Soy Sauce