Your Home for Homemade Japanese Food

How to cook "with visual instructions" "using familiar ingredients from your local grocery stores" healthy, traditional and delicious Japanese dishes!!


2 Comments

Tasty and Healthy Japanese-Style Omelet! (Gluten-Free)

Japanese homemade omelets are slightly different from American omelets. We wrap egg around sautéd meat and vegetables. We also have American omelets in Japan which are called “plane omelets”. But when my mother made an omelet for lunch or dinner, it was always the omelet from this recipe.

The ingredients are ground meat, onion, carrot, mushroom and egg. You can use any kind of meat such as chicken, beef, pork and so on. The seasoning is so simple. It is just salt and pepper. You can also add  ketchup to taste. It is delicious!! I am sure you will like it.

This simple recipe is lower in calories than American cheese and meat omelets. But we have to be careful about the oil and butter that we use when we cook because the amount of oil and butter often used in American omelets is much higher in calories than we think. If you care about calories, I highly recommend choosing the right products and using a measuring spoon for oil when you cook.

Just in case, I am going to include normal product’s calories. If you use “light” or “reduced fat” products, please check the package.

1 Tbsp. of oil: 111kcal

1 Tbsp. of margarine: 91kcal

1 Tbsp. of butter: 89kcal

However, you can’t tell if an oil is healthy or not just by looking at the calories. It is important that we also think about the ingredients, nutrition, glycemic index and so on.

Enjoy your new, great tasting and healthy omelet!


{Ingredients (servings 2)}

½ lb. Ground Chicken

1 Carrot

1 small Onion

4 oz. Baby Bella Mushroom

4 Eggs (total)

¼ tsp. of Salt

⅛ tsp. of Black Pepper

2 Tbsp. of Vegetable Oil (total)


Here is my recipe in PDF(5 MB): Omelet

Advertisement


2 Comments

Salmon Chirashi (Gluten-Free)

This is seasoned steamed rice with salmon, egg, dried seaweed and sesame. It is very delicious and looks beautiful with a colorful presentation. Japanese eat steamed rice in at least 2 meals every day. But children tend to leave over steamed rice, which has only a slightly sweet taste, so Japanese mothers cook seasoned steamed rice to help get their children to eat a bowl of rice. This recipe is just mixing steamed rice and other ingredients, so there is no need for special equipment. Buy steamed rice at a Chinese restaurant and you can cook this at home in 30 minutes.

Salmon is rich in nutrients as I wrote in https://japanese-food.org/2015/05/16/creamy-salmon-soup/

However, recently there are many concerns about farmed salmon’s effect on human health. Salmon has worms so farmed salmon is said to become contaminated from drugs to rid salmon farms of worms. People say this has contaminated farmed salmon and may effect our health, such as immune compromise, hypometabolism, deterioration in brain function and so on. Please choose wild salmon or a good untreated farmed salmon. By the way, wild salmon can have worms so we do not eat it raw. The worms disappear when Salmon is heated to over 140F for some minutes or frozen at under -4F for 48 hours.


{Ingredients (servings 2)}

½ lb. Salmon

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Dried Seaweed Flakes

1 tsp. White Roasted Sesame Seeds

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

½ tsp. Salt

1 pint Steamed Rice

Boiled Water (for boiling salmon)


Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Salmon Chirashi


Leave a comment

Healthy Breakfast in 5 Minutes! (Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

If you want a change in your breakfast, please try this recipe, which is egg and cabbage cooked in the microwave. You can cook it in 5 minutes!

Egg is a great ingredient for breakfast as you know. Egg contains well balanced, essential amino-acids. So egg improves our immune system and promotes the elimination of waste products.

Cabbage is also a great ingredient for breakfast. Cabbage is a good natural stomach reliever because it is high in vitamin C and U. Vitamin U is officially called S-methylmethionine, and it is a good ingredient for stomach problems such as indigestion, upper stomach-ache and so on. In Japan we often eat fresh cabbage in salad and as a garnish. We also have many kinds of stomach medicine (over the counter) and most of those use vitamin U as an ingredient.

If you usually don’t eat a healthy breakfast because you don’t have time, you should try this. It is a very good way to start your day!


{Ingredients (serving 1)}

3 pieces Cabbage Leaf

1 Egg

Pinch of Salt (to taste)

Pinch of Black Pepper (to taste)

1 tsp. Gluten-Free Margarine


Here is my recipe in PDF (4 MB): Easy Egg and Cabbage Breakfast Delight


2 Comments

Simple Finger Food “Sushi Canapé” (Gluten-Free)

This “Sushi Canapé” recipe is totally original and great for a potluck. The ingredients are easy and it is a simple finger food.

The manner for making a sushi roll for this dish is not traditional. I came up with an easy way to roll which everybody can do without fail. But the taste is totally like regular sushi! You can top it with whatever you want such as smoke salmon, fish row, vegetables and so on. Once you know this recipe, you can serve Japanese sushi to your family and friends!

Enjoy your sushi roll!!


{Ingredients (15~20 canapés)}

2 pints Steamed Rice

3 beaten eggs

¼ lb. Ground Chicken

1 Avocado

¼ tsp. Wasabi Paste or Organic Wasabi Powder(combine with water to make Wasabi paste)

3~4 pieces Dried Seaweed for Sushi

50 ml Rice Vinegar

2 Tbsp. Sugar (total)

1 ¼ tsp. Salt (total)

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

1 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

Makisu Bamboo Sushi Mat for rolling sushi


Here is my recipe in PDF (9MB): Sushi Canape

Here is “White rice” recipe in PDF (5MB): White Rice


Leave a comment

Incredibly Flavorful Chicken Meatball TERIYAKI

This chicken meatball dish is incredibly flavorful! I love it!!! The ingredients are chicken, egg, green onion and ginger so it is very healthy (low fat and low calorie!!).

The meatballs themselves have a slightly salty taste so you can use the meatballs for your salad, pasta, soup, sandwiches and so on.

Today I introduce you to chicken meatballs TERIYAKI. It has a sweet-salty taste, which is made from common Japanese seasonings: soy sauce, cooking Sake, sugar and Mirin, so it is not a heavy taste. I am sure you won’t be able to stop eating once you’re first bite!!

Many people have soy sauce in the house in the US. You can also use white wine instead of cooking Sake (The dish tastes little bit different though).

This is Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine I used in this recipe.
41f9FKGBpjL

I strongly recommend that buy Mirin and keep it in your home for cooking. It is sweet cooking rice wine and adds great sweetness and Umami to dishes, and importantly Mirin also reduces the fish smell in seafood dishes. You can use Mirin in most Japanese cooking, can use it when you need sweetness in any dish, and you also can brush your sweets with Mirin and beaten egg yolk right before you bake so they turn a nice brown and taste slightly sweet. This sweetness comes from rice saccharifying amylase.

Enjoy these incredibly healthy and flavorful Japanese-style chicken meatball TERIYAKI!!


{Ingredients (20 small balls)}
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

½ lb. Ground Chicken

1 Egg

2 Tbsp. minced Green Onion

½ tsp. grated Ginger

1 tsp. plus 2 separate Tbsp. Soy Sauce

½ tsp. Salt

1 ½ Tbsp. plus 2 separate Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 ½ Tbsp. Flour

2 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

2 tsp. Sugar


Here is my recipe in PDF: Chicken Meatballs Teriyaki


Leave a comment

Japanese Savory Pancake

img4

Okonomi-yaki (Japanese-style savory pizza pancake) is a traditional, well loved, representative cuisine from the west part of Japan (Kansai region). The recipe is very simple. It includes a baking mixture of flour, water, vegetables, shellfish, meat and so on.

http___coneta.jp_wp-content_uploads_2011_12_IMG_7039

In Japan there are many festival days in summer and many food stalls sell Okonomi-yaki (and usually have long lines because it is so delicious). These stalls cook it on a big cast-iron pan.

This dish is very delicious and easy to cook. It also has a lot of nutrition in one plate, so it was my family’s regular dinner on Sunday, and my father used to cook (this means very easy to cook because my father couldn’t cook anything else)

iwasikosara

My mother always added ground dried anchovy to the mixture to add an anchovy Dashi stock flavor and fabulous nutrition such as calcium and DHA. You can put ground dried anchovy in most dishes to make the dish healthier. It works for omelets, soups, salad dressings, casseroles, pasta, and so on. Dried anchovy adds a slightly salty taste, so it doesn’t bother your dish’s balance. It is easy to grind dried anchovy with food processor (and we can get it at most Asian markets in the US).

img2bbf6331zikczj

In my recipe, I use “Japanese Sweet Ginger Beef” in the Okonomi-yaki dish. This makes the dish taste great and flavorful. Please see the “Japanese Sweet Ginger Beef” recipe to learn how to prepare the beef.


{Ingredients (2 servings)}

1 ⅓ cups Water

1 ½ cups Flour

½ Cabbage

¼ cup Anchovy Dried Iwashi Fish

4 Eggs

4 Tbsp. “Japanese Sweet Ginger Beef


Here is my recipe in PDF: Japanese Savory Pancake

Here is “Japanese Sweet Ginger Beef” recipe in PDF: Japanese Sweet Ginger Beef


Leave a comment

Sukiyaki (Gluten-Free)

Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish popular with foreigners. There is a famous song that can be heard all over the world named “SUKIYAKI,” which is a cover of a Japanese song (actually, the song name is different in Japan). The ingredients for Sukiyaki are beef, tofu, Napa cabbage, green onion and so on. The soup is salty-sweet. It is definitely delicious.

61a0d655ec8b82b82f664f663c9d1d70

When beef prices were high after WW Ⅱ in Japan, Sukiyaki was also treated as a high-grade dish. Nowadays that is how Sushi is viewed. Usually we use thinly sliced beef which can be chuck, rib, rump or round roast. If you can’t find thinly sliced beef in a grocery store, please buy a tender cut and slice by yourself because you can get great beef flavor and texture with Sukiyaki soup.

1

In Japan, traditionally Sukiyaki is served with raw egg. The egg makes the Sukiyaki taste mild and adds a great texture. This, however, is up to each person’s taste. I like eating Sukiyaki itself without the egg, but my husband enjoys it with the egg.

Enjoy this popular and delicious Sukiyaki dish!!


{Ingredients (2 servings)}

½ lb. Beef (sliced meat)

⅓ Napa Cabbage (7~10 leaves)

½ blocks (7 oz.) firm Tofu

8 scallions

¾ cup Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Cooking Sake


Here is my recipe in PDF: Sukiyaki


Leave a comment

Savory Egg Custard (Gluten-Free)

Chawan-mushi (Savory egg custard) is a dish in which eggs, various ingredients and Dashi stock are steamed together. It has a very smooth texture, great flavor and wonderful nutrition because the ingredients are steam cooked in the egg custard/Dashi stock mixture in a closed steamer so the taste, flavor and nutrition are condensed in the dish.

cuisinart-steamer-chefs-classic-2-77-35cg-popup

Recently, people have started using the microwave for cooking Chawan-mushi because it is quick and easy, but I think the taste and texture are very different so I use a steamer. It takes a little bit more time but it is the best!

I used shiitake mushroom and chicken breast in this recipe. It is high in vitamins, has great protein, and also is low in calories.

Chawan-mushi has a delicate flavor and amazing texture. It is very delicious! Please cook it and taste it!


{Ingredients (Serves 2)}

3 Eggs

4 oz. Chicken Breast

2 pieces Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

2 ½ cups Water (leftover from soaking shiitake mushrooms)

2 tsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

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

¾ tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Cooking Sake


Here is my recipe in PDF: Chawan-mushi


Leave a comment

Chicken Hamburger Steak in Japanese Style

Hamburger steak is a very popular dish in Japan. There are a lot of restaurants that specialize in hamburger steak. We usually have hamburger steak with sides of  vegetables and white rice, not with hamburger buns.

The hamburger steak recipe was brought to Japan from Germany. Japanese adjusted the recipe better for Japanese taste. Today I will teach you how to make the “Japanese style” Hamburger Steak, which is the most popular style in Japan.

I will teach you how to make Chicken Hamburger Steak with shiitake mushroom and onion in Japanese style. You can use any kind of vegetables you want in this recipe, and you could use beef instead of chicken if you want.

My mother often cooked it with ground chicken and many kinds of chopped vegetables to make it healthier.

Chicken meat has great taste, is good for digestion, and fortifies your nutrition if you are recovering from being sick. It is higher in amino acids and vitamin A than pork or beef, but has half the fat of pork or beef.

I put grated ginger in the steak because ginger has great flavor and also helps rid the meat of its chicken smell. Good smell is very important in many forms of Japanese cooking so that you can experience great taste, texture, and smell. Also, we serve Hamburger Steak with grated daikon (Japanese white radish) and soy sauce-rice vinegar sauce, which make the dish taste better and helps digestion.

It is very delicious! Enjoy!!


{Ingredients (Serves 2)}
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

・1 lb. Ground Chicken

・1 Onion

・2 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

・1 Egg

・½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs Japanese Style

・½ teaspoon Salt (total)

・½ teaspoon Black pepper

・1 teaspoon Grated Ginger

・1 teaspoon Chopped Garlic

・1 inch round, sliced Daikon (Japanese white radish)

・¼ cup Soy Sauce

・2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar


Here is my recipe in PDF: Chicken Hamburger Steak in Japanese style


Leave a comment

Korokke/Croquette

Today, I introduce you to Korokke (croquette).

The Japanese recipe is somewhat like the French croquette. We named it Korokke because it is the closest pronunciation using Japanese sounds to croquette. Because of this word borrowing many Japanese thought Korokke was a western food, but nowadays we realize it has become a Japanese food because the Japanese Korokke, while a bit similar to the French croquette, is actually not same.

Korokke is a very popular food for lunch, dinner or a snack. The ingredients are potato, ground meat and onion. Seasoning is only salt and pepper. We can also make vegetable Korokke without meat. My mother sometimes secretly put vegetables which I didn’t like, such as green pepper, celery and so on in the Korokke because it was always delicious! As just described, you can put anything you want for your family’s health or just for taste in a Korokke.


{Ingredients (for 2 people)}
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

・4 Potatoes

・1 Onion

・½ lb Ground Chicken

・¾ teaspoon Salt (total)

・½ teaspoon Black Pepper (total)

・1 cup Flour

・2 Eggs

・1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs Japanese Style

・3 ½ cups Vegetable Oil


Here is my recipe in PDF: Croquette