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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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««Easy and tasty cookbook Bento for beginners now available on Amazon»»

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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)
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

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

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Vegan Quinoa Bowl with Almond Sauce (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Vegan Quinoa Bowl with Almond Sauce”. 

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Lately, I love using almond butter for making sauces because it reminds me of Asian flavor!! In this recipe, I use lemon juice, onion powder and garlic powder for the sauce to make the recipe simpler. However, when I combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, almond butter and a hint of sesame oil, it becomes a totally Asian dish!! 

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In addition to the sauce, I use a little bit of warm water to adjust the consistency. You can use some olive oil but since almond butter is high in healthy fat, I don’t need to add unnecessary fat. 

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This dish is wonderful because you can translate the dish into a taste that fits your preference. You can use any kind of vegetables for topping. And if you are not following a vegan diet, it is good to add some cooked chicken!! Plus, you can use any kind of spice in the sauce. I like using some curry powder too!!

The recipe is so simple:
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Cook quinoa. Mix the sauce ingredients. Cut vegetables (Cook them if you need. I cooked the tofu and broccoli). Place everything in a serving plate.

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Vegan Quinoa Bowl with Almond Sauce

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Ingredients (1 serving)
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¼ cup Quinoa

½ cup Vegetable Broth

(for topping)

¼ pack (about 3 oz.) Firm Tofu

½ cup Broccoli floret

¼ cup Cooked Corn Kernel

½ Red Bell Pepper

½ cup Baby Arugula 

(for sauce)

1 Tbsp. Classic Almond Butter by Justin’s

Juice of ½ Lemon

2~3 Tbsp. Warm Water

Some Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder

*Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Vegan Quinoa Bowl with Almond Sauce


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Sautéed Beef and Green Beans with Ginger (Gluten-Free)

Today I introduce you to “Sautéed Beef and Green Beans with Ginger”. This dish is very healthy, easy to make, and amazingly delicious!

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It looks like a Chinese dish, but I use ginger, soy sauce and cooking sake (You can use some broth instead if you don’t want to use alcohol in your dish.) as seasoning so it has a very light flavorful taste, is not greasy and is not too sweet.

In Japan, most beef dishes are made with thin sliced beef. For example Sukiyaki! If you can get thin sliced beef, you might want to use it to cook this dish because it is easy to cook and it also has a soft texture that combines well with other ingredients in your mouth! In the recipe I cut the beef into strips. This is another yummy way to make the dish!!

Beef is a great source of protein as you know, but it also is high in essential amino-acid and is higher in iron than chicken. I don’t eat red meat so often, but when I feel lack of energy I try to eat beef. And it is effective! In addition eating beef with vegetables makes us absorb beef nutrition more easily. 

I always recommend eating small portions of a variety of  dishes. The recipe is a handful size of food as a main dish. When you make this dish you can serve it with some rice, soup and salad, which is very filling and nutritious!!

The recipe is easy!

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Cut all ingredients. Cook and season. (Cook green beans well because we can’t eat raw green beans.)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Sauteed Beef and Green Beans with Ginger

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

0.3 lb. Beef Sirloin

15 ~20 Green Beans

½ Red Bell Pepper

1 tsp. Grated Ginger

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

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Sauteed Beef and Green Beans with Ginger


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Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Today I introduce you to Homemade Vegetarian Spring Rolls. The ingredients are tofu, carrot, mushroom and some seasoning.

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Sometimes we feel frying is too much work but these spring rolls are out of this world! It is worth the little bit of extra effort. The spring rolls have a nice crunchy wrap and smooth and flavorful filling. They are irresistible! Plus, I use a plastic bag to mix the filling so that makes cleanup easier. 

On the PDF recipe, I explain how to wrap the filling step by step. It is not difficult. You should already be used to it when you roll a second spring roll. If you have children, it may be fun to roll the spring rolls up with them. I used to do that when I was little.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Vegetarian Spring Rolls

The recipe is

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Process drained tofu in a food processor. Put all ingredients in a plastic zipper bag and mix well. On a wrapper, squeeze the filling out directly from the plastic bag and roll up. (To store, before frying put them in a plastic zipper bag carefully and keep in the freezer.) Fry until it is nice golden brown.

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Ingredients (20 spring rolls)
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20 Spring Roll Wraps

1 pack Tofu

4 Mushrooms

3 Cabbage Leaves

1 Carrot

1 tsp. Grated Ginger

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Egg

1 Tbsp. Flour plus 1 Tbsp. Water for slurry

Vegetable Oil for frying

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Vegetarian Spring Rolls


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Easy Chicken Meatballs Soup (Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to Easy Chicken Meatball Soup. It takes only about 15 minutes to cook so is great to add as one more dish for weekday dinners. You can use any kind of ground meat that you have in your refrigerator.

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I sometimes add tofu to my meatballs recipes but in this recipe I use only ground chicken so it is very juicy and flavorful!! 

It is low calorie and low fat dish. This dish makes you warm, gives your metabolism a boost, and helps improve your immunity so it is great to help you recover from sickness and get back a good appetite.

The recipe is very easy.

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Mix ground chicken and seasoning well, and cook in the soup.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Easy Chicken Meatballs Soup

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Ingredients (servings 2)

½ lb. Ground Chicken Meat

1 tsp. Grated Ginger

2 Tbsp. Corn Starch

¼ tsp. plus 1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Soy Sauce

2 cups Chicken Stock

Some Chopped Green Onion (to taste)

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Easy Chicken Meatballs Soup


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Cod Tempura

Today I introduce you to “Cod Tempura”. 

Cod has soft white non-fatty meat and a light taste. It is high in good protein and vitamin B12. In Japan we use Cod a lot for homemade dishes. For example, hotpot dishes, simmered dishes, fried dishes and so on. 

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I would like to talk about Tempura a little bit. At many restaurants in the US, tempura has a very thick and seasoned batter. But Authentic tempura has thin, crunchy and unseasoned batter to enjoy the taste of the fresh ingredients. When we eat tempura, we can spread a little bit of salt or dip into a light dashi sauce which comes with it.

In this recipe, I don’t use any seasoning, but if you want, you can use some salt when you eat it.

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««Easy and tasty cookbook Bento for Beginners now available on Amazon»»

9781646111350_ea-2

The recipe is

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Cut cod and dredge with some flour. Mix egg, cold water and flour as batter and dip the cod into the batter. fry for 4 minutes.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Cod Tempura

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Ingredients (Servings 2)

2 Cod Fillets 

½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. Flour

½ cup Cold Water

1 Egg

Vegetable Oil for frying

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Cod Tempura


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Simple Creamy Potato Salad

Today I introduce you to Simple Creamy Potato Salad. The ingredients are potato, turkey ham and cucumber. The seasonings are mayo, salt and pepper. It is an easy and quick recipe. It takes only 20~25 minutes total. Of course you can use any kind of meat and vegetables you want, and also you can add more seasonings, such as onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and so on.

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Some people avoid potato because it is a carbohydrate, and also mayo because it can be high in calories. If you ask me, you can eat anything to be healthier. But portion size is key. For example, don’t eat a big amount of one dish at one meal, don’t eat just big amount of pasta for your lunch, or don’t eat just a bowl of salad for your dinner. Just eat small portions of various kinds of dishes to get many nutritious things in your body. (see also the post You can Eat Anything You Want! But… )

The recipe is

Collage_Fotorpotatosalad
Boil potato and mash. (If you like smooth potato salad, mash very well. If you like chunky potato salad, leave some chunks of potato.)
Combine all ingredients and seasonings and mix well.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Simple Creamy Potato Salad

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Ingredients (Servings 2)

1 Large Potato

1 Seedless Baby Cucumber

2 Pieces Turkey Ham

4 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Water for cooking potato

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Simple Creamy Potato Salad


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Egg and Ham Fried Rice (Gluten-free)

Today I introduce you to “Egg and Ham Fried Rice”. My mother sometimes cooked various kinds of fried rice for us for weekend brunch because it is very quick, delicious and healthy. It takes 15 minutes if you have leftover steamed rice in your refrigerator. 

In this recipe, I used egg and turkey ham so it has great protein and carbohydrate. I recommend you eat this with salad and/or vegetable soup so that your meal has a perfect balance of nutrition. Plus when you sprinkle with some minced parsley for final presentation, the dish becomes a very spring like colorful dish!! 

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You can adjust the ingredients as you want. For example, you can add some carrot, cabbage and/or onion. You can use any kind of meat. Or you can make egg fried rice using just egg and rice! Fried rice ingredients are very flexible so you can make any kind of fried rice depending on what you want or what you have in your refrigerator.

The recipe is

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Cook the seasoned beaten egg. Add rice and turkey ham. Stir-fry and season with salt and pepper.

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

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Ingredients (2 servings)

3 Beaten Eggs + a pinch of Salt

3 Pieces Turkey Ham

2 Cups Steamed Rice

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Pepper

Some minced Parsley to taste

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

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


by 11 Comments

Great Protein! Ginger Chicken Crumble (Gluten-free)

Today I will introduce you to Ginger Chicken Crumble. This is a common recipe in Japan. We usually eat this chicken crumble with rice and sometimes put it in a rice ball. It is also great with salad, pasta and so on. The picture shows my original chicken crumble rice bowl which has sautéed spinach, pickled belle pepper, carrot with sesame dressing and poached egg. It is divine!!

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In addition you can store it in the refrigerator for about 4 days so this dish works well for you to add protein to your meal easily. 

In this recipe I use traditional seasonings which give the dish a savory-sweet taste. But because of the simple recipe, you can change the seasonings as you want. You can make it spicy, salty or curry flavor! 

The recipe is very easy.

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Cook ground chicken and season. That’s it!!

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

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

½ lb. Ground Chicken

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

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. Mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine)

½ Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Grated Ginger

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


by 14 Comments

Ham and Cabbage Spaghetti

Today I introduce you to Ham and Cabbage Spaghetti. This is very popular dish in spring in Japan. I always cook this for my quick lunch but it is great for dinner too! The seasonings are just pepper and garlic powder so the dish is non-fatty and very delicious!!

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Cabbage is a very nutritious vegetable. It has high in vitamin C, calcium, potassium, vitamin K and vitamin U. Vitamin U restores the mucosa in our digestive organs. Some stomach medicines contain vitamin U. Vitamin U tends to break down when the cabbage is cooked so eating raw cabbage works well for your stomach.

When you boil pasta, do you use salt? I suggest to use right amount of salt for boiling pasta. We should boil a decent amount of water in a stockpot to keep pasta from sticking together and I usually add 4 Tbsp. of salt per 2 litter (1/2 gallon) water. The reasons for adding salt to the water for cooking pasta is to make the water boil at a higher temperature, to cook pasta to al dente easily and to add a subtle touch to pasta. Pasta is cooked more evenly at a high boiling temperature and has great slightly salty taste. The surface of the pasta soaks up the salt water and becomes softer than the core of the pasta. This makes pasta al dente. If you add less salt, you can’t expect these results. In this recipe the pasta is already savory so I don’t use salt when I toss it with the other ingredients. 

Lately I read an interesting article about pasta. When we cook pasta too much, the pasta becomes indigestible food. This is because of the interrelationship between gluten and starch in pasta. When you cook pasta al dente, the pasta is good for digestion. When pasta is cooked too long, the starch drains away and the interrelationship is broken down. The pasta has only gluten which is hard for us to digest. If you prefer to eat soft boiled pasta because it looks easy to digest, you might want to reconsider that approach.

The recipe is

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Cook pasta and add cabbage at the last minute when you are finishing cooking the pasta. In a pan, cook ham (I used turkey ham), the pasta and cabbage and season with pepper, garlic powder and cooking pasta water. Sprinkle some chili powder to taste.

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Ham and Cabbage Spaghetti

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Ingredients (1 serving)

2~3 Cabbage Leaves

2 Ham (any kind)

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

Pinch of Pepper and Garlic Powder

Pinch of Chili Powder (to taste)

1 serving Dried Spaghetti

Water for boiling pasta

Some Salt for boiling pasta

Detailed and visual instructions can be found in the recipe PDF: Ham and Cabbage Spaghetti