Mochi Bacon

Japan is currently undergoing a massive heat-wave - that's summer for you - but I'm still kind of freezing a bit here in Brisbane. After feeling homesick for a summer festival, I thought I would look at one of my favourite summer-goes-well-with-cold-Kirin-type foods.

I first had this at an izakaya and instantly loved it. I began to notice it more on menus here and there, and I had to add this to my repertoire of stuff I've ripped off from places I like. For those unaware, mochi is basically just sticky rice, pounded to the point of ridiculousness. Here is a video showing someone making mochi at home with a home-mochi-pounding-appliance :

Now they're using it to begin the process of making daifuku or something similar, but essentially you end up with a gigantic sticky mess of glutinous gluten where all the grains have been ground together. It's really sweet and it's nothing but rice! Of course, my recipe doesn't require you to own a cross between a garbage disposal and ice cream maker - we use dried mochi.

The best thing about this is the saltiness of the bacon matches SO WELL with the sweet creaminess of the mochi - here's how we go about it.

Ingredients

• Wooden/bamboo skewers
• Bacon
• Dried mochi (Asian food store - comes in a big bag of individually wrapped little blocks about the size of a matchbox)

 Method

1. Soak the skewers so they don't burn.
2. Cut the mochi up into small pieces, rectangular like - roughly the size they will be in the centre of the bacon.
3. Put the mochi into a flat dish containing hot water - I use a casserole or baking tray.
4. Cut up your bacon - I get 3-4 to a regular Australian rasher, or two to a tiny Japanese processed one.
5. Remove mochi from water, shake off excess, wrap bacon around mochi and impale on skewer. Put 2-3 rolls on each skewer.
6. Grill over coals or in toaster oven or under regular grill - be sure to turn.

Cooking Notes

• Be careful not to burn your mouth on molten mochi or stab yourself making skewers.
• You really need to soften the mochi - the dried stuff is too hard to stab the skewers through.
• If you can get fresh mochi then even better! Just roll it into little sausages and use that instead.
• Mochi is consumed mostly during new years - it is very chewy and soft. Old and young people die as a result of airway blockages. Beware!

Caffietini

I like a delicious Martini. Mother's ruin with a hint of vermouth - when I say hint, I mean a mere salute of the bottle to the glass. This is something special. Homemade coffee infused vodka (which is a dynamite gift) in a Martini with a special twist.

 First of all you need to make the coffee vodka.

Ingredients

• Bottle of vodka (700-750ml - cheap stuff is fine for this)
• 1 Tbs White Sugar
• 1/4 cup Coffee Beans

 Method

1. Have a shot or two to make room for the beans.
2. Crack beans between two tablespoons - we don't want to crush them, just split them open so the vodka can get in there.
3. Add beans and sugar to the vodka
4. Shake it and leave it for at least a few hours, but the longer the mooooooore coffee flavour you get. No longer than a week though - otherwise it'll end up too bitter.
5. Using a funnel and coffee filter paper, filter out the crushed up beans.
6. All done!!

Now you have your delicious vodka, you'll need a recipe for the Caffietini!

Ingredients

• 2 oz Coffee Vodka
• 1/2 oz Rosso Vermouth (Red, sweeter stuff than regular)

 Method

1. Add vermouth to chilled glass, swirl to coat.
2. Add coffee vodka
3. Garnish with a few whole beans

Notes

• I know there's a whole load of vermouth in here vs the classic Martini, but the red vermouth really works with the slight bitterness of the coffee vodka.
• You can shake your vodka over ice or stir it if you want, but you'll get a watery cocktail. I keep my vodkas in the freezer for a straight up cold one.
• The sugar is important in the recipe - it gives the oils in the coffee beans something to bond to when the vodka dissolves them out.

 

Crispy Camembert with Raspberry Kimchi Sauce

I just had to revisit this recipe on the new blog - it's been up over at Nibbledish since Nibbledish was OpenSourceFood. This isn't a hopeless grab at generating blog content though; I really love this recipe and it's the very tail end of winter so it's the last chance to do a really wintery tsumami type dish.

Otsumami is really just a Japanese kind of hors d'oeuvres (horses-doovers in my house). It's a little something to munch on with a drink and they can run the gamut from sweet to savoury, simple to complex. Things like edamame, dried squid, stick cheese, nuts, crackers, smoked meats - anything that goes well with beer.

This recipe goes well with ANYTHING, but the best part about this is the sauce - the sweet acid of raspberry with the slight chilli-garlic kick from the Kim Chi cuts through the creamy Camembert perfectly, and the hot crispy outside of the panko crumb crunches deliciously as the cheese oozes out.

Ingredients
Serves 4 people (2 pieces a serve)

• Camembert cheese (1 round)
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Flour
• 1 Cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• Canola/Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 Tbs Mirin (Cooking sake)
• 1 Tbs KimChi base
• 1 Tbs Raspberry jam

Method

1. First, cut the camembert into wedges then put into the fridge to firm up whilst you make the sauce. This will mean it still retains its shape in the frying process.
2. To make the sauce, combine equal parts mirin, kimchi base & raspberry jam in a small saucepan.
3. Heat until all the jam is melted. Mix well to combine, simmer very lightly for a minute or two to reduce. Allow to cool.
4. Remove the cheese wedges from the freezer. Roll in flour, dip in egg yolk and roll them in panko.
5. Deep fry for 2 minutes or so, until just the golden side of golden brown.
6. Drain on paper towel for a moment then serve with sauce on the side.

Cooking Notes

• If you can't get your hands on panko, regular breadcrumbs work fine but the panko is really flaky and crispy and much nicer in my opinion.
• When I make these for parties, I set up a little assembly line and serve them up hot - they do not keep well if you fry up a bunch then try to keep them warm in the oven.
• Make sure not to crowd the fryer and make sure your oil is REALLY hot; the egg wash will flash-fry and seal the cheese inside and then you'll avoid getting oily cheese.
• If you live in Japan, try this with that "stick cheese" you can buy in the otsumami section of a convenience store. It's entirely weird but a nice change-up.

That's a-Spicy Bolognese!

Tonight I've knocked together a quick bolognese sauce for some pasta. As much as I love finicky cooking and temperatures and adding 35 ingredients by the millilitre to create a secret gastronomical joy-explosion, I also like throwing a bunch of crap together in a pot and doing nothing until it's time to eat.

This is no ordinary throw-together pasta sauce, however! I was lucky enough pick up a few days work running audio-visual at this year's Hilton Masterclass and who should be co-hosting a workshop on spices but Ian “Herbie” Hemphill of Herbie's Spices (my go-to in Australia for difficult to find flavourings - anatto anyone?). He spoke a bit about cinnamon vs cassia - summary : cassia is hot like Big Red gum, cinnamon is the flavour but without the heat. His suggestion was : next time you make a meat sauce, throw in a little cinnamon and see what it does to the other flavours. So I did, and ended up with a beautifully complex bolognese-style meat sauce.

There's no distinct cinnamon taste, but you can definitely notice a special extra-something through the tomato and herb flavours. Another thing you may notice about this recipe - there's no garlic! "What?!?!" I hear you say (I've bugged your home), "You can't cook an Italian dish without garlic!!!" My family are allergic to garlic (manifests as tummy upsets and hangover-like symptoms) and whilst I am able to enjoy it eating out, I have to modify my cooking habits in the house (even the residual smell makes them queasy). So there is no garlic in this recipe, but I think that the cinnamon adds a special kind of sweetness that the garlic would mask, so give this a try and see what you think!

Ingredients
Serves 4 people

• 500g Lean Beef Mince
• 1 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 3 Shallots (chopped finely)
• 800g Crushed Tomato (two cans)
• 4 tbs Tomato Paste
• 750ml Beef Stock (for this I just use powder and hot water made up as per instructions)
• 250ml Red Wine (Cabernet-Sauvignon is good)
• 1 tbs Mixed Dried Herbs (told you this was throw-together)
• 1 tsp Powdered Cinnamon

Method

1. Heat large saucepan (not a sautee or frypan) and add olive oil.
   
2. When oil is shimmering, add diced shallots and cook until soft and going transparent.
3. Add beef mince and and brown.
4. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, stir well to combine.
5. Add wine, stock, herbs and cinnamon and stir well.
6. Bring to a very, very slow simmer. Simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. It should reduce by about two-thirds to a very thick, shimmering glossy sauce.
7. Serve with pasta.
   

Cooking Notes

• As I mentioned, this is a throw-together. You can substitute the canned tomatoes for fresh and the dried mixed herbs for fresh if you want, but it kind of defeats the point of dumping stuff into a pot and leaving it.
• I spent an interesting 6 months as a dish-pig and kitchen hand at an Italian-style restaurant during my university days, and part of my job was to help with the pasta prep in the morning. I asked the chef who made the sauces why he cooked them for so long (because I had to then scrub out these feral, 120 litre saucepans encrusted with burnt on crud). He replied "Billy, it make for the best of flavour! Is like wine - the longer you cook, the better the flavour!". He had many sharp knives, so I didn't want to point out that you don't actually cook wine to develop the flavour. But I took his meaning and found that it does kind of improve my sauces and soups, as long as it's a very slow simmer.
• If you feel the need, you can run a slender-blender or something through it to make it smoother but I quite like it a little chunky - makes me feel like a rustic chef in a farmhouse somewhere, cooking with ingredients fresh off the vine, over a country hearth. Or I could just be lazy.

Ponzu Karaage - Marinaded Fried Chicken

I love izakaya! Japanese pubs are awesome, especially the food. An emphasis on small dishes you can share with friends, designed to go well with beer. I spend a fair amount of my time in them when I can, and I always love to see what different places have on offer!

In the pro cooking world, people often talk about a chef's omelet being a mark of their skills in the kitchen - I like to judge an izakaya by their fried chicken. As I see it, there are 3 things that go into making karaage chicken : marinade, coating & sauce. This particular recipe uses a special marinade, a special sauce and a barely-there crispy coating.

The 'ponzu' in the title refers to the marinade. A ponzu sauce is one with an acidic element like citrus or vinegar ('zu' being from the Japanese word for vinegar). The sauce for this marinade is based on a classic teriyaki, but with a biting (but not unpleasant) acidity from the addition of rice vinegar.

Ingredients
Makes 1 serve for 2-4 people (depending on how much beer is involved in the consumption)

• 250g Boneless Chicken with skin removed
  
• 2 tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 tbs Rice Vinegar
  
• 2 tbs Mirin
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Plain Flour
• Vegetable oil for frying
  
• 1/2 Cup Japanese Mayonnaise (QP brand or similar)
• 1 tbs Goma (toasted black sesame seeds)
• 1 tbs Shichimi (Japanese 7 Spice)

Method

1. Dice chicken into cubes, roughly 2cm across.
   
2. Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin and sugar. Add chicken pieces and mix thorougly.
   
3. Leave in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, although overnight is best.
   
4. To make the sauce, crush the goma between two spoons or roughly in a mortar and pestle. Don't grind to powder, just crush them. Combine with shichimi and mayonnaise. Put aside.
5. Drain chicken and pat dry with paper towel to remove excess moisture.
6. Toss chicken through flour whilst heating oil.
7. Fry chicken in oil & drain on paper towel.
8. Serve with mayonnaise and frosty cold delicious beer.
   

Cooking Notes

• The longer the you marinade the chicken, the better the flavour.
• Make sure to remove as much excess marinade from the chicken before coating in the flour - the more moisture that remains, the less crispy your frying will be.

Kurumiae Hourensou Maki - Spinach Roll with Walnut Dressing

First recipe! Something unassuming and pretty plain sounding, but really quite delicious! I was feeling homesick for Japan after teaching a bunch of classes about season during the week, and over the weekend it was my brother-in-law's birthday so I decided to put together a little autumn/winter Japanese feast for a family lunch on Sunday afternoon.

Of course spinach is a spring vegetable, however the winters in Brisbane are so mild that we don't even get close to Japanese winter. The winter weather is pretty close to the spring weather in Miyagi so I figured I could get away with a bastard-hybrid spread. Because I was also including my special Ponzu Karaage and some Shogayaki in the day's spread, I felt I needed a bit more green stuff to counter all the meat!

In Japan, Hourensou no Kurumiae is a spring salad dish. My version can be enjoyed any time of year, and has a little presentation twist on the Japanese original.

Ingredients
Makes 4 Serves

• 500g Fresh Spinach
• 1/2 Cup Walnuts (shelled)
  
• 2 tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 3-4 tbs Water

Method

1. First of all, make the sauce. Crush walnuts with the flat of knife or a mortar and pestle. We don't want a powder, just small pieces the size of a rice grain or two.
2. Combine soy sauce, walnuts and sugar with a little water into a sauce. Put aside for later.
   
3. Cut off the base and woody stems of the spinach - these are really bitter and we want to enjoy the lovely sweetness of the leaves.
4. Plunge into boiling water - cook for about a minute or until the leaves are just about to wilt.
5. Drain from boiling water. Run under cold water to stop cooking. Squeeze out as much water with your hands as possible.
6. Form a sausage shape as cylindrical as possible, about 3-4 centimetres diameter.
   
7. With a clean, smooth tea towel squeeze out as much water from the spinach sausage as you can. You may need to repeat a few times.
8. With a sharp non-serrated knife, cut segments about 3-4 centimetres in length. Reform into cylinders again if need be (presentation, presentation!)
9. Dress with walnut sauce and serve!

Cooking Notes

• I found that the longer I left the sauce, the more it absorbed the liquid and became gel like. I added another tablespoon or two of water just prior to serving to make it runny again.
• 500g of raw spinach looks like an awful lot but it cooks down to very little - don't be afraid!
  
• I haven't tried this with frozen spinach, only fresh - I imagine it would be possible with frozen but I don't know how well it would form.
• Be really careful not to over cook the spinach - it will stew if you're not careful. The idea is to just cook out a little of the chlorophyll from the leaves - it is the main bitter agent.
• Don't skimp on the sauce if your guests aren't familiar with spinach