Recipe: Soboro Gohan

Another day for Obento, I made Soboro Gohan, shown in the box with egg piggie.
This sweet and savory soboro is one of the easiest dish to make, but it's definitely delicious and you would like to make it again.

(Please excuse me for the blurry photo, I made it before sunrise and no natural light...)

It's a common dish for bento since it tastes good even if it gets cold. Using a microwave is not popular in schools in Japan, so it's important to choose what to put in the bento box.. it still  has to taste good when lunchtime comes!

Also soboro stays good for up to 5 days(when cooked well) in refrigerator and a month in freezer. Sometimes I make in larger batch, let it sit until it gets cool, separate it in small portions, seal tight with cling wrap, put in a ziplock and save them in the freezer so I always have something quick to eat :)

(Make sure it's completely cooked and cooled before wrapping, if not it gets spoiled faster)

It's so quick and easy but tastes absolutely delicious.

そぼろご飯

Soboro Gohan : Flaked meat over rice

10 minutes

Ingredients for 4 

• Ground beef/pork/chicken : 10 oz
• Sugar: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 2 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp
• Soy sauce: 3 tbsp
• Grated ginger: 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, and cook the meat until almost cooked through
2. Add sugar, sake and mirin and mix for one minute
3. add grated ginger and soy sauce
4. Stir fry until most of the liquid is gone, breaking meat into small pieces

Best served over warm white rice with scrambled eggs. 

You can also adjust the amount of sugar and soy sauce for your taste.. or skip ginger, add garlic or chili, etc. 

Enjoy!

Onigiri Action Project 2016

Today I am sharing cute photos of my little Onigiri...

Onigiri(riceball) is a Japanese soul snack. It can be quick breakfast, picnic lunch, or power snack for hiking. Many of us grew up with memories of Onigiri made by mothers(Secret ingredients of homemade Onigiri is love)

I am posting this to be a part of Onigiri Action led by the World Food Day Campaign in Japan.
If you post  pictures of Onigiri on instagram or facebook and tag #onigiriaction, five meals will be given to children in hunger, in African and Asian countries.

Someone here is hungry and waiting for onigiri..

For the detail of the project: Tablefortwo

Obento Lunch Box

Today's post is not a recipe, but please allow me to show you my little creation :)

Here is obento(lunch box) I made last week!

So my fiance is generous enough to let me make this obento for his office lunch.

Obento Menu: Tako-san(Octopus-shaped) sausage, panda onigiri(rice ball) and Gudetama Tamagoyaki(Omlette) , Sesame marinated Mizuna, Soy Mirin Tebasaki(Chicken wings), and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts.

Does it look like panda?

Panda onigiri is made of rice and seaweed sheets. Inside rice ball is seasoned katsuobushi(bonito flake). Hardest part was to cut seaweed into small pieces to look like a panda.

It was the first time for me to make this kind of unique obento with animals or characters (called Charaben in Japan, usually made for kids in kindergarten or elementary school) . It was challenging but absolutely fun.

The morning I woke up at 5am and started cooking, and it took an hour to finish. It would be much shorter if I prepared seaweed in advance.

Usually, in Japan obento is made very quickly in the morning, because it wouldn't be convenient if we take too long every morning when we are busy getting ready for the day. The best way to make obento is to prepare the night before, or use leftovers.

Here is the picture he sent me from his office -- It survived subway ride in the morning rush hour in New York and still in great shape! Hope he enjoyed the meal.

I would make normal obento next time but hope he allows me to make another charaben sometime.

Recipe: Miso Marinated Pork

It is just  delicious but so easy to make that I am almost embarrassed to share. Usually I marinate it in the morning and just do the last step before serving it for dinner.

If you bought miso to make miso soup and wondering what to do with leftover miso sitting quietly somewhere deep in the fridge, you should definitely try it! Not only it has wonderful flavor and probiotic benefits, Miso soften pork and make it juicy.

豚の味噌漬け
Buta no Misozuke: Miso Marinated Pork
2.5 hours( Including 2 hours marinading)

Ingredients for 4

• 4 Pork Chops
• Miso: 1.5 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Mirin: 1 tbsp
• Sake: 1 tbsp
• Soy Sauce: 1.5 tsp
• Garlic: 2 cloves, minced
• Ginger: 1/2 inch, minced

Steps

1. Combine all ingredients beside pork chops
2. Add pork chops to marinade in ziplock and let it sit for 2 hours to overnight in refrigerator
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in nonstick pan over medium heat, add pork and sautee both sides until cooked 

1. 
   

This dish is the best friend of white rice. Just note, miso gets burnt easily so please try not to overcook it.

Itadakimasu :)

Recipe: Fried Salmon

Tatsuta is a way of cooking Japanese friend chicken/fish(karrage), which

Tatsuta age is at its best when the skin is crispy. Step 6&7 is the secret of making extra crispy skin with nice brown color so please be sure not to skip!

鮭の竜田揚げ
Sake no Tatsuta Age: Marinated Fried Salmon
1 to 2.5 hours( Including  30 minutes to 2 hours marinading)

Ingredients for 4

• Salmon Fillet : 2 
• Soy Sauce: 2 Tbsp
• Sake : 2 Tbsp
• Ginger: Grated, 1 Tbsp
• Garlic: Grated, 1 Tbsp
• Katakuriko(Potato Starch) 4 Tbsp
• Line a wire rack with a sheet of paper towels 

Steps

1. Combine soy sauce, sake, ginger and garlic into ziplock to make marinade
2. Cut salmon fillet into bite size
3. Add salmon to marinade and let it sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours in refrigerator
4. Drain off excess liquid from the salmon and add Katakuriko, mix gently by hands
5. Heat oil at 350°F. Deep fry until the exteior is light brown and salmon is cooked
6. Take out the salmon on the rack and let it sit for 3 minutes.
7. Heat the same oil at 400°F and deep fry until the exterior is medium brown

Salmon can be replaced for chiken thigh for Chiken Tatsuta.

Serve hot with lemon, everyone would love it :)

Itadakimasu!

Shopping List

Just about to start Japanese cooking? Here is the shopping list for you :)

Staples

• Sugar 
• Salt 
• Shoyu(Soy sauce)
• Mirin( Rice sweetener)
• Sake (Rice wine)
• Rice Vinegar
• Miso (Fermented Soy Bean)
• Dashi powder (Soup Stock)

Good to have

• Katakuriko(Potato Starch)
• Sesame Oil

For nutritional benefits, you could choose cane sugar, coconut sugar and sea salt. Shoyu has gluten free(Tamari Shoyu) and Low-sodium options.

Dashi is soup stock used in Japanese cuisine, helps enhance Umami, savory taste. There are multiple choices of dashi such as iriko(anchovy), konbu(sea weed), katsuo(bonito), and Shiitake mushroom. You can choose which dashi to use according to the dishes you make, or just even your preference.. I found katsuo is useful to season any kinds of dishes.

Although dashi powder is useful, dashi tastes the best when it's freshly made, I will add the some recipes soon :)

Miso is a fermented soybean paste with salt, koji and sometimes other grains such as rice.

Like dashi, miso also has variety, such as White miso, red miso, combination of white and red, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, and so on(More information about Miso ) We usually change types of miso depends on what we cook with.

I would recommend getting rice miso with light brown color for beginners for its milder taste and versatility. Once you start using miso, you will want to try different kinds, like you enjoy mariage of cheese and wine.

Katakuriko(potato starch) is used as thickener, coating for deep frying, and making sauce. Corn starch as a substitute does not give the same effect, and I like using katakuriko for deep frying for it's crispy and crunchy result.

Everything I listed can be purchased at Japanese or Asian grocery stores in the US, or online

Japanese Square
Asian Food Grocer

You will be surprised how far you could go with those items.. you can make so many different kinds of dishes.

Did you get all items? Let's start cooking!

Welcome to Teinei Gohan

Welcome to Teinei Gohan!

My name is Naoko, Japanese living in Brooklyn NY. I started Teinei Gohan to share my recipes for Japanese home cooking recipes.

I may not have recipes for sushi, sashimi, or ramen which represents Japanese food here in NY, but there will be recipes for simple, easy to make, healthy and delicious home cooking dishes you will enjoy :)

The word  Teinei（ていねい） means "with care" "pay attention to detail", Gohan(ごはん） literally means "rice", but we use the word as "meals".

"Teinei" reminds me of something slow, gentle, thoughtful, and graceful and that's something I wish to live with.

”Gohan" is often used in our conversations with family, and the memories are always associated with sense of comfort around family or close friends, and intimate conversations over meals. Or some bitterness I feel when I eat by myself.

My posts will be based on dishes I grew up with, from my mother who cooks beautiful and delicious dishes every day, never being tired of cooking and always curious about something new... and also I will add some recipes I found through my own cooking life.

My mother might say I still need training for cooking before having my recipe blogs, but I think she would say that for ever :P :)

Hope you enjoy my posts and try some of my recipes. Thanks for viewing!