-Oji Chef

-Oji Chef

So there’s the “research.” I hope to make one soon!

-Oji Chef

Tentacle Udon

• 2 cups water
• Soy sauce to taste
• Dashi no moto (instant dashi stock) to taste
• Approximately 10 little tentacles
• 1 chunk of frozen udon noodles
• 2-3 green onions, sliced thinly diagonally

1. Mix the water, soup stock, and soy sauce and bring to a boil.
2. Toss in the tentacles and boil until cooked. (a nice pink/purple color on the outside and white on the inside, very chewy)
3. Add noddles and cook until the noodles are thawed and hot. Stirring occasionally.
4. Top with green onion.

Well, it seems that octopus is no longer a rare treat reserved only for restaurants! I’ll probably be eating this all the time now since it’s one of my favorite sea foods. Tentacles are tasty! And so I beg you, swallow your fear, embrace your inner Japanese soul, and eat some tentacles!

-Oji Chef

Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid

• The original recipe at The Fresh Loaf contains very useful pictures and a detailed explanation too long to copy here. Please go there to make this recipe. Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid Recipe.

This honestly did not turn out as sweet as I would have hoped. When I imagine a cream cheese danish I picture the ubiquitous Entenmann’s brand super sweet dreamy cream cheese danish with streusel drizzled on top. While this was tasty, the blueberries were somewhat tart and the cream cheese was barely noticeable. I question the use of the lemon juice in the blueberry glaze. In the future I would opt out on the lemon juice and use a blackberry jam instead. Either way, it’s still tasty and it’ll make a great breakfast treat.

-Oji Chef

Karee Udon – Curried Udon Noodles

• 4 portions boiled udon noodles (see note below)
• 7 oz beef loin thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion (I left this out because it was growing new onions)
• 1 bunch scallions
• Curry Sauce
  • 7 1/2 cups dashi (see this recipe for help with dashi)
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • pinch pepper
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 1/2 oz curry roux
  • starch-water mixture
    • 3 – 4 tbsp cornstarch
    • 3 – 4 tbsp water
• vegetable oil

1. Cut beef into bite size pieces. Slice onion thinly. Cut scallions diagonally into thin slices.
2. Heat oil in a skillet and saute beef and onion until tender. Add dashi, sugar, salt, pepper and soy sauce then simmer.
3. Add curry roux, cook three more minutes, add starch-water mixture to thicken. (STIR!!) Add scallions just before removing from heat.
4. Heat udon noodles noodles in boiling water and drain.
5. Transfer noodles to bowls and top with generous amounts of curry sauce.

Note about udon noodles: You can also get these at Asian grocery stores. The best ones to get by far the ones that are frozen. All you have to do is warm them up in a pot of water and they’re perfect. Dried ones are also available but I’ve always found these to be too thin to be satisfying and they’re not nearly chewy enough to be considered udon for me. You can also make your own, but that’ll be a future recipe.
Okay! So I did several things differently. First off, I only made this for one person. Here’s how I did it. I started with a piece of beef about the size of a deck of cards and sliced it thinly. I left out the onion because I didn’t have any. I used about 2 green onions. I only used a cup of dashi. And I dramatically cut down everything else. Instead of using a curry roux I simply added curry powder to taste. I also only used a single tablespoon of starch-water mixture.
Words cannot express just how freaking delicious this was. This is one of those foods that make a person say “Man…I could live off this for the rest of my life.” I highly recommend it! Have fun! Let me know if you make the full recipe and how it turns out.

-Oji Chef

The initial taste on the palate is actually surprisingly sweet and tasty which gives the illusion that this is going to be a good sake. However, once it reaches the back of the mouth and the throat the truth is revealed. This sake is very bitter going down and isn’t very enjoyable by itself. I’ve had about 10 different sakes, many of which were very good and all except a few were better than the hoshi.

A good sake is meant to be drank at just slightly warmed more than room temperature or chilled depending on the type of sake you’re drinking. Sake is heated to very hot to mask lower quality brands. If you ever find yourself in a real Japanese restaurant you’ll find that only the “house” sake is served hot. All of the other sakes are served either chilled or only gently warmed.

So here’s the surprise with the Hoshi, it was actually very drinkable and enjoyable with food. I normally drink sake by itself, but this sake was quite tolerable when paired with food. Now I’m certainly not going to recommend this sake to anyone, especially not if it’s your first sake experience, however, if you’re on a budget and you like sake and you’re going to be pairing it with some strong food then bottoms up!

Kampai!

-Oji Chef

Kakitama Jiru: Beaten Egg Soup

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 bunch trefoil (mitsuba) (I used green onions because they were on hand)
• 2 1/2 cups dashi (see note below)
• 3/4 tsp salt (I left this out)
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• starch-water mixture
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp fresh ginger juice (see note below)

1. Beat eggs lightly. Cut trefoil. (mitsuba) into 3/4 inch lengths. (Or cut the green onions very thin)
2. Place dashi, salt, and light soy sauce in a soup pot and bring to a boil.
3. Add starch-water mixture gradually to thicken.
4. Swirl in beaten egg, rotating as you go, stir lightly.
5. Add trefoil (mitsuba) (or green onion) and ginger juice, and turn off heat.

Note about dashi: Dashi is a soup stock made from dried bonito fish. There are several ways that you can make it but by far the easiest is to simply go to an Asian grocery and purchase some dashi no moto, which is granulated dashi soup stock. Just mix with water according to the directions on the package and adjust to taste.

Note about ginger juice: Who has ginger juice laying around? I sure don’t. I minced about an inch or two of ginger and attempted to squeeze it into the soup but nothing really came out so instead i put it in a tea ball and infused it in the soup for five minutes. It worked very well and tastes great!

Anyway, this was *very* tasty. I enjoyed how fluffy the eggs were. I enjoyed this with a sake which you can read about as well.
You should try this one, it’s a good recipe to observe the effects of cornstarch as a thickening agent. Just be sure to stir as you add it.

-Oji Chef

Creamy Parmesan Chile Mashed Potatoes

• 10 small to medium russet potatoes, washed and diced (I like to leave the skins on)
• 1/4 cup milk or half and half
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 oz parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil the potatoes until they’re easily squishable with a fork.
2. Add the milk and stir until creamy.
3. Stir in the cream cheese and chili.
4. Stir in the parm and warm until melted.

When I was young people took some flak for having lumpy mashed potatoes. Now, in the world of instant, people are longing for the lumps as signs of having used real potatoes. Maybe I should invent some instant taters with “real lumps.” Anyway, these are creamy and tasty, but boy they have a bite.

-Oji Chef

Spicy Pork Chop

Spicy Pork Chop
Original Recipe found at southernfood.about.com

• 2 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick pork chops, trimmed of fat
• 1/2 med onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cored seeded and chopped
• 1 green chili, chopped finely
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped cored and seeded
• 1/2 10oz jar of spaghetti sauce seasoned with oregano, salt, pepper, basil and garlic
• 1 package macaroni and cheese dinner, prepared as the package directs (I honestly always leave out the butter/margarine)
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

1. Season the porkchops with salt, pepper and garlic powder, cut into 3/4″ squares and pan fry until cooked.
2. Add the onions and peppers until tender
3. Add the tomatoes and sauce and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes
4. Add macaroni and stir. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

This was actually surprisingly good, a far cry from normal mac and cheese. My dinner guests said it was the best mac and cheese she’s ever had. (I question her experience) But hey, a compliment is a compliment right? This is something that I imagine eating as a kid but not so much as a health conscious adult.

-Oji Chef

Sweet Rustic Bread

Sweet Rustic Bread
Original Recipe found at The Fresh Loaf

• 2 cups all-purpose enriched unbleached flour (I used bleached flour)
• 1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour, if you do not have bread flour)
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 cup warm milk (I used Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk, which made the bread *very* sweet)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup lukewarm water

1. Mix the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients. Mix and adjust water until all ingredients are incorporated and the dough is capable of forming a ball. Pour the dough onto a flat, floured surface and knead for approximately ten minutes.
2. Return the dough to an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes. Shape the loaf and then let rise again until the desired size is reached, approximately another hour.
3. Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes, until when tapping the bottom of loaf the bread springs back and makes a hollow sound.

As noted above, this bread is *very* sweet, but there is also a lot of extra sugar in the soymilk that I used. This is a tasty an fun bread and I’m happy to say that the crust isn’t nearly as hard as it was on Bread Lesson One. This one’s a fun one and I recommend it. Also, here’s a tip. I read this somewhere randomly while surfing the net. According to Alton Brown, if you boil some water and pour it into a pan or baking dish and put it in the bottom of the oven and put the dough to rise in its oiled bowl on the rack above it, the steam creates the perfect temperature for rising. This is extremely helpful for me as my apartment is usually around 60 degrees to save money in the winter. Perfect rises every time!

-Oji Chef

Italian Bread Bowls with Clam Chowder

Italian Bread Bowls
Original recipe found here at Allrecipes.com

• 2 (.25 ounce (1.5 tsp)) packages active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition.
3. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
4. Punch dough down, and divide into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 4 inch round loaf. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.
7. To make bowls: Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice from top of each loaf; scoop out centers, leaving 3/4-inch-thick shells. Fill bread bowls with hot soup and serve immediately.

Just a note, try to make the balls as uniform as possible, if they have “seams” where you pinch them together, then they’ll come a part when you’re carving them. Also, someone suggests on the original recipe site adding some garlic powder as well as some other ingredients, I highly recommend this. While the bowls are perfect texture wise, they’re a little bland.

Mark’s Clam Chowder
Original recipe found here at Recipezaar.com

• 2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans minced clams (I used chopped clams because I like chunks of meat)
• 2 cups potatoes, chopped
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 quart half-and-half

1. Put veggies in large saucepan.
2. Drain clam juice into veggie pot.
3. Add water to cover.
4. Boil until tender.
5. Make white sauce with remaining ingredients.
6. Melt butter.
7. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
8. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes.
9. Add half and half, stirring continuously until thick.
10. Add clams and veggies to white sauce.
11. Heat through.

So yeah, gotta admit, this food totally hit the spot after a few hours of sledding. The ultimate food on a bleary winter day. You’ll also have to add some extra salt and pepper to the soup as it is also a little on the bland side. I highly recommend both of these recipes!

-Oji Chef

Namul – Sesame Shiitake Mushrooms

Namul

• 10 shiitake mushrooms, fresh or dried
• salt 1/2 – 1 tsp, or more to taste
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, crushed
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

1. If the mushrooms are fresh, rinse well, cover with water in a saucepan and boil until cooked. If they are dried, soak in water for 30 minutes to soften. Remove the stems. Cut heads into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Mix all ingredients together and add more salt to taste if necessary.

That’s it! Fast and easy and, if you’re like me and love shiitake, then you’ll love this appetizer. Just a bit of warning though, occasionally you’ll get a bit of a weird crunch that reminds of you eating dirt. It’s okay, it’s just a seed.

-Oji Chef

Winter Beer Sampler

Alrighty let’s rank them!

1. Winter Bourbon Cask Ale: Far right. This is by far the best winter beer I’ve had. In fact, last year when I was introduced to it I was too late to purchase any more. However this year I purchased three cases as soon as they came out. (No I’m not a lush, I have most of it still) It’s THAT good. The best way to describe it is perfectly balanced.
2. Petrus Winter Beer: Second from the right. This beer is beer. Meaning that it tastes like a true pilsner with a bit of a sour bite. Not bitter mind you, but just enough of a difference that it’s interesting and extremely refreshing. This is a very drinkable beer and I look forward to my next bottle.
3. Harpoon: Far left. This beer is…well…odd. The first sip is “Wow! This is delicious” as the nutmeg and cinnamon hit you. By the end it’s kind of like “this tastes sort of like pickles.” Not bad if you like pickled beer, but it kind of gross on you…like a fungus…which is why it’s not last.
4. Brooklyn Winter Ale: Second from left. An ale. It was tasty. It wasn’t outstanding in any way, which is good because that makes it very drinkable, but I wouldn’t brag about it.
5. Epiphany Abbey Style Tripel: Middle. I remember being disappointed by this, but I don’t remember why. It wasn’t a BAD beer, oh no, I’d take this over Miller Lite or Coors any day, but I just remember it being lacking where the others shined. Where most Winter beers are more full bodied and sweeter, this seemed thinner and almost tasted like ashes. I look forward to my other bottle to see if it’s consistently bad or just a fluke.

Okay, that was collection of probably useless descriptions, but hey, I never claimed to be good at describing wine or beer. I recommend trying all of these though as they’re all very different and very enjoyable, unless of course you don’t like pickles.-Oji Chef

Delirium Noel

As you can see, this has kind of a strange color to it. Needless to say, it had kind of a strange taste to it as well. After a full glass of this I was already contemplating sending random texts to people. I’ll admit, this stuff hit me hard. I frantically went to get more because, though strange tasting at first, it is actually quite good after it opens up. It’s unusual to have a beer that needs to open up, but man, this might be my new favorite beer. Favorite in the “This is a special treat that I’d kill to have once in a while” way, not favorite in the “I will drink nothing but this” kind of way. Anyway, if you can still find some on the winter clearance shelves, GET IT, but make sure your evening schedule is cleared. The pink elephants will keep you occupied for a while.

-Oji Chef