Nikujaga \(^_^)v

A 可愛い japanese dish, should be accompanied with a 可愛い emoticon.

I love this dish after having tasted it when I was about 10 years old, and went to Japan on a school trip, with home stay program etc. It was extremely nostalgic recently when I dug out the replies to the “Thank You” letters from my hosts. Written in halting English, it brought to mind images of Japan in the 90s, albeit fuzzy images. (Blotchy memories of white eggs, it was the first time I saw WHITE chicken eggs! Eggs in Singapore are generally brown… Playing at a video games arcade… living on top of a shop selling scramblers…)

Longing for the dish, not to mention that the Fiancée is a fan of anything made from potatoes, I made it again. I felt it was not as good as the initial attempt where I followed closely a recipe by maki, due to the addition of carrots (also from Chinese New Year, gosh.) and also a little accident with the fluid amount (added too much water, I forgot to adjust for the carrots, kicked myself.) and a further mishap with the potatoes(overcooked). =(

肉ジャガ。

Ingredients for 2

I halved most of the quantities, but do note that the amount of seasonings needed for larger portions would not likely follow the seasoning ratio.

*ingredients awaiting approval to copy and paste from Just Hungry.

Seasonings

The cooking process.

I like frying the onions and ginger till the onions start to turn translucent. I find that it releases the flavours better, but should it start to get caramelised, the end result might look a lot more, wells, brown.

Then add the meat and brown it, afterwhich, add the potatoes and and carrots!

Bringing to a boil....

As I used granulated instant dashi, add them to the mixture and saute for a while, then add enough water to cover the entire mixture. Add the seasonings and bring it to a boil.

As it boils, it is time to ponder some differences even in seasonings in the Asian cooking scene. Soy sauce for cooking(known as soya sauce here) differs in every part of Asia. I always substitute in the 2 Light: 1 Dark ratio when doing Japanese type of cooking. Chinese Cooking uses 2 main types of soy sauce, Light, which is saltier and have a weaker body and only colours the food slightly; and Dark, which tends to the sweeter side and is very strong in body and fragrance, and it would also DYE the food. Of course, it would be a lot easier to just get a small bottle of Kikoman. Back to the cooking.

Once it boils, bring it down to a simmer, and add the SECRET INGREDIENT.

The Secret Ingredient.

A Lid. Actually any lid will do as long as it is a lid smaller than the pot and heavy enough to hold down your vegetables. This is important. It would ensure that all the food would be evenly coloured by the sauce. A half coloured potato is not cool. Neither does it look appetising. Simmer until the vegetables are have a delectable brownish hue, then take off the heat.

Roughly chop the white part of the spring onion, and sprinkle the finely chopped green parts into the mixture, toss around quickly and serve while piping hot. Serve with rice or quoting maki,

“if the idea of potatoes and rice is sort of overwhelming to you, reduce the amount of soy sauce in the stewing liquid to make it less salty.”

 

And again,

The Encore.

Fried Leftover Rice

What to do when there is rice leftover from yesterday’s cooking? Keep it in the rice cooker and make fried rice today!

I found out by chance that rice when left in a rice cooker for a day which is on “Keep Warm”, will actually ferment, giving a rather complex sweetness to the rice. However, be warned though that there are no guarantees if you keep the rice beyond a day. It might mushroom into something really interesting(scientifically) but horrible (aromatically and gastronomically).

Also, fried rice of any sort is often leaning towards the oily side. However, using a non-stick pan would reduce the amount of oil required considerably.

Leftover Fried Rice (serves 2)

• 4 Cloves of Garlic (Chopped finely)
• 1/2 Bulb of yellow onion (Diced)
• 100g of Leftover Meat (diced or julienned)
• A few sprigs of spring onion (Chopped)
• 1 medium sized tomato (Diced)
• 2 button mushrooms (Sliced)
• 1.5 cups of leftover rice.
• 1 egg
• Salt / Thai fish sauce / Herbs to taste.

The Other Ingredients

Oil the pan lightly, and over a medium heat, brown the garlic. The add in the diced onions and fry till they are transparent and browning at the edges. This slight process would release the sugars and make quite a bit of difference to the fried rice. I like to add a dash of Lea & Perrins’ Worcestershire Sauce to the onions at this time to enhance the colour and taste.

Throw in the meat and mushrooms, sweat the mushrooms a little to enable the mixture to absorb all the mushroomy juices. I used some smoked duck breast, available at a supermarket rotisserie, for the smokey and salty flavour. It goes excellent as a side dish to light beer as well. Ok, enough digression. Take off the heat and pour it all into a plate.

The Rice Mixture

DO NOT clean the pan. The juices and flavours of everything is still on the pan. Fry the rice at this point. Fry them until the rice separates into individual fluffy grains. Push the rice to one side, and crack in the egg. Scramble it, then mix the rice and egg mixture. Increase the heat till the maximum possible, add the fish sauce (or soya sauce if you prefer) frying constantly. I normally stop adding the sauce once I can smell it. Stir till the rice is evenly coloured.

The Finishing Touches!

Now, quickly recombine the meat mixture and rice mixture over high heat, flipping and stirring constantly. Add herbs if desired or salt (I didn’t because I believe that the smoked duck and fish sauce and Worcestershire have flavoured the dish rather well already.) Take off the heat. Stir in the spring onions and raw tomatoes!

Thai Inspired BBC – Basil, Beans & Chicken

Getting the travel bug really really bad. So bad that I am dreaming about the many different dishes that I have tasted on them so far. It is especially embarassing to realise that I have  flooded my pillow with drool. However, the poor wallet kept screaming, “NO!!! Stop!” So, as a result, I decided to recreate some dishes from memory.

The roadside stall cooking up my order

I ate this at a roadside stall, to sum it up, it was cheap and really good. I remembered the hellish spiciness of the dish especially well, the first mouthful was a huge shock, my tongue swelled and even my teeth were screaming,”Fire!!!” But as fluffy white rice caressed my burning mouth, teasing out the flames, my tastebuds that were stimulated to their maximum sensitivity tasted the juiciness of the fresh beans, the peppery taste of the basil and also the sweetness of the chicken. Absolute heaven. And it was only for 40Baht.

When I returned to Singapore, I found out that it was a creative tweat to the very classic Thai dish, Gai Pad Gra Pow. The addition of french beans were inspired, not only does it increase the nutritional value, it gives a colour boost to the dish! Now to my own adaption!

Basil, French beans and Pork!

 

Ingredients to serve 4:

2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 tablespoon Sugar
4 Chilli Padi, Sliced(More if you desire a stronger fiery taste)
1 clove Garlic, Minced
2 handfuls Basil leaves
200-300g Minced Pork (or any other type of minced meat.)
3 tablespoons Thai Fish Sauce
500g French beans, diced

The Cooking Process
Mince and fry the garlic and chilli together in the olive oil. Fry till the garlic starts to turn golden brown. Add the meat and stir constantly, till most of the meat juice is gone. Add the sugar and fish sauce, then the french beans. As the green colour of the french beans becomes more vibrant, add the basil leaves, and stir to mix them in. Take off the heat and serve with rice.

 

This version uses pork instead of chicken, because of a really simple reason. I needed to help clear the fridge out of all the leftover food from Chinese New Year before they are colonized by bacteria.