If Popeye were Japanese

My kids are not particularly excited about spinach, except when I make this dish. Then, there's never enough and they fight for the last bits. So easy to prepare -- it is my go-to dish when I want to add some green to our meals.

1 bunch of spinach
1 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
1 T sugar (or less)
1 T ground white sesame seeds

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 20-30 seconds until just wilted. Drain. Rinse in cold water until cool. Slice into 1-2 inch long strips. Squeeze out excess water. Mix with the sauce. Serve. Good even when cold.  

My Japanese Table's Terriyaki Chicken Balls

Not all cookbooks are created equal. Debra Samuel's My Japanese Table: A Lifetime of Cooking with Friends and Familyis one of the few cookbooks I enjoyed leafing through.  A good cookbook inspires me to get on my feet and try making new dishes. These chicken balls were quite easy to make and delicately tasty. Great for bentos too.

½ cup cornstarch or katakuriko

500 g ground chicken

½ t salt

1 large egg white, beaten until foamy

2 t grated ginger

¼ t pepper

2 green onions finely chopped

Mix ground chicken, salt, egg white, ginger, pepper and green onions. Scoop up a spoonful and shape into a ball. Roll in cornstarch. In a pot, boil the following:

3 cups water

2 t dashi powder (optional) or 1 sachet of natural dashi

2 slices fresh ginger

Drop the chicken balls in. Move them a bit so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Boil until they change color (to white) and float easily in the broth. Remove the balls. Toss them in the terriyaki sauce below. Serve them as is or skewered in a stick. 

 

Terriyaki sauce (I made 1/4 of this recipe for the chicken balls above)

2 cups mirin

2 cups sake

6 T brown sugar

1 cup soy sauce

6 slices ginger, smashed

In a saucepan, bring mirin and sake to a boil. Add sugar, soy sauce and ginger. Boil on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. It can keep for months. 

Vanishing Tonkatsu

Every now and then, I get a craving for something fried. While I love tempura, I find them too messy to make. I  am more than happy to pay 500 yen for a rice bowl topped with assorted fresh tempura at the tempura chain Tenya. Tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) on the other hand hits the spot and is quite easy to make -- my four year old prepared the pork pieces herself (she does everything before the frying part). You only need as much oil to cover the pieces on a flat frying pan. Chop into bite size pieces before serving and watch them disappear before your eyes.

3-4 pieces of pork chops or pork loin (boneless), thinner slices cook better and faster
salt and pepper to taste
flour for dredging
1 egg beaten
dried breadcrumbs
oil for frying
Worcestershire sauce
ketchup

Season the pork in salt and pepper. Dredge with flour. Dip in the beaten egg, then coat with bread crumbs. Pan fry in oil until done. Keep the heat low so as not to burn the outside and flip the pieces midway through. For the sauce, mix Worcestershire sauce and ketchup in a 1:1 ratio.

I Swear It's Not Store Bought Niku Jaga

Niku jaga (braised meat and vegetables) is to the Japanese as adobo is to Filipinos. It is a good hearty fare that reminds one of home. This is one of the easiest Japanese dishes to cook and it's a great one-pot dish that's got protein and veggies in it. I once invited a friend to come over for a simple dinner of niku jaga and rice. She insisted that my niku jaga must have been store bought. She has placed an order for a huge batch that she can reheat at home.

1 T oil
250 g beef or pork thinly sliced
1 onion sliced into rings
2 potatoes, cut into wedges
2 carrots, cut into wedges
1 pack of ito-konnyaku or shirataki, boiled in water then rinsed
1¼ cup water
3 T sugar
2 T sake
3 T soy sauce
1 T mirin

Heat oil in a pot and fry up the meat. Add the ito-konnyaku or shirataki, onions, potatoes and carrots. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add sugar and sake. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add soy sauce and mirin. Simmer until all the liquid is gone. Serve with seven spice.