Vietnamese Wrap and Roll

I recently visited Ho Chi Minh with my colleagues at the organic center that I work at. Vietnam is home to these wonderful pork and shrimp salad rolls. I can eat these everyday. They are healthy and do not leave you feeling heavy.  Since I couldn't bring my family to Vietnam, I brought Vietnam to our dinner table for my family. Put some lemongrass oil in a diffuser and enjoy a gastronomic trip with these rolls.

1-2 small packs glass noodles or harusame or vermicelli noodles
200 g thinly sliced pork
5-6 T The Best Grilled Meat Marinade (for cooking the pork)
1 carrot, sliced into long thin strips
200 g shrimp
a couple slices of ginger (for cooking the shrimp)
lettuce leaves (1 leaf per roll needed)
Vietnamese roll rice paper sheets
fresh cilantro (I didn't have these and they're usually quite expensive in the supermarket so I substituted with nira or garlic chives and it worked wonderfully -- but if you have access to cilantro, these are the cat's meow!)
cucumber, sliced into long thin strips (optional)

Pan fry pork in The Best Grilled Meat Marinade until done. Set aside.

Boil ginger slices in salted water. Toss in peeled and deveined shrimps. Cook until done. Slice in half lengthwise. Set aside.

Soak glass noodles in water for at least 20 minutes. Blanch in boiling water. Cool in running cold water. Drain. Set aside.

Dip two sheets of rice paper in water until completely damp on both sides and they have become soft and pliable. Lay on a plate one on top of the other. Put a piece of lettuce on the bottom half of the paper. Layer with carrots, coriander or garlic chives, cucumber (if using), pork pieces, and a clump of noodles. Fold bottom portion of the paper over the filling and fold in the left and the right sides. Place 2 shrimp halves over the top of the roll. Roll wrapper tightly until the edges seal shut. Serve with the dipping sauces below. 

Nut based dipping sauce

2 T soy sauce

1 T nut butter (I've successfully used peanut butter and almond butter, smooth and crunchy both okay)

1 T honey

1 T lemon or lime

1 T vinegar

1 T sesame oil

dash of pepper

1 clove garlic minced

chili powder (I eliminated this to make it kid-friendly)

Combine all ingredients and blend well. 

Fish sauce based dipping sauce

You may not be a fan of fish sauce but do give this sauce a try. The final sauce does not taste too strong or too fishy and is in fact a really delightful blend of sweet, salty and sour. 

2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
1½ T sugar or honey

2 T lemon or lime

1 t vinegar

2 T fish sauce

¼ cup water

chili paste or sliced fresh chili (I eliminated this to make it kid-friendly)

Combine all ingredients and mix well. 

Not Exactly Shepherd's Pie

The first time I've had "shepherd's pie" was at a children's party. Someone brought a meat-based mashed potato and cheese topped casserole and I liked it a lot. The person who made it said it was extremely easy and recited the recipe right off the bat. I made a mental note to make this dish when I have a surplus of ground meat and potatoes. What I learned as I researched more about the dish is that technically, shepherd's pie uses lamb. If beef is used, it's called cottage pie. If topped with bread crumbs, it's called Cumberland pie (see more technicalities on Jamie Oliver's 10 things you didn't know about shepherd's pie). Jamie Oliver has his own recipe with a difficulty rating of "Showing Off".  I usually like Jamie Oliver's recipes but this list of ingredients sound too alien (almost snobbish) to me. It includes shoulder of lamb, bone in (which cannot be found in any supermarket in Japan), 1 medium swede (what in the world is that?) and Maris Piper potatoes (not to be confused with Anastasia Beeverhausen potatoes). A mix of ground pork and ground beef is widely available in Japanese supermarkets so this is what I used for my Not Exactly Shepherd's Pie. A British friend remarked that traditionalists might see this strange combination of meats a violation. He might also be further horrified by the worcestershire-ketchup-soy sauce combination of many a Japanese "shepherd's pie" recipe.  But violation or not, this has become one of our comfort food. It has the difficulty rating of you-can-make-it-while-Facebooking.

5-6 medium potatoes
1-2 T butter
½ cup milk (or more)

500 g ground meat

½ -1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green peas mix)

1 onion chopped finely

4 cloves garlic crushed

3 T worcestershire sauce

1 T tomato paste

½ cup tomato chunks

1 t Better than Bouillon soup base

rosemary (not critical)

salt and pepper to taste

oil for sauteing

cheese

bread crumbs

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft enough for a fork to go through. Drain water then mash with butter. Add milk until you reach desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Sauté onion, garlic and meat in oil. Add mixed vegetables. Add worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, tomato chunks, bouillon soup base and rosemary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

In a casserole, layer meat, then mashed potatoes. Top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake or use the broil function of your oven for about 10-20 minutes in 350°F or until the top is nicely browned (since most of the dish is already cooked, we're simply grilling and browning the top of the dish). Give it some 30 minutes to cool off before serving.

Club Bistek

When I was a child, my family had a membership at a sports club. Almost every afternoon in the summer, my sisters and I would swim at the club's pool. The pool was near the lounge and every now and then, mouthwatering smells from the lounge's restaurant would waft to the pool area and one of their specialties is "Bistek Tagalog" (Tagalog Beef Steak). I believe our nose has its own memory because every time I smell the distinctly wonderful smell of onions and garlic in butter, I can also almost smell the chlorine of the swimming pool and I am transported back to the happy days of my childhood. This recipe is an attempt to recreate that wonderfully savoury dish, Bistek Tagalog which the club restaurant serves in a sizzling plate. For bistek, calamansi is usually used, a citrus local to the Philippines. Since it's almost impossible to find calamansi in Japan, I substituted lemon which can be found in any supermarket.  I am also partial to using the nice thin slices of pork as my kids find that easier to eat than beef or even pork chop slices. Soy sauce is crucial to this dish. It is essential for marinating the meat and it gives the meat and the onions a beautiful caramel color. 

3 cloves garlic chopped finely

ground black pepper

1-2 T fresh lemon juice

3-4 T soy sauce

300 g thinly sliced pork (or beef if preferred)

1 large onion sliced into ring

1 T butter (or olive oil if preferred)

Mix the garlic, ground black pepper, lemon juice and soy sauce in a bowl. Marinate the thinly sliced pork in this mixture for at least 30 minutes. In a frying pan, heat the butter or oil on medium high and pan fry the onions until soft. Move to the side of the pan. Pan fry the pork pieces until done but do not overcook. Serve hot with rice.

Simply Stroganoff

Growing up in Manila, I have always associated stroganoff with upscale restaurants. In my recollections, the menus featuring this dish would always be written in fancy curly fonts and served in an ambiance of fine dining. Stroganoff is a delectable fare that I equate with the luxury of eating out. When I moved to Japan about five years ago, I craved stroganoff and wished to recreate the dish I remember back home but sour cream, one of the essential ingredients is difficult to find, and if available, too expensive. I discovered that if I strained plain yoghurt (which is widely available in supermarkets and convenience stores and is relatively cheap), I end up with something that is very similar to sour cream. The resulting dish is as delicious but doesn’t leave you with a heavy feeling afterwards and so I believe this version is healthier. Most stroganoff recipes call for salt but I prefer to use soy sauce and Bragg's Liquid Aminos. They bring out the flavor of the pork and the mushrooms better than salt and it blends nicely with yoghurt creating a satisfying sauce that complements pasta wonderfully. It is so easy to recreate this five star dish and this healthier version is a great addition to our family’s weekly dinner fare, thus, Simply Stroganoff!

300 g plain yoghurt

1T butter (or olive oil if preferred)

1 large onion

150 g fresh mushrooms (or canned if fresh are unavailable)

300 g pork thinly sliced (thinly sliced beef can also be used)

2 T soy sauce

2 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos*

ground black pepper

parsley

Prepare the yoghurt at least 2 hours before cooking. Place the yoghurt on a cheesecloth lined strainer and drain off the excess liquid or the whey to end up with a thicker creamier consistency. Slice the onions into rings. Slice the mushrooms into small pieces. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan over medium high heat. Saute the onions until slightly browned and then toss in the sliced mushrooms and heat through. Add the thinly sliced pork. Season with pepper, soy sauce, and Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Heat through and make sure that the pork is done but don't overcook. Turn off the heat. Add the thickened yoghurt and mix until fully incorporated. Serve it over cooked pasta or rice and top with parsley.

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.