Effortless Paella

"Paella is not an easy dish." (quoted from actual recipes)

And I have always thought so too, until I made this up, taking the essentials from various recipes. Paella, for me, should have the following characteristics: 

1. Rice is not soggy. 

2. It has to be yellow. 

3. It's got a distinct cumin-meat-seafood flavor. 

4. There's paprika or bell peppers cooked until nicely soft. 

5. The rice is deliciously browned and caramelized at the bottom.

Thanks to the even cooking of the rice cooker, an essential in every Asian home, you get perfectly cooked rice that is browned at the bottom every single time. Is it authentic Valencian Paellla? Probably not but who cares? We love it. It's an effortless one-pot flavorful dish that I guarantee you'll make again. 

1 cup rice (I used Japanese rice)

½ onion, choped 

2-3 cloves garlic minced

1 red bell pepper/paprika diced (I have also used yellow, orange and green peppers successfully in the past but prefer bright red in my paella) 

50-100g shrimp and/or scallops

50-100g chicken breast diced

1 chorizo sausage or similar sliced (The closest thing I could find is beer sausage)

1 T olive oil

½ t turmeric powder

½ t cumin

1 t Better than Bouillon soup base + 1 t Bragg's Liquid Aminos (These two are staples in my kitchen and are very versatile but in the event you don't have either, go with chicken broth)

pepper to taste 

Wash the rice. Place rice in the rice cooker with the recommended amount of water or broth if doing chicken broth (follow the line indicated on the pot). Set aside. Heat olive oil in a pan. Saute onions and garlic. Add paprika, shrimp and/or scallops, sausage, and chicken. Turn off heat when chicken turns white but not fully cooked. Pour everything into the rice cooker. Add the turmeric, cumin, black pepper, the Better than Bouillon soup base and Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Stir to gently mix. Press the cook button on your rice cooker. That's it!

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.

Hollywood's Lemon Squares

I confess to being a Hollywood magazine junkie. There is something irresistible about the combination of beautiful people and chaotic lives I find absolutely riveting. But I also end up saying "I want my hour back" after wasting it leafing through pages of expensively dressed stars. I did get one wonderful thing out of my bad habit -- this recipe for Michael Romano's Lemon Squares came from People magazine. I halved it and adjusted the baking times to my satisfaction. It is my go-to sweet if I am craving something refreshing and citrusy.

1 cup and 2 T flour divided

1 cup sugar divided (¼ cup and ¾ cup)

½ cup butter

2 large eggs slighly beaten

Juice of 1 lemon

powdered sugar

Whisk 1 cup flour with ¼ cup sugar. Work softened butter until combined. Press onto an 8x8 inch pan or similar. Bake 20-25 minutes in 350°F until firm and golden. Combine ¾ cup sugar and 2 T flour. Whisk in eggs and lemon juice. Pour over crust. Bake 20-25 minutes in 325°F until just barely set. Cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

Jack-Approved Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookie

We have a neighbor named Jack who runs an organic vegetarian cafe. Every so often, I share with Jack some of my baked goodies. Jack is always grateful but sparing with his praise, but there is one cookie that he complimented and so his approval is especially memorable. If Jack says it's good, it must be good. I came across this recipe when someone gifted us with shredded coconut and I wasn't sure what to do with it. The original recipe from Ambitious Kitchen called for coconut oil but I like butter better. 

1 cup oats (original recipe called for quick oats. I used regular rolled oats just fine)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 t baking soda

¼ t salt (I omit this if I use salted butter which is sometimes the only thing available)

½ cup butter

¾ cups sugar

1 egg

2 t vanilla

1 cup shredded coconut

2 t milk

100 g chocolate (original recipe called for chocolate chunks. I just used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Mix wet ingredients, then mix in the dry ingredients, chunkier ingredients last. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. 

Frances' Chocolate Cake

"Oh yes," said Mother, "you may be sure that there will always be 

plenty of chocolate cake around here."

- A Baby Sister for Frances, Russel and Lillian Hoban

Every family ought to have their own go-to chocolate cake recipe, and this happens to be ours. I got it off the back of the packet of Ghirardelli's Premium Baking Cocoa and it's their recipe for their Grand Fudge Cake (or cupcake). One time I ran out of confectioner's sugar and discovered a way to make a nice chocolate frosting without it. 

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

½ t salt (I omit this if I use salted butter which is sometimes the only thing available)

1 cup butter 

1 ¾ cups sugar

2 t vanilla

2 large eggs

1 ⅓ cups milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9" round cake pans. In a bowl, sift together baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl,cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and eggs. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with flour mixture) while mixing until smooth. Pour into the pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. 

No Confectioner's Sugar Chocolate Frosting

1 cup sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ cup butter

¼ cup milk

1 t vanilla

Bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat then add vanilla. Cool partially and then beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Spread on cooled cake. 

Southern Fried Chicken Karaage

Every book I've read set in the American South almost always has Southern Fried Chicken in it. I'm gastronomically curious as to how different this is from the fried chickens I've ever had. Someone passed on to me Amy Sedaris' I like you: Hospitality under the influence and saw how ridiculously simple her recipe is. Unfortunately, I don't have the buttermilk and lard that her recipe called for so I substituted yoghurt for buttermilk and just plain cooking oil for frying. I also used chicken breast and cut them into bite-sized pieces much like your regular Japanese karaage. The results were outstanding. My husband who used to be stationed at South Carolina declared this to be as good as he remembered. He requested this for his birthday.   

Chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

yoghurt

paprika

salt

pepper

cornstarch and flour (1:1 ratio)

oil for frying

Marinate chicken pieces in yoghurt, paprika, salt and pepper overnight. Dredge in the cornstarch-flour mix. Deep fry until done. Serve hot.