Japanese Cuisine has always been part of my family staple. Growing up in Taiwan in my grandparents' house, I was raised with both traditional Taiwanese dishes and Japanese cuisine, cartoons, and lullabies. There are many dishes that my grandmother (from my father's side) made that I wish I remember or had asked her how they were made before she passed away. My grandmother did not know how to write in Mandarin, but both my grandparents grew up during Japanese rule so she wrote her notes in Japanese, which I had not yet learnt till College. I spoke Taiwanese with both of them because that was their oral language. I can still remember the lullabies she sang to me in Japanese at night in her room.
Nikujaga is one of my favorite comfort food and only requires a few ingredients. Nikujaga means meat and potato in Japanese. Niku (肉) means meat. Jagaimo (じゃが芋) means potato. There are other variations, like Nikutofu, which means meat and tofu. I like the sweet and savory taste of the stew (very Japanese) and how fulfilling it is. This dish can be an entree or a side dish. I added lotus roots to it because that is what I had a small piece of it left in the fridge. Generally speaking, the base vegetable of this stew is potato, carrot, onion, and green beans, but it does not hurt to change it up!
Onigiri (おにぎり) is Japanese rice ball, that is commonly in a triangle shape. The ones I made today were simple plain rice ball with seaweed. Japanese like to add different ingredients to it. Some examples include traditional flavors: salmon, plum, sesame, chicken, egg salad; to a more modern take on avocado, kimchi, cheese, and so on. Onigiri is best serve cold so Japanese moms usually prepare onigiri with other beautifully cooked sides in bento box for children to eat as lunch on a field trip day.
To make Nikujaga, we have to start with making a Japanese stock called "Dash". It is very simple to make and you can find the ingredients you need at International/Asian Isle at any supermarkets now. So, let's start:
Ingredients
To make 250ml Dashi Stock
275ml water
½ cup loosely packed Bonito Flakes
2in x 2in Kombu (Dried Kelp)
1. In a sauce pan, boil water over stove, once boils add bonito flakes and kombu. Let it simmer for a minute to loosen bonito flakes and to rehydrate kombu. Off heat, let the pot site for a couple minutes to allow ingredients to release flavor.
2. Use a find-mesh strainer to strain off bonito flakes and kombu. The clear golden liquid in the pot is called "Dashi".
Nikujaga
250ml Dashi Stock
3 Tsp *Japanese Sake
*Sake [pronounced: sah-kay] is Japanese rice wine. My recommendation is this: It is not necessary to cook with expensive sake. Really, it does not matter. Cooking with expensive sake is only a waste of good sake and money.
3 Tsp Mirin
3 Tsp Sugar
4 Tsp light Soy Sauce
1 medium Potato, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch *roll cut for even cooking
*Roll cut: to roll the vegetable while cutting into it. This will result in similar size each cut for even cooking.
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch roll cut for even cooking
500g thin Beef Slices or Boneless Chicken Thigh into bite size cubes
½ medium Onion, medium size cubes
1 pack Konnyaku Noodles or ½ pack Konnyaku Block cut into ½ inch thick slices (you can omit this ingredient if not available or you just don't like Konnyaku)
2 Scallions, chopped
Green Beans (snow peas, string beans, or Edamame)
Instruction
1. In a sauce pan, mix dashi stock, sake, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce together till sugar dissolved. Do a little taste testing to see if adjustment is needed. You are the chef after all.
2. In a nabe pot or a Dutch oven, place potato in one pile, carrot in one pile, onion in one pile, meat in the middle of the pot. Turn heat up to high, pour the sauce in. We need to keep the heat high throughout cooking to prevent potato from breaking apart.
3. Once the sauce reaches boiling point, you will see scum/impurity starts to form. Use a small strainer to remove to keep the stew clear.
4. Check on the potato a couple times, keep skimming the stew, before they are fully cooked, add konnyaku noodles and beans to the pot and stir. Once the potato is cooked, so is the rest.
5. Add chopped scallions on top. Serve with steamy hot rice.
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