from Tadashi Ono's Japanese Soul Food Cook Book
salt and pepper
3 tbsp butter
1 medium sweet onion - 12 oz, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1⁄4 cup mirin
1⁄4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
3 tbsp butter
1 medium sweet onion - 12 oz, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1⁄4 cup mirin
1⁄4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp chopped parsley
2 lb sirloin steak
To tell you the truth, the book was not as exciting as I thought it would be. The recipes are relatively standard these days and can be found just about anywhere. I was hoping to find something more unusual. Nor are the directions as precise as they may seem. The flavors/textures seem a little off as well. Perhaps this is preference, but I did end up mucking around a bit with the recipes in terms of ratios and cooking time. Careful with that.
Tenderize steak and season.
Melt 2 tbsp butter on low heat and caramelize onions and garlic for 8 minutes. Raise heat to medium and reduce mirin and soy sauce for 1 min. Add vinegar and cook for 30 seconds more. Reserve.
Sear steaks in butter and set meat aside on a separate plate. In the steak pan, quickly stir in pan juices on high heat for 10 seconds or so, loosening fond. Top the steaks with the onion mixture, garnish with the parsley, and serve immediately.
Melt 2 tbsp butter on low heat and caramelize onions and garlic for 8 minutes. Raise heat to medium and reduce mirin and soy sauce for 1 min. Add vinegar and cook for 30 seconds more. Reserve.
Sear steaks in butter and set meat aside on a separate plate. In the steak pan, quickly stir in pan juices on high heat for 10 seconds or so, loosening fond. Top the steaks with the onion mixture, garnish with the parsley, and serve immediately.
Carrot Ginger Dressing
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. finely grated ginger
2 medium carrots - 8 oz
½ medium yellow onion - 6 0z
salt and pepper
Combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, carrots, and onion in a food processor, and process until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. finely grated ginger
2 medium carrots - 8 oz
½ medium yellow onion - 6 0z
salt and pepper
Combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, carrots, and onion in a food processor, and process until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
To tell you the truth, the book was not as exciting as I thought it would be. The recipes are relatively standard these days and can be found just about anywhere. I was hoping to find something more unusual. Nor are the directions as precise as they may seem. The flavors/textures seem a little off as well. Perhaps this is preference, but I did end up mucking around a bit with the recipes in terms of ratios and cooking time. Careful with that.
Eggplant and Acorn Squash tempura
Black King Fish
Tai, Barracuda
Amaebi
Agedashi Tofu
Spicy Tuna Roll, Hamachi, Saba
Uni, Medai, White King Salmon
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - Miyazaki
Much preferred to the film version... this beautifully illustrated Manga pits the determined mystic against mankind's need for warlike resolutions to save a ravaged world.
Cities in Flight - James Blish
Elegantly written prose probes economics and restless political imperatives during the long relentless game of survival.
Fanciful blurring of lines between history and science fiction, young romance and religious passions to serious affect. Not an accident is the fall from Eden.
Much preferred to the elephant series, though burdened with similar lackluster character writing. Stay for the utterly compelling investigation of space travel and various permutations of corporeal knowledge encompassing eons.
Let not the confusing pronouns and big statements deter you, this book deserves it's accolades on the basis of of imaginative characters, an unusual central conceit, and a tensely plotted narrative whole that reveals one bit at a time.
A very masculine text with a flawed, psychologically unstable protagonist and his band of ruffian friends, making and breaking their fortunes at the edge of the known human world in a way that will feel utterly universal. Probably my favorite out of this bunch of readings.
Much preferred to the film version... this beautifully illustrated Manga pits the determined mystic against mankind's need for warlike resolutions to save a ravaged world.
Elegantly written prose probes economics and restless political imperatives during the long relentless game of survival.
"Living seems to be a process of continually being born again. I suppose the trick is to learn how to make that crucial exit without suffering the trauma each time. Good-bye John..."In the Garden of Iden - Kage Baker
He thought that what she had said was probably the truth - for a woman. For a man, he knew, life is a process of dying, again and again: and the trick, he thought, is to do it piecemeal, and ungenerously.
Fanciful blurring of lines between history and science fiction, young romance and religious passions to serious affect. Not an accident is the fall from Eden.
And as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so was my beloved among the sons. Et cetera. What would I give, to have that night back, out of all my nights? No treasure fleet could hold it. What I'd give; no caravan of mules could carry it away.House of Suns - Alistair Reynolds
Much preferred to the elephant series, though burdened with similar lackluster character writing. Stay for the utterly compelling investigation of space travel and various permutations of corporeal knowledge encompassing eons.
To see something marvelous with your own eyes—that’s wonderful enough. But when two of you see it, two of you together, holding hands, holding each other close, knowing that you’ll both have that memory for the rest of your lives, but that each of you will only ever hold an incomplete half of it, and that it won’t ever really exist as a whole until you’re together, talking or thinking about that moment …that’s worth more than one plus one. It’s worth four, or eight, or some number so large we can’t even imagine it.Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
Let not the confusing pronouns and big statements deter you, this book deserves it's accolades on the basis of of imaginative characters, an unusual central conceit, and a tensely plotted narrative whole that reveals one bit at a time.
Thoughts are ephemeral, they evaporate in the moment they occur, unless they are given action and material form. Wishes and intentions, the same. Meaningless, unless they impel you to one choice or another, some deed or course of action, however insignificant. Thoughts that lead to action can be dangerous. Thoughts that do not, mean less than nothing.Gateway - Frederik Pohl
A very masculine text with a flawed, psychologically unstable protagonist and his band of ruffian friends, making and breaking their fortunes at the edge of the known human world in a way that will feel utterly universal. Probably my favorite out of this bunch of readings.
What were we doing here? Traveling hundreds or thousands of light-years, to break our hearts?
This dish is a family recipe and extremely easy to make. Essentially, pork ribs baste for a long time in a watery sauce that tastes a bit like onion soup. The dried shrimp imparts a mild aroma of fish sauce. This sounds strange, but is actually really good.
Pork Ribs in Onion Sauce
1 slab pork ribs. Have the butcher slice lengthwise through the bone and then separate into smaller pieces
3 tbsp rice wine
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 large onions, diced
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp dried shrimp, ground fine. Use less if serving to newbies.
chicken stock or water
Quickly and lightly sear pork on high heat, adding in rice wine and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce at the end. Reserve.
Saute onions till translucent and lightly browned, adding 1/2 tbsp soy sauce towards the end. Mix in reserved pork and shrimp. Add enough stock to barely cover meat. Put the lid on and stew slowly on very low heat for 3 hours or until the pork is fork tender and the onions are mostly melted. The onion sauce will darken slightly but remain rather pale. Do not be tempted to add more soy sauce as it will change the flavor of the dish. Season with salt if necessary.
Pork Ribs in Onion Sauce
1 slab pork ribs. Have the butcher slice lengthwise through the bone and then separate into smaller pieces
3 tbsp rice wine
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 large onions, diced
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp dried shrimp, ground fine. Use less if serving to newbies.
chicken stock or water
Quickly and lightly sear pork on high heat, adding in rice wine and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce at the end. Reserve.
Saute onions till translucent and lightly browned, adding 1/2 tbsp soy sauce towards the end. Mix in reserved pork and shrimp. Add enough stock to barely cover meat. Put the lid on and stew slowly on very low heat for 3 hours or until the pork is fork tender and the onions are mostly melted. The onion sauce will darken slightly but remain rather pale. Do not be tempted to add more soy sauce as it will change the flavor of the dish. Season with salt if necessary.
Below is the rough template for Bo Kho, Vietnamese lemongrass stew, as compiled from various recipes. No right way to do it apparently, but the basic procedure falls between a basic indian curry and French stew, sometimes with the beef cooked in broth alone and then the aromatics added later. The lemongrass can be quickly fried to bring out the aroma or added at the end for a fresher taste. These digressions are always interesting and fun to experiment with.
Bo Kho
Beef Marinade
1.5-2.5 lbs of chuck, shank, and tendon
2 tbsp sugar, either rock, brown, or palm
1/2 tsp ginger, minced
1/2 tbsp 5 spice powder
soy sauce, hoisin, oyster, fish sauce
1 tbsp annato oil*
1 dried red chili, or chili flakes
1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
5 garlic cloves
1 large onion or shallots, diced
Broth
1 fresh tomato or 1 tbsp paste, ketchup or canned crushed tomatoes
2 lemongrass stalks, white parts bruised and trimmed to 4" lengths and tied for easy removal
beef, chicken stock, or coconut water
carrots, large chunks
seasoning: soy, salt, sugar, fish sauce
Toppings
sweet onion, sliced and soaked in water, or fried shallots
green onion, thinly sliced
basil or cilantro
lime
Chinese Salted Egg Meatloaf
1 lb ground pork, and a little bit of minced pork belly. Have the butcher grind up some fine.
1 tbsp rice wine
white pepper
soy sauce
sesame oil
2 salted chicken eggs or 1 salted duck egg
1 tbsp of chicken stock
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
pickled mustard greens, diced
3 green onions, white parts sliced, green tops reserved for garnish
optional: dried shiitake mushroom, shrimp or scallop. Soaking juice incorporated. Chinese sausage. Water chestnut.
The texture of the meatloaf should be slightly more moist than you would expect. Add egg or liquid as necessary. Steam gently for 30 minutes or so until the pork is cooked through.
Bo Kho
Beef Marinade
1.5-2.5 lbs of chuck, shank, and tendon
2 tbsp sugar, either rock, brown, or palm
1/2 tsp ginger, minced
1/2 tbsp 5 spice powder
soy sauce, hoisin, oyster, fish sauce
1 tbsp annato oil*
Paste/Stir Fry
1 tbsp madras curry powder, predominantly flavored by star anise (around 3), cinnamon, bay leaf1 dried red chili, or chili flakes
1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
5 garlic cloves
1 large onion or shallots, diced
Broth
1 fresh tomato or 1 tbsp paste, ketchup or canned crushed tomatoes
2 lemongrass stalks, white parts bruised and trimmed to 4" lengths and tied for easy removal
beef, chicken stock, or coconut water
carrots, large chunks
seasoning: soy, salt, sugar, fish sauce
Toppings
sweet onion, sliced and soaked in water, or fried shallots
green onion, thinly sliced
basil or cilantro
lime
Chinese Salted Egg Meatloaf
1 lb ground pork, and a little bit of minced pork belly. Have the butcher grind up some fine.
1 tbsp rice wine
white pepper
soy sauce
sesame oil
2 salted chicken eggs or 1 salted duck egg
1 tbsp of chicken stock
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
pickled mustard greens, diced
3 green onions, white parts sliced, green tops reserved for garnish
optional: dried shiitake mushroom, shrimp or scallop. Soaking juice incorporated. Chinese sausage. Water chestnut.
The texture of the meatloaf should be slightly more moist than you would expect. Add egg or liquid as necessary. Steam gently for 30 minutes or so until the pork is cooked through.
