Sukiyaki

I had been reading a lot about cookware in the last few months. After understanding the pros and cons of different materials (Cast iron, Anodized aluminium, Stainless steel and copper-core), I reckoned I want... Nah, I mean WE NEED a cast iron pot for braising and slow cooking. Last Saturday, we went to the Le Creuset outlet in Bicester Village in Oxfordshire and came home with a few cookware and stoneware. 

I felt so obliged to utilize my new acquisitions so I looked up in some cooking blogs written up especially for cast iron pots. After stuffing ourselves up with pizzas and KFC over the weekend, hubby and I were quite determined to have some Asian food tonight. Among a few recipes I found from Le Creuset blog in Taiwan, this sukiyaki is definitely the easiest and quickest. And Enoki mushroom just happens to be my hubby's favourite! I couldn't find any reason not to do it.

Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish in hot pot style. Sliced meat along with other vegetables are slowly cooked in a shallow iron pot. Traditionally it should be slowly simmered at the table, but we couldn't be bothered to take our portable butane stove out,  so I just finished cooking it in the kitchen and brought it out on the coffee table. It's just a perfect dish to warm our stomachs in cold winter's nights. :)

Adapted from:

"日式壽喜燒" from 幸福的味道.

My Ingredients: (Serves 2)

• 300g hampshire breed free range pork shoulder steak, sliced
• 160g enoki mushrooms (金菇)
• 250g portabellini mushrooms
• 1 small Pak Choi (小棠菜)
• 1 box (396g) tofu
• 1 salad onion (spring onion)
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 eggs

To make Sukiyaki Sauce:

• 60ml dark soy sauce
• 30ml mirin
• 200ml water, plus extra
• 2 tbsp of Oil
• a pinch of sugar

My Method: 

1. Add 2 tbsp of oil in the pan over medium high heat. When the oil is sizzling, add the chopped salad onion. Stir-fry for about 1 minute. Then add soy sauce, mirin, 200ml of water and a pinch of sugar to make the sukiyaki sauce.
2. When the sukiyaki sauce is boiling, stir in pork shoulder slices and fry for about 5 minutes or till the pork is half cooked and turns white. Move the pork to one side of the pan.
3. Add enoki mushrooms, portabellini mushrooms and tofu to cook for 5 minutes. Add more water if necessary to make sure the ingredients are all covered and soaked.
4. Add Pak Choi and tomatos into the pan. Turn the heat down to low. Cover the pan with the lid. Allow to cook for 5 minutes.
5. Serve immediately by taking the whole pot to the table. Remember to put a trivet to protect the table from heat damage. Crack an egg into each bowl, beat it briefly, pour a spoon or two of sukiyaki sauce from the pot and dig in!

One-line Verdict:

Easy peasey! Slightly more expensive than an average home-cooked meal but it's a perfect dish for cold winter nights.

My Note:

• I used a cast iron shallow casserole. A big flat fry pan can do too. Should NOT use wok or saucepan otherwise the ingredients would be mixed together.
• This is a totally flexible recipe. We can just change the amount and type of meat and vegetable as we wish. For additional carbohydrates, Udon or noodle can also be added together with the mushrooms.
• Pork shoulder is my favourite cut in UK. It's full of flavour and not as fatty as the equally flavoursome pork belly. Also it is very inexpensive. It usually costs 35-65p per 100 grams, which is a lot more affordable than other prime cuts.
• Mirin is a Japanese alcoholic staple ingredient made from glutinous rice. It has a distinct sweet flavour to give meat a sheen and tone down the fishy smell of seafood. I got mine from Tesco.
• Portabellini mushrooms are young specimen of Portabello mushrooms. It has a nutty flavour and tastes quite distinctly different from Shiitake mushrooms.
• The name Pak Choi can be a little bit confusing in UK are commonly known as Siu Tong Choi (小棠菜) in Hong Kong. or Little Pak Choi (小白菜) in China.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £11

Rice-covered Meatballs

When I saw some other bloggers making this dish (珍珠丸子) on internet few days ago, I immediately knew I'd love to make one. But there were two problems:

(1) I don't have glutinous rice (糯米, also known as sticky rice) at home and ordinary supermarkets don't sell it. And honestly I don't want to buy a bag of glutinous rice. It's tasteful, no doubt. But for some reason I think glutinous rice(or maybe the overeating of it) can cause me a very bloated stomach.

(2) Like most other Chinese or oriental recipes, meat ball is typically made of minced pork. Yet my hubby doesn't like pork at all.

But... those pearl rice balls are sooooo cute! (Aren't they?)

Therefore I decided to substitute glutinous rice and pork with sushi rice and turkey. The dish turned out pretty good. I think it may not as meaty as the traditional ones using pork, but I think it is a lot healthier. Turkey is an excellent protein source with very low fat percentage. It can be easily found here at very reasonably price too. Guess I am happy enough!

Modified from:

珍珠丸子 by  小小米桶的寫食廚房

Pearl Rice Balls /珍珠丸子

My ingredients:

• 1 cup sushi rice (raw, about 158g)
• 260g minced turkey
• 10g dried baby shrimps (蝦米), briefly chopped
• 10g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp Unami paste
• spring onion, chopped
• a pinch of salt
• white ground pepper
• curled parsley (optional)
• gojiberries (枸杞, optional)

My Method: (Make 16 meatballs, serves 2-4)

1. Soak the sushi rice in water for about 2 hours. Drain well in a sieve. Pat with kitchen towel to make sure the rice is dry before using.
2. Soak the dried baby shrimps and porcini mushrooms in water for 10 minutes. Drain and then soak in shaoxing wine again for about 10 minutes. Drain and chop. Keep the shaoxing wine for later use. Chop the spring onions and garlic cloves.
3. Combine the minced turkey with soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, white pepper and garlic in a mixing bowl. Stir hard in a single direction until all ingredients are well blended.
4. Add dried baby shrimps, porcini mushrooms, egg white, cornstarch and spring onion into the mixing bowl and stir again until well blended.
5. Boil about 800ml of water and pour the hot water into a pressure cooker (or a large saucepan).
6. Take about 1 heaped table spoon of meat and form into a ball. Roll the meat ball over the sushi rice until they are completely coated. Continue with the rest of the meat mixture.
7. Place the meatballs on steamer basket or a perforated steaming inset over a tripod. Steam over boiling water for about 10 minutes when using pressure cooker. Start counting time from the point of closing the lid. Turn off the heat after 10 minutes regardless of the pressure ring reading (should have reached green already). Then wait for another 5 minutes till the pressure comes back to normal. It should take about 15 minutes when steaming in a normal saucepan.
8. Garnished with curled parsley and gojiberries.

My Notes

• Although garnish is strictly optional, I found that the use of curled parsley and gojiberries can improve the depth of the taste. The slight sweetness of gojiberries goes very well with turkey meatballs. Gojiberries can be easily bought in large supermarkets or health food stores such as Holland & Barrett.
• I used a perforated inset came with my pressure cooker to steam the meatballs. I think it is better than using a plate which may collect too much steam and result in excessive juice in the dish. A steamer basket can also be used.
• I used a bit of Umami paste bought from Tesco. This is a very new condiment which has only been on the market for about 2 years. It is a flavour enhancer like MSG but without any side effect. Plus, Umami paste are said to be made from ingredients naturally high in "Umami", such as mushrooms, tomato & anchovy.
• Porcini mushrooms are commonly used in mushoom risotto. It has very strong taste which can be comparable with Shiitake mushrooms. I love to use porcini mushrooms especially when I am in hurry as they are usually sliced before dried. The smaller size makes them rehydrate much quicker than dried Chinese mushrooms -- It took at least 2-3 hours to make dried Chinese mushrooms soften but it only takes 10 minutes for porcini mushrooms. They can be easily found in most supermarkets near other condiments.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £5

Creamy pasta with mushrooms, parmesan & lardons

Original Recipe:

"Creamy Pancetta pasta with mushrooms & parmesan" from Lorraine Pascale's Home Cooking Made Easy. Also on BBC.

Original Ingredients:

• 400g/14oz pappardelle
• 100-200g/3½-7oz cubed pancetta
• 175g/6oz chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
• 225ml/8fl oz double cream
• 75g/3oz parmesan cheese, grated
• freshly ground black pepper

Original Method:

1. Cook the pappardelle according to the packet instructions.
2. Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in a frying pan over a medium-high heat for about five minutes. When it starts to brown, add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the double cream.
3. Once the cream is hot, add the parmesan and stir together well.Once the pasta is ready, drain and return it to the pan. Add the pancetta mixture and stir through well. Season with some pepper (I find it does not usually need salt because of the salty parmesan and pancetta).

My Ingredients:

• 200g fusilli (corkscrew shaped pasta)
• 90g cubic bacon lardons
• 200g chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
• 110ml double cream
• 38g parmesan cheese, grated
• freshly ground black pepper

My Method: 

• Basically followed the halved recipe but substituting pancetta with bacon lardons, and pappardelle with fusilli. (The only reason for substitution is I already have lardons & fusilli at home).
• I increased the portion of chestnut mushroom as we both love it so much. The original portion just won't be enough!

One-line Verdict:

Super easy and fool-proof. Ideal for mid-week quick dinner.

Verdict:

• Quick, easy and delicious. Very happy as long as I don't think about the calorie and fat intake.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £5 (serves 2)