Japanese

Japanese yakitori is usually made from bite-sized pieces of chicken meat or offal, skewered on a bamboo skewer and grilled over charcoal. Diners usually have the choice of having it cooked with salt (shio) or tare sauce. This recipe uses the tare approach, a marinade that is usually made of mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar.

You are missing out if you’re one of the foodies out there still afraid of trying internal organs. I grew up with the mentality that food should never be wasted, and every part of the animal can and should be eaten. I have vivid memories of my dad sucking the juices from shrimp heads and my mom fighting to claim the eyeballs from the steamed fish. As a result, I have no fear (and even welcome) ear, tongue, feet, stomach, intestine, lung, liver, sweetbreads…you name it, and I will most likely eat it. That’s why one of the most exciting culinary trends to date is the increasing readiness of people to experiment with new foods and the restaurants out there ready to cater to the growing demand.

One of my personal favorites would have to be chicken gizzard. The meats have that irresistible crunchy, chewy texture, with a simple soy sauce marinade really bringing out the flavors. I purchased a 20oz package of Perdue chicken gizzard and heart at Gristedes for only $1.89! Good deal? I would say so.

But then again…what about the nutritional value? My curiousity led to a quick Google search. A cup of chicken gizzard has 212 calories and a whopping 179% of your daily cholesterol needs. Not something you want to be eating everyday, but hey, one large egg has 71% of your daily cholesterol needs, and I sure as hell am not giving up my eggs :)

This is a delightful appetizer to serve on a stick, and hopefully you’ll be expanding the taste palettes of all your dinner guests! (Maybe make some on the grill for this year’s Memorial Day weekend BBQ?)

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken gizzard & heart
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
2 cloves garlic
Scallions

Instructions:

1) Wash chicken gizzards and hearts thoroughly. Cut into bite size pieces.

2) Mince the garlic. Combine soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and garlic in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes until sauce thickens.

3) Save 3 tbsp of the sauce for serving and pour remaining sauce over the chicken. Mix well, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours.

4) Soak the bamboo skewers (toothpicks in my case) in water for an hour to minimize burning in the oven.

5) Wash and cut off the white part of the scallion. I added this piece to my yakitori and saved the green part for garnish. Thread the marinated chicken pieces onto the skewers, alternating with the scallion if desired.

6) Broil in the oven for 13 minutes. Serve skewers with reserved sauce brushed on top.

*) To make the scallion curl garnish, cut the vegetable into 3 inch pieces and make thin lengthwise cuts 2 inches in. Place in cold water and let stand 1 minute until edges curl. Remove from water – it is now ready to be used on your plate!

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Inspiration? A quick and cheap Japanese entree that would balance out the Miso Glazed Salmon. Complexity? Possibly one of the simplest dishes I’ve ever created. This particular recipe should be called an LJ shortcut. It features two very basic ingredients – chicken and marinade sauce :) Teriyaki sauce is usually a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and honey. (Variations include adding sugar, ginger, garlic, etc). However, I just happened to own an unused bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce, and I decided to take the lazy route with the premade sauce. Super easy recipe to make, a welcome dish that slowly cooked in the oven as I worked on the homemade dashi stock for the other dishes.

Ingredients:

6 chicken drumsticks
Kikkoman teriyaki sauce.

Instructions:

1) Put drumsticks in a bowl and cover with teriyaki sauce. Cover and marinate overnight in the fridge.

2) Lay chicken on lined baking pan and bake covered at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes, turning once. Make sure the meat is fully cooked before serving.

Yumm tender chicken meat! Simple is good =)

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There’s more to Japanese food than sushi and ramen. Armed with my Quick & Easy Japanese Cuisine recipe book,  I was ready to explore the cooked side of this delicate cuisine. The book was filled with dozens of delicious, traditional Japanese recipes, making it very difficult to narrow down my choices. I finally settled on 4 dishes, making sure to line the page edges of future recipes.

Dashi stock forms the basis of many Japanese dishes. While instant mixes are available, I wanted to try my luck at making the soup stock from scratch. The version I made used only kombu (giant flat piece of kelp), but common dashi stock also uses dried bonito flakes or dried sardines. Leftover stock can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or may be frozen.

Miso mixture, ready to be spread on the salmon!

I halved the following recipe for two (had to leave some room in our bellies for the teriyaki chicken drumsticks and chicken gizzard yakitori!)

Ingredients:

4 salmon steaks or fillet (about 1 inch thick)
2 oz shiro miso
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp dashi stock
1 egg yolk

Dashi stock ingredients:

1 1/3 oz or 6 inch of kombu (kelp)
4 cups of water

Instructions:

1) Follow the instructions below to make the dashi stock. Mix the shiro miso, mirin, and dashi stock in a small bowl.

2) Add the egg yolk and mix thoroughly until the sauce is smooth and glossy.

3) Brush miso mixture over the salmon.

4) Broil for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily (test with a fork). I like my fish tender and closer to medium rare, so 10 minutes was perfect for me.

How to make dashi stock:

1) Wipe kelp with a damp paper towel. Soak in 4 cups of water for an hour.

2) Bring the water and kelp to the boiling point, but remove the kelp before the water actually boils.

The miso mixture is very versatile and can also be used on other fish filets and scallops. Mmhmhmm miso glazed cod…

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