Category: Soul Food
Cincinnati Chili Udon Want to Pass Up

Cincinnati Chili Udon Want to Pass Up

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I don’t hide my political views very well…and I don’t try to.  You googled a recipe and my blog popped up (probably Mochi Muffins, lol) and here you are.  My blog is mostly about food, a little about travel, and the occasional musing on sports, my family, and politics.

Try Not to Skip to the Good Part

Well, you can skip to the recipe with the button above, or take a couple of minutes to read the next paragraph to get to know me and what I believe in.  If you supported he who shall not be named, skip to the recipe.  America just elected a narcissistic, unqualified, amoral, grifter as president of our country, for the second time.  An anti-woke platform that, when you think about it, says, if you don’t look like me, live your life like me, you can’t have a seat at the table because it is only for folks like me.  I am incredulous, depressed, and angry.  Enabled by a cast of bad players, sycophants, and opportunists who care only about power and money, he rides into office intent on destroying democracy.  Once again my hopes of an eminently qualified, lifelong public servant, compassionate WOMAN president were crushed.  We had 3 months of joy, sanity, normalcy, million-dollar smiles, and hope with her and Gov Walz’s campaign.  Now we can only dream of what might have been.

What’s Your Self-Care?

I confess, I go to Cookbook signings, like Kristina’s in Brooklyn!

And I go to cookbook author signings, like Kristina's in Brooklyn!

So, as I think about my next steps as part of the resistance, I turn to doing things that make me feel better and relieve stress.  What do you do? Crafts? Ceramics? Sports? Blog? (lol) I row and play tennis, which helps me keep sane.  And of course, I cook and bake.  Times like now I turn to childhood favorites and dishes that are warm and homey, comfort food to get me through.

Kristina Cho, author of Mooncakes and Milk Bread, and Chinese Enough (highly recommend both her books), posted a recipe for Cincinnati Chili Udon.  I imagine as a native of Cincinnati, Skyline (Cincinnati) Chili is the very definition of comfort food for her.  Her’s has the warm, tart -sweet flavors of Cincinnati Chili from cinnamon and vinegar but then she adds Harissa for spiciness and finishes with soy sauce for an Asian twist.  She serves the chili over Japanese udon noodles topped with an egg yolk and cheese.   It’s delicious.

Prep Time < Cook Time

The chili takes 90 minutes to cook but most of that time is spent simmering on the stove.  While it simmers, kick your feet up, eat bonbons, anything that makes you feel better.  You deserve it.

Get your seasonings together.  I used TJ’s Harissa paste instead of powder.  Dice onions and mince garlic and saute until lightly brown. Add ground beef and cook until the meat loses its pink color.  Use ground beef that is 15 -20 percent fat, a happy medium for flavor and moisture.  Add your seasonings and water and simmer.  The sauce is ready when it has reduced by about half.  It will look thick and rich and smell incredible.

Top with cheese and the “takes it to another level” egg yolk.  Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.  Mix the egg yolk into the sauce and noodles to give it a silky creamy finish.

It’s delicious served over udon noodles but I think it would be equally yummy over a bowl of rice or as a topping for roasted sweet potatoes.  The chili reminded me of the Afghani dish, Kadoo, cooked pumpkin topped with a meat sauce and yogurt.  Kristina’s Cincinnati Chili with its warm Mediterranean spices would be a perfect stand-in for the meat sauce as would sweet potato for pumpkin.  I’m currently obsessed with Japanese sweet potatoes-indescribably delicious.

So make this chili, throw it over whatever you like, curl up on your sofa, and watch a classic Rom-Com, or maybe a silly, mushy Hallmark holiday movie.  Rest up, the resistance begins tomorrow.

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Cincinnati Chili Udon

A delicious riff on Cincinatti Chili (Skyline Chili) from Kristina Cho
Course dinner, lunch
Cuisine American, Asian-American
Keyword chili, Cincinnati chili
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion minced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lb ground beef 80/20 fat
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Seasonings

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp harissa powder substitute harissa paste 1:1
  • 3/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 2 bay leaves

Finished Dish

  • 4 bundles of frozen udon
  • 4 egg yolks
  • Cheddar cheese shredded
  • Green onions thinly sliced, for topping

Instructions

  • In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook while stirring occasionally until starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Add the beef and break up the meat into smaller clumps with the edge of a spatula. Continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Add the water, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Add salt, cinnamon, black pepper, harissa, cumin, cloves, sugar, and bay leaves. Stir to blend.
  • Reduce the heat to medium low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover with lid but leave a gap for steam and allow the chili to simmer until thickened and reduced by about half, stirring occasionally, 60 to 90 minutes. Allow the chili to cook for a few minutes before serving.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the udon to warm through (frozen udon is already cooked). Strain the water and divide the noodles between bowls.
  • Top the noodles with chili and add an egg yolk to the center. Sprinkle on cheese and green onions. Toss the noodles to mix the cheese and egg yolk with the chili.

Notes

Serves 4
Easy Peasy Curry Chicken

Easy Peasy Curry Chicken

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One of my favorite “cheats” are the Japanese curry blocks found in most Asian markets.  These little blocks contain the spices and flavorings plus a thickener to make a Japanese-style curry.  It’s an easy weeknight meal that comes together in 20-60 minutes depending on your protein.  These curry blocks are so good you’ll find them in cookbook recipes and most Japanese restaurants, yep.  They add their little tweaks but really, you don’t have to add anything, just follow the instructions on the box, and boom, with minimal work and time, your family will be sitting down to a warm, comforting bowl of curry and rice.

So, Why a Recipe?

Well, someone’s gotta tell you these curry blocks are out there!  There are quite a few brands out there and many come in varying degrees of spiciness, mild, hot… Serious Easts does a deep dive on the different brands, here it is Deep Dive Curry.  Experiment and find the one you like best.  My kids make curry all the time.  That’s how easy it is.

Variations on a Curry

Needless to say, tweak this recipe as you wish.  I often make this with pork.  Ivan Orkin of Ivan Ramen fame has a recipe for a delicious Pork Curry.  Calls for braising chunks of pork in a broth and then adding the curry blocks.  He finishes his curry with honey and milk. To cut the cooking time, use an instant pot to cook the pork.  Instead of 2 hours on the stove, 30-40 minutes in the instant pot should do it.

Add more veggies!  I throw in an additional 2 cups of veggies into my curry. Don’t worry about the curry sauce, there will be plenty.  Cauliflower and bell peppers come to mind first, then squash like zucchini or kaboucha would be yummy.

Looking for a Thai Curry?  The Thai equivalent to Japanese curry blocks are curry pastes in little tubs.  My favorite brand is Mae Ploy, and it comes in an array- red, green, Massaman.  A previous post on curry pastes and a recipe for a flavorful Thai curry made in an Instant Pot is one of my favorites.

So, go get yourself some curry blocks or curry pastes, make your curry,  cook one big pot rice, and spoon it into your favorite bowl.  Eat while curled up on your sofa watching your favorite Hallmark Christmas Movie (yes they are already out), or K-drama (Goblin or My Dearest), or C-drama (Double or Princess Royale).  This is part of your self-care, after all, we could all use some comfort right now.

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5 from 1 vote

Curry Chicken

Curry Chicken, a one pot meal, perfect for the cooler weather. Japanese Curry blocks make this a snap to make.
Course dinner
Cuisine Asian
Keyword 3jamigos.com, Chicken, chicken curry, curry, easy recipe, japanese curry, one pot meal
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs ~2 lb or 6-7 pieces
  • ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2 small yellow onions 1 lb, 454 g
  • 1-2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled 6.5 oz, 184 g
  • 3 carrots, peeled 4 oz, 113 g
  • ¼ cup green peas 1.3 oz, 36 g
  • 2 Tbsp neutral oil for cooking

Optional but highly recommended

  • 1-2 cups Your favorite veggies, there will be plenty of sauce to acommodate more veggies. Cut to similar size of other veggies bell peppers, cauliflower!!, squash, celery

Curry Sauce

  • ¼ cup sake
  • 2 cups chicken stock/broth or use vegetable stock low salt or 2.5 cups with 2 tsp chicken powder
  • ½ cup water add more if needed
  • ½ package Japanese curry roux 3.5–4.2 oz, 100–120 g; I like thwe OG S&B brand
  • 1 Tbsp mirin
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

Prep Ingredients

  • Prick skin of 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or 3 whole legs split with the tip of your knife (so the flavors will penetrate the skin). Cut off the excess fat with a pair of scissors (or knife).
  • Season the chicken with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.
  • Cut onions into wedges. The wedge cut adds more texture; however, you can also thinly slice or dice.
  • Peel and cut  Yukon gold potato into 8 pieces.
  • Peel and cut carrots into bite-size pieces. Additional veggies can also be cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside the vegetables on a tray or plate.

Making the Curry

  • In a large pot (I use a Dutch oven), heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil on medium-high heat. When it’s hot, sear the chicken on the skin side first. Do not crowd the pan to avoid steaming the chicken and cook in batches if necessary.
  • Flip the chicken and cook the other side for 2 minutes and then transfer to a plate until the rest is done.
  • Add the onion to the pot and coat with the oil using a wooden spoon/spatula. If there is not enough oil, add ½–1 Tbsp more oil.
  • Add ginger slices and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender. If the burnt spots on the bottom of the pot need some scraping, you can add sake here (instead of the next step) to loosen them up.
  • Add the chicken back into the pot and add ¼ cup sake.
  • Add 2 cups chicken stock/broth and ½ cup water, or water plus chicken powder just enough to almost cover the chicken. If you use a larger pot, it may not cover, so please adjust the amount of stock/water. This is not a soupy curry, so we do not need much liquid.
  • Cover the lid and bring it to a simmer. When simmering, skim the scum and foam with a fine-mesh skimmer.
  • Cook covered on low heat for 40 minutes.
  • Add the carrots, potatoes, and any other veggies you like, make sure they are submerged in the cooking liquid. Options include bell peppers and cauliflower or squash
  • Cook covered until they are tender, about 15 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and dissolve ½ package Japanese curry roux, one cube at a time in a ladleful of hot broth. When the first cube is dissolved, release it to the broth and mix gently without breaking the tender vegetables. Repeat the process until you finish dissolving all the roux.
  • Add 1 Tbsp mirin and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix all together and check the taste. You can add water to loosen the curry if it's too thick. Add 2 Tbsp water. Add more water, if necessary to control the consistency of the curry here. The sauce should be pretty thick though.
  • Add ¼ cup green peas and cook for another minute. Serve the curry with steamed rice.

Notes

Variations:  In place of chicken pork (shoulder or butt cut into bite-sized pieces) that has been simmered until fairly tender before making curry.
In place of mirin and soy sauce: 1-2 tablespoons honey and 1/4 cup milk (added at the end so it doesn't curdle)
Not Japanese but you could add 1/2 cup of coconut milk 
Paper Wrapped Chicken (Ji Bao Gai) That’s a Wrap! 纸包鸡

Paper Wrapped Chicken (Ji Bao Gai) That’s a Wrap! 纸包鸡

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This is another dish from the hubster that lands on the favorite list for all three kids and me, Paper-wrapped chicken (纸包鸡) aka Foil-wrapped chicken. Wes learned how to make Ji Bao Gai from his mom during medical school. It’s a dish rarely found in restaurants, a true Cantonese down-home dish.  So, if he wanted foil-wrapped chicken, he had to learn how to make it and that’s exactly what he did.

Cantonese Soul Food (Ji Bao Gai 纸包鸡)

Bite-sized pieces of chicken or beef are marinated in hoisin, sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a touch of sugar. The chicken is then wrapped in foil or parchment into little packets and baked or fried. Think, mini Asian papillotes. The foil locks in the juices and infuses the chicken with flavor. Half the fun is unwrapping each packet and popping each tasty morsel in your mouth. In our house, it’s a race to see who eats the most packets.

This is Where I Come In

Things have come full circle from Wes’s mom teaching him to Wes now teaching the kids. “Dad, how do I make Ji Bao Gai, how do you fold the packets, where’s the recipe?” Whenever they want to make Ji Bao Gai they call Wes (maybe it’s a sweet ploy to talk to us, lol).  They have yet to write the recipe down. All I can say is aiyah 🤦🏻‍♀️.  I guess it must be time to post it on 3Jamigos.  Now the kids don’t have to call each time they want to make a batch.

The Ingredients (as pictured in the banner photo)

Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs are perfect for this recipe as they remain juicy and tender, or use chicken breast if you like, but decrease the cooking time a bit.
Marinade: Contains Hoisin, and Chee Hou, umami-filled sauces made from soybeans, soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry), sesame oil, and a touch of sugar. Add minced garlic and ginger for that extra zing.
Aromatics: Green onions and a few slices of fresh lemon for a hint of citrus.

Optional: Add sliced water chestnuts for texture.  Sprig of cilantro.

Foil: Use regular (Reynold’s)  aluminum foil to create the perfect cooking pouch is fine. Cut into 6” x 6” squares.

Riff:  Works with beef, use flank steak or skirt steak sliced thinly against the grain.

Prep, prep, prep your stuff

Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
Start by cutting the chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, minced garlic, and ginger. Toss the chicken pieces in this flavorful marinade, ensuring each piece is well coated. Cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but for the best results, let it sit for 2-3 hours.

Step 2: Wrap It Up
Cut the aluminum foil into square sheets, roughly 6×6 inches. Regular-weight foil is fine.  Place 2 pieces (if pieces are small, use 3) of chicken in the center of each foil sheet. Add a slice of green onion and water chesnut or a sprig of cilantro (optional).  Fold the foil over the chicken, then fold the open edges over together, approximately 1/8  inch, twice, thereby creating a nice seal and ensuring no juices escape during baking.  Try to eliminate as much air from the packet as you fold.

Step 3: Bake to Perfection
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Arrange the foil-wrapped chicken parcels on a baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, then flip packets and bake for 4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and tender. The foil will puff up slightly as the chicken cooks, creating a steamy environment that keeps the meat juicy and flavorful.  In the good old days, the packets were deep-fried.  This created a crispier exterior on the chicken.  For crispier edges, bake at 400 degrees for about the same amount of time.

I would have taken a nicer photo except the kids ate them all before I could.

Step 4: Unwrap and Enjoy
Once done, remove the parcels from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes. Carefully open the foil, allowing the fragrant steam to escape. Serve the chicken with a side of steamed rice and your favorite vegetables.  Make sure to open the packets over your bowl or plate of rice to catch the drips of sauce.  Yum.

Tips for Success

Marinate for 2-3 hours, not much longer as the chicken will get too salty.
Sealing the Foil: Seal the foil tightly to prevent juice from escaping.
Experiment: Don’t be afraid to add your twist to the marinade. A dash of chili sauce or a sprinkle of fresh herbs can add a new dimension to the dish.

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Foil Wrapped Chicken: A Flavor-Packed Journey in Your Kitchen

This is a classic Cantonese Dish. Bite-sized pieces of chicken are marinated in a sweet-salty sauce, wrapped in paper or foil and cooked. Traditionally, the packets were fried, but baking as become the technique of choice.
Course dinner, One dish meals
Cuisine Asian, Asian-American, cantonese
Keyword cantonese cuisine, chee hou, hoisin, Paper-wrapped chicken
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2-3 Chicken breasts although we prefer thighs or thighs 4-5

Marinade

  • 3 tablespoons Chee Hou Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons whiskey (Seagrams) or Shao Xing Wine
  • 1 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Green Onions diced

Instructions

  • Debone chicken and cut into small pieces.
  • Mix in ingredients and marinate for at least two hours. Wrap in foil to create a closed packet.
  • Deep fry medium-high heat around 1 minute until the chicken packets float OR
  • Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, flip and bake another 5 minutes
Jjim Dak (Korean Braised Chicken)

Jjim Dak (Korean Braised Chicken)

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Brrrrr… getting chilly out there.  While I love summer, I do look forward to winter.  As the temperature drops I start dreaming of dishes that warm the body and soul.  Soup bowls and spoons that have languished on the shelf all summer are now front and center, waiting to be filled.  Soups, rice bowls, stews, nabes,  dumplings, noodles, and casseroles are always in the winter rotation.  Comfort food with a capital C.

Some of my favorite casseroles or soups don’t require hours on the stove, this is one of them, Jjim Dak or Korean Braised Chicken.  Jjim Dak is a hearty chicken, vegetables, and glass noodle dish that comes together in an hour.  It’s flexible in terms of ingredients (which mean any veggie you have hiding in your crisper is fair game), and filling due to the addition of potatoes and glass noodles.  A TikTok video for this dish caught my attention so I headed to my favorite Korean recipe site, http://Koreanbapsang.com.  A quick search of her site and bada bing, bada boom…I found her recipe for Korean braised chicken.

Let’s get to it…Bowl Food is Soul Food

This is a very flexible recipe. The foundation is chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms and chili.  Braise the chicken in soy sauce, oyster sauce, a bit of sugar and mirin.  This is an easy one-pot meal that comes together quickly and is guaranteed to chase the chilly weather away.

Use chicken thighs or drumsticks, preferably bone-in and cut into large bite-size pieces.  You can use boneless but you run the risk of overcooking the chicken while braising the vegetables.  You can find cut bone-in pieces of chicken at most Asian markets.  If you cut it yourself make sure to rinse the chicken after chopping for bone fragments.

Veggie So Many Choices, So Little Time…Cause I’m Hungry

Traditionally, this dish has the usual suspects, carrots, potatoes, onions, and scallions.  Feel free to add whatever you like and it will be divine.  I added mushrooms, Korean radish, and Korean radish leaves (so excited when I saw the tops on the radishes at the market).  Hands down yummy.  So add whatever you like, including KALE (nooooo, can’t believe I wrote that).  Cut the veggies in smaller bites due to quick cooking time.  In fact, if using boneless chicken, I would dump everything in at once and not cook the chicken first.  Make it in advance, if you can, to let the flavors develop.

The glass noodles take this over the top.  They add texture, flavor (the noods suck up the flavor from the sauce, chicken and veggies-yummo) and substance to the dish. You can find mung bean noodles or glass noodles at most Asian stores.  Do not confuse it with rice noodles or vermicelli.  Pre-soak noods to soften, drain well before adding.

The sauce ingredients are readily available. Use  Korean soy sauce or Kikkoman which are a bit more similar to each other than Chinese soy sauces.  I could go down a rabbit about soy sauces…. Oyster Sauce, as always, my go-to is Lee Kum Kee with the lady and boy in the boat label.

Don’t forget the bap 🍚!

There you go, a delicious one-pot meal.

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Jjim Dak

Braised chicken with assorted veggies, perfect for dish for chilly nights
Course comfort food
Cuisine Korean
Prep Time 20 minutes

Equipment

  • Prep Time
  • 20minutes mins
  • Cook Time
  • 30minutes mins
  • Total Time
  • 50minutes mins

Ingredients

The Stars

  • 1 medium-sized chicken cut up (2.5 to 3 pounds of cut pieces)
  • 3 ounces sweet potato starch noodles dangmyeon, 당면
  • 2 medium white or yukon gold potatoes about 10 ounces
  • 1 medium carrot 1/4 inch slices on diagonal
  • 1/2 medium onion cut in half and sliced 1/4-inch thick
  • 3 - 4 mushroom caps rehydrated dried shiitake or fresh shiitake, white, or baby bellas
  • 2 scallions
  • 2 - 3 dried whole red chili peppers optional, mild use 1
  • 1 - 2 fresh chili peppers or jalapenos optional
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger

Braising Liquid

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce If unavailable, use more soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine or mirin
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar if unavailable, use regular sugar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons corn syrup Korean jocheong (rice syrup), Oligodang (oligo syrup), or 2 to 3 tablespoons honey Adjust to taste or agave would probaly work
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Finishing

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Soak the starch noodles in warm water for about 30 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. Drain well before using.
  • Clean chicken and cut into small to medium-sized pieces.
  • Cut the potatoes in chunks (about 1-1/2 inch), soak them in water while preparing the other vegetables. Cut the carrot (1/4-inch slices), mushrooms, and onion into bite-sized pieces.
  • Add the chicken pieces to a large pot. Pour 3 cups of water over the chicken. (You should reduce the amount of water if not using the noodles.) Add the sauce ingredients except sesame oil and seeds. Bring it to a boil over high heat, uncovered, and continue to boil for about 10 minutes. Skim off the foam.
  • Add the potatoes, carrot, mushrooms, onion, dried whole red chili peppers, garlic and ginger. Cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. There may still be a lot of liquid, but the potatoes and starch noodles will soak up a lot of it.
  • Stir in the green chili peppers (if using), and glass noodles. Continue to cook, uncovered this time, for an additional 3-5 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil. Garnish with sesame seeds, scallions. Serve immediately.
Scallion Mac and Cheese from Little Fat Boy

Scallion Mac and Cheese from Little Fat Boy

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I have been focused on cookbooks from the Asian Diaspora.  With the way the world is turning, on a definite lopsided tilt, I want to support my community.  Representation matters, and we need to see POCs, LGBTQ, you know, EVERYONE represented in all walks of life.  The gold standard should be human + compassion, empathy, and vision for a better, kinder, world.  A world you are proud to leave your kids.

Recently I dashed into the city for another book signing at Omnivore Books on Food.  Frankie Gaw, author of the long-awaited, First Generation:  Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home was in town and I couldn’t pass on his book signing.

A graphic designer by trade, his evenings were spent creating the blog, Little Fat Boy.  Stories, beautiful photographs, and recipes, woven together in this mash-up of his Taiwanese roots, midwest upbringing, and Southern ties to Memphis. His recipes are fun, a fusion of his upbringing and later West Coast migration.  His recipes make me happy.  Yep, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Mochi or topped with Pepples cereal, tell me you’re not smiling right now.

It’s VEGAN, yeah baby…More, Please

I LOVE mac and cheese. Frankie’s Vegan version is a riff on this much-loved dish.  Is it Mac and Cheese? Nope.  Is it delicious? YEP.  In place of butter, milk, and cheese you’ll find scallion oil, cashews, garlic, and my own little tweak, nutritional yeast.  Pureeing cashews into a creamy, lovely sauce, is really so good, this may become my go-to mac and cheese when I am feeling a little lactose intolerant, lol.

Not gonna lie, cashews are not diet food, just like a lot of nuts.  The upside is they do supply protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.  Plus, no animal products were used in the making of this..so there is that.  To offset some of the calories in this dish I reduce the pasta and substitute roasted or steamed cauliflower florets.  Yummos.

I like my mac and cheese super saucy so I decrease the amount of pasta, add more cauliflower florets and throw in some mushroom broth to extend the sauce.  The kid in me likes the macaroni cooked beyond al dente, really who eats mac and cheese that’s not soft and squishy?  This is two very generous servings, actually, I think it serves 3-4 people…see the calories won’t be that bad!

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Scallion Mac and Cheese

A delicious vegan version of mac and cheese with loads of umami from scallions, nutritional yeast and garlic adapted from Little Fat Boy
Course dinner, one bowl meal, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword Crazy good mac and cheese, scallions
Prep Time 17 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 425kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 4 scallions finely chopped white and green parts divided
  • 1/8 cup olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 11/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1/8 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 lemon, juice of
  • 1/2-1 cup water, or pasta water or mushroom boullion
  • 1 tsp hot sauce to taste optional

Toppings

  • 1/4 cup panko
  • 1 scallion, Thinly sliced

Noods

  • 4 ounces macaroni
  • 1 cup cauliflower florets or broccoli approx 4 oz

Instructions

Cashews

  • Before making dish, place cashews in a medium bowl and cover with water by 1 inch. Let the nuts soak for 2-3 hours.

Carbs & Veggies

  • Cook your pasta as directed on package. With about 3-4 minutes to go, add the cauliflower to the pot. Return to boil and cook until al dente (from original recipe-lol. In my book mac cheese needs pasta cooked beyond al dente). Drain and place back in pot. Set aside.

Sauce

  • In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add scallions and garlic. The oil should not be smoking but hot enough that the aromatics sizzle when added. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes. The scallions should be soft and your kitchen should smell delicious from the scallions and garlic. Transfer all of it to a blender. Set skillet aside, do not wash! You will be using this to brown the Panko Crumbs!
  • Drain the cashews and add to the blender along with the lemon juice, paprika, salt, sugar, nutritional yeast, and water or pasta water.
  • BLEND til smooth. Add additional water or pasta water to desired consistency.
  • Add sauce to macaroni, and stir to combine. Pour into a casserole dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle Panko Crumbs and diced green onions on top, and serve immediately.

The Crumbs

  • The skillet used to fry the scallion and garlic will have residual oil to brown the Panko crumbs. On medium-high heat toss the panko in the skillet until toasty brown.

Notes

This recipe can be doubled for those times you are feeding a big crowd.  In fact,  the original recipe is double this, I cut it in half cause it's a lot of pasta.
Tomato Egg Fried Rice & the Fishy Bits

Tomato Egg Fried Rice & the Fishy Bits

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A couple of weeks ago I was reading a post from the Woks of Life, a lovely blog on Asian cooking. Their post was on a classic Chinese dish, Salted Fish Fried Rice.  Salted Fish is a Cantonese ingredient made from white fish like croaker, salted and air-dried.  This process concentrates the flavor of the fish, it’s salty, fish-forward, and well, kinda funky in a good way.  Their twist was to substitute anchovies for the salted fish (hom yu, 鹹魚).  My first thought was “Yum, I gotta try this, I think I have anchovies in my pantry”.

They also have a cookbook out and it’s gorgeous.  If you need (who doesn’t)  a cookbook that covers Chinese cuisine for the novice to seasoned cook, Woks of Life fits the bill. You can order it from Books, Inc. or in the Bay Area, from Omnivore Books which has signed copies.

Dad and Gung Gung 1940s

Tales of My Grandfather

As I read their post, memories of my grandfather bubbled to the surface.  He lived in an SRO (single room only) in the heart of Chinatown above Sun Tai Sam Yuen Restaurant.  It was convenient and comfortable for him.  A line cook at Original Joe’s and at the Fairmont’s Tonga Room he walked to work from Chinatown.  His neighbors, Cantonese men of similar age, had migrated to Gum San (San Francisco) looking for work.

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Happy Chicken Pot Pi Day!

Happy Chicken Pot Pi Day!

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Here in California, we have been battered by some extreme weather…more rain, snow and high winds than we have seen in a long, long time.  I hope folks are staying safe, warm and dry.

So we are having a somewhat subdued, quiet Pi Day.  Especially since we haven’t had power all day!  That’s not gonna stop me, pi golly.  I adore pies, sweet or savory, by the slice, as a potable hand pie, you get the pic. So Pi Day is just an excuse to make pie.  A day of cold, wet, blustery weather calls for comfort food so what better dish than Chicken Pot Pie?  

I LOVE Pot Pie.  As a kid, it was a special treat if mom pulled out Swanson’s Chicken or Beef Pot Pies for dinner.  Little did I know, it meant an easy meal for her.  As I got older and my taste became more refined I left behind those Swanson’s pies.

I discovered Marie Callendar’s Pot Pies!  So good, more crust, bigger pie, yum.

My love of pies logically led to making my own pies and this includes savory pies, top on the list is Chicken Pot Pie.   

The Elephant In the Room

Not everyone wants or has a compelling need to start from scratch and that’s OKAY!  It’s perfectly fine to start with cooked chicken (a Costco rotisserie chicken comes to mind), commercial low-sodium chicken stock AND a premade pie crust. Making a Chicken Pot Pie is a labor of love.  If any step, homemade PIE CRUST comes to mind, gives you anxiety, use a shortcut. There are great frozen pie crusts dough and puff pastry doughs that can be used to make a fabulous pot pie. Hate prepping veggies?  Frozen WORKS, really.  But if you want to go the whole nine yards…read on 🙂

For novice pie makes, this is a good recipe to make over a couple of days so it doesn’t seem overwhelming.  Make the pie crust and throw it in the fridge to chill. You could do this up to a couple of days before.  This also applies to poaching the chicken and making the filling too.  The chicken can be shredded, the stock reduced, and the filling made and kept in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the pie.

Pick your favorite veggies, I like mushrooms, carrots, celery, broccoli, potatoes, and peas.  Pretty classic aside from the broccoli.  Blanching the veggies ensures they will be nicely cooked in the pie.  Blanch 10 minutes, the goal is al dente + so they don’t get too soft.  The veggies should be cut roughly the same size for even cooking.  The exception to this would be mushrooms, saute’ these before adding to the sauce.

Sauce Me Up

What holds everything together is a simple bechamel sauce of butter, flour, milk,and stock.  Start by making the roux .  Sauté onions with the butter for flavor and add the flour. Cook this for a couple of minutes before adding the chicken stock and milk.  Simmer sauce until it is thick like gravy, stir constantly.  Season well with salt and pepper.  

Two Pie Camps

There are 2 kinds of pie people in my book, those who like crust (ME) and those who like filling (Can’t even imagine who that is).  So I’ve searched far and wide for a pie crust I like.

I love Dorie Greenspan’s pie crust recipe. It’s buttery and flaky, and best of all, it makes a generous amount of dough, enough for a two-crust pie and a small single-crust pie. That’s a lot of crust.  Which is exactly what I want.

Make the crust by hand or in a food processor.  Be extra vigilant that you don’t overprocess the dough.

This is what your dough should look like coming out of the food processor. 

Gather it up into a disc shape and chill.  Roll out 2 crusts one for the top and one for the bottom.  Follow my tweak below or line your baking dish with the bottom crust and chill again.

Let’s Get to the Bottom of the Pie

Bake your chicken pot pie with a top crust only.  What Deb?!  That’s less crust!  Hold on now…here is the tweak.  Roll out the pie dough for the bottom crust then cut out circles or squares from this sheet equal to a serving of your pie.  Bake them separately.  When it’s pot pie time, place one of these buttery, flaky rounds on the bottom of each plate then topped with a generous wedge of your baked pie over it.  Buttery, flaky, crispy, crust on the top and bottom. This, my friends, is chicken pot pie nirvana.

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving!

So, Happy Pi Day, now go make some pie! Check out my IG Reel for Chicken Pot Pie!

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Classic Chicken Pot Pie

Ultimate comfort food. This is the classic Chicken Pot Pie. Buttery, flaky crust with a thick, velvety Bechamel filled with chunks of chicken and veggies. A keeper!
Course comfort food, dinner, One dish meals
Cuisine American
Keyword Chicken, chicken pot pie, comfort food, food for the soul, made from scratch, pie, pot pie, savory
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 minute
Servings 6 servings

Equipment

  • 1 food processor

Ingredients

The chicken and stock:

  • 1 3 1/2-pound whole chicken (approximately 3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded or cubed) Shoretcut 1: Sub chicken parts for whole chicken Shortcut 2: Costco Roast Chicken Yeah, you read that right
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1 small onion halved
  • 2 teaspoons salt or 1 t salt and 1 tablepsoon Better Than Bouillion Chicken Base

Simply Irrecrustable: or Dorie's MoRe CrUsT RecipE

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick chilled unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (best to chill cubes in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before using)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening chilled
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

It's All About the Filling

  • 3 med carrots sliced about 1.5 cups
  • 2 stalks celery sliced about 1 cup
  • 3/4 cup green peas frozen or fresh
  • Use any veggies you like broccoli, squash, potatoes. You want about 3 cups of vegetables sliced or chopped.

Da Sauce: This is a generous amount of sauce so you can increase your veggies if you like.

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups yellow onion (you have leeway use 1 med or large onion which yields 1 cup to 1-1/2 cups diced onions diced
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock reserved from cooking chicken
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 2 teaspoons salt to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • For the egg wash: optional
  • 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Da Chicken: A whole chicken in a large stockpot with water to make a chicken pot pie casserole. Yep, you read that right.

  • Combine the chicken, carrot, celery, onion and salt or chicken base into a large stock pot. Add cold water until just covered and bring to a boil over high heat.
  • Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool for 15 minutes. While the chicken is cooling, continue to boil the remaining water and vegetables in the pot.
  • When the chicken is cool enough to touch, strip away as much of the meat as you can. Place the meat on a dish, set aside. Shred chicken or cube. You should have about 3 cups.
  • Return the chicken bones to the stockpot and continue to boil, on high heat, until the stock has reduced to a quart or quart and a half.
  • Set aside 2 1/2 cups of the stock for this recipe. Freeze remaining stock for a rainy day.

All About the Crust: Simply Recipe Yields only 1 crust. You will need to double it or make Dorie's omitting the sugar

  • Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse 5 times to combine. Add the shortening and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal, with some pea-sized pieces of butter.
  • Slowly stream in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks together when you press some between your fingers.
  • Empty the food processor onto a clean surface. Use your hands to mold into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling.

Filling It Up

  • Blanch prepped carrots, celery, potatoes, broccoli (if using) in water for about 10-15 minutes. Veggies should be al dente but cooked through. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they're translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, one minute more.
  • Whisk in 2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock. Whisk in the milk. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often until thickened and creamy.
  • Add the chicken, thyme, sherry, peas, blanched veggies, parsley, salt and pepper and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Pour into prepared baking dish(s)

Pieformers: Assemble

    Bake: Preheat oven to 375

    • Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a little less than a quarter-inch thick.
    • Roll roughly to the shape and size of your baking dish. A little bigger so you crimp the edge. Lay pastry over filling and dish.
    • Fold the excess dough under itself and crimp edge of pie.. Cut a 1-inch vents into pie. Use a pastry brush to apply an egg wash to each pie.
    • Line a baking sheet with foil, place pie on baking sheet. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. If the edge gets too dark, cover with foil.
    • Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
    Chicken Wings and Daikon Nimono + TV for Rainy Days

    Chicken Wings and Daikon Nimono + TV for Rainy Days

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    It’s raining once again in California.  Which is the best excuse to stay home (in sweats), watch a lot of TV, bake, and cook.  I started the weekend on a carb bender. First, I made No-Knead Focaccia from Bon Appetit, it gets a big thumbs up, pillowy, springy, and delicious.  Caveat:  You have to start a day earlier for said focaccia, since there is 8 hours of resting time. Then I started on Kristina Cho’s Milk Bread from Mooncakes and Milk Bread, also extremely delicious.  Think of it as the Asian version of Brioche, slightly sweet, buttery, rich, and soft.

    THEN, I needed a Bread Bake Break

    Well, actually, my hips needed a break.  The combination of being a couch potato and baking is, to say the least, lethal.  I had to pick one, couch or carbs. Couch won.  Mainly because I started watching a cute, sweet Japanese show on Netflix called Makanai:  Cooking for the Maiko House. In a nutshell, two BFFs go off to Kyoto to become geishas.  One becomes a geisha while the other is a total washout but a fabulous cook (thanks to her grandmother), and becomes the Makanai or resident chef for the house, a role usually held by an older woman.  Each episode features something yummy, often a comforting, homestyle dish, made by Kiyo.

    Well, you can’t sit there watching without a bowl of something delicious.  The cold, wet, weather and The Makanai put me in the mood for Nimono.  Nimono, a family-style dish usually contains protein, vegetables, or tofu simmered in a seasoned dashi (stock).  I scoured my fridge and found chicken wings and daikon (radish) perfect for Nimono.

    Start by browning the wings.  I got fancy and grilled them, don’t bother, one more pan to clean. Then add your dashi, seasonings, and sliced daikon and bring to a boil. Cover the Nimono with a piece of parchment.  This keeps everything submerged so it cooks evenly.  Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the daikon is soft. Pierce daikon with a knife to test, if it pierces easily, it’s done.   Korean radish would work well also.

    Meanwhile, as the chicken and daikon are simmering, make your eggs.  Use the ramen egg recipe for a soft center yolk.  Cool the eggs and peel.  Place eggs in cold water to chill (so it doesn’t overcook when you put it in the Nimono).

    When the radish is soft, Place eggs in Nimono.  Try to submerge them so they absorb the flavor of the broth.  Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

    Garnish with green onions, and or sesame seeds.  Serve with rice and eat while sitting in front of the telly watching Makanai, Midnight Diner, or Julie and Julia…

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    5 from 1 vote

    Chicken Wings and Daikon Nimono and Netflix

    Simple and quick Japanese braised dish of chicken wings and radish
    Course One dish meals
    Cuisine Asian, Japanese
    Keyword Chicken, daikon, ninono, one pot meal
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes

    Ingredients

    Ingredients:

    • 8-12 Chickin wings
    • 6-8 Ounce Daikon radish can use Korean radish cut into 1/2 inch rounds
    • 4 Eggs boiled till the yolk is still jammy, see ramen eggs post

    Seasonings and stock:

    • 1 Clove Garlic
    • 2 tsp Instant Japanese soup stock (you will need 1 cup of dashi) or make dashi with packet or Shiro dashi
    • 2 tbsp Sugar
    • 1 tbsp Soy sauce if using dashi packet, increase to 2 T
    • 4 Tbsp Sake
    • 2 Tbsp Mirin

    Options

    • Add mushrooms or sliced carrots with daikon if you like

    Instructions

    • Make dashi and set aside. You can use the powder Hondashi, or dashi bags, or Shiro Dashi concentrate. For concentrate dilute 1:12 Make 1-1.5 cups
    • Peel and cut the daikon into 1/2 inch slices. Set aside.
    • Sauté the chicken wings approximately 2 minutes a side in a 3-4 quart saucepan. They should be light brown.
    • Add dashi to pot followed by soy sauce, mirin and sake. Add daikon on top. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer. Use an otoshibuta (dropped or parchment lid) while simmering although you can forego this step. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until radish is soft when pierced with a knife.
    • While chicken is simmering, make ramen eggs or hard boil the eggs just until the yolk is barely set. Peel and place eggs in an ice bath. When nimono is done, add peeled eggs to it and let it simmer another 5 minutes. Make sure the eggs are submerged in the broth.
    • Ladle the Nikon into bowls, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice and a half or whole egg per person. It's worthwhile making nimono in advance, since it tastes better the next day. Or just make a larger quantity to keep. Reheat before eating at home, or reheat then let cool down again if using for bento. Can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
    Mille-Feuille Nabe Blooming Delish!

    Mille-Feuille Nabe Blooming Delish!

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    I’m sure I saw this on TikTok or an IG Reel.  It looked so delicious I knew I was going to make it, if not today, definitely tomorrow.  Jackpot, making it today, why?  As most of you know I stop at grocery stores so often I should be classified as a professional food shopper.  The beauty of being a “pro”, I generally have the ingredients for any dish found on the internet, lol. This is a perfect example, a quick perusal of my kitchen and I was in business.

    Thinly sliced pork – check. From Asian Market. I always keep some in the freezer, ALWAYS.

    Napa Cabbage – check. Picked up a head at the Hankook Market last weekend, cause you never know when you might need some cabbage…

    Mushrooms – check. My fridge qualifies as a certified mushroom farm most days.

    Dashi or Broth – check. I pulled my bottle of Shiro Dashi from the fridge. Literally concentrated dashi that you dilute with water, VERY good, stupid easy. For a detailed run down check out Guide to Shiro Dashi

    OR I can make Dashi with packets from Japan that I keep squirreled away in my pantry.  Again, VERY good,  a bit more work than Shiro Dashi, still super easy.

    I won’t go into making my own Dashi cause that would defeat the dinner in a few minutes mantra.

    Korean radish – check.  You don’t need it, I just happen to have some so why not?

    Staples – check.  Green onions, sesame seeds, soy sauce S&P…Hello? Would not be caught dead without any of these.

    Pot- check. Y’all know I didn’t have to list this but I wanted to mention the tiny Donabe I bought at the MANRESA fire sale.  It gives me JOY.  I also used my gorgeous Staub pot for the family-sized version.

    So that’s it, all you need to make this scrumptious, perfect when it is cold and wet outside, quick and easy dish.

    Let’s Goooooo!

    This is super easy, TRUST ME.  Have I ever steered you wrong?  Start with your Napa Cabbage, wash and separate the leaves.  You only need 1 head of cabbage and you won’t use all of it, unless you are feeding a cast of thousands, then you’re on your own.

    Take out your thinly sliced pork, I’m sure this would work with beef also. Use any protein cut for Shabu Shabu or Hot Pot.  I know you are thinking, 🤔, can I use bacon?  My inclination is no, as much as I love bacon, the flavor may be too much and too salty for this Nabe.  But if you are feeling bold, try it.  Definitely REPORT BACK to me!

    Layer the pork on the Napa Cabbage, covering most of the leaf. Continue layering until you have a stack of 3-4 leaves.  Cut crosswise into 3-4 sections, and try to match it up with your pot.  Each section should be about 2-2.5 inches in height. Definitely not taller as you will need to cover the pot when cooking.  Continue circling the pot with the sections until you reach the center.  I finished with slices of Korean radish surrounding a bouquet of mushrooms smack dab in the middle, totally optional.  But so good.

    To finish, add dashi to barely cover the cabbage, cover, and cook.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, the beauty of thinly sliced meats and veggies.  Dinner is served! BACK to the dashi.  Dashi is a fish-based stock, used in many yummy Japanese dishes.  There are ka-zillions of ways to make dashi.  Skip the traditional and time-consuming options.  I use Shiro-dashi alot.  It is a seasoned concentrated fish stock that comes in a bottle.  Dilute Shiro-dashi 10-12 fold for soups and casseroles, EASY PEASY.  The other way is using dashi packets, kind of like tea bags.  Drop it into the water, let it sit to infuse the flavor from the packets, and presto dunzo.

    CAVEAT: The Shiro Dashi is seasoned with salt and sugar while the dashi packets just impart the fish flavor.  You will need to add salt or soy if using the dashi packets.

    That’s it!  Serve it up with bowls of hot, steaming rice, maybe fry an egg or if you have Mayak Eggs or Ramen Eggs yum. So damn delicious it is criminal.  Or use the flavorful broth on a lovely bowl of noodles, udon noodles would be delicious.

    A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…check out my Instagram for a reel on Mille-Feuille Nabe!

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    Mille-Feuille Nabe

    Japanese Hotpot with Napa Cabbage and thinly sliced pork belly arranged in layers in a donabe of casserole. Dashi serves as the cooking broth that turns this into a lovely dish perfect for cold weather.
    Course dinner, Main Course, One dish meals
    Cuisine Asian, Japanese
    Keyword Mille-feuille, napa cabbage, Pork Belly, soup
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 15 minutes

    Equipment

    • 1 donabe If you have one, but any casserole type pot will do.

    Ingredients

    Main Ingredients

    • 1 napa cabbage medium size should do
    • 1-1½ lb Thinly sliced pork belly smaller the pot the less you will need
    • 1 bunch of mushrooms like enoki or shiimeji optional
    • Korean Radish or Daikon, thinly sliced optional

    Dashi

    • 1 knob ginger 1 inch, 2.5 cm
    • 5 cups dashi See post for dashi options!
    • 2 Tbsp sake cut in half or omit if using Shiro Dashi
    • 1 Tbsp soy sauce cut in half or omit if using Shiro Dashi
    • ½ tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt

    Finishing Touches

    • green onions, diced for garnish
    • Chili oil or Shichim Togarashi at the table
    • Rice to serve with hot pot or boil some noodles to have with the flavorful broth!
    • Any kind of eggs-Ramen, Mayak or raw that you crack and cook in the broth

    Instructions

    • Remove leaves carefully from the base, wash and drain well. Don’t throw away any leaves that naturally came off while rinsing. We’ll use these leaves later on. If you happen to get a ginormous cabbage cut in half or quarters lengthwise. I usually buy small ones so I use the whole leaf. Pat them dry before next step.
    • Layer the pork belly and napa cabbage by placing one slice between each of the leaves. Cover leaves with pork belly, trim if necessary to fit. Repeat 3-4 times depending on size of pot.
    • Cut each napa cabbage wedge into 3-4 pieces each about 2 to 2½ inches (5-6 cm) long. Each section should not be taller than your cooking pot. Try to keep the layers of napa cabbage and pork belly neatly stacked as you slice.
    • Next, start stacking the ingredients in a donabe, hot pot, or regular 10-inch pot. I used a shallow Staub pot with the grill top. Turn the stacks on their side as you pack them so the pink and green layers are visible. Start from the outer edges of the pot and work your way toward the center. Place the thicker cabbage leaves near the outside edge and the tender leaves in the center. Make sure that you pack the pot tightly as the layers will become loose once the ingredients start to cook.
    • If you don’t have enough layers to pack the pot tightly, consider using a smaller pot or place other ingredients in the center. I Like to stuff enoki mushrooms or shimeji mushrooms in the center. Or use slices of radish to surround the mushrooms.
    • Make you dashi. Don’t reduce the salt If you are using dashi from packets since the napa cabbage will release liquid during cooking and dilute the soup. If using Shiro Dashi that is seasoned omit half the soy sauce and sake. Taste your broth, it should not be too salty.
    • Pour the broth into the pot with the napa cabbage and pork belly. Start cooking on high heat. Once boiling, skim off the foam and fat on the surface using a fine-mesh skimmer. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and cook covered until the napa cabbage is tender and the pork belly is cooked through, roughly 8-10 minutes.

    Garnish

    • Garnish with chopped green onion/scallion, have shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on table or sprinkle on top of dish. Serve while hot with rice or boil up some noodles to serve in the delicious broth!
      I like adding a ramen egg or a Mayak egg t round it out.