When my husband celebrated his birthday recently I made this traditional auspicious dish – Lucky Long Life Noodles, or Longevity Noodles (Cháng Shòu Miàn 长寿面). These special noodles are typically served in Asia for happy events like birthdays and weddings. Why? Because of the belief …
I wanted to share this Easy No Knead Bread recipe because it is so simple to successfully make delicious homemade bread. One of the pleasures in life is eating freshly baked bread still warm from the oven. That gorgeous smell suffuses the kitchen and the …
Taiyaki Japanese Fish-Shaped Pancakes are a terrific fun food snack that reminds me of my days living in Japan. I was recounting tales of memorable times in Tokyo with my kids and hit an unbelievable patch of nostalgia! So, do not be surprised if you are seeing more Japanese recipes on my blog as I’m working my way out of this “trip down memory lane” affliction. Haha!
The word tai-yaki, 鯛焼き translates to baked sea bream. There is a custom in Japan to eat sea bream (tai) on happy or celebrations. The Japanese word me-de-tai, 目出度い means “auspicious” or “celebratory” and tai is loved because its name sounds similar to the auspicious wishes. This tradition is one of the reasons why taiyaki are such a popular snack in Japan. It’s tasty and it sounds like good luck – sounds like a winning combination to me! 🙂
The center of this pancake snack is traditionally sweetened red azuki bean paste (anko), or cream custard. In recent times, Nutella, chocolate, cheese and other creative fillings are used.
In order to make a taiyaki snack, you’ll need a pan specifically designed for the task. Just like Ebelskiver pans for round Danish filled pancakes, you need a fish mold pan to make taiyaki. This is such a whimsical snack, and is sure to please. I took the leap and bought a pan and set out to make these fun snacks for my family.
This is a relatively simple snack to make. You will need ingredients for the batter, and a filling. That’s it. Simple, right?
Batter
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ Tbs sugar
⅓ cup water
⅓ cup milk
1 large egg
2 Tbs neutral oil, for brushing on the pan
Filling
Nutella, or sweet filling of your choice. Popular fillings are cream custard, chunky jam and traditional sweet bean paste.
In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the middle. Next, combine all the liquid ingredients together and pour into the well.
Stir until incorporated. Do not over-mix. Then, cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
As the batter rests, get your work space ready around the stove top. First, set aside a small amount of oil for your taiyaki pan. Next, have a small heat resistant spatula to remove the cooked snack and a clean kitchen towel handy to catch any spills or drips. Lastly, set a plate or a rack ready for all of the delicious piping hot taiyaki!
When the batter is about ready, heat the taiyaki pan over low-medium heat. Next, lightly brush the pan mold with oil.
Then, spoon about 1½ to 2 tablespoons of batter onto the fish mold. Pour the batter from the top edge so that the batter flows to the bottom of the pan. This will ensure the entire mold gets covered and the fish shape forms properly.
Scoop Nutella (or the filling of your choice) into the center of the fish mold.
Next, add batter over the filling, about 1½ to 2 tablespoons to cover completely. Then, press the pan together to close and click on the handle latch.
Cook the batter for roughly 3-5 minutes on one side and then flip the pan over and cook 3 minutes over low heat. When cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Next, use the spatula to carefully remove the Taiyaki Fish and place on a plate (or rack) to cool. Or, (as my son likes to say, “in a pro move” 😁) take the entire pan, gently shake and tip the cooked taiyaki out of the pan onto the waiting plate! Repeat until all the batter is gone.
Your fun fish-shaped filled pancakes are ready to eat! Itadakimasu!
On a Japanese streak? Try my Matcha Mille Crepe Cake!
This recipe was adapted from the popular Chopsticks Chronicles.
Have you tried these quick and easy oatmeal cups? They are my son’s favorite. They taste great and are good for you too! Check it out here => Strawberry Craisin Oatmeal Cup: It’s Petite and Amazing
For a simple dinner with super easy clean up, check out this delicious method of cooking in a foil packet => Quick Sausage En Papillote: Awesome Recipe from Jacques Pepin
One of the best way to cook fish is to lightly pan sear it. See how to prepare juicy Halibut fillet marinated in a yummy lemon olive oil mixture and have dinner on the table in under an hour. => Fish in a Hurry: Easy Pan-Seared Halibut using my Favorite Marinade
September 20, 2020. Evening. Pan Seared Halibut. I really enjoy eating a piece of nice firm fish and nothing is quicker than making an easy Pan Seared Halibut for a delicious dinner on a busy weeknight. When I was a child, we ate a lot …
September 20, 2020. Morning. Cheese soufflé. I finally made Fluffy Three-Cheese Soufflé the other day! I must confess I have this irrational fear of making soufflé! After hearing all the horror stories about how after spending hours slaving over one and at the moment of …
I was constantly craving for comfort food when sheltering at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the dishes that I found myself making again and again is the Japanese Nikujaga Meat and Potatoes stew. It’s a hearty beef and potatoes dish, but it isn’t greasy nor does it sit on your stomach heavily. Nikujaga (肉じゃが) literally translates to “Meat Potatoes” – I love the balance of this particular meat and vegetables dish. The ingredients are simmered in a delicious dashi based broth.
What is a dashi broth? It is one of the most commonly used flavors within Japanese cuisine that imparts the “umami” taste. The best English equivalent word is savory. Dashi is typically made up of ingredients like Kombu kelp seaweed, katsuobushi bonito fish flakes, dried shiitake mushrooms, and dried sardines, strained together to make dashi, essentially a liquid form of umami! For convenience, I am using instant dashi for this recipe.
Read more about Dashi here from one of my favorite sites =>https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/03/dashi-japanese-stock.html
I was reading that the key for a successful nikujaga is not to overwhelm the dish with too much meat. Essentially the meat is used to flavor the veggies, to give it a satisfying balance. Meaty enough, yet not too much.
This recipe was adapted from the popular Just One Cookbook by Nami san. She has a very clear and easy to follow style, which I appreciate.
1 large onion
3 large carrot
4 potatoes
1 lb thinly sliced beef chuck or rib eye
1 pack shirataki noodles
10 pieces sugar snap peas
1 Tbs vegetable oil
3 cup dashi
6 Tbs mirin
6 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs sake
2 Tbs sugar (adjust to suit taste)
In addition to that, you will need a large pot to cook the nikujaga.
Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients. Next, put a pot of water to boil.
Then, make instant dashi stock (or prepared home made stock).
Next, prepare the ingredients. Start by remove strings from sugar snap peas. Set aside. Then, remove shirataki noodles from package, rinse and drain.
When the water is boiling, lightly blanch the sugar peas for 30 seconds and take them out. You want to retain their bright green color and not overcook them.
Then, using the same water, cook the shirataki noodles for 1 minute. Drain the water and cut the noodles in half. Set aside.
Next, cut the onion into wedges. Then, peel and cut the carrot lengthwise in half and chop into rolling wedges. This method is called rangiri.
Next, cut the potatoes into quarters and smooth the edges. If the pieces have sharp edges then they are likely to break into pieces during the cooking process from bumping into each other. This Japanese cutting technique is called mentori. Then, soak the potatoes in water to remove starch.
Finally, cut the sliced meat in half.
In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat and sauté the onion until fragrant. Add meat and cook until it is no longer pink.
Next, add the potatoes, carrots, and shirataki noodles. Then pour in the dashi stock and all the seasonings and bring the entire pot to a boil.
Once the liquid is boiling, skim the surface to remove any foamy bits. Gently arrange to make sure all the ingredients are covered by the broth. Then, put on the lid and simmer on medium-low heat for 15 -20 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked.
When the veggies are done, turn off the heat and let it rest for about 30 minutes. At this point, you want to let the flavors soak into the ingredients. When it is almost ready for serving, toss in the sugar snap peas.
Taste the broth and make final adjustments before serving. And it is ready. Let’s eat! いただきます Itadakimasu!
Want to make more Japanese food? Check out this delicious Taiyaki (Japanese Fish-Shaped Pancakes), or this gorgeous Matcha Mille Crepe Cake post. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted: https://www.justonecookbook.com/nikujaga/
Do you know that you can make tortilla from scratch? Here’s my post on how to make them at home => Back to Basics: How to Make Delicious Soft Flour Tortillas The wonderful thing is that you can make a dozen tortillas in under an hour.
If you are in a hurry and want to make a quick nutritional snack, check out my recipe on Strawberry Craisin Oatmeal Cup: It’s Petite and Amazing. This treat whips up in under an hour, 45 minutes to be precise. 😁
If you are looking for something different for dinner, please check out => How to make Fan-Shaped Eggplant Parmesan
Have you ever eaten a slice of moist and delicious Apricot Bread with Pecans that is just loaded with the fruit? This recipe delivers that! We have been trying to snack healthier and add more dried fruits and nuts to our diet. Recently we tried …
This Quick Sausage En Papillote (Sausage in a Packet) is hands down one of my absolute favorite supper recipes! I was watching Jacques Pepin’s short videos on Facebook this summer and was intrigued by this seemingly simple yet flavorful one-dish recipe. That evening I decided …
September 16, 2020. Afternoon. Tuna Cakes
Jump to RecipeWhen I asked my husband what cake he wanted for his birthday, he quickly replied “Easy Canned Tuna Cakes”! I was amused and thought he was joking. But apparently he was serious and meant it! Since, it’s his birthday, I granted his wish. He’s quirky and lovable that way! Lol!
These “tuna cakes” came to be during the early times of the Covid-19 pandemic and we were isolating at home. The supply of fresh food and produce at grocery stores was haphazard and uncertain. In reaction to that, we stocked up on shelf stable staples. Canned tuna* was one of the items. After a while, I got tired of eating tuna sandwiches and wanted to see if there were other ways to serve up this fishy ingredient. After a bit of research I thought it might be fun to serve it up like a crab cake patty. I found a simple recipe from Cooktoria that uses mackerel and decided to adapt it for tuna.
The first time I made this Tuna Cakes recipe, my husband and son devoured them! I made further tweaks and am sharing the latest version that I used to make those Birthday Tuna Cakes I mentioned. They looked pretty fancy served with salad, and glasses of prosecco. The amazing thing is how quickly this delicious meal comes together! From start to finish, it only takes about 30 minutes – now that’s what I love about recipes like this!
You will need the following ingredients to make the patties:
15 oz canned Albacore Tuna in water, 3 standard 5 oz cans
3 large eggs
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated. I used Parmigiano Reggiano.
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 Tbs mayonnaise
2 Tbs mustard
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic (optional). You can also use minced, or roasted
3 stalks of green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp dried chili powder or cayenne (optional)
vegetable oil for frying
For equipment, you will need a large frying pan and a 1/4 cup measuring cup.
Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients. I like to do this so that I won’t be scrambling for a missing ingredient in the middle of putting this together. First, drain the canned tuna and flake the meat with fork in a large mixing bowl.
Next, add all of the other ingredients, except the vegetable oil. Mix well to combine thoroughly.
Then, using 1/4 cup as a scoop, measure and shape the mixture into patties. Gently press them so that the mixture would stick together. It’s very similar to making burger patties.
In a large pan, heat up about vegetable oil. The oil should cover the bottom of the pan. When ready, arrange the patties on the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan and cook the patties in a few batches if necessary.
Fry on medium heat until the patties are golden brown (about 2 to 3 minutes per side).
Finally, lightly pat the cooked patties on paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve the patties warm with salad. Enjoy!
Another fish favorite in our house => Easy Pan-Seared Halibut
We all enjoyed these delicious tuna cakes for my husband’s birthday dinner. In addition to that, I made him a surprise chocolate cake, with candles and all. And of course, we sang him the Birthday song! ❤
This recipe was inspired by https://cooktoria.com/mackerel-patties
If you are in a hurry and want a quick snack or appetizer, check out => Quick Prosciutto Manchego Apple Stacks: Results of a Forage in the Fridge
Have you seen this cool Strawberries & Cream Roll-up Crepe Cake? It was all over social media a while back and I had to give it a try. See how I put this beautiful show stopper together => How to make *The* Strawberries & Cream Roll-up Crepe Cake
Autumn and harvest season is just around the corner, have you seen how I made regular whole wheat bread into a pretty pumpkin shape? Please read my post here =>How to make Whole Wheat Bread Pretty!
One of the most popular pantry items in my kitchen are Delicious Soft Flour Tortillas. We often pick up a pack from the local grocery store during our regular weekly run. So, it wasn’t surprising that as we were sheltering at home during the pandemic …
