Niku-Jaga & Yaki-Harumaki
Niku-Jaga is one of very popular Japanese home cooking dishes. Each family might have their own recipe and ingredient list. I like mine. Very simple and tasty. To eat Niku-Jaga, steamed rice is a must in my opinion although J thought Niku-Jaga had enough starch from potatoes. I knew it but it was a taste matter for me. So I cooked some rice.
My Yaki-Harumaki was all vegetables and healthy pan-fried, not deep-fried. After pan-frying both sides, pour a small amount of water in the pan, and cover to quickly steam rolls. That make wrappers soft and chewy.
It always feels good (to me) to eat these tastes.
Niku-Jaga
SERVES 4-6
5 cups Japanese Dashi stock (made from dried Konbu and dried Bonito)
8 tbs low-sodium soy sauce (I used Kamada's low sodium Dashi soy sauce)
8 tbs Mirin
1 tbs sugar
1.5 lb. beef (I bought 1.3 lb. Angus beef chuck steak and trimmed), cut in 1 inch cube
6 small Yukon Golden potatoes, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1. In a large pan, mix Dashi stock, soy sauce, Mirin, suger.
2. Stir in beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, cover directly the mixture surface with kitchen-paper with some small holes (so-called Otoshi-buta method to collect scum and help Dashi mixture circulate all over the ingredients), turn on heat, bring to boil, then, reduce the heat, simmer 15 mins.
3. Turn off heat, cool down for 3 hours.
4. Turn on heat again, bring to boil, remove the kitchen paper, simmer 1-1.5 hour, occasionally spoon liquid over the ingredients above the surface of the liquid if any.
Yaki-Harumaki
MAKES 8
1 1/2 cup cabbage shredded
1 carrot shredded
handful of dried Shiitake, soften in water
3 scallion finely chopped
1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp Sake
some ground black pepper
1/2 sesame oil
8 spring roll wrappers
Ponzu (Japanese citrus-based soy sauce)
rice vinegar
1. In a non-stick pan, saute cabbage and carrot without oil until slightly soften for 1-2 min, transfer to a bowl
2. In the bowl, mix in Shiitake and scallion, season with soy sauce, Sake, pepper, sesame oil
3. Wrap some filling with a spring roll wrapper like an envelope, make total 8.
4. In a non-stick pan, heat very small amount of oil, cook rolls until spotty brown both sides, pour 2 tbs water in the pan, quickly cover and steam rolls for 1 min, remove the cover, cook until excess water evaporates.
5. Mix some Ponzu and rice vinegar for dipping sauce.
