chicken katsu udon

ingredients:

chicken katsu (see recipe in previous post)
dried wakame
thick seaweed
bonito flakes
shiitake mushroom
carrots
spinach
corn
scallions
soy sauce (or udon soup base)
hon dashi
mirin
canola oil

directions:

1.  prepare the udon broth by boiling thick seaweed chunks and bontio flakes with water.  add some soy sauce, mirin, and hon dashi.  throw in some carrots and shiitake mushrooms and keep warm.

2.  prepare your mise en place. blanch the spinach and set aside.  cut the corn from the cob and lightly saute in some canola oil. set aside.  (you can throw the corn cobs into the udon broth to give it more flavor if you like)  slice the scallions and reconstitute the dried wakame in water.

3.  in a separate pot, cook udon noodles and place into bowls.  do not wash the cooked udon in cold water.  top the hot udon with some spinach, corn, and wakame.  ladle piping hot udon broth into bowl.  be sure to get some carrots on shiitakes in the bowl as well.  top with chicken katsu, garnish with scallions, and serve immediately.

garlic chicken katsu, grilled spring onions

ingredients:

chicken thigh meat
spring onions
chives
lemon
egg
flour
panko
kosher salt
maldon sea salt (the flaky kind)
freshly cracked black pepper
garlic powder
canola oil
tonkatsu sauce (optional)

directions:

1.  prepare three trays.  one with egg wash (by beating an egg with some water), one with flour, and one with panko.  season panko with salt and cracked black pepper.

2.  de-bone the chicken thigh meat and remove the skin.  lay flat and season both sides with salt, garlic powder, and cracked black pepper.  dredge chicken in a light coating of flour, then give it a bath in the egg wash, and lastly coat with panko.

3.  add enough canola oil to a heated flat pan so that bottom is completely covered.  pan-fry chicken pieces until both sides are golden and crispy.  set on a rack (as shown) to drain excess oil.  finish with sprinkle of maldon sea salt.  note: I don't recommend draining the chicken on a paper towel, as bottom gets soggy.

4.  slice the spring onions into quarters.  heat up a grill pan and grill spring onions over medium heat until nicely caramelized and slightly charred.

to plate:

1.  garnish chicken katsu with chives and plate grilled spring onions next to it. serve with a lemon wedge on the side and tonkatsu sauce.

spicy hamachi tartare, nori sheets

ingredients:

hamachi (belly cut works best with this preparation)
orange tobiko
quail egg
miracle whip
mayonnaise
siracha hot sauce
lemon ponzu
crushed garlic
chives
sliced cucumber (optional)
nori sheets
shichimi
fine sea salt

directions:

1.  finely chop hamachi and refrigerate.
2.  in a bowl, mix equal portions of miracle whip and mayo together. then fold in shichimi, siracha hot sauce, crushed garlic, salt, and chives.  the spicy mayo should be orange-ish.
3.  gently stir the spicy mayo mixture into the hamachi, little by little, to taste.

to plate:

1.  put some of the spicy hamachi tartare into a bowl.  garnish with sliced cucumbers all around.  top with a bed of chopped chives, then some orange tobiko, and finally top with quail egg.  (yolk only) gently spoon some lemon ponzu around the tartare.  serve with nori sheets and extra shichimi on the side.

razor clam linguini, white wine butter sauce

ingredients:

razor clams in tin

baby razor clams in tin

anchovy fillets in olive oil

yellow onion

garlic

red chili flake

lemon

parsley

white wine

butter

olive oil

sea salt

freshly cracked black pepper

linguini pasta

directions:

1.  in a large pot, boil water for pasta. add a handful of kosher salt.

2.  heat up a drizzle of olive oil in a medium saucepan. meanwhile, julienne onion, finely mince garlic, chop parsley, and set aside. when oil is hot, saute onions and red chili flakes with a few anchovy fillets until the anchovy is broken down. (taste your anchovy first, if it's super salty, don't add as many. I got mine from Spain, they are not as salty, with a deep nutty flavor, so I used about 5 fillets to one onion.)  

3.  when onions are translucent, add in minced garlic, and saute for one minute.  

4.  then add the razor clams with the clam juice, butter, and white wine.  cook until alcohol from wine has evaporated. 

5.  using tongs, toss al dente linguini into the pan with the clams and sauce, and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.  season to taste with freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt if needed.  squeeze some lemon, garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

red wine braised lamb shank, gremolata, risotto milanese

there are three components to this dish.  I will give separate ingredient lists and directions for each.

I. red wine braised lambshanks

ingredients:

lamb shanks
bottle of red - I use 2-buck-chuck from traders
carrots
yellow onion
can of plum tomatoes
tomato paste
garlic
rosemary
beef stock
olive oil
kosher salt
cracked black pepper
rock sugar

directions:

1.  season lamb shanks liberally with kosher salt and cracked black pepper.  heat up olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot and sear the lamb off till brown on all sides.  remove shanks and set aside.
2.  add sliced carrots and chopped onions into the pot and cook for a bit, then add in some minced garlic and deglaze with a bottle of red wine. bring to a boil and return lamb shanks into red wine mixture. throw in a few sprigs of rosemary and a tablespoon or so of tomato paste.
3.  using only the tomatoes from the can (no juice/sauce), crush them with your hands before adding them to the pot along with beef stock till the shanks are just covered with liquid.
4.  cook over medium heat, covered, until lamb is fork tender and about to fall off the bone.  season with a small cube of white rock sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.  add a splash of red wine before serving to give it another layer of flavor.

II. gremolata

ingredients:

lemon zest
garlic, minced
parsley, chopped
rosemary, minced
cracked sea salt
cracked black pepper

directions:

1. combine lemon zest, garlic, parsley, and rosemary into a small bowl.  season with cracked sea salt and black pepper.  set aside to top the lamb shanks.

III. risotto milanese

ingredients:

alborio rice
white wine
yellow onion
chicken stock
saffron threads
olive oil
parmesan cheese
parsley chiffonade

directions:

1.  heat up chicken stock in a pot.  steep the saffron threads in the hot stock.
2.  heat up olive oil in a pan.  saute chopped onions till translucent and add in rice.  saute rice for a bit then add in a ladle full of stock and cook. keep adding ladle fulls of stock as the rice cooks.  very important to stir as you go.
3.  when risotto is cooked through, and still al dente, fold in grated parmesan and garnish with parsley. should be nice and creamy, but still being able to taste the texture of the alborio rice.


to plate:

1.  put some risotto on a plate.  place a lamb shank off to the side and spoon sauce around it.  garnish lamb with gremolata.  serve immediately.