My tempura

It was tricky to get the batter to stick, but it tastes good. I fried some extra batter and eat it with the chicken.

Tori Tempura and Agedashi Tofu

Chicken tempura - I first tasted tori-tempura (as opposed to the normal prawn or veg) in a tiny little town in Kumamoto with Ellie. We went to this tiny little restaurant owned by an old Japanese man who did everything himself. It was incredible. I'm going to try and recreate it.

Recipe:
Chicken (1 breast per person)
Rice
Egg
Water
1/3 cup of flour
Oil for frying
Salt and Pepper to season

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces
Boil pieces in a pan
Drain and season with salt and pepper
Mix egg yolk and water in a bowl and add flour and mix lightly
Whip egg white firmly in another bowl and add into the batter
Heat oil to 350 f
Dip chicken pieces into the batter and fry until crisp.

As well as salt and pepper I like to use a Dashi Sauce dressing (might be frowned upon in Japan, I'm not sure but it tastes good)
For this dressing;
1 cup of Dashi (made my water and bonito flakes, see previous post)
1/2 tablespoon of Japanese Mirin
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
All you need to do is mix the ingredients and bring to the boil.

Since I am already going to be making Dashi and frying, I am going to attempt
Agedashi Tofu.
Ingredients:
1 block tofu
flour
oil for frying

Wrap tofu in a dry cloth and tilt to drain water
Leave with a light weight on top for 10 mins
Cut tofu into 4-6 blocks
Cost tofu with flour
Fry until golden brown
Put the tofu in a bowl with the Dashi.

Pictures to follow!

Okonomiyaki (part 2)

Oh, you also have to add an egg when adding the cabbage.

Here a some pictures of my beautiful, tastes just like it should, okonomiyaki (pre, during and after cooking)!

I've started off with making my Dashi:

1/2 cup of Bonito flakes
2 cups of water
bring to the boil and take off the heat
when the flakes have settled to the bottom, drain.

My okonomiyaki mix is sitting for 30 minutes:
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of dashi
mix together for 5 minutes (don't over mix)
leave for 30 minutes.

I have cut my cabbage ready (3 leaves) and got my desires toppings,
being cheese and bacon ready too.
In 30 mins, I'll add the cabbage and cheese and cook in a frying pan until its
golden and then place the bacon on top, and turn it over to cook.
When finished, I'll add mayo and okonomiyaki sauce to the top with bonito flakes.

YUM. I am getting so hungry.

Eggs, Dashi and Udon

I am undertaking the challenge of making 卵焼き (rolled sweet egg), お好み焼き (okonomiyaki) and Udon today. My Japanese Home Style Cooking book from Shimizu- Sensei is being put to its first real test. Agedashi tofu and Ton-Katsu are also on the cards. I was a lot less scared of making these when I lived in Japan and I didn't have to hand make ingredients such as Dashi (with water and dried bonito flakes). But here goes!

Pictures to come!