Hayashi Rice

1 lb. beef
4 onions
1 tbsp. butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 carrot, sliced into disks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine or beef broth optionally.
2 bay leaves
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 cup frozen peas
Aonori
8 servings cooked Japanese rice

Cut beef into bite sized pieces. Place beef in large pot over medium heat. Cook until browned on all sides, then remove from the pot. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and onions to the pot, then cook onions until translucent, about 15 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, carrot, garlic, wine or beef broth, bay leaves, tomatoes, tomato paste, and beef stock to the pot. Let cook uncovered until the liquid has reduced by half, then remove the bay leaves.
While the pot is simmering, prepare the roux. In a small pan, place 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and immediately stir. Contintuously stir until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Pour a small about of broth from the pot into the roux mixture. Stir until combined, then mix another ladleful in. Do this several times until the mixture has a gravy-like texture, then add the mixture to the pot.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and cook another 30 minutes.
Once ready to eat, serve with rice. Garnish with parsley or aonori if desired.

Chankonabe

This is a Japanese nabe or simmered dish. This is also a good reason to haul out and actually use that electric skillet you have sadly collecting dust in the kitchen cabinet. While this is not a strictly traditional chankonabe, the term is more appropriate, because of the vegetables used, and because of its improvisational manner. This is a simplified, accessible, yet flavor and nutrient packed iteration and variation of the traditional dish.

Nabe dishes are traditionally cooked in iron or earthenware pots. In Japan, nabe dishes are cooked at home over portable butane stoves right on the dinner table in iron or more commonly, ceramic nabe pots, although many Japanese use electric skillets, now.
I had a nice electric skillet that worked for many years until the heating element finally stopped working.

I have been doing a bit of comparison shopping, and one electric skillet seems to be universally popular for this particular sort of application, and that is the Zojirushi model.
The pot insert with it is capable of being put over a direct heat source such as a gas flame, it is super easy to clean and reliable according to reviews. This particular model seems to be very popular with the Japanese for making nabe at the table.

If you haven't dined this way, I highly recommend it. On a cold evening it makes for a very satisfying and relatively healthy way to dine.

Nabe is a relatively easy and foolproof way to cook. Most of it consists in prepping your ingredients. From there you heat up your broth - chicken, beef, vegetable or dashi in the pot and plunk in the ingredients, and let them simmer, and then you fish them out to put in your individual bowl, and you eat and repeat until you are stuffed.

Usually there are some dipping sauces. At the end of the meal, you can add noodles to the well flavored broth and have it as a soup/noodle course or strain the stock, and refrigerate it for use on another night as stock for another nabe or as a soup base for noodles. This of course is an excellent thing to do.

Again, this is a recipe for a veggie based chankonabe - traditionally, a sumo-wrestler-style chankonabe has all sorts of proteins like chicken (chicken meatballs are traditional), fish, shellfish, eggs etc. All of those can be added to the nabe, and cooked, but to be honest it is pretty good either way.
You could use Napa cabbage instead of bok choy, but the bok choy is more tender and cooks faster than Napa cabbage. This is to give you a base recipe to learn, and expand upon. From here, you can branch out and make other nabe dishes such as sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, nabeyaki udon, oden.

As far as broth, the two best broths for nabe in my opinion are dashi, dashi-miso and chicken broth - homemade Japanese-style chicken broth for this preferably.

Nabe is all about the broth. I will put a recipe for a Japanese-style chicken broth at the end of this recipe. For beginners or those new to nabe, I suggest using a chicken or vegetable broth to start with. You can of course add a bit of hon-dashi or "instant dashi" to it, to create more complex flavor. As you get the hang of it, one can use ingredients or condiments such as miso paste for more complex flavors.

Ingredients -

2-3" long piece of ginger, peeled & minced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2 onions, cut into large slices
7-8 large crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups green beans, chopped into 1” pieces
3 cups carrots, sliced
3 bunches bok choy, washed & sliced
1 quart broth of choice - veggie, chicken, dashi etc. If you are new to nabe, and even if you aren't, I strongly suggest making the well flavored Japanese-style chicken broth below for this particular recipe unless you are vegetarian.

Mince up your garlic and ginger together. Heat up a large stock pot or electric skillet with a little bit of vegetable oil, or butter on medium heat. You do not need much oil at all, especially with a non-stick electric skillet. Once the oil starts to glisten, add in your ginger/garlic and stir around for about 1 minute until they start to lighten in color and become fragrant.

Note, wash your bok choy well if using – The root end tends to hold a lot of dirt. Peel away each leaf and rinse; cut the base off before chopping.

Add in all the vegetables except for the bok choy, as well as 1/2 cup of the broth for some moisture. Adding in broth also allows many of the nutrients in the vegetables to be absorbed by the broth. Stir around to coat the vegetables in the melted oil mixture and broth. Reduce the heat to just under medium and let the vegetables cook and soften up, about 6-7 minutes.
If you want your veggies more tender, simply let them simmer longer.

After most of the carrots and green beans have become tender, add in the bok choy and stir around for another 3 minutes, letting the bok choy get tender.

After mixing and stirring everything together, let the broth temperature heat up to a simmer about, 4-6 minutes. Allow the stew to simmer for about 5 minutes to let all of the spices and flavors blend and for the broth to soak into the vegetables. If you are planning to add in rice noodles, now is the time to add them in so they cook in the broth for the 5 minutes. Otherwise, you can add them to the broth at the end of the meal, and cook them in the broth separately.

Turn off or lower the heat, and then you start fishing out veggies and noodles out to add to your own individual bowl. The noodles can be tricky to fish out if you have never done so, and especially so with chopsticks if you aren't practiced at it - and you can use some tongs or a slotted spoon or even a plain old fork to do so - so as not to make a mess. Sometimes hot rice is eaten with nabe instead of noodles, but you will almost never see both together as it would be two starches.

The basic idea from here - is to eat it pretty much how you like - you can make a little bed of rice noodles and fish the cooked veggies out of the pot and put them on top, or you can just add them to a bowl by themselves or to a bowl of rice and nibble away.

Another thing you can do is to top the vegetable chankonabe with already cooked meat such as brisket, chicken, poached shrimp, butaniku, etc. for a more substantial dish with more proteins.

Add - ins and condiments are numerous, from more chopped green onions, mung bean sprouts, chiles, Sriracha, sansho pepper, Shichi-mi togarashi or Japanese seven spice, karashi mustard, wasabi, tosajoyu dipping sauce, sesame seed or peanut sauce dipping sauces, shoyu or tamari.


Japanese Chicken Stock - Tori-gara.
This is a very simple version of "tori-gara". You can of course add more optional flavors which I will note below depending on what you have or if you want a more complex flavor. You can also roast the chicken bones prior to simmering them in the broth.

8 cups water
2 (6-inch) pieces kombu
1 1/2 ounces dried, shaved bonito, about 3 cups, packed
1 pound chicken bones and wings, roughly chop the ribcage, if using
12 cups water, plus more for boiling the bones

Optional add-ins:
Long leeks or green onion
Garlic, one clove will suffice
Fresh ginger, a small chunk.
1 or 2 bay laurel leaves
Black pepper - coarsely ground, just a twist or two.
Japanese sake or white wine will suffice. Not much, 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
Fruit - apples are best, you needn't peel the apple, just cut it in chunks.
Soy sauce or organic tamari for me, a few tablespoons don't come amiss.

Add 8 cups of water and the kombu to a large stockpot and let it steep for 30 minutes. Place the stockpot over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Remove the kombu. Add the bonito and stir it once to mix in. As soon as the liquid boils again, decrease the heat to low
and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove any crap that appears on the surface; it can affect the flavor.

Pop the bones into the pot. Add the 12 cups of water and bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Add any optional add-ins from above to the broth at this point. Decrease the heat the medium and simmer until the stick reduces to approximately 8 cups, about 30 minutes to a couple of hours. As it cooks, check the stock at regular intervals to remove any scum and any excess fat that appears on the surface.

Carefully, strain the liquid and discard any solids and bones making sure to get all the small bones out. Let cool and use immediately or refrigerate or freeze stock for future use. I recommend refrigerating this so you can remove the excess fat prior to using it.

Incidentally, if the tori-gara is too much trouble and time consuming, there are a few decent commercial chicken broths available at the store. You would simply use it as is, or instead I would recommend flavoring it up, with some of the optional add-ins. The "cheater's method" here is to use a commercial broth, and add in a few chicken wings, and simmer it until the meat is falling off the bone, along with some green onions, some shoyu, a chunk of ginger, and a clove of garlic and a few black peppercorns. Just simmer that, you might have to add a bit of water, and when the chicken wings are done - strain the lot, and you have a decent flavored broth.


One ingredient that is commonly used in traditional Japanese and Chinese stocks and broths especially ones that feature ginger and chicken, that I omitted is wolfberry. This is also known as goji berries or the fruit of 'Lycium barbarum' and 'Lycium chinense' respectively and more technically. Within traditional Asian medicine, wolfberry is considered a tonic. Goji berries are considered a "yin" substance, within traditional Chinese medicine particularly used in the winter months to strengthen the kidneys, liver and lungs.

Tsukimi Udon

"Moon viewing noodles".Traditionally, Tsukimi Udon are served at the mid-autumn full moon, and date back to observances and festivals of the Heian era. A whole special cuisine is focused upon the moon, and moon viewing festivities, called "tsukimi ryōri". The name for the winter moon is "fuyutsuki". This recipe uses a konbu-shiitake dashi or broth as its base.
You could use a regular dashi broth, or even water.

Kombu dashi:
7 cups water
1 piece kombu (approximately 12-square inches in size)
1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
Soup broth:
Shiitake kombu dashi
1/4 cup dark soy sauce and/or tamari - I happen to really like tamari with this
2 tbsp. mirin
1/4 tsp. salt, plus more if needed

One package of udon noodles, prepared according to the instructions indicated on the package
4 large eggs
2 tbsp. thinly sliced green onion
Shichimi togarashi, Japanese seven spice, to garnish

Make the shiitake kombu dashi: Place the kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms in a pot with the water. Bring the water almost to a boil and then turn down the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let the stock stand for 3 minutes. Squeeze the mushrooms to release the stock they have soaked up, then strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
Make the soup broth: Mix the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and salt together in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Divide the prepared udon noodles into four bowls. Ladle the simmering soup broth over the noodles. Crack an egg on top of the noodles in each bowl, and then garnish each bowl with the thinly sliced scallions. If you prefer, you can poach your eggs separately before adding them to the soup.

Kyuuri to Wakame no Amasuzuke

These are probably one of my favorite pickles or tsukemono. This is a classic sanbaizu preparation, of course. The marinade is enough for one large English-style or "hothouse" cucumber - the long, relatively thin kind that often comes shrink-wrapped in plastic. If you're using other cucumbers, aim for about 4 to 5 cups cut up. Other than just cucumbers you try sliced turnips, carrots, daikon radish, regular radish, etc.
If you have made this before and it was missing "something" try using the Hon Dashi granules, and you will likely find the flavor other recipes miss with this. If you don't want to use a whole cucumber you can half the sanbaizu dressing recipe.

8 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. Hon Dashi dashi soup stock granules, or one 4 inch square of kombu seaweed
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
4 tbsp. boiling water
1 whole dried red chili pepper - optional
1 large English-style cucumber
2 tbsp. dried pre-cut wakame seaweed the "fueru" type that just requires soaking.
A drop of shoyu for serving - optional, but I like it.
Sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds - optional.

Combine and mix until the sugar is melted to prepare the vinegar dressing. De-seed and cut up 1 English-style or hot house cucumber or equivalent other kind of cucumber into thin coins.
Put the marinade in a small glass, ceramic or plastic bowl - but not metal or a ziplock plastic bag. Put the cucumber and wakame seaweed in. Stir or shake around, seal well and let marinade in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight. Drain off the marinade and serve in small bowls. This should be eaten within 2-3 days.

Supearibu no Nikomi

The compound word means "sparerib" and nikomi means to "stew" or braise.This one is easier than the other recipe posted where the ribs are wrapped in parchment, but is equally as good and the resulting ribs are falling off the bone tender and juicy cooked this way. There are a couple of ways to make the nikomi braising broth, depending on your preference.
Both take about the same amount of time. As far as braising time I would recommend a hour or so for smaller baby back ribs, and two hours for larger sparerib portions at least.
Burosu or broth one is more bold and spicy in flavor with the red miso and tobanjan, whereas broth two is a bit more subtle with the use of dashi and a bit more citrus-flavored and sweeter.

What you will need to start is:
2 racks baby back or spareribs about 5 to 6 pounds.
If this is a bit expensive you could go with one rack of spareribs. Cut the slabs in half, but not individual ribs. Remove the silverskin, and any excess fat or gristly bits. Take a fork and poke it up and down the meat between the bones.

Burosu no Supearibu (broth) #1
1 whole unpeeled bulb garlic, halved horizontally across the middle
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 cup sake
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. red miso
1 tbsp. tobanjan - chile bean paste or sauce. Lee Kum Kee brand is one of the easiest to find.
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns

To a large stockpot, add the ribs, 6 cups water, garlic, onion, carrot, tomato puree, sake, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, miso, tobanjan, and peppercorns and bring to a boil over high heat.
Decrease the heat so the liquid gently simmers. Remove any scum or oil that floats to the surface. Cover the pot and cook until the ribs become tender, about 1 or 2 hours.

Dashijiru no Supearibu (dashi-based broth) #2
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. instant dashi, hon-dashi
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce or ponzu soy sauce
1 tbsp. mirin
1 tablespoon sake
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
A few slices of lemon, optional.

Cut ribs in half so they will fit into the pot. Add ingredients into a large pot and add enough water to just cover the ribs. Add ribs to the pot and cover. Simmer 1 to 2 hours until the liquid has reduced.

Either way you go, pour or reserve some of the braising liquid into a smaller saucepan, by pouring it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any solids. You will want to bring it to a boil, and then reduce it down until it thickens to make the finishing glaze for the ribs.

As an alternate and easier idea, you might use a homemade or bottled teriyaki glaze, or a tosajoyu sauce as a glaze and baste. To finish them you can either broil or grill them.

To broil:
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut between bones to separate ribs. Transfer ribs to a foil-lined baking sheet and broil, turning occasionally, brushing with the glaze until until they begin to brown and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes depending on your broiler. Keep an eye on them if you use the broiler, and leave the door of the oven cracked open a bit.
Remove from oven and give them a final finishing brush of glaze.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions and optional shichimi togarashi and serve.

To grill:
Preheat a grill to hot. You can use a gas grill or a charcoal grill. If you use charcoal, you won't need to prepare many coals for this. You can leave them in half slabs, or cut into separate ribs.
Grill the ribs for about 4 minutes, flipping once. When the ribs are browned and sizzling, brush the marinade on top. Grill for about 2 more minutes, flipping 2 or 3 times, and brushing on more marinade after each turn. Let the ribs rest for 2 minutes.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions and optional shichimi togarashi and serve.

Oshinko 'Zauākurauto'

Oshinko is a collective, generic name for Japanese pickles made from various vegetables pickled using salt - shio-zuke. Korean kimchi, is the same thing, but is pickled longer than shio-zuke,
with chiles, garlic and green onion. The prime characteristic is they are both fermented, the most common type being cabbage. Fermented vegetables are probiotic, that is to say they are foods that stimulate the growth of microorganisms, especially those with beneficial properties, such as those of the intestinal flora. Although some research suggests they have a benefitial effect on the immune system, etc. these claims are not backed with widespread scientific evidence. Nevertheless, such pickled fermented vegetables have been eaten for millenia across the globe.

Now, what is with the word above - zauākurauto? It is the Japanese word for "sauerkraut".

Sauerkraut of course is a fermented, probiotic vegetable salt pickle, made in almost the same way as oshinko and kimchi. Now some varieties of sauerkraut contain other flavorings such as fennel seed, or caraway seeds with the "Bavarian-style" varieties, but basic sauerkraut is pretty much cabbage, salt that has been fermented in crocks or tanks. Kimchi and oshinko are fermented in large crocks and tanks in almost the same way.
The point of this is many refrigerators have a glass jar of sauerkraut in them, that is about half used and has been setting there for a while. This is a way to be thrifty and give an interesting flavor "repurpose" to that sauerkraut with an Asian flavor. It may sound odd, but it works quite well actually, surprisingly well flavor-wise.
The good thing about this method, is not only is it fast, but the cabbage has already been fermented, so you don't have to wait on that and you get the probiotic plus. You can also make as much or little of quantity as you want without doing a lot of prep work. The only downside to it, is that sauerkraut is finely shredded, whereas oshinko and kimchi tend to be larger pieces of cabbage, so there is some variation in texture.
You could use leftover sauerkraut from a jar in the fridge, or you could get some to make this and of course use for other dishes that use traditional sauerkraut. I do suggest, getting the kind in glass jars or the bagged kraut in the refrigerated section. For this, read the label and make sure it doesn't have other flavors or spices such as fennel or caraway, which are good but won't work for this flavor-wise. Needs to be just cabbage, salt and water. You could even get a can of cheap sauerkraut, but the jarred variety tastes better and is a bit crisper.
There are lots of ways to proceed here as far as flavors. The first step is dealing with the sauerkraut.
Start with a cup or two of sauerkraut, and put it in a fine mesh strainer particularly if it is the canned variety and rinse it well, shoveling it around a few times. If its the jarred or bagged variety, just drain the excess liquid. Let it set in the strainer to exude any excess water and liquid. You can hasten this by putting a saucer on top of it and putting a big can or some weight on top of it. Fermented cabbage like this is like a little sponge.
You squeeze out as much of the liquid from it, so when you add other flavors and liquids to it it will soak them up and flavor the cabbage.

1 cup or 2 of rinsed and drained sauerkraut
Various flavorings - again, you can make it simple or you can make a spicier kimchi style out of it. Japanese oshinko or tsukemono are generally less spicy than Korean kimchi, but you can make it taste how ever you prefer here.
2 to 3 tbsp. sambal oelek or Sriracha Hot Sauce
1 tbsp. gochujang or 1 to 2 tsp. dried Korean red chile powder
1 garlic clove, minced or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and minced or 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
1 green onion, green parts sliced
Shredded carrot
1 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
A chunk of soaked konbu, chopped up or cut into shreds.
A drop of sesame seed oil
A shot of rice vinegar


Just select and mix a combination of the above ingredients, with the rinsed and drained sauerkraut. Mix it together well. You could eat it right away, but I would recommend letting it set for 30 minutes to an hour, for the flavors to meld a bit.
If you were using half a glass jar of sauerkraut, you could rinse and drain it, and then wash out the jar and simply pack the oshinko zauākurauto right back in the same glass jar.
Serve just like a normal tsukemono pickle or kimchi.

Takuan

This is fermented daikon radish. It is a form of tsukemono, which are served as side dishes or snacks. Takuan in particular is often served at the end of meal to help digestion. The name “Takuan” is often attributed to Takuan Soho, a 17th century Zen Buddhist figure. Korean cuisine has a similar pickled daikon radish dish, called Danmuji. The daikon radish itself made its way to Japan from China about 2,000 years ago. Today, more land in Japan is used to grow daikon than any other vegetable. Takuan sold in many stores today is dyed yellow with food coloring, you can achieve the same thing by using a touch of turmeric while pickling the radishes.

2 large daikon radishes, approx 2 lbs.
3 cups water
1/4 cup sea salt
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Boil one cup of the water, then mix in the salt, sugar, and turmeric. Stir together until dissolved, then add the rest of the water and let it cool to room temperature. If the turmeric doesn't completely dissolve don't worry about it.
As the water cools, peel your radishes and cut them into half-moons, about 1/4 inch thick.
Fill up a half-gallon jar or two quart-sized jars with the sliced veggies.
Once the water is cool, add the rice vinegar and pour everything into the jar. Add additional water if needed, until there’s about 1/2 inch of air at the top of the jar. Seal and leave in a dark part of your house for four or five days. You may want to release the seal after a few
days to let the pressurized air escape. Gently mix the jar every couple days to make sure the turmeric colors everything evenly. Place in the fridge and enjoy within a month.

Shichimi Togarashi Fries with Sriracha-Miso Mayo Sauce

Definately a hybrid dish, but surprisingly damn good and rather moreish. This recipe is to bake the potato planks, or fries. Of course, you could fry them. You could also use pre-bagged frozen french fries for this with minimal adjustments.

1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thin planks
1 tbsp. olive oil, and perhaps a touch of sesame seed oil - but that is optional
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. shichimi togarashi
2 tbsp. roughly chopped cilantro leaves
2 tbsp. roughly chopped green onions

To make the oven fries, preheat the oven to 450. Combine the olive oil, salt and 1 to 2 teaspoon of shichimi togarashi  in a large bowl. Add the thinly sliced potatoes to the bowl and toss with the seasoning until coated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick foil and spread the seasoned potatoes out flat, avoid crowding or layering them if possible. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10-15 minutes until browned and slightly firm. Remove the fries from the oven and transfer to a bowl or plate, garnish with 1/4 teaspoon shichimi togarashi, chopped green onion and cilantro. Serve with one of the dipping sauces below.

Sriracha-Miso Mayo

2 tbsp. miso paste
1/2 to 1 tbsp. Sriracha Hot Sauce, to your own tastes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped green onions

In a medium bowl mix together miso paste, sriracha, and mayonnaise. Rinse scallions, trim and discard roots and dark greens, and thinly slice white and light green parts.

Karashi Miso Mayo Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk or regular milk, as you prefer
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. prepared Japanese karashi or mustard, or Chinese mustard
Or, if you don't have that on hand you can use:
1/4 tsp. mild dijon mustard, preferably Grey Poupon
2 tsp. miso paste
3/4 tsp. shichimi togarashi
1/2 tsp. honey
6 tbsp. oil

To make the sauce, place all of the ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until the ingredients are full incorporated. Pause to scrape the sides of the container. Continue blending and slowly add the oil until preferred mayo consistency is achieved. If you need to stop and stir the mixture, do not leave it standing too long or your mayo may begin to separate or break. Transfer the sauce to a glass container with a lid and refrigerate for an hour prior to using, allowing the flavors to meld and the mixture to thicken.

Fukuro no Shiro Soba

This is a dish, sort of made up. Its yakisoba, basically or "hibachi-style" noodles. The name comes from a favorite ninja movie of mine, Castle of Owls. No real reason, I just kind of like the name, and noodle dishes go with ninja and jidageki movies for me.
You can use chuka soba or soba noodles, but curiously I find I like this best after trying it with different noodles, with linguine noodles. Their flat shape seems to hold the sauce better.
This is the "basic" recipe. There are other variations of the preparation of course.
The most common variation is to use pre-made Chinese sesame paste or tahini, which is sesame seed paste. You can make it spicy, add sauteed or grilled vegetables or meat.

The primary trick with this dish, and yakisoba fried noodle dishes in general is to rinse the pasta after it is cooked, to get as much of the excess starch off as possible, and to drain the noodles really well. Best way to do this, is to cook the linguine to al dente, drain, rinse - and then add a drop of sesame seed oil or other oil to them, and let them set in the colander for 20 minute up to an hour or more, even overnight. What you want to avoid is sticky, gummy starchy, noodle-gloop. Pat them as dry as possible with a paper towel. It not only stops them from getting gummy or sticky, but it helps them absorb the sauce and flavor like little noodle 'sponges' when they are dry, so to speak.

1 lb. linguine, chuka soba or noodles of your choice, cooked al dente
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
3 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. shoyu or tamari, and I prefer tamari for this.
1 tbsp. teriyaki sauce, this would be the thicker variety of sauce, but it is optional.
Salt and pepper to taste, I would use a pinch of white pepper as well.
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 or 2 chopped green onions, just the green tops.

Over medium high heat in a skillet or wok, melt the butter. Toss in garlic and saute until fragrant. Toss in noodles and stir to mix. Add sugar, shoyu or tamari, teriyaki sauce and combine. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and drizzle in sesame oil, tossing to mix. Dish and serve hot sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.

Sushi Bowl

A good way to use up vegetables left in your fridge. Or perhaps an interesting though less fiddly way to get your usual sushi fix at home. Try adding smoked salmon, imitation crab legs or even canned tuna if you’re in the mood for a slightly more filling non-veggie version.
The frozen pea addition is meant to symbolize the wasabi that is served with sushi. What gives it a nice kick is to add some wasabi paste to the pea puree.
This is quite surprisingly good, and it is an excellent lunch for work. It is easily adaptable to what you have on hand, and what you like.
Technically speaking this would be classified as "chirashizushi" meaning scattered sushi, which is very popular in its own right in Japan.
Don't worry if you aren't down with the whole seaweed thing - just substitute spinach.

Sushi rice, rinsed - follow the directions on the bag for quantity.
2 tbsp. of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. of water
1 tbsp. of brown sugar
1/2 bunch of spring onions
2 carrots, grated
Seaweed, dried, sliced and soaked in water - konbu or wakame is most common, but you could substitute frozen spinach, boiled and then well drained.
You might even just use some furikake rice seasoning sprinkled on the top
2 tbsp. of sesame oil
1/2 cucumber, finely sliced
1 handful of alfalfa or mung bean sprouts
2 tbsp. of sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup of frozen peas
2 tbsp. of milk, dashi or water.
1 tsp. wasabi paste
For a spicier bowl - add some dribbles of Sriracha Hot Sauce.
Shredded, toasted nori for topping - optional.

Begin by cooking the sushimeshi or sushi rice. Place the rice in a medium-sized pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes Meanwhile, place the vinegar, 2 tbsp. water and sugar in a small pan and cook over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Place the cooked rice in a bowl and combine with the vinegar mixture and spring onions. Season to taste and set aside.

In a small bowl, toss together the seaweed, sesame oil and half the toasted sesame seeds. Set aside until ready to assemble.
To make the pea puree, bring a medium-sized pan of salted water to the boil. Add the peas, lower the heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes

Strain and blend the mixture with a handheld or stand-alone blender until you have a smooth puree. Adjust the consistency with the milk until a slightly loose, consistency. Stir through the wasabi and season to taste. Keep warm

In two bowls or bento boxes, spoon in the rice and top with the grated carrot, seaweed, cucumber and the alfalfa or mung bean sprouts, and of course any proteins if you are using them. Add a dollop of pea puree, sprinkle over any remaining sesame seeds and serve.

Tori no kara-age

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes

Marinade:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
A chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coating:
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. plain flour
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
2 slices lemon, to garnish

Marinate the chicken with the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper for 30 minutes.
Mix the cornstarch with the plain flour. Take each piece of chicken from the marinade and roll in the flour mixture until completely coated. Heat the oil to 350 and deep-fry the chicken pieces for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with the sliced lemon and serve.

Wasabi Potato Salad and Nori

An excellent pairing with Tori no kara-age.

3 lbs potatoes, any kind
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. rice vinegar or more to taste
1/2 tsp. pure wasabi powder mixed with about 1 tbsp. water and stirred (or substitute with about 1 teaspoon prepared wasabi paste.
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil
salt and ground white pepper to taste
Crumbled nori, roasted seaweed sheets) for garnish
You can also add very thinly sliced cucumber to this as well.

Halve the potatoes or cut to similar-sized, large pieces if some are small enough, keep intact. Place in a pot and fill with water to cover. Add about 1 teaspoon salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Let boil for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender when poked with a fork. Drain and let cool. Once cool, cut the potatoes to cubes or wedges.
In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, wasabi paste mixture, rice vinegar, sesame oil and scallions. Taste and add salt and white pepper as desired. Fold in the potatoes and stir to coat well. Taste again and add any seasonings as desired. Cover and chill preferably 30 minutes before serving, or up to 2 days. Crush the nori sheets and sprinkle on the bowl just before serving.

Lobster Miso Soup

Admittedly not an everyday dish. Another similar dish would be to use snow crab or king crab. Typically, in thrifty Japanese fashion a whole lobster would not be used, as such - more typically what is done is lobster or crab is served as sashimi, and/or is lightly grilled and seared served as a course, and then the remaining shells, claws and and any leftover meat go into a miso soup afterwards. Another way it is used, is to make gyoza dumplings from crab or lobster meat and then add that to the miso soup.

2 lobsters - see above.
3 tbsp. miso
3 tbsp. finely sliced green onions
1/3 ounce konbu/kelp, about 3 inches
6 cups water
3 tbsp. of wakame
1/2 cup katsuobushi, dried bonito flakes - see below
Shoyu, use something good quality or omit.

Soak 3 inch of kelp in a saucepan with 6 cups of cold water for 30 min. Set the saucepan over medium heat. Just before the water comes to a boil, about 10 min, remove kelp.
Bring to a boil and add 1 cup of bonito flakes. Simmer for a few minutes but do not boil. Pour the soup through fine strainer, you can discard bonito shavings, or I recommend reserving them - see below.
Return the dashi to the saucepan over low heat. Add the wakame and continue to simmer for a couple minutes until it opens up and increases in size, which it will do.  Remove wakame using a fine strainer.  Set aside. Bring the dashi to boil.  Add the miso paste and stir until dissolved. Add the reserved lobsters to the dashi and cook for 10 to 20 minutes. Stir in green onions and the reserved wakame.  Serve immediately.

Sapporo-Style Miso Ramen

Once you have a nice leftover teriyaki pork tenderloin you can make a Sapporo-style Miso Ramen. Now, this isn't your "college-dorm" ramen brick recipe - it is an authentic ramen recipe, and ramen is all about the broth. You can use the ramen bricks, just throw away the seasoning packets or find some decent ramen noodles. For instance, I have found the Korean instant ramen noodles to be of better quality than the standard "Maruchan" ramen bricks.
First, you have to make a decent ramen broth - it isn't rocket science though.
It may seem complicated reading it all - but if you have the teriyaki tenderloin done and on hand, the only time consuming thing about it is making the broth, and that takes little to no effort as it just sets and simmers.
And of course, the broth can be made a day or two in advance (and I think its better to make in advance incidentally, flavor wise), as can the boiled eggs, tenderloin, etc.

To make a basic broth or stock, you need:
1 lb. pork bones - in Japan pork neckbones are used most commonly for this.
1- inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
A little splash of shoyu doesn't come amiss - but is not necessary.

Bring half a pot of water to boil. Add pork bones and allow it to continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove bones with tongs. Rinse of scum if any. Discard water and rinse the pot.
Fill pot with 10 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Add ginger and return pork bones to the pot. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 2 hours. Add shoyu at the end if using. That is really most of the work, letting the broth or stock simmer. The initial step of boiling the bones and discarding the first water from it might seem counterintuitive, but it makes for a better less cloudy broth. Once the broth is finished, strain it well through a fine mesh colander, and set aside or let it cool and refrigerate it.

The rest goes relatively quick, but it is best to do it in a specific order so it all comes together at once.
I also don't like cleaning up an excessive amount of dirty dishes, so this is how I proceed.
Garlic chile oil is traditional with this, but it is an extra step, and frankly I find using a few drops of Sriracha Hot Sauce, if I want to spice it up just about as efficient in the heat department. If you can find chile bamboo shoots you can use them, but regular canned bamboo shoots are fine, or you can omit them. You can also use a bit of cucumber or yellow squash cut into matchsticks as a substitute.
One note on the miso, although I suggest using white and red miso, you can use brown miso, or one or the other of them - if you only have white or brown miso, just use that. No big deal at all.

6 oz. mung bean sprouts, ends trimmed if your fussy about it.
12 oz. dried ramen noodles
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 green onions, finely sliced
1/3 cup shiro miso
1/3 cup aka miso
Slices of teriyaki pork tenderloin
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tbsp. butter
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced into half lengthwise
2 green onions, finely sliced
Nori
4 tbsp. chile bamboo shoots, optional

Boil eggs, run under cold water. You can also do this in advance and have them setting in the fridge.
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of frozen corn kernels and cook for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Lightly parboil bean sprouts for about 20 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon. Set aside.

Add noodles to the pot of water and cook as per packaging instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add sesame oil. Toss to coat. Divide noodles into 2 big bowls, or 4 smaller bowls. Top each bowl with slices of teriyaki pork tenderloin, some bean sprouts, buttered corn kernels, and chili bamboo shoots, if using.

Put shiro and aka miso in a medium sized bowl. Pour a cup of boiling pork stock over miso. Stir to melt miso. Set aside. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add sliced green onions and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in 8 cups stock. When stock comes to a boil, reduce heat to minimum setting.
Gently pour melted miso back into pot. Do not allow soup to come to a boil. Turn off heat.

Finally, ladle miso soup over noodles and toppings in each bowl. Sprinkle with additional sliced green onions and some drops of Sriracha if you want it more spicy and the boiled egg halves. Serve immediately with nori. Slurp with gusto.

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

This is the first part of a two part recipe, or how to stretch this into a couple of tasty meals. If you look carefully, grocery stores will run specials on pork tenderloins as part of their stock rotation.
Most commonly pork tenderloins are sold in pairs not single portions.
The molasses is not a traditional Japanese ingredient, but it does give the finished product a nice finished "bark" and flavor that is desirable. What it does, is to help the teriyaki sauce to adhere to the meat during the cooking process. I recommend reserving a bit when you make the sauce, save aside meaning don't use the sauce you marinated the meat in, to brush on the tenderloin during the last bit of cooking.
I would serve the first tenderloin, sliced with rice and some side dishes. The second, to make Sapporo-style Miso Ramen, of which the pork tenderloin is a critical ingredient.

2 pork tenderloins
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce, either a commercial brand or some homemade teriyaki sauce.
1/2 cup molasses
Garlic salt to taste - you could also use fresh garlic, a clove or two sliced is sufficient.
A thumb-sized chunk or slices of fresh ginger would be a good though optional addition.

Mix the ingredients above in a deep dish and marinate tenderloins for few hours or overnight in a plastic zip bag. Preheat oven to 400. Remove tenderloins from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before roasting. Grill or sear meat on high for about 6-7 minutes on each side and then transfer to a roasting pan. Put roasting pan in the oven to continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven when done, let stand a few minutes and slice.

Alternative preparation - Place pork in a roasting pan with a 1/4 cup of chicken stock and cover with foil. Place in a 400 degree oven and cook covered for 45 minutes and then brush with reserved teriyaki sauce and continue to cook uncovered for another 15-20 mins or until done.

Fukujinzuke

An interesting tsukemono shoyu pickle. It is most commonly associated with curry rice, but is good own its own merits, and is one of the most popular modern tsukemono pickles in Japan as far as shoyu pickles go. It is a "modern" pickle or tsukemono as it was developed at the beginning of the Meiji era which was from 1868 to 1912. It was first commonly served with curry rice around 1902. The name, is of interest. The prefix "fuku" means luck, and "jin" means god, or is the shortened form of the word.
The most common culinary yarn or story about it, is that is named after Shichi Fuku Jin. Shichifukujin in turn are the so-called "Seven Lucky Gods".

The story goes that the pickle or tsukemono, fukujinzuke was first made at a shop where one a temple to one of the Fukujin goddesses is located. Of course the original fukujinzuke also used seven vegetables.
You can choose from any of the vegetables below or even add on others you like.

Daikon
Cucumber
Japanese eggplant
Lotus root
Shiso leaves
White sesame seeds
Kombu
White turnip
Shiitake mushrooms
Ginger root
Bamboo shoot
Carrots
Slice vegetables thinly into logical bite sized pieces. The amount of salt added depends on how much volume of vegetable you have or want to prepare. I tend to make this in small batches, so I can eat it up fairly rapidly. Personally, I do not use that much salt in the first step, as you are also going to use soy sauce with this, which is also salty. Add a teaspoon or so of sea salt to a bowl of water and add the vegetables to soak in the salt brine for 30 minutes to an hour.
Drain and then gently squeeze as much water as possible from the vegetables.


The Shichifukujin or "Seven Lucky Gods".

Now add the following to a pan. The proportions of the sauce depend on the quantity of vegetables you use but this is the basic ratio or proportion for an average amount of vegetables.

7 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. sake
2 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Bring to a boil, add the vegetables, and then turn down the heat, stir occasionally and let the sauce reduce until the fukujinzuke is the consistancy you like. Let it cool, and then store in the fridge with the some of the sauce poured in a jar, it is good for a week or two. How long you cook it depends on how soft or crunchy you want it. Some cook the fukujinzuke to almost chutney like consistancy, others like it more crunchy like namasu or quick vegetable pickles.

Chicken Katsu Curry

This is a katsu, that is made with chicken that features Japanese-style curry sauce. Almost no home cooks in Japan make their own curry base.
What is most commonly used is "curry roux" which are formed blocks of curry base, to which water, vegetables and meat are added. The most common and easy to find brand is S&B "Golden Curry" sauce mix which comes in mild and hot flavors. The other brand you might see on the shelf - unless the name is in kanji is the oddly named "Vermont Curry". I have only had S&B, so I don't know what the difference is, probably very little.
As a curry, it does taste a little different than an Indian or Thai curry. I would say the flavor is pretty much straightforward, the mild or hot flavor.
I recommend getting the curry roux to make a Japanese-style curry for this or as it is called "kare raisu". Its a very popular dish in Japan, and most particularly with Japanese school kids, one of the top requested school lunches.

A side dish with kare raisu or katsu curry, that is almost ubiquitous is fukujinzuke, which is of course a Japanese pickle or tsukemono. Fukujinzuke though is most associated however with curry dishes, almost like chutney is associated at times with Indian curries. Fukujinzuke complements the taste of curry, like chutney.
I will put up a recipe for that as well, luckily it is a quick pickle recipe so it is easy to make.

Curry Sauce:
4-5 cubes S&B "Golden Curry" sauce mix
1 onion
1 potato
1 carrot
3 cups of water, perhaps a bit more

Chicken Katsu:
1 to 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
4 tbsp. plain flour
4 chicken breasts
1 egg, slightly beaten

1.5 to 2 cups cooked short grained rice
Tonkatsu sauce
Fukujinzuke pickles, optional, but recommended - can substitute other tsukemono pickles.
Boiled eggs, optional.

Start by cutting the onion, potato and carrot into small chunks before adding them to a large pan half filled with water. Bring the water to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. This is also a good time to start the rice cooking.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add 4-5 blocks of curry roux to the pot with vegetables. Turn on the heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Keep mixing until the curry sauce is thick and smooth.
While the curry is simmering, pound and then season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper before covering with flour first and then raw egg, then panko breadcrumbs.
Heat up the oil in a separate saucepan to 325 and carefully lower the cutlets into the oil and cook them for a few minutes on both sides until they become a golden brown color.
Slice the cooked chicken katsu into strips and lay over a bed of rice before adding the curry sauce. Serve with fukujinzuke pickles, tonkatsu sauce, and optional boiled egg halves.

Ochazuke

This is an easy and very basic Japanese dish in which hot green tea is poured over cooked rice topped with a few simple ingredients. It is also called more simply "chazuke".
It may sound damn weird to pour tea over rice, but it is actually surprisingly good and satisfying with the green tea. Oolong tea may be used as well, but is less common.

The origin of the dish was lost in history, but, the dish first became popular in the Heian era, where it was recorded that water was most commonly poured over rice, however beginning in the Edo era, tea was used instead. Its hard to characterize a particular time the dish is served - it is served for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night. It would be accurate however to say, that if it is served as part of a larger meal it would be offered at the end of the meal. The logic, one might suppose is the tea washes up all the grains of rice, leaving less mess - and green tea of course is helpful with digestion. It is also commonly served at izakayas or pubs.
It is common for those who have imbibed a lot of alcohol to eat chazuke, either during drinking, or afterwards.

The specific tea used, does make a difference in flavor. Of course, Japanese green tea and its preparation is a deep subject in and of itself, and it is a favorite topic of mine as I love green tea.
I will post a little piece later on making Japanese green tea from loose leaf, as there are some definate guidelines for each variety to get the most optimal flavor.

Here is a very short primer to Japanese green tea varieties.

1. Sencha - This is the most common variety of Japanese green tea and is noted for its delicate sweetness, mild astringency and flowery-green aroma.
2. Kabuse Cha - This is a type of sencha that is shaded for about 2 weeks prior to harvest. Most sencha is grown in unshaded gardens exposed to direct sunlight. The kabuse sencha tend to have a mellower flavor and subtler color than sencha grown in direct sunlight.
3. Gyokuro - This is is regarded as the highest grade of tea made in Japan. It is made only with the first flush leaf and its special processing results in a tea with a sweet, mild flavor and fresh, flowery-green aroma.
4. Bancha - This means common tea and refers to a lower grade of sencha that is harvested during the second and third crops in the summer and autumn. Bancha usually contains larger leaves and upper stems, which are discarded during the production of sencha. Compared to sencha, bancha is less aromatic and more astringent. Nevertheless, bancha is much appreciated in Japan for its more robust flavor. Because of its strong character, it goes well with food.
5. Kukicha - This is known as twig or stalk tea. It is a blend of leaves with the stems and stalks normally discarded in the production of sencha and gyokuro. The flavor is light and refreshing with a mild sweetness and the aroma is fresh and green.
6. Hojicha - This is produced by roasting bancha or kukicha over high heat. This is a savory tea with a refreshing and roasty taste and virtually no bitterness.
7. Genmaicha - This is a blend of bancha with well-toasted brown rice called "genmai". The rice adds a slightly nutty taste. The mild flavor of Genmaicha and its low caffeine content make it an ideal after-dinner tea.

Sometimes the dish is served very simply with hot green tea being poured over cooked rice, but more commonly various toppings and condiments are added to it.
The variety of toppings can include umeboshi, which is a pickled plum, nori, grilled salmon, soy-simmered fish and seaweed, tempura, tuna - raw, broiled or even canned, and flaked, broiled eel, grilled chicken, grilled salmon, pickled cucumber, smoked salmon, and oysters marinated in oil.
Various seasonings and condiments can be added for flavor, such as sesame seeds, wasabi, shoyu or freshly grated ginger. Ochazuke is normally served in a bowl large enough to hold the rice and a generous amount of tea. The dish features green tea, but occasionally dashi broth is mixed in as well for a more savory dish.

1 cup cooked short grained rice - here you need Japanese-style short grained rice. Medium or long grain rice does not taste the same. You can get bags of "Sushi Rice" at most stores now, so that would be the best route.

Next the green tea -
2 tsp. Japanese green tea leaves, you can use bancha, genmaicha, sencha, hojicha.
Or, alternatively you can use more commonly found green tea bags to make the tea.
Put tea leaves in the pot. Bring the water to the appropriate temperature for your tea and pour into the pot. Set aside to steep for 1-2 minutes, follow the directions with the specific tea for best results.

From there its simple. Put a cup or so of cooked rice in a bowl and fill it up with a generous amount of tea.
The rough proportion would be about if one was pouring milk into a bowl of cereal.
From there, its down to what sort of toppings and condiments you like or happen to have on hand.

1 salted salmon fillet or 1/2 fillet of salmon and pinch of salt. These are most common with chazuke and are grilled or pan-fried prior to being eaten.
1 tsp. Japanese rice crackers, crushed up
1 tsp. shredded nori
1/4 tsp. roasted white sesame seeds
2 sprigs of mitsuba (trefoil)
1/2 green onion, cut into small pieces
Wasabi for taste
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
  
Serve with tsukemono, such as pickled cucumber, as a part of meal.

Tonkatsu

This is a favorite of mine. You can make a tonkatsu plate out of it, or you can make another dish called katsudon out of the pork chops or cutlets. You can also use a pork tenderloin cut into medallions, and then pounded flat between a sheet of wax paper or some plastic wrap.

Some recipes will tell you to "lightly" pound the cutlets, but I have found that pork chops and cutlets need a really vigorous pounding, and need to be poked all over with a fork and scored with a sharp knife.
I can tell you this from personal experience. Had some beautiful pork chops, lightly pounded them, dredged and fried them, they were picture perfect looking - and - most sadly the pork was tough as an old boot.
It ruined the dish. It wasn't a matter of overcooking the cutlets either. You really want to beat the hell out of them, more so than it might seem. Alarmingly so actually where you will have to use care in handling them after you are done.

What it does is to breakdown the meat tissues, and it makes the cutlet a uniform thickness. That is important because for one, it gives the surface of the meat, a better area for the breading to cling on to, and also you also do not have to overcook them, which can make them tough and excessively greasy. I made a test out of this at the restaurant one evening. Lightly pounded 2 pork chops, beat the hell out of 2 others. Coated in identical eggwash and dipped in panko crumbs, then fried. Every taste-tester without exception said the cutlets that had the hell beat out of them were better flavored and more tender.

Typically these are plated on a bed of plain shredded cabbage, but I like them sans the bland shredded cabbage - I do like to serve an easy spicy quick pickled cabbage with them, which is like a vinegar coleslaw or tsukemono pickle, I suppose. If it is served over rice in a bowl, it is called katsudon or katsu-donburi.

3/4 lb. pork cutlet slices, 3/8" thick each, pounded and scored
Salt and pepper to season
2 cups panko crumbs, perhaps more if needed
1/2 cup flour - in Japan some cooks use potato flour, but regular old purpose wheat flour will do fine.
3 eggs
Oil for frying
Tonkatsu sauce - either store bought, or homemade, recipe below.

Vigorously pound the pork with a kitchen hammer, meat tenderizer hammer or frying pan. Poke lots of holes in it with a fork, and then score it with a sharp knife. The cutlets should look pretty ragged and should be tenderized to the point you will have to carefully handle them so they don't break apart. Season the pork slices with salt and pepper, set aside. Put the panko crumbs crumbs into shallow bowl. Beat eggs in another bowl and pour some flour into a plate as well.
Coat the pork slices with flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Stack them together on a plate and cover them with plastic wrap. Chill them for at least 30 minutes to one hour. This step is important in assuring the panko coating doesn't fall off and adheres to the cutlet while they are being fried.

To fry the tonkatsu, heat oil over medium heat, to about 325. Test with a piece of bread crumbs to see if it bubbles up right away. Drop the pork slices and fry for 1-2 minutes each side. Transfer the meat on to wire rack. Fry again for the second time, only 30 seconds to one minute on each side until they get nicely browned all over. Rest them on the rack. Drizzle with tonkatsu sauce over and serve immediately.

Tonkatsu Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 apple, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 can of 8 oz canned crushed pineapple and their juice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1/4 cup steak sauce - A1 or Heinz 57, whatever you like, or you can omit this.

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Boil and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until it gets thickened and syrupy. Strain the sauce in the strainer pressing with spoon to get all the juice. Discard the filling and keep the sauce in the fridge until ready to use.

Spicy Cabbage Tsukemono - Izakaya-style
1 small head green or napa cabbage
1/2 small head red cabbage
1 large carrot
Grated fresh ginger - just a bit.
4 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. sugar
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. sesame seeds, lightly toasted
I also add a shot of shoyu and Sriracha Hot Sauce to it.

Finely chop the cabbage into thin strips. Do the same with the vegetables. In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Add vegetables, and toss well to coat. Refrigerate for a few hours if you have time, to really let the flavors soak in.

Sriracha Coleslaw

I would be remiss if I posted a Tonkatsu recipe, without posting a Sriracha Coleslaw recipe. The two really go together. This stuff is good though. If you want to make this easy just get a pre-bagged coleslaw mix, I prefer the more finely shredded ones. Where we live "the" mayo for coleslaw is Duke's Mayonnaise, and it is quite good I must say. You can kick this up even more by adding just a bit of wasabi for a wildcard play on it.

5 cups shredded cabbage
5 cups shredded red cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely sliced green onion
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream - optional, depends on your tastes.
1 tbsp. coarse grain mustard
3 tbsp. Sriracha Hot Sauce, or more...
I add a shot of soy sauce to this as well, but that is optional.

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, Sriracha, and mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and salt. Add cabbage, carrots and onion. Mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour.