Wednesday 22 August 2012

Eggplant Parmesian

This is my interpretation of Eggplant Parmesan that I created after watching Bobby Flay. It is a medium-difficult dish that produces a very delicious result that is Restaurant Standard in my opinion.

Ingredients:
Half an Eggplant
One Egg
Panko Breadcrumbs
Dried Italian Herbs
Flour
1/4 white onion, finely chopped
Chopped Garlic
A lot of Canola Oil
Romano Cheese Grated
Mozzarella Cheese Grated
Parmesan Cheese Grated
Prego Sauce
Oregano
Thyme
Black Pepper
Salt

Steps:
First Start off by preparing your ingredients for deep frying the egg plant. First slice the Egg plant into slices, keeping the skin on the eggplant to give it a more natural flavor. Then Get some flour and put it onto a plate and Cover both sides of the Egg plant in the flour. Get a Bowl and beat one egg, then get another plate and mix together Breadcrumbs and dried Italian Herbs.











Then Put the Slices of egg plant covered in flour into the Egg and then the breadcrumbs, making sure that the outer layer is even and covered.

Then get a Big Pan and Fry Oil until hot. Drop the Slices of Eggplant into the Oil and fry both sides of the slices until golden brown and fragrant. Then Plate the slices and Pat it with a paper napkin to remove excess oil.












Now to preparing the Tomato Sauce that is in between each layer of eggplant and cheese. Start by sautéing the onions and garlic in oil, until they are golden brown and fragrant. Then add in the Prego Sauce to the The pan and fry until it starts to boil. Then add Thyme and Oregano to the sauce.


Now Get a pyrex and Cover the bottom a layer with the fried egg plant. Then cover that layer with some of the Tomato Sauce and Spread it about. Then cover that layer with the Grated Romano Cheese.

Then Cover it with another layer of Fried Eggplant, Then Tomato Sauce and then the Mozzarella Cheese.

Then Cover it with the Final layer of Fried Eggplant, Tomato sauce and then Parmesan Cheese.











Then Bake the Pyrex in the Oven on 150 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then Serve.

Voila, You got Eggplant Parmesan. A dish that is incredibly delicious and only takes some time to finish. Bon Appetite.


Salmon Skin Oishinbo

This is a recipe that I derived from the Supreme Menu of Kaibara Yuzan in Oishinbo. It tastes incredibly awesome and is simple to make. it makes use of the two best parts of the Salmon, the Skin and the belly meat and is a good accompaniment to Sake.

Ingredients:
Four Slices of Salmon Fillet with skin
Kosher Salt
1/2 cup of Soya Sauce
1/2 cup of sake
Toothpicks
















Steps:

First rinse the salmon fillets and pat them dry. Place them on a cutting board and using a very sharp thin knife carefully cut the skin off of the flesh. As you do so, make sure to leave the thin layer of dark colored flesh attached to the skin.

Set the Skins aside. Cut the belly meat out of the fillets. Reserve the rest of the fillets for another use. Slice the belly meat into pieces about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.
















Take half of the skin and belly meat pieces and sprinkle them with the sea salt. Put them on a plate and let them chill in the refrigerator for to for three hours.

Mix the soy sauce and sake together in a shallow dish large enough to hold the remaining salmon pieces in one layer. Place the salmon in the dish and make sure each piece is coated in the marinade. Put the bowls in the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours.

Prepare a hot pot on medium high heat and cook some butter. Place the salmon skins on the grill and cook them until their crispy and just starting to blacken. The skins cook swiftly and burn easily, so don't take your eyes of them. Remove the skins to a plate. Then grill the belly meat until they are just tender, about a minute on each side.

Let te fish sit until it is cool enough to handle. Then carefully rap one piece of the belly meat in one of the skins, securing it lengthwise with a toothpick. then plate the dish.

Voila, you have Salmon Skin Oishinbo a very tasty dish that brings out the true flavor of Salmon, by using the best parts as well as simple ingredients.



Monday 6 August 2012

Almond Ebi Tempura

This is a form of tempura derived from the common method of making a contemporary Tempura, mainly flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. This version is quite unique in its texture and taste and I recommend people to try it.

Almond Ebi Tempura
Ingredients:
1 cup of almonds (roasted or otherwise)
8 White Prawns
flour
1 egg
a motar and pestle
Salt
Black pepper
Mirin
Canola Oil

Ingredients:
Basically start by taking a handful of Almonds and grind it within the mortar and pestle. Make sure that there is a certain difference in texture of the almonds. Some having a crunchy texture, some that are pounded like bread crumbs. Then put the crushed almonds in a bowl.

Peel the prawn and clean the back of the prawn. Make sure to leave the tail intact while peeling. Now put the prawns into a bowl and then add salt, black pepper and mirin. Mix together well so that the flavors will be spread to all of the prawns. 

Then prepare two bowls and one plate. each to hold the egg, almonds and flour respectively. Heat up a lot of Canola oil in a deep pan and prepare for deep frying. Hold each prawn by its tail while dipping it into the flour, egg and then almonds (make sure that the almonds stick to it well). Then when the oil is hot add it to the pan. Add all of the prawns consecutively, and cook until the almonds turn a nice brown and the prawn is cooked. There will be a very strong smell of almonds as you are frying it.

When they are done cooking put the prawns in a plate covered with a paper towel. Remove the excess oil from the Prawns, to make the taste more definite. 


Garnish the Plate of Prawns with lettuce so as to create a good contrast with the prawns. Get a Sauce plate and fill it with Japanese Mayonnaise as a dipping sauce for the prawn. Then your ready to serve.


Sunday 29 July 2012

Iwashi no Kabayaki

This is seasoned Pond smelt that is cooked in a similar style to Unagi. It requires a lot of patience but has a good taste and the Tare Sauce can be used for many other dishes.


Ingredients:
One Pack of Smelts
1/2 cup of flour


Tare Sauce:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup mirin
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
6 Tablespoons vegetable oil












Steps: first off mix all of the ingredients for the Tare Sauce together inside a bowl. After that stir the bowl so that the sugar gets fully dissolved into the sauce. Then put the sauce into a pan and heat until boiling, after it boils over leave it to simmer on low heat while cleaning the fish.


Now comes the Meticulous Part, meaning that you have to clean the fish before it can be used. Cleaning a Smelt: 

Step 1:Cut off the head behind the gill cover on a slight angle so that the pectoral fins are removed in the cut.

Step 2:Insert knife or scissors into anus and cut along the belly to the point where the head was removed. With finger or spoon, remove entrails by starting at the anus and scraping forward.

Step 3: and rinse by running under cold water. Scaling or skinning is not necessary, but can be done by scraping with a toothbrush or finger.


After you have finished cleaning the smelt, slice them in half and then cover in flour and let it stay for 5 mins. 


 






Then fry some oil on a pan and then fry the fish until it is golden brown. Then let the fish set while the Tare Sauce is simmering. Then Place the fish into the Tare sauce and boil until it sticks to the fish.


When the fish is finished cooking plate it and then garnish it with some sliced nori or any green that you have available. There you go Iwashi no Kabayaki. You will notice that the Tare Sauce tastes exceptionally good even though it is quite simple, you can reuse this sauce with any other meat or fish dish that suits your taste.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Chicken Quesadilla with Smoked Onion Dip

This is a recipe that I incorporated from restaurant. Its a good value meal because you can reuse the chicken again. It has three parts and is quite a good and easy dish (somewhat).

Chicken Quesadilla
Ingredients:
2 Tortillas
Butter

Baked Chicken-
One full spring Chicken
Black pepper
Cajun Spice
Salt
Red Wine
Honey


Dipping Sauce-

One cup of white Onion
Mayonnaise
Sour Cream
Milk
Worcestershire Sauce





Filling
Ketchup
Tabasco Sauce
Black Pepper
Honey
Diced Tomatoes
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Red Onion




Steps:
First off, marinade the Chicken with the Honey, Black Pepper, Cajun Spice and Salt. Add the Red Wine to the bowl and taste to check if the flavors balance each other well. Then Leave the Chicken within the Marinade for at least 2 hours so that the flavors will seep into the Chicken. Next bake the chicken in the oven for an hour. The texture of the chicken will be nice and covered and the meat will be tender.
                                   

Secondly focus on making the dip. Chop the White Onion into slices and then smoke it for at least an hour preferably over Hickory wood chips. The flavors of the Onion will be brought out after smoking it . Then get a blender and Put in the White Onions, Mayonnaise, Sour Cream, Milk and Worcestershire Sauce and blend it for a while. Make sure that the sauce is smooth and creamy as the dip.
                   









When the Chicken has fully baked, shred the breast meat for the Quesadillas filling. You can eat the rest of the Chicken on it's own or as Chicken Sandwiches. Then prepare the other filling ingredients, Grate the Mozzarella cheese, Dice the Red Onions and the tomatoes.
Now to Prepare the Filling Sauce. Get a bowl and mix together the Ketchup, Black pepper, Honey and Tabasco. Alter the amounts depending on your taste. (as in spicy or sweet). Then add all of the filling ingredients except the cheese into the sauce and mix together well.


Now your ready to make the Quesadilla. First Fry some butter on the Frying Pan and then put the Tortilla flat onto the pan. Then Immediately Put your mixed Filling onto one side of the wrap. Add the cheese and then cover it with the other side of the wrap. Press it down so that the Tortilla will hold together. After the bottom side is cooked, flip the whole tortilla again so that the other side will be nice and brown.



















 When both sides are finished cooking Cut the Quesadilla into three slices and then Plate. Add the dipping sauce into a small plate and put it into the center. Garnish the top with Mozzarella cheese and some Scallions then add Basil leaf into the Dipping Sauce. Voila you got Quesadillas.


Sunday 13 May 2012

Ratatouille


Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • salt
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 zucchini, sliced
  • 1 large onion, sliced into rings
  • 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped











Steps: Prepare all of the Ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese.




Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
 
Bake the dish in the oven for 45 minutes. When it is finished baking remove and serve. You might want to garnish it with basil.

Voila, Ratatouille just like the movie.


Wednesday 9 May 2012

Beer-battered Fish and Chips



Ingredients

For the fries:

  • 1 gallon safflower oil
  • 4 large Russet potatoes
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Dash Old Bay Seasoning
  • 1 bottle brown beer, cold
  • 1 1/2 pounds firm-fleshed whitefish, cut into 1-ounce strips
  • Cornstarch, for dredging
  • Cajun Spice
  • Powdered Cheese
  • Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
  • Heat the safflower oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat until it reaches 320 degrees.
  • Using a V-slicer with a wide blade, slice the potatoes with the skin on. Place in a large bowl with cold water.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and Old Bay seasoning. Whisk in the beer until the batter is completely smooth and free of any lumps. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Note: The batter can be made up to 1 hour ahead of time.

Drain potatoes thoroughly, removing any excess water. When oil reaches 320 degrees, submerge the potatoes in the oil. Working in small batches, fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they are pale and floppy. Remove from oil, drain, and cool to room temperature.

Increase the temperature of the oil to 375 degrees. Re-immerse fries and cook until crisp and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain on roasting rack. Season with kosher salt while hot and hold in the oven.



Allow oil to return to 350 degrees. Lightly dredge fish strips in cornstarch. Working in small batches, dip the fish into batter and immerse into hot oil. When the batter is set, turn the pieces of fish over and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain the fish on the roasting rack. Serve with malt vinegar. Season the Fries with Cajun Spice and Powdered Cheese.




Serve with Tar tar sauce and garnish with slices of lemon. Voila, you got  Beer-battered Fish and Chips.