Capellini Okonomiyaki: An exercise in improv

Okonomiyaki is one of those foods that provokes controversy among the Japanese: every prefecture does it a bit differently, and everyone says that their way is best. Traditional okonomiyaki from Osaka consists of pork and a small amount of cabbage sandwiched between what resembles two pancakes. It's topped with a kind of thick Worcestershire sauce known as okonomiyaki sauce, bonito flakes, and lots of mayo. 

The version we demonstrate here is from Hiroshima prefecture, which, incidentally, is also famous for denim. Less powder is used for the outer layers, resulting in a base that more closely resembles a crepe than a fluffy pancake;  also, soba is added to the pork and cabbage filling. If soba noodle is not available to you, don't fret: a friend of my boyfriend's who's a chef at my favorite Manhattan pasta joint (hint:it's near Union Square) says that angel hair works just as well. Some may argue that such a sub would tarnish the dish's authenticity, but sometimes when in Rome...yea.
For us, finding soba wasn't an issue; we just wanted to use up the remaining angel hair pasta we had in our cupboard from last week's lunch. What proved problematic was finding pork that was sliced nice and thin; two butchers and three supermarkets later, we settled on good old American Boar's Head bacon. Other ingredients:
1/4 cup okonomiyaki or takoyaki powder (Typically, specifically labeled okonomiyaki powder is used, but we used takoyaki powder because it's what we had on hand. It's basically the same thing.)

Takoyaki powder (interchangeable with okonomiyaki powder)

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cabbage
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
Okonomiyaki sauce (Takoyaki sauce can also be used interchangeably. Again, pretty much the same thing.)
Bonito flakes
Preparation:

1. In a large pot, boil 1/8 package angel hair until al dente (not more than 7 minutes.) Drain and let sit.

Step 1

2.Mix one part starch powder with two parts water and two eggs, beating until there aew no more bubbles. 

3.Let the mixture stand while chopping cabbage and sauteing in an olive oil coated pan.

Step 3

4.In a separate pan, fry up the bacon, but not too much;  a tender, juicy texture is preferable.
5. Empty the bacon into a bowl and pour the half the powder mixture into the pan. Bake until brown on the bottom; flip and repeat.

Step 5

6. Tranfer "crepe" from pan to a large plate. Added sauteed cabbage, bacon, and angel hair.
7. Pour the rest of the mixture in the pan and bake; this is the final layer. If you're truly skilled, you will be able to flip it from the pan to perfectly sandwich the soba/cabbage/pork filling. If not, no worries; mayo, okonomiyaki sauce, and bonito are the perfect cover up! If you're lucky, they may even earn you a pass on your faux soba filling.

Kinoko Natto Pasta: a Wonderfully Sticky Japanese-Italian Fusion

In my previous blog post about natto, I promised to reveal different ways in which this "stinky bean" can be enjoyed. Putting it on pasta may not seem like something Japanese people do, but trust me: it's quite popular, especially among Japanese people living here in the States. Natto pasta is actually what got me hooked on the stuff. After that, I graduated to eating it with rice, which unlike most Americans I also enjoy very much. But for those who are not quite the Japanese food otaku (geek) that I am, this slightly Western take on natto may make just help you enjoy it.

The version we made for this particular Sunday afternoon brunch (while listening to Dee Dee Bridgewater on Pandora) is Kinoko natto pasta. If you read my previous post about mushroom rice, you know that "kinoko" means mushroom and that mushrooms are a seasonal Autumn food. Here's what we used (for 2 servings): 

2 individual packages of natto

1/4 box Capellini (Angel hair pasta)

1/8 pkg enoki mushrooms

8 oyster mushrooms

3 eggs

1 tsp butter

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp Soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1/4 cup Negi (Scallion)

Bonito flakes (optional, as desired)- shown below for those who are unfamiliar. Bonito flakes are dried, fermented fish flakes with a very light, airy texture. They have more of a mild smoky than fishy flavor.

Bonito Flakes 

Natto and pasta

To prepare:

1. Pour olive oil in a pan and sautee oyster mushroom and enoki mushroom. After about 30 seconds,  add butter. Continue to cook for another minute. Add soy sauce and cook for another minute or two, or until slightly browned. 

Step 1:Sautee Mushrooms

2. Combine the mushrooms and the "sauce" they were sauteed in with natto and mix.

Step 2. That yellow stuff on top is the mustard from the natto (it's in the package)

3. Add 3 soft boiled eggs (if you're using Organic Valley eggs you can leave them raw if you wish), and scramble. Add mirin, scallion, and bonito and continue to stir. 

Step 3

4. Boil the capellini for as little as 6 minutes  but no more than 10; al dente is best!

5. Pour natto and egg concoction over the pasta; enjoy, preferably while listening to some chill jazz! 

Nama Tamago Kake Gohan (Raw egg over rice)

Let's face it: enjoying it raw is risky. At least here in America. In Japan, however, tamago (egg) is eaten   completely uncooked all the time; thanks to their strict laws regarding food standards and the fact that their chickens are raised in a free roaming environment, all of their eggs are what we'd call organic, which means the risk of salmonella poisoning is next to nothing.

Why eat your eggs raw? Because doing so will help your body feel and function better. You see, the more we cook a food, the more enzymes and nutrients we kill. When you eat a food in its original state, its chemical makeup keeps its natural form. Those who support the case for eating eggs raw say that the change in chemical shape of egg protein when it is cooked are what causes allergies, and that such allergies can be avoided when eggs are eaten raw.

In Japan, raw eggs are often eaten as a breakfast food (although like Americans, the Japanese sometimes eat their breakfast foods for dinner.) The most common, easy to prepare dish that incorporates them is "Nama tamago kake gohan". The "kake" part of the name of this food is short for "bukkake", which literally means "splash". Translated literally, it means "raw egg splashed over rice".




The dish requires just four ingredients:
1.Rice. We prefer brown rice as shown here for its nutritional value, but that's our personal preference. White rice works just fine and is in fact more common in Japan.
2.Eggs- but not just any eggs. We used Organic Valley large brown eggs, which the guy working at Sunrise Mart on St. Mark's assured us were safe for raw consumption provided we rinse the shell. He added that he personally preferred the white Organic Valleys, which are evn safer.
3.Nori (seaweed). The best kind to use for this particular recipe is the one that comes in a jar, as shown below.
4. Soy sauce (Duh. It's a Japanese dish involving rice.)

Nori (seaweed)

Organic brown eggs (suitable for raw
consumption, provided shell is rinsed)

Prep time for this is ridiculously quick, provided the rice is already cooked; about 2 minutes if it is, 32 minutes if you have to wait for the rice. If you don't have a rice cooker or don't feel like waiting, you can always stop by your local Chinese take out place and grab a pint for a dollar or two. 

Start by cracking the egg over the rice, keeping the yolk in tact. Some people use all of the egg white, while others use little to none. Ours shown in the photo above lies somewhere in the middle. 

Stir thoroughly until you have a frothy, hearty mixture as shown below:

Raw egg may repulse you, and eating it together with seaweed may make do so even more. But I urge you to set aside your reservations and give it a shot. I did it, and personally I wake up some mornings craving it full force. Eggs, especially eaten in their raw form, are chock full of vitamins A, D, and E, while seaweed has been proven to fight cancer by inhibiting  Both seaweed and eggs that contains iodine, which is essential for healthy thyroid function. Surprisingly enough, seaweed eaters also enjoy several sexual health benefits. The B2 content in seaweed assists in hormone production in women, resulting in an aphrodisiac effect. Like eggs, seaweed is also rich in vitamin E, which aids in sperm production. So go ahead, eat up; if you're into it, you can enjoy bukkake again later in the evening!

Kinoko Gohan (Mushroom Rice)

 There are many different types of mushrooms used in Japanese cuisine. Enoki, shitake, and shimeji are among the most popular, and what we used for our Kinoko Gohan (mushroom rice) shown here. While none of these make colors look brighter or clouds change into dragons, each variety contains vitamins and minerals that have incredible healing, strengthening, and anti-aging effects.

Enoki 

Shitake

Enoki typically resemble bunches of cut spaghetti, with the exception of the teeny tiny little heads on one end. They're very mild in taste and have a texture not unlike al dente noodles. Those who consume enoki can enjoy its anti-cancer and immunity boosting properties.

Shitake look more like the type of mushroom us westerners know: round, sometimes slightly flattened cap with stumpy stems. Usually, only the cap is eaten (the stems tend to have a bit of a bitter flavor.) It's pretty safe to say that if you like portabello mushrooms, you'll like shitake. In addition to helping lower cholesterol, many Japanese people swear that shitake mushrooms erase wrinkles. Judging from the natural, botox-free unlined faces of many middle aged women, it is very likely that this claim is true.

Shimeji (from img.21food.com)

Shimeji are kind of a cross between enoki and shitake; they are long without being stringy, and they can be eaten in their entirety. Rich in vitamins and minerals, namely B1 and Zinc, a recent report by the National Cancer Institute of Japan found that they have tumor-fighting properties. They are also thought to help alleviate asthma by strengthening the immune system.

Now, about our kinoko gohan:

The preparation process is simple: boil the mushrooms, then mix with cooked rice (here we used brown rice). Add scallions, soy sauce to taste, and enjoy! It's the perfect health, hearty autumn dish for when you're too tired to slave over the stove for 30+ minutes after a long day at the office.

Omelet rice, wrapped with love

If you're not Asian or didn't grow up in an Asian household, the idea of eating rice with your eggs rather than toast may make you uncomfortable, maybe even a bit squeamish. But trust me; once you try it, you'll be hooked. Consider it a breakfast burrito without the burrito wrap.
The ingredients are simple: a teeny bit of olive oil, onion, garlic, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of rice (cooked), salt, black pepper, and ketchup. For our version,  we use brown rice, which is so much healthier than bread-even whole grain bread-because it's less processed. If you have rice that is left over from the night before that you don't want to waste, you can even use that, rather than going out of your way to prepare fresh.
Basically, the eggs are prepared the same way they are in an omelette; crack the eggs in a bowl, beat, then pour into a pan coated with oil. I usually like to add a teeny bit of salt and a few shakes of black pepper for some flavor. Bake until bottom side is firm, then flip and do the same for the top. Simultaneously, bake the rice over medium-high flame, adding oil, chopped garlic, and diced onion as desired. After the rice has browned slightly, turn off flame and wrap inside the eggs. Be very, very gentle, as the eggs tend to break apart easily. Add ketchup to taste (or to express your affection for the person for whom you prepared the dish) and serve.
If your omelette broke, or otherwise looks sloppy, not to worry; getting it to look perfect takes practice. The only rule is that you prepare with an open and happy heart; as long as you do this, your sweetheart will be sure to taste the love inside!