Iced Matcha Latte

This is the first at-home matcha latte I've ever made that I really liked. And I have tried quite a few times. I love that this one doesn't need any special equipment.

Notes:

• I make this keto friendly by using unsweetened almond milk and a sugar-free sweetener (Truvia, or sugar-free flavored syrup like lavender, vanilla, or almond is especially lovely. I also want to try rose flavor sometime.)
• Spend a little more money and get a nicer matcha for drinking. Rishi sells a decent one, and I have recently ordered matcha from Blue Bottle but haven't tasted it yet. I am curious about Costco matcha but haven't taken the plunge yet.
  

Verdict: Easy to make and tastes really good. I make them several times a week.

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RECIPE: Matcha Latte (1899 Matcha Cafe)

Yaki Udon (Udon Noodle Stir Fry)

I bought a package of dried udon noodles at a Japanese grocery store and was looking for new things to do with them, and came across this recipe. I like yakisoba (which is basically the same thing but with a different type of noodle) so I thought this would be good too.

Notes:

• I used shredded rotisserie chicken for the protein rather than ground meat.
• You can make it vegetarian by using a vegetarian friendly protein like tofu or eggs, and a vegetarian friendly oyster sauce.
  
• For vegetables I used chopped green cabbage and matchstick cut carrots, but you can use whatever vegetables you like that taste good cooked. I recommend at least one leafy vegetable.
  
• I used par-cooked (mostly but not fully cooked) dried udon noodles because it's what I had on hand. While frozen ones would probably be more convenient, I like that the dried noodles are not as thick.
  

Verdict: I have made this twice now and I really like it. I would gladly have it again.

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RECIPE: Yaki Udon (Drive Me Hungry)

Kabocha Squash and Pork Stir Fry

Another recipe that ticked all the boxes for "sounds like I'd like this" (savory ground pork, sweet kabocha squash, Japanese style flavorings). I was a little worried the squash wouldn't get fully cooked but as long as you slice it thinly enough it shouldn't be a problem.

Verdict: I loved it (good sweet-salty-savory combination) and would definitely make it again.

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RECIPE: Kabocha Pork Stir-Fry (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Japanese Style Corn Rice

I like rice and corn and cooking rice with stuff in it, and the flavors of this dish sounded appealing so I wanted to give this a try.

Verdict: It was good but a significant amount of extra effort for how much I liked the taste. I think it would actually taste really good with Western style barbecue. If I had a lot of fresh corn to use up I might consider making it again.

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RECIPE: Corn Rice (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Spinach with Sesame Dressing

I have a similar experience to this recipe's author in that this is one of the first vegetable dishes I discovered in Japan that I went wild over. I always got excited when I saw this on the dinner table. It took me several different recipes for it and attempts to make it at home before I got it to taste good, but this particular recipe has worked well for me. I strongly recommend this for children or people who might be unsure whether they like spinach -- I refused to eat spinach any way my mom prepared it, but I loved this immediately.

Notes:

• Please please please do not skip toasting the sesame seeds. It makes a big difference.
  
• The biggest key to this recipe working correctly is making sure that you thoroughly squeeze out the water from the spinach after it is cooked. Any excess water will dilute the dressing and it will not taste as good.
• I saw my host mother make the dressing entirely in the mortar bowl (adding the soy sauce and sake to the ground sesame and sugar, mixing it, and then pouring over the spinach) but I have a feeling that the soy sauce could stain the inside of the mortar and it can be harder to scoop out of the grooves when it's wet because it's fairly thick.
  

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RECIPE: Horenso no goma-ae (from Let's Eat Japanese Food, by Amy Kaneko)

Japanese Beef Curry

I am perfectly happy with the boxed version of Japanese curry but because we're trying to limit trips to the store lately, I decided to try making the roux from scratch! Because of this, I also just made do with a bunch of things I already had than going out to buy everything the recipe asked for.

Notes:

• I made the roux from the Just One Cookbook recipe.
• I sliced my beef really thin and added it right at the end rather than browning it at the beginning. 
• I used 1/4 tsp powdered ginger instead of fresh.
  
• I omitted the mushrooms because I didn't have any and don't like them in this style of curry.
  
• I didn't have tomato paste and don't like using ketchup in cooking, so I chopped a fresh tomato and cooked it down in the pot instead.
• Instead of beef broth, I used vegetable stock and water, and added a beef bouillon cube (again, because this is what I had in my house at the time).
  

Verdict: I wish it were a little bit thicker, but I really enjoyed that the spices were more flavorful in this version and feel good that there's no palm oil in my homemade version. I would definitely consider making it again.

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RECIPE: Japanese Beef Curry (Just One Cookbook)

Coffee Jelly

With my skittishness about gelatinous textures and unusual things mixed in (at least from an American standpoint), coffee jelly was one of those things I saw a lot in Japan when it was hot out but I never really got up the courage to try. Then a friend of mine kept going on about how good it was, so I have really been wanting to try it. But in the US, at least if you're not in a major city with Japanese or other Asian dessert options readily available, it's something that you'll have to make yourself if you want it.

Verdict: This recipe set too hard for my liking (the texture was dense) and didn't taste enough like coffee for my liking either. I want to try again with a different recipe, because I really want to like this stuff and I do believe that there are versions of it that I would like. (I also want to make an iced latte with coffee jelly in the bottom sometime. *heart eyes* Or if you really want to go ham, put it in Dalgona/whipped coffee.) Here are some others I could try:

• Coffee Jelly (Just One Cookbook)
• Coffee Jelly (The Spruce Eats)
• Coffee Jelly (Binging with Babish)
  

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RECIPE: Coffee Jelly (Japanese Cooking 101)

Egg Drop Soup

I felt like having an Asian style soup and remembered that my host mother in Japan would occasionally make egg drop soup. I had never felt like trying the stuff in Chinese restaurants because it looked too unnaturally yellow and I was always a little skeeved out by all the wispy bits, and who knows how long it had been sitting there. My host mom's soup had wakame seaweed and green onions in it, and the colors looked normal. It was delicious. Since living in her home I had tried to make it several times and it didn't turn out that well -- the texture of the eggs can be difficult to get right. I know you can buy just-add-water packets of egg soup at the Asian grocery store, but that's not going to have the correct egg texture either. Fast forward to now, where I was feeling like trying again, and I got it right!

Notes:

• Green onion/scallion, wakame, and shiitake mushrooms are common additions but feel free to add others or subtract to your liking.
• I used powdered dried ginger instead of fresh (about 1/4 tsp).
• The recipe calls for chicken broth but you can use dashi broth instead for a more Japanese twist, or a mild tasting vegetable broth if you want to make it vegetarian.
• I served it with rice.
• The directions for cooking the eggs were really helpful in getting the correct texture. You want the soup to BARELY be moving. Stir it and then wait for the circular motion to slow down a bit before you pour the eggs in.

Verdict: It was satisfying, healthy, quick, and easy to make. I will definitely be keeping this one around for future use!

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RECIPE: Egg Drop Soup

Japanese Style Creamy Sesame Dressing

One of the things I think I fell in love with the hardest about Japanese cooking when I lived there was sesame flavoring in sauces. This is one of my very favorite sesame based things. It's great on all manner of green vegetables, cooked or raw, and any salad with Asian style ingredients.

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RECIPE: Japanese Sesame Dressing (Just One Cookbook)

Sweet and Savory Simmered Kabocha Squash

This is a recipe I first ate in Japan and squash is one of my favorite vegetables in nimono (simmered) dishes. In this one, squash is simmered in a sweet and savory dashi-soy sauce broth and it works really wonderfully with the squash's sweet flavor and soft, smooth texture.

I have tried to make this dish several times since coming home from studying abroad and it's never turned out quite as good as my host mom's. One time I translated a recipe from a Japanese cookbook and that went OK but not great. I tried Amy Kaneko's recipe from her book Let's Cook Japanese Food! and that had good results if I remember right (it's her Japanese father-in-law's recipe!) but I thought I'd give Just One Cookbook's recipe a try as well since I've had good luck with her recipes.

Notes:

• I think leaving the skin on is the way to go. The squash gets quite soft during the cooking process and the skin helps hold it together and prevent it from completely disintegrating. I've peeled the squash completely before and the pieces stayed much more intact.
• I do not have a proper otoshibuta (drop lid) and my foil ones in the past haven't turned out quite right. I used a clean regular pot lid that fit just inside the cooking pan and rested it on the surface of the food as it cooked. This didn't work well and I don't recommend it (see below).

Verdict: It was kind of bland but I think that's because I didn't cook it right. Overall I'm not sure I did the drop-lid thing right and less liquid evaporated during cooking than was supposed to, and that's why it turned out kind of bland. After it was done cooking and I realized it was too watery, I removed the squash from the pan and reduced the cooking liquid, and once cooled poured it over the squash and let it sit overnight in the fridge. It was not quite as good as if I had cooked it correctly, but it was much more enjoyable to eat than right after it was cooked.

RECIPE: Simmered Kabocha Squash

Kitsune Udon (Udon Noodle Soup with Fried Seasoned Tofu)

I made this kitsune udon recipe to use up some of the inariage I made a few days prior. Both the inariage recipe and kitsune udon recipe are from Just One Cookbook.

I first had inariage (fried seasoned tofu pockets, they have a nice salty and lightly sweet flavor) from a can when I was in high school. I made a friend my senior year who found out I liked Japanese culture and cooking, so she came over one day and thought it would be fun to make Japanese food. She taught me to make inarizushi, which stuffs these fried seasoned tofu pouches with sushi rice. It was all very strange and new to me but I liked the sweet-salty soy sauce flavor. I first had home cooked ones at my host family's house several years later, and that's when I knew for sure I loved them. It turns out freshly cooked inariage taste way better than canned ones (who knew? lol). In Japan, most people buy the tofu already fried and season it themselves. I have been able to find it where I live at Asian markets, and I have tried other recipes for seasoning them before that were just OK, but this one from JOC tastes just like I remember my host mom's.

The initial step of dousing the inariage with boiling water to remove some oil is absolutely essential. I skipped this one time I made them because I was lazy, and I regretted it. However, when you're draining them, don't squeeze them completely dry or they end up kind of bland.

For the kitsune udon, I couldn't find narutomaki so I used red kamaboko instead (they're basically made out of the same thing and taste the same, they're just shaped and colored differently) and I think this worked well.

Verdict: I thought both of the recipes were delicious, and would definitely make them again!

RECIPE: Inariage (Seasoned Fried Tofu Pockets)
RECIPE: Kitsune Udon (Udon Noodle Soup with Fried Seasoned Tofu)

Bacon and Corn Okonomiyaki (Cabbage Fritters)

As a student of Japanese language and literature, one inevitably learns about Japanese food. Japan happens to have an incredibly rich food culture, and each region of the country has great pride for their local specialties. Okonomiyaki is a regional specialty of Osaka. At its simplest it is a mix of battered shredded green cabbage and scallion, fried like a pancake on a griddle, and brushed with a glossy, sweet-salty Worcester based sauce and topped with squiggles of Kewpie mayonnaise. Generally, if you go to a grill restaurant (teppanyaki) in Japan for okonomiyaki, you are provided with all the ingredients for your choice of type of okonomiyaki and cook it yourself at your table, which has a griddle built into it. Some people also make it at home either on the stove or a tabletop electric griddle, especially for parties because it is easy to make a lot and easy to share.

The idea of okonomiyaki can be difficult to explain concisely to people unfamiliar with Japanese food. I prefer to make it for them first so they can taste it without expectations. I usually call it "vegetable pancakes" since "cabbage pancakes" can put some people off. Cabbage seems to get a bad rap where I live (though after living in an Asian country and especially after trying okonomiyaki, I think cabbage is incredibly underrated by Americans in general). The okonomi in the name translates to "what you like" but that doesn't explain at all what's in it.  I've also heard it called "Japanese pizza" which on one hand is misleading because the main ingredients are totally different from the food we know as pizza, but on the other hand it's conceptually very similar to pizza in that it lends itself to a huge variety of topping and filling ingredients that each diner can vary to their diet and preferences to enjoy their food to the fullest.

However you choose to wrap your head around the concept of okonomiyaki, it's delicious and worth trying!

This particular recipe is not exactly authentic but it embodies what I love most about okonomiyaki. It was developed by a friend who didn't have much first hand experience with Japanese food but likes to cook, and I like his better than any other okonomiyaki recipe I've ever made. The batter clings to the ingredients nicely but isn't too thick or floury tasting, and cooking the meat beforehand and mixing it in ensures that it gets fully cooked, you get some of the flavor in each bite, and it doesn't awkwardly fall off when you try to eat it or cut the pancake. The bacon adds salty, savory, and smoky flavors, and the corn adds some sweetness. If you don't like or can't eat bacon or corn, you could easily substitute those for any number of other ingredients that suit your diet and tastes.

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RECIPE:

Bacon and Corn Okonomiyaki
adapted from my friend Eliot's recipe
Makes 4 pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup water
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 green onions, including tender green parts, roots removed, chopped fine
Dash of seasoning salt
1 tbsp sake or plain vodka
About 1/3 medium head green cabbage, chopped into ½” pieces (4-5 cups)
1 cup corn, canned (drained) or frozen (no need to thaw)
½ cup Rice Krispies cereal (optional)
¼ to 1/3 pound uncooked bacon (4-5 strips), chopped into small pieces
Okonomi sauce, for serving
Japanese mayonnaise, for serving (optional)
Aonori or shredded toasted seaweed, for serving (optional)
Bonito flakes (katsuobushi), for serving (optional)

Combine flour, water, eggs, garlic, green onions, seasoning salt, and sake in a large mixing bowl. Stir cabbage, corn, and Rice Krispies into batter until just incorporated. 

Fry bacon pieces in a large skillet until almost crisp (8-10 minutes). Remove bacon pieces from the grease and stir bacon into batter.  Reserve grease (pour into a mug or small heatproof bowl). Wipe any grease drips off the underside of the pan.

Heat skillet again on medium heat with ½ tablespoon bacon grease in it. When hot, put about 1 ½ cups batter into skillet and spread to create a 6-7 inch circle (don’t make it too big or you will have trouble flipping it without breaking it). Fry for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown, then flip and repeat on other side. Slide onto a plate. Top with 1-2 tbsp okonomi sauce, a few squiggles of mayonnaise, aonori or toasted seaweed, and bonito flakes. Repeat with remaining batter, regreasing pan each time. Serve hot. Makes about 4 pancakes.

If storing for later, fry the pancakes but do not add sauce or toppings, let cool, cover, and place in refrigerator. Reheat in 350°F oven or toaster oven for 10-15 minutes.