Tako rice and Matsutake soup for lunch タコ飯と松茸のお吸い物昼食

 This was a lunch we had one day. We had leftover frozen octopus rice or “Tako meshi” たこめし made from a kit we got from the  Rice factory. Although the original was not bad, the amount of octopus was rather small. Since I made tender simmered octopus タコの柔らか煮 a few days ago, I added slices of octopus legs to the previously made rice. Also we had matsutake mushroom 松茸 from Maine and made clear matsutake soup 松茸のお吸い物. I added a dish of salted vegetable or “asazule” 浅漬け and simmered root vegetables and chicken similar to “Chikuzen-ni” 筑前煮.

I  just microwaved the rice to thaw it then added slices of tender simmered octopus with a small amount of the simmering liquid and further heated it. I also garnished it with fresh “myouga” 茗荷 from our garden. The addition of the simmered octopus made the Tako rice much better than the original.

I made this clear soup from broth made from a dashi pack (kelp and shiitake), with mirin みりん and light colored soy sauce 薄口醤油. I also added shrimp (sunk in the bottom), scallion and flower-shaped “fu” 花麩 gluten cake. I also added frozen zest of yuzu 柚子 citrus. This is a lidded soup bowl and when the lid was opened the subtle but distinctive aroma of matustake and yuzu wafted out. (The aroma of matustake is one of the joys of the matusake season).  I think Maine matsutake appears to have a better aroma than the ones we used to get from Oregon.

The below are basic simmered root vegetables including daikon 大根, carrot 人参, bamboo shoot 筍, shiitake mushroom (I used dried) 椎茸, lotus root 蓮根, kon-nyaku 蒟蒻 and sugar snap スナップ豌豆 (for garnish). This time I also included chicken thigh.

This is my usual “asazuke” 浅漬け. I just made myouga in sweet vinegar 茗荷の甘酢漬け. I thinly sliced and served next to the vegetables.

For a lunch, this was quite good. 

Simmered bamboo shoots and chicken

This is a small dish commemorating spring that I made recently. Since we cannot get fresh bamboo shoots, I made this from packaged boiled bamboo.

As a substitute for "nanohana" 菜の花 I used blanched rapini. For protein, I used chicken drumettes leftover from making "Teba-gyoza" 手羽餃子.

Ingredients:
1 package of small boiled bamboo shoots, cut into small wedges.
6 chicken drumettes
Blanched rapini tips for garnish
1 cup dashi (made from kelp and bonito flakes)
3 tbs light colored soy sauce
3 tbs mirin

Directions:
In a non-stick dry frying pan, I placed the drumettes on a low flame until the oil came out. Then I turned up the heat to medium and browned all surfaces. I transferred the drummettes from the frying to a sauce pan and added the bamboo shoots, dashi broth and seasoning. I simmered it with a "otoshi buta" 落し蓋 for 30 minutes or longer or until the liquid reduced somewhat, mixing several times. I refrigerated it overnight (although it could have been served immediately). Before serving, I warmed it up (either in a microwave oven or in a pan).
I garnished it with blanched rapini tips.

The bamboo shoots absorbed all the flavors but were still crunchy in texture. The addition of chicken added a nice umami flavor. The drumettes were tender enough that the meat fell of the bone and could be eaten with chopsticks. This is a nice small side dish/appetizer.

Pork and shrimp teriyaki burger エビ入り豚肉照り焼きバーガー

This was just a leftover-control dish but it tasted good. When I made "Fried bamboo shoot stuffed with pork and shrimp",  I prepared much more stuffing than I could use. Using this stuffing, I made this "burger" as a drinking snack.

I served this with green beans (which were already blanched, I just warmed them up in the same pan in which I made these burgers). I also served bomboo shoot "Tosa-ni" 筍の土佐煮. These made nice starting dishes for the evening.

Ingredients: (For two small burgers)

Ground pork, 40g (I hand chopped pork butt).

Shrimp, 60g (I used frozen, thawed and chopped finely until it had a paste like consistency)

Scallion, one, white part, finely chopped.

Ginger root, finely chopped (to taste)

Salt, to taste

Soy sauce, 1/2 tsp

Sake, 1/2 tsp

White pepper, to taste

Directions:

I mixed together the above ingredients and formed the mixture into two identical patties. I cooked the burger in a small non-stick frying pan with light olive oil. I cooked about 2 minute or until browned and then turned over and cooked another one minute or until that side was nicely browned. I then added soy sauce (1 tbs) and mirin (1 tbs) and kept the pan moving and turning the burgers a few times. When the sauce evaporated enough to form a viscous sauce, I cut the flame. After I placed the burgers on the plates, I poured the sauce over them. I sprinkled on some "Sansho" 山椒 powder.

Because of the addition of shrimp, the consistency of the burger was quite different from a just meat burger. It had a more elastic texture (In Japanese, it is called "puripuri" プリプリ). The shrimp also added a slight sweetness. My instant teriyaki sauce went well. Sansho also added its unique flavor. This was a well-balanced first dish of the evening.

Fried bamboo shoot stuffed with pork and shrimp たけのこの贅沢揚げ

This recipe used the top 2/3 of the bamboo shoot left over after I made "Tosa-ni"土佐煮. The bamboo shoot is stuffed with a mixture of pork and shrimp based on a recipe I saw on line. Since I did not have access to "kinome" 木の芽, I simply added fried green beans as a green.

Here is a close up of another serving.

Ingredients (2 servings):

Bamboo shoot, one package, pre-boiled, top 2/3 (or "Hosaki" 穂先), cut into 6 wedges (#1), carefully cut from the outer surface to make a pouch but not cut it through.

Ground pork, 40g (I hand chopped pork butt I had).

Shrimp, 60g (I used frozen, thawed and chopped finely until it had a paste like consistency)

Scallion, one, white part, finely chopped.

Ginger root, finely chopped (to taste)

Salt, to taste

Soy sauce, 1/2 tsp

Sake, 1/2 tsp

White pepper, to taste

Flour for dredging

Oil (I used peanut oil) for frying

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients above except for bamboo shoot (by hand or using a silicon spatula) until everything sticks together (#2)

Dredge the wedges of bamboo shoot with flour including inside the slits and stuff the meat (#2) into the slits. Dredge the surface of the stuffing as well (#3).

Shallow fry (1/2 inch deep oil), turning frequently to slightly brown the stuffing and to make all sides crispy (flour makes thin crust).

Drain the oil and serve hot.

This is a very nice dish. It was very hot and my wife had to wait several minutes for it to cool down. By frying, bamboo shoot developed very good strong bamboo shoot flavor while still retaining a nice crunch. The stuffing of pork and shrimp is very flavorful with a nice texture. The shrimp really give a nice firmer texture.  We had this with cold sake which was a perfect match.

Bamboo shoot Tosani 筍の土佐煮

Spring and early summer are the season for fresh bamboo shoots or takenoko 筍 in Japan but I have never seen fresh takenoko on sale at the grocery store here in the US. So, I have to use the pre-boiled and packaged variety. I have posted few bamboo shoot dishes in the past. This one is called "Tosa-ni" 土佐煮. Tosa is southernmost prefecture in the island of shikoku 四国 which is famous for bonito or katsuo 鰹 and dried and shaven bonito flakes called "katsuo-bushi" 鰹節.  Simmered vegetable especially bamboo shoot in broth made of bonito flakes seasoned with soy sauce is often referred as "Tosa-ni". I also added additional bonito flakes after the bamboo shoots were cooked and seasoned.

Ingredients: (for two small serving as a drinking snack) and directions:

1. Bamboo shoot, pre-boiled and vacuum packed (#1). I used only the bottom 1/3 for this dish and the rest was used to make something else.
2. Bonito broth, I made about 3 cups with two dashi packs with bonito and kelp which is much stronger than usual broth.
3. I sliced off the bottom 1/3, quartered and sliced into 1/2 inch quarter rounds (#2).
4. I cooked it in plain boiling water for 3 minutes and drained.
5. I put them back in a dry pan and added the bonito broth just covering the bamboo shoot (around 1/2 cup).
6. I added light colored soys sauce (1/2 tbs) and a splash of mirin (or you could omit the mirin).
7. Simmer with lid on until most of the liquid has evaporated (#3).
8. I added two small packages (or whatever amount you like) of bonito flakes and mixed to coat. If the moisture is not enough, you could add a splash of the broth or soy sauce depending on the taste of the cooked bonito (I added the broth).

Although I took several shortcuts (not using fresh bamboo shoot and not making broth from freshly shaven bonito flakes), it tasted very good. The bonito flavor combined with the savory saltiness of the soy sauce permeated the bamboo shoot and was further boosted with the additional bonito flakes on the surface. The bamboo shoot was tender but some firmness still remained. This is a perfect small "otoshi" dish to start the evening.