Innie or Outie

Hubby was really in the mood for something a little different from our normal cuisine and decided to go washyoku (traditional Japanese cooking), Papa’s Shibui-Chicken Soup:

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Presoak chopped chicken chunks in sake and sea salt; in a large pot of water, simmer konbu (seaweed) sheet until soft; remove konbu and add katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), mirin, white pepper, soy sauce, and chopped shibui (Winter gourd); bring to rolling boil (remove one cup of stock and set aside); add presoaked chicken with liquid; reduce heat and simmer until shibui is tender and chicken thoroughy cooked.

Meanwhile, prepare the accompanying dish, Papa’s 10 Grain-Kamaboko Rice:

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Cook rice adding one 10 grain rice packet, chopped shitake mushroom, diced carrot, diced gobo (burdock root) stuffed kamaboko, soy sauce, and substituting the one cup reserved konbu stock for one cup of water; plate and garnish with chopped scallions.

Plate soup and garnish with fresh arugula. Serve.

Here’s a TexMex inspired dish that hubby created, Papa’s Chili Steak on Rice:

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For the dish, hubby sautéed cubed beef in olive oil; added chili pepper flakes, powdered cumin, minced garlic paste, Worcestershire sauce, and canned chili beans with sauce. He plated the beef mixture on a rice bed; topped with homegrown salad greens, sliced cheddar cheese, onion slices, and quartered cherry tomatoes; then sprinkled with dried cilantro flakes.

This original dish combines several Asian flavors, Papa’s Spicy Miso-Pork on Sesame Rice:

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For the dish, hubby used chunked pork roast, sliced red and green bell peppers, white onion, and carrot sautéed in sesame oil; with toubanjyan sauce, oyster sauce, dried garlic slivers, minced ginger paste, powdered chicken broth, white pepper, arugula, salad greens, 1/2 sodium red miso paste, and cracked toasted sesame seeds added; ladled on a bed of cracked toasted sesame seed rice.

Hubby came up with this unusual and flavorful in-the-pantry meal, Papa’s Mustard Sauce-Pork Dinner:

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For the meal, he boiled pork roast in water with dried rosemary and thyme flakes; sliced the pork and plated it on a bed of homegrown salad greens; and topped with a sauce made of whole grain mustard, fresh rosemary leaves, minced ginger paste, minced garlic paste, finely chopped arugula, dried thyme flakes, nira (garlic chives), and milk. To go with the pork, hubby sautéed frozen spinach and asparagus in sesame oil adding a little butter and soy sauce. To completed the meal by adding rice sprinkled with cracked toasted sesame seeds; and garnished the plate with chilled whole cherry tomatoes.

Hubby’s still in the mood for Chinese-style dishes, Papa’s Spicy Bok Choy-Shrimp on Sesame Rice:

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For the meal Hubby created a mixture of shrimp, diced white onion, bok choy, red wine vinegar, scallion, dried garlic slivers, white pepper, chicken broth granules, and toubanjyan sauce served on rice topped with cracked toasted sesame seeds.

Hubby decided to try something a little different in the stir-fry department, Papa’s Chinese-Style Pork Dinner:

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Hubby sautéed thinly-sliced pork, julienned carrots, and julienned bell pepper in vegetable oil; added minced ginger paste, dried garlic slivers, fresh mushrooms, garlic chives, white pepper, and oyster sauce; and thickened the mixture with cornstarch. To go with the pork entrée, he chose rice with cracked toasted sesame seeds.

Here’s a seafood meal Hubby made, Papa’s Tuna Pabuca Dinner:

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For the tuna pabucas he used onion sautéed in olive oil, tuna, panko, fresh rosemary, and egg. He formed the pabucas, sautéed them in olive oil, then smothered the pabucas with a cream, butter, cheddar, fresh rosemary, basil, scallion, Worchester, and white pepper sauce. The greens were frozen spinach sautéed in sesame oil with dried garlic chips. The rice was sprinkled with dried parsley flakes. To complete the meal hubby added a small salad of iceberg lettuce, arugula, cherry tomato, chive, and herbed croutons topped with a creamy sesame dressing.

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Another fried rice recipe from hubby making use of Obon leftovers, Papa’s Everything But the Kitchen Sink Fried Rice:

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For the dish, hubby sautéed diced white onion in sesame oil, and stirred in diced precooked boiled pork roast, steamed shrimp, diced kamaboko, chopped leek, white pepper, precooked rice and soy sauce. After plating, the mixture was topped with cracked toasted sesame seeds and julienned pickled ginger.

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As an accompaniment to the dish, hubby chose a canned “oriental-style” (similar to egg drop) soup.

Hubby decided to take a try at Southern-style chicken-fried cooking, Papa’s Chicken-Fried Ham Dinner:

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For the meal hubby used ham slices stuffed with cheese and arugula (coated and cooked Southern chicken-fried style) and rice smothered in mushroom gravy, accompanied by an Oregon bean medley with minced chili peppers and a small side salad of iceberg lettuce, arugula, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits with a creamy cheese dressing.

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A creative use hubby came up with for leftover salad, Papa’s Asian-Style Pork and Chicken with Greens Medley:

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For this dish, hubby used sliced pork lightly sautéed in sesame oil, dried sliced garlic chips, minced ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, chicken broth, chopped bok choy, rosemary, and leftover Hot & Tangy Mixed Greens with Chicken Salad served on a bed of rice and sprinkled with cracked toasted sesame seeds.