by Mark on January 31, 2007
Tonight we had oxtail soup which we love a lot. Unlike the usual oxtail soup, we steam cooked the oxtail and then boiled with the ingredients. Here is our recipe which you can try at home. Before we begin, oxtail soup takes a long time to cook so you must be patient but you will be glad when it’s time to eat.
Bought a pack of oxtail from Marukai and boiled it last night so that all the goo from the meat came out and the meat was brown from the heat. Poured out all the liquid from the pot and then washed each of the oxtail pieces. I cut off the extra fat surrounding the oxtail and put them in a steam cooker and added ginger, garlic, shiitake, and star anese seed. Then, I added water so it reached about the 70% mark and steam cooked for 40 minutes after the whistling. I started the steam cooking around 9:00pm so by 9:40pm I turned off the heat and let it stay on the stove till 6:00am today without opening the steam cooker or letting out the hot air.
This morning around 6:00am, I opened the steam cooker and let the air out for a minute and then placed it in the refrigerator with the lid covered. Around 4:00pm this afternoon, Emiko took out from the refrigerator and then (very important) cut out the fat floating on top of the oxtail gelatin. She added the ingredients – konyaku, squash, Chinese parsley, salt, black pepper, white wine, and scallop dashi. She added water to almost cover the oxtail and the ingredients and mildly boiled it for about 45 minutes. Once the squash became tender, we were ready to eat this delicious and healthy oxtail soup.
The gelatin from the oxtail is known for health benefits and produce beautiful skin for the ladies. I am sure you would like to try this dish for your wife or your loved ones. You still can cook this soup without a steam cooker, however you need to boil it longer in a medium low heat. The longer you can boil the oxtail, the tender it will be. Enjoy your oxtail soup!
by Mark on January 30, 2007
We had okonomiyaki, stir-fried green peas, and tokoroten for dinner. The key to a great okonomiyaki is to chop the cabbage very finely like almost a thread and add lots of ao-nori. It takes time to cook one by one but the complete product is worth it.
by Mark on January 29, 2007
We bought a delicious already-made pesto sauce (Kirkland’s Cibo Natural Pesto) from Costco and prepared tonight’s dinner. This pesto sauce has a great aroma and fresh flavor of basil. Basically, it’s a mixture of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil all blended together. All you need to do is boil the pasta and add 3 – 4 tablespoons of pesto and mix it like how you would mix instant mentaiko pasta; no need to fry. Don’t forget to add a sprinkle of salt or if you want to be extra fancy, try adding anchovies. We also added chopped cucumbers and tomatos to the pasta.
by Mark on January 28, 2007
Tonight we cooked a quick miso ramen dinner. Prior to dinner, we prepared gyoza for this week and had some leftover patties which we stir-fried and added to miso ramen. It was really delicious despite the fact that it was our first time to make gyoza. We added lots of chives and naga-negi (leek) to boost the flavor. Also added some garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and salt. For the salad, we mixed red leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and red onion with Bernstein’s Italian dressing.
by Mark on January 26, 2007
Sorry for the long absence… I was a little busy. We’ll continue the blog and thank you for your kind reminders. Below are some of the missed blog entries & photos. Enjoy.
We went for a dinner at Hale Vietnam in Waialae (12th Avenue). Tried their pho and this Lemon Beef dish. Both of the dishes were very delicious! Later stopped at Cafe Laufer and grabbed a tira misu dessert. Lots of new restaurants and shops have opened at this small district. Parking was crowded…
One afternoon at JJ Bistro & French Pastry: I was craving for some sweets and tried these 3 desserts – cream puff, almond tart, and a strawberry shortcake. All of them wasn’t too sweet but good.
After a long shopping day at Pearlridge Mall, we went to a bowling alley at Aiea Bowl. This place was pretty clean as renovation took place not while ago. Emiko loves bowling and always beats me. Last year in Japan, we went to a bowling alley with her friends and I was the sole loser. What an embarrassing moment… We had lots of fun at this place and plan to go again possibly with my co-workers and friends.
Another pho dish (we love pho!!). This time in Chinatown at a place called Vietnamese Cafe Pho Saigon restaurant located on the corner of South Hotel Street and Smith Street. Unlike the light and refreshing broth, this restaurant’s broth was little bit on the oily side. Not bad though.
One of my good friends gave me a generous gift certificate to Sushi Akasaka Restaurant in Kapiolani. She told me that I needed to try their seared butter scallop which was very delicious. We also ordered steak, yakitori, and tempura dishes. This was our first time here and it was crowded with mostly local Japanese buddies.
by Mark on January 1, 2007
Happy New Year to all — I feel like many of you have become good friends, even though we only communicate through the medium of this blog. Let’s try to make 2007 a good year for everyone and let love and peace be the breathe of the every day.
From all of us at onelatte.com, wishing everyone the best year ever.
