Tofu with vegetable ponzu thick sauce

Do you know "Ponzu"?  It is a citrus based Japanese sauce which is mainly made from citrus juice, soy sauce and dashi (Japanese soup stock).  It is widely used for Japanese food, for example, grilled fish, shabu-shabu, steamed vegetable and tofu etc.  I like ponzu so much because it makes any food delicious so easily.

I was so tired today and wanted to make something quickly!  That's why I was so happy when I remembered that I had a bottle of ponzu in the fridge because I could make dinner without so many seasoning and I was sure more than that it would be definitely taste so good!!!

Tofu with vegetable ponzu thick sauce (For 2 people)

• 1/2 pack of tofu
• 1 Tbs of sesame oil
• 1/2 carrot
• 5 pieces of snow peas
• 1/2 pack of enoki mushroom
• 2 Tbs of ponzu (☆)
• 4 Tbs of water (☆)
• 1 tsp of potato starch (☆)

1,  Cut tofu in thick slices and cover all side with potato starch

2,  Mix all of (☆) in a small bowl

3,  Cut carrot, snow pea in thin slices and cut enoki mushroom half

4,  Heat a pan until quite and add sesame oil with low fire

5,  Add sliced and covered with potato starch tofu and grill with medium fire until brown

6,  Heat another pan until quite and add oil with low fire

7,  Add cut vegetables and stir-fry them quickly

8,  Add mixed (☆) and boil until thick

It took less than 15 minutes to make this dish including clean up time.  That's great!!  Ponzu flavor always makes me feel fresh and I can forget tiredness.  Actually ponzu has a lot of citric acid more than normal vinegar.  That's why I wanted to eat ponzu tonight I think!  I recommend ponzu when you are tired so please try!!

Teriyaki eggplant

I went to a grocery store and found a huuuuuge eggplant!  I know american eggplants are much bigger than Japanese one but the eggplant I saw there was enormously huge!  It was almost as big as a Japanese radish seriously!  I bought it immediately because it deserved to be a main dish.

Teriyaki eggplant

• 1 eggplant
• flour
• 1 Tbs of sesame oil
• 2 Tbs of soy sauce (☆)
• 2 Tbs of mirin (☆)
• 2 Tbs of honey (☆)
• green onion
• white sesame seed

1.  Mix all of  (☆) very well in a small bowl

2.  Cut a green onion in thin round slices

3.  Cut an eggplant in round slices and cover both side with flour

4.  Heat a pan until quite and add sesame with low fire

5.  Add eggplants and grill both side of them with medium fire until brown

6.  Add mixed (☆) and boil down 

7.  Serve it on a plate and put cut green onion and white sesame seed

It was first time for me to make any vegetable teriyaki and I realized that teriyaki flavor went with vegetable also.  I would like to try to make other kind of vegetables teriyaki sometime soon!

Oh by the way, I forgot to take some pictures of the huge eggplant!  I really regret about that!  I should have taken a picture and showed how big it was...;(


☆☆Related recipe☆☆
Teriyaki chicken and eggplant pizza

Minced Tofu with zucchini

It was so strong rainy day today.  Recently I feel like summer is almost finishing, especially I felt so today.  Autumn is coming soon and summer in Boston is really short.  I love summer so it is kind of sad for me.  But!!! I believe I can enjoy summer a little bit more so I made dinner with summer vegetable and used leftover minced Tofu last night I made :)

Minced Tofu with zucchini (For 2 people)

• 1 zucchini
• 1 Table spoon of olive oil
• 1 tea spoon of chopped garlic
• salt
• minced Tofu
• 2 Table spoons of mayonnaise
• cheese

1.  Heat a pan until quite hot and add olive oil and stir-fry with low fire

2.  Add zucchinis which is cut in round slices and grill with medium fire until brow

3.  Put the zucchinis into a heat-resistant container and put minced Tofu on the zucchinis and add cheese on them as much as you like

4.  Grill it in the oven with 350°F until brown


It was easy!  I think it took only less than 15 min or so but still taste great and actually my friend said it was awesome!  I was so happy because she had never said such a word for me even though I make a lot of nice food for her, haha :)

Anyway, we had a great time which is the rest of short summer with cold beer♪

☆☆Related recipe☆☆

Minced tofu with lettuce wrap

Minced Tofu with lettuce wrap

Oh, I have a lots of lettuces in the fridge but it's kind of difficult for me to eat lots of lettuces at a time.  Umm... that's why I was thinking how to cook lettuces for dinner from last night and then Korean lettuce I had at a broiled meat restaurant came to my mind suddenly!  When I went to Korea and a broiled meat restaurant there, I wrapped meat with Korean lettuce and ate.  It was nice because I could ate a lot of lettuce with meat and I didn't need to order salad or some vegetable.  Alright,  I tried to make something like Korean lettuces dish tonight.  I think it's healthy!!  In addition, I didn't use any meat and used Tofu instead of meat. (Actually, I just noticed that I didn't have any meat in the fridge after I started cooking...haha ) Anyway, I think it's much healthier and better for health maybe, don't you think??

Minced Tofu with lettuce wrap

Minced Tofu

• 1/2 pack of extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 tea spoon of chopped ginger
• 1 tea spoon of chopped garlic
• 1 Table spoon of sesame oil
• 1 Table spoon of miso (☆)
• 2 Table spoons of mirin (☆)
• 1 tea spoon of soy sauce (☆)
• 1 tea spoon of sugar (☆)
• 1 tea spoon of Gouchujang (☆)

Gouchujang and mayonnaise sauce

• Mayonnaise (★)
• Gouchujang (★)

• Lettuce

1. Wrap Tofu with kitchen paper and put heat in a microwave oven for one minute for draining excess liquid
2. Put (☆) into a small bowl and mix them very well
3. Put (★) into another  small bowl and mix them very well
4. Heat a pan until quite hot and add sesame oil, ginger and garlic and stir-fry with low fire
5. Add Tofu and mix and stir-fry over medium fire chopping Tofu with a wooden spatula
6. Chop Tofu until it is chopped in tiny pieces stir-frying
7. Add mixed (☆) in the pan and keep stir-frying over medium fire
8. Add chopped walnuts and stir-fry quickly
9. Put minced Tofu, Gouchujang sauce and washed lettuces on the plate

Actually, you can eat any vegetables with this wrap if you would like.  I wrapped avocado and it was really nice combination!

I felt like I was at a broiled meat restaurant even thought I didn't have any meat!  I ate so many lettuce with this minced Tofu.  I am so full up to the throat now but I believe it's healthy health healthy.....

☆☆Related recipe☆☆

Minced tofu with zucchini

Green tea yogurt parfait

I first met greek yogurt in America.  I had never seen and of course tried it when I was in Japan.  After I tried it one time, I was really obsessed with the magic of it and then I am eating greek yogurt every morning.  It is really thick, creamy like a cream cheese!!

The difference between greek yogurt and normal yogurt is that greek yogurt has one more process which is "drain" after lactic acid fermentation.  That's why greek yogurt is so creamy!

I think it is good to make some sweets with greek yogurt because you don't have to wait for a long time to drain and it's much healthier to use yogurt that heavy cream.

Green tea yogurt parfait

• 1 cup of greek yogurt (150g/ 5.3OZ)
• 1 tea spoon of green tea powder
• 2 tea spoon of brown sugar
• 1/2 tea spoon of vanilla extract
• 2 full cracker sheets of graham crackers
• raspberry
• blackberry
• chopped walnuts

1. Put greek yogurt, green tea powder, vanilla extract and brown sugar into a small bowl and mix them very well
2. Crash graham crackers finely
3. Cut raspberry and blackberry in half
4. Put crashed graham crackers, chopped walnuts and half cut berries in the glass
5. Put mixed yogurt on it
6. Repeat step 4 and 5
7. Sprinkle extra green tea powder and put some berries on top of the parfait

I really love this one!  You can make quickly so it is good for your breakfast too. (Actually I made this for breakfast. )  I can't wait to make other sweets with greek yogurt again.  Could be so exciting!!!

Yuzu-pepper cream pasta

So many people moved on September 1st in Boston!  One of my friends did also and I helped him. After his moving, we had a moving party tonight.  He loves pasta and Japanese seasoning so I tried to make some pasta with Japanese seasoning.

Do you know "Yuzu-pepper" (柚子胡椒) ?  Yuzu is a kind of Japanese citrus.  It has so nice flavor and is very popular in Japan.  Yuzu-pepper sounds like a black pepper but actually tastes not like.  It is mainly made from yuzu, green chili and salt.  It is not just hot but also full of citrus flavor.  Japanese people use this seasoning for yakitori, Udon and Nabe... Anyway, Japanese people love it and of course my friend and I love so much also!!

◆Yuzu pepper cream pasta (For 2 people)

Pasta

• 1/2 pond Fettucine pasta
• Boiled water
• salt

Yuzu cream sauce

• 1/2 pond chicken thigh
• 1 pack of spinach
• 1/2 pack of mushroom
• Olive oil
• 3 Table spoon of butter
• 3 Table spoon of flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 1+1/2 Table spoon of yuzu-pepper
• salt

1. Cut chicken thigh into bite-size and put a little bit of salt and black pepper and mix them very well with your hand

2. Put butter on a small pan and heat with low fire

3. After butter melted, add flour bit by bit and mix them very well with low fire

4. Add milk bit by bit and mix them very well

5. Add yuzu-pepper and mix them very well.  Try to taste and add some salt if you would like.

6. Put some olive oil on another bigger pan and stir-fry chicken with medium fire

7. Put mushroom and spinach and stir-fry them

8. Remove the cream sauce from a small pan to the pan which has chicken, mushroom and spinach and mix them very well

9. Boil pasta in boiled water added salt in time mentioned on the package minus 1〜2 minutes

10. After pasta is done, put the pasta and 2 Table spoon of cooked liquid into the cream sauce and mix them very well

The cream sauce went with Yuzu-pepper so much!  It was happy moment and we were not tired anymore because it's so delicious!!

Eggplant miso gratin

I got a first request email!!  I was so excited :))  The person recommended one recipe which is about eggplants.  So I tried to make some food with eggplants for lunch!!

Eggplant miso gratin (for 2 people)

• 1 eggplant
• 1 Table spoon sesame oil
• cheese
• 2 Table spoon miso (☆)
• 2 tea spoon mirin (☆)
• 4 tea spoon suger (☆)
• 1 tea spoon sesame oil (☆)

1.  Cut an eggplant in half lengthwise

2.  Mix (☆) vert well

3.  Make a cut an eggplant like lattice pattern

4.  Hollow out the inside of eggplant and cut into cubes with spoon

5.  Heat a pan and sesame oil with middle fire

6.  Put the cut eggplants and stir-fry it very well and add mixed (☆)

7.  Put the stir-fried eggplants in eggplant skin

7.  Put cheese onto the eggplant and bake it in the oven with 325°F

The eggplant gratin tastes awesome!!  I was so surprised!!

But actually, the person who gave me a request is my mom...:))  Thanks mom!  I really appreciate and respect you!!!