Do you have any leftover chicken, pork cutlets or rice? Turn leftovers into a nice piping hot Japanese meal. Katsudon is a staple dish for many Japanese households. Made of pork cutlet with a runny egg on rice, it is the ultimate comfort food. But the real secret to this dish is the savoury sweet sauce that flavors the egg and blends all the ingredients together.
For those not familiar with Japanese cuisine, it could be a little daunting, getting to grips with all the ingredients. So we've broken down the katsudon recipe into 9 ingredients:
- Dashi Stock (1/2 cup) Dashi is a soup stock made from bonito fish. It is also usually flavored with kelp and mushrooms. These are available in little sachets that you can use when needed. It's always good to have this in your pantry as it is useful for other Japanese dishes like Miso soup and Chawanmushi. Make a half cup of dashi for the katsudon recipe.
- Mirin (1/2 Tbsp) Mirin is a sweet seasoning made out of rice alcohol. This is another staple that you should have in your fridge if you like to make Japanese food
- Sake (1/2 Tbsp) Japanese rice wine. It's always good to have a bottle of sake around.
- Soya Sauce (1 Tbsp)
- Sugar (1/2-1 Tbsp)
- 2 Eggs (beaten)
- Garnish: Spring Onions or Seaweed (sliced thinly)
Steps:
1/ Pour the dashi stock, mirin, sake, soya sauce and sugar into a small saucepan and boil. Turn the heat to medium and let simmer for a minute
2/ Add pork or chicken cutlet into the sauce
3/ Add egg mixture. Cover the saucepan with lid and cook until egg is just cooked but still runny
4/ Pour cutlet and egg mixture onto a bowl of steamed rice. Garnish with spring onions or seaweed.
In a foodie household, my husband and I usually have competitions to see who can come up with the better dish. Now his specialty is kebab. It's the don't touch category (you can never come close, so don't even try) So I did a little research to see how I can "up" the game.
I dug out a recipe from Falling Cloudberries, a beautiful recipe book featuring a collection of Cypriot, Finnish and South African family recipes by Tessa Kiros. Now technically, the recipe I am using is a recipe for Sheftalia, Cypriot meat parcels. It's basically minced lamb and beef (the original was minced pork and beef) with minced parsley and red onions; wrapped in caul fat.
What is caul fat?
Caul fat is a membrane of fat (usually beef or lamb) that is used to encase your minced meat. You can get this at a specialty butcher. It is thin and stretchy and looks like lace or a spider's web. You'll have to soak the caul fat in warm water and juice of 1/2 lemon for 30 minutes. Cut the lace-like membrane into square shapes and wrap the minced meat mixture in the caul fat.
I followed the recipe but I also added a few touches. Here are 3 tips to getting the perfect kebab or sheftalia Spice it up
Cumin is indispensible, freshly grounded coriander works wonders and don't be afraid to salt the kebab generously.
The right Texture
Add sparkling water or soda water to get a more bouncy consistency (about 1/2 a cup for 2 pounds of meat)
Fatten it up
Use minced meat with maximum fat. And if you want them extra juicy, try the caul fat.
I love miso soup and I asked a couple of my Japanese friends how they do it at home. I wanted to avoid making miso soup entirely from a packet but I didn't have time to make traditional dashi from scratch.
So here's my 'home cooked version' of miso soup. It doesn't take long to make a good miso soup at home.
Simply put, miso soup is made of dashi stock + konbu (seaweed) + miso paste.
1/ Make the dashi. Put the 'fish sachet' in a pot of water. Use 1 sachet for about 500-600ml water. If you're making more, you might want to put two dashi packs in. Bring to boil. DASHI
Dashi stock is basically fish stock made out of bonito flakes. The traditional way of making dashi usually takes an hour. I have found easier options in Nijiya or Mitsuwa supermarket.
This is a packet of pure dried shave bonito. I place the fish flakes in a tea bag holder (see below) This keeps the fish flakes in the packet and you can discard the packet after it has sufficiently flavored the soup.
This dashi pack is called "Iriko". It comprises of sardines, bonito, yeast extract and sardine extract. One packet should be enough for 600 ml.
This wafu dashi is in powdered granule form. It is an all-in-one dashi soup stock. (it has bonito extract and even kelp powder). No coloring, MSG or artificial addtives added.
2/ Add the konbu
KONBU
You can add real konbu seaweed (sold dried in packets) or in powder form.
3/ Add miso paste. 2Tbsp for 600ml and 3-4 Tbsp for 1 litre. Adjust taste. Miso is salty so add gradually.
MISO PASTE
White miso paste is used for miso soup. My japanese friend tells me that most of the brands are the same. I picked up this brand at Nijiya as it had dashi and miso and it worked well.
I found this miso paste at Lion supermarket in San Jose. I picked it up as it had no MSG and was GMO free. This paste is a little darker but also works well with miso soup.
Other Ingredients
I usually add shimeiji mushrooms, soft tofu and very finely chopped spring onions. For an added seafood taste, I love to add clams. The best of course, is to use fresh clams. However I recently found out from my Japanese friend that you can buy frozen clams in small packets in the frozen section in Nijiya. It doesn't replace the taste of fresh live clams but its really convenient to open a packet after a long day at work.
Singapore is indeed a food paradise. Every time I return, I am struck by the choice of good restaurants and eating places. From hawker establishments to gastronomic restaurants, you're spoilt for choice.
This time, my friend, who is a chef at Jaan, invited me over to sample a complimentary lunch. Helmed by British born chef de cuisine Kirk Westaway, Jaan currently ranks 11th place in Asia's 50 best restaurants awards and creates modern French culinary masterpieces. I was excited to sample their signature dishes.
Located on the 70th floor of Swissotel Stanford, the view of the Singapore skyline is stunning. The sea of buildings below is testament to the rapid development of Singapore - from colonial times through postmodern and on to present day Singapore. The colonial Raffles Hotel sits next to Sir Norman Foster's latest skyscraper which boasts a bold undulating roof. Further away, rows of housing board flats stand in symmetry and on the other side we could see the marina barrage and the iconic Marina Bay Sands casino. Against this backdrop, we were served a beautifully executed lunch. Here are some of the highlights below:
Our starter was a majestic Irish oyster with artichoke puree and caviar. The artichoke was a good contrast to the rich succulent oyster. I must say this was my favorite dish.
One of Jaan's signature starters was the Heirloom Tomato with burrata cheese. It was composed beautifully. I was told later by the culinary team that this is a hard dish to execute as it is quite intricate.
The team at Jaan really knows how to whet an appetite. For one of their signature dishes (rosemary smoked organic eggs with ratte potato) They brought out a basket of eggs and cracked it open in front of us; it was accompanied with a dramatic smoke effect. We were intrigued from the start to the last bite of the dish.
Our main dish was a forest pigeon, roasted with rosemary on a bed of hay.
The immaculately prepared chocolate dessert was a fitting end to a magnificent meal. I would definitely recommend Jaan. I heard there is a waiting list for a table but the wait is worth it. Thanks to the young dynamic team at Jaan, the freshest of ingredients are taken to new culinary heights.
So I just conducted a cooking course for 8 moms! One of the most common request from my students is how to make Fried Rice. The thing is, fried rice is the perfect food to make for your family. Here's all the left over ingredients I found in my fridge (clockwise from top) eggs, mushrooms, asparagus, coriander, dill, garlic, dried fish, spring onion, shallots and left over sausages. I added them into my fried rice and had a satisfying meal in 10 minutes flat. It's quick, not wasteful and loved by the kids.
Here are some secrets to making fried rice.
1/ Use leftover rice. It's dry and the best texture for making fried rice
2/ Don't be afraid to experiment with ingredients, just cut them into small slices so that it complements the rice
3/ You can flavor fried rice with soya sauce (Chinese style) fish sauce (Thai style) or dark soya sauce (Indonesian style) just go slow with the seasoning. It's hard to go back once you're heavy handed with the salt ratio
4/ Some other suggestions for ingredients: firm tofu, ham, prawns, peas, broccolini and any vegetable stem (cut the same way as the asparagus above)
And once again, here's a recipe for my friends who can't seem to get their fried rice right (I've used the ingredients in the picture above as an example):
1/ Chop your ingredients (see picture above)
2/Add garlic and onions, fry until soft, push to one side.
3/ Add 3-4 beaten eggs (seasoned with salt), scramble and cook in wok, push to one side
4/ Add hard ingredients (asparagus, sausages)
5/ Add soft ingredients (mushrooms, herbs)
6/ Add leftover rice
7/ Add soya sauce (I used 1-2 Tbsp, depending on the quantity of rice) stir and mix
So get out there and make a fried rice this week. Post a picture of the fried rice on my jalan spice Facebook page (successful or unsuccessful) and I'll be happy to give you tips.
Fall is here and it's time to enjoy warm comfort soups. I decided to make a simplified version of the French fisherman's soup: Bouillabaisse. It's nice to take a look at Julia Child's video. Check out her enormous cleavers.
I tried a simple version of Boilliabaisse from Ina Garten's cookbook, Make it Ahead - Provencal Fish Stew with Siracha Rouille. You can make the fish stock, the base of the soup and the rouille earlier in the day and when guests come, you can add the seafood.
Make the Fish Stock
duration: half an hour
I used an enormous fish head for my fish stock. (It cost me $5 for this 1.5 pound fish head)
You can add fish bones as well. The more the merrier.
1/2 pounds fish bones and heads
2 cups dry white wine
4 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped and peeled carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme
3 sprigs parsley
1/ Get your fishmonger to remove the gills for you. Clean the head of any blood.
2/ Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to boil and turn heat to medium low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the stock and set aside for next stage
Make the base of the Fish Stew (adapted from Ina Garten's Make it Ahead)
duration: one and a half hour
6 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups chopped onion
1.5 cups (3/4 inch diced) Yellow Bell Pepper
2.5 cups (3/4 inch diced) fennel bulb
1 tsp saffron threads
pinch of red pepper flakes
4 oil packed anchovies, drained and minced
1/4 cup minced garlic
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups seafood stock (see above)
1 can (28 ounce) diced tomatoes
1 strip of orange zest
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1.5 pounds fresh fish
36 fresh mussels debearded
prawns and squid
1/ Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
2/ Add onions, bell pepper, fennel, saffron and red pepper flakes and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
3/ Add the anchovies and garlic, cook for one minute. Add the wine, bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes
4/ Add the seafood stock, tomatoes, orange zest, orange juice, 1 Tbsp salt and 1.5 tsp black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes.
(At this point, if you are preparing this for a dinner party, you can store the soup and take it out later when friends arrive)
Make the Sriracha Rouille(adapted from Ina Garten's Make it Ahead)
Duration 10 minutes
This garlicky mayonnaise goes so well with the fish stew. Serve it on toast or spoon it directly into the soup
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 large egg yolks (room temperature)
1.5 Tbsp lemon juice (room temperature)
1 tsp Sriracha chilli
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/ Puree the garlic, salt and saffron in a food processor
2/ Add egg yolk, lemon juice and Sriracha and blend for 5 seconds
3/ With machine running, pour olive oil in a thin steady stream.
This recipe is easy to prepare when you have a blender. The texture of the rouille was thick like butter. You can make this ahead an put it in fridge.
Prepare seafood and cook in Soup
Duration 20 minutes
Mussels:
This was the first time I cooked mussels. The important thing was to keep it alive. As soon as I brought them back from the supermarket, I placed them in a colander filled with ice cubes. Placed the colander on top of a shallow plate (to collect any water) and placed it in the fridge. When ready to cook, clean mussels, de-beard them and chuck the dead ones.
Prawns:
Peel and de-vein prawns
Squid:
Get your fishmonger to remove the hard bits of the squid. Cut into slices
Fish:
I bought different types of fish. Catfish and halibut
1/ Reheat the soup base
2/ Cook the fish in the broth first. Be careful not to overcook.
3/ Add squid and prawns and mussels
4/ Serve immediately!
I never realized how special it was to grow up in a food paradise and to be part of a food family business.
As Singapore celebrates it's 50th birthday, I look back to my family business, Hiang Kie - a coffee and spice trading and retail company. The growth of the business mirrored Singapore's change from busy entrepot trading port to wealthy 'first world' city.
Yes, my family business was actually a small piece of the historic spice trade story. My grandfather, a Chinese Indonesian immigrant, started a coffee and spice trading company in 1936. Singapore's multiculturalism is taken for granted now but at that time, the Chinese stuck with the Chinese. My grandfather was one of the few Chinese who looked beyond race and started doing business with the Indians and the Malays. Later, Lee Kwan Yew's multicultural policies started to take root and this became the norm in Singapore.
I remember our family godown - stocked with gunnysacks filled with coffee and spice. I distinctively remember the earthy smells of gunnysack, green coffee, roasted coffee and pepper. I also remember the loyal and extremely fit and hardened workers transporting the gunnysacks onto the open lorries. A big salute to these pioneers.
The Hiang Kie warehouse was situated in one of the shophouses in the business district, near the Singapore river, where the bumboats would transport all manner of goods into the bustling growing city of Singapore. Later, as Singapore's land grew costly, we moved further out into the fringes into Genting Lane and Woodlands.
Transporting coffee beans
As Singapore developed in the 80s and 90s, the retail and lifestyle sector also flourished. My father started a chain of coffee retail shops called Coffee Club and we worked hard at developing Singapore's first gourmet coffee retail shops. I am proud to have worked with my family during this period, to shape a coffee retail concept from scratch, in Singapore. The coffee trading arm of the company also continued to grow and we were selling our coffee and spice to household names like Nestle and McCormick.
It is important not to forget that the identity of a typical Singaporean is also intertwined with being Southeast Asian. My family had Indonesian roots and my grandfather and father spoke Bahasa. During the Japanese war, my grandfather fled to Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, and my father was born in those hills.
Growing up, family holidays to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and later Indochina made a mark on me. One of my most memorable family trips was a food trip in Vietnam. We toured the countryside, sampled the food and visited the coffee plantations in Dalat. (Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of coffee). I was also drawn to Indonesia, learnt to speak a little Bahasa as I traveled the islands and visited many towns.
As I traveled in Southeast Asia and made friends, it reinforced the deep linkages we had with our neighbors. I realized how important it was to understand, respect and love their culture.
Coffee plantations in Dalat
Sadly, we lost our family business during the Asian economic crisis. It was heartbreaking to watch a third generation family business quietly fizzle out. Although we lost our family business, it is interesting to see the name of Hiang Kie breathe a life of its own in Hong Kong and Vietnam. It is a testament of the influence Hiang Kie had in its heyday and how the name still makes a mark in business even though the original owners no longer operate in this space.
As Singapore celebrates its success, I hope the people of Singapore will always remember their humble roots, their kinship with their Southeast Asian neighbors and their unique heritage. Majullah Singapura!
This post is written by Juyi Ong, grandaughter of Ong Wai Soeij, founder of Hiang Kie Trading Company (1936)
