with the dishes on the table
i decided that i wanted negimaki. lazysun and i went out for lunch last week (which we can do now, since we work a lot closer and i can get an hour for lunch if i want it) and had japanese, and we split a negimaki appetizer, and it was good and i wanted more.
we cheated somewhat. since we were already at the pan-asian supermarket yesterday, we picked up some store-sliced brisket, about an inch high, paper-thin, and frozen in a convenient package.
lazysun soaked the beef in some random Goya papaya drink to help tenderize it, brisket not being the tenderest cut ever. while it was soaking, i made the sauce:
sherry, cooked and reduced first so it didn't kill me
rice vinegar
sriracha
raw sugar
soy sauce
this all simmered for about half an hour. about 15 minutes in, i threw a peeled clove of garlic and some sesame oil into the sauce. unfortunately, it started to thicken up and almost burn while lazysun was cooking the vegetables, but i managed to rescue it with soy, vinegar, and water.
the maki themselves were interesting. after rinsing the meat, i wrapped it around a couple of green onions, tied it with string, and cut the onion bunch where it peeked out of the meat roll. this went slowly and slippery, but around a pound of the beef and two bunches of onions made 26 maki.
the maki were browned on both sides in canola oil in what i'm pretty sure is a paella pan. whatever, it's been my workhorse pan since i got it. i did this in batches, and as the next batch was cooking, i was cutting off the string with kitchen scissors, sad that lazysun was busy and that my last lovely assistant was 250 miles away and sick besides. but such is life.
once all of the maki were fried, i poured off the oil, put all of the meat back into the pan, and poured the sauce over everything. five minutes of simmering, then i turned the rolls over and gave them another five minutes.
while this was going on, lazysun was frying up some shanghai choy (a variation of boy choy: it's smaller, sweeter, and greener). first she put a bunch into a plate, poured some water into the plate, put a wet paper towel over the bunch, and microwaved it on half power for 8 minutes.
she heated up the wok and added some canola oil. she threw some sliced garlic in and browned it, and then added black and red peppers, ginger, and five spice powder. she removed the garlic once it browned, and threw the choy into the seasoned oil. she sauteed it, adding some cider vinegar (i had used up all the rice vinegar) and soy sauce, and cooked it until the leaves started to brown slightly (mostly from the soy, she admits). she plated the choy and tossed the garlic into it, leaving the liquids in the pan to reduce for about a minute, and then said liquid joined the solids.
rice was chosen as the starch. not very interesting: 3 rice measuring cups into the steamer with enough water to hit the 3 mark, two cloves of garlic for the hell of it, and a small handful of kosher salt. whee!
dinner came out delicious, and much cheaper than the restaurant. it wasn't so much on presentation, but i think it's fairly obvious by now that i'm a substance over style person, and i also think that anyone who eats at my house is probably prepared to eat very tasty food, even if it doesn't look perfect. we are currently stuffed.
we cheated somewhat. since we were already at the pan-asian supermarket yesterday, we picked up some store-sliced brisket, about an inch high, paper-thin, and frozen in a convenient package.
lazysun soaked the beef in some random Goya papaya drink to help tenderize it, brisket not being the tenderest cut ever. while it was soaking, i made the sauce:
sherry, cooked and reduced first so it didn't kill me
rice vinegar
sriracha
raw sugar
soy sauce
this all simmered for about half an hour. about 15 minutes in, i threw a peeled clove of garlic and some sesame oil into the sauce. unfortunately, it started to thicken up and almost burn while lazysun was cooking the vegetables, but i managed to rescue it with soy, vinegar, and water.
the maki themselves were interesting. after rinsing the meat, i wrapped it around a couple of green onions, tied it with string, and cut the onion bunch where it peeked out of the meat roll. this went slowly and slippery, but around a pound of the beef and two bunches of onions made 26 maki.
the maki were browned on both sides in canola oil in what i'm pretty sure is a paella pan. whatever, it's been my workhorse pan since i got it. i did this in batches, and as the next batch was cooking, i was cutting off the string with kitchen scissors, sad that lazysun was busy and that my last lovely assistant was 250 miles away and sick besides. but such is life.
once all of the maki were fried, i poured off the oil, put all of the meat back into the pan, and poured the sauce over everything. five minutes of simmering, then i turned the rolls over and gave them another five minutes.
while this was going on, lazysun was frying up some shanghai choy (a variation of boy choy: it's smaller, sweeter, and greener). first she put a bunch into a plate, poured some water into the plate, put a wet paper towel over the bunch, and microwaved it on half power for 8 minutes.
she heated up the wok and added some canola oil. she threw some sliced garlic in and browned it, and then added black and red peppers, ginger, and five spice powder. she removed the garlic once it browned, and threw the choy into the seasoned oil. she sauteed it, adding some cider vinegar (i had used up all the rice vinegar) and soy sauce, and cooked it until the leaves started to brown slightly (mostly from the soy, she admits). she plated the choy and tossed the garlic into it, leaving the liquids in the pan to reduce for about a minute, and then said liquid joined the solids.
rice was chosen as the starch. not very interesting: 3 rice measuring cups into the steamer with enough water to hit the 3 mark, two cloves of garlic for the hell of it, and a small handful of kosher salt. whee!
dinner came out delicious, and much cheaper than the restaurant. it wasn't so much on presentation, but i think it's fairly obvious by now that i'm a substance over style person, and i also think that anyone who eats at my house is probably prepared to eat very tasty food, even if it doesn't look perfect. we are currently stuffed.