Okonomiyaki

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This dish has been haunting me on social media so much that I had to make it. Never had it before. So I don’t know if it’s right but this is damn good eats. As my husband says, “what is this witchcraft?”

Okonomiyaki

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup Mountain Yam, peeled and grated to become a slime (just add the slime)
  • 3/4 dashi (3/4 water and 1 tsp instant dashi powder)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 tempura scraps (I made tempura shrimp the night before and then while the oil was hot, drizzled tempura batter to create pea sized pieces, drain on paper towel)
  • 1 medium head of cabbage, shredded or sliced thin
  • Cooked corn
  • 8-10 thin slices of pork belly, cut in half lengthwise
  • Okonomiyaki sauce
  • Kewpie Mayo
  • Aonori powder
  • Green onions, sliced
  • Bonito flakes

Mix dry ingredients. Then add mt yam slime and dashi. Mix well and then store covered in the fridge. I left my batter over night but could be used with an hour.

When ready to cook, take batter out of fridge. Add eggs and mix. In a super large bowl, add 1/3 cabbage and mix. Keep adding batches of cabbage until it looks like most of the batter coats the cabbage and there’s a bit more between the pieces. Add the corn.

Heat non-stick pan over med/low heat. Add a bit of veggie oil and 4 slices of the pork belly overlapping each other. Dollop approx 2-2.5 cups of the cabbage mixture on top. Flatten a little with the spatula and push the sides of the cabbage mixture on the sides to form a circle. Cook for 6 mins. It should be golden brown on the bottom. Slide onto a plate. Then invert the pan on top of the plate and flip the cake back into the pan with the pork belly side now up. Flatten and shape back into a circle. Cook for another 6 mins.

Transfer to a plate. Cook the remaining 5 cakes.

When ready to serve brush approx 2 TBSP of okonomiyaki sauce on top (pork side). Zigzag Mayo across top. Sprinkle aonori powder. Add green onions and top with a handful of bonito flakes.

Enjoy!!

Tyrosalata

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There once was a restaurant we all loved and then it closed. For years we reminisced about their feta dip. Then, Covid hit and they started up a takeout biz outta their home. Tyrosalata was back and it’s damn good. They didn’t have any this week. So, I went ahead and tried my hand at it. And it’s nearly as good.

Tyrosalata

  • 1 green bell pepper, cut in half, seeded and then cut 2 more times
  • 1 cup feta, broken into small chunks
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Great olive oil for dressing

Heat on on med/high heat. Add neutral oil like avocado. Pop pepper slices/chunks into pan and fry until blackened but not too wilted.

Add cooked peppers to blender and blend until little pieces. Add yogurt, spices and lemon juice. Blend until it looks a little like salad dressing.

Add half the yogurt mixture to feta and mix until dip consistency (keep adding yogurt mixture to desired consistency). Also, try not to over mix because the feta pieces are really great.

Taste to see if you want to add salt (i did not need it). Drizzle some olive oil and serve with pita chips, pita wedges, crackers, or any veggies. This is great on sandwiches or with eggs.

Enjoy!

Ahi Tuna Benedict

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Can you tell that I’m missing my Hawaii vacation? The food was so good. I had this ahi Benedict and I am determined to remake it.

  • 1/2 cup precooked rice (sushi rice would be best)
  • Furikake
  • Oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced
  • 2 shiso leaves
  • 1/4 lb sushi grade ahi tuna, sliced into 1/2” thick slices
  • Arugula micro greens or other peppery micro greens
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sriracha mayo

Mix furikake with rice to your liking. Divide rice into 2 balls and smash to make a cake. Pan fry in neutral oil like avocado until golden on each side. They should be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Set on a paper towel.

Poach both eggs.

Assemble benedict with rice cake on the bottom, egg (sprinkle with salt), shiso leaf, avocado, tuna and micro greens. Top with fresh cracked pepper. Serve with sriracha mayo on the side along with a vinegary side salad.

Enjoy!!

Blistered Shishito Peppers

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I love the roulette experience of eating these. You never know when you might get a spicy one. These are such an easy appetizer that can be done in less than 10 mins.

  • Fresh shishito peppers (~25)
  • Avocado oil or other neutral oil
  • Flaky salt
  • Furikake, optional
  • Ranch dip, optional
  • Togarashi, optional

Heat a cast iron skillet on med/high until water drops sizzle and evaporated quickly.

Toss peppers with oil to just coat.

In a single layer with sufficient space between each pepper, put peppers on hot skillet. Let sit 2-4 mins until brown and blistered. Turn and blister the other side. Note, it will get a little Smokey so keep your exhaust on.

Once blistered, you want the peppers to remain a little crunchy. So don’t over cook or they’ll get too soft and unpleasant. Remove from skillet and toss with salt and any other toppings of your choice. Serve with dipping sauce or plain.

Enjoy!

Spicy Ahi Poke

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I posted a poke recipe before and it’s great. This time, I tried making a version we recently had in Oahu called the CA roll poke. It’s the perfect combination of fresh and decadent. Make this and eat it over rice or salad.

Spicy Ahi Poke on the left, other poke recipe on right
  • 1/2 lb sushi grade ahi tuna, diced into 1/2” chunks
  • 1/4 cup kewpie mayo
  • 3 TBSP Sriracha
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1-2 green onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 hot house English cucumber, super thinly sliced
  • 1 avocado, diced into 1/4” chunks
  • 1-2 TBSP tobiko

Mix mayo, sriracha, soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste and adjust to your liking (it will mellow a bit).

Combine tuna, veggies and sauce. Do not over mix or you’ll have smashed tuna and the avocado pieces will disappear

Refrigerate for at least 20 mins or up to 1 day.

Serve with shiso leaf, pickled ginger, and furikake, over rice or salad and wasabi lotus chips on the side if you can find them.

Furikake Chex Mix

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Yeah. Make this.

Furikake Chex Mix

Adapted from onolicioushawaii.com

  • Bag of pretzels
  • Bag of bugles
  • Box of rice chex cereal
  • Box of honey comb cereal
  • Bag of Gardetto’s
  • And any other bag of stuff including wheat Chex cereal or Fritos
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup Agave syrup or maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
  • 1 bottle of Furikake

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Mix butter, syrup, sugar, veggie oil and soy sauce in pot until sugar is melted.

Mix all dry ingredients but the Furikake in an oven proof baking dish. You might need 2 containers.

Pour sauce evenly over the dry ingredients. And mix well. Then sprinkle the entire bottle of Furikake over and mix gently.

Bake for an hour, tossing every 15 mins.

You just want to bake it till the syrup is dry and makes every piece of furikake cereal crunchy and crisp.

Miso Eggplant

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Do you ever crave eggplant? One of my friends back in the 90’s told me it had addictive properties (like nicotine, or something). I believed her. Less so now but I definitely crave it often. This recipe is a good alternative to the dips and addition to veggie stews.

It looks like a heap but it’s a damn good heap.

Miso Eggplant

Adapted from justonecookbook.com

  • 3-4 Japanese eggplant or 1 big one, sliced in half or quarters lengthwise
  • 1 TBSP sesame oil
  • 3 TBSP white miso
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1 TBSP rice vinegar (mirin)
  • 1 TBSP water
  • White sesame seeds
  • Green onion, cut into 1/4” rounds
  • Shiso leaves, julienne

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat water. Mix with sugar, miso and vinegar. Set aside.

Cut meat side of sliced eggplant diagonally about of a third of the way to the skin. turn and cut again on the diagonal creating a cross cross pattern in the flesh. Be careful not to cut too far into the meat. This is so the flavors can get into the eggplant. Not to create little pieces.

Soak the eggplant in water for 10 mins. Then remove, give a little squeeze and dry with a paper towel.

Brush with sesame oil and place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15 mins.

Remove from oven and change oven to broil. Turn eggplant over and coat meat side with miso glaze.

Broil for 5-15 mins until golden brown.

Sprinkle with green onions, sesame seeds, shiso leaf and nori. Serve with rice and an egg or as a side dish. So delish!!

Made again so you can see it out of the oven with toppings added before it becomes a heap

Spicy Crab Dip

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I have been on a sriracha craze lately. I can’t get enough. And it’s crab season. So, why not make this delicious appetizer to share with friends and family? So decadent and it’s super good the next day with a fried egg.

Spicy Crab Dip

  • 8 – 12 oz lump crab meat
  • 4 cups cooked white rice
  • ½ cup Japanese mayo
  • ½ cup cream cheese
  • 2 tbs sriracha
  • ½ cup okonomiyaki sauce
  • ¼ cup furikake
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • Sliced cucumber
  • Sliced avocado
  • Snack seaweed sheets
  1. Mix crab, mayo, cream cheese, &
    sriracha
  2. In 9×13 dish, layer rice, furikake, & crab mix
  3. Drizzle sriracha, mayo, & okonomiyaki sauce
  4. Bake at 450F for 10 mins, broil for 3-5 mins
  5. Top w/ green onions
  6. Serve w/ roasted seaweed snack sheets, cucumbers, avocado and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Leftovers – Turkey Silog

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You guys! I am congratulating myself and slapping my thighs over this masterpiece of a recipe I just mashed together with Thanksgiving leftovers. Make this now.

Turkey Silog

  • 4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed a bit
  • 3 Tbsp veggie oil
  • 2 cups cooked, day old jasmine rice
  • 2 cups leftover turkey, about half a breast and some dark meat, shredded
  • 1 cup leftover stuffing
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup leftover gravy
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • A couple shakes of red chili flakes
  • Fried eggs
  • Lemon slices
  • Sriracha

On a cutting board, mix turkey, garlic salt, chili flakes, soy sauce, a squeeze of lemon, stuffing and gravy. Set aside.

This is a 3 pan adventure – small, medium, and large.

In the large pan, heat the oil and garlic until the garlic starts getting soft and slightly brown. Smash up the garlic with a spatula until it’s in little pieces.

Pour 1/2 the oil and garlic into the medium pan.

In the large pan, add the cooked rice and heat up with the remaining oil and garlic. Set aside.

Heat the medium pan over medium high heat. Add the turkey mixture and fry until crispy on each side.

In the small pan, fry your egg.

Sever together with sriracha and a slice of lemon.

Enjoy!!

Banana Pecan Crumble Muffins

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We had some seriously ripe bananas that luckily made it to the weekend. The girls made these muffins with the bananas and they’re delicious. the muffin is super simple but the crumble takes it to the top. It is now a favorite muffin.

Banana Pecan Crumble Muffin

  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 medium really ripe bananas
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Topping

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp cold butter

Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients for muffins, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

In another bowl, mash bananas. I left ours with a few chunks that made for yummy bits in the muffin. Add sugar, egg and butter. Mix well.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Fill liners to approx 3/4 full with the muffin mix.

In a separate bowl, combine all the topping ingredients just until combined.

Top unbaked muffins with crumble.

Bake for 18 – 20 mins. Check if muffins are done by inserting a dry toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, it’s ready to come out.

Let cool 10 mins and then enjoy with butter.