I went to "United Noodles" today, the only (?) respectable Asian
grocery store around here, about 30 miles away from where I live. They
had mini bok choi - so adorable! - about 6" long. I couldn't resist
such cuteness and brought some home.

Tonight, I made slightly untraditional oyako-don. This is a donburi
dish, meaning you start with a big bowl with a heaping pile of fluffy
white rice, then add stuff on top. Oyako means "parent-child" - in
this case, it's chicken and egg. Scramble 3 eggs and set aside. Cut
up two chicken breasts and one chicken thigh (I buy boneless/skinless),
about 8 oz. Chop up 3 mini bok choi and 1 large shallot. Prepare the
broth - 1 cup of dashi (I use instant dashi powder), 1/4 c low sodium
soy sauce, 3 T of mirin or sake.

I sauteed the chicken, threw in the shallot and bok choi, and stirred
until the leaves wilted and the stems were just a little crisp. Poured
on the dashi, brought it to a boil, then turned off the heat. I poured
the eggs carefully over the top, then covered the pan for a few minutes
to let the egg set. Ladle it out over the rice, and you have enough
for dinner (for 2), plus enough leftover for lunch the next day.

Traditionally, one uses a scattering of green peas instead of bok choi
chunks. Also, the chicken is supposed to be simmered in the broth
instead of being pan fried before adding the dashi. I had some takuan
(pickled daikon radish, the bright yellow kind), which is often used as
an accent to the dish, but I got lazy and didn't bring it out.

June

wrote:
> I went to "United Noodles" today, the only (?) respectable Asian
> grocery store around here, about 30 miles away from where I live.
> They had mini bok choi - so adorable! - about 6" long. I couldn't
> resist such cuteness and brought some home.
>
> Tonight, I made slightly untraditional oyako-don. This is a donburi
> dish, meaning you start with a big bowl with a heaping pile of fluffy
> white rice, then add stuff on top. Oyako means "parent-child" - in
> this case, it's chicken and egg. Scramble 3 eggs and set aside. Cut
> up two chicken breasts and one chicken thigh (I buy
> boneless/skinless), about 8 oz. Chop up 3 mini bok choi and 1 large
> shallot. Prepare the broth - 1 cup of dashi (I use instant dashi
> powder), 1/4 c low sodium soy sauce, 3 T of mirin or sake.
>
> I sauteed the chicken, threw in the shallot and bok choi, and stirred
> until the leaves wilted and the stems were just a little crisp.
> Poured on the dashi, brought it to a boil, then turned off the heat.
> I poured the eggs carefully over the top, then covered the pan for a
> few minutes to let the egg set. Ladle it out over the rice, and you
> have enough for dinner (for 2), plus enough leftover for lunch the
> next day.
>
> Traditionally, one uses a scattering of green peas instead of bok choi
> chunks. Also, the chicken is supposed to be simmered in the broth
> instead of being pan fried before adding the dashi. I had some takuan
> (pickled daikon radish, the bright yellow kind), which is often used
> as an accent to the dish, but I got lazy and didn't bring it out.
>
> June

Sounds delicious, June! Thanks for sharing this. I wonder if I can find
instant dashi powder at the Thai market? Hmmmm.

Jill

On 19 Mar 2005 21:15:22 -0800, " >
wrote:

>I went to "United Noodles" today, the only (?) respectable Asian
>grocery store around here, about 30 miles away from where I live. They
>had mini bok choi - so adorable! - about 6" long. I couldn't resist
>such cuteness and brought some home.
>
>Tonight, I made slightly untraditional oyako-don. This is a donburi
>dish, meaning you start with a big bowl with a heaping pile of fluffy
>white rice, then add stuff on top. Oyako means "parent-child" - in
>this case, it's chicken and egg. Scramble 3 eggs and set aside. Cut

Would you believe I was considering making this tonight also? A
couple of weeks ago I bought a donburi cookbook at a local Japanese
store. After eliminating the squid, octopus, roe, sea urchin, and eel
versions, due to squeamishness, oyako-don was one of the few left
that I'd eat :> But tonight I made chicken fried rice instead.

I notice that there is a recipe for "bibimbup," the name of which
sounds like the Korean dish.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue wrote:

> store. After eliminating the squid, octopus, roe, sea urchin, and
eel
> versions, due to squeamishness,

I buy eel in sort of filets that have been cooked in teriyaki-like
sauce, in cans. It looks like fish pieces. Nothing to be squeamish
about at that point. I understand your hesitance (but I still eat it)
about squid, etc., but urchin just tastes nasty. (IMO) I try urchin
every so often just to make sure it still is horrible.

> I notice that there is a recipe for "bibimbup," the name of which
> sounds like the Korean dish.

Yes, LOVE bibimbap. Especially if you can get your hands on those
Korean stone pots, make "gop-dol bibimbap" - takes an excellent dish to
the WOW! level.

June

jmcquown wrote:
> Sounds delicious, June! Thanks for sharing this. I wonder if I can
find
> instant dashi powder at the Thai market? Hmmmm.

I don't know if Thai cooking really uses anything like dashi, but if
it's a big market with other Asian foodstuffs, you'll probably find it,
since dashi is one of the fundamental Japanese flavorings.

June

" > wrote:

>I went to "United Noodles" today, the only (?) respectable Asian
>grocery store around here, about 30 miles away from where I live. They
>had mini bok choi - so adorable! - about 6" long. I couldn't resist
>such cuteness and brought some home.
>
>Tonight, I made slightly untraditional oyako-don.
This sounds great. Can you use noodles (of course you CAN use them)
instead of rice - is this unauthentic, or have you tried it this way?
I'm thinking of soba noodles, but not sure if the flavor would work.

AlleyGator wrote:


> This sounds great. Can you use noodles (of course you CAN use them)

Using noodles is absolutely forbidden! I will send the Rice Police
after you! Heh.

> instead of rice - is this unauthentic, or have you tried it this way?
> I'm thinking of soba noodles, but not sure if the flavor would work.

One of the things I think it is better to use rice is that Japanese
rice (so-called "sushi rice") really soaks up liquid. A lot of the
broth that you ladle on with the chicken and egg gets absorbed while
you eat, and you end up with no "loose" liquid by the time you finish
the dish.

June

wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Sounds delicious, June! Thanks for sharing this. I wonder if I can
>> find instant dashi powder at the Thai market? Hmmmm.
>
> I don't know if Thai cooking really uses anything like dashi, but if
> it's a big market with other Asian foodstuffs, you'll probably find
> it, since dashi is one of the fundamental Japanese flavorings.
>
> June

It's a fairly large market and they do carry other Asian items. I'll have
to check next time I'm in the area

Jill

wrote:
>
> I buy eel in sort of filets that have been cooked in teriyaki-like
> sauce, in cans. It looks like fish pieces. Nothing to be squeamish
> about at that point.

I like the frozen stuff. Or the vacuum-packed stuff. I've never had the
canned unagi, though. Do you have a particular brand to recommend? Of
course, being in Japan right now, I can get much better stuff than any of
those, but my mother would love a good source of unagi!

>I understand your hesitance (but I still eat it)
> about squid, etc., but urchin just tastes nasty. (IMO) I try urchin
> every so often just to make sure it still is horrible.
>

I don't like frozen sea urchin which is, as far as I know, the only kind of
sea urchin one can get at a sushi restaurant in North America. And very
fresh sea urchin can be gritty and taste like sea water. However, if one
can get relatively fresh, never-been-frozen, well-prepared uni sushi, it can
be divine! It actually reminds me of hotate sashimi--it has an amazing
sweetness.

rona
--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We
had people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the
energy to go back. We call them Canadians." ---Grover Norquist in
Newsweek, November 22, 2004

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
news
> wrote:
>> jmcquown wrote:
>>> Sounds delicious, June! Thanks for sharing this. I wonder if I can
>>> find instant dashi powder at the Thai market? Hmmmm.
>>
>> I don't know if Thai cooking really uses anything like dashi, but if
>> it's a big market with other Asian foodstuffs, you'll probably find
>> it, since dashi is one of the fundamental Japanese flavorings.
>>
>> June
>
> It's a fairly large market and they do carry other Asian items. I'll have
> to check next time I'm in the area
>
> Jill
>
>

Stay away at all costs from instant dashi. It is almost always laden with
MSG and vastly inferior to the real item, which is ridiculously easy to
make.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Rona Y. wrote:
> wrote:
> >
> > I buy eel in sort of filets that have been cooked in teriyaki-like
> > sauce, in cans.

> canned unagi, though. Do you have a particular brand to recommend?

Not really - I go by pictures on the can, not reading Japanese.
Honestly, I like the sauce it comes in. If it were "plain" (like
canned tuna), I probably wouldn't like eel nearly as much.

June

wrote:

> Not really - I go by pictures on the can, not reading Japanese.
> Honestly, I like the sauce it comes in. If it were "plain" (like
> canned tuna), I probably wouldn't like eel nearly as much.
>
> June

Me, neither! The sauce is the best part! I had leftover sauce from
boil-in-the-bag kabayaki once, so I just poured it over rice and ate it. No
point in wasting good sauce!

Eel is pretty fatty, and while I like fatty foods, it can be a little too
fatty. In fact, poorly prepared kabayaki can be pretty gross, even with the
sauce! If you're ever in Japan, I know I good kabayaki place in Kyoto (I
just have to find it again...).

rona

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We
had people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the
energy to go back. We call them Canadians." ---Grover Norquist in
Newsweek, November 22, 2004

In article . com>,
" > wrote:

> I went to "United Noodles"

The one on E 24th St in Minneapolis?
There are a bunch of Asian markets closer than that -- though I don't
know about "respectability." :-)

> today, the only (?) respectable Asian
> grocery store around here, about 30 miles away from where I live. They

> Tonight, I made slightly untraditional oyako-don. This is a donburi
> dish, meaning you start with a big bowl with a heaping pile of fluffy
> white rice, then add stuff on top.

JunieBug, any donburi dishes I've had have had a heaping pile of
stickytogether white rice. Is that wrong/not authentic? I love the
sticky stuff--stays better on the hashi. :-)
-Barb
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sweet Potato Follies added 2/24/05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

>> I went to "United Noodles"

> The one on E 24th St in Minneapolis?

That would be the one. By respectable, I just mean have a wide
selection of stuff. No La Choy.

>> dish, meaning you start with a big bowl with a heaping pile of
fluffy
>> white rice, then add stuff on top.

> JunieBug, any donburi dishes I've had have had a heaping pile of
> stickytogether white rice.

That's what I mean when I say fluffy.

June