Butternut Squash & Leek Latke Benedict

I was really excited to make these for dinner, and I put it off for a week (or more) because Aaron kept getting called into work.  Finally, a night arrived where we would have a non-rushed dinner together!  While I was already done preparing them, and nearly ready to cook everything, I found out he had to stay at work late and wouldn't be home for dinner.  After waiting so long to make these and already making a disaster of the kitchen, this meal was going to happen regardless.  And if I had to eat all of the poached eggs and hollandaise myself so they wouldn't go bad, then that's what was going to have to happen.

The sacrifices I make.

I ate the shit out of these.  Oh man they were good.

I did feel a little bad because Aaron ended up walking in the door while I was washing the last dish.  After they had dinner at Chili's thinking they had to work late, they were sent home... Chili's vs. my butternut squash & leek latke benedict?  Bummer dude.

Butternut Squash & Leek Latke Benedict
Printable Recipe
Slightly Adapted from Crepes of Wrath

Ingredients

For the Hollandaise Sauce:

• 1 cup of water, for the double boiler
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp water
• pinch of sugar
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
• ⅛ tsp smoked paprika
• ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
• ⅛ tsp ground mustard

For the Butternut Squash & Leek Latkes:

• 1 small butternut squash
• 2 large leeks
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp granulated sugar
• tiny pinch of cinnamon

For the Poached Eggs:

• 1 pot with almost-boiling water
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1-2 eggs per serving

Instructions

***If you own an immersion blender, you can make the hollandaise sauce in 2 minutes and only dirtying 1 bowl by following this method.  If you don't, you'll need to follow the steps below.***

1. Peel and grate the squash, and chop the leeks. Toss together, then squeeze any excess liquid out using paper towels.  Add eggs, cornstarch, flour, and spices.  Combine and set aside.
2. Using a double boiler, pour enough water to cover the bottom pan by an inch. If you are making a double boiler, make sure the second pot/bowl will fit inside of the bottom one without touching the water. Bring water to a simmer.
3. Add egg yolks to a small bowl and whisk them together with 1 tsp of water and a pinch of sugar. Add to the top pot/bowl. Whisk the eggs over medium heat (the water should just be simmering) for about 7 minutes, until the eggs look glossy and slightly thickened. Remove the pot from the pot with water in it and whisk in one tbsp of butter at a time, returning to heat if needed.
4. Keep whisking in additional tbsps of butter until incorporated. Whisk in the lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and ground mustard. Season to taste. Turn off the heat, keeping the hollandaise in the double boiler to stay warm. Add a tsp of milk or so if it thickens too much while preparing the other components, whisk occasionally.
5. Cook latkes.  Heat a heavy bottomed cast iron pan with about 2 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Scoop about 2 tbsp of squash mixture into pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes as they are, them flip them and flatten with a spatula. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, until they are crispy and golden on both sides. Remove from pat and let drain on paper towels. Continue with remaining mixture.
6. Bring a large pot of water to nearly boiling. Add vinegar.
7. Prepare eggs by cracking each one into it's own ramekin. When your eggs are ready to go, take a slotted spoon and swirl water in pot. Take the egg filled ramekin and pour/dip it into the swirling water until the egg comes out.  The swirling water should help keep the white of the egg together, but you may have to encourage it with your spoon.  Add additional eggs if they will fit, and cook each for 3 minutes.  
8. With slotted spoon, remove eggs and drain on a paper towel until ready.
9. To prepare dish, stack latkes and poached egg, smother in hollandaise sauce.  Top with some freshly ground pepper.

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Braised Pork Belly

Braised pork belly.  You don't need me to tell you this is delicious.  But I should tell you that it was AMAZING.  And you too can make it at home.  No more paying an arm and a leg and some trendy restaurant for small pieces of fatty pig.  I eat pork belly in my own home.  I just gotta figure out how not to eat this everyday.

You can of course find pork belly nearly everywhere in the states, but HERE, in Japan, it's literally everywhere, and it's pretty cheap for a nice hunk of it.  Pork is a big deal here, so you can easily find ANY part you could think of.

I would recommend doubling the recipe, because I promise that you'll be sneaking pieces while it's cooking. And it's not often meat makes amazing leftovers, but this is equally as good the following day.  For breakfast.  

Mmmm...braised pork belly for breakfast.  It's what dreams are made of!

I served mine with steamed baby bok choy (you know, balancing out the meal a little) and some white rice.  The garlic on the side of the picture is what I strained out of the sauce.  Oh, the sauce!!! That's a whole thing in itself.  You really need some steamed greens and white rice to absorb all the wonderfulness.  Just do it.

Unrelated, as of last month, Kacey's Kitchen blog has been alive and running for 4 years!!!!  Now...go make some pork belly!!!

Red Braised Pork Belly
By Joy Zhang adapted from Red Cook
Printable Recipe

• 2 lb. pork belly meat cut into two inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups a light beer or water
• 3 slices of ginger
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 7 cloves of garlic peeled
• 5 whole star anise
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine 

1. In a large pot, heat beer or water with slices of ginger over high heat until boiling. Place cubes of pork into boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. This process helps remove the scum from the meat, using a spoon, slowly remove the gunk that floats to the surface and discard. Strain meat and ginger with a fine sieve and be sure to reserve the stock. Set boiled cubes of meat and ginger aside. 
2. Melt 3 tablespoons sugar and the vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Continue heating until the sugar is slightly brown. About 3 minutes. Put the cubed pork in the pot and brown it with the caramelized sugar. About 8 minutes.
3. Put the reserved pieces of ginger, remaining sugar, garlic, star anise, dark soy sauce, rice wine and reserved stock into the pot with the meat. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat. Cook for about 40-50 minutes. Stir the meat every 15 minutes to make sure the bottom of the pot does not get burnt. Remove the meat from the mixture with slotted spoon and set aside in a large bowl. Remove the cover and turn the heat to medium high and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the sauce reduces to a smooth consistency. Pour over pork belly when ready to serve. 
4. This dish, like most stew dishes, is better if left overnight and reheated the next day. But if you can’t wait then plate it in a shallow bowl and garnish with shredded scallion and sprigs of cilantro.
5. Also feel free to use Rock Sugar in place of regular sugar for a shinier glaze.

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The Speckled Emperor and My Adventures at the Fish Market

One of the greatest tasty things about living on an island in the middle of the Pacific is the abundance of fresh fish.  You don't have to go far here to find it.  Fish markets, produce markets, and even your regular grocery stores (off base) sell great quality FRESH seafood.  One of my favorite local places to go for fish is the Awase Fish Market/CoOp.  Literally, straight off the boat each morning, you'll find fish from all over the Pacific, and it's only 20 minutes from my house.

We had been here once before to check out the scene and purchase some veggies (they have a small produce stand/section in front of the store), but this day I ventured out myself, completely forgetting my Japanese/English dictionary.  Google translate doesn't always cut it.

I arrived as soon as it opened (10:30am) and was greeted with fish monger smiles and lots of "Irasshiaimase's!" (welcome).  While I was very excited to be here and get some fish and do what the locals do, I had to figure out what the fuck to do.  A few fish have signs in English, but others I had to figure out using a generic fish sign and my phone.  I was also the only non-Japanese in the place at the time, and everyone else seemed to be going on their merry way using tongs and baskets to pick their fish out of the giant tub of ice and bring them over to the counter to be weighed and paid.  I stood around for a bit wondering what I wanted and how I wanted it prepared.  I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to make for dinner, only that it was going to be seafood.

After a while of browsing, a woman approached me, and, speaking perfect English, asked if this was my first time here and if I would like her to tell me what to do.  Oh man, I must have looked really lost.  I told her I think I've figured out the procedure, I just wasn't sure how to ask to have my fish filleted.  She said they would understand the word filet, and explained what I had already witnessed, which was: pick your fish, go to the counter, pay, tell them how you want it, wait for them to bring it to you in a bag.  She was very surprised I came by myself and wished me luck, also informing me that if I brought over my 'catch' to the neighboring restaurant (inside the same building), they would cook it for me.  That's pretty awesome.

So, I thanked her and we parted ways.  I finally selected my Speckled Emperor, which I think is the same as the Spangled Emperor, a fish found off the coast of Australia. Perfect. I brought my dude over to the counter, paid for him (I forget how much he weighed, but he cost me about $16), and then they asked me something, which I couldn't understand, but assumed to be 'how would I like it prepared'.

"Filet kudasai" (please)

*blank stares*

*nervous looks all around*

Uh -oh.  I didn't prepare for this after the woman told me they would understand.  I carried on speaking English and using hand gestures to describe a flat thin object, until the gentleman perked up and very excitedly said, "Open?!?".  Awesome. Perfect. That's fine with me!  "Hai, Hai, Hai" and many giggles and "Arigatou gozaimasu's" from all of us, we move on to the next step.

My fish was tagged with a number, the same one I was given, and I followed it along the counter, which had a nice step so I could view what everyone was doing.  The first person used a power 'scaler' to scale my fish, and pasted it along to this guy who gutted it.  See it down there?  Blood and guts and fish gore everywhere!!!

I watched as the third guy careful filleted and cut up other peoples orders, and when it got to mine, he grabbed it, and threw it into a bag, smiled, and handed it to me.

Ahhh....duh.....open equals butterflied.

I just thought that it's a good thing Aaron and I like to eat things with faces on it, but I know a lot of people who wouldn't appreciate buying a whole fish.  I was more excited about it then getting the fillet.  I get to eat the whole thing, and then make some tasty fish stock out of it, which is exactly what we did. 

Below is our raw fish, just before baking it.  As you can see, it was very cleanly gutted and scaled, so all I did was rub it down with some olive oil (inside and out), sprinkle some salt and pepper, and then shove some sliced oranges, onions, and parsley inside of the body.  I then wrapped it completely in tin foil and baked it for about 25 minutes at 400°F.  We ate it with some rice and veggies, and it was so freaking tasty.  The skin got nice and crispy, and we were able to eat a lot more of it that we would have had I gotten it filleted.  We simply just picked/pulled the meat off with chopsticks, and then I cleaned the rest of it for leftovers, and saved the bones and veggies to make stock with the next day.

This was such a healthy fresh dish, and it tasted wonderful.  For fish this good, you don't need anything complicated.  I can't wait to try more, they had some much to choose from.  That's the hardest part.

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Copycat Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

I've got the creepiest looking hand in that picture.  I also gotta seriously figure out where to take pictures in this house. A patio set would be ideal, we gotta get on that.

So Applebee's, eh?  Did you know Applebee's are still in business?  Crazy.  The only reason I know that is because there was one in our last little tiny town, and it was always busy.  I can't remember the last time I was in one.  But way back when, when it was cool to wait in line at a restaurant that didn't accept reservations with 2 dozen other families with screaming kids to be waiting on by a teenager with 37 pieces of flair who hates their job, I would order this salad.  To me it was the best thing on the menu, or the only thing on the menu.  I'm honestly not sure now if I've ever eaten anything else there.

The salad is really good the first time around, but I'm telling you this because we're friends.  Make sure you save some of it for the next day.  Pour the salad dressing all over it and let it just soak overnight in the fridge. If you aren't a member of the soggy salad club already, THIS soggy salad with convert you.  Seriously, it's delicious the first day but addicting the second.  Don't mess around and eat the whole thing right away.  Just trust me on this one.

Okay, I know, we've got fried chicken and mayonnaise in your dressing.  If you're going the salad route to cut back, use some light mayo and don't put all of the dressing on your salad.  But really, it does need the mayo in it.  Don't be scared either, the other dressing ingredients cut it back so your not all like "BAM mayonnaise on my salad!".  And the friend corn flake chicken is excellent also, but feel free to grill those suckers as well.  It'll still be scrumptious!

While your waiting for the recipe to print (click 'Printable Recipe' in the recipe), head over to my other blog Where's In The World Is Kacey?!? to check out the most recent post on random things we did in February and March!

Copycat Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad
Printable Recipe
By Kacey's Kitchen, Slightly Adapted from Top Secret Recipes

Dressing

• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
• 1/8 tsp sesame oil

Salad

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups chopped lettuce (any kind will do)
• 1.5 cup chopped red cabbage
• 1.5 cup chopped Napa cabbage
• 2 carrots, julienned or shredded
• 2 green onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 block instant ramen noodles

1. Whisk all dressing ingredients together and chill in the refrigerator until salad is ready.
2. In a small bowl whisk egg and milk together.
3. In another bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt and pepper.
4. Cut chicken breast into 4 or 5 long strips. Dip each strip of chicken first into egg mixture then into the flour mixture, coating each piece completely.
5. Heat oil in skillet until hot, fry each chicken finger for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.
6. In a large bowl, toss together chopped lettuce, cabbages, and carrots.  Sprinkle green onions on top.
7. Toast almonds in a small skillet (do not use oil) over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light brown.
8. Sprinkle toasted almonds over the salad.  Crush dry ramen noodles in your hand and sprinkle over salad.
9. Add chicken to salad, cutting into bite sized pieces if desired.  Serve with salad dressing.

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King Crab Legs

Ahhh...Alaskan King Crab Legs.  If I had to pick a meal that I feel is truly extravagant in both taste and wallet, but completely worth every penny, it would be this.  I would eat it everyday if I could.  The taste is unlike any other seafood I have ever tasted.  It is remarkable sweet and tender, and because of the size of these suckers, the pieces of meat you get are insanely large.

I'm sure most of you have heard of or seen Deadliest Catch. Yup, that little guy above was caught using Deadliest Catch methods.  Insane, right? But there's a reason people are out there doing some majorly badass things on a small(ish) boat in the middle of the Bering Sea, in the middle of winter (as if it would be any better in the summer...pfft), cause it's so freaking amazing tasting.

So where do you get these amazing legs from the sea? A store of course.  Unless you live in Western Alaska and know someone who can get you some themselves.  I guess you can order them online also, but I can't even imagine what kind of price you'd pay then.  Growing up, my parents would splurge on special occasions and pick up a few pounds from Costco.  Yup. Costco.  Every month or so they would have a special display of King Crab Legs, lobster, and some other shellfish.

Like with most seafood, unless you are buying LIVE, the crab legs have been frozen previously.  They have also very likely been previously cooked, which is totally fine.  I've actually only bought mine in bulk, where you pick out your individual legs.  I would LOVE to get a live one at some point, but that's committing to a lot of crab there, probably at least 10 lbs of crabbyness.  I've also never bought a package of crab legs, so I can attest those taste exactly the same. I'd imagine pretty close, I mean, it's all cooked and frozen anyway.  I still like picking out exactly which ones I'm going to buy.

Imagine my surprise when I found these while browsing through the commissary a few weeks ago.  Not your typical commissary find that's for sure.  And only $12.99 a pound!!!  Yeah, I know that doesn't sound cheap, but this isn't something you're eating every week though, although I wish I could. I'd love to make some King Crab Benedict for breakfast one day  ....mmmm... dreamy! Anyway, commissary, $12.99, King Crab Legs, awesome! There was a huge bin filled with ice and legs, and you just grabbed whichever ones you wanted, and threw them in a bag.  They also had fresh shrimp for sale in another bin next to it for $4.20/lb (heads still on).  I grabbed a bunch of those too.  Hell, it's not very often I find food like this at the commissary, and for these prices, I'm taking full advantage.

While I was scooping the rest of our food budget for the month crab into 2 small plastic bags, two women walked up behind me and started making all these gagging sounds saying how disgusting it was pointing at crab legs and shrimp heads.  What? You're grossed out because it's not processed and shrink wrapped with microwave instructions on it?  First, that's pretty fucking disgusting in itself that I'm buying food and you're standing behind me pretending to vomit.  Second, you are totally missing out one of the tastiest foods you will ever eat in your life, and for one of the cheapest prices you'll ever get it at.  Jesus, I don't go over to your shopping cart and gag at your lean cuisine.  Maybe I should though.  I was waaay to busy oogling over my King Crab Legs for that nonsense and carried on my merry little way through the store.

These are seriously one of the easiest things to ever cook. I steamed 3 legs for about 6 minutes, and they were perfect.  I find it's much easier to eat if you whack each leg with a heavy knife/mallet to start the cracking process.  And what do you serve with them? Anything or nothing.  I made some pearl couscous, but a hunk of bread and a light salad would be perfect as well.  And please don't even bother with melted butter...it really doesn't need it. Trust me.

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Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I think I'm finally back in the groove of the kitchen! I spent a solid 2 days last week baking and cooking up a storm!

We've talked about sweets and chocolate here before.  You all know I'd rather a slice of bread or cheese instead of a cookie or a cupcake.  So why do I bake sweets you ask?  Because it's fun.  And I still like a sweet every now and again.  And most other people like sweets, and I like baking for other people.  You should also know that because I don't enjoy sweets as much as other people, when a sweet actually makes it on this blog, you know it's worthy.  These are no exception.

The batter of these is ridiculously thick, and it was hard not to resist eating it all.  I would love to put the raw dough in some homemade ice cream. Yum!  

You can definitely use regular chocolate chips, but I think the chocolate chunks are just a little more special, and fun.  The recipe makes a lot of cookies, so you could either freeze them, eat them, or share them.  Aaron ate his for breakfast today.  

Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Printable Recipe
Adapted from Panera

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup peanut smooth
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts 

1. Heat the oven to 350ºF and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until relatively free of lumps.
3. Put the butter, peanut butter, and sugars in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until lighter in color and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. 
4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on low speed. Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon. Stir in the chips and nuts.
5. Roll the dough between your palms into 1½-inch balls and set them on the prepared sheets about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake just until the cookie centers look dull instead of shiny, 10 minutes. (Cookies will feel soft to the touch but do not bake further.) Cool for 5 minutes in the pan. 
7. Transfer cookies to cooling rack, leaving them on the parchment paper if necessary (they will still be very soft). Then cool them completely on the rack.

***Avoid overbaking! The texture of these treats is somewhere between a brownie and a peanut butter cookie, so they taste best when slightly underdone.

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Pork Yakisoba

One of the great things about living in Japan is the endless supply of noodle dishes you can get ANYWHERE.  And I mean ANYWHERE.  On base, off base, instant noodles (which are waaay better than instant ramen in the states), but my favorite are the millions of ramen/noodle houses that make their own noodles.  Mmmmm, homemade noodles are delicious.  And addicting, and I want to go out and get some now!!!

It's been really hard to stay at home and cook since we've been here. There are only 348972 million places that we want to try, but we've been pacing ourselves.  We've actually been pacing ourselves so well, that the other day we agreed we should start eating out MORE!  That sounds crazy, but cooking myself has been really good, and it's taken me a while to get into the swing of things...in fact, even with all my cooking I've done here, I'm still not totally comfortable in this kitchen.  Speaking of the kitchen, this photo reminds me that I have to update my header picture on my blog!  Keep an eye out for that soon!

This is a great yakisoba dish, especially for busy days.  It's quick and easy, is versatile, and doesn't take any planning.  Oh, did I mention it's delicious?  I may or may not have eaten all the leftovers for breakfast the following day.  I added pork, because it's what I had on hand, but you could add any protein you want.  Tofu, chicken, beef, shrimp, fish, it'll all work.

What made this dish extra special is that I was able to buy some fresh yakisoba noodles, which made such a huge difference.  If you're able to secure some fresh noodles, do it...if not, I promise it will still be delicious with whatever you'd like to use.  Even some linguine noodles could be used in crunch!

Pork Yakisoba
Printable Recipe
Slightly Adapted from allrecipes.com (emmaxell)

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp chile paste
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1lb pork, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 head medium napa cabbage, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 lb Yakisoba noodles (you can use any noodles you'd like, including soba or ramen)
• toasted sesame seeds

1. In a large skillet combine sesame oil, canola oil and chili paste. Stir fry 30 seconds. 
2. Add garlic and stir fry an additional 30 seconds. 
3. Add pork and 1/4 cup of the soy sauce and stir fry until pork is no longer pink. Remove mixture from pan, set aside and keep warm.
4. In the emptied pan combine the onion, cabbage and carrots. Stir fry until cabbage begins to wilt. 
5. Stir in the remaining soy sauce, cooked noodles and the chicken mixture to pan and mix to blend.
6. Add toasted sesame seeds, serve and enjoy!

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Veggie Summer Sandwich

That's right.  We are already eating summer sandwiches here.  And laying on the beach.  It's glorious!

I haven't yet found a good place to buy a variety of bread here yet.  And I haven't yet gotten into the baking groove here yet.  The commissary is hit or miss, and unless you get there as soon as they place things like good bread out, the shelves are going to be empty.  The day I bought this bread...it was a miss.  I also didn't toast it as much as I should have.  But I really, really wanted to eat this meal, so I made it anyway, with the bread I could find, and we still loved it.

I stuck to the recipe this time, mostly because I already had the ingredients, but feel free to add whatever it is you are craving.  This worked for us as a dinner, but it would be amazing as a lunch or even a breakfast....on a bagel or english muffin maybe?  Yum!!!

You don't really need a recipe for this, but it was really good, and what better way to share it with you than a printable recipe!

Vegetarian Summer Sandwich

Printable Recipe

By Gabrielle Hamilton

• 1 lb (scant 2 cups) fresh ricotta
• Zest of 2 lemons
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 4 tsp for drizzling
• 2 pinches coarse kosher salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 4 long, even slices of very good bread
• 2 large, perfectly ripe avocados
• 1 pint mixed-color grape tomatoes, cut in half horizontally (you won't use quite the entire pint)
• 8 red pearl onions equaling 2-3 ounces, thinly sliced into rounds (or equivalent in thinly sliced red onion)
• 4 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• Skin of 1 preserved lemon, flesh removed, finely diced (Kacey's Kitchen omited this)
• ½ tsp toasted poppy seeds

1. Mix the ricotta with the lemon zest, ¼ cup olive oil, and salt and pepper, and set aside.
2. Arrange slices of bread on a cutting board and divide the ricotta mixture evenly among the four slices. Spread into a generous even layer.
3. Split the avocados, remove the pits, and slice each half into even slices without cutting all the way through the leathery skin. Then, with a soup spoon or a flexible rubber spatula, release the flesh and arrange the slices neatly and evenly among the bread slices.
4. Artfully and attractively arrange the tomatoes by nesting them into the soft avocado. Then arrange the red onion slices over the tomatoes.
5. Garnish each sandwich with the sesame seeds, the preserved lemon skin (Kacey's Kitchen omited the lemon skin) and finally, the poppy seeds. Transfer to plates and drizzle with olive oil.

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Salt & Pepper Shrimp

I know, I know, you all want some food updates!!!  Since arriving in Japan we have done our fair share of eating out, but I think we've done pretty well balancing going to restaurants and shopping at local markets to make our own food.  Another one of our recent favorites is buying prepared food at the grocery stores in town and bringing it back home.  For example, we ate whole fried fish on Saturday that cost us 98 yen (That's like $1.05!) per FISH. And you eat the whole thing.  Head. Bones. Face. Everything.  It's right up our alley, and deserves it's own post, so let's get back to the shrimp.

One of our first days here, I found local Okinawan shrimp at our commissary, which were still frozen but OH! so much more delicious than other frozen shrimp I've bought.  I always still to frozen shrimp that are not yet shelled and uncooked, and you should too.  Trust me, it only takes a few minutes to de-shell them and the flavor is so much better.  I can't even figure out why they have pre-cooked shrimp.

I pan fried these, and they were amazing, but I bet you could still bake these as well.  Just don't over cook them, especially with yummy shrimp like these.  I served them simply with some rice and steamed broccoli, and it was plenty for us!

Salt & Pepper Shrimp
Printable Recipe
By Rachel Rappaport of Coconut & Lime

• 2 lb extra large shrimp, peeled
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup "instant" super fine flour (like Wondra)
• 1-2 dried tien tsin chile(s), minced 
• canola oil (for frying)
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground sichuan (szechuan) peppercorn 
• 1 teaspoon white pepper

1. In a dry pan, heat the salt and pepper mixture, stirring continuously to avoid burning, for 3-5 minutes or until heated through and very fragrant. Pour into a plate to cool completely. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt to a small bowl of cold water. Stir to dissolve. Add the shrimp and wash the shrimp. Drain then repeat with remaining salt. Rinse the shrimp in cold water then pat dry. Set aside.
3. Stir together the cornstarch, flour and 1-2 tablespoon(s) of the salt and pepper mix in a shallow bowl. Dredge the shrimp. 
4. Heat about 1 inch of canola oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the shrimp and fry, 2-3 minutes or until fully cooked. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Plate and garnish with the minced chile. Sprinkle with additional salt mixture, if desired.

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Sushi Go Round

We will just call this place Sushi Go Round because I have no idea what the actual name of the place is.  This happens a lot with us Americans living in Japan not knowing how to understand the language.  But it doesn't prevent us from doing things and eating out.  Not at all! 

If you've been reading my other blog, Where in the World is Kacey?!? you'll have recently seen a post mentioning this place.  We've been here twice already, and it's been hard not to go back more often.

Sushi go rounds are a really fun way of dining and trying new things.  Neither Aaron nor I had ever been to one, but we were super excited to be moving to Japan and going to these all the time.  At this place, you can either sit at a booth with a table or the 'bar'.  This first time we sat at the bar.  All seats have access to the conveyor belt.  You are immediately served water and a cup for tea, and left on your own, unless you want something else to drink.  Matcha (green tea) powder is waiting for you at your seat in a little tin where you shake just a little into your mug.  A little goes a long way. I learned this.  Then...I think this is the coolest thing...you just press your mug into the little spout.  See it up there? The black round thing on the booth next to the napkins?  That's the hot water dispenser!!!  Built in!

At this point you can dive right in and start pulling plates off the conveyor belt.  The sushi chefs are in the middle preparing everything, and there are typically 2 pieces per plate, and each plate is color coded according to price.  Prices here range from 100 yen to 580 yen, or thereabouts.  If what is on the conveyor belt doesn't suit your fancy, you can also order off the menu, writing down (in Kanji) what you want and how many.  It doesn't seem that hard, and it's kind of fun trying to copy down symbols you've never really looked at before.  Aaron was better at this because he had learned a lot of Kanji and practiced writing it.  So even if he couldn't translate it, it was still a little familiar to him.  There were a few things I didn't order this time because of how complicated the Kanji was.  But we'll just have to keep going back until I decided to take the time to write it!

So...wanna see some of the things we ordered?  Of course you do!

Aarons new favorite dish....Pressed Mackerel.  He had all of these on me this time, but when we went back I tried it, and I can only describe it as a solid piece of fish.  Not only is the texture a thick piece of fish, the taste is undeniably fish from the ocean.  You bite into it and you are like, "Now THAT is a piece of fish".  I know that sounds really stupid, but that's the only way we could figure out how to describe it.  It was really good, and we'll be eating tons of it while we are here.  Oh, I could also describe it as if I picked up a whole fish and just bit into it, that's what I would expect.  Thumbs up from us!

 My favorite, Hotate.  Scallops.  A lot of time in the states, you'll get a chopped up scalloped rolled up and disguised.  I often wondered if it was really scallop.  But these.  These are scallops!  I wanted to order a dozen of them...but I settled with 2 orders so I could keep room for more.

Uni, or sea urchin.  Probably not something to order here. I've had it before, and it is a weird texture thing that most people don't enjoy.  I usually skip it altogether and go for something else awesome.

 Mussels.  This was interesting, in a good way!  I was concerned that they were dried out, but once I bit into them, they were really juicy and mussely!

 This is one of my favorite things here.  Between the scallops and this salmon, I wouldn't need to order anything else.  This is slices of salmon with shredded white onion and green onion on top.  It's a great combination!

 And this...geez...I can't remember what this was.  Probably because it wasn't something I ordered, but was delivered.  Fine with me!  It was shrimp with some sort of barbecue style sauce.  It was good, nothing special though. I'd much rather another plate of scallops!

And here we have our stacks of plates (from 3 people).  You just keep on stacking them in front of you until you are ready to leave.  This helps you keep track of how much you are spending, because it is so easy to just keep ordering plate after plate after 100th plate!!!  When you're done, just get up and the waitress will know you're ready to pay.  She'll come over with what looks like a bar code scanner, and she just scans the dishes from bottom to top.  Each plate has a chip in it to tell how much it cost.  She'll walk back over the to register and you pay there.  The whole thing is very fun. For those 3 stacks of plates down there, I think we spent around $50.

We've already been back to this place for lunch, and I know we'll be regulars here.  I'll follow up with a post to show you how we order off the menu!

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