Food Porn and Hangovers 2

DISCLAIMER: The sound is a little bit better, still haven’t figured it out quite yet, so bear with me.

Japan:

I love Japanese food, with a passion, there’s something about raw food, rice noodles, weird looking ingredients, seaweed, preserved tofu, etc, that just gets me going. I also like the fact that when i go to a Japanese market or order at a Japanese restaurants, just by voicing out the words, i actually feel like i can speak Japanese.

Okonomiyaki. Oh Oko, why are you so good. This word derives from Okonomi which means “what you like” and yaki meaning “grilled”. What I like grilled? Sounds good to me, count me in! These are savoury pancakes prepared on flat top grills associated to the regions of Kansai and Hiroshima; all the toppings vary depending on the region. Most Okonomiyaki restaurants serve theirs, traditionally with a cabbage based pancake, some fish or shrimp flakes, ground pork, raw eggs some dried seaweed and enough ketchup/mayo to deplete the stocks of McDonalds.

 Japan remains one of the countries in Asia I have yet to discover, I was lucky enough to have a layover in Tokyo one day on my way to Russia. It’s early in the morning (1.30AM) there are bunch of restaurants in the airport and I was in heaven; me and Japanese food are in an intimate relationship. So I see this sign Okonomiyaki, I have no idea what it is, but it smells like sin, so I sit down at the kitchen/bar and order. Even though, I’ve never been into the Japanese cities, this meal alone was able to transport me into them. My variation as follows:

This dish will insure you your happy ending; we make you happy long time… ( I don’t know why I just wrote that)

Oko me good: Leek and Cabbage Okonomiyaki topped with honey-orange glaze barbecue pulled pork ribs, corn on the cob, with Thai style fiery shrimp.

Prep:

Pork: Take 500 grams of pork ribs, salt and pepper them, boil them in hot water until white foams come out, take them out, place them in a bowl with 2 dashes or Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of yakininu sauce, 1 tablespoon or 2 of barbecue sauce, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of honey, juice of 1 orange. (optional: 1 small can of pineapples – juice + chunks). Brown half a diced onion, 1 crushed garlic clove, then add your pork mix, and slow boil for 2 hours, until the liquid reduces. Additionally you can add some rosemary.

Shrimp: Devein 10 shrimp (3-4 per person), place them in a bowl with chopped ginger (enough to coat lightly all your shrimp, 1 big tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 stalk of coriander, 1 stalk of Vietnamese mint (chopped), 2 chillies finely chopped, 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Additionally you can add some galangal root.

Okonomiyaki (pancake): in a bowl, 1 handful of sliced green beans, 1 handful of chopped nappa cabbage, ½ chopped onion, 1 diced garlic  clove, 1 grated carrot, 1 chopped leek, 1 handful of coriander, 1 big pinch of salt and pepper, 1 ¼  cup of flour, ¾ cup of water, ½ grated Nagaimo (or kamote, or potato, or sweet potato). More salt. Try to find the consistency of a pancake batter by adding more flour to make it thicker and more water if you need it to be more liquid (i’m sorry i suck with measurements).

Cook:

Boil one corn on the cob in salted water. Start with the pancake, cook until a wooden spike comes out clean, brown on both sides. Take your pork from your mixture and grill or fry until caramelized (they should already be very soft from the boiling), if you don’t have a grill and don’t want to lose that flavour, set your oven to broil and cook it there. Take your shrimp and spot fry for 2 minutes until nice and golden/orange, flambee with Grand Marnier.

Plate:

On your plate, place your shrimp on some chopped coriander, or a thai style salad if you want to, placed the pulled pork (removed from the bones) onto your pancake with the corn, you can also drizzle some of the cooking juices on top. For the sauce, simply take a small dipping bowl fill it with soy sauce, add some slivers of ginger and a cut chilli.

Stop. Admire. Eat!

Next week preview: “My family and I used to spend a lot of winters in Canada, more specifically in Montreal, Quebec. Yes, the region that claims it speaks better French than us (Real) French people, don’t even get me started on that… One of the many things they do right though is this little heart attack of a dish served in Styrofoam bowls, usually eaten in the dead of winter after a fresh snowboarding session (…)”