Pork with Daikon Sauce

I sauteed pork and mushroom for dinner today. The sauce was simmered grated daikon and wasabi. The daikon became sweet after it was cooked and it gave the pork a good flavour.

Cumberland Pie

I was going to cook cottage pie today but I put shredded cheese on the top at the last minute.
I didn't know that if you add cheese on cottage pie, the name will be changed. We both enjoyed the pie anyway.

Sweet and Sour Meat Ball

We had an early dinner and went to see some fireworks this evening. I was excited about the trip so I don't remember the taste well.

Gyūdon

I cooked gyudon (beef on rice) today. The seasonings are soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. These are a golden combination for Japanese cuisine. I can eat lots of rice with it.

Mabo Tofu

I cooked one of my favorite recipes today, mabo tofu. I minced some ginger, garlic and green onions and fried them with sesame seeds oil in a pan.
When there was a savory smell, I added some ground beef.
When the beef was brown, I added some miso (soybean paste) and dou ban jiang (spicy paste) and then fried it well.
I added some seasonings and water. I cut up some tofu and mixed it in the pan. I prefer kinu (silken) tofu that is softer than momen (cotton) tofu. I like having a smooth texture for mabo tofu.
After cooking it for 2 or 3 minutes, I added some cornstarch and water to make the soup thick. After a few minutes, it was done.
I like this spicy mabo tofu with rice. I have never tried real Chinese mabo tofu. I am sure my recipe is adjusted to Japanese taste but I am pretty happy with my mabo tofu so far.

Pork Chops

We had pork chops for dinner tonight. I choose the meat with less fat but cooked it a bit too long so the meat was a little dry. I should take more care next time.

Keema Curry

I cooked keema curry today. First, I fried chopped onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, zucchini, green peppers and grounded meat. I then added cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, clove, nutmeg, peppers and soup stock. The curry was delicious with rice.

Oyakodon

I cooked a bowl of rice topped with boiled chicken and eggs. It is called "oyakodon", which means family bowl.

Mexican American Tacos & Japanese Tacos

I made tacos for lunch today. First, I deep fried some corn tortillas and folded them. I added some ground beef that I had cooked with some seasonings. I then added some onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and some cheese. It was delicious.
On the same day, I made taco rice, which comes from Okinawa (an island in south of Japan). The ingredients are the same as American tacos but they all on the cooked rice. I think it is difficult to imagine the taste but Andrew and I love the Taco rice very much.

Roast Chicken

I bought a chicken for making a roast today. I soaked the chicken and some herbs in salted water for one day and then put stuffing in the chicken and roasted it on some vegetables.
A 2-kg chicken is a good size for us. It usually takes a couple of days to finish it and we enjoy eating the leftovers.
I had the chicken with stuffing, baked vegetables, mashed potato, gravy sauce, cranberry sauce and a bun.

Chilli Beans

Today's lunch was chili beans. It was windy so we used a heater. The chili beans also warmed us up.

Roast Pork

I recently made some roast pork but in a different way than last time. I put salt and pepper on the pork meat and wrapped it with some kitchen paper and some newspaper.
I put the pork in the refrigerator and waited 24 hours for some of the water to leave.
I tied up the pork with some nets that I got at the store. The nets were very useful. I then baked them at a low temperature in the oven.
After the pork had cooked down, I wrapped them well and put them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. They were delicious with Branston pickle.

Hamburger Steak & Romanesco

A store close to my house has a local vegetable corner. I prefer to buy my vegetables there. I like to support the local farmers and I like that the vegetables have farmer's name on them. I think the farmers are proud of what they have grown.
Today, I bought one yellowy green vegetable in the corner. I had never seen it before. I founded the vegetable's name at home. It is called a romanesco.
I cooked hamburger steak for lunch. I like 100 % meat hamburger patties. Baked potatoes and mushrooms are on the side. I boiled the romanesco and mixed it with tomatoes and minced onions to make some salad. The romanesco texture was like cauliflower and it tasted like broccoli to me. I like this new vegetable.

Korean BBQ

When we went to Korea, I liked wrapped style BBQ. This picture below is pork ribs on stone pan with lots of side dishes. We wrapped pork with some vegetables and condiments in lettuce.
We loved eating a spicy mixed paste, ssamjang, in Korea, so we bought some before we left. Now, we can eat Korean style BBQ at home. The paste is also good with cucumber sticks. I prepared a beef BBQ for lunch today. In this picture below (from left to right) is ssamjang, garlic & kimchi, lettuce, sliced onion & carrots and rice. I really liked it. I want to have it again.

Chapchae

Since returning from Korea, I've wanted to cook some of the dishes that I ate while I was there. Today, I individually fried some beef, noodles, onions, carrots, spinach, mushrooms with sesame oil and salt and then mix all of them together. I liked it and so did Andrew.

Gyudon

We love gyudon. I cooked slice of beef in soy sauce, sugar and sake fast. After flavor in to beef, I added slice of onions. When all cooked, I put it on rice. I like some slice of ginger on the top. I can eat lots of rice with gyudon.

Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Today's lunch was Teriyaki chicken bowl. I remember I tried it at a Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. The taste was very sweet. I remember thinking "Is this chicken or cake?". It is funny because I had never eaten teriyaki chicken in Japan. I think it is more popular outside of Japan. The ingredients are very Japanese though ... soy sauce, sugar, sake. I got an English recipe from the Internet and tried to cook it but I added much less sugar. It turned out well and was very easy to cook.

Boiled Pork & Marmalade

I decided to use a recipe for boiled pork from one of my cooking books today. I tied up 1.6 kg (about 3.5 lb) of pork loin with some kitchen string. I played with the string and the meat for awhile but finally figured it out... I put the pork and some bay leafs in a pot and cooked them with some water for one hour.
There was only a little water left in the pot after the hour. Next, I added some salt, pepper and marmalade. I removed the lid and let it simmer until the sauce became thick and the pork was golden brown.
After removing the pork from the pot, I added some water to the marmalade and pork drippings to make a sauce. I cooked rice with some grounded carrots and put the boiled pork on top.
I sliced the pork and served it with the marmalade sauce on top. I liked the pork very much. The marmalade was great with the pork.

Tandoori Chicken

Before I cook the chicken, I marinated it in yogurt and seasoned it with tandoori masala for a couple of hours. The chicken was hot and good with rice.

Steak

I don't eat steaks often at home because I am not good at cooking them. Recently though, I went to a Brazilian store and found some good meet there. I asked Andrew to cook it since he knows how. He cooked it with some Montreal steak seasoning. I cooked mashed potatoes and I made Camembert cheese salad with mushrooms and broccoli. It was all very delicious.