Mochi Cupcakes

[An EurJean post, since I wasn't at their Dinner Meet.]

It helps to use two spoons to ball the an and scoop it into the middle of each cupcake. This cupcake does not rise as much as traditional cupcakes, so feel free to fill almost to the top. I bake them until the tops are very lightly golden brown. I also usually make a handful of no-an cupcakes for those who do not like red bean. I'm experimenting with making flavored mochi versions, like chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 box Mochiko (rice flour)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can soft or coarse an (Japanese sweet red beans)

Method:
Thoroughly mix the first six ingredients. Place cupcake paper in cupcake pan and fill half way with mix. Place one heaping tsp of an into center of each cupcake. Use remaining mixture to fill cupcake - about 80% full.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Note: If mochi cupcakes get hard or dried, place in microwave or wrap individually and heat. Can also be stored in freezer for later use.

Spam Musubi

[Another post by EurJean since I couldn't make their Dinner Meet. Thanks so much, EurJean, for making my life easy!]

We made a 1/3 cup ratio of sauce for 2 cans of spam musubi and it was plenty of sauce. Don't be grossed out by the mayo, it's surprisingly good! We also made a vegetarian version of spam musubi for Thomas using pressed teriyaki tofu (followed the same steps).

Ingredients:

1 can Spam
3 cups (measured uncooked) sushi rice
Equal parts sugar/soy sauce/mirin (preferably brown sugar)
Nori
Kewpie mayo (optional)
Musubi-maker (optional)

Method:

Slice spam into 8-10 pieces. Mix sauce (sugar, soy sauce, mirin). Fry spam until each side is crispy/browned. Add sauce to pan until it thickens and carmelizes. Assemble musubi: lay a 2-3 inch strip of nori down, put the musubi maker in the middle of the strip (horizontally), press a layer of rice down, sprinkle furikake and/or mayo layer, put in a slice of spam, sprinkle furikake and/or mayo layer, press a final layer of rice down, and fold over the pieces of nori (using a little rice to seal if necessary). This makes a sandwich style musubi (nori/rice/spam/rice/nori). You can also make a more traditional musubi (nori/rice/spam/nori).

Spinach (Korean inspired)

[Another post from EurJean since I wasn't at their Dinner Meet.]

I got this recipe online, since I don't measure anything when I make it myself (just eyeball to taste). I prefer my spinach with less soy sauce (only one tbsp) and more garlic. It is also good with a dash of mirin, red pepper powder, and ginger powder.

Ingredients:

1 lb spinach (preferably organic baby spinach, pre-washed)
3 tbsp soy sauce (preferably low-sodium)
1 tbsp sesame oil (preferably toasted)
2 cloves finely chopped garlic (pressed works as well)
2 tsp sugar (preferably brown sugar)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional, preferably toasted)

Method:

Mix non-spinach ingredients together in a medium bowl. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds (mix until entire bunch is mostly wilted). Squeeze excess water. Mix warm spinach with remaining ingredients in bowl.

Tonkatsu

[Everything below is written by EurJean since I was unable to make their Dinner Meet.]

Tonkatsu is traditionally served on cabbage (which is thinly sliced, soaked in cold water, then drained/dried). I also like to make this recipe with Italian bread crumbs, which is something my mom did growing up when we didn't have panko on hand. This is one of the first recipes my mom taught me.

Ingredients:

10 Thin-sliced pork cutlets
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Flour (approx. 1-2 cups)
Lightly beaten eggs (approx. 3 eggs)
Panko (approx. 1-2 cups)
Vegetable oil for frying
Tonkatsu sauce (store-bought, my favorite brand is Bulldog)

Pork prep:
If thin-sliced pork cutlets are not available, you may cut pork chops in half or slice a pork tenderloin into cutlets. Wash and pat dry the pork. Slice and remove any bone or fat. For each pork cutlet, put between two pieces of plastic wrap (or wax paper) and pound with a meat tenderizing mallet (or the blunt side of a knife) until flattened to an even thickness. Sprinkle each cutlet with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper on both sides. It's optional, but cutlets can be seasoned with grated onion juice instead of onion powder.

Tonkatsu assembly:
For each pork cutlet, dredge in flour, shake off excess, dip in egg, shake off excess, then press panko crumbs lightly until completely covered. Heat oil on medium-heat until panko crumb bubbles and browns readily (2-3 seconds). When frying tonkatsu, avoiding turning more than once. Fry each side for approximately 3 minutes until golden brown. Put browned tonkatsu on drying rack (or paper towels).

New recipes coming up!

I'm horribly behind on Dinner Meet posts! Sorry about that. Hopefully the slew that assaults you now will make up for it. First up are the Dinner Meet recipes from EurJean and Bobby's Dinner Meet back from 11/11. They hosted a wonderful Japanese themed Dinner Meet. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but from all accounts, it was a success!

Following that Dinner Meet was one that I hosted, a "Scrumptious Vegetarian" night. I wanted to try for an all-vegetarian menu that wouldn't make us miss meat. I think it was fairly successful there, too, though the ratatouille really took a long time to make.

Without further ado, I begin the backlog. :)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Oil and Fried Sage

This is a great recipe for Thanksgiving if you're still looking for a solid sweet potatoes recipe. It's simple, and the roasted sweet potatoes are delicious with a slightly crusty exterior and the soft centers. Again, the recipe hails from Epicurious. Check out the recipe here.

Turkey Chili

This dish really hits the spot on a cold, autumn night. Best of all, it doesn't require hours and hours of simmering which a lot of chili recipes call for. I also like that the recipe uses chunks of turkey instead of the more unhealthy (and more common for chili) ground beef. This recipe also hails from Epicurious; for the cooked turkey, we pan fried some turkey cutlets seasoned with salt and pepper before cutting those up into chunks for the chili. Here's the recipe.

Spinach Salad with Bosc Pears, Cranberries, Red Onion, and Toasted Hazelnuts

You can't go wrong with recipes from Epicurious, I say. We've tried a couple already from this illustrative site at this Dinner Meet and previous ones, and the dishes have been fantastic. I was particularly enamored of this salad because the various ingredients truly contributed to the overall tastiness. A true test of a successful salad is when people go back for seconds... and thirds... That happened for this salad. :) I won't bother reposting the recipe here when we followed the recipe to a T. Check out the recipe here.

Sign up for Japanese-themed Dinner Meet

It's time for another Dinner Meet - next Wednesday, 11/11, starting at 7pm. It'll be in Foster City this time. EurJean and Bobby will be hosting this one.

I know it's a bit of a ways to travel for most of you, so let me know if you'd be interested in carpooling from the Mountain View area around 6:30pm. I'd be happy to drive.

Here's the proposed menu:

Spinach (Korean inspired)
Tonkatsu (Breaded pork cutlet)
Sushi casserole or spam musubi
Mochi cupcakes

Let me know by Friday afternoon, and I'll confirm spots by Saturday morning.