Happy Donabe Life

Tag Archives: Black sugar

Steamed Houjicha and Matcha Olive Oil Cakes

Houjicha Mushi Cake

I love and love donabe steam tea cakes! And both Houjicha and Matcha flavors are my top favorites. The rectangular mold with a removable tray is also a must-have item for me, and I make so many things with this mold. Here, I wrote down Houjicha Olive Oil Steam Cake recipe. For the Matcha version, you can simply substitute the houjicha with 1 tablespoon of matcha powder and reduce the hot water to 2 tablespoons. For these, I used extra virgin olive oil and almond milk, so the recipe is dairy free and it’s so light and fluffy! Happy Donabe Life!


Cold Somen Noodle with Soy Dipping Sauce

Hiyashi Somen

Perfect for a hot summer day. Here’s one of my most basic cold noodle dishes which I never get tired of all my life. Donabe can make a perfect serving vessel, and it also makes a wonderful presentation, along with a variety of toppings.

For the dipping sauce, I have this staple soy-based sauce, Kaeshi, always in handy. Kaeshi is a multi-purpose sauce I use for so many things. I pour over noodle by mixing with water/ dashi, chicken, fish, salad, etc. 


Beef Rice

Niku Gohan

Juicy donabe Beef Rice for your stamina. I used a block of American Wagyu hanger steak and thinly sliced by hand. By marinating the beef for a short time with sake, soy sauce and black sugar, the meat comes out so tender like you braised it! I also used some smoked soy sauce to complement the bold flavor but you can use only regular soy sauce, too. Donabe makes this dish so complete in flavor and texture, and it was just so delicious that I ate almost half of the pot. Happy Donabe Life!


Steamed Black Cod with Soy-Negi Sauce

My large donabe steamer, Mushi Nabe, works so hard all year round. Among my favorite preparations with this donabe is a steamed fish dish. This is Steamed Black Cod with Soy-Negi Sauce. I layered black cod with tofu and shiitake mushrooms in a bowl and steamed in the donabe steamer, and poured this aromatic soy & scallion sauce (with a great kick with la-yu oil) over it to enjoy. This dish takes little effort and is really flavorful,and it also keeps your body so warm. Feel free to substitute with different kinds of fish.


Black Sesame Sauce

Kurogoma Tare

This is a very healthy and tasty all-purpose sauce, and made with all “black” ingredients. All you need to do is just whisk together black sesame paste, black sesame seeds, black vinegar, soy sauce, and black sugar. My regular way to use this sauce is to serve with simple steamed tofu and mushrooms. You can also enjoy it with steamed vegetables, fish, etc.


Thai-Style Basil Chiken Over Rice

Gapao Gohan

This dish is my homage to a popular Thai dish, pad gaprao (“holy basil chicken rice”; this dish is also popular in Japan, and we call it gapao gohan), and every component (chicken, rice, and egg) is made in a different style of donabe. This simple dish is so easy to make and really satisfying, so I make it quite often.

For the basil chicken, you can make it with any classic-style donabe, but I especially recommend Bistro Donabe. It’s because this donabe can be heated when it’s empty, so you can sauté the chicken more effectively with the intense heat. The sturdy flat lid of Bistro Donabe can also give a nice pressure during simmering. The main seasonings are oyster sauce and Ayu Fish Sauce, they bring really nice layers of umami flavors. While most Asian fish sauce (such as nan pla) has distinctive salty flavor, Ayu fish sauce is much more round and richer in umami. You can still use regular Asian fish sauce, but in that case, I suggest you use less amount of it.

For the fried egg, you can use a regular pan, but my choice of equipment is always Donabe Egg Baker. It’s so handy and you can make an individual serving (up to two eggs) fried eggs in a short time.


Matcha Almond Milk Kudzu Jelly

Matcha Almond Milk Kuzu Mochi

This is one of my favorite cold desserts. It’s very simple to make and the flavor is so rich and elegant. The key is a high quality matcha and kudzu powder (plant based starch – the kind I use is considered to be among the top quality kind from Yoshino region of Nara, Japan). The texture is nicely bouncy and the flavor is so rich, although there is no butter or cream used. In fact, it’s completely vegan. Kuzu mochi is a traditional Japanese dessert, made of simply kudzu powder and water. And, this is my variation which has matcha and almond milk. You can make it one day in advance, so this makes a nice dessert when you have a dinner party.


Iced Matcha Latte

This is absolutely my go-to drink to refresh and relax at the same time on a warm day. In the summertime, I actually make this every day after I come back home from work and enjoy in the kitchen during prepping for dinner. I normally make it with unsweetened almond milk, but you can make it with soymilk, whole milk, or any choice of milk. The matcha I use is a premium quality and I use a generous amount of it, so I hope you try this recipe and find how upgraded this drink tastes compared to commercial matcha drinks. 


Steamed Green Beans and Potatoes in Sesame Peanut Butter Sauce

This simple steamed dish is always a big hit when I serve to my guests, and everybody loves watching the process of making it, too. When the potatoes and green beans are steamed in donabe, they tend to retain both the nutrients and texture, while the flavor becomes so rich and pure. To make the sauce, the sesame seeds are first roasted in horoku (sesame roster) until fragrant, then they are ground in suribachi and surikogi (Japanese mortar and pestle) and mixed with seasonings. The steamed vegetables are added directly to the sauce in the suribachi and tossed together. And, you can serve it right out of it at the table. Sesame and peanut butter add nice richness to the dish. For the sauce, I normally add leftover dashi (either kombu & shiitake mushroom dashi or kombu & bonito dashi) for extra subtle layer of flavors, but you can totally go with just water, if you don’t have dashi and it would still taste delicious.


Pork and Napa Cabbage Mille Feuille

Buta to Hakusai no Mille Feuille Nabe

This dish is all about pork and napa cabbage, cooked in a minimum way. They are simply layered to pack in a donabe, with a small amount of water and sake. There is not even dashi or salt. You can top them with some sliced ginger and mushrooms, and gently simmer for 25 – 30 minutes. The result is a tasty treat rich in umami, and it looks beautiful, too. The soup is also packed with all the natural flavors from the ingredients, so make sure to enjoy it with the dish, too.

I like to serve it with Sansho Ponzu Sauce and Hatcho Miso & Black Sesame Sauce (recipe below) for flavor variations. Or, you can simply serve it with yuzu-kosho or Kanzuri, too.


Korean-style Spicy Miso Condiment

Ssamjang

This Korean-inspird spicy miso sauce is great with grilled or steamed meat, seafood, or even as a dipping for vegetable crudités (fresh vegetable sticks). I love serving this especially with grilled kalbi (beef short ribs) or steamed pork shoulder to make lettuce wraps. Both the hatcho miso and Okinawa black sugar make the flavor so deep, but you can also make with regular miso and brown sugar, if you like.


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