sushi, broiled unagi, english cucumber, hass avacado and red tobiko

ingredients:

japanese short grain rice

unagi

english cucumbers (julienned)

hass avacados

red tobiko

japanese nori (seaweed for wrapping)

rice vinegar

sugar

mirin (japanese sweet cooking wine)

pickled ginger

wasabi

cook rice, and when done season with rice vinegar, mirin, and sugar to taste. fluff and mix well. set aside.

broil the unagi till bubbling and crispy. set aside.

julienne the cucumber, slice the unagi into long thin strips and slice the avacado.

get everything ready- like an assembly line and....

then simply start rolling sushi! you can make handrolls, inside out rolls, whatever you'd like. garnish plates with wasabi and pickled ginger. here's some pictures of the sushi i made today! enjoy! mm, mm, MM!

pulchritude on a plate...

unagi handroll and inside out sushi maki

(like my black/purple nail polish? hehehe)

nori-on-the-outside sushi maki

blue crabs, live spot prawns and steamed fish- chinese style

so i got tired with all the cooking yesterday- and decided to have a seafood night. i hit up oakland chinatown and picked up a few goodies.

live spot prawns. the small ones are so much sweeter and the heads are divine!

blue crabs. 3 bucks a lbs. how can i complain? and with all that fatty goodness in the head. mmmm.

i steamed for of them for 8 min and they came out perrrrrfect.

steamed fish- chinese style. so apparently i need a bigger steamer. i had to fold this guy in half upside down and the metal plate on the bottom was too hot to touch- so presentation kinda lacks- urgh. my biggest pet peeve, but i gotta say, it was damn good. red rock cod, steamed, then topped with a special blend of sauce, then topped off with scallions, cilantro, and ginger. i heated grapeseed oil till piping hot and then poured it over the herbs- flash cookin them with the hot oil. sizzle sizzle. mm, mm, MM!

ratatouille with italian zucchini, yellow squash, japanese eggplant, roma tomatoes and red bell pepper

because ratatouille is one of my favorite movies...

and i am year of the rat...

and i love cooking...

and oh yea, did i forget to mention...

i love eating too...

i tried to make the ratatouille dish from the pixar animated film.

ingredients:

japanese eggplant

yellow squash

italian zucchini

roma tomatoes

purple turnip

red bell pepper

white onion

can diced tomatoes

flat leaf parsley

thyme

chicken broth

sea salt

black pepper

sugar

chili pepper flakes

butter

extra virgin olive oil

freshly made sourdough bread crumbs

directions to make ratatouille below each picture.

this was before i baked it in the oven. the sauce underneath the vegetables is a bit of butter, extra virgin olive oil, one finely minced onion, 3 cloves of garlic also finely minced, a few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves, a bit a red pepper flake for a little kick, chopped fresh italian flat leaf parsley, tomato sauce, freshly cracked sea salt and pepper, a tad bit of sugar to taste and chicken broth.. all simmered down to a saucy goodness.

this was after baking the ratatouille in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. vegetables on top are hand sliced. layer the sliced vegetables on top of each other to create this overlapping effect. underneath the sliced vegetables, add thin slices of turnip and red bell pepper to give the vegetables more depth of flavor. on top of the ratatouille season with cracked sea salt and black pepper to taste, along with fresh crumbled sour dough bread crumbs, finishing it off with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. the crispy sour bread crumbs add tad of crunchy goodness to finish.

plating...

after stacking the top layer of vegetable on the previous bottom layer, take some of the tomato broth/sauce from the bottom, thin it out a bit when fresh chicken broth and dapple the yummy sauce around the vegetables. clean up around the edges with a towel to make the dish perfect. added the last finishing touch by garnishing the dish with one chive, just like the movie!

ENJOY.

i know i did.

red wine braised oxtails, rosemary scented bone marrow, carrots, crimini mushrooms and pearl onions

ingredients:

beef oxtails

beef shank bones (cut into thirds or 2.5 inch segments)

carrots

pearl onions (frozen ones are just fine)

one yellow onion (minced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

crimini mushrooms

thyme

rosemary

charles shaw cabernet sauvignon

beef broth

flour

sea salt

cracked black pepper

tomato paste

sugar

olive oil

season proteins with cracked sea salt and pepper, lightly coat in flour, then brown over high heat and remove from pot. saute minced yellow onions until semi-translucent. add minced garlic, thyme and rosemary. saute for one min then deglaze with red wine and beef broth. add tomato paste, salt, pepper and sugar to taste, and let the mixture simmer. return proteins to pot, carefully turning the bone marrow segments every so often. you will know the marrow is ready when you see little bubbles coming up from the marrow. when this happens, take out the bone marrow segments and set aside. (if you keep stewing them in the sauce, they will eventually melt and disappear into the sauce.) after bone marrow is removed, add in carrots, crimini mushrooms and pearl onions. cover and cook over medium heat until oxtails are tender and falling off the bone. just before serving, return bone marrow segments in sauce. sauce should be reduced by at least 1/2 of what it was to begin with.

DAMN GOOD.

*please note i did not give all exact amounts of ingredients. i also used smaller oxtails because this speeds up cook time, but the larger ones are great also.

american kobe, julienned carrot, enoki mushroom and green scallion

ingredients:

american kobe (shabu shabu style)

carrots (julienned)

enoki mushroom

scallion tips (blanched)

sea salt

black pepper

assemble by wrapping carrots, enoki mushroom and scallion tips with the kobe beef

season with cracked sea salt and pepper right before cooking. sear quickly over high heat in a grill pan.

THESE ARE DAMN GOOD.

i serve them with matsutake onigiri. (rice balls) the charred rice and earthy rich flavor of the matsutake complements the rich meatiness of the kobe while the vegetables add another layer of flavor and texture.