Recipe: Tantanmen - Spicy sesame ramen

Recipe: Tantanmen - Spicy sesame pork ramen (Serves 2)

Pork mince

• 250 g pork mince
• Sesame oil for frying
• Mirin to taste
• 2 tbspn soy sauce
• 2 tbspn Doubanjiang
• Optional: 1 tspn Shiro miso

Soup

• 3 tbspn Chimajyan sesame paste
• 1 tbspn Rayu Japanese chili oil
• 1 tbspn Black Zhenjiang Vinegar (Optional)
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup chicken or pork bone broth

Noodle and toppings

• 2 serves ramen noodle
• Wilted greens (bok choy / spinach / mustard greens) 
• 1 cup corn
• Soft boiled egg 
• Diced scallion
• 1 tspn Beni Shoga red pickled ginger
• Other toppings of choice: Menma bamboo shoots, cubed tofu, bean sprouts

Method : Pork

• Heat the sesame oil in a pan and add the minced pork, fry until brown
• Add the doubanjiang and soy and stir fry. 
• Doubanjiang is a Chinese spicy miso / black bean sauce with a killer spicy umami richness, I recommend Lao Gan Ma "Chili Oil with Fermented Soy Beans" which should be available at all Asian supermarkets. 
• Add Mirin 1 tbspn at a time until desired sweetness is reached
• If desired add white (shiro) miso at this point to add even more umami
• Turn the pork off the heat and set asside

Method : Soup

I cheat and start with a tonkatsu soup base because roasting bones is not my idea of a good time, however if you feel strongly about this please refer to this recipe for tonkotsu broth from Serious Eats and prepare 4 cups of liquid.

• I am aiming for 1.5 - 2 cups of broth per person you can adjust the liquid levels to your tastes
• Prepare your tonkotsu broth, if using a base then add 3 cups of water and 1 cup of bone broth per 2 people
• Heat the broth while you prepare the sesame paste
• In a small bowl combine the rayu hot sesame oil and roasted sesame paste, then add to the soup
• Stir until well integrated and the soup has reached serving temperature
• If desired more rayu or sesame paste can be added to taste or black (Zhenjiang) vinegar used to balance

Method: Noodle and toppings

• Pre-boil eggs while preparing soup or earlier in the day, if desired season with tea or soy. Eggs can be set aside and served at room temperature as they will warm with the soup
• Boil the noodles and greens until al dente then drain, spoon per person servings into ramen bowls
• Cook corn and set asside
• Cut or cube any other toppings into bite sized pieces that can be collected with a spoon and chopsticks
• Spoon soup over the noodles until the noodles are almost covered (~1.5 - 2 cups)
• Top the soup with pork, egg cut in half, vegetables and remaining toppings in a circle
• Top the pork with scallions and / or beni shoga 
• Remember ramen is designed to be customisable, add or remove toppings if my defaults are not to your taste
• Serve with your favourite noodle bowls and anime =^.^=

One variation is to top with fried pork belly or chashu in place of the seasoned minced pork.

Review: Nana Ramen, Brooklyn

Well it's been snowing up a serious storm in NYC this week so we were happy to hear the latest chapter in the Brooklyn gentrification odyssey is an authentic ramen restaurant in Bed Stuy.



Nana Ramen lovingly blends authentic fresh noodles and tonkotsu broth with Brooklyn filament bulbs and hipster beards with great results and I'm pretty sure we'll be regulars from here on out.

Chicken Karaage $7USD 

This is an excellent rendition of a ramen house staple. The chicken is juicy and the batter is light and lacks any trace of oil. The pieces are well sized to really maximise on the delicious sesame karaage batter as well. Served simply with a spicy mayo sauce and lemon slice. The serving size is actually a little larger than pictured, we couldn't help ourselves on arrival and ate two pieces before we remembered to take photos. 

Agedashi Tofu $7USD 

I really liked the presentation of 4 squares each with traditional agedashi toppings on them (ginger and daikon, scallions, seaweed and katsuoboshi), you could easily combine on a single piece if that was more to your style. The coating was light and the frying didn't make the dish too heavy, the real star though is the broth which is a fantastic sweet soy broth. My only wish is that this had been silken tofu rather than cotton tofu but well ... you can't have everything for $7 in the back streets of Brooklyn!

Spicy Miso Ramen $13USD

Built on a tonkotsu base with thinner style noodles this dish comes with egg, scallion corn and chashu pork. The spicy mix is interesting and deviates slightly from a traditional Japanese mix but is nonetheless delicious particularly with the creamy tonkotsu. The chashu is particularly excellent tightly rolled and well seasoned. 

Black Tonkotsu $13USD

Black garlic oil tonkotsu is an unusual ramen to appear on menus particularly in the US so I was very intrigued and boy did they deliver. Thick fresh chewy noodles are in a super creamy tonkotsu broth topped with a healthy splash of roasted garlic oil. I ordered mine with extra egg and fresh bamboo shoots. This was the perfect dose of warm soup belly in the NY winter weather. My only complaint is that the bowl could have used more soup, but since this is an option for ordering then I will just get a larger serving in the future. 

I'm super excited by the arrival of this business in walking distance of my house and will be definitely eating my way through the menu. They have a tan-tan-men which is my all time favourite and a curry ramen as well as a Tokyo style shoyu with tsukune that has me intrigued. For appetizers there are home made gyoza and takoyaki amongst others to explore. 

Like any new food business in Brooklyn Nana Ramen is currently being loved to death by the local hipsters so expect to wait for a while or go at unusual times. Our plan of going for a walk in the snow when most people were hiding inside paid off and we immediately got a table. Service is friendly but basic, cash only so stock up on the way. 

Nana Ramen

https://www.facebook.com/nanaramen/

330 Malcolm X Blvd

Brooklyn, New York 11211

Authentic ramen in Brooklyn, simple but definitely worth a stop

Review: Yakitori Glad, Honolulu Hawaii

If you've spent any serious time in Osaka you're bound to have ventured into a Torikizoku "Restaurant 280" a yakitori specialty restaurant where everything from the beer to the bar snacks are a flat rate 280Y. Their cheap and cheerful booze laden atmosphere house some of my favourite travel memories so when we found a clone in Hawaii we just had to go. 

Exchange rates and inflation have had their way but at $3.90USD for all items it's still a total bargain. 

Other than the price it's almost identical to Torikizoku even down to the decor.

The menu is point and slur simple, perfect for too many beers. Various bits of chicken are skewered, grilled and topped with sticky BBQ sauces. Choose chicken skewers with salt shio, BBQ marinade tare or specialty kushi-yaki like wasabi beef, tongue or pork belly.

Beer $3.90USD

Imported Sapporo and Kirin were available off the keg plus a number of other domestic beer options. 

 

Lychee and Grape Calpis Chuhai $3.90USD

Chuhai are alcoholic high balls common in bars in Japan. Usually sweet and reasonably low alcohol they're a sometimes safe bet when drinking rounds with salarymen if you wish to survive Japan's bar culture. Fizzy water, flavouring and shochu (white grain alcohol) are mixed and served long over ice. Add Calpis fermented yoghurt cordial for a creamy delicious option.

Tsukune okonomi style  $3.90USD

Ground chicken meatballs are threaded on a skewer grilled then topped with okonomi sauce, mayonnaise, shaved katsuoboshi and scallions. 

Momotare yaki $3.90USD 

Chicken thigh and scallions slathered in a sweet BBQ sauce are grilled till crispy

Tsukune with cheese $3.90USD

Ground chicken meatballs are threaded on a skewer grilled then topped with cheese slices

Momo-mayo-tare $3.90USD

Grilled chicken thigh with BBQ marinade and mayonnaise. 

Gyu-kushi $3.90USD

Grilled beef skewer with scallions - delicious with beer!

 

Renkon nikizume $3.90USD

Slices of lotus root stuffed with ground chicken meat grilled to perfection. I love lotus root in everything, it's a very fancy looking root vegetable with a neutral taste that adds fiber and depth to many dishes. Fantastic with the super hot Japanese mustard provided.

Hiya-yakko $3.90USD

One of my favourite dishes particularly in warm weather. Cold silken tofu topped with ginger, soy sauce, katsuoboshi and scallions.

Vegetable salad $3.90USD

All that meat and booze deserves a little greenery to finish it off. Fresh salad topped with a classic Japanese onion dressing.

Onigiri-yaki $3.90USD

The Japanese like to end a meal with white rice and I think it's a great way to cleanse the palette. White rice is formed into triangular rice balls, brushed with a little soy and then grilled until crispy. Neutral and chewy!

Sesame balls $3.90USD

I like to end on a sweet note and these fried sesame balls are one of my favourite desserts - gluten, dairy free and vegan! Sticky rice dough is filled with red bean paste, rolled in toasted sesame and deep fried to perfection

Yakitori Glad is a great example of the skewers and too many drinks Osaka style eating. Great for groups and parties, you can order a little or a lot and have a great time. Service is fast casual bar style, don't expect a lot of niceties and if you're looking for sushi or large plates you came to the wrong place. If you, like I love a rowdy night out and a lot of small plates this is an excellent time for everyone. 

 Yakitori Glad

http://yakitori-glad.com/

766 Kapahulu Ave

Honolulu, HI 96816

Authentic Japanese bar and small plates grill
Good for groups

Review: Gazen Izakaya, Waikiki Hawaii

Well I know there's been a bit of a break in content but there's a good reason! I moved to New York City and life got in the way. Moving across a continent is a big deal! Well I'm back in a sensible routien and I have lots of catch up to do on content and a whole new city to explore full of every kind of food imaginable. 

For my first wedding anniversary we decided to go to Waikiki. I had spent some time in Hawaii on work trips but my husband was yet to savour in the delights. Neither of us had been to Waikiki since we were very young, when you used to refuel in Hawaii on flights from Australia across the Pacific. 

Waikiki is now the perfect Japanese holiday destination and is filled with a hearty mix of Americans, Japanese and Australians... which makes it feel a little like being back in Sydney. This means a great variety of Japanese specialty restaurants all over Honolulu. 

Gazen was a real find, a traditional and authentic Kansai style Izakaya in suburban Honolulu. Aimed mostly at local residents rather than tourists the restaurant had a vibrant homely feel with many regulars who stopped to speak to us. 

Tuna Sashimi $16.50USD

Fresh and delicious, it seemed unreasonable to holiday in the middle of the Pacific and not eat tuna!

Tofu sampler $12.80USD

This was the real stellar dish of the visit. Home made tofu in three different styles - kurogoma black sesame tofu, sukui tofu in soy milk broth, zaru cold fresh tofu with Hawaiian sea salt. Each was delicious though I liked the sukui with a little soy and wasabi, were I coming back again I would have altered how much I order. I was expecting half or less of each sample. 

Croquettes $7.75USD

A home made specialty croquette made with ground chicken scallions and tofu. Delicious!

Tofu and Jako salad with yuzu dressing $7.50

Had I realised how large the tofu sampler was I would have skipped this but I was hypnotised by the range of fresh tofu products (and this was the small salad!). It was delicious but we ate less than a third of it. The yuzu dressing was crisp fresh and delicious, I expect there is a local yuzu farm since this was no bottled dressing.

Beef tataki $8.50USD and cucumber salad $4.50USD

American beef sometimes leaves a little to be desired, I probably would have skipped this if I was returning. The Cucumber salad was nice and cut through some of the fattier dishes, I wish it had come with more of the yuzu dressing from the other salad. 

Grilled chicken with onion sauce $9.25USD

If you were coming for a healthy meal this would definitely be a great option. Skin removed grilled chicken is served on top of sprouts and scallions with a delicious savoury ground onion sauce. Yum.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese vegetable pancake) $4.75USD

This takes a little while to prepare so you want to order this first and have it appear a the end of the meal. Fried vegetables and served topped with sticky sweet sauce, mayonnaise, dried bonito and herbs. Delicious. If you like the look of this check out my simple recipe for okonomiyaki a great way to get kids to eat more vegies.

Somehow I managed to not even get a picture of the seasoned burdock root dish we ordered which was by far one of the best. I suspect that exhaustion from so much food was to blame. 

So my usual approach when going to a tapas or izakaya place is to order one dish from each section of the menu and then order again if the party is still hungry. In this case this turned out to be a mistake and we were unable to eat half the food. The key here seems to be that this was not actually "small plates" and that really this was izakaya style food but with American sized meal portions. Just a litle nod to Hawaii's blended culture. 

The food was wonderful and that tofu was to die for, definitely worth going back to. Doing it again, I probably would have ordered the okonomiyaki and the tofu and left it at that. Service was usual immaculate Japanese deference. 

My only tip? Drive yourself or make sure to have instructions on your phone for a taxi driver since this was a townie restaurant away from the resorts and the drivers both there and back commented they had not heard of it. 

Gazen Izakaya

Traditional Japanese gastropub in suburban Honolulu

http://www.e-k-c.co.jp/gazen/honolulu/

2840 Kapiolani Blvd

Honolulu, HI 96826

Recipe: Okonomiyaki

It looks super fancy but okonomiyaki is a simple dish that's easy to make during the week. Okonomiyaki is "grilled as you like it" so get creative with the vegetables and toppings - use up leftovers and smother in delicious sauces for a sure fire winner.

Okonomiyaki

1/2 a head of cabbage
3 eggs
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 serve of hon dashi (bonito stock)
2 tbspn sesame
2 tbspn soy sauce

Toppings:

1/2 cup diced spring onion (scallion)
1 bottle of squeezable mayonnaise
1 bottle okonomi or tonkatsu sauce
1 tbspn sesame seeds

Method

Dice the cabbage and scallions and set asside. If you are using leftover vegetables or meat in your dish now is the time to mix them in

Mix the flour and bonito stock together in a bowl. For a gluten free alternative use rice flour.

Bonito stock can be bought in powdered sachets at any good Asian supermarket. For a vegetarian alternative use Vegeta or add vegetable stock in place of water to the egg mixture.

Crack the liquid ingredients into a bown or jug - egg, soy milk, sesame oil, soy sauce and water. 

If using liquid stock add to this step. Whisk until well combined.

Mix the flour, vegetables and egg mixture into a loosely formed batter. You can add more water at this stage if you want a more pancake like consistency.

Oil a small non stick pan and fill 3/4 inch with vegetable batter. Fry until the vegetables are browned half way up the sides. 

Use a plate to flip the pancake and fry until golden brown.

Prepare your pancake for dressing. 

Drizzle okonomi or tonkatsu sauce on top of the pancake. 

Tonkatsu sauce is very similar to okonomi sauce but usually intended for fried pork, it is easier to find in the US. 

Drizzle mayonnaise in the same direction as the okonomi sauce using a small squeeze nozzle

Turn the plate and drag a chopstick across the sauces for a decorative touch.

Sprinkle with scallions

Top with sesame seeds and serve on its own or with your favourite grilled meat and Japanese croquettes.