All posts tagged: Japanese

Cinco De Mayo Taco rice

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I celebrated Cinco de Mayo this year with Taco rice, a fusion dish from Okinawa. I always like the origin stories of fusion dishes. It almost feels like reading classic comedies: These stories usually starts with a sad tone of how immigrants feeling misplaced, homesick, or lacking of resources, but with a twist of serendipity and innovation, the ending is nice and delicious. The bravery and perseverance of the inventors in the stories become flavorful seasonings of the fusion dish in our plates. The invention story of taco rice happened in an southern island of Japan, Okinawa, where the US troop locates. To serve the Without using taco shells, Okinawa restaurants used warm rice to pair with the fillings in taco and this dish was popular among the US troops stationed in Okinawa. I used impossible foods to make my taco rice vegetarian. It’s very delicious and easy to make. Hope you enjoy it! Taco Rice Recipe Yield: 2 bento Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Ingredients: For the taco filling: 1 tablespoon …

Orange Sauce Chicken Roll

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Orange sauce is a traditional Taiwanese dipping sauce made from kamquat and chili. It’s popular in northern Taiwan and was mainly made by Hakka people. It has strong citrus fragrance which makes it a perfect sauce for pork and poultry. I was so surprised to find orange sauce in a Taiwanese organic grocery store the other day. It feels almost like a twenty year reunion with a childhood friend🤣 If you don’t have any Taiwanese friend to bring you some orange sauce, you can simply ignore it or use a little bit of marmalade as a easy replacement. Orange Sauce Chicken Roll Recipe Yield: 2 bento Prep time: 10 minutes (excluding marination time) Cook time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 2 boneless chicken, skin on chicken thigh 1 tablespoon soy sauce (marinade) 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine (marinade) 6-8 string beans, blanched in salt water 6-8 carrots, cut into the same length and thickness as string beans, blanched in salt water 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon mirin 2 tablespoon hot water 1.5 …

Sushi Sandwiches/Onigirazu

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Sushi sandwich, or “onigirazu” is by far my favorite picnic food! I’ve made it many times for picnic, hiking, and road trips. It’s really convenient and easy to make. Usually I prep the filling and rice one day before, and in the morning, I only need around 30 minutes to assemble them. Fillings for sushi sandwich is very versatile. Any dish without too much sauce or gravy can work. Here are some of my favorites: Ginger pork Teriyaki chicken Tuna corn salad Tomato Tofu Sauce Spam & omelette Sautéed carrots & omelette Sautéed spinach & mushroom After making sushi sandwiches for so many times, here are some tips that I learned from my past experience: Make sure to use warm or hot rice. This will also soften the seaweed sheet and keep the whole sandwich stick together. When stacking the filling, keep in mind where you will cut the sandwich and plan the cross-section accordingly Let the sushi sandwich sit for a few minutes to set Before cutting each sandwich, rinse your knife to prevent …