My Elder Sister Visits My Mother

Song:  Crossing The Sweetwater

Artists:  Jeannine Geockeritz (Flute) / Tamara Oswald (Harp)

My elder sister is visiting my mother for a week while my family and I

are away attending various functions in Las Vegas and Southern California.

My mother is glad to spend time with her eldest daughter.

We had eaten at a Korean Restaurant earlier...

but my mother likes to eat often...

so, she made rice balls to eat while they watched a show on TV.

Hana is always comfortable at home.

She likes laying her head on one of the pillows on the sofa.

My elder sister relaxed some in my mother's relaxation room.

I then showed her the deep freeze in one of my mother's garages.

She has plenty of food to pick from...

 so she may cook my mother's favorite dishes.

I also loaded my mother's blog on my mother's computer in her office...

so my sister may use the recipes I have in this blog.

My mother and my elder sister settled in for the night in front of the TV

and started the drama series 'Marco Polo'. 

I left them to watch their drama...

at about 1 AM.

All in our family loves to stay up late...

so, I am sure they will be watching until the wee hours of the morning.

Later today...

I will be taking my sister to show her where I shop for my mother...

and I will stock up on fruits and vegetables...

juices, rotisserie chicken and turkey...

and I will then make my sister cioppino for supper.

She wanted me to show her how to make it for my mother.

My sister will also love the salad I usually prepare for my mother.

My mother is sure to enjoy her time with her eldest daughter...

both love Korean Dramas.  :)

Japanese Char Siu Experiment Results

Song:  Puamana (Sea breeze)

Artists:  Keola and Kapono Beamer

This was one of my favorite albums when I lived in Hawaii (Oahu).

I picked this song because it reminds me of great times...

instead of my focusing on my defeat  :)

I had disproved my hypothesis  :(

My wife's recipe was simpler...

and the results were better.

Cooking does not have a laboratory setting where you control all of the variables

and change only one at a time to get definitive results.

Don't get me wrong...

it turned out okay...

but I had over cooked it some.

I was shooting for a much more moist and flavorable result.

My hypothesis on the cooking time was also off.

I ended up having to cook everything for 1.5 hours.

In retrospect...

1.25 hours would have been about right.

I humbly bow to all the more experienced cooks out there...

my wife being one of them  :)

Use my wife's recipe in the previous article.

A total of over 5 lbs. of meat.

After an hour and a half of cooking at 325 degrees F...

I took the pan out and covered it to rest the meat for 20 minutes.

I prepared the meals by taking out our favorite kimchis.

My mother likes the young won bok kimchi...

while I like my modified kimchi (with a lot more ground red Korean pepper mixed in).

The finished product.

Everything was laid out...

and we enjoyed a fine meal.

We ended eating about over a pound of the char siu (two pieces of meat sliced up).

This was the first slicing of the meat.

What is strange

is that one of the larger pieces of meat was a bit dried out...

while one of the smaller pieces was moist...almost throughout.

This simply does not make any sense to me.

The smaller piece was next to the larger one.

The result should have been the opposite.

Anyways...

tomorrow, we will have char siu with somen.

And if there is any left...

I will make a char siu salad on the next day...

or we may just leave it for movie night...

and snack on slices of it.

I wrapped up a chunk of char siu for my wife and son to enjoy...

and I took it home when I left my mother's for the night.

I placed the remainder in the fridge for the meals to come.

While my mother said she enjoyed the meal thoroughly...

you know...

Moms...

they will say anything to ensure their children do not feel bad  :)

I did enjoy the meal...

but it wasn't what I was expecting.

I wanted the char siu to be absolutely mouth watering...

and so moist...

well...it didn't work out that way.

All I can do now is chalk it up for experience...

and enjoy this song  :)

While this song is memorable...

my meal was not  :)

Poke / Japanese Char Siu Marinade

Song:  Hawaii Five - O

Why the Hawaii Five - O song?

Poke is the Hawaiian name for a raw seafood salad

 or boiled or raw seafood over rice.

This restaurant 'Poke King'...

 just opened up down the mountain...

and but a few miles from us.

I first tried it with my family.

We loved it.

I then took my mother there that night.

We both had this particular Poke...

(many choices as to the main proteins)...

Boiled Octopus, Boiled Shrimp, and Tofu...

over white rice.

I also had green onions and crab salad added to the tops...

and we had the Truffle Ponzu mixed in with the meats.

It was absolutely delicious...and nutritious.

Also...

when I lived in Hawaii...

the largest population group by ethnicity was the Japanese...

but there was also a lot of other Asian groups there.

So, naturally...

dishes fusing the groups emerged.

I am not saying this particular Asian fusion of Japanese and Chinese

(Japanese Char Siu)

had come out of Hawaii (I don't know)...

however...

there are most certainly similar dishes from Hawaii.

The following recipe for Japanese Style Char Siu was modified from

an internet recipe, by my wife.

I then further modified it to put more of the flavors my mother and I love.

The recipe I will give you will be the one my wife modified to her taste.

This is a very easy recipe...

however, although the making of the marinade and the cooking process 

is very quick...

the actual marination of the meat takes five days.

First...

get the smaller cuts of boneless pork loin filets.

Each should be between 1 - 2 lbs.

I had my mother cut each of these loins in half so they would fit into the 

containers we had for the five day marination.

Now...

the recipe is for one 1-2 pound pork loin

 (remember...this is the one my wife uses):

Japanese Char Siu

Ingredients:

 1-2 lbs. of boneless pork loin

Marinade (marinate for 3-5 days):

Mix the following ingredients together:

Sugar:  1/3 cup

Soy sauce:  2 Tablespoons

Sake:  1 Tablespoon

Salt:  1 Teaspoon

Miso:  1 Tablespoon

Honey:  1 Tablespoon

Sesame Oil:  1 Tablespoon

Green Onions:  2 - 3 stalks cut into 1 - 2 inch sections

Mix thoroughly and apply to the pork in a covered container

and let marinate in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

This will form a paste with which you will then coat the pork.

Be sure to turn and re-coat the meat at least once a day 

to ensure complete marination.

Cooking process:

Preheat oven to 325 F

Put the marinated meat (not the marinade) into an uncovered roasting pot 

and roast for 20 minutes per pound.

When cooking is done:

Take out from oven

Cover the roasting pot and let set for 20 minutes

(called resting...it allows the meat to re-obsorb the meat juices

which had been cooked out of it).

You will then thinly slice the pork to make Char Siu

This meat is delicious by itself as a snack...

or with rice or somen, or on top of ramen.

It should be tender, and have a slight honey taste.

Now...

what I have done is to add an additional step.

I will explain the rationale...

as it is, as it stands, just a hypothesis.

I am in the process of testing my hypothesis...

and I will give you the result in a week or so.

You see...

with the process my wife uses...

the paste draws out the liquid in the meat and the moisture in the paste partially 

replaces the meat juice near the surface.

What I reason from this is that due to natural osmosis...

the liquid is at a higher concentration in the paste...

and so, in order to balance out the imbalance...

the lower concentration transports to the area of higher concentration (osmosis).

However...

since there is very little moisture in the paste...

by my adding an additional step of a one day high liquid solution

of the marinade to the process...

the extra honey, sake, and miso solution should be able to infuse the meat

to a much greater depth and with much greater ease...

resulting in a much more tender, flavorable, and moist, Char Siu.

Rationale:

As I had gone over briefly...

Osmosis happens when a liquid is at a lower concentration 

than another solution...and it may diffuse into it to try to establish equilibrium.

In Osmotic water filtration 

(rare...water purification systems usually use Reverse Osmosis)...

the water must go through a semi-permeable membrane to establish

solution equilibrium.

This filters out impurities.

In reverse osmotic systems (the norm)...

pressure is used to force a higher concentrated solution

through a semi-permeable membrane to filter in reverse

of what natural osmosis would do.

Now...

since the membrane of the meat is much more permeable...

this allows the transportation of the liquid out of the meat 

to happen more easily.

And...

this is what should make the difference...

since there is an abundance of a liquid solution surrounding the meat...

as the liquid is drawn out of the meat...

the miso, honey, and sake solution will be drawn in to replace

the outgoing fluid...until equilibrium is established...

due to water tension.

What does this mean in practical terms?

The meat should be deliciously infused with the solution deep inside the meat...

thereby fully flavoring everything instead of just near the surface.

Warning:

This is just my hypothesis as of now...

as based upon the rationale I had provided above.

Only after successful testing may I call it a theory  :)

So...

in practical terms...

if you are unwilling to wait for my results...

I recommend you just follow my wife's recipe...

as it already has a tried and true result.

So why would I mess with a proven method of deliciousness?

I hate following directions as is.

I've got to tinker with it to try to make improvements...

and to make it my own.

What do you expect?

I'm a guy  :)

I had my mother cut the onions.

 I then added the ingredients of the marinade and mixed them in a bowl.

(I had to...of course...triple the recipe...as I had 3 pork loins...

and I added more miso and honey...as we love these flavors).

And...

in order to provide the needed amount of liquid to keep the loins fully submerged...

and to keep the solution strong enough...

I multiplied the amounts of the honey and miso to 20x the amount...

and the sake...to the tops of the meat.

---------- 

Do not use water to fill the liquid.

This will lower the concentration of the solution...

and so, will slow the osmotic process.

Besides...

the sake will also add flavor.

------------

Again...

this is just my extra preliminary step.

Tonight...

I will replace the marinade with the marinade paste...

however...

I will still add extra amounts of miso and honey for a more full flavor.

This will ensure that the cooking times will not be thrown off...

and especially...

that the meat will be a Char Siu...

and not a partially boiled roast due to too much moisture.   :)

Also...

the cooking times should still remain at the recommended amount because...

the per pound recommendation is talking about one solid piece.

It is to ensure the thorough cooking of a piece of meat which has depth to it

as a result of being a certain poundage...

and, as most meats have a similar shape...

the surface area is about the same per pound.

As each piece is about one pound...

it doesn't matter how many individual pieces I have (within reason)...

as they will have the same depth and surface area...

and the output of the oven can more than compensate for additional pieces 

without losing the overall heat in the oven...

as the amount of meat cannot absorb the heat faster than the oven can replace it

(again, I am not talking about industrial cooking where much higher oven outputs 

are necessary to make up for the tens of pieces being cooked at once).

So...

last night...

with the pork loins submerged in the preliminary liquid solution...

I went back on this night to prepare and apply the marinade paste

for the final four days of marination.

-------------------

I have just come back from making my mother's supper...

and from completing the final stage of marination.

Now...

I am doing the first step mostly to prove or disprove my hypothesis...

because...again...

I am a guy.

This is what guys love doing...experimenting  :)

-------------------

If it doesn't make that much difference...

I will simply omit the first step of marination...

and go directly to this last step...

as below:

First...

I drained the previous liquid...

and I started making the marinade paste.

I had used much more than the recipe demanded in the miso, honey, and sugar.

I wanted to ensure the meat would be fully submerged in the paste.

Why?

Because...

again...

I'm a guy.

In general...

we all hate having to do something more than once.

We want to ensure we get it right the first time...

and in ensuring it happens...

we generally over engineer things from the beginning.

If you are a guy...

or you know a guy well...

you already know what I am talking about.

When we start a project...

we want to ensure we have more than enough of everything...

just so we can make it better with more.

You know our motto:

If a little is good...

more is better...

and...

If one is good...

two is better  :)

So...

in following this great tradition of the average male... :)...

when the recipe called for two cups of sugar for the amount of meat I used...

I added four cups!

Where it called for six tablespoons of honey...

I added approximately a cup!

With the miso...

it also called for just six tablespoons...

and I added approximately two to three cups worth!

I wanted to make extra paste to completely cover the meat...

 so I wouldn't have to turn over the meat...

and so, making the whole marinating process automatic

(another guy thing...we love automating processes  :)

The paste is the consistency lying squarely between the consistency of the miso...

and the honey.

I kept spooning the marinade over each group of meat until each was filled.

Now...

I won't have to turn over anything.

Of course...

it also means that I had used a lot more material...

but, I didn't want to risk the meat drying out in the fridge at my mother's...

as I could not monitor it on a regular basis.

So...

in this case...

most definitely...

more was better!  :)

In another four days...

I will be slicing and tasting the result...

and I will report the result in a future article.

---------------

Even though we had our fill of spaghetti tonight...

we had eaten a little early...

so...

I will be returning to my mother's sometime around midnight...

for some midnight madness.

I will bake her a pizza...

and we will watch a movie together.

My mother gleefully accepted my proposal for pizza and a movie tonight...

and so, she is very much looking forwards to midnight.

Kimchi And Somen

Song:  Gymnopedie #1

Artists:  Salastina Music Society

Last night...

my mother only wanted something light...

and so, I made Somen for her.

(She gets excited like a child when I make this for her.

It is one of her favorite meals).

Somen is a fine noodle Japanese dish 

which consists of noodles which have been quickly boiled (just a few minutes)...

and then added to a cold sauce made from a mixture of Memmi and water

(at a ratio of 1 Memmi to 4 parts water)...

and with the addition of chopped green onions and wasabi in the resulting 

Somen sauce.

Somen noodles are easily obtainable at almost any Asian market...

or from Amazon.

I had my mother chop the green onions while I spiced up the Kimchi.

Last year...

I had purchased this 1 kg bag of finely ground Korean hot peppers.

What I do, is use an older container of Kimchi...

and I add new Kimchi to the container to about one third full.

I then add about one sixth a cup of the finely ground Korean hot peppers to it.

I then thoroughly shake the Kimchi in the container

to fully coat the Kimchi with the pepper powder.

What is unique to these peppers is that...

while they have some heat to them...

it is not over bearing.

It is mostly the deep richness of the flavor which adds 

so much to a batch of store bought Kimchi.

Now...

I don't like garlic so much.

Why do I like this Kimchi?

While this brand of Kimchi is delicious by itself...

it has no discernible garlic taste

(it is low in garlic...but high in flavor)...

and with the addition of this extra flavor to your store bought Kimchi...

you will enjoy it like never before.

Also...

eating foods high in capsaicin has...

not only a great thermic effect in the body

(revs up the metabolism...resulting in a higher output of body heat...

which burns excess calories...and makes the body more resistant to insulin resistance)

(not, so far as I know... a medically proven fact...however, it stands to reason)...

it also has a natural anti inflammatory effect

(medical research has shown this).

However...

I add it because it just has so much more flavor with it.

It is also much more economical.

As each bite of the modified Kimchi is so much more satisfying...

you won't feel the need to eat so much of it.

Simply bring water to a roiling boil.

The water here is not yet ready.

I wait until the water rolls over upon itself...

as pictured below.

When this happens...

the noodles don't need to be stirred...

as they are in constant motion...

from the bottom of the pot...

up the sides...

and back down in the middle.

You must carefully monitor the noodles...

as they can easily be over cooked.

You will want to strain them as soon as they stop being hard.

(simply sample the noodles every 15 - 30 seconds after the first two minutes).

Over boiling them will result in the noodles becoming soggy

and clumping together in the strainer.

You may also choose to add ice cubes to the noodles after they had been strained.

This chills the noodles...

and keeps them from clumping...

as well as adding an additional sensation to the palate.

We eat them both ways...

still hot...

or sometimes...

chilled.

An important point about the sauce...

add the amount of desired wasabi to the sauce...

and...

carefully mix it in until there are no discernible clumps.

To leave clumps of wasabi in the sauce

will result in you ingesting a clump of wasabi in the noodles...

and...especially as you slurp the noodles in...

the resulting sting throughout your sinuses will make you feel as if

your hair is standing on end.

Then add the green onions to the sauce.

That is it...

you are ready to eat them.

Now...

there are two basic ways to eat your Somen.

One way is to fill the sauce with the noodles...

and to then eat the fully soaked noodles straight from the sauce.

This is my mother's preferred way to eat them.

With me...

I like to take a mouthful of noodles at a time

and to then dip them halfway into the sauce...

just to flavor them while still enjoying the full noodle flavor...

without them being over powered by the sauce.

(I first fill a large bowl with just the noodles so I may take them directly from it).

If you are new to eating Somen...

I highly recommend eating them my way first.

This way...

you may control the ratio of sauce to noodle...

and you may then easily balance the resulting flavor

by how far you dip the noodles into the sauce.

My mother had eaten three full bowls of the noodles.

I had eaten the rest.

For a meal for two people...

if you are not particularly hungry...

five bundles of noodles will be just about right.

That is what we had consumed on this night.

However...

7 bundles is our usual amount.

We will often have a side of shrimp...

or other meat to go with our Somen...

along with Kimchi.

However...

it is a delicious and quick snack without any accompanying meat...

especially for late at night.

It was almost midnight before we finished our meal on this night.

Afterwards...

I went to our local Super Walmart to buy the ingredients

for the Japanese Char Siu I will be marinating tonight...

and cooking in 5 days.

We will then be able to have this meat to consume with our Somen...

and for just snacking upon while we watch TV.

I usually shop at Super Walmart between the hours of midnight and 4 AM.

(it is open 24/7).

There are very few people there at this time of night...

and so, I may get in and out quickly.

(How many men do you know who love to shop?  :)

Butter Sautéed Scallops

Song:  Gnossiennes #1 and #3 (Flute and Harp)

Artists:  Julie Scolnik (Flute) / Franziska Huhn (Harp)

I wanted to first show you what I had done with the Japanese Maple I had planted

in my mother's front porch area...

and more importantly...why.

The Japanese Maple is in the wire cage and plastic housing.

As it was a mere sapling when I had planted it...

and as temperatures in Reno plummet below freezing during the winter months...

and as strong direct sunlight can burn the leaves and trunk of a young Japanese Maple

(the sun is extra strong at our altitude...over 1 mile in elevation)...

I had used a tomato cage to hold a plastic cover over the tree.

For winter...

I had also insulated the sapling with Sphagnum Moss to protect it from freezing temperatures.

I had punched some holes in the top to allow snow melt to drip in.

I also use the water from the aquariums after I clean the gravel inside them...

to water the plants.

It is excellent natural fertilizer for all plants.

I will keep the plastic on until the tree outgrows this structure.

I looked inside...

and the sapling is fully leafed out...

and all of the leaves are healthy and vibrant.

I started this cooking session with a good cup of coffee...

in a great mug  :)

Now...on to the scallops  :)

I have found that Trader Joe's has some very good scallops.

I had bought multiple bags of them and put them in my mother's deep freeze.

I merely defrosted the scallops in warm water until the centers became soft.

It took about 10 minutes.

These excellent potatoes, haricots, and mushrooms are also available at Trader Joe's.

After removing the scallops from the water...

I gently pressed out the excess water.

You must make sure to extract as much of the water from the scallops as you can.

Otherwise, so much water will come out during cooking...

you will end up with boiled scallops.

I initially use just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.

Again...

I am using my mother to demonstrate the cooking.

Although I sometimes have my mother help a little...

I usually do all of the cooking...

except the veg prep.

I initially cook both dishes on medium heat.

Both of these dishes naturally time out to finish at about the same time...

so you may start them together.

After having lightly grilled both sides of the scallops...

I then add the butter to the pan...

and I raise the heat to a medium high setting.

The purpose of the butter is to not only infuse the flavor of it into the scallops...

but it then becomes easy to lightly brown and crisp the outside of the scallops.

Minus the butter...

I also raised the temperature of the pan with the potatoes.

The purpose is the same for both...

to slightly brown and crisp the outsides of the food...

while leaving the insides tender.

I then plated the finished potatoes.

The rice was bowled...

and the miso soup was prepared.

I then plated the scallops.

The meal was ready.

Whenever we eat our meals...

we usually include some form of pickled vegetable.

These cherry peppers are very good.

My meal.

My mother's meal.

My mother usually eats much more...

but she had eaten a large lunch.

My mother had taken a bite of one of her scallops...

and...

I don't know if this was a mother's exaggerated look of approval...

and feigned gushing of how delicious it was...

but it was rather good...

especially for my first time cooking this dish.

(As my wife often cooks this dish for Alex...

I had asked her how she prepared this dish...

and I tried it out at my mother's).

-------------

In an article after the next one...

I will demonstrate a recipe for Japanese Char Siu

(Although it is often called Yaki Buta...it really is not.

Yaki refers to grilling...and Buta means pig.

  This pork loin dish will be marinated for 5 days...and roasted).

My wife had made this dish a few days ago...

and I had found it to be so delicious...

I had her write down the recipe she had modified...

and I will make further modifications to it

(My mother and I like certain flavors...

and so, I will add more of those ingredients).

I bought the pork loins last night.

I shall start the marinade process tonight.

After it is cooked...

I will then thinly slice the meat...

and my mother will be able to enjoy eating the slices while watching movies

on her TV.

---------------

The next article will be short...

but I will include a modification I do to store bought Kim Chee...

to make it more healthful...

and have even greater flavor.

I will also go over some tips in the making of making Somen.

(For anyone from Japan...this won't be news to you.

However, for all those unfamiliar with this dish...

these tips will make it easy to make correctly).