Osechi Ryori (not BBQ)

[deguerre]

I can't wait to try each of these. My wife and I love Teriyaki Chicken, and have been seeking the right homemade recipe. So I'm looking forward to that one for sure!

Yes, me too. In fact, I think if I only had one choice for chicken ever again, I'd pick Teriyaki - even over fried.

 

[N8man]

Thank You For Sharing!!!

 

[landarc]

Speaking of fried...I occasionally will add a little extra ginger, garlic and some sliced up red pepper, just a touch. Then after marinading some wings or boneless thighs, I will dredge in flour, a little milk and egg wash then into panko. Let it sit for about 15 minutes then into the deep fryer. You end up with kara-age, if you find yourself with some kara-age and some lager, you got a good snack going...

 

[Grabnabber]

Landarc-

What's your cooking method for the chicken? Looks mouthwatering...

Tom

 

[landarc]

Well, I take some modelling paste and build up the crust look, then get the airbrush loaded with some bla...I mean...heh...

I cooked this particular chicken in a Weber kettle, running at 400F, indirect, using lump charcoal, covered. I cannot recall what wood I used. It went about 1 hour and change. Normally, I like to use a grill cage, and put it on over direct coals, maybe 300F to 325F, then flip flip, dip, flip flip, dip, flip flip and then done.

I may not have mentioned the dip stage, I like to dip the partially done chicken a couple of times along the cooking way. This gets more flavor into and onto the chicken.

 

[stephan]

Thanks for the recipe. I am definitely going to try them out.

 

[BobBrisket]

WOW, it all looks fantastic, and the history behind it all is even better. I'll be watching. Thanks for sharing.
Bob

 

[landarc]

A relatively new riff on an old traditional dish. One of the forms of Oden, a Japanese stew, that became more common amongst the Japanese farmers who immigrated to the U.S. was a form of pork stew. This had many similar ingredients to what was used in Japan, but, like many immigrants, took new forms due to lack of access to the original ingredients. This stew was a braised dish, featuring cheaper cuts of pork, aromatics such as onion, carrot and celery along with some more exotic ingredients such as shoyu (soy sauce), sake and rice vinegar. Here was my riff, in honor of my cousins New Years wedding. It is now only three years old, but a good one. Now, the recipe may seem odd, but, only of you are not familiar with my preference for building flavors in a dish while trying to keep them somewhat distinct.

Braised Smoked Pork Belly

Vinegar Blend:
2 cups rice vinegar, unseasoned
3 Star Anise
2 cloves garlic lightly pressed, not smashed
1 red pepper (red Serrano or red Fresno)
8 black peppercorns cracked in mortar and pestle once
3 red peppercorns cracked in mortar and pestle once
6 whole cloves

In heavy pot with lid, heat vinegar to just short of boiling, throw in all spices, garlic and pepper. Cover and let steep for at least 1 hour. A little heat once in a while helps. Do not boil or reduce, it changes the acidity if you do. This mix should taste aromatically spicey and sour.

Braising Liquid:
1 medium chopped yellow onion
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
2 medium carrots, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, smashed
6 dried shiitake (soak in 1-1/2 cup very hot water until soft, reserve water)
4 to 6 green onions, chopped, greens and whites separated
2 cups very hot water
1.5 cups shoyu
1/4 cup sake
1/8 cup mirin (sweet cooking sake)

Saute all vegetables except green onion greens and mushrooms, which are not really vegetables anyways, until wilted and they are releasing their aroma. Add in all liquids, including one cup of the mushroom soaking water (do not dump carelessly as their is likely to be sand, in fact, filtering it is a good idea) and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool. Shiitake should be sliced and ready to go.

Pork Belly:
2 to 3 lbs skinless pork belly
kosher salt, cracked black pepper to coat

I like to apply the salt and pepper run about 30 mins prior to smoking. I then put on smoker at 225F for 1 hour or so. I want some nice clean smoke, nothing too strong. Sure the meat is not really cooked, that will happen soon enough. It works really well if you use two smaller pieces of belly than one large on on the smoker.

Finally:
Braising liquid
Pork belly, smoked, cut into 1" to 1.5" chunks
3 coins of fresh ginger, quarter size, smack with back of knife a couple of times
sliced shiitake
1 teaspoon of sugar

Throw this all into a pan with a cover, I like a braising pan, but, a Dutch oven works as well. Black cast iron would be the traditional braising pot. So would a hole in the floor filled with embers, which I oddly do not have. Anyways, put this into the oven at 300F for 1 hour covered. Then remove cover and put on medium flame on stove and reduce braising liquid by half. Then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar, and reduce to start caramelizing. Just prior to serving, add vinegar mix to taste over low heat. The overall dish should have a thick sweet and sour sauce with dark rich pork belly chunks. I find that 1 cup works usually. This is intense, greasy, savory, sweet, salty and pretty good stuff.

 

[keale]

Nice, very nice! I'll eat whatever you make! Although it is my blood line, my Japanese isn't that good, actually not much at all! Thats what happens when you're raised in a place that has almost every nationality represented. That culture is very big in Hawaii, and all your food you showed is eaten here, albeit a lot of it has taken on a more "local" flavor, yours sir, are very traditional, and I mean that as a compliment!

 

[landarc]

Roy, I grew up with many Hawaiian Japanese here on the mainland and know the variation well. It is some good stuff, I do buy the Hawaiian takuan and rakkyo brands, as they are what I know. Potato-mac-crab salad is another thing I came to know and love. They do add a lot of pineapple, but, I always thought that was for the tourists.

 

[keale]

You mean its not Hawaiian because it has pineapples in it???
I just had a "loco moco" for dinner!:-D

 

[blue ox]

What brands do you prefer for other sauces such as hoisin?

My preference is for a brand of shoyu called Yamasa, but, the one with all the Japanese on it, not the English labeled one. I find the American brands sold by Kikkoman to be too harsh. I use shaved bonito flakes, my preference being the freshest looking stuff (large flakes, very little dust, puffy bag, looks like cedar shavings). Ha ha, there was the year I mistakenly shaved up my grandmothers kitchen stick and not the bonito stick. Cedar soup, hahaha, I got called stupid an awful lot after that incident, there was very little sympathy once the cedar soup was dumped.

This looks like the stuff I buy, except I do not buy from Jetro.

I buy the stuff in the red cap, but, I can get the import stuff with no English on the label. They say it is the same for either market, but, I think not.

 

[landarc]

For Chinese sauces, I am pretty lazy and just buy Lee Kum Kee as they are widely available. There are better sauces out there, but, LKK is available in almost all grocery stores.

I find Hoisin, black bean and oyster sauces to be a staple for me. I also highly recommend fish sauce as a kitchen staple. It is another way to add depth and complexity, along with salt, to sauces and dishes.

 

[pizzakngjr]

For Chinese sauces, I am pretty lazy and just buy Lee Kum Kee as they are widely available. There are better sauces out there, but, LKK is available in almost all grocery stores.

I find Hoisin, black bean and oyster sauces to be a staple for me. I also highly recommend fish sauce as a kitchen staple. It is another way to add depth and complexity, along with salt, to sauces and dishes.

What brand do you recommend for a good fish sauce? It would have to be mail order or maybe an ethnic grocer in St. Louis like Jays International foods would possibly have.

 

[landarc]

Well, the problem is, I get my fish sauce from a private source, so I cannot recommend the one I use. But, I hear Three Crabs (Thai made) is quite good. The normally accepted ideal is fish sauce from Phu Quoc island in Viet Nam. The only caveat is determining what is really from there and what is not.

 

[leanza]

Fish sauce is my ambosia. Two parts sauce and one sugar and marinade your sliced beef for ten minutes and heaven will open for you.

 

[landarc]

Well, time for something else. I really like to have pulled pork with slaw, but, over the years my taste has inexplicably changed from liking a really heavy mayo slaw to something with a little more bite. Traditionally, the Osechi meal has a lot of pickled, fermented and cured vegetables served alongside the rice and stews. My family has often eaten these various pickles along with a marinated cabbage slaw. While Mirin-zuke, Takuan and Rakkyo are common as well, I though for this post to go with out quick tsunemono recipe, essentially a salt/sugar pickle.

Landarc's Tsunemono
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons shoyu
3 tablespoons salt (1T fine sea salt, 2T kosher salt, yes it matters)
1 large cabbage, medium-fine shreds
2 medium or 3 small carrots, fine shreds

Combine kosher salt with cabbage and carrots, lightly massage the salt into the vegetables and let sit for 20 minutes. Then thoroughly rinse and spin dry in a salad spinner. Combine the first four ingredients and the 1T of fine sea salt, stir to combine, a little heat help a lot. Add to the cabbage/carrot mix toss to combine and place in a large plastic ziploc bag. Press out the air and place in a pot, put a plate over the cabbage and weight with a can of soup, or beans or whatever, it doesn't really matter what is in the can. Let sit overnight. This will 'pickle' the vegetables.

Variations...
Hawaiian - I have had this with harusame (potato starch noodles), fake crab and pineapple Just kidding, no pineapple, that was for Keale.

American - add fruit such as raisins, apple or pineapple (yes, really)

American of Japanese ancestry - small shrimp, harusame, sesame seed

Truth be told, this stuff is great with pulled pork on a sandwich. Add a little vinegar sauce to the mix and it works incredible with pulled pork.

In this image, the salad is in the background (duh )

 

[leanza]

What a fantastic way to prepare cabbage. Keep the love coming. I would love to put these traditions into play.