Name: Gyoza Wrappers w KitchenAid Stand mixer
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 100g cake flour/plain flour (T45); 1/3 tsp fine salt; 1/2 tbsp rice flour (optional); 50ml boiled water

September 19, 2020

Homemade Gyoza Wrappers with Kitchenaid

Gyoza Wrappers w KitchenAid Stand mixer

Serving Size

about 12 to 15 gyoza wrappers

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Total Time

45 minutes

Ingredients

100g cake flour/plain flour (T45)
1/3 tsp fine salt
1/2 tbsp rice flour (optional)
50ml boiled water

Instructions

1. Add flour, salt and rice flour into a large bowl and stir well. Add hot water and stir with a rubber spatula. Then knead the dough by hand for about 1 to 2 minutes until it gets smooth. You can shape it into a ball.
2. Let the dough sit in the bowl for about 15 min, covered with a damp cloth.
3. Remove the bowl of your stand mixer and attach the pasta roller to it.
4. Take some of the dough (about 1/3), shape into an oval. Flatten it and dust it with flour on both sides.
5. Feed the dough through the pasta roller (setting 1 - thickest), at least 3 to 5 times or until the dough is smooth. Turn dial to the thickness setting 3 or 4 and run the dough through once or twice. Repeat (once or twice) at each following position until you reach setting 8. The target thickness really depends on your own preference. I like thin skin, so I roll it until setting 8 :)
6. Lay the rolled out sheet of dough on a cutting board and cut it out, using a circle cookie cutter (8~9cm diameter suggested). Dust the cut out wrappers with katakuriko/potato starch and set aside. Repeat as many times as you can.
Gather all the scrap dough, put it all together and re-roll it a few times until it becomes thin layers again.

Notes

I usually make 300g for 5 people.

April 30, 2020

Chicken amakara – sweet and sour with egg sauce

Chicken amakara - sweet and sour with egg sauce

Persons

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

40 minutes

Total Time

1 hour, 10 minutes

Chicken amakara - sweet and sour with egg sauce

Ingredients

700g boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into bite sizes
60g katakuriko/potato starch

Ingredient A

2 tbsp cooking sake or cooking white wine
1 tsp white sugar
1/3 tsp fine salt

For the seasoning sauce

2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
150ml apple juice + 50ml water (or 40ml apple syrup + 160ml water)
2 to 3 tsp white sugar
2 tsp vinegar (apple cider vinegar)

For the egg sauce

2 egg - hard boiled and chopped
1/4 onion - finely chopped, soaked in water, then drained well
60g mayonnaise
1 garlic - grated
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp fine salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add all the egg sauce ingredients and mix. Chill in the fridge until the chicken is ready.
2. In a medium bowl add chicken and ingredient A. Marinade for 15 minutes at least.
3. Meanwhile, make the seasoning. In a small bowl add all the seasoning ingredients and mix. Set aside.
4. Add katakuriko/potato starch into a bowl with chicken and mix well to coat the chicken evenly.
5. In a frying-pan, heat 2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil, place all chicken and cook. Flip once, cover and simmer for about 3 minutes.
6. Uncover and cook them until both sides are nicely brown.
7. Pour all the seasoning in one go over the chicken and mix the sauce evenly in the pan.
8. Transfer the chicken onto a serving plate and garnish with the egg sauce :-)

January 23, 2020

Soft White Bread Buns with tofu – bread maker

Soft white bread buns with tofu - bread maker

Serving Size

6 soft white pan

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

12 minutes

Total Time

1 hour, 12 minutes

Soft white bread buns with tofu - bread maker

Ingredients

200g bread flour (or 195g/T65 and 5g/gluten flour)
3g salt
16g sugar
130g milk
15g margarine
50g tofu firm
* You can also use "soft tofu" to make the buns even fluffier. It will make the dough quite soft so giving it a nice shape will become trickier. You can dust the dough with flour as you work on it, it will help (not too much though).
3.5g dry yeast

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients in the pan of your bread machine. Add yeast in the yeast compartment. Select dough cycle and press start as per manufacturer's instructions.
2. When the dough cycle is complete, remove the dough from the machine and place on a floured surface.
3. Punch the dough down and divide it in 6 pieces. Cover it with a damp cloth. Let it rest for about 15min.
4. Shape each piece into a round ball with a line in the middle of the bun, using a stick (eg.g chopsticks). Arrange on lined baking trays. Cover and let rise for 40~60min in a warm place or until the dough has doubled in volume. Lightly sprinkle flour over the bread, using a cooking sieve.
5. Preheat the oven to 180℃ degree. Reduce the heat to 150℃ degree and bake for about 15 min. Remove from the oven and let it cool down on a wire rack.

January 14, 2020

Katsudon bento – fried pork cutlet lunch box

Katsudon bento - fried pork cutlet lunch box

Serving Size

5 to 6 people

Prep Time

40 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Total Time

1 hour, 40 minutes

Katsudon bento - fried pork cutlet lunch box

Ingredients

For the steamed rice :

4 or 5 rice cooker cups uncooked Japanese rice - wash and drain
4 or 5 rice cooker cups water
900g boneless pork loin - cut into about 1 to 1.5cm slices
salt and pepper (for seasoning)
some flour (for dusting)
2 eggs - mix with 30ml milk
some panko / breadcrumbs (as much as needed)
1/2 cabbage - cut into julienne - wash and drain well
tonkatsu sauce
mayonnaise (optional)

Instructions

1. Add water and washed rice into a rice cooker. Cook according to the rice cooker instructions. Keep warm. Just before serving, divide the rice into serving bowls.
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and dust with flour lightly.
3. In a small bowl, mix egg and milk together. Dip the pork into the egg mixture, coat it well. Then coat with panko/breadcrumbs evenly.
4. Pour enough oil in a wok or a large saucepan. Heat on medium-high until hot : Stick in a bamboo chopstick, if bubbles appear, it's hot enough.
5. Place the pork gently in the hot oil and cook both sides, turning occasionally, until nicely and evenly golden.
6. Cut the tonkatsu into pieces. Serve steamed rice in a large rice bowl, sprinkle cabbage onver the rice. Place "tonkatsu" pieces onto it. Pour "tonkatsu sauce" over the pork!
Serve hot!

January 12, 2020

Kakiage tempura udon

Persons

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Total Time

35 minutes

Ingredients

For the kakiage tempura

1 leek (about 240g) - into a julienne
100g small shrimps
1 tbsp katakuriko/potato starch
4 tbsp plain flour/cake flour (T45)

Tempura mix

2 tbsp water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 egg

For the easy udon soup

2L water
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dashi powder
Udon noodles for 5 people

Instructions

1. Making the kakiage In a large bowl, add leeks and shrimps. Mix. Then add katakuriko/potato starch and flour. Coat vegetables well with flour.
2. For tempura batter, add beaten egg in a medium bowl, then add ice water (2 tbsp) and vinegar (1tsp). Mix them. Pour the batter on the vegetables from #1 and mix lightly.
3. Prepare a large plate lined with paper towels (it will help absorb excess oil).
4. Add oil to a large saucepan to reach a depth of 5 cm. Heat up to 165~170°C at medium-high heat. Gently place a few battered vegetables in. While the batter fries, use your chopsticks to maintain the veggies shape until it has hardenned (other wise they might spread away from each other). Fry kakiage until they are golden brown. Drain excess oil on the paper towel plate. Set aside.
5. Prepare the udon soup In a big cooking pot add 2L water, add soy sauce, mirin, sugar, salt and dashi powder. Bring it to a boil. That's your soup.
6. Bring another large pot of water to boil for udon cooking. Once the soup and the kakiage are ready, cook udon noodles in the water. For the time to boil udon, follow the package instructions. Heat up the noodle soup at the same time.
7. Serve udon and soup in bowls and top with kakiage!

March 25, 2019

Chicken Balls for snacks

Persons

Prep Time

40 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Total Time

1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

500g chicken breast - boneless
500g chicken thigh (or stick to chicken breast, marginally healthier) - boneless

For the seasoning

4 to 5 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 carrot - finely chopped
1 to 2 onion - finely chopped
2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
2 tsp paprika powder (no chili)
80g mayonnaise
10g mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
55g potato starch / katakuriko

Instructions

1. Fill a cooking pot with water. Place the chicken in it. Once it has boiled, simmer for about 15 to 20min or until chicken is cooked.
2. Remove the chicken from the hot water and drain. Cut into bite size bits. Put the chicken into your food processor and process until it becomes crumbs.
3. Transfer chicken into a big bowl. Add all seasoning ingredients and mix to combine evenly.
4. Shape the chicken mixture into small balls and place in hot oil. Cook all sides, turning occasionally, until nicely and evenly golden. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.
5. Serve with a mix of mayonnaise and soy sauce. Or any other sauce you like!