Bachan's Potato Salad

It amazes me how some foods just bring back memories from childhood.  Who remembers potato  salad at Japanese American potlucks.  Every family may have a little different variation, but at most family gatherings our aunts or mother made their version of the Japanese-style Potato Salad.  Now our moms and aunts are the Bachan's  (Grandmother's) of the family.  We remember and want to devour more of your delicious Potato Salad.   For those of you that have never had it, try it!

Bachan's Potato Salad

Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes
2 boiled eggs
1 Japanese cucumber
1/4 C light mayo
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 medium dill pickle

Directions
1.  Boil potatoes in a pot
2.  Boil eggs in another pot
3.  Let potatoes and eggs cool
4.  Slice eggs
5.  Slice cucumbers
6.  Chop the pickle
7.  Toss together with mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper

This is the perfect side dish for spring.  Thanks Chef Azuki for bringing back a family favorite!

BeaNspiration:  Reintroduce family favorites at your next reunion!

Spicy Cucumbers

Sometimes you want some tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetables) or kim chee (spicy cabbage) with your dinner, but just don't have time to make it or go to the Asian market. I actually never attempted to make tsukemono, but remember my mom getting out a contraption that she put the vegetables in and then she set a huge rock on top to smash it together, as it soaked for days.  Maybe we'll have to get Chef Azuki to show us how to do this one day, but for today, let's go for something a bit less menacing. This delicious recipe is easy enough for me to attempt and I love that she adds a little heat to the cool cucumbers.

Spicy Cucumbers

Ingredients:

3 Japanese Cucumbers

1 tsp salt

1 T memmi

1 T seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:  

1.  Slice cucumbers diagonally

2.  Soak the cucumbers in water with 1 tsp of salt for 30 minutes

3.  Rinse off the cucumbers

4.  Add memmi, seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, and crushed red peppers to cucumber

5.  Toss together

The heat of the crushed red peppers adds a little fire to this refreshing side dish.  It's a perfect compliment to any Asian entree.

BeaNspiration:  Embrace your yin and yang!

Corn Beef and Vegetables in the Crock Pot

Happy St. Patrick's Day all!  Hope you enjoyed a fun day and delicious meal!  I had a great day with Chef Azuki, preparing a one pot meal of corn beef and vegetables for our families.  In our crock pot, we kept to our "Recipes with an Asian Flair" by using Japanese beer and Napa cabbage in our traditional corn beef meal.  My family loved it; so, thank you so much Chef Azuki for letting me come over with my crock pot to start cooking this meal and for sharing this easy recipe with me!  We got a little delayed with all the festivities but wanted to share this recipe with you tonight.

Corn Beef and Vegetables in the Crock Pot

Ingredients:
1 (4 lb.) corned beef brisket package
4 cups of water
6 oz of Japanese beer
14 baby carrots
10 baby potaotes ( whole or quartered depending on size)
1 onion cut into bite sized pieces
3 celery stalks cut at a diagonal
1/2 Napa Cabbage chopped

Directions:
1.  Place brisket in crock pot with 4 cups of water.
2.  Add 6 oz or half a bottle of beer
3.  If your brisket comes with a season packet, add the contents into crock pot
4. Cover and set crock pot on high for 6 hours
5.  Reduce to low for 1 1/2 hours
6.  Add carrots, potatoes, onion, celery and cabbage to crock pot for the last hour
7.  Plate onto platter and dig in!

It's great to celebrate with the family and fun to cook with friends!

BeaNspiration:  Share good times with friends and family!

Chinese Chicken Salad (corrected version)

*****New correction to the recipe!  Sorry, Blogger BeaN messed up.  Recipe correction now in!***
                 (I had 2 T seasoned rice vinegar and it should be 6 T seasoned rice vinegar)


I think salad sounds delicious right now and there's nothing better than Chef Azuki's famous chicken salad.  I remember when the weather was hot and my mom didn't want to use the oven or the stove, we'd go to the Chinese Deli down in Atlantic Square and get boxes of Chinese Chicken Salad to munch on during the sweltering summer day.  I'd almost forgotten how much I liked that until Chef Azuki made it for her son's birthday backyard picnic on a sweltering summer day.  Oh yes!  I love the fact that she takes the extra time to slice the won ton skins into strips and fry it to top the salad.  This needed to be in our blog so I can now attempt to make it on my own.  Then, there's no reason to forget about it for years.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 package of wonton skins
Oil to fry wontons

Dressing:
4 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 C salad oil (canola oil)
2 T sesame oil
6 T seasoned rice vinegar

Directions:
1.  Debone and shred chicken
2.  Cut the lettuce into strips
3.  Chop the green onions
4.  Toss the lettuce and green onions together in large bowl
5.  Cut the wonton skins into strips
6.  Fry the strips in hot oil until crisp and golden brown
7.  Let the strips cool on a paper towel
8.  Prepare the dressing by whisking the ingredients throughly
9.  Pour the dressing on the lettuce & green onions
10.  Lovingly toss the salad
11.  Add the wonton skins right before serving and toss gently

I love it!  Can't wait to make this for my family!

BeaNspiration:  Bring back traditions from your childhood with love!

Hawaiian Pork in a Crock-Pot

It's time to get that crock-pot out!  For some reason, here in California with the dry weather and heat this winter, I never got my crock-pot out.  Well this weekend's rain was a so needed and got me in the mood for more crock-pot meals.  Chef Azuki made this, and it's a sure hit with the kids!  Try her Hawaiian Pork made with a whole boneless pork loin.

Hawaiian Pork in a Crock-Pot

Ingredients:
3 lb boneless whole pork loin
2 Tbsp onion salt
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
1 C teriyaki sauce
1 fresh garlic crushed

Directions:
1.  Rub the pork loin with onion salt
2.  Place the pork in the crock-pot
3.  Add crushed pineapple, teriyaki sauce and garlic on top of  the pork loin
4.  Cook on low for 6 hours

I love having dinner ready to go.  Chef Azuki, more crock-pot meals, please!  Arigato gozaimasu! Thank you Chef Azuki!

BeaNspiration:
So grateful for the delicious food, so grateful for the rain, so grateful to the universe!