Tasty Recipes

Ingredients

• 8 small slender Japanese or Garnet sweet potatoes (4 to 5 pounds total)
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, well softened
• 1 1/2 tablespoons miso paste (preferably white)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third.

Prick potatoes all over with a fork and put on a foil-lined large baking sheet. Bake until very soft when squeezed, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

While potatoes bake, stir together butter, miso, and scallion until combined.

Slit hot potatoes lengthwise and, using oven mitts, push in sides to puff up potato. Serve with some scallion butter in center of each and with additional scallion butter on the side.

Scallion butter can be made 4 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to warm room temperature and stir before using.
· Sweet potatoes can be roasted (but not cut) 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature, covered with foil. Reheat potatoes on a baking sheet on middle rack of a 350°F oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages steamed chuka noodles (150g/package)
• 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 lb. boneless pork rib, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup peeled and thinly sliced carrots
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 green head cabbage leaves, chopped
• 4-6 Tbsps. yakisoba sauce, or 2 packages of yakisoba seasoning in yakisoba kits, or 4-6 Tbsps Worcestershire sauce
• Beni-shoga (pickled red ginger) for garnish*
• Ao-nori (dried green seaweed) for garnish*
• Salt and pepper
• *These are available in packages at Asian grocery stores

Preparation:

Lightly loosen pre-steamed chuka noodles and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in medium skillet on medium heat. Stir-fry the pork until almost cooked. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to season. Add carrots, onion, and green bell pepper in the skillet and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add cabbage in the skillet and stir-fry for a minute. Add noodles in skillet. Pour 1/4 cup of water over the noodles and cover the skillet. Turn down the heat to low and steam for a few minutes. Remove the lid and add yakisoba seasoning powder or sauce. (*Adjust the amount of sauce as you taste.) Stir the noodles quickly. Divide yakisoba among two plates. Sprinkle with aonori and beni-shoga just before serving.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound thinly sliced beef * It tastes better if the beef slices are very thin.
• A handful of shirataki noodles (made from yam cakes) or cellophane noodles
• 7-8 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 block enoki mushrooms
• 1 medium negi
• 1/2 Chinese cabbage
• 1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu)
• For sukiyaki sauce:
• 1/3 cup soy sauce / 3 tbsps sake (Japanese rice wine) / 5 tbsps sugar / 3/4 cup water
• For dipping: 4 eggs

Preparation:

Cut all ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Arrange all ingredients on a large plate and place the plate at the table. Mix soy sauce, sake, sugar, and water to make sukiyaki sauce. Set an electric pan or a skillet at the table. *After this point, everything is done at the table as you eat. Heat a little oil in the pan. Fry some beef slices, then pour sukiyaki sauce in the pan. Add other ingredients when the sauce starts to boil. Simmer until all ingredients are softened. Dip the cooked sukiyaki into the raw, beaten eggs and begin to eat. As the liquid boils away, add more sukiyaki sauce. *Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

* 3 1/3 cups rice
* 5 1/3 tablespoons vinegar
* 5 tablespoons sugar
* 3 tablespoons salt
* 10 sheets seaweed, halved
* 1/2 pound imitation crab, cut into long, thin pieces
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienne
* 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into long, thin pieces
* Sesame seeds

Directions

Wash the rice until the water rinses clear. Drain the rice in a colander and let it stand for 30 minutes. Place the rice in a pot or rice cooker, and add 4 cups of water or follow the instructions on a rice cooker. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove the cover, place a damp towel over the rice, and let cool for 10 minutes.

You can find sushi vinegar prepared at a grocery story or you can easily make it by pouring the vinegar, sugar and salt into a pan under low heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved. If you like sweeter vinegar, just add more sugar.

Pour sushi vinegar over cooked rice and mix it gently. You can do this in a wooden bowl for making sushi rice or in your rice cooker by turning off the cooker and pouring the vinegar and mixing gently and evenly and leaving it until it cools down to room temperature. The lid should remain open.

Cover a makisu (sushi rolling mat) with plastic wrap. Place half of a sheet of the seaweed over the plastic on the mat. Place a handful of rice across the seaweed and spread it evenly over the seaweed. Toss the imitation crab with the mayonnaise in a small bowl. Place some of the imitation crab meat meat along the center of the rice. Add some cucumber and avocado along the center of the rice. Using the mat and plastic wrap, roll the rice around the filling and press lightly to seal. Remove the mat and plastic wrap and sprinkle the roll with sesame seeds. Cut the sushi roll into bite sized pieces. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
beutiful girl with cake

Ingredients:
Types of gu and preparation suggestions

* Chinese cabbage, cut into bite-size squares or triangles
* Cabbage, cut into bite-size squares or triangles
* Lettuce, cut into bite-size squares or triangles
* Green onions, sliced
* Onions, sliced
* Leeks, sliced or chopped
* Okra, chopped
* Butternut squash*, thinly sliced
* Snow pea pods
* Green beans*
* Daikon*, thinly sliced
* Potatoes*, thinly sliced
* Sweet potatoes*, thinly sliced
* Mushrooms, sliced
* Bean sprouts
* Tofu, cut into small cubes
* Wakame seaweed
* Natto beans, minced

* These hard vegetables must be cooked for ten minutes or so. Not recommended: green pepper, celery (vegetables with strong flavor)

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Servings: 4

Here is a recipe that uses tofu, green onions, and mushrooms.
Ingredients:

* about 30 half-inch cubes tofu
* 4 mushrooms, sliced
* 2 stalks green onions, chopped
* 4 cups water
* 2 teaspoons dashi (nomoto)
* 3-4 tablespoons miso (adjust to taste)

Directions

Boil 4 cups of water and dashi. Add tofu and mushrooms, simmer gently about 3 minutes. Add miso and dissolve completely. Immediately turn off the heat and add chopped green onions, then serve.

Note: You have to cook the hard vegetables longer. If you have a combination of soft and hard vegetables, add the soft vegetables later. The miso flavor will weaken if you overcook the miso.