Nanban roughly translates as ‘Southern Barbarians’, referring to Portuguese merchants and missionaries, among the first Westerners to enter Japan via the island of Kyushu. With them, they brought South American chillies, their love for deep-frying foods, and their habit of marinating them in vinegar and chillies. It was not long before the Japanese took a fancy to these new flavours, creating Nanban Sauce, a zingy, sweet, sour and lightly spicy accompaniment to fried and steamed fish and chicken, or simply as a dressing over salad. I use Nanban Sauce here with a whole deep-fried sea bass in a dish that…
Author: Chef M
In Japanese cooking, simmering (ni) is a very important method of cooking. For the non-Japanese, the idea of simmering may imply slow-cooking stews, but in Japan simmered dishes are prepared ever so quickly. Nitsuke refers to a simmering broth made of sake, soy sauce, mirin and dashi used primarily with fish. A quintessential, everyday cooking Japanese broth, Nitsuke takes only a few minutes to make but will bring tons of flavour to your cooking.
Misozuke is a miso-based marinade used for curing vegetables, fish and meat. I use it here with satsuma zest for a citrus undertone that pairs wonderfully with the salmon and tarragon. For this recipe, I recommend the sweeter saikyo miso as other white miso varieties are saltier. If you cannot find saikyo, use less of the plain white miso and do not add any salt to the marinade. Jersey Royals are wonderful when in season, but other salad potatoes can also be used.
This herbal tea can help in your detox to help with abdominal gas and bloat.
Pork tenderloins are a great weeknight dinner option because they adapt well to many different flavors and they cook relatively fast. To make this dinner even easier, we came up with a version that could be prepped ahead of time and cooked a day later. We started by rubbing the tenderloins with herbes de Provence, which was a simple way to provide a nice blend of flavors. Crumbling the herbs helped them to coat the pork more evenly. A hearty combination of apples and shallots nicely complemented the rich pork. With the flavors established, we turned to the cooking method.…
This rich, stew-like dish combines meaty sausage, creamy white beans, and fresh greens. Sweet Italian sausage, which is very flavorful and easy to get, was a good starting point. Browning the sausage deepened its flavor and rendered the fat, which we used to sauté onion, garlic, and thyme. We added a healthy splash of white wine before adding the chicken broth, tomatoes, and beans. Using canned cannellini beans eliminated an overnight soak. For the greens, we enjoyed the peppery spice of mustard greens, which we gently wilted before braising them. To finish, a sprinkle of cheesy bread crumbs and parsley…
Pork and apples are a tried-and-true pairing, but the apple flavor in cider-braised pork chops can be fleeting, and recipes often skimp on the time necessary for the pork to become fall-off-the-bone tender. We wanted tender, juicy chops infused with deep apple flavor. Patting the chops dry before adding them to the hot oil helped them to develop a flavorful crust. To boost the apple flavor, we supplemented the cider with apple butter, which thickened the sauce and made it rich and glossy. Garlic and thyme offered savory aromatic notes. To further reinforce the apple flavor and brighten the sauce…
For thick-cut pork chops that boasted both a juicy interior and a nicely caramelized exterior, we started the chops in a low oven and slowly roasted them until they were nearly cooked through. Then we transferred them to a hot skillet and seared them until we had a good crust and the interior was cooked to perfection. We paired our chops with a simple yet potent red pepper relish made with sweet bell peppers and spicy jalapeños, along with onion, garlic, and mustard seeds in a sweet and sour base of sugar and vinegar. Be sure to buy chops of…
For a novel approach to fig bars, we introduced the bright, slightly spicy flavor of ginger and a crisp streusel topping. A streusel bar should have a sturdy, buttery, shortbread-like base and a rich crumble topping that lends texture. For the base, we started with a straightforward combination of butter, our gluten-free flour blend, sugar, and salt. By mixing pieces of softened butter into the dry ingredients, a method called reverse creaming, we developed the ideal delicate, short crumb. But without gluten, this base couldn’t support the filling and topping. Adding just ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum gave the crust…
We wanted a gluten-free Key lime bar that balanced a tart and creamy topping with a rich, buttery base. Finding a base that would support the topping was easy; we turned once again to the buttery crust we used for our Gluten-Free Ginger-Fig Streusel Bars and our Gluten-Free Lemon Bars. As for the filling, it needed to be sturdy and sliceable. By adding cream cheese and an egg yolk to the usual sweetened condensed milk and lime juice and zest, we created a rich and firm filling that required no precooking before baking. Letting the bars cool for a full…