November 30th, 2011Japanese Recipes, recipes, Sponsorship
I love all sorts of Japanese-style salads, from the simple seaweed salad to the more complex salads such as seared ahi tuna salad. Whenever I eat out at Japanese restaurants, I almost never miss out on my favorite ahi tuna salad. It’s almost like having sashimi, except that it is healthier—a few slices of lightly seared ahi tuna on top of a bed of greens, drizzled with a splash of Japanese ponzu dressing. If you love Japanese cooking, I am sure you have had your fair share of seared ahi tuna salad. The good news is that I am sharing my Recipe with you, so you can start making this refreshing salad at home.
A good seared ahi tuna salad starts with three basic ingredients: sushi-grade ahi tuna, your favorite salad (I like spring mix or herb mix), and a superb Japanese ponzu sauce. Many people are confused by the name “ahi” tuna. Ahi is the Hawaiian word for two species of tuna: yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. Yellowfin tuna is best served as sashimi (raw) or seared rare. For the dressing, my choice is Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, which is widely used at Japanese restaurants. You just can’t go wrong with the choice of Japanese chefs and restaurateurs.
I have tried countless variations of seared ahi tuna salad at Japanese restaurants but my ultimate favorite is the ones served with tobikko roes (fly fish roes) and shredded roasted seaweed. The tobikko roes add the pleasing âpopping” texture and sensation to the mouth and the roasted seaweed gives its signature Japanese nuance. I also jazzed up the Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu dressing with a bit of ground sesame seeds and sesame oil. To cut the acidic taste, I sweetened it up with a little honey. Finally, for the star of this dish, I rubbed some shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) to the fish before searing. The end result is this gorgeous looking, refreshing, and appetizing seared ahi tuna salad.
I hope you like this seared ahi tuna salad recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!
8 oz sushi grade ahi tuna steak 1 tablespoon Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice)
Olive oil, for pan-searing
1 box spring mix salad, 5 oz
1 tablespoon Tobikko roes Pinch of shredded roasted seaweeds
Pinch of white sesame
Dressing:
1/4 cup Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon white sesame, ground/pounded (with a mortar and pestle)
Method:
Rub and season the ahi tuna steak with the Shichimi Togarashi, for 15 minutes. Heat up a pan on medium heat and add some olive oil to coat the pan. Pan-sear each side of the ahi tuna steak for about 30 seconds or as soon as the surface turns opaque. Dish out and let cool in the fridge.
Prepare the Dressing by mixing all the ingredients together.
To serve, toss the salad with the dressing and divide the salad into individual serving bowls. Slice the ahi tuna into pieces and lay them on the salad. Add some Tobikko, shredded roasted seaweed, and sesame as toppings and serve immediately.
Good news! My sponsor Mizkan is giving away a cast-iron HibachiGrill and Mizkan product bundle to one (1) lucky reader of Rasa Malaysia. HibachiGrill is a tabletop and portable charcoal grill. This Hibachi Grill resembles traditional, Japanese, charcoal-heated cooking utensils called shichirin. The Hibachi Grill is pre-seasoned cast iron, round in shape, durable, and measures 15 inches across the cooking grid andň inches high. This Hibachi Grill will allow you to prepare authentic Japanese dishes such as flank steak with ponzu and miso butter, grilled salmon, beef rolls, yakiniku (Japanese BBQ), yakitori, anytime you like, indoor or outdoor. It is also great for camping!
The Mizkan gift bundle consists of two (2) bottles of Mizkan Japanese condiments, which you can use in a wide range of Japanese cooking:
Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu
Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base
MIZKAN HONTERI Mirin Seasoning
Mizkan Rice Vinegar
Mizkan Sushi Seasoning
The total retail value of the prize bundle is approximately $ 150.
To enter to win, just leave a comment below. To maximize your odds of winning, you can leave a comment every day (one comment per day strictly enforced), plus the bonus entries below:
Two Bonus Entries:
Like Mizkan on Facebook. Leave 1 bonusfor this.
Like Rasa Malaysia on Facebook. Leave 1 bonusfor this.
Retweet this post on Twitter. Leave 1 bonusfor this.
This giveaway opens to US residents only and closes on August 14, 11:ț pm PST. Winners will be randomly selected and announced on August 15, 2011. Good luck!
July 27th, 2011Japanese Recipes, Recipes, Sponsorship
It’s amazing how time flies, it’s almost August. I hope everyone is enjoying summer and busy firing up your grill for BBQ parties. Every summer, I host a small BBQ party where I invite only a few close friends—every year there is a theme, we dress up, eat really good food, and just enjoy the warm summer days. This year is no exception…
The theme of this year’s party was Wagyu beef and Japanese. If you love beef, I am sure you know that Wagyu beef is prized for its supreme tenderness, sublime flavor, and marbled texture. I got my Wagyu beef from Ohio Wagyu, they were flown in to me overnight. With the superior meat in my hand, I knew that I had to create a killer steak Recipe to impress my guests. I turned to my friend Harry Soo, a top BBQ Pitmaster in the US whose team Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ was featured on TLC Channel’s BBQ Pitmasters. Together, we developed this amazingly delicious and irresistible steak recipe with a ponzu and miso butter glaze, using none other than the Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, MIZKAN HONTERI® Mirin Seasoning, miso, sake, and butter. The steak was a HUGE hit at the party…they were gone as soon as they were off the grill!
Now, you don’t need summer or an outdoor grill to have a great piece of steak. You can use an indoor grill or even pan-fry the steak. The ponzu miso butter glaze recipe is very easy, and it’s also great for fish, shellfish, and other meat of your choice (though I will say that it pairs perfectly with steak). I especially love the ponzu and miso butter glaze with the tender flank steak, which you can easily pan-fry in a pan.
If you love steak, you must give this flank steak recipe a try. The Mizkan ponzu and miso butter glaze is what makes the steak so mouthwatering and scrumptious, I am almost certain that you will love it.
June 21st, 2011 | Endorsement, Sponsorship | 9 Comments
One of my favorite things to do is shopping, especially for food and ingredients that I use a daily basis to prepare all the mouthwatering dishes you see on Rasa Malaysia. I can spend hours walking the aisles of supermarkets, scouring the shelves looking for produce, sauces, spices, etc. Because of my focus in Asian cuisines, I tend to shop more at Asian supermarkets and specialty stores that carry Asian ingredients. Lucky for me, I live in Orange County, Southern California…the diversity here means that I can pretty much find any ingredients, be it fresh produce, imported goods, or hard-to-find items at the many food stores here.
I get many emails from my readers, many of them are very keen to try my recipes but have no idea where to shop for the ingredients called for in the recipes, for examples: salmon teriyaki, Japanese beef rolls, and hand roll (Temaki) recipes where MizkanJapanese condiments are the key ingredients. So, today, I am taking you all shopping—albeit virtuallyto my favorite food stores where you can get practically all Japanese ingredients. It’s going to be fun, let’s go…
Our first stop is Mitsuwa Marketplace, which is the largest Japanese supermarket in the United States. There are currently eight (8) stores here; the one I go to is at Costa Mesa, Orange County. I love Mitsuwa a lot—the store is always clean, and most importantly, you can find really fresh fish (sushi-grade fresh) and all kinds of Japanese products in that store. If you wish to stock a Japanese cooking pantry, go to the aisle where Shoyu (soy sauce) and Cooking Sake are. You will find the basics such as a variety of Japanese soy sauce, sake, mirin, rice vinegar, BBQ sauces, and more.
You can also find the complete range of Mizkan Japanese condiments at the same aisle: Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base, MIZKAN HONTERI® Mirin Seasoning, Mizkan rice Vinegar, Mizkan Sushi Seasoning.
These Mizkan Japanese condiments can be used for a wide range of dishes in Japanese cooking. For cooking ideas, you can check out the Japanese recipes on Rasa Malaysia.
Other than the market, the Japanese food court inside Mitsuwa Marketplace beckons with stalls selling ramen, soba, udon, and bento boxes. There are also stores selling Japanese bakery, mochi, kitchenware, Japanese books and magazines. If you are a fan of Japanese food and culture, you ought to check it out.
Next, we are going to H-Mart, a Korean supermarket which has many stores in the United States, especially in the East Coast. There are four (4) of them in Southern California, one very close to where I live.
Even though H-Mart is a Korean store, you can find non-Korean products in the shop, for examples: Japanese, Chinese, and even Vietnamese food products. The first aisle is where you will find all the Asian sauces and seasonings. Unlike Mitsuwa, the sauces and condiments in H-Mart are grouped by types and not by brands. If you are looking for the complete line of Mizkan Japanese condiments, please check out the various sections of the aisle: the ponzu shelf, the mirin shelf, the rice vinegar shelf, and so on.
Here is a bottle of Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, which is great as a dipping sauce for gyoza, marinade, and pour-over sauce.
If you live in California or Hawaii, there is Marukai, a Japanese food specialty store that offers some of the best selections of Japanese products (I love the Japanese utensils and serving ware sold at Marukai!). You can also check out Nijiya Market. All in all though, it’s easier than ever to stock a pantry of Japanese ingredients. Retailers such as 99 Ranch Market, Uwajimaya, Chinese, and Korean stores usually carry a supply of Japanese food products. You might also find Japanese condiments at Vietnamese stores, case-in-point: the first picture of this post was shot at a Vietnamese market in Little Saigon, Orange County. If you live in a small city and have no idea where to shop for the ingredients, reach out to your local Japanese restaurants for help. I am quite certain that they will point you to a good source.
Once you find a store, always start at the condiments aisle and purchase the basics: soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, ponzu, and soup base. Then move on to the other aisles for other ingredients such as sushi rice, kombu (seaweed), bonito flakes, and the ingredients called for in the Recipe. If you are an online shopper, you can buy Mizkan Japanese condiments online at AsianSupermarket365. The other online options are Marukai and Amazon.
You will soon realize that it’s rewarding to build a Japanese pantry. Have fun shopping for Japanese ingredients and happy cooking!
There is no denying that Japanese food is getting more and more popular across the United States. Once a niche ethnic cuisine, Japanese cooking has gone beyond sushi and teriyaki and has become mainstream. Walk down the aisle of many big supermarkets and you will find sushi, sashimi in Japanese bento boxes as eager shoppers and diners load them up in their shopping cart. Other than that, Japanese cooking techniques and ingredients are increasingly adopted by celebrity chefs and cooking professionals alike. Dashi, yuzu, kombuingredients that were once alien to non-Japanese chefs are now vital components of haute cuisine and fine dining.
As a result of the wild popularity of Japanese cuisine, its ingredients are taking more shelf space in many food stores as more people venture into Japanese cooking at home. I am a huge fan of Japanese food and have been learning and making Japanese food at home. Over the years, I have learned that cooking Japanese food is not hard; in fact, it’s quite easy as soon as you grasp the fundamentals of Japanese cooking: the basic ingredients, the cooking techniques, tips, traditional methods, and preparation. So, to help you learn Japanese cooking, I have put together this page as an overview of the essential ingredients and the cooking tips that define Japanese cuisine…
Ponzu
Ponzu is a fundamental flavoring sauce in Japanese cuisine that oozes umami and great flavor. Made with soy sauce, citrus juice and vinegar, Ponzu has many culinary uses. Every summer, I use Ponzu for my grilled foods, from meats, seafood, chicken to mushrooms and vegetables. Other culinary usage are:
Dipping sauce for sushi, sashimi, gyoza (Japanese) dumpling, shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot).
Marinade for meat, fish, shellfish, tofu, and vegetables before grilling.
Salad dressing. Use ponzu alone or mix it with mayonnaise, salad dressing/oil for a unique flavor.
Pour-over sauce for meat, fish, shellfish, tofu, and vegetables. I especially love Ponzu with oily fish such as salmon and yellow tail. The citrusy flavor cuts the grease and rids the fishy smell to deliver a cleaner taste.
Flavoring sauce for steamed dishes, for instance: fish, chicken, pork, or tofu.
A good brand of ponzu such as Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu can even be used as a soy sauce replacement and delivers amazing and authentic result to many traditional Japanese dishes. The sodium level of Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu is also much lower than that of soy sauce (370 mg per tablespoon vs. 920mg), hence reducing the sodium intake drastically.
Dashi
Dashi is the building block of Japanese cookingâ€a fish-based stock made of dried shaved bonito flakes and kombu (seaweed). It’s used in almost all Japanese dishes, from soups, sauces, to steamed dishes such as chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard). While you can make home-made dashi stock in less than 30 minutes, many home cooks, including those in Japan, are turning to premium quality soup base for convenience because there is dashi in the soup base.
Cooking Tips for Dashi-based Sauces
There are many different types of sauces in Japanese cooking, some are thick while others are watery. If you use a bonito-flavored soup base, for example: Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base, you can make various sauces by changing the ratio of water added to the soup base, for examples:
if you add water by 1:8.5 (one soup base and 8.5 water), you can make the soup base for Japanese hot udon or soba noodle.
If you add water by 1:3 (one soup base and 3 water), you can make the dipping sauce for Japanese cold soba or somen noodle.
If you add water byŁ:5 (one soup base and 5 water), you can make the dipping sauce for tempura.
Soup base is also very versatile and can be used as a flavoring sauce for the following:
Teriyaki Sauce for chicken, beef, or salmon
Simmered dishes such as braised shiitake mushroom
Soup base for Japanese hot pots such as nabe
Barbeque marinade for meat, fish, and seafood
Dashi-no-moto (dashi powder) substitute
Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base is a magical condiment, one that I stock up in my pantry.
Mirin
Mirin, or fermented sweet wine made from steamed glutinous (sticky rice) is used in many Japanese dishes. Mirin has a mild alcoholic aroma and it’s slightly sticky in the texture. Mirin adds a subtle sweetness to sauces such as teriyaki sauce and sukiyaki sauce. It also enhances the flavor of many simmered dishes.
Mirin is usually added toward the end of the cooking process. When shopping for Mirin, always look for naturally brewed Mirin (hon-mirin) instead of the artificially blended Mirin flavoring (mirin-fuhmi). I like MIZKAN HONTERI® Mirin Seasoning which is a no alcohol Mirin, which keeps well in the refrigerator, or in a cool place away from direct sunlight.
Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar is the key flavoring medium in sushi rice, a staple in Japanese cooking. It’s also widely used in Japanese salad, pickled ginger, and in many dishes to add depth to the overall taste structure of the dish. When shopping for rice vinegar, I prefer rice vinegar which is less acidic or sharp, with a faint aroma of the fermented rice, and pure. Mizkan Rice Vinegar is made from 100% rice and naturally fermented. It’s mild but tangy, and doesn’t have an overpowering taste when used for cooking. It’s also the preferred brand in the food services industry and Japanese restaurants.
Cooking Tips for Rice Vinegar
When I first started cooking Japanese at home, my Japanese friend shared the following tips with me:
As rice vinegar vaporizes quickly, add it towards the end of the preparation.
The acidic taste of rice vinegar can be used to balance the sodium level (saltiness) in a dish.
Rice vinegar can be used to rid the fishy smell in fish. Add a dash of rice vinegar when you are cleaning fish.
Certain fish tend to have slimy skin. Use rice vinegar to wash it off for easy handling.
Rice vinegar prevents discoloration in food, for example: eggplant. Add a little rice vinegar during the preparation and cooking process will help retain the natural color of the ingredients.
Sushi
When it comes to Japanese cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is sushi. Rice is the staple in Japanese cuisine”every meal is served with rice. As such, rice is vinegared with rice vinegar to create sushi rice, which is the essential ingredient in all sorts of sushi.
If you learn Japanese cooking at home, the very first Recipe that you will attempt is probably how to make great sushi rice. You can refer to my sushi rice recipe where I used a sushi rice seasoning, which is Mizkan Sushi Seasoning. The seasoning is made with rice vinegar and can also be used for Japanese salad (Sunomono) or marinade.
There are a lot more to share about Japanese cooking and this page is barely the start. It will be updated regularly with useful resources and information. In the next six (6) months, I will be sharing many Japanese recipes with you, including the techniques, cooking tips, and the many culinary uses of Mizkan Japanese brand products which reflect its corporate philosophy of “Mizkan, Bringing Flavors to Life” to Japanese cooking enthusiasts.
I will help you to stock up your Japanese pantry by taking you—albeit virtually—to the many key retail partner stores where Mizkan products can be found: H Mart, 99 Ranch, Mitsuwa, and more. You can also learn how to cook Japanese seasonal dishes, for example: Japanese grilling and BBQ for summer, and simmered dishes and hot pot in the winter. What’s more, you will also have a chance to win BIG as I will be hosting sweepstakes and giveaway.
It’s going to be fun, so please stay tuned on Rasa Malaysia for new Japanese recipes!
Most people like playing with their food, and hand roll sushi, or temaki sushi is one of the fun and delicious ways to enjoy sushi. Temaki sushi basically means sushi which are hand-rolled, where you assemble the sushi filling of mostly fish or shellfish, and then rolled with nori (seaweed) sheets into hand roll sushi. Hand roll is great for sushi parties, as guests (especially those who are not familiar with sushi) learn about the art of sushi making.
As with any sushi, the fundamental of a great sushi starts with sushi rice. I have shared my sushi rice recipe with you in my last post. For this hand roll or temaki Recipe, all you have to do is prepare the filling, get some greens or leaves (I used radish sprouts), nori sheets, and you will have a serving of hand roll. Plus, you don’t need a sushi mat so anyone can make hand rolls at home even though you don’t have a sushi making kit…
For the filling, I made some creamy spicy shrimp and scallop with masago (capelin roe), which is a great filling for hand roll, and convenient for those who can’t get sushi-grade fish where they are. The creamy seafood filling pairs well with the vinegared sushi rice and the fresh radish sprouts. For the popping sensation in the mouth, I topped some extra masago on top of the filling. This hand roll is delightful.
For the assembling of the hand roll, follow the step-by-step pictures below. Once you have mastered the skill, you can pretty much assemble the hand roll on your palm. Enjoy and do try out this hand roll recipe!
Hand Roll (TemakiRecipe)
Makes 6 €“ň hand rolls
Sponsored by: Mizkan
Sushi rice, recipe here
Roasted seaweed (nori sheets), cut into 5-in x 8-in pieces
1 box radish sprouts, ends trimmed (2.5 oz box)
Masago, for topping
Creamy Spicy Seafood Filling
Ingredients:
4 oz shelled baby shrimps
4 oz bay scallops
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
Ł tablespoon masago
Method:
The Filling
Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.
Using a teaspoon, mix the mayonnaise, lime juice, Sriracha sauce, sugar, and masago. Set aside.
Pat dry the baby shrimps and bay scallops with paper towels. Add half of the creamy spicy sauce to the seafood, stir to coat well. Transfer the seafood into an oven-safe dish or container. Top the seafood with the remaining creamy spicy sauce. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Prepare the sushi rice per the recipe here. Let cool to room temperature.
Bake the filling per the recipe above. Once the filling is cooled to room temperature, assemble the hand roll per the step-by-step picture guide below.
Place a sheet of nori (roasted seaweed) on a flat surface. Wet your hand with some water and scoop out about 3 tablespoons of sushi rice and spread the rice evenly on the nori sheet. Leave about 1/2-inch on the sides.If you like more sushi rice in your hand roll, use 4 tablespoons of sushi rice.
Add some radish sprouts on top of the rice, follow by the Filling. Arrange them at an angle for easy rolling.
Roll up the hand roll, starting at the lower left hand corner of the nori sheet. Keep rolling to form a cone shape. Make sure you roll tightly to secure the sushi rice and fillings. Add some masago on top of the hand roll. Dip the hand roll with some soy sauce and wasabi, if you like.
This is probably one of the most fundamental questions when it comes to Japanese cuisine, thanks to the increasing popularity of sushi in the world. Home cooks who are interested in Japanese cuisine will ultimately want to learn how to make perfect sushi rice—the vinegared rice which is the building block of all sorts of sushi. Once you master a great sushi rice recipe, you can make just about any sushi to your liking…
A basic sushi rice is made with short grain rice with three basic ingredients:
Rice Vinegar
Sugar
Salt
Other than the rice, the most important ingredient is the rice vinegar, which is pretty much the soul of the sushi rice. The sugar and salt are added to flavor the sushi rice to one’s liking. Therefore, a perfect sushi rice starts with a good rice vinegar and I always use Mizkan Rice Vinegar. As the #1 brand for vinegar and vinegar-related condiments in Japan, Mizkan is the brand that my Japanese friends recommended when I first learned how to make sushi many years ago. If you want something easier, you can use Mizkan Sushi Seasoning, which is widely used in Japan. This all-in-one sushi seasoning has the perfect and authentic flavor so anyone can make sushi if they want.
Here are some tips that I would like to share with you when making sushi rice:
Use only high quality Japanese white short-grain rice. You can get the rice at Asian supermarkets or Japanese food stores.
Wash the rice thoroughly with water before cooking. The rice is ready to be cooked when the water becomes clearâ€an indication that the “starch” coating the rice is completely washed off.
1 cup rice (measured with the rice cup that comes with the rice cooker, about 80% of a regular measuring cup)
1 1/2 tablespoons Mizkan Rice Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
Cook the rice in the rice cooker. Once cooked, transfer the rice out in a bowl and add the Mizkan Rice Vinegar, sugar and salt (OR the Mizkan Sushi Seasoning) into the rice and mix well with a spoon. Let the sushi rice cool to room temperature. Use the sushi rice to make the sushi of your choice.
December 1st, 2010 | Giveaway, Sponsorship | 65 Comments
December is a month of giving, and I am thrilled to announce the Mizkan “Bringing Flavor to Life” Giveaway where one lucky Rasa Malaysia reader will win a Mizkan gift bundle plus an Amazon gift card for 0!
As you know, I am currently working with Mizkan and have featured a couple of recipes using the fabulous Mizkan Japanese condiments such as Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce, Mizkan HONTERI® Mirin Seasoning, Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base. You can check out my Salmon Teriyaki and Japanese Beef Rolls recipes and learn how to incorporate Mizkan products into your everyday cooking for delicious and authentic Japanese meals at home.
The Mizkan “Bringing Flavor to Life” giveaway runs from Dec 1 – Dec 7 and opens to US residents only. A lucky winner will win a Mizkan gift bundle that includes many Mizkan Japanese condiments and products plus a 0 Amazon.com shopping spree! The winner will be randomly selected by me and notified via email.
To enter into the Mizkan “Bringing Flavor to Life” giveaway, please leave a comment and tell us what you think of Mizkan products. Remember to leave a valid email address.
Good luck and stay tuned for my upcoming recipes on sushi rice and hand roll.
November 1st, 2010 | JapaneseRecipes, Sponsorship | 1 Comment
This is the second installment of Mizkan, Bringing Flavor to Life campaign on Rasa Malaysia. (Please check out the Salmon TeriyakiRecipe and the Mizkan landing page.) The featured recipe today is Japanese beef rolls and enoki mushroom with Ponzu sauce.
One of the defining characteristics of Japanese cuisine is its emphasis on visual presentation, and this recipe delivers just that. This is often my go-to recipe whenever I have a party, or whenever I wish to impress my guests. These beef rolls are best served as an appetizer as your guests take in sips of wine and mingle around. They certainly have that WOW factor and absolutely delicious¦
This beef roll recipe is inspired by the popular beef tataki, or sliced seared beef prepared using the tataki cooking technique. Traditionally, tataki-style beef are prepared using a Japanese mesh grill tray over charcoal fire, with only the surface of the beef cooked. Then, the meat is plunged into a bowl of cold water to stop the beef from cooking. For my beef roll recipe, I adapted and simplified the cooking method so everyone can attempt it easily at home. I prefer my beef cooked so I used a non-stick pan and seared the beef until slightly charred on the surface.
Two of the most important components of this recipe is the marinade and the serving sauce. For the marinade, I used Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base and Mizkan HONTERI Mirin Seasoning, and for the serving, I drizzled the beef rolls with Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce. I especially love the Ponzu sauce as it adds a citrusy flavor to the beef rolls and complements the taste beautifully.
Ponzu has become more common due to the increased popularity of Japanese cuisine. Nowadays, you can easily find Ponzu at regular grocery stores here in the United States. There are many brands of Ponzu available, but Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu is the best, in all honesty. I am saying this not because I am working with Mizkan, but because I have another bottle of Ponzu by another Japanese manufacturer in my pantry. After a side-by-side taste test, Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu is a clear winner.
Do try out this Japanese beef rolls recipe. It’s really quite a treat.
Japanese BeefRolls with Ponzu
Makes about 12 rolls
Ingredients:
12 oz beef flap meat or flank steak
6 oz enokimushrooms, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon butter
Oil, for pan-searing 1/2 tablespoon white and black sesame seeds, optional
1/2 cup Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce
Method:
Slice the beef (across the grain) thinly to 3-inch by 5-inch pieces.
Marinate the beef slices with Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base, Mizkan HONTERI Mirin Seasoning and sake for an hour.
Heat up the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the enoki mushrooms to the pan and cook for about 1 minute or until they are just done. (Do not overcook the enoki mushrooms, they should remain somewhat crunchy.)
Heat up the pan over medium heat. Grease the pan with some oil. Pan-sear the beef slices until both surfaces are slightly charred. Remove the beef from the heat.
In a serving dish, roll the beef with some enoki mushrooms and secure it with a toothpick. Drizzle some Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce over the beef roll and topped with some sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
To kick off the “Mizkan, Bringing Flavor to Life” campaign, I am sharing with you a very popular and scrumptious Japanese Recipe—Salmon Teriyaki. Teriyaki is a noted Japanese cooking style, especially outside of Japan. The mere mention of teriyaki often conjures up visual pictures of perfectly grilled protein—chicken, beef, or seafood such as salmon—glazed with the savory and sweet “teri” sauce. Everyone loves teriyaki.
Before I started cooking Japanese food at home, I relied on ready-made teriyaki sauces whenever I craved teriyaki. Unfortunately, those instant teriyaki sauces are bad and taste artificial, some with a metal/chemical after taste. Others are laden with too much sugar, too salty, or the balance of the flavor is completely off.
I later learned that making teriyaki sauce is a lot simpler than I had thought. It takes only a few basic ingredients: soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. I made my teriyaki sauce using Mizkan Japanese condiments: Bonito Flavored Soup Base (it’s basically soy sauce with bonito flavor) and HONTERI Mirin Seasoning (which is 100% alcohol free). Mizkan Bonito Flavored Soup Base offers a well-rounded flavor compared to regular soy sauce. It also tastes milder, less salty, and a little sweet, which is just perfect for the teriyaki sauce…
Now for the salmon, the secret is to not to overcook the fish so it remain tender and moist. I first pan-seared the salmon until the surfaces turn slightly charred, and then finished it up by baking in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degree F. To serve, just drizzle the homemade teriyaki sauce on top of the salmon and you will have a perfect, authentic, and utterly delicious Japanese meal.
