Serving Up Japanese Fare With Flair

Hideaki Miyoshi, chef and owner of Tokkuri Tei, visits the show this week to prepare the following recipes.

This show aired originally in November 2009.

IKAYAKI

* 4 ounces surume ika
(squid)
* 1/2 cup chopped head
cabbage
* 2 eggs
* 2 cups flour
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup tonkatsu sauce,
preferably Ikari brand
* 1 cup Best Foods mayonnaise
* 4 tablespoons oil
* 2 cups katsuobushi
(dried, smoked tuna shavings)
* 2 cups agedama (crunchy
bits of deep-fried flour
dough)
* 4 teaspoons aonori (green
seaweed)

For Batter:

Cut the squid into 1/4-inch dice. Put the squid, cabbage, eggs and flour in a large mixing bowl.

Add water bit by bit; mix after each addition. The batter shouldn’t be too dry and it shouldn’t be too wet and runny. You may have to stop adding water or add a bit more to get the right consistency.

For Sauce:

Put the tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise in a bowl and mix well.

There are many different types of tonkatsu sauce and you may have your favorite. I prefer to use the Ikari brand and also Best Food mayonnaise.

For Pancake:

Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick frying pan and heat over medium heat. Ladle about 1/2 cup of ikayaki batter into the pan.

Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly and thinly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of katsuobushi and 1/2 cup of agedama on the batter. Press down the pancake with the spatula to make the pancake as thin as possible.

Turn the heat to medium-high and cook both sides until they are golden brown and crispy on both sides. It will take about three minutes on each side.

Remove the pancake from the pan and put on a plate; cover to keep warm. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.

Use a spatula to transfer a pancake to a serving plate. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into eight pieces. Pour the tonkatsu-mayonnaise sauce over the pancake. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the katsubushi and 1 teaspoon aonori over the pancake and serve.

SEAFOOD RISOTTO

For Topping:

* 1 cup yamaimo
(Japanese yam)
* 8 ounces ahi fillet
* 8 ounces salmon fillet
* 8 ounces unagi kabayaki (seasoned Japanese eel)
* 1/4 cup finely sliced
green onions
* 4 ounces ikura (salmon
roe, fish eggs)

Peel the yamaimo and cut into 1/4-inch dice. The yamaimo can irritate your hands; you can wear rubber gloves or just hold the yamaimo with a paper towel when you are peeling and cutting it.

Cut the ahi and salmon into 1/4-inch dice. Remove the skin of the unagi kabayaki and cut the eel into 1/4-inch dice. Finely slice the green onions. Rinse them under cold running water, drain, and set aside to dry.

Combine yamaimo, ahi, salmon, unagi, sliced green onions and ikura. Mix well, cover and store in the refrigerator.

For Risotto:

* 4 tablespoons butter
* 4 ounces enoki mushrooms
* 4 ounces shimejimushrooms
* 2 cups cooked rice
* 2 cups Teriyaki Cream
Sauce (see recipe below)
* 4 tablespoons freshly
grated Parmesan cheese
(optional)

Use a knife to remove the roots of the enoki and shimeji mushrooms.

Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for a minute. Add the cooked rice and Teriyaki Cream Sauce. Lower the heat slightly, cook, stirring until the rice is warm and sticky. It will have the consistency of risotto.This will take about five minutes.

If using Parmesan cheese, sprinkle it over the rice and stir.

For Garnish:

* 4 teaspoons masago
* microgreens or shredsof your favorite greens

* Sriracha sauce(smooth chili paste), totaste

Place the warm risotto into each bowl. Top with the cold seafood mixture. Place masago and mircogreens in the middle of the risotto. Pipe a narrow ribbon or a necklace of sriracha sauce around the bowl.

Serve at once.

For Teriyaki Cream
Sauce:

* 1 teaspoon butter
* 1 tablespoon shoyu
* 2 tablespoon mirin
* 4 tablespoons heavy
cream
* black pepper, to taste
* granulated garlic, to
taste

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan. You can sauté your favorite mushrooms in the same pan at this point, if you like.

Add mirin and shoyu and mix. Add heavy cream. Stir the sauce constantly with a heat-resistant spatula. Heat should be on medium. If it is too high, the sauce will burn. Continue reducing the sauce. As the sauce cooks, the color darkens. Check the consistency of the sauce by dipping a spoon into it and lifting it out. If the sauce coats the back of the spoon and it doesn’t all drip off, it’s ready.

Season to taste with pepper and granulated garlic.

(Watch “Sam Choy’s Kitchen” Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. on KHNL.)