Happy Call Pan Recipe - Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake)

I have not stepped into the supermarket for more than a week now and had to make do with what's left behind in the fridge. With only potatoes, carrots and some left over cabbage in the kitchen, I couldn't think of a more ideal time to make an okonomiyak for dinner! An okonomiyaki is a typical Japanese pancake made using whatever ingredients you have or would like to include! Seafood, meat, mushroom, vegetables, you name it. What I have here is a super simple vegetarian version but please feel free to experiment, appropriately of course!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

2                             eggs, beaten
2 cups                     flour
1/2 head                  round cabbage, shredded
1 large                    carrot, shredded
1 large                    potato, shredded
1 teaspoon              sea salt
1 to 2 cups              water
                               Japanese mayonnaise to taste
                               Worchestershire sauce to taste

Method:

Mix all ingredients together. Heat the Happy Call Pan on high heat for a minute.

Pour in the mixed batter and close the lid, locking it.

Unlock the lid, leaving the lid partially open. Cook for another 8 minutes.

Close and lock the lid again, flipping the pan over.

Unlock the lid and leave the lid partially open. Pan fry for another 10 minutes.

Cut into pieces and serve with Japanese mayonnaise and Worchestershire sauce to taste.

Happy Call Pan Recipe - Teriyaki Chicken

My mum wanted me to cook some chicken using the Happy Call Pan this evening and so I obliged with a Teriyaki chicken dish for her. I prefer to grill the chicken first before pouring in the sauce but you can always marinate the chicken in the sauce and cook it together if you wish. Easy and mess-free, she enjoyed this dish so much that she even asked for the recipe from me.

Ingredients:

1                     boneless chicken leg
1 teaspoon      salt
1/3 cup           rice wine
3 tablespoons  light soy sauce
3 tablespoons  mirin
2 tablespoon   sugar
2 tablespoon   water

Method:

Rub the chicken leg with salt all over and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Rinse the chicken using the rice wine.

In a bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of mirin, 2 tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water.

Heat the happy call pan on a medium high heat for a minute. Place the chicken leg on the pan, skin side down. Close the pan and lock it.

Flip over after 4 minutes and pour in the sauce ingredients. Close the pan and lock it. (I open the pan a couple of times to ensure that the chicken is cooked in the sauce but that's up to you)

Flip the pan over after 2 minutes and cook for another 2 minutes. Dish up and serve with the remaining sauces in the pan.

Japanese Cheesecake

I often have the weirdest craving at the weirdest hour. This was last night. I desperately wanted some Japanese cheesecake, at 10pm. By the time my tastebuds were finally satiated, it was past midnight. Yes, this is how compulsive I can get and hence my nickname of an OCD queen.

A good Japanese cheesecake is known for its creamy and light texture and I am glad mine worked. Most recipes will recommend adding some lemon zest into the mixture but I am personally not a fan of lemon in my cheescake but please do so if you must. The crucial part of this recipe is to ensure that 1) your egg whites are whisked enough or else your cake will be heavy, 2) your oven must not be too hot as it will cause the cake to crack and finally 3) do not skip the water bath as you would want a moist and fluffy cake on your table. Have fun!

Ingredients:

150g                        cream cheese
60ml                        milk
50g                          unsalted butter
40g                          self raising flour
10g                          cornflour
3 tablespoons           white sugar
3                              eggs, yolk and white separate
1/4 teaspoon            cream of tartar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius.

Mix the cream cheese, milk and butter in a bowl, over a pot of simmering water. Stir until the cream cheese and butter have melted and are blended together with the milk. Leave aside to cool.

Add the self raising flour, cornflour and egg yolks into the mixture, mixing in a little at a time. Whisk to ensure that there are no lumps of flour.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites for about a minute. Add the cream of tartar, sugar and continue whisking until the egg whites are able to form a soft peak.

Fold the egg whites into the prepared mixture earlier, mixing in a little at a time. Pour the combined mixture into a greased tin lined with grease paper and place the tin in a water bath (i.e. into a larger pot, and filled half with water).

Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. When ready, leave the oven ajar for 10 minutes before removing the cake as too fast a drop in temperature will cause the cake to collapse. Remove from tin and cool on rack before refrigerating it. Serve cold.

Nikujaga - Japanese Potato Beef Stew

With the pouring rain outside my window and the need to wait for a parcel delivery, I've decided to give visiting the supermarket a miss and cook with whatever is left in the pantry. I found some leftover sukiyaki beef slices in the freezer and Nikujaga - a Japanese beef stew with potato, is what I've decided to simmer on the stove today. Commonly known as the Mom's traditional stew, this dish is a simple stew using three key condiments: soy sauce, mirin and sugar, the exact same ingredients for many Japanese dishes including the famous teriyaki and gyudon.

Ingredients:

200g                  sliced beef
1 medium           yellow onion, sliced
2 medium           potatoes, peeled and quartered
1.5 cups             dashi stock
3 tablespoons     soy sauce
2 tablespoons     mirin
1/2 tablespoon    white sugar
1 tablespoon       vegetable oil

Method:

Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry the beef slices till brown and add in the sliced onion and cut potatoes. Fry them until the onions have softened.

Pour in 1.5 cups of dashi stock and bring to boil. Add in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar. Lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Serve with steamed white rice.

5-minute Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

Another of my favourite 5-minute recipes. Time used for steamed rice excluded! I used Japanese rice for this recipe but if you don't have that ready in your pantry, the usual long grain ones will suffice. Most ingredients like mirin (sweet cooking wine) and dashi (kelp) stock are easily available in leading supermarkets but Mediya will definitely have a wider assortment to choose from.

Ingredients:

1 cup                     white rice, steamed

1/4 cup                  dashi stock

2 tablespoons         soy sauce

2 tablespoons         mirin

1/2 tablespoon       white sugar

200g                      thinly sliced beef

1/2                         yellow onion, sliced

                              Japanese chilli pepper powder (optional)

Method:

Pour the dashi stock into a pot and bring to boil. Add in the sliced onions, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar.

Cook for 3 minutes until the onions have softened. Stir in the beef and switch off the heat. Pour the cooked ingredients over a bowl of steamed rice. Garnish with the Japaneses chilli pepper powder and serve.