Last night I was putting some spotty bananas in the freezer for later use in a smoothie or baked good. When I opened up the drawer, I saw the chicken thigh that I had tossed in there last week to freeze before wrapping it up in plastic wrap. I had forgotten about it and it needed to be used as soon as possible before the freezer decided to leave its mark.
Today I took a couple cookbooks to the park with me while my son played with his new friends. A couple of the moms were interested in looking at the cookbooks and we enjoyed talking about favorite things to cook and different dinner ideas.
I recalled I had some leftover white miso that I had mixed with some sugar, sake, and yuzu zest for a different recipe. Yuzu is a very sour citrus popular in Japan. It isn't eaten off the tree, instead it is used as an ingredient in various recipes for drinks, main courses, and desserts. I am such a huge fan that I actually planted a yuzu tree in my yard in the US! The yuzu miso was going to be the main attraction for my dinner.
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| Photo credit: specialtyproduce.com |
Once I arrived home, my son asked if he could help me make dinner. I put him to work washing the rice, which made him very happy. I chopped up onion, carrot, daikon, and shitake mushroom to make a quick soup. I tossed them in the pot along with 4 cups of dashi. I then zested a fresh yuzu and chopped up the zest, which I tossed in the soup pot. After letting it simmer for a bit, I added the yuzu juice and just over a tablespoon of soy sauce. I also added some sliced zucchini just to include one more vegetable (always a goal for me)!
I then finished washing the rice and measured out the water. After putting the pot in the rice cooker, my son pushed the start button. It's so nice to have such an eager assistant!
As another vegetable, I peeled some eggplants and soaked them for 5 minutes in salty water. I then quickly fried it in some vegetable oil and tossed it with soy sauce and grated ginger. A quick and easy extra side dish.
Now it was time to make the chicken. It has fully thawed during the day, so I hit it with the bottom of my skillet a bit to flatten it. I sprinkled it with salt and pepper and then placed it skin side down on a really hot skillet. After a couple minutes, I flipped it over and let it brown on the second side. I added a couple tablespoons of water and put the lid on to finish cooking the meat. While it was cooking I chopped up some Tokyo negi (a very long, skinny onion). When I was sure it was fully cooked, I removed the chicken and tossed the negi into the hot pan with the chicken juices. I then added the yuzu miso to make a sauce. I chopped the chicken into bite sized pieces and topped with the sauce.
I grabbed two types of tsukemono (pickled vegetables) from the fridge to round out the meal. Dinner was done! I love it when dinners come together like that!
My son and husband were full of compliments, which is always so nice to hear. The best one was when I was cleaning the kitchen and my husband looked over at me and said "I'm so impressed with how you have adapted your cooking. Your Japanese food is really good!" My husband is from Osaka. The city known as the food capital of Japan. He is very picky about his food. So, I love to hear this feedback and encouragement!
Last time I lived here, I spent so much money on food because I didn't know how to shop or cook homestyle Japanese food. Although I have eaten a lot more homestyle cooking since marrying my husband, I have never been the one who cook it. I'm so glad I am finally learning!
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