Kimbab

It was awfully sweet of Allie this afternoon. When I lest expected it and am so lazy cooking today, Allie brought over some Kimbab she had made and shared with…

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Okonomiyaki

I don’t why but I simply like the word okonomiyaki. That’s six syllables and must be the longest single word I know in the Japanese language, not that I know many Japanese word.

Okonomiyaki is a popular Japanese dish developed from an Edo era snack. We first tasted Okonomiyaki when we were living in Kuala Lumpur where there is one and only one okonomiyaki place in Cheras. In Vancouver, we recalled the wonderfully delicious okonomiyaki that Yumiko made. We told ourselves we would try to make it one day and here it is … my first attempt on making Okonomiyaki. I know this is not as authentic as some of you make it — so don’t laugh at my humble attempt. Tell me how different you make it, give me your tips … anything.

These days, Japanese add all kinds of their favorite ingredients to create the style of Okonomiyaki that is a popular, nutritious and fun meal.

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Okonomi means “what you like”, or “what you want” and yaki means “grilled” or “cook” in Japanese, so this dish’s name means “cook what you like, the way you like”.

Ingredients

I bought this Otafuku Okonomiyaki kit from T&T Supermarket for $3.99. The kit is made up of a packet of yam powder, a packet of Okonomiyaki Batter Mix, a packet of Tenka Tempura Crisps and 2 sachets of Saweed (Aonori). The kit also comes with the instruction on how to make Okonomiyaki in three languages, i.e. Japanese, Chinese and English.

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I also bought the Japanese mayonnaise and Otafuku Okonomi sause for serving with the Okonomiyaki. I was told that we MUST use Japanese mayonnaise and not just any western mayo.

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The ingredients I had for making Okonomiyaki consists of:

  • 2 eggs
  • prawns
  • bacons
  • cabbage, thinly sliced
  • green onions, finely chopped

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Saffron

I have earlier blogged on Lubria Polo (Persian Green Bean Rice) which uses Saffron as spice. I am fascinated with this spice because I have been told that this is…

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Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)

Since everyone at home like Vietnamese Noodle so much, I thought I should try to make it at home. Last month, I went scouring for the ingredients to make the beef broth and found them in a Vietnamese grocery store along Kingsway (near Main). The Beef Flavoured Pho Soup Base costs $8.99 and is used to make 20 bowls of soup!

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The soup base had been sitting in the shelf for a long time because according to the cooking instructions, it takes over 2 hrs to make. Along with that, I was mulling over how is the family going to finish off 20 bowls of Pho soup. Anyway, I finally gotten down to making it over the long Easter weekend. I must say it was more successful than I anticipated. The soup was better than any we have tasted in Vietnamese Restaurants … well, according to everyone in my family anyway. We have chunkier meat which we felt tastes better than the thin sliced beef we were served in restaurants.

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You know what is the bad thing about this? We have been eating this for three consecutive meals (yesterday’s lunch and dinner and today’s lunch!) and we have quite a bit left! 🙂 I am certainly going to make it again but I will think of how I am going to give away some to friends.

Here are some interesting facts about Pho on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho

Ingredients

  • 3 – 4 lbs of beef flank (or brisket)
  • 1 lb beef tendon — since I could not buy them, I got the marinated/cooked ones from T&T
  • 1 bulb onion
  • 2 piecese of ginger

I also bought 1/2 lb of beef tripe since Norm and Marc likes them. I also bought 1/2 lb of beef balls.

Please note, you need to have a 2 gallon pot to make the Pho soup.

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