The Japanese are not the only ones eating ketchup on spaghetti!

23Nov09

The memory of all that No, no they can’t take that away from me a 1937 song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Shall We Dance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExmoiGZuiFQ&w=130]

Yes. I’m still on about spaghetti with ketchup—I really did want to like spaghetti Napolitan. I have fond memories of the summer and fall of 1974, when I shared a house with three other girls, poor students all. Almost the only times we spent together were unpredictable weekday lunches when we’d find ourselves gathered in the kitchen. We’d cook up a nice pot of macaroni stirred with butter, tomato juice, and ketchup, then sit in front of the television to watch Days of Our Lives—those were noteworthy meals. Ah. Student days…

Filed under: Japanese Food, Noodles, Western Influenced food, Yakimono   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: hot dogs, ketchup

Spaghetti Napolitan

21Nov09

http://1tess.wordpress.com

My husband doesn’t like ketchup very much. So, with J out of town, it’s my chance to make spaghetti Napolitan: spaghetti with ketchup sauce—hardly a typical Italian pasta dish. The recipe comes not from Naples but from Yokohama, Japan. Recipes include mushrooms, peppers, onions, hot dogs, tonkatsu sauce, and ketchup. Sometimes other kinds of sausages, slices of ham, or bacon are used instead of the hot dogs. Sometimes the sauce includes other vegetables such as Eggplant, D, Carrots, Broccoli, And so on.
[no dill, dates, daikon, dandelion, durian, nor dioscorea (yam)]

Filed under: Noodles, Stir-Frying, Western Influenced food   |  7 Comments
Tags: Spaghetti Napolitan

A Stir-Fry: dry curry!

11Nov09

http://1tess.wordpress.com

I kept catching a whiff of curry all morning, and I was afraid that my clothes were perfumed with the scent. I was a bit apprehensive about how strong the smell would be after heating the curry. My co-workers don’t have adventurous tastes, and mild as Japanese curry is, it does smell exotic. L. announced she brought in pumpkin cake for dessert and I realized that I didn’t smell like leftovers; it was the dessert! And no one complained about the stinky lunch. The Japanese spice mix has undertones of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice!
(or maybe they were too polite to complain?)

Filed under: Grilling and Pan-Frying, Rice, Stir-Frying   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Japanese curry

Harumaki: Vegetable Spring Rolls

21Oct09

http://1tess.wordpress.com

Harumaki are Japanese spring rolls, another favorite adapted from China. Some versions of these rolls have pork, shrimp, or tofu in the filling. One can even use leftovers from stir-fries! And even more unusual are the recipes which include bananas, chocolate, or candy bars! And then the issue of wheat or rice flour wrappers? Chinese [...]

Filed under: Agemono, Deep-Frying, Grilling and Pan-Frying, Japanese Food, Vegetables, Yakimono   |  4 Comments
Tags: spring rolls

Velveted Chicken and Cashews

12Oct09

http://1tess.wordpress.com

Chicken stir-fried with miso sauce and cashews is another Chinese dish adapted to Japanese tastes. The technique of marinating the chicken in egg white, cornstarch, and a bit of sesame oil tenderizes the chicken and keeps it moist when it’s cooked. This is the secret Chinese restaurants use to achieve that special texture of meats [...]

Filed under: Grilling and Pan-Frying, Japanese Food, Poultry, Stir-Frying, Yakimono   |  4 Comments