rice dishes

Lazy Oyakodon

Lazy Oyakodon

Oyakodon, or ‘parent and child’ donburi is a homey Japanese rice bowl dish of chicken, egg, and onions are simmered together in a fragrant stock of dashi and is clung together with softly cooked egg. It’s a comforting meal packed with umami. The traditional recipe calls for dashi, soy, mirin, and sugar to flavor the dish, but today I’m going to show you the cheater’s way to satisfy your Oyakodon craving with ingredients you can find at TJ’s or already in your kitchen. This is by no means supposed to try to be a classic Oyakodon; rather an alternative for weeknight dinners just in case you don’t have the classic ingredients on hand. Enjoy :)

Broiled Honey Soy Salmon

Broiled Honey Soy Salmon

My absolute favorite way of preparing salmon is broiling. I only recently discovered this method over this past year or so. As my kitchen in my Hong Kong apartment is simply equipped with a hot plate, microwave, and toaster oven, I have really learned some new cooking techniques. For the first 4-6 months I had been living here, I didn't touch the toaster oven. I grew up with a toaster oven but we only really used it for well, toasting things. English Muffins, melting cheese, etc. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that a toaster oven can do everything a real oven can. Bake, roast, broil. It's incredible and the reason why there have been so many toaster oven recipes on the blog this year, lol! 

Broiling salmon sounds so...aggressive. However, once you've got the timing down pat, you are in for the flakiest, butteriest (is that a word?), moist, and tender salmon ever. The amount of time needed to broil a piece of salmon simply depends on its size (and thickness). I find that a normal fillet takes between 5-8 minutes. The finished fish will be firm but still bounce back to the touch. Any time I have broiled it beyond 8 minutes, the flesh will lean towards rubbery and over-cooked. Again, play with timing for yourself.

My favorite preparation for salmon is simply salt and pepper, and then served with tons of lemon juice after it's cooked. I feel like simple seasoning allows the real flavor of the fish to come out, especially when it's perfectly cooked. And of course, you need a ton of acid with fish. Today I'm sharing a simple classic marinade for salmon that you can enjoy with brown rice and veggies. Simply whisk it together and marinade the fish for at least half an hour. Of course, the longer the better. When it comes time to cook, prepare everything else in the meal first, since the fish will only take 5-8 minutes. You can prepare more marinade on the side, to warm and thicken for serving if you'd like. 

Sambal Minced Beef with Fried Egg and Bok Choy

Sambal Minced Beef with Fried Egg and Bok Choy

This month's #MISSDISH recipe is the perfect dish for the start of Fall. Savory, comforting, and bursting with flavor. Ground beef becomes the most satisfying dish when it's cooked in an amazing combination of Sambal, soy, a little sugar, and fish sauce. Fish sauce adds tons of umami to this dish. The minced beef is amazing with an egg on top. I personally love a sunny-side-up egg, which is cooked on one side until the white is set, but the yolk is still runny. Mixing the runny yolk with the minced beef is BOMB. Let's get cookin :)