Boy In the Kitchen

Tacos de pollo en adobo con salsa verde, arroz y frijoles refritos

2011-08-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

Addicted.. Yes I am! The mexican flavors are so generous that I am still exploring this incredible food culture. Although it's very difficult and sometimes impossible to find all the products we need here in Europe, products such as Tomatillo, Chile (poblano, guajillo and so forth..), cotija cheese, maseca (cornflour for Tortillas, empenadas, tamales etc...) epazote, & other spices (chipotle), it is however possible to get similar results. Fortunately with a little effort you can find the corn flour and black beans in some specific shops and even some chili peppers similar to the mexican ones can be found in north african grocery stores.

Today i 'd like to share with you this simple recipe which is mainly based on a marinated chicken breast cooked at high heat in a frying pan, wrapped in corn tortilla, topped with shredded cheese and served with wild rice, pureed black beans, the whole thing dressed with salsa verde.

Marinade for chicken adobo :

juice of a lime
juice of a small orange (or half)
2 tbsp of Olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
black pepper to your taste
1 tsp smoked chili pepper powder or 1 chile chipotle (from a can)
1 garlic clove smashed and minced

Black beans "purée", or frijoles negritos refritos :

soak your beans overnight in a generous amount of water

the day after, fry 1chopped one big onion (red, white, yellow onion, anything will do!)

1 smashed garlic clove, in a large pot.

When golden brown add, you beans. You want to keep the dark water in which the beans soaked and pour it in your pot just enough to cover the beans and onions.

Here you can add a Bay Leave and some Thyme to enhance the taste.

When your beans start getting tender, you can add salt and pepper to tasted and chopped bell peppers if you want to sweeten the whole thing.

When they become soft and tender, take half of your preparation, blend it and return it to the pot.

Mix thoroughly, and your beans are ready!

Wild rice

You can either cook it in a Rice cooker, or in a pot.

For the pot method, you want to put 1 and a half cup of water for 1 cup of rice.

When the water starts boiling, give a twist in the pot with a spatula, turn the heat on medium-low and let it simmer with the lid on for 10 to 15 minutes. Finally take the pot out of the heat and allow you rice to absorb the remaining water for another 5 minutes.

Corn Tortilla

if you want to prepare them yourself all you need it the Maseca (white corn flour see the previous post)

lukewarm water, a tsp of oil or butter, salt to taste.

Mix the ingredients with your hands. When you get your dough, allow it to rest under a towel or in a plastic bag, to keep it moisturized. If you don't have a tortilla press, you can use plastic paper and a heavy pan to press them. To cook them, the best is to use a cast-iron frying pan.

After you cook the tortilla on each side, keep it humid in a pot covered with a towel.

Like here..

Since I couldn't find fresh tomatillos (green tomatoes), i used canned salsa verde,

and I mixed it with minced fresh coriander.

It is a lot of work but really worth it! you get a colorful plate and smiles on faces !

be careful though with the spices, you don't want to have a heavy hand, anyway,

i suppose you can control the heat by tasting your preparation regularly.

Everyone does that!!

I hope you try this recipe yourself,

don't hesitate to ask me for more details!

Take care and treat yourself well :p

Bento Contest!

2011-07-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am getting involved in a photo contest sponsored by the

Bento&Co,

1 st Price is a trip to Japan with a house in Kyoto for you and another guest!

Maybe i'll reached this land I always dreamed of :D

WISH ME GOOD LUCK.

Theboyinthekitchen

Tunisian Plate - سلاطة مشويّة - or Slata Tounsia

2011-06-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Since summer finally starts to make us all sweat, I find it difficult to have warm food for diner and even though we lately had a food poisoning issue here in Europe, I am happy to take risk eating this tunisan dish. It is actually made of raw vegetables, spicy harissa sauce, grilled bell and chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, boiled egg and tuna (see below the list of ingredients).

Now famous, the star in the world of bacteria, " E. coli " (no, this is no new rap singer) is now threatening everyone.. well almost everyone. Without further unnecessary worries, this recipe is made to be simple, and it is served in most popular Tunisian restaurants. This is basically a salad, a very spicy one! If you're still not scared please try this recipe and let me know what you think about it.

There are 3 things you need to prepare before arranging them together on a plate.

(Quantities are good for 2 servings approximately).

1. Salad Mechouia/Mechouya

This is basically made of grilled pepper, chili and bell pepper, grilled garlic, grilled onions and tomatoes.

And these ingredients are assembled all together vigorously in a mortar (this is a real physical effort, but really worth the sweat!)

The best would be to grill them on a charcoal grill or in your oven. You could probably find it in specific arabic grocery stores. Try to ask, but handmade is always the best in my opinion.

Ingredients:

Olive oil (Two Tablespoons, depending on the amount of vegetables you're grilling)
3 Bell peppers (Horn shaped ones are the best)
2 Chili peppers (depending on the strength you like..

Hint: soaking peppers in water can reduce the heat)

2 Plum tomatoes
1 garlic clove
A teaspoon of coriander seed
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking:

Once all the vegetables are grilled, you can let them sit in a plastic bag.

After a while, vegetables cooled down, open the bag and peeling them should be easy!

Remove all the seeds (from Tomatoes and pepper) and smash them in a mortar with the coriander seeds.

Mix everything with extra virgin olive oil.

2. Cook Soft-boiled eggs

you want to boil as many eggs as you want but it obviously depends on how many servings you want to make. For two eggs, you want to cook them in boiling water for 5 minutes. The cool them down it iced cold water. Peel them and set them aside or directly on your serving dish.

3. Tunisian Salad (example here)

It is basically cucumber, and tomatoes (sometimes you can include parsley and green onions) cut in tiny pieces. seasoned with salt, ground black pepper, a tablespoon of lime juice or white wine vinegar, to taste.

-----

Now you can garnish your plate with the three components, pickled cappers, tuna and harissa sauce.

Hint: to improve the taste of harissa (which we can usually find in grocery stores, canned ones)

feel free to dilute it with a tablespoon of lime juice, a good splash of extra virgin olive oil and a little water.

This is an alternative "version" of the tunisian plate.
For the purists, the fresh "purée" of carrots,
as well as olives and pickled lemon are indeed missing!

I hope you will be tempted and will eventually give it a try!

I'll back, back from my beloved kitchen for further tips and recipes :)

Alex.

PS: It has been a long time i didn't make any post. But I never ever stopped cooking (only a technical issue: digital camera out of service).

The right cheeseburger: chasing after perfection

2011-04-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

More and more pizza..

2011-04-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Preparing food for friends is the way I relax myself, this blows my troubles away, and whatever I am preparing it is always so. Pizza is just something everyone can appreciate and you don't need any forks or knifes, just a couple of beers, or some wine. It is actually so easy to make and always enjoyable that I never get tired of it.

All you need is some fresh baker's yeast, flour, salt, lukewarm water and olive oil. I have never measured the amount of each ingredient. Therefore, it tastes always different. I just noticed that the more i work the dough, and the longer the sauce simmers, the better the pizza is! The longer you let it rest, the stronger the flavor gets. (yeast "bready" rich flavor).

Here are some shots of the last ones :D

Have fun in your kitchen!

Green Curry Coconut Sauce with fried cod fish (Japanese style)

2011-01-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

Fried Fish makes me happy

Do you like to feel lot of spices with a smooth touch of coconut milk all at once?

Well then this one is for you! Basically I cooked green curry paste (you can get this in any Asian grocery store), in a little vegetable oil, added onions, garlic. Then I added coconut milk little by little and started combining with peeled and sliced vegetables (Zucchinis, eggplant and carrots). To enhance the flavor, I added some minced ginger, galangal and lemongrass to the simmering mix.

While this was cooking, I fried the white fish in a generous amount of vegetable oil until they get a golden brown color.

Prior to that, you need to clean your fish, cut it into strips and season with salt and pepper. Then you want to coat the fish stripes gently with wheat flour. Once you're here, dip them into a mixed egg (that you would have put in into a bowl), and ultimately coat the "eggy-fish-strips" with the japanese bread crumbs ("Panko" is the japanese bread crumbs, easy to find). According to your taste you can add some chili pepper powder and/or some cashewnut powder to your bread crumbs. Don't forget to dry the excess of oil with kitchen paper, and it's ready to serve.

Have fun cooking Thai Food, and keep spreading the word!

คุณขอบคุณ

Pizza Neptune - Tuna and chile

2011-01-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

Neptune is the name for the roman god of the sea, also known (for the Greeks) Poseidon ! In asia we refer to the the Sea King Star 海王星 . But it also has a meaning in the world of food, it means "DELICIOUS PIZZA!". I first tried it in Tunisia, a beautiful country, a part of me. Today Tunisia is experiencing tremendous changes since all its people joined forces to fight against an old, unfair, dictating president. Deprived of their very own rights, people of Tunisia is now shouting loud, clamouring for freedom of speech & thought, political freedom. Obviously nothing is settled, and I believe it will to take time before people manage to establish a better political system for they hasn't been any other political party aside from the former tyrannic regime. Nevertheless, I am very hopeful and looking forward to see Tunisia changing in the next few months. I would like to be close to my family who lives there and share this experience with them. Fortunately it is not so far from here and I am planning to go there for sure!!!

Anyways, tonight I prepared this thin but generous pizza for me & my parents, with canned tuna from Tunisia (authentic flavor of Sidi Daoud preserved in olive oil) some green chili pepper (similar to jalapenos), capers, slowly dried mozzarella and parmigiano. The tomato sauce was cooked on low heat for hours, which gave it a sweet and rich taste, and the dough rested as long as needed to be soft and flavorful.

Take a look at this :D

(I am planning to share some genuine tunisian recipes soon! stay tuned! hehe)

Comforting Cheeseburger & sweet potato fries

2010-12-28T07:16:00.000-08:00

While we're stuck in our homes because of snow storms it is always good to prepare ourselves comforting food.

Obviously as a burger addict, I couldn't help but to try a new recipe. This time I got real american cheddar cheese from an american grocery store located in Le Marais, a district in Paris that is not too far from Louvre Museum, that's called Thanksgiving (go check it out if you have the chance! It's really worth it. You can get cream cheese, pop corns, pickles, pancake flour, and maple sirup or the authentic Aunt Jemina's pancake sirup.

I actually purchased some sliced pickles and canned black beans (for some cuban/mexican brunch :D)

I grilled the meat in a large pan with red onions, and the cheddar melted on top of the burgers in the oven.

The sauce contained minced shallots, a little garlic, mayo, mustard, tomato ketchup, vinegar, pickles, minced dill and cayenne pepper! That was a pretty nasty lunch we had, but once in a while.. It should be allowed as long as you didn't fill yourself completely with foie gras and roasted goose (these are the traditional things we have for christmas).

Fresh Corn Tortilla is the best!

2010-11-27T05:33:00.001-08:00

With mass consumption products, it becomes even more difficult to identify the origin of what we consume. For instance, it is difficult to make the difference between Indian-, Thai- or Chineese-curry, however they don't taste the same. This is why I could not be satisfied with Mexican products in french supermarket. Actually Mexican is mixed with Tex-Mex food, which is quite different!! I was also frustrated with the quality of wheat and corn tortillas. Indeed, with all the preservatives and chemicals inside, the taste is just so WRONG. I will not mention any specific brand, although we have obviously very few tex-mex brand (EL P). The corn tortilla we have in supermarket are just way to yellow and if you already had fresh corn tortillas you would know that they shouldn't be so.

Then, trying to find proper corn flour is also very complicated. We have to make the difference between regular corn flour, corn starch, and the genuine nixtamalized corn flour (Nixtamalization is an old mesoamerican process used for corn, check wiki information)

Finding such flour was tough, and it was very expensive, about 12 euros for 2 Kilograms. But it was definitely worth it!!

Without it you just can't really have a mexican meal since it is the very foundation of mexican cuisine. (used for tortillas, tamales, and many other meals).

For my fresh tortillas, I used the Maseca (nixtamalized corn flour) Masa Brosa, and that worked pretty well i have to admit!

When it get's cold outside, and the weather is grey, put a rainbow on your plate!!

2010-11-26T04:17:00.000-08:00

As we are experiencing early snowfalls in France, we tend to be charmed by the beauty of the landscapes covered by a more or less thick coat of pure whiteness. Luckily we have the sun shining high above us, which makes us smile and positive.

Usually, in the fall, people tend to be a little depressed, when the leaves fall from the trees and the sky turns grey and cloudy.

Even when you're a "naturally" positive and enthusiastic person, people around you, in the bus or the subway, are dragging you with long faces looking into the void.

To cope with this terrible atmosphere, and face eventual depression, I suggest you treat yourself with hearty healthy colorful and cheerful meal. Actually, when I try to think about something really colorful I immediately thought about Mexican cuisine.

For I have been there two years ago, in Mexico D.F (Distrito Federal: Mexico City), I can still remember how cheerful the people were, and how magic was the food culture. This definitely inspired me and especially when I was in New York last winter.

Here's a video from my little trip in Mexico, in which you can see a man preparing tacos el pastor (which is basically made of a corn tortilla, spicy chicken, red onions, and cilantro + pineapple bits)

All these colors and memories are cheering me up, and it also reminds me of the good time I had when I was in NYC, going to my favorite restaurant Café Habana in Lower East Side, with my dearest friends.

As a result, I tried my best to cooking this kind of hearty food!

And here is the result:

- Tacos (Chipotle Beef and Cheddar cheese) +

- Mexican Bowl (Chipotle chicken, Guacamole, Homade refried black beans, habanero pepper sauce and plain rice topped with cheddar and cilantro)

Check it Out!

So Keep in mind: EAT COLORFUL & KEEP SMILING

Coming soon: Mexican recipes

Shake Shack's Burger buns : Disclosure

2010-11-26T03:31:00.001-08:00

Why are they so delicious???? Believe it or not, besides the quality of the meat, the second most important things, is the BUN. Now I can confirm it, Shake Shack is using Martin's Potato Rolls!

And I am fairly proud to say that this has been confirmed by Julie Martin herself!

Honestly you should have a look at Martin's Products.

Since I left New York, I keep looking for similar products but I never came close to the quality and the unique taste of the famous Martin's Potato Roll. Haaaa if only they were sold in Europe!

Common' Just look at this... awww man!!!!!

For more information about Martin's history and values check their facebook page

Have fun cooking everybody! Keep sharing the pleasure, and spreading the word!

The HamburGraal Quest

2010-11-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

Shake Shack Burger vs. In'n'Out

I really can't tell which one is the best. All I can do for now, since I am no longer in the U.S, is to imagine and try to remember how they tasted like. I figured out that some parts of the burger, such as buns, or the sauce, are tough to obtain here in France. Actually there is no bread/food company producing and selling reasonably good hamburger rolls. As a result, I had to make it by myself... Quite frankly, I cannot say I am fully satisfied by the taste of my latest try. However, the quality was still fine compared to these tasteless buns we get in regular supermarkets and grocery stores.

To create my very unique bun, I am relying on a significant amount of recipes found on the Internet, and I try to identify recurring ingredients. Shake Shack burger buns are said to be more or less equal to martin's potato rolls. I also heard about the brand Arnold as being fairly delicious.

Anyway, since I was in New York during last semester, my very authentic and memorable experience was definitely the one I had with Shake shack burgers. Moreover, friends of mine were already addicted and kept bringing me to this place. Always busy, there is always an overcrowded line in front of the joint, which is located in the South-East corner of Madison park. This stuff is far from being "free" when you compare it to a regular fast-food burger (usually price is doubled), but once you tried it you start to understand WHY it is that expensive.

Now I'd like to focus on the texture of their buns. Buttery, toasted, yellow plain sweet color. Their rolls are to die for. I try to remember the juicy sweet & salty texture of it. My gooodness, I have to find a good recipe. I actually imagined that these potato rolls, may in reality contain potatoes (starch or crushed bites). Today I came out with a sweet potato based dough for my buns, and I think this was pretty tasty.

Regarding the texture of the meat, I just got some regular frozen ground beef and I added ground brisket (Aloyau, in french). Unfortunately i couldn't get Beef chuck from the butcher, so I need to try again. † to Get the right juicy beef patty while making it thin, i used the Smash technique, that is used in Shake shack kitchen.

The Feedbag’s Shake Shack Burger Lesson from The Feedbag on Vimeo.

This method is quiet amazing, and enables you to get merely this crispy, juicy, caramelized texture.

Getting close....

2010-11-15T03:41:00.000-08:00

Today Burger Try ! "

When Italian and Japanese cuisine embrace each other

2010-11-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

There is nothing new about "fusion cuisine", it is merely the result of globalization.

As we exchange goods, services and knowledge across our borders, and because people can now travel more frequently, they get this great chance to share their respective culture. As a result, chefs saw this opportunity to share their experience. For instance, the famous french chef, Joël Robuchon changed his own approach when discovering new ingredients in Japan. Like him, many chefs started to create new blends of tastes/cooking methods in order to widen their own competences while diversifying their menu. They generally came out with exciting ideas that dramatically changed the routine of local restaurants.

This didn't prevent traditional restaurants to keep serving the old and genuine traditional food. However, I think that only those that had a widespread image, and solid longtime reputation could remain untouched.

With Globalization we can always expect either positive or negative changes.

One of the main drawback I could identify is the fact that produces became available regardless of the seasons. For example, fresh tomatoes are not something we should be able to consume in winter. Not in France. But we do eat this on a regular basis to the detriment of locally grown produces. Without further arguing, I would rather focus again on Robuchon's cuisine.

Actually, he managed to develop recipes that embrace both cultures: Japanese & French, while respecting the rhythm/pace of the seasons, which I think is fabulous.

Today's recipe is inspired by all these assumptions, and it's called:

"Mori-Capellini no Shira-aé" (森CAPPELLINI の 白和え)

It is cappellini pasta with forest perfume (created with mushroom and herbs, shiso leaves) and it is also healthy and balanced with a creamy texture of tofu & dashi broth.

In fact, it is influenced by japanese "zen cuisine", coming from Mont Koya. It is the cuisines of monks, essentially based on tofu.

So on one hand we have parmigiano cheese, olive oil, cappellini that are all used in italian cuisine. And on the other hand we have dashi stock, tofu mix with white sesame seeds toasted, shiso leaves and dried nori seaweed (as a topping with green onions and parmigiano).

I feel it is incredible to create multicultural food in accordance with the current season.

By the way, in France, it is now time for Spinach, Leeks, Cabbage, Butternut Squash, Black radish, Turnip, Parsnip, and so forth! Go for it !

THE BAGEL RECIPE is Available

2010-07-22T03:22:00.001-07:00

Recipe for 5 bagels

Ingredients

375 grams of Flour(Type 65 or 80) = 0.83 Pounds

2 teaspoons of salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of malt syrup or sugarcane syrup

190 ml, or 6.5 oz of lukewarm water.

1 pinch of Corn flour

1 little piece of melting butter

1 Instant or Active dry Yeast

STEP 1

Mix all the liquid ingredients (don't mix with the salt, it ruins the yeast)

Pour slowly the liquid into the salted flour mix

STEP 2

Then, knead the dough about ten minutes to get a flexible texture.

The dough should get its original shape after you press a finger on it.

Now let the dough rest for an hour in a rather warm spot (i put it in a big bowl with a humid towel over)

STEP3

Separate the dough into 5 equal pieces (check the weight using a scale)

And shape it into 5 babels. For this you can either make a hole in the middle of a ball of dough using two fingers (the hole has to be wide so the bagel doesn't close it after baking)

or you can roll sticks and join them by rolling them up around your palm and press it with your four finger (will upload a video soon, so I can show you!)

STEP4

Poaching the bagels.

You need to get 2 liters of boiling water in which you should put:

1 tablespoon of corn starch

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

Once the water is boiling, let one bagel at a time dive in the boiling liquid for 1 minute.

Put the poached bagels on a baking sheet on which you had spread corn flourz.

STEP5

Coating the bagel.

Use a brush and cover the surface of your bagel with egg whites

Then put whatever toppings you want: Poppy, Sesame seeds or Oats.

STEP6

Bake them in your oven for 25 minutes, set the heat on 215 °C (approximately 420°F)

ENJOY!!

---

from the kitchen with love.

Bagel my new addiction

2010-06-23T03:02:00.000-07:00

As I was spending time in New York for my studies at St John's Univesity, I quite started to get used and to enjoy the New Yorker's lifestyle. How could it be described? Obviously it can't be a universal description since I experienced different things than other foreigners and French people. However from my standpoint I can tell you that there is one thing you must have tried and enjoyed, and I am talking about this bread product consumed on a daily basis which is the Yiddish round loaf of bread we commonly call BAGEL.

A little sweet because it contains Malt sirup, salty, very plain with a nice crust, sometimes toasted and often coated with a considerable layer of cream cheese, this is one of the typical things to have for breakfast, lunch or as a snack.

Once I got back to France I couldn't find a proper bagel shop in Paris although there might be one I didn't find it or just tried a processed bagels which are way different than handmade ones.

As a matter of fact, I searched recipes on the internet and ultimately found a nice recipe book in a Bookstore, this was yesterday! Of course I couldn't wait and tried to make myself some good bagels. In addition the author of this book was telling us about the bagel as part of the american lifestyle and talking about some of the best shops in Manhattan. I was actually living in Lower East Side, near that famous shop called Russ & Daughters

Russ & Daughters is my favorite Bagel shop, and it is located on the former Street Zero now known as East Houston Street. I went there a lot of times to order the classic smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. This is where I learned everything about bagel (aside from the recipe which is obviously kept as a professional secret).

In my opinion, Plain Bagel, with plain cream cheese and Lox or smoked salmon is always the Best combination so to enjoy the flavor of each generous ingredient. Based on this experience and with my strong willingness to share this simple pleasure here with my family and friends I invaded the kitchen!

Here are some pictures of the outcome and in the next Article the secret will be unveiled with the recipe I used to make these:

From the kitchen, sitting on the tip of a stool, wondering what's coming next !

Burgers Paradise!

2010-04-10T13:27:00.001-07:00

Basically there's nothing easier than making hamburgers. And if you play with the amount of cheese and beef patties you can make them pretty voluminous! This time I tried a double cheeseburger with real cheddar (not the processed Kraft Foods Cheddar) lettuce, grilled red onions, and a slice of tomato.

For the sauce I just used:

Mayo
Ketchup
Mustard
Scallions
Diced pickles

And the beef patties were a little marinated with a drop of sake (red wine can be used instead), garlic, green chili sauce and worcestershire sauce.

Finally the Cheddar got melted in the oven, over the beef patties precooked in an non-sticky pan.

Let's go back to the kitchen for good!

2010-04-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Waow almost half a year I didn't post anything on my cooking blog.. I must be really ashamed! Actually I am not. The thing is that I never stopped cooking but in the mean time I traveled and right now I am living in Lower East side, a fairly nice place to be in New York City. As a business student I am attending Finance classes in the Financial district at St John's University.

After classes when I get back home I can't help thinking about what I am going to have for diner. I guess it's part of my lifestyle. Here it is pretty easy to get Mexican produces so to this extent I started focusing on burritos to be more specific. It is in fact a really good meal that consists in fajitas filled with rice & bean (black beans or pinto beans), vegetables (stir fried bell peppers, onions, jalapeños hot peppers, with salsa Verde), and meat (usually chicken marinated in Adobo sauce and lime juice) topped with fresh cilantro and grated cheese (that's the perfect combination!).

For the greedy mouths you may add guacamole or/and sour cream but that's not necessary especially if you care about Healthy diet. Still, once a week should be FINE :D

Below is a picture of a Mexican Bowl with all the food I talked about garnished with some cream cheese and cilantro.

Habits never change!

2009-10-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hi, it's been a long time without any post... too bad I know!

But this doesn't mean I really get out of my kitchen, I am still kind of trapped into it! Today there is something I really want to say: "Let's get back to Japanese cooking:"
(I can't help it! this is what I love most)

Indeed, when you tell me "let's go to this good japanese restaurant, you can see my eyes shining :-). And everytime I happen to enjoy a bento around the district Opéra, in Paris, I always have to buy something from the japanese or korean grocery store. Here is how my kitchen looks like.

this is no longer a french "cuisine". haha

Fancy Maki

2009-10-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

So far I have been able to shape maki roll and futomaki (the big ones). I needed to put the level higher so I tried to make a creative roll based on this video:

www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-a-fancy-maki-sushi

Because I didn't have kampyo, I used takuwan (japanese pickle daikon raddish) instead.

Here is the result! not as fantastic as the one in the video.. Still need to practice hehe!

The big shift!

2009-07-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Many chef say that cooking is all about choosing the right ingredients, and the fresher there are the better is the taste of your final dishes. Obvious..right but not that easy to implement!
I think being in love with cooking also mean to be market-addicted;

Here in Stuttgart, I am always in heaven. After my german lesson which last 2 hours in the morning, I go to the Markthalle"which is a marvelous place offering produces from almost everywhere in the world.

This is a great opportunity for new experiments. I really tried to choose fresh produces, like tiny red cherry tomatoes, hot chili pepers, basil, rucuola, big mushrooms, a piece of real parmigiano, penne pasta, and so forth...

I really wanted to try cooking italian food! there are plenty of recipies and ingredients to use.
Italian cuisine is in addition such a tasteful cuisine, I wish a real mama could teach me some of the main recipies, especially risotto. Maybe I 'll have that chance one day, but for now I would like to show you the first picture related to this new "orientation" (kind of a shift, after such a focus on Japanese cuisine, and I have still a lot to learn about it!).

Here are the photos of today's shopping at the market and one of the first recipies I tried, chicken risotto (I made the Chicken broth with chicken bones and meat, tasted pretty good). If by any chance somebody can give advices, then she/he is very welcome!

Buono appetito

Maki Maki Maki !

2009-07-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today I just want to say that, wherever we are, as long as you have rice and nori, you can make Maki, and this is enjoyable during summer, when you don't wanna eat hot dishes.

I made them quite fast, because I didn't have to prepare the fish! it is hard to get good and fresh fish where I am living right now..so No fish in this maki but only tamagoyaki or dashimaki (multilayers omelette) and vegetables (Cucumber, Avocado, Takuan and sesame seeds).

I also love the simple taste of nori with rice! Here are some pictures:

ITTADAKIMASU! (^v^)

2009-07-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

Gyūdon (牛丼): beef and onion on rice.

Donburi-days

2009-07-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Talking about the weather..

I heard Paris is very hot these last fews days. Here around Stuttgart, it gets sometimes very heavy, and hot as well, but it also rains a lot. As the temperature is getting warmer and warmer my cooking should get colder, "fresher" but...it is not the case, as I am discovering again and by myself how enjoyable can be a simple Donburi (丼ぶり)

Here are the two ones I made this week:

Oyakodon (親子丼) simmered chicken, egg and onion on rice.
(but I used leeks and green onions instead of regular onions)

and

Karaage Chicken

2009-06-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

So people say we should fry the piece a second time to get them even crispier, that's what I did, with a hotter oil. It was indeed a little bit "crispier" but the color get a little darker..is this normal?

I wonder..

Crusty pizza & summer colors

2009-06-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

Chicken breast marinated in sweet miso and its advocado sauce

2009-06-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Today let's make it crispy: KATSUDON

2009-05-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Normally it is made with Pork loin. But chicken is also good.

Easy! you coat the meet with salt and pepper, than with flour, thant with a mixed egg, and you coat it wit bread crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs is called Panko! crumbs are lighter, and "crispyier"!). After these preparation steps, you just have to fry it.

Once you have it fried, place it into a pan, and drop an egg (I used the rest of my egg mixture in which I dipped the meat for frying), you can cook oignon into the pan before this process.

Alakazam! Oishi desu

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If you need a good "step by step" recipe, as always I advise you to cook with a dog!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klFyrnrUSck&feature=channel_page

As Francis says, good luck in the kitchen!

Dashi or not Dashi?

2009-05-21T07:46:00.001-07:00

Do you know what Dashi is? if not check this out!

http://www.cookthink.com/reference/944/What_is_dashi?

Yes, it is a Soup Stock made with specific ingredients (Kombu, a seaweed & Katsuoboshi, bonito flakes), when you prepare it then it smells like the ocean in the kitchen!

I have have been trying several things lately and I found that something is always missing;Indeed I didn't use dashi stock; Once again today was a day without dashi... I found the dashi stock very "fishy" but I know now that it emphasizes the taste of your ingredients so next time I 'll trying to cook with it;Then I 'll make one more report here!

Sanuki Udon with Tofu Egg and Veggies!

Enjoy yourself everyday with food and everything!

1 Month later, wherever I am, I cook Japanese

2009-05-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

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Now that I am in Germany it is not that easy to find Japanese stuffs for cooking.

But the most important in the Japanese Cuisine (日本の料理) is to use produces, vegetables wich go with the seasons; right now Asparagus can be an example.

Here are my latest picture! A bibimbap trial - a little set of Spinach egg/rice/ asparagus miso sesame seeds/Potato Salada - ChikenKatsu & Julienne -

Curry Rice with Tsukune つくね

ITTADAKIMASU

Chicken Katsu ------------------------------------------ ------------- Bibimbap

Set : Miso Asparagus with Sesame Seeds - Potato Salada - Egg & Spinach

Today's Bento - Kyou no Hirugohan

2009-04-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Today I tried something...to be honest don't try maki with swordfish, it may be better in another kind of dish though. So it looked nice but wasn't that great.
Nothing is more simple than rice with veggies and tsukemono deshyo?
ITTADAKIMASU

2009-04-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

This week-end Cooking session

2009-04-05T13:44:00.001-07:00

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ITTADAKIMASU

Gyudon (Japanese Beef Rice Bowl)

2009-03-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for Gyudon
(serves 2)

200g Thinly Sliced Beef With A Little Fat (0.441 lb)
1/2 Onion (130g/4.59 oz)
5g Ginger (0.176 oz)
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sake
1tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Hon-Mirin
100ml Water (3.38 u.s. fl. oz)
1/2 tsp Granulated Dashi
2 Eggs
Beni Shoga - Japanese Pickled Ginger
Shichimi - Seven Flavor Chili Pepper
Scallions
Steamed Rice

This is just the way it was cooked on the channel "Cooking with the dog" On youtube, which is great for learning Japanese traditional recipies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1mvYnRJX70

Enjoy the food!

Maki Preparation

2009-02-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Slicing Kimbap which is Korean Maki

2009-02-26T05:21:00.000-08:00

I put in this kind of maki:

carotts,
shiitake mushrooms,
grilled beef,
takuan (japanese pickled radish)
egg,
cuccumber,
Sesame seeds
check this out.

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Bonjour à toutes et à tous,

Voici une petite vidéo, de maki à la Coréenne, les fameux "Kimbap".
Dans ces makis, entouré de l'algue Nori :

Carrotes
Tamagoyaki (oeuf en omelette roulée)
Concombre
Boeuf haché sauté
Champignon shiitake
Graines de sésame

Le riz utilisé n'est pas le même que le riz à sushi, on y met un peu d'huile de sésame!
Bon Appetit

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Matcha No Cake ~ Grean Tea Desert

2009-02-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

The recipe

125 grams Flour
100 grams Sugar
50 grams of Almond powder
2 tablespoons or Matcha (green tea powder)
80 grams or melted butter (salted butter is better)
2 eggs
5 cl Milk
half of a baking powder bag.

First mix the yolks of the eggs with sugar, add the almond powder.

Add hot milk to the matcha and let for 3 min

Then, mix the whole thing,

Beat the white from the egg with a little bit of salt and add it to the mixture with flour and baking powder. Once everything is mixed, put some butter in the mould and let's cook it in your hoven.

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Traduction en cours

Korokke コロッケ Croquette

2009-02-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

Basically this can be used as a starter, but it can also be part of your lunch. I love the Bento tradition in Japan. Indeed, in this country most of the time you eat a Bento for lunch which is a lunch box full of good things. You always have rice into it, sometimes you've got pickles, and veggies, meat or fried stuff (fish, meat or potatoe: Here is the Korokke).

Fried stuffs go perfectly with the Bulldog Sauce
Today I tried by myself after I read NyanNyan's recipie.
http://nyanyan.over-blog.com/article-6847551-6.html

250 g Beef grilled with oignons
5 potatoes (you have to scratch them once you boiled them)
Season with salt and pepper

You mix the all thing and make several small balls with the mixed potaoes and beef (I like them round and flat, and I add a little bit of cheese into the mixture)
You put them first into flour, then into scrambled raw egg, and to finish into bread crumbs(Panko in Japanese)
Then you just have to fry them until they get a golden brown colour. It must be crispy
Here is the result! You should try it! '(^ -^)° Yummy

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Bonjour à toutes et à tous,

Aujourd'hui j'ai essayé la recette de NyanNyan http://nyanyan.over-blog.com/article-6847551-6.html (je me permet de vous inviter à aller visiter son site qui est très interessant, à voir pour tous les fans de cuisine Japonaise)

Vous trouverez la recette de la croquette Japonaise, exquise en entrée comme dans un plat principal. J'ai adapté cette recette, en incorporant dans la croquette un peu de fromage coupé en dés avant de la frire.
Resultat:

Vous pouvez trouver la sauce bulldog, la sauce brune qui accompagne merveilleusement les fritures, dans les épiceries asiatiques, chez les frères Tang, ou dans les epiceries Japonaise du côté Opéra, rue Saint Anne, mais elles sont assez chères, malheureusement.

Ittadakimasu! Bon Appetit °( ' o ')°

Made to increase your appetite

2009-01-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome!!! "Yokoso"

Today is the day I open this public blog.

A few years ago I wasn't planning such a thing, but today what I am going to cook does really matter. To put it bluntly as I am getting more and more impassioned with cooking I am creating my own presence on the web so I can share my own creation, and to show the results of my experiments.

By the way, I would like to say that i am really interested in Japanese cooking style, but also in pasteries, cakes and tea.

I would be pleased to receive lots of advices or comments from everyone. Meanwhile, you are very welcome, and hope you will try my recipies yourself!

Have a good time,

kitchen Boy

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Bienvenue!

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Depuis quelques années, la cuisine me permet de m'exprimer, et devient un de mes centres d'intérêts qui me tient le plus à coeur. Je suis un grand amateur de cuisine Japonaise, je tenais à le préciser, car beaucoup des plats que je m'apprête à vous présenter sont inspirés ou viennent directement de la culture nippone. J'ai hate d'avoir votre avis sur ces experiences culinaires.

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J'espere que ce site vous donnera encore plus envie de cuisiner!

A bientot,

Kitchen Boy