Okonomiyaki is a mixture between pancake and pizza. "Okonomi" means "as you like". This refers to the ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Dough
  • 300 g flour
  • 210 ml water
  • 2 eggs
  • Cabbage
• Possible ingredients to put into/onto Okonomiyaki
  • Katsuobushi*: Dried, shaved benito (katsuo)
    
  • Aonori*: Green, dried seaweed.
    
  • Leek or green onion
  • Beef: thinly sliced or ground
  • Pork: thinly sliced or ground
  • Chicken: breast filets
  • Octopus*
  • Squid*
  • Prawn
  • Tuna
  • Mushrooms
  • and much more...
• Sauces
  • Brown okonomiyaki sauce*
  • Mayonnaise
    

Preparation:

1. Cut four large, green cabbage leaves without the hard, white core in thin strings (ca. 4 mm).

2. Mix the water, flour, eggs and the cabbage strings together.
3. You may now add more ingredients to the dough: e.g. seafood, cut in little pieces, ground meat, cut mushrooms, etc.

4. Fry the dough like a pancake in a small frying pan.

5. Before turning the okonomiyaki over, and while the dough is still quite soft, you may put other ingredients on top of the dough.

6. Turn the okonomiyaki.
7. When fried well, serve the okonomiyaki with katsuobushi, aonori, mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce.

Tempura was brought to Japan by the Potuguese. Today Tempura is a very popular Japanese food, and as well one of the best known outside of Japan.

Ingredients:

• Tempura batter mix*
• Tempura dipping sauce*
• Prawn: raw and large
• Seafood: almost everything is possible
• Vegetables: pumpkin, carot, sweet potatoe, eggplant, and more
• Mushrooms
• and much more to try.

Preparation:

0. Prawn: Remove the head and the shell. Make little cuts on the inside of the curved prawn since they look nicer if their posture is straight.
1. Cut the vegetables in about 1cm thick pieces.
   
2. You can use whole mushrooms.

3. Mixtures: Cut various ingredients in small pieces and mix them together, eg. green onion, prawn and carots.

4. Mix Tempura flour with the amount of water described on the package. Do not mix it completely, but leave some small lumps in it.
5. Cover all the ingredients completely with the batter.
   Mix also the mixtures made of the small cut ingredients with batter, and try to deep fry it together. Don't let them fall apart in all the pieces.
6. Deep fry at 180 degrees celsius. Be careful, and do not use wet ingredients because the water would react strongly with the hot oil, which may harm your skin or eyes.

7. When the Tempura pieces are beautifully golden, take them

Nikujaga does not seem typically Japanese since the main ingredients niku (meat) and jagaimo (potatoes) are historically not traditional Japanese foodstuffs. But Nikujaga is a popular meal especially at home. It is a typical "mother's taste" meal. The taste of Nikujaga may surprise you because of the ingredients sugar and soya sauce, and I am sure that the surprise will be a positive one.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Beef or pork: thin sliced
• Onion
• Sugar
• Soya sauce
• Japanese katsuo soup stock (benito)*

Preparation:

1. Cut the onions and potatoes in about 2x2x3cm pieces.

2. Cut the sliced meat in about 5x4cm pieces.

3. Fry the potatoes, onions, and the meat in a fry pan.

4. After about two minutes add water. Everything should be more or less covered with water.

5. Add two tablespoons soya sauce and the same amount of sugar. Add also a little bit of Japanese fish soup stock.
6. Cover the pan with a lid, and let it cook for about twenty minutes or until the potatoes are soft

Yakitori is grilled chicken speared on sticks. All different parts of the chicken, thighs, skin, liver, etc. can be used for yakitori. The following recipe shows one of the most popular kind which is prepared with chicken thighs and leek.

Ingredients:

• Chicken thighs: without bone and skin
• Japanese leek (negi*), leek, or green onion
• Soya sauce
• Mirin* or sake*
• Sugar
• Honey or maple syrup
• Small wooden spears

Preparation:

1. Mix together 4 tablespoons of soya sauce, 3 tablespoons of sugar, a little bit of honey or maple syrup, a little bit of mirin and water, and heat it up until it's homogenous.

2. Cut the chicken thighs into about 3x2x2cm large pieces.

3. Put the chicken pieces into the already prepared sauce, and let it stand for a while.

4. Cut the leek or green onions in about 3 cm long pieces.

5. Spear three or four pieces of chicken and some leek on each wooden stick.

6. Grill them, or use the oven at 200 degrees celsius. (You may want to wrap the wooden sticks with aluminium foil; otherwise, they may burn off.)

Korokke is not an original Japanese dish. There are many different kinds of korokke today, varying in their fillings. The recipe below introduces you two of the most popular kinds of korokke: white cream korokke and meat potatoe korokke.

Ingredients:

• White Cream Filling
  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Milk
  • Canned corn
• Meat potatoe filling
  • Potatoes
  • Ground beef or pork
  • Onion
• Other Ingredients
  • Flour
  • Eggs
  • Bread crumbs
  • Korokke sauce*
  • Japanese mayonnaise*
  • Cabbage

Preparation:

White cream filling:

1. Melt the butter in a fry pan and add flour.

2. Add the milk and stir until the sauce becomes homogenous.

3. Wait until the white mass is very viscose and add the canned corn.

4. Give the cream into a rectangular dish and put it into the refrigerator for several minutes where it should become more solid.

5. Cook the potatoes and smash them.
6. Fry the ground meat with cut onions, and then remove as much oil as possible.

7. Mix the meat, the onions, and the smashed potatoes, and add a little bit of salt.

8. Form the meat potatoe mixture into hamburger like pieces with a diameter of about 6 cm and a thickness of about 1 cm.

9. Cut or form the white cream in pieces of about 2x2x4 cm. The rectangular dish should haven given the cream the desired form and makes the cutting easier.

10. Put one piece after the other first in the flour and cover all its surface. Then cover it with beaten raw egg, and finally with bread crumbs.

11. Deep fry the korokke pieces until they are beautiful golden.

12. Cut some green outer cabbage leafs in thin strings.

Gyoza is originally a Chinese dish, which has become very popular across Japan. This recipe shows how to make the gyoza dough and the gyoza filling. The time consuming and difficult part of making of the dough can be skipped by buying premade dough pieces, which are available at some Japanese and Chinese grocery stores.

Ingredients:

(for 30 Gyoza)

• Dough:
  • 170 mL water
  • 200 g strong flour
  
  
• Filling:
  • 200 g ground pork
  • Cabbage
  • Nira*: can be substituted by leek or green onion
    
  • Leek or Green onion
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Sake*
  • Soya sauce, salt, and pepper
  • Sesame oil
  
  
• Dipping Sauce:
  • Soya sauce
  • Vinegar

Preparation:

Dough:

1. Mix the water and the flour to a dough that should not be sticky but as soft as an ear lobe.

2. Put a wet towel over the dough, and let it stand for several minutes.

3. Separate the dough in 30 pieces, and form each of them to very thin discs with a diameter of about 10 cm. The middle of each disc should be a little bit thicker than the edge.

4. Cut some green, outer cabbage leaves, some green onion (or leek), nira, ginger, and garlic in very small pieces. The amount of these ingredients should equal the amount of meat. Do it as you like.
5. Put some salt on the cabbage, and let it stand for five minutes. Then press the water out of the cabbage pieces.

6. Mix the cabbage, green onion (or leek), nira, ginger, garlic, and the ground pork all together, and add some salt, pepper, soya sauce, sake, and sesame oil. Mix it all very well.

7. Put some of the filling onto a piece of dough. Remember that the filling should suffice for 30 gyoza pieces.

8. Moisten the edge of the dough with water. Moisten only a semicircle, not all the way around.

9. Close the gyoza. While closing it, fold the edge about 6 times as shown on the image.

10. Put the gyoza on the table as shown in the image.

11. Fry the Gyoza in a little bit of hot oil until the bottom is brownish, then add water so that the gyoza are in the water with about half of their hight.
12. Keep the high heat and wait until all the water has vaporized. Then remove the gyoza from the heat.
13. Dipping sauce: Mix the same amounts of soya sauce and vinegar together.

Three cups sticky rice for 6 servings

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 1 cup fried chicken or minced roast pork

• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon sugar

Heat pan. Add 3 tablespoons oil, saut頯nion until brown. Then put in meat and cook for 5 min. Combine saut饤 meat and cooked rice. This may be covered and kept warm in the oven until ready to serve. Serve for breakfast or lunch.

Three cups cooked sticky rice for 6 servings

Shape 3 tablespoons cooked sticky rice into a ball, then flatten in a cake

Heat pan, add 1 1/2 cups cooking oil and fry until golden brown

Drain on paper towels

Serve hot with charcoal broiled chicken or meat

Makes 10 to 12 balls

Vietnamese usually serve ordinary rice for meals. Stick rice is a special kind of flutinous rice which becomes sticky when cooked. It can be served alone for breakfast or it can go with some grilled or baked meat dishes. It is available at Chinese grocery stores. We cook plain sticky rice, sticky rice with coconut milk, or sticky rice with assorted saut饤 meat.

Plain sticky rice

Use 2 cups uncooked sticky rice for 6 servings. Wash the rice 2 to 3 times, add 1/4 teaspoon salt, then stir thoroughly. Cook in a six cup pan with 2 2/3 cups water. Keep boiling for 3 minutes, then pour off water. Cover and continue cooking over very low heat for 30 minutes.

Sticky rice with coconut milk

To prepare sticky rice with coconut milk, cook sticky rice as above indicated. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons heavy coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar after pouring off water, and continue cooking over low heat for 30 min

Serve with chicken which has been grilled over charcoal.

NOTES: Since glutinous rice is not easy to cook for the first time it can be steamed to make certain that you will have perfect sticky rice, not too wet, not too dry

Soak overnight 2 cups of glutinous rice, then steam over medium heat, it will be done within 30 to 45 min. To prepare sticky rice with coconut milk, pour 4 tablespoons coconut milk over steamed sticky rice and continue steaming 5 more min.

Serve 4 to 6

Rice in marmite is cooked rice mixed with assorted meats and other ingredients that are prepared in a ceramic rice pot which may be brought directly to the table for serving

• 2 cups uncooked rice

• 2 cups uncooked chicken breast or parts cut in 1" x 2" pieces

• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms fresh or canned

• 1 onion cut lengthwise

• 3 tablespoons Chinese soy sauce

Heat pan, add 3 tablespoons oil. Saut頯nion until brown, add chicken and mushrooms and saut頦or 10 minutes. Combine saut饤 meat with cooked rice, cover and keep warm in an oven until ready to serve Blend in 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Serve 4 to 6

• 3 cups cooked rice

• 2 cups chopped, cooked meat (sausage, ham, pork, roasted or fried chicken, shrimp, leftover...)

• 1/2 cup crab meat, fresh, canned or frozen

• 2 minced garlic cloves

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate

Heat pan, add 3 tablespoons oil and saut頯nion and garlic until brown. Add the cooked meat and crab meat and saut頦or 5 minutes. Add cooked rice. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring often while cooking. Seasoned fried rice with salt and monosodium glutamate. Can be made in advance, frozen and reheated when served. Serve with mixed vegetable soup or mixed vegetable and meat soup or Vietnamese pickles.

Rice is the grain that has shaped the cultures, diets, and economies of billions of Asians. For them, rice is more than food: Rice is Life 

"Rice is very important to our lives. We eat it three times a day. Even my favorite dessert is made from rice. Every year on May 15 we decorate our houses with rice and vegetables to celebrate the harvest."

Makes 5 or 6 servings:

• 3lbs cut up chicken

• 4 tablespoons Sherry

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 2 tablespoons chopped onion

• 2 garlic cloves, well mashed

Combine meat and all ingredients together. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Charcoal broil over medium fire until done or cook in the oven at 324F for 1 hour.
Serve with bread and Western style salad, if desired, or with sticky rice

Make 6 servings:

• 8 to 10 pieces of cut-up chicken

• 1 cup cooking oil

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 2 garlic cloves, well mashed

Season the meat with garlic, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Soak in cooking oil for 1 hour at room temperature. Drain. Charcoal grill over low fire until golden brown or cook in the oven at 300 for 1 1/2 hours.
Serve with sticky rice (sweet rice)

6 to 8 pieces of cut up chicken

The marinade:

• 1 cup soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped or 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

• 2 teaspoons chopped onion

• 4 garlic cloves, well mashed

• 1/2 teaspoon each powdered cinnamon, garlic, and cloves

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Marinade for 1 hour at room temperature. Charcoal broil or cook in the oven at 325F until golden. (about 1 hour)

Serve with plain rice or sticky rice and salad or Vietnamese pickles 

Serves 4

3 lbs pork tenderloin cut lengthwise into 5 or 6 strips

The marinade

• 1 cup soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon "five spices," or 1/2 teaspoon each of powder anise, cloves, garlic, and cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Marinade the meat for 1 hour at room temperature. Charcoal broil until golden. 

The marinade can be refrigerated and reused, each time adding 1/4 of the above spices

3 lbs pork tenderloin, sliced crosswise into about 12 pieces, 1/3" thick

The marinade:

• 1 beaten egg

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 green onions, mashed

• 3 garlic cloves, mashed

• 1 tablespoon Triple sec or Cointreau

• 1 tablespoon fresh citronella, chopped or 1 drop citronella (lemon grass) essence (can be found in drugstores).

Mix ingredients of the marinade. Then marinade pork meat 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature.
Grill over charcoal or bake in the oven at 575F for 1 hour. Make 6 servings.
Serve with boiled noodles, mixed vegetables and nuoc mam. In a plate, place 2 tablespoons mixed vegetables and some boiled noodles, and meat on top. Pour 1 teaspoon nuoc mam over these ingredients.
NOTE: Vietnamese have fresh rice noodles to serve with this meat. Instead, you can use Western noodles, medium size. Boil and drain in hot water to remove the starch. Saute slightly 2 tablespoon cooking oil, then pour the mixture over boiled noodles.
Nuoc mam is a salty and very strong sauce made from fish. The taste depends greatly on the quality of the sauce. Vietnamese fish sauce from Phu quoc Island is the best in Southeast Asia. Fish sauce goes with many Vietnamese dishes. To serve it at the table, we usually prepare it as follows:

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1/2 teaspoons chopped hot red pepper

Fish sauce from other countries is stronger than the Vietnamese kind, so you want to dilute it with some water and more lemon juice and sugar.
Try the fish sauce at least three times. You may not like it at the first time, but you will probably develop a taste for it.  

• 10 to 12 pork chops (about 1/2" thick)

• 2 tablespoons nuoc mam (plain fish sauce)

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 green onions, mashed

• 3 garlic cloves, mashed

The 5 above mentioned ingredients can be put into a blender and mixed. Marinate the pork for one hour at room temperature. Grill over medium heat with charcoal until golden brown. Seves 5
Serve with plain rice and sliced cucumber or sweet and sour salad or Vietnamese pickles.

For 6 servings:

• 6 pieces chicken or duck 

• 2 cups mixed nuts (peanuts, pecan, chestnut, almond)

• 10 Chinese prunes

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 can longan berries or lychees (if available)

Fry chicken until golden. Boil 8 cups water with 2 teaspoons salt. Add chicken, cook about 45 minutes. Add nuts and cook another 45 minutes. Skim the broth while cooking to make it clear. Add longans or lychees 5 minutes before serving.
Serve along or add bean sprouts or noodles
To make a fancy chicken or duck nut soup, use the whole chicken or duck (3 lbs). Stuff all the nuts into the belly. Sew the top and the cutting area with a needle and thread. Fry the chicken until golden. Cook 2 hours to 3 hours or until tender in a big pot with 8 cups water and 1 cup coconut water or 1 can Seven Up. Skim regularly while cooking. Season the broth with 2 teaspoon salt or to taste; 1/4 teaspoon Monosodium Glutamate.
Chinese prunes and longan berries or lychees can be omitted.
This soup may be prepared in advance, frozen, and reheated when served. To serve it we use a soup bowl, large enough to contain the chicken or duck and the broth. Since the duck or chicken is very tender after 3 hours of cooking, it will separate easily with a serving spoon.