Category Archives: By Ingredient

Basic Dashi and Second Dashi

Dashi is a simple broth that is a very important component to a lot of Japanese foods. The Japanese use dashi as a base for miso soups, noodle soups and as a liquid in many simmering braises.

Making Dashi

making dashi

We’ve been living in Kuching for a little over 3 months now. We’re settling in all right, getting to know the place and people. But we haven’t had a big party of guests over to our house yet, like we used to do almost weekly back in San Jose. We really wanted to invite our friend Paul (who welcomed us on our first day to Kuching) and his family over for a meal.

Annie mulled over the different menu options and eventually decided on a Japanese menu. Of course, there would have to be miso soup. She also wanted to do niku-jaga (meat and potatoes) dish. Both dishes call for dashi as part or most of the ingredients list.

The base of making dashi is the use of kombu/konbu (a dried piece of kelp seaweed) which is placed in cold water then heated to almost a boil. The other ingredient is katsuobushi (bonito flakes) which is added after taking the kombu out. These days, you can get handy instant dashis that you just add to water. But there is nothing like making your own dashi from scratch. And they are not very hard to make at all.

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Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers: Turkey Tortilla Soup

Tired of eating the same old dried out, microwave-reheated breast meat for days? I sure would be. This Turkey Tortilla Soup will spice up your leftovers!

Turkey Tortilla Soup

Originally posted 27 Nov 2007
Updated 25 Nov 2009

In the past, we’ve always saved the carcass of the turkey to make stock, and most of the time we turn that stock into turkey jook (rice congee). It’s pretty easy to do.

But I was getting tired of Asian food. I just didn’t want to fall back on warming up leftover turkey again. I wanted some kicked up flavors and spice! So I went Southwestern with a Turkey Tortilla Soup.

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Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken Recipe

This tasty recipe has all the flavors that I could imagine would make a chicken dish great. And it is a very easy recipe to put together for a weekday meal.

Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken

sweet and spicy sticky chicken wings

The title – “Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken” – doesn’t that just sound super yummy? It brings to mind a barbeque-like idea for this chicken dish BUT it’s not barbeque—it’s just a braised chicken dish that is delicious.

I’ve made this dish several times already. The recipe calls for chicken thighs but this last time I made it, I used chicken wings and that worked out good too. I think thighs and legs are probably the best parts to use, though, as they hold up better than wings in a braise. Continue reading Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken Recipe

Gourmet Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing Recipe

One of our most loved Thanksgiving recipes, a tried-and-true favorite stuffing dish. You’ll want to make a double batch just so you have enough for leftovers!

Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing

gourmet chestnut and sausage stuffing

Over the years, we’ve made many different turkey recipes for Thanksgiving. The famous Good Eats Roast Turkey by Alton Brown was the most often used recipe. We’ve also used other recipes, like Melinda Lee’s apple juice-based Master Brine, our WSM Smoked Turkey, and a disastrous pineapple brined, smoked turkey (shudder).

For the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, we like to try different things out. But one side dish has been a constant companion on our Thanksgiving table, for at least 5 years now: this Gourmet Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing.
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