I love tonkatsu…it’s western food washoku-style!
The secret lies in getting the outer layer as crispy as possible without burning it.
If you are like me, you don’t want to end up with a kitchen with an oily sheen on every surface, keep the fire low and shallow fry a piece at a time.
Remember to dribble on the tonkatsu sauce, that is what makes the dish tingles!
Enjoy!
I DO loudly declare that I am a very lazy cook. Whilst other cooks would spent 60% of their time looking for fresh ingredients and ways to perfect their start from scratch cooking skills, I spent that amount of time trying to find a way to do the same thing with less effort and time required.
I love kitchen appliances, induction cookers, and my favourite invention of this century, the Microwave Oven. Ingredients wise, trust me when I say the word “instant” grab my attention faster than a cabana boy *grin*
And so, what I whip up usually involve no cooking or pushing it into the microwave.
Thus, begins my journey to prove that the microwave can whip up decent meals too! I pride myself with having a dash of cynism, for all the microwave recipes I have seen and gather, I rather see it as not plausible till proven otherwise.
A particularly popular root vegetable in Japan, and slowly gaining popularity in other parts of Asia is the burdock root. Its level of popularity with the West hovers low, it was even said that no animals won’t eat it, only the donkeys would.
Gobo, as it is called in Japan, or niu pang as it is known in China, are cultivated for its sweet taste and medicinal properties.
As a blood purifying agent, the burdock root cleanses the blood stream by removing toxins, lowering the sugar level in the blood, making it a natural cure for diabetics and elimination of uric acid, aiding in the treatment for gout and rheumatism. External wounds and ulcers can heal faster with a burdock root compress by exploiting its antibiotic properties.
Popular in the West, the burdock root oil extract or more commonly known as Bur Oil. It is popular as a scalp treatment. Filled with essential fatty acids, it combats dandruff and improves hair conditions.
In 1265, a soft drink named simply Dandelion and burdock was introduced. It was naturally fizzy and went under the same category of other soft drinks that taps on roots and marketed as a health benefit. Although this drink is still very much available in England now, caution is advised in regards of its authenticity.
Traditional Japanese homemade (Kinpira)
Shredded Gobo strips are soaked in water for 5 minutes to remove the harsh muddy taste. Carrot shreds are added into the sautè. Condiments to add would include sake, mirin, soy sauce and sugar. Finally lightly sprinkle toasted white sesame seeds after removing from the heat.
It is a very common dish that must be available in every Japanese housewife’s repertoire. The ingredients are always the same, the recipes will never differ from one to another, but it will be very difficult to find two that taste similar. This is a dish that every Japanese eats and boosts about how unique it taste.
How the Chinese eats them (Meat & Burdock stewed in soy)
Burdock root can also be known as “poor man’s ginseng”. The aroma is very similar between the two roots and both have medicinal values to boot.
This dish is the best way to bring out the ginseng aroma of a burdock root. Any cut of meat is fine. Go ahead and use your favorite type of meat too! In my personal opinion, pork works really well with this vegetable.
Put the meat, burdock root into a stewing pot along with generous proportion of dark soy sauce, salt and sugar to taste and water to enable the meat to simmer till tender.
The American Camper’s salad (A dear friend’s personal concoction)
My dear friend lives in that part of America that boosts of mountains and wilderness. Her husband loves camping and one of the activities he would indulge in is harvesting wild burdock. I cannot stop telling her how lucky they are living within reach of young burdock roots!
The young roots are taken home, washed and simmered for about 20 minutes in water and a dash of baking soda. Removed and change the water in the pot. This time, boil till tender. Drain and season with any of your favorite condiments, add butter and toss.
Playful Bites (Gobo chips)
This is my ultimate alternative to snacking, they are really sweet, fun to eat and healthier than potato chips. What else could a girl ask for?
Wash burdock root throughly, do not remove skin. Using a vegetable peeler, slowly “peel” it into paper thin slices. Heat oil and deep fry till crisp. Be very watchful at this stage as the slices of root burn too real easily. Remove from heat and sprinkle sea salt over it before serving.
Gobo chips has the sweetness of a sweet potato and can be quite addictive. It is also easy to prepare and you will find that it is always real quick to disappear off the table.
I found some really great fresh shimeiji
mushrooms that just came in and really fresh enoki mushrooms on sale at the supermarket yesterday!
This mushroom junkie just have to get them ^_^
In my honest opinion, mushrooms have such great aromas, whether fresh or dried. There isn’t a real need to “spice” them up with other flavors. Used as a “pick-me-up” in chinese cruisine, dried mushrooms are largely used. In Japanese cruisine, fresh ones are most widely used, in soups, and stir frys, mushrooms bring out the delicateness aspect of cooking.
I threw the 2 kinds of mushrooms together with a bit of abura, mirin, shio and shoyuu. That is one of the traditional way Japanese moms would make at home.
Fukutoshin Daily Press 
