Arare Gift Box

Arare Gift Box

One of my Christmas presents this year was this great looking arare (rice cracker) gift box.

I have a high appreciation for the way the Japanese package things. Wander around a Japanese market sometime and the products really seem to pop off the shelves. Color schemes are thoughtfully considered, graphics are tastefully employed, and in the fresh seafood department, fish fillets seem to be caught in mid swim in their Styrofoam trays. They have a way of enhancing the inherent natural beauty of simple objects. Presentation and attention to detail transforms ordinary into extraordinary bringing to mind words like craftsmanship and artisan.

Calligraphy Detail

This arare box is a perfect example of the art of Japanese packaging. Even though I can't read Japanese, the calligraphy on the cover immediately caught my eye. I've studied Wagami Japanese paper making back in school and part of the course involved sumi-e calligraphy painting on paper we actually made ourselves out of mulberry bark. The graphics remind me of some of my attempts which only decades of practice would bring anywhere near this level. My instructor informed us that once we learn the history and process of making paper, we will never take for granted a single sheet of Charmin again. I have to say, I still take it for granted. At least I don't have to make all my own paper. Now that could pose a problem.

Individual Packages

You can see how thoughtful consideration was put into the individual wrappers. The labeling seems to be consciously coordinated somehow and complements the unique contents of each package. The packages themselves are all propped forward creating a nice presentation.


These rice crackers not only looked pretty, they were tasty, fresh and crunchy. Each package contained it's own desiccant pack to keep the contents fresh so you could take your time to admire the packaging before eating it; so you can eat with your eyes first before tasting it with your mouth.

Leftover Bento

Leftovers

Make something out of nothing is kind of my motto in the kitchen. That's basically what this lunch is, a plate of nothings, but put all those nothings together and the sum looks far more appetizing.

I spent part of the late morning, as I do most late mornings, scavenging around for something to have for lunch and found a bunch of little containers filled with stuff leftover from Christmas six days ago; wasabi tobiko (wasabi flavored flying fish roe), ikura (salmon roe), tsukemono (Japanese pickles) and beni shoga (pickled ginger). The tobiko and ikura aren't typical leftovers in this house, but on this occasion I was lucky to have them sitting patiently in the fridge, waiting to be eaten. I added fried Portuguese sausage from the freezer, topped a bowl of white rice with everything and... instant bento.

Franks Foods Franks (The Red Hot Dog)

Franks Foods Franks

There's a lot to be said for the way color influences what we eat. Back in college I took a color theory class and discovered the many ways color subconsciously affects our everyday lives. Of particular interest to me was the way color has the ability to stimulate our appetites. Although the way colors affect us depends greatly on our cultural differences and individual life experiences, in general, warm colors stimulate the appetite and cool colors suppress the appetite. This may be attributed to a time when the only cues we could rely on to indicate ripeness and wholesomeness as opposed to unsavoriness like mold and spoilage were color indicators. Consider the fact that most fast food chain logos use reds yellows and oranges in their logos. My guess is, the decision to graphically warm things up was based on careful market research and color consultation and not by chance alone. Here's a link to more on color theory by Color Professor J.L. Morton.

I assume color theory to some extent must have been the original concept behind artificially colored red hot dogs. In my opinion, possible carcinogenic risk aside, (from FD&C red 40) a red hot dog looks much more appealing on the surface than a pasty, flesh colored wienie. Vivid colors imply freshness and flavor. I almost believe a red hot dog actually tastes better than a hot dog of a subtler hue. A "blind" taste test would seem in order here. I only recently found out to what extent meat producers are willing to go to in order to present the desired color in their products and their tactics extend surreptitiously well beyond coloring hot dogs red. Check out this article in the Washington Post for more information on this subject.

With all that color theory background in place, I present to you FF Smoked Artificially Colored Franks. That's exactly what they're called on the package. These franks are red. They are really red.

FF Brand Smoked Artificially Colored Franks

Red on the backside too

In Hawaii, red hot dogs and sausages are popular items. Redondo's "Winners" and Pupu Pups, Miko hot dogs, and Pupu Rockets and Uncle Louie's sausages are just some of the hot dogs and sausages available that proudly sport the bright red, fresh sun burnt complexion. On many a plate lunch menu one can usually find the chili frank plate. Consisting of a scoop or two of rice smothered with chili and accompanied by a dollop of cool macaroni salad on the side, any chili frank plate worth it's heartburn would be incomplete without the signature bright red hot dog.

Chili Frank Plate

Hawaii is not alone in it's affinity for red hot dogs. In some regions of the country, red hot dogs are almost exclusive on local menus. Take for instance, North Carolina's Bright Leaf brand of hot dogs produced by Carolina Packers, manufacturing red hot dogs since 1941, or West Point, Nebraska's Wimmer's Meats, producing fine meat products including red hot dogs, since 1934.

So what is it about the red hot dog? Hot dog aficionados across the country swear by them. For me, the red hot dog speaks of tradition and stability in an ever changing culinary environment. Food trends seem to come and go, reluctant to blend in, adapt and assimilate. Today's hot ticket meal quickly becomes tomorrow's has-been novelty. Wow factor (I hate that term) food is all too often the main objective in fancy restaurants these days with comfort, tradition and sometimes even taste suffering as a result. Red hot dogs remind me of more carefree days spent picnicking at the beach or backyard barbecuing at friend's houses in the summer. Red hot dogs come from a time when we weren't overly concerned with what we were eating, as long as it tasted good and we ate it in moderation. We were ignorantly blissful before we found out that everything we eat is going to kill us.

I say, you should eat what you want and enjoy it but do it in moderation. Like everything that's supposedly bad for us, red hot dogs simply taste good but no one needs ten of them at one sitting to feel satisfied. Eat with your eyes, then your taste buds, then think of all the reasons why you're enjoying it.

Coronation Chicken Club Sandwich

Coronation Chicken Club Sandwich

There's a popular sandwich in England called a coronation chicken sandwich. The coronation chicken recipe is basically a curried chicken salad that was originally invented as a special dish to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II back in 1953. Today, you can find this dish or variations of it in the form of a tasty sandwich filling in pubs, restaurants and butty bars (sandwich shops) across the U.K.

I was thinking about the flavors of coronation chicken when making this sandwich. My simplified take on the recipe includes leftover roasted chicken, mayo, some diced red pepper, some diced celery and some curry powder. It's quite paired down from the more elaborate original recipe which calls for red wine and canned apricot halves among other things but I stayed true to the curry flavor. To embellish it a little, I decided to turn it into a club with the addition of a few strips of crispy bacon and some balsamic dressed mache or lambs lettuce.

Crown Me

The curry and mayo flavors really define this chicken salad. I think the sandwich turned out pretty good.

Baked Lemon Thyme Salmon

Baked Lemon Thyme Salmon

We still had some really nice stuff in the fridge from Christmas and I wasn't about to let it go to waste. I was, however, feeling a bit lazy. I enjoy cooking, but I did quite a lot of it over the past few days so I needed a recipe that was a no-brainer.

My Mom bakes whole salmon by simply seasoning it with salt and pepper and slathering the cleaned out cavity of the salmon with mayonnaise and topping it with lemon slices. The mayo always keeps the fish moist. Throw it in a 350 degree oven and forget about it for a half hour to forty five minutes or so depending on the size. Tip: the only mayo to use in my opinion is Bestfoods also known as Hellman's mayo east of the Rockies.

Instead of a whole salmon, I had some salmon fillet that got the same treatment with the addition of fresh thyme (just because it was there). I baked it at 350 for about 12 minutes and it was done perfectly.

Let's see, what else do we have in the fridge? Some pasta with olive oil, spinach, olives, tomato and fresh garlic? Guess that'll do.

Wonton of Fun

Wonton

I don't make homemade wonton often enough. I think only because it seems like a lot of effort. My Mom usually makes them on weekends when she has more time to cook and when I lived at home, we would have them with mein (noodles) and soup for lunch. Wonton mein.

I bought a twelve ounce stack of wrappers at Mitsuwa Japanese market and used only about a dozen or so for our Christmas Eve foodie fest. They are thin, delicate, and almost translucent. There must have been about a hundred wrappers in the stack when I started, all individually dusted with a thin layer of flour to prevent sticking. This was a good opportunity to finally make some homemade wonton and attempt to use up all the ingredients I had left over.

Making them is actually quite easy and not much of a chore once you gear up for it. The fold, for the most part, is very similar to, if not the same technique used to make Italian tortellini. Wonton are generally bigger and stuffed with more filling than tortellini, but don't let that stop you from stuffing these wrappers with ricotta and calling them jumbo tortellini if you're having an Italian night. I've also heard of a Taiwanese restaurant in Alhambra that makes wonton the size of your fist. *note to self: gotta try place in Alhambra*

For the filling I combine minced shrimp and pork, some minced green onion, minced water chestnuts (for a once in a bite crunch) and a little garlic puree. To this, I add some soy sauce, some fish sauce, a pinch each of white pepper and sugar, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil. Everything gets incorporated and the mixing bowl gets placed in the fridge to stay cool while I prepare my work surface for the wrappers.

Filling

First, lay out the wrappers assembly line style on a cornstarch dusted cutting board and plop a teaspoonful of filling in the center of each wrapper.

Fold 1

Next, bring two corners together and seal along the two edges with a little water.

Fold 2

This next part is easy once you get the hang of it and gives the wonton their characteristic shape. Bring the two lower corners together, overlap at a slight angle and "glue" together with a dab of water. While pinching the overlap together, use your thumb to nudge the filling to the other side. You'll see what I mean. There you have it. You're a "won" man or "won" woman wonton factory.

Wonton Waiting for the Hot tub

Keep a damp dish cloth over the finished wonton while you continue making more so they won't start to dry out. Like all fresh pasta, wonton taste their best when they're cooked right away. They also freeze pretty well if you happen to make more than you can use. Spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them individually so they won't all stick together before transferring them to portion sized freezer storage containers.

Wonton with Green Onion, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Chili Oil and Togarashi Pepper

To cook, all you do is bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop them in. At first, they will all sink to the bottom, but after a few minutes, one by one, they'll each float to the surface and when they do, they're done cooking. Eat'em hot with or without noodles or soup, with your choice of condiments.

Sweet and Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings

Sweet and Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings

It seems like back in Hawaii, every okazuya and plate lunch place has their own secret recipe for garlic chicken and they've all been refined to pungent perfection. Hence the absence of Vampires in the Isles. Generally speaking, garlic chicken is boneless chicken thighs or wings that are floured and fried and then dipped in a garlic sauce. Sounds like it should be simple to make right?

I don't remember eating much garlic chicken growing up but I have to say I'm a big a fan. I'll take a garlic chicken wing over a Buffalo wing any day. There aren't many dishes which one can continue to enjoy into the next morning after eating it even after brushing your teeth twice. Only a well executed, authentic Hawaiian style garlic chicken can deliver the punch to make good on that promise. Only problem is, nobody up here on the mainland knows how to make it properly. Of course some of the Hawaiian barbecue places offer it on their menus but somehow, the mainland folks just haven't seemed to crack the code (or the garlic clove) yet. They all seem to be shy when it comes to garlic, perhaps a cautionary measure to appeal to lowest common denominator palates. Come on now... Really... It's called "garlic chicken".

Although I've eaten many variations over the years, I haven't actually cooked it very often so I decided to once and for all come up with my own garlic chicken recipe, (although slightly embellished). Here it is.

Crunchy is Best

I seasoned some chicken wings with salt and pepper, put them in a Ziploc bag with flour and garlic powder and shook them up to coat evenly. Next, I deep fried them in vegetable oil. I've found that if I'm only making a small batch, a pot works best rather than a pan. I can use less oil this way and as long as I fry the chicken in a single layer, the oil level, as displaced by the chicken wings, rises up to cover the chicken completely, essentially deep frying them. Also, the higher walls of the pot prevent oil from spattering all over the cook top.

Now for the garlic sauce. I minced up a lot of garlic and chopped some green onions and added them to a bowl. Next I poured in a little shoyu, some mirin, some sesame oil, a little honey and for some "heat and sweet", a good lug of Mae Ploy, sweet chili sauce right out of the bottle. The mixture was thinned out with a little water, whisked and zapped in the microwave for a minute. You should make enough to completely submerge the chicken in.

Garlicky Sauce

Now this is important. I should have mentioned the garlic sauce should be made ahead of time before frying the chicken and allowed to sit, intensify and be ready for the next step. Anyway, as soon as the chicken wings are done frying, throw them right in the bowl of garlic sauce while they're still piping hot. When they're dipped in the sauce while still hot, they keep their crispiness. Toss them around in the sauce to completely coat them and serve right away.