Reiko

Reiko

by : Reiko Sandwiches, Tofu

Tofu Cutlet Wanpaku Sandwich
豆腐カツわんぱくサンド

I was in the mood for a big sandwich, and I decided to make Wanpaku sandwich for the second time.

Wanpaku sandwich is a popular Japanese sandwich.

I’m not sure exactly what is the definition, but basically it’s a sandwich with a LOT of stuff sandwiched.

Like those New Jersey deli sandwiches, as my husband says.

(“Wanpaku” means naughty or mischievous, typically used to describe physically active young boys.)

These tofu cutlets are so delicious!

People say anything deep-fried tastes good, and I do agree (lol).

The first time I made Wanpaku sandwich a few years ago, it was a disaster.

Although I was still not sure how much I could actually pile up, but I wanted something really voluminous.

I’m happy to announce that this time I succeeded.

Inside this sandwich you’ll find spinach, carrots, tofu cutlet with Japanese worcestershire sauce, radish, and purple cabbage.

By the way, I baked pullman bread for this sandwich.

This was not only pretty but also delicious!!

I could eat this everyday.

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by : Reiko Pizza/Flatbread

Yin Yang Pizza
インヤン・ピザ

What do you do when you have two completely different flavor ideas for pizza, yet the pizza crusts you have are quite large, and it has to be consumed only by two persons?

Well, you make a half-and-half!

Prep time.

Herbed garlic tofu.

Some of the ingredients.

I like to prep toppings and sauce (and “cheese”, etc.) in advance, so that actual pizza-making is quick and easy.

We usually make crust, but this time we decided to use this pre-made bread.

(Of course we check the ingredients, and this passed our test!)

Right before going into the oven.

Then, I realized I forgot to add these veggie balls to the red side.

These IKEA vegetable balls are packed with real veggies, which I love.

The pizza was out of the oven, and the both sides were dressed appropriately.

It looks good, doesn’t it?!

The white side: garlic bechamel sauce, herbed garlic tofu, tomatoes, scallion, nutty Parm, a drizzle of Yuzu hot sauce

This Yuzu Hot Sauce from Trader Joe’s is one of my recent favorite condiments.

This brightens up any dish you use so well.

This works particularly well for “cream” based sauce/dish.

The red side: tomato sauce, mushrooms, red onion, green pepper, IKEA veggie ball crumbles, creamy cashew cheese sauce, Japanese basil (Shiso)

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Sweets

Rustic Wabi-Sabi Scones
ワビサビ・ざくざくスコーン

I was in the mood for Japanese flavored scones.

Made two versions.

This one is Kinako (roasted soy bean powder) and black sesame.

This one is Matcha almond.

I added some whole wheat flour, and the results were pretty rustic-looking, just the way I wanted.

They were perfect when served with my homemade plant-based butter.

Recommended beverage: cafe au lait.

Have a great weekend everyone.

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by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Japanese Food

Shojin Bento Box
精進弁当

It’s been a while since last time I made Bento.

Carrot Namul.

Braised Daikon and Soy Curd.

Curried Green Peppers.

Love these veggies.

I didn’t have to take it anywhere, but it was still fun to pack and wrap it just like a real bento box.

Mock fried oysters.

This may be one of my favorite bento boxes I’ve made.

Flavors, colors, and textures…

Everything kind of came together and worked wonderfully.

A view from the other side.

The leftover was saved in the fridge for me to enjoy the following week.

By the way, “Shojin” cuisine is a Japanese Bhuddist plant-based cuisine traditionally prepared by monks.

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by : Reiko Sandwiches

Mock Oyster Po’Boy
MODOKI 牡蛎ポーボーイサンドイッチ

Who would have thought I could still eat Oyster Po’Boy Sandwich?!

Well, it’s thanks to Ms. iina, the author of this wonderful cookbook called “MODOKI” (“modoki” means “mock” in Japanese).

If interested in the mock fried oysters, please see my previous post.

My beautiful mock fried oysters and fresh veggies were generously placed on my homemade bun.

Mayo (homemade)-based sauce.

A bit spicy, a bit sweet, and a bit tangy.

One more shot to admire the beautiful “oysters”, before covered with the sauce.

This sandwich was ridiculously delicious!!

My husband, who is not a big fan of oysters, even loved it!!

(Again, please do not ask for the mock fried oyster recipe, as its ownership belongs to the book author, Ms. iina. Thank you!)

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by : Reiko Other

Mock Fried Oysters
MODOKI！牡蛎フライ

I’m not a huge fan of “mock” anything, as “mock” meat tends to stray too far away from whole-food.

But last time I was in Japan I bought this cookbook called “MODOKI (means “mock” in Japanese)”, as the ingredients are still mostly whole-food.

I’ve been interested in this recipe for a while, and finally I decided to give it a try.

Oyster was one of my favorite seafood before I switched to the plant-based diet, so I was pretty excited.

How did I like them?

Well, I absolutely completely LOVED them!!

These are insanely awesome!

They look like oysters, and the taste and texture definitely remind me of those of oysters.

But what’s so great about them is that they are simply DELICIOUS!!

I hardly ever buy cookbooks anymore, but I’m so glad I picked this up the last time I was back in Japan.

Please do not ask for the recipe, as its ownership belongs to the book’s author, Ms. iina. Thank you.

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by : Reiko Bread, Breakfast

Country Autumn Muffins
オータムごろごろマフィン

Last weekend I made muffins because…

I got Baker’s Field‘s flour!

Baker’s Field is a local bakers that bake bread AND mill flour for other bakers.

When I first tried their bread at Fig and Farro, a vegetarian restaurant, I absolutely loved it.

Then I quickly found out that they sell their bread at selected grocery stores and co-ops, and I’ve been buying their bread (my favorite is Table Bread) regularly.

I was also recently informed that my favorite vegan bakery, Eureka Compass Vegan Food now sells their flour! (Eureka uses their flour for their muffins.)

So you can imagine how excited I was when I finally got a bag in my arms!

County Autumn Muffins.

I wanted my muffins to be savory with chunks of veggies.

What went into the batter were braised Kabocha squash, roasted red onions, and sauteed collard greens.

The muffins tasted delicious, better than usual, and I believe the flour had something to do with it.

The flour was milled only two days before!!

You would have to think the freshness contributes to the taste, right?

I really enjoyed these muffins for breakfast, although they make great snack, too.

Packed with all the good stuff!

Recommended beverage: Homemade Cold Brew Coffee. Hot. Black.

I also baked Boule bread using this flour, following the recipe I’ve used multiple times over many years.

I never failed with this recipe even when I made a few measuring errors, however, this time the result was definitely different.

The dough was very loose, the bread was flat when it went into the oven, and it stayed pretty flat.

I got confused and did some Google research.

Quickly I learned that freshly milled flour is lighter compared to store-bought flour.

So if you measure your flour using a cup like I did, you end up with too little flour.

A little note to myself: Use weight (g) next time.

Yes, this bread was flat, the texture was different, but I refuse to say I failed, only because this bread was DELICIOUS!

I think this particular flour creates such a depth in the taste.

I can’t wait to try their other types of flour (bread flour, whole wheat, etc.) and experiment!

They really renewed my interest in baking.

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by : Reiko Sandwiches

New Delhi Sloppy Joes
ニューデリー・スロッピージョー

I was going to call this “Sloppy –polar Indian boy‘s name”, but my husband stopped me from doing so, because he warned me that I would probably offend a large number of people.

“Who wants to be called “Sloppy”?”

I guess…

Instead, I decided to call this “New Delhi Sloppy Joes”.

The filling is this “Z” Keema Curry, full of delicious Indian spices.

I always like my sloppy Joes on crusty bread, which makes the sandwich taste so much better.

French baguette is one of favorite crusty bread, but this ↑ Vietnamese baguette has been my latest favorite as a sandwich baguette.

The crust is unmistakably crunchy, yet, the inside is so soft, light, and airy.

It’s absolutely perfect for sandwich like this.

I recently found out that the bakery section in the local Asian market makes these baguettes on-site and sells them 75 cents a piece!

I don’t know about you, but the traditional Sloppy Joe often tastes one-dimensional, and as a result the sandwich does not excite me.

So I always want to add something in order to add some interest to its taste and appearance.

It could be something crunchy, something fresh, some fat, some heat, some tanginess… something!

This time, the something was this tangy cilantro-radish sauce, similar to tartar sauce.

This was so delicious, and my husband and I both devoured it.

Since it was my first time to try this baguette, I actually took some inside crumb out so that the sandwich wouldn’t be too “bready”.

Now I know that it was not necessary.

The bread is so light as I said, you don’t feel like you’re eating too much bread at all.

I liked this variation of Sloppy Joes so much that I went back to the Asian store to get more Vietnamese baguettes.

I’m now thinking about making a “Tokyo” version.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Rice/Grains, Tempeh, Tofu

Deconstructed Bahn Mi Rice Bowl
解体バインミー丼

You have all the ingredients for your banh mi sandwich, but you are missing the right bread for it.

What would you do?

Make deconstructed bahn mi rice bowl!

I talked about this Trader Joe’s super firm tofu before.

This is REALLY firm and dense, and when cooked, the texture resembles that of chicken.

That’s why I say it’s a good first tofu to cook for tofu beginners.

We are definitely not beginners, but we still like it, as it’s different from other tofu.

Looks good, doesn’t it?

In addition to the tofu, I also prepared crunchy tempeh.

You first start with brown rice, and then add everything that would make banh mi otherwise.

Fresh crunchy veggies are a must.

How did I do?

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by : Reiko Sweets

Miss You Portland Cookies
愛しきポートランド・クッキー

I was in the mood for cookies.

Not the chewy type, but the shortbread type.

I happened to have beautiful fresh rosemary and decided to add it to the cookies.

The rosemary cookies were delicious.

Just what I wanted.

But then an idea came to me.

My husband and I took a trip to the east coast a few months ago.

I loved all the cities (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver) we visited, but I really liked the city of Portland.

So I wanted to bring something home before I left the city.

When I found this jam at the airport, I thought this was it.

As you know how the airport shops are, there were probably a dozen different brands’ marionberry jam being sold.

I had a hard time in choosing one, but I eventually decided to pick this one because it said “seedless”.

I never like seeds in my black berries.

I filled the cookies with as much jam as I could put in.

I loved these cookies.

I think I picked the right jam.

This marionberry jam was perfectly sweet and perfectly tart.

Portland was one of a few cities that was not only a great place to visit but also a city that made me want to live in!

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