by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

“Z” Keema Curry
Z キーマカレー

Keema Curry is typically made with ground meat.

I happened to have homemade plant-based “ground meat”, and I decided go for it.

My other co-star in this curry is zucchini.

I always try to find a way to sneak in some seasonal vegetables in my dishes.

Served with brown rice.

Delicious!

We’ve been having unexpectedly hot weather in Minnesota the past few days, and this curry was perfect.

It’s funny that we tend to enjoy eating spicy food on a hot day, but it’s always true.

And like any other curry, it tastes better the next day.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Japanese Food, Rice/Grains

T-Roll with Mayo and Teriyaki
T巻き、マヨと照り焼きだれ。

I make sushi rolls often, but I still get excited when I make one.

As a result, I tend to prepare too much stuff to roll in.

I don’t always do this, but it is fun to serve with sauce.

I happened to have just made V mayo using this recipe (except that I used apple cider instead of lemon juice).

What you see here are sushi brown rice, cucumber, sweet and spicy tempeh, avocado, and radish.

It barely closed!

So good!!

The mayo and teriyaki are a golden combination.

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by : Reiko Jackfruit, Rice/Grains, Tofu

Taco Quinoa
タコキノア

I think I’m getting better with the timing, because I now have another “taco” dish for Tuesday!

I’m so proud of myself, but it’s probably not that difficult as we do eat some kind of “tacos” often.

For this particular occasion I cooked both Jackfruit and tofu as a main filling, so it was kind of a “deluxe” version.

The jackfruit, tofu, and all the fixings were served over red quinoa.

And a cherry on top was the chipotle cream made by my husband.

He has recently started wanting to make creams and sauces like this by himself.

He has watched me cooking for a long time, and he is now actually pretty good at it.

(To be honest, it makes me a bit sad although I’m immensely proud of him at the same time, when I think that he doesn’t need me anymore; I guess that’s probably how mothers feel when their kids grow up (lol).)

His chipotle cashew cream was delicious.

Tasty!!

Don’t worry.

The leftover JF and tofu were put to good use.

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by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Root Vegetables

Field Poke Bowl
大地のポキ丼

I’m from Japan, and naturally I love sushi.

You may think I like Poke as well.

Well, the first time I tried poke was the day after my wedding in Hawaii.

I thought it would be cool to try poke where it was originated, however, my first poke was terrible!

It was at a part of a course meal served at some kind of Hawaiian show which was apparently created for tourists, so it was probably not the best quality.

So since the sad experience, I’ve never really had interest in trying another poke dish.

It is kind of funny that the second poke dish I tried was made by myself in Minnesota, and it didn’t even include any fish!

You may think it’s tuna.

Well, the color is definitely right.

Beet is one of my favorite vegetables.

Its taste and texture are wonderful, but its color is probably what makes this vegetable stand out.

When you want something naturally red, really red, beet comes handy.

You can roast beets yourself, but I do love pre-cooked ones.

I can eat beet whenever I want, so I usually keep a jar in my fridge.

And the other major ingredient you find in my poke bowl was fresh mango.

This beautiful orange-yellow color was the perfect contrast from the beet.

I kept my poke bowl simple.

Other than the marinated beet and mango, I had avocado and sliced-and-quickly-pickled cucumber over brown sushi rice, and then I sprinkled roasted nori seaweed on top.

I was so proud of myself because I made this from scratch on a weeknight, after a long hours at work!

Energy comes from nowhere when you have strong craving.

I wish I could say I made the miso soup fro scratch as well, but at some point you have to tell yourself it’s okay to get some help.

This particular brand seems to have simple and good ingredients, and is vegan and pretty tasty for instant soup.

A rice bowl is not complete without a cup of miso soup in my book.

I’m happy to report that this home-made “field” Poke was scrumptious!

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by : Reiko Rice/Grains, Salad

C-Steak Dinner
Cステーキディナー

Do I still eat steak, you ask?

Well, I do.

I eat cauliflower steak!

And it’s so much easier to cook this steak than meat.

It’s so delicious that everyone should try it at least once.

I’m from Japan, so of course I love rice, but I also like other kinds of grains, like this one, farro.

A pretty good dinner plate, if you ask me.

I’m also a big fan of salad toppings, and hemp seed is one of my favorites.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

Pot Sticker Combo Meal
食堂餃子ランチセット

Combo meals are nothing new in the U.S.

But typical combo meals you get in Japan look a bit different.

Instead of fries and soda, you typically get rice and soup (and maybe some kind of small veggie dish) that accompany the main dish.

And this is the kind of lunch option I often wish we had here.

My pot stickers were cooked beautifully.

Love the nonstick griddle.

It’s big and cooks a lot of pot stickers at once.

Garlic black pepper scallion soup.

Pea and corn fried rice.

Having a lot of plates on the table always makes me happy.

But it also usually means that you get a balanced meal.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Breakfast, Japanese Food, Rice/Grains

J-Style Country Breakfast: Onigiri
田舎めし

I just got back from a two-day trip to Chicago.

Love the windy city.

It was a short trip, but I ran into the fabulous donut shop where I had one of the best donuts (vegan) ever: Firecakes Donuts.

If you visit or live in Chicago, go there!

I had dark chocolate donut and it was insanely good.

The donut alone was worth traveling to the city.

I also got to try delicious Korean food at Amitabul.

I had their Dr. K’s Cure All Noodle Soup and All-Vegan Pizza, and they were both delicious!

But there is always a must-stop place in Chicago when we drive there, Mitsuwa, a Japanese grocery store.

Although our Twin Cities local Asian grocery stores carry a lot of Japanese foods now, there are still things you only find at Mitsuwa.

I got several goodies, and these are one of them: traditional Japanese fermented pickles.

I decided to make onigiri (Japanese rice ball) using these pickles for breakfast this morning.

The dark one is “Pickled Melon with Bake Less”; that’s what the package says.

And the lighter one is “Natural Nuka Takuan; Pickled Rice Bran Radish”.

I love Japanese pickles, and I grew up eating a lot of these.

My parents used to call me “Miss Tsukemono (pickles in Japanese)”.

Freshly cooked brown rice.

This country style breakfast was exactly what I wanted to create after a long drive home from the city.

I even made miso soup, and I was proud of myself!

This is something my husband picked up at Mitsuwa.

This is a type of sencha green tea, called “Gyoku-ro”.

Gyoku-ro is the king of sencha green tea, and of course, the “Grower’s Reserve” sign got his attention.

We tried a cup last night, and he really liked it.

But he said it’s going to be a weekend tea, because it’s special (well, it’s expensive for sure, lol).

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by : Reiko Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

Ratatouille K-Style
ラタトゥイユ・Kスタイル

Ratatouille is one of my favorite go-to dishes to make at the end of the weekend.

I usually make a big batch so that I can enjoy it all through the following week.

You can basically use any vegetables, but my must-have ingredient is eggplant.

I also do not like my eggplant to become too soft, so I cook it in a separate pan and add it at the last minute.

It’s an Italian dish, but that does not stop me from adding some ethnic flair to it.

THis time I added gochujang, Korean red chili paste.

This sweet and spicy fermented paste gives a depth in the flavors.

It was perfect when served over rice.

You know me, I have to have something green on my plate, and I added chopped spinach to my rice.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Eat your veggies.

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Main Dish, Mushrooms, Rice/Grains

Awesome V Meatloaf
Vミートローフ

Meatloaf was one of my husband’s favorite dishes when we were still eating meat.

I totally forgot about even the existence of this dish, but a few weeks ago he talked about it, and I kind of took it as a challenge.

I have actually made vegan meatloaf in the past, but it was not my favorite.

Although it tasted pretty good, but the texture was off.

It was a little too soft, and “beany”.

So this time I took some time really thinking about the best ingredients and the process to achieve the taste AND the texture that would satisfy me.

And I think I succeeded!

It’s got a nice crusty crust outside, the inside is moist and juicy, but got the right texture, definitely not soft or “beany” at all.

It’s almost crazy that it looks like the real “meat” meatloaf!

With a strong request from my husband, this meatloaf was served with gravy, instead of ketchup-based sauce.

My V-gravy recipe is found here.

The more gravy, the better anything tastes!

Okay, one more picture.

I hope you can really get an idea of how wonderful its texture is.

Leftover meatloaf was crumbled into small pieces and cooked with additional herbs and spice to make Italian sausage and then added to my tomato sauce.

I served it over spinach bowtie pasta, and it was a big hit at our house.

Here is the recipe for the V-Meatloaf.

Next time I will probably double the recipe so that I will have extra for making sausage, burger, or meatballs.

That’s how much we liked it!

Awesome V Meatloaf

1 cup walnuts
1 cup cooked lentils (do not cook too soft)
1 cup cooked wheat berries
1 cup quick oats
0.5 cup baguette slices soaked in soy milk (and then squeeze the milk out)
mixture of 3 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and 5 tablespoons of vegetable broth
1.5~2 cups mixture of chopped and sauteed garlic (3~4 cloves), 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 package crimini mushrooms
1 tablespoon soy sauce
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
dried thyme
canola oil for brushing

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Process walnuts in a food processor until chopped into small pieces (do not make it into paste).
3. Add lentils, wheat berries, quick oats, and baguette to the walnuts. Process (pulse) until the mixture looks half paste and half coarse.
4. Take the mixture out of the food processor into a large bowl.
5. Add the flaxseed-broth mixture, vegetable mixture, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix well.
6. Place in a parchment paper lined pan; I sed 9.5 x 5.5 x 2.5 pan, but only filled about a little over a 2/3 length.
7. Cook in the oven for 50 minutes. Brush the top with oil. Cook for another 10 minutes. I broiled the top for a few minutes to give the extra crustiness.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Rice/Grains, Tofu

Yakko Rice Bowl
冷奴どんぶり

You may ask what is “Yakko”?

Well, you probably already know what it is.

It’s another name for “tofu”.

I don’t know why but we often use the term “yakko” to describe tofu dishes.

Napa cabbage.

One of my favorite leaf vegetables.

It’s crunchy, juicy, and I love the crunchy texture and the slight sweetness.

Radish is something I almost always have in my fridge.

Rice, a slice of soft tofu, and a mountain of fresh veggies, as well as fixings, such as grated ginger and chopped scallion.

Simple garlic chili sauce: garlic chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, oil

Very refreshing and satisfying.

This is a kind of lunch I can eat everyday.

By the way, these plates are also hand-made.

Since I don’t have much experience, when I put glaze on, I have some rough idea of the color my plates are going to be, but other than that I really have no idea of how (how dark, light, etc.) they will look.

So it’s always a kind of surprise when I go pick them up at the studio.

Yes, I still need to practice, but it’s so satisfying to eat out of a bowl my hands created.

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