Tonight I made a Japanese dinner.
Our menu included:
Chicken Yakitori, Fried Rice, Sesame Asparagus, and Ginger Salad. See recipes below.
Hubby relished our dinner tonight. I couldn't believe how much he ate. This dinner hit home with him because he lived in Japan for a summer when he was 14. He went there to study karate, most people don't know that he is a black belt. He has some funny stories from his time there. One of which is when he first arrived, he called his mom crying because he didn't know how to work the high tech toilets. The other funny story is how he only would only eat chicken yakitori and Asian pears his entire time there. Because of this, chicken yakitori holds a special place in his heart.
Chicken Yakitori
1/4 C. tamari soy sauce
1/4 C. pineapple juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T. rice wine vinegar
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 T. brown sugar
4 chicken breast, boneless and skinless, cut into cubes
Mix together the tamari, pineapple juice, garlic, rice wine vingear, ginger, and brown sugar in a large ziploc. Add the chicken. Press out extra air and seal bag. Place in refrigerator and marinate at least 30 minutes.
Preheat broiler in oven to 500 degrees.
Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade. Skewer chicken onto a metal skewer.
Place in oven for 10 minutes each side. Remove from oven. Make sure chicken is cooked through.
Fried Rice
1 C. uncooked white or brown rice, cook according to package
5 T. margarine, I used Smart Balance Light
1/2 C. onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. carrot finely chopped
6 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 C. frozen peas
1/2 C. frozen corn
1 clove garlic, minced
3 eggs, whisked together
2 T. sesame seeds, toasted
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. teriyaki sauce
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
Cook rice according to package.
In a large skillet melt 2 T. margarine, over high heat add the onion, carrot, green onion, peas, corn, and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. Remove from pan to a clean dish.
Melt 1 T. margarine in skillet. Add eggs, and scramble over medium high heat until done.
Add the rice and vegetables to the skillet, mixing constantly. Add the remaining 2 T. margarine, sesame seeds, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, garlic and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until mixture is very hot and thoroughly combined.
Sesame Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus
2 T. toasted sesame oil
kosher salt
1 t. toasted sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place asparagus on baking sheet. Drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with kosher salt. Place in oven for 5-10 minutes until asparagus are done. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Ginger Salad Dressing
adapted from Benihana's recipe
1/4 c. onion
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1 T. water
1 T. fresh ginger, grated
1 T. celery
1 T. ketchup
2 t. soy sauce
1 t. sugar
1 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. garlic, minced
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
Place all of the above ingredients into a tall measuring cup. Using a hand immersion blender, blend until emulsified and smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour over lettuce with cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, shredded carrots, etc. whatever you like in a salad. Also makes a delicious sauce to pour on the fried rice or dip the chicken into. Pin It
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