Sushi party: The K Family Trip to Japan

My mom and dad's fondest wish has been to bring their kids and grandkids to Japan.  I don't ever remember a time that all 5 of us have traveled to Japan together. It's probably with good reason since traveling with the K's [whom I shall dub the "Krazies"] is never a good idea.  We all turn on each other and it becomes very, very ugly.

My parents aren't getting any younger so we decided to pull the trigger [so to speak. at least I hope it's just a figure of speech. At this point it's a 50/50 toss up as to whether or not I'm going to land my @$$ in jail for popping a cap in someone's butt and vice versa].  But wait, there's more! My mom decided to ask her friend's family to join us in the insanity.  So 15 of us - the K's and the S's [whom I'll dub "SorryTheyEverAgreedToComeAlong" or "Sorry" for short] will be traveling to my parents' motherland to partake in the rich history, culture, and well, FOOD!

In preparation for our trip, I thought it was necessary for us to have a family meeting to discuss itineraries, expectations...and of course to eat.  I opted for Japanese food for our potluck.  I would've done a whole spread of sushi but let's face it. I'm lazy.  My fall back is to have a "make your own sushi bar".  Nothing can be easier.  

Ingredients list:

Nori sheet [seawood paper]

Sushi Rice [see LaFujiMama's instructions on how to prepare sushi rice]

Cucumbers, cut into 5" matchstick lengths

Daikon Sprouts [available in asian groceries]

Takuan, cut into 5" matchstick length [pickled radish, available at asian groceries]

Imitation crab meat, tear into 1/2" widths the long way

Avocado, sliced the long way, sprinkled with lemon juice so it doesn't brown

Masago [roe from capelin fish, found in asian groceries]

Spicy tuna [see instructions below]

Spicy tuna:

Raw Tuna or Salmon, about the size of a deck of cards, sushi quality fish [available in Japanese groceries] 

2 - 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise, depending on your preference [i don't like a lot of mayo]

1 Tablespoon of Sriracha Sauce [more or less depending on your spiciness level]

thinly chopped green onion [2 stalks, green part only]

1 spoonful of masago

Chop fish into small cubes.

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Using a fork, mix all ingredients together until it looks like a puree.  

How to assemble:

1.) Cut nori in half shortways

2.) Place nori in the palm of your hand or on a plate, place 2 - 3 spoonfuls of rice on the left side of the sheet a

3.) Spread into a thin layer [should cover less than half the sheet]

4.) Place desired filling cross wise [top left corner of rice to lower right corner of rice]

5.) To Fold into a cone: bring bottom left corner to top right corner of rice 
6.) Continue to roll around making a cone. At the end of the roll, there will be a little left over. To seal the temaki, smash rice on nori
7.) Bring tip of nori over the front and seal.

Take a few huge bites and enjoy!!

Cornflake Chicken: Mommy & Me Series

Growing up as a Japanese American in a large Japanese community, there were a lot of opportunities for various potlucks - church, community centers, sport teams, Japanese school, dance group, and on and on. The unspoken rule was that each family should bring enough food to feed their own family.  Each potluck brought a vast array of home made foods causing the tables to groan with the weight.  Imagine plate after plate of sushi, teriyaki, beef/asparagus rolls, salads, somen salad, and desserts galore and there you have the quintessential Japanese Potluck.  My mom used to complain that my eyes were bigger than my stomach - I wanted to try everything.  I used to embarrass her with my 6" high plates that I couldn't possibly finish [and it was SO un-Japanese to indulge in such gluttony]. 

My mom had several dishes she used to rotate to these various events.  One of my favorite things that she used to make was something she called "cornflake chicken".  Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.  She was a full time working mom with 3 kids, so she had to make what was quick and easy.

This is a 2 part dish: the sauce and the chicken.  The sauce is really easy to make and it's the basic recipe for teriyaki - shoyu, mirin, sake, and sugar. Bring this to a boil until the sauce is reduced and thickened.  I try not to drink this up because that's kinda gross - even if it does taste really, really good. Make this first so that you're ready to dip the chicken after it is deep fried!  

Cut the the wings into 3 sections using kitchen shears [throwing away the tip of the wing - my mom actually yelled at me when I told her this because she said I should have made chicken stock with it.  Oops]. The chicken wings/drummettes are coated in flour,  shaking off any excess; then dipped in the beaten eggs; and finally, coated with the crushed up cornflakes.  The easiest thing to do is the put the cornflakes in a ziplock bag and crush the heck out of it so it's in smaller pieces.  Once you coat the wings/drummettes in flour and dunk it into the eggs throw 3 or 4 wings/drummettes into the ziploc bag and shake it around [you guys remember "shake & bake"??? exactly like that!!]

Your wings should look like this above. I used my wok to deep fry the chicken until cooked through.  Drain on a paper towel, then dip into the sauce.   

Sauce: 

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup sake

1/4 cup mirin

Bring all ingredients to a boil until thickened and reduced.

Chicken:

Chicken wings, cut up into 3 pieces, do not use wing tips

Flour

Eggs, beaten

Cornflakes, crushed in a ziploc bag

Oil for deep frying

Coat chicken pieces in flour. Shake off excess.

Dip into beaten eggs.

Toss pieces in the cornflake bag and shake, shake, shake!!

Deep fry in oil until chicken is cooked through.  

Drain on paper towel.

Dip into sauce.

Place on a bed of lettuce for decorative effect.  Use remaining sauce to cover the chicken.