Adventures in Mika's Kitchen
With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d share one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I know, fried rice seems like a weird thing to serve with Thanksgiving… but it’s a family tradition for us! It all started one year… after my dad spent all day making the Thanksgiving turkey and trimmings, my teenaged brother [...]
Sekihan 赤飯 (Japanese red beans with sticky rice) was one of those savory dishes that I didn’t get to eat often as a child… but was a favorite! Usually, we would only get sekihan on those special once in awhile trips downtown to Little Tokyo – which wasn’t that often since my mother would always [...]
Cold soba noodles are a Japanese summer staple… when the weather gets really hot, these buckwheat noodles make a very refreshing and light meal (especially when you don’t feel like eating anything too hot or heavy). This type of soba is served with various toppings (usually nori and chopped green onion), along with a side [...]
Last time I went to Costco, I found a new item – frozen (cooked) Langostino tails. What are “langostinos“? Here in the U.S., “langostinos” refer to the Squat lobster (which is not what we think of as a real “lobster” – it’s actually a species related to hermit crabs). Do not confuse “langostino” with “langoustes” [...]
Bolognese is a meat based pasta sauce that originates from Bologna, Italy. In Italy, this sauce is often served with large flat noodles like tagliatelle, pappardelle, or fettuccine… or with tube shapes like rigatoni or penne. Here in the U.S., “Bolognese” brings to mind a tomato sauce with crumbled ground beef, sometimes with mushrooms, served [...]
Harusame are Japanese vermicelli noodles made from mung bean starch. These noodles can be stir-fried, served cold/room temperature as a side dish, or can be used in soups. (The noodles themselves are gluten free, which makes them a good option for those individuals with Celiac disease.**) I like to stir-fry harusame with pork and [...]
A few months ago, I finally got a hand-hammered carbon steel wok to replace my old nonstick wok!!! (The problem with a teflon coated (nonstick) wok is that it cannot be heated to high temperatures… and you end up sauteeing your food in the wok, rather than the quick high heat cooking that is required [...]
Last week, I posted a recipe for how to make basic crepes at home using a simple batter of flour, eggs, butter, and milk. One of my favorite dishes to make with a batch of crepes is homemade Manicotti. Manicotti is an Italian dish, made by stuffing a savory ricotta cheese filling into either a [...]
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