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Ahi Tuna Poki Salad

Posted on June 2, 2015 by AnniesChamorroKitchen Leave a comment

This is a new twist on Ahi Tuna Poki. Marinate good quality cubes of ahi tuna in my Japanese Vinaigrette dressing and serve with your favorite salad greens and diced cucumbers.

It’s oh-so-good, trust me. 🙂

You can find my Japanese Vinaigrette recipe here.

Give it a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂

Ahi Tuna Poki Salad

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A new take on Ahi Tuna Poki that's served in my tangy and slightly sweet dressing with your favorite salad vegetables

Author: Annie @ Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Recipe type: Seafood, Salad

Cuisine: Japanese

Serves: 1 serving

Ingredients

Lettuce leaves (I like hearts of Romaine), as much as you like
½ cup diced cucumbers
½ cup diced red onions
½ cup julienned carrots
1 cup diced ahi tuna
½ cup Japanese Vinaigrette

Optional:

Red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make my Japanese Vinaigrette as directed in my recipe (see the link above).
Marinate the ahi tuna in the vinaigrette for 10-15 minutes. Pour the tuna and dressing over the salad greens and other vegetables. Sprinkle red pepper flakes over the salad (optional).

Serve and enjoy!

Posted in Dressings, ETHNIC, Hawaiian, Japanese, Marinades, SAUCES & SEASONINGS, SEAFOOD, VEGETABLES tagged with Poke

Japanese Vinaigrette

Posted on June 2, 2015 by AnniesChamorroKitchen One comment

I love salads, but it’s all about the dressing for me. I’ve been experimenting with various salad dressings but I always seem to migrate toward vinegar and oil mixtures.

I call this a Japanese vinaigrette because of the addition of rice wine vinegar and aji mirin seasoning. Traditional Japanese dressings, however, usually use plain vegetable oil, but I love the flavor sesame oil imparts, so that’s my oil of choice in this version.

This is a quick and easy recipe. Throw all of the ingredients into a bowl, whisk, and serve.

This dressing is delicious with mixed salad greens, over cucumbers, or use it to make one of my many versions of Ahi Tuna Poki.

Give it a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂

Japanese Vinaigrette

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A tangy and slightly sweet dressing perfect for salads, seafood, or used as a marinade.

Author: Annie @ Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Recipe type: Sauces and Dressings

Cuisine: Japanese

Serves: 2.5 cups

Ingredients

1 cup rice vinegar
½ cup aji mirin sweet cooking rice seasoning
¼ cup white, granulated sugar
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup finely chopped onions
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
Pour over salad greens, cucumbers, or use as a marinade. This is also a delicious dressing for my version of Ahi Tuna Poki.

Posted in Dressings, ETHNIC, Japanese, Marinades, SAUCES & SEASONINGS tagged with Japanese Dressing

Japanese Salad Dressing

Posted on May 11, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 25 comments

There is a sushi restaurant I frequent that serves a creamy white salad dressing with their salads that I just love. It’s sweet, savory, and slightly tangy, and has a definite sesame flavor that makes this dressing stand out.

This is my version of that dressing. It’s quick and easy to prepare; you can mix some up in just a few short minutes. My recipe below makes enough dressing for several servings. Keep it refrigerated and it can last for about a week. In addition to tossing salad greens with this dressing, it’s perfect for a Japanese-style cole slaw; just drizzle it over finely shredded cabbage leaves and carrots and you’ll have a delicious and uniquely tasting cole slaw.

I use Kewpie mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise because it’s a little sweeter and richer. You can find kewpie mayo at most Japanese or Asian markets. However, be forewarned — kewpie mayo contains monosodium glutamate. If you’re allergic to MSG, use regular mayo when you make this.

If you can interchange the types of mayo, why use kewpie, you may be wondering? Well, kewpie is creamier and slightly yellower than mayo brands like Best Foods or Hellman’s. That’s because kewpie mayo is made using only egg yolks — Hellman’s or Best Foods uses whole eggs. Kewpie is also made with different types of vinegar, whereas the other regular mayo brands use lemon juice.

Give my recipe a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂

Japanese Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

1 cup kewpie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of black pepper

Optional Ingredients:

1 tablespoon grated onion
1 teaspoon grated ginger root

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together until creamy. Serve over salad greens or shredded cabbage. Refrigerate any unused dressing.

Enjoy!

Posted in Dressings, ETHNIC, Japanese, SAUCES & SEASONINGS

The Best Sashimi Ever

Posted on January 14, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 11 comments

I love sashimi!

If you don’t care to eat raw fish, then I’m sorry, but this recipe is not for you. BUT, you can share it with someone who does! 🙂

In the words of my daughter, “I love, love, love this! It’s almost as good as your tuna poki!” That’s my picky-eater daughter, mind you. She even eats the shredded RAW RADISH in this dish! YES!

Radish, you ask? In sashimi? Don’t knock it ’till you try it.

My inspiration is from this fantastic sushi restaurant in Vegas (sorry, folks, I can’t name the restaurant here), but if you’ve lived in Vegas before, you’ve probably been to or heard of this place — look at the photo below, recognize it yet? 😉

This recipe is all about the sauce, I think. It’s my version of ponzu sauce.

Give my recipe a try. I think you’ll like it.

The Best Sashimi Ever!

Ingredients:

Good quality ahi tuna, thinly sliced

1 bunch green onions

1 long white radish (the one below is called an Icicle Radish)

Sashimi Sauce:

The juice of 3 lemons and 2 limes

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup mirin

1 small piece of dried kelp, about a 4-inch piece will do. You can find this and the other ingredients for this recipe at most Asian markets.

2 packets dried bonito flakes (0.17 oz. per packet). The kind I buy comes in a package that contains 5 of these packets.

1-inch piece ginger, grated

Cayenne pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon, more or less to taste. I like using Cayenne — it dissolves easily, and it’s not too spicy. Even my “little” one eats it. Well, she’s not so little anymore, but she’s sooooo picky!

Kewpie mayonnaise. Don’t substitute with regular mayo. The main difference between Kewpie and regular mayo is that kewpie is made with the egg yolks only, whereas some regular mayos are made with either only egg whites or whole eggs. Kewpie is also creamier and just a tad bit sweeter that regular mayo. Anyhow…look for and use kewpie mayo for this dish (no subs).

Directions:

Rinse, peel, and grate the radish. I used a box grater, grating the radish on the side with the second smallest holes. Set aside.

Place the lemon and lime juices into a mixing bowl. I picked out the seeds before squeezing the juice out of them (I like leaving the pulp in the sauce). You can use squeeze the juice into a small strainer if you want to strain out the pulp. You need about 1 cup of juice. If you have smaller fruits and get less than a cup of juice, squeeze more juice out of either a lemon or lime (your preference) to get about a cup of juice.

Pour in the rice vinegar.

Add the soy sauce.

Add the mirin.

Add the dried kelp. Leave the pieces big — you’re going to remove this later.

Add the bonito flakes.

Add the grated ginger. Use fresh ginger — the powdered stuff just won’t taste the same.

Sprinkle in as much cayenne pepper as you like. You can also add in chopped hot chili peppers.

Mix to combine. Set the mixture aside. Let it sit for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld. Use a fork to pick out the pieces of kelp; discard the kelp. If you want a smooth sauce, pour it into another bowl with a strainer over the top.

After an hour, place about 2 tablespoons of kewpie mayo into a shallow dish. Pour in 1 cup of the sauce mixture. (Refrigerate any unused sauce.)

Use a whisk or a fork to mix the kewpie mayo into the sauce mixture. I know, it doesn’t look very appetizing right now, but trust me…it’s delicious…so delicious you might just want to drink the sauce! 🙂

Place the shredded radish into the center of the dish.

Place thin slices of ahi tuna on top of the shredded radish.

Squeeze more kewpie mayo on top of the fish. Sprinkle sliced green onions on top. Drizzle more sauce over the fish. Optional: sprinkle smelt roe on top of it all.

Serve immediately (it’s delicious with steamed white rice) and ENJOY!

Posted in Japanese, Kelaguen, SEAFOOD

Musubi

Posted on August 16, 2013 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 7 comments

I am so happy to be FINALLY writing this post! Not just because I love musubi, but because it’s my inaugural SPAM post!!! (Applause, applause, LOL)

I love SPAM! If you’re from Guam, chances are you love spam too. If not, well, don’t criticize until you try it.

This reminds me of a time when I was a young Army Captain several years ago. I was an instructor at the time, and our unit took the students out for a week-long field training exercise. Being the good Chamorro that I am, I did NOT pack any MREs (meals, ready to eat). Instead, I packed some pan-de-leche and SPAM! 🙂 My students knew I brought Spam to the field. Their reaction was, “Ewwww! Spam! No thank you! Never in a million years would we eat SPAM! They wouldn’t dare corrupt their bodies with SPAM!” I told them they didn’t know what they were missing. My NCO (non-commissioned officer) brought along a field stove and later that evening, we fried up some spam and made sandwiches with the pan-de-leche. As the spam was cooking, we heard some trampling in the bushes–soon, a couple of our students showed up, asking what it was they were smelling. I asked why–they replied, “It smells GOOOOD!!” Of course, being the good instructor I was, I told them I wouldn’t DARE corrupt their bodies with my delicious fried SPAM……….and my NCO and I promptly ate the last few sandwiches in front of them. 😉

Now, back to the important stuff…MUSUBI!

Musubi is a popular snack, not just on Guam, but in Hawaii as well. Sometimes you’ll hear it referred to as Spam Sushi.

It’s made of a slice of spam that’s been grilled, then topped with rice and wrapped in nori seaweed wrapper.

I like to soak the fried spam in a sweet soy sauce mixture before assembling the musubi. The sweet-saltiness of the spam takes this to a whole new level.

The photos below show my step-by-step process for making Spam Musubi. If you’ve never tried it, now’s the time.

I just remembered ANOTHER story about Spam…one where I won a radio contest…but I’ll save that for another Spam recipe post. In the meantime, make some Musubi. Or, just fry up some Spam and serve it with hot white rice, fina’denne’ and some kimchi. Mmm Mmm Good!