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Shiso Croquette

One of dishes I clearly remember eating in my grandma’s kitchen as a child is croquettes. They were always made of ground beef, seasonal vegetables and, of course, potatoes all year round. A heap of cabbage, sliced paper thin, a few croquettes drenched with BBQ sauce and a bowl of white rice: this combination is a winner in every household in Japan.

As my garden has started to wind down, I have found a way to incorporate more shiso into my recipes. Shiso, as you may recall, is commonly served underneath sashimi at decent Japanese restaurants. It boasts a distinctive fragrance and flavour, and supposedly also possesses antibacterial properties. As such, I think it’s no coincidence that shiso has been served together with raw fish like sashimi for decades in the Japanese culinary world. I feel it is my job to bring more attention to this wonderful plant here in my blog! The characteristics of shiso can be easily recognized even after it is mixed into the potatoes in a croquette: in fact, shiso would be a good substitute for the ground beef, as it would still keep the flavour interesting.

With nostalgic, fuzzy memories on my mind, I recently made grandma’s croquettes and savoured the moment when the shiso and creamy potatoes burst out of the crispy deep fried skin all in one in my mouth. Don’t forget to grab a bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce!

Shiso Croquette

Makes about 15 golf ball size pieces

1 ½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and mashed with a dash of salt

1 large carrot, cut into ¼ inch cubes

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

15 shiso leaves and extras for decoration, rinsed and pat dried

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ all purpose flour

1 egg + a little bit of water, beaten well

1 cup freshly ground Panko (bread crumbs)

Vegetable oil

In a medium pan, stir-fry the carrot and onion with the oil until nicely browned, and then adjust with salt and pepper.

Combine the stir-fried carrot mixture and the potatoes with the nutmeg. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the shiso leaves into thin strips and stir gently into the potatoes.

Divide the potato mixture into golf ball sized pieces or smaller if you prefer.

In a well organized breading station (see a picture above), flour the ball lightly, then dip in the egg mixture, and coat with the Panko. Form by gently pressing with both hands.

You can cover and rest the breaded balls in the refrigerator until cooking time. Or, if you want to eat them right away, warm the oil to 340F (170C) in a deep frying pan with oil about 1/2 inch high.

Deep fry them by turning all around until golden brown. Rest on a paper towel for a couple of minutes to remove excess oil.

Serve immediately with BBQ sauce.

Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken

A gloomy sky recently took the edge off the previous days of scorching heat. An unexpected sudden shower even washed away the neighbouring streets. I love the smell of asphalt when rain hits. There’s something liberating and something unchanged about it. Loud thunder reminds me of the humid Japanese typhoon seasons of my childhood. Only our summer here in Vancouver is much drier.

One of things I like about the Vancouver region is that we can cook pretty much anything in any season. We can have fresh tomato salsa one afternoon and stew the next day. There are no set rules, per se. It’s because summer can take a sudden turn, and I consider we’ve been lucky this year to have had two extra weeks of sun that we didn’t have last year. Today, it felt right to do a roast chicken, something cozy and homey in contrast to the stormy evening. I roasted just harvested carrots and French pole beans to accompany the poultry. While listening to the thunder, we served some red wine and warm garlicky whole chicken. It’s still pouring outside, providing much needed rain drops for every food grower.

Rosemary Garlic Roast Chicken

Serves 2 plus leftover for next day’s sandwich

1 Free range organic chicken

A few sprigs rosemary, cut into 1 inch lengths

A few sprigs thyme

2 garlic cloves, cut into sticks

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

15 baby carrots, leaves removed

A big handful of pole beans and/or bush beans

Take out the chicken from a refrigerator about half an hour before cooking. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Wash the chicken inside out and pat dry. Lay the bird chest up in a roasting pan and rub it with butter and olive oil before giving a gentle massage to the bird. Cut ten or so slits in the chest and insert a piece of rosemary and garlic in each slit. Fill the cavity with the rest of the garlic and rosemary.

Roast the chicken in the oven for about one hour and twenty minutes, basting often (spoon the grease from the bottom of the pan and pour over the chicken) about every 25 minutes. Then add the vegetables and thyme around the chicken, and baste the grease over them. Continue roasting until thoroughly cooked for about another 40 minutes or longer depending on the size of a chicken.

Take the pan out of the oven and transfer the chicken and the vegetables to a serving plate. Cover the bird with a piece of aluminum foil and rest for 15 minutes. Reserve the grease from the pan for making gravy sauce (recipe below).

Gravy Sauce

The grease from the bottom of the roasting pan

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons white wine

Flour

Salt and pepper

Combine the grease, chicken broth and wine in a medium pan over medium heat. Reduce to half. Add flour in a small amount and stir well till your favourite consistency is achieved. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with the rosemary garlic roast chicken.

Chive Crêpes with Miso Flavoured Ground Beef

Having lived with a man of French descent for many years, crêpes are what we used to eat every Saturday morning. Ham and cheese with Béchamel sauce as a savoury breakfast, and ham and cheese generously drizzled with the best quality maple syrup as a sweet breakfast. I prefer the latter very much for each ingredient brings out the other’s flavour. But today, I’d like to introduce you to a Japanese twist to savoury crêpes. Or should I say, it’s a type of Japanese spring roll with a French flair… Either way, it’s delicious and fun to serve to your guests because they have to work in order to eat them!

A part of my job in this household is to be a creative cook, which entails using up what’s abundant in my garden. You might see a chive dish, a rhubarb dessert, and then another chive dish with a rhubarb dessert… until other produce finally matures in the garden. I transplanted lettuce, peas and onion seedlings a couple weeks ago but some lettuce plants have already disappeared due to attacks from pesky slugs! I ask myself the same question every day, “What can I cook with what I have in the garden for supper this evening?” The gobo leaves are lush. The tomato seedlings are only two inches high, and the spinach is only one inch tall with true leaves just emerging. My potatoes went in the ground last week but it’s been pouring outside so hard that I’m worried that they might get diseased. Luckily, I have a total of nine vigorously growing chive plants in the front and backyards…

Side note: chive flowers are edible. You can make pesto with flowers and leaves, the same way you do with basil, or simply toss with a salad to brighten up the colour and the flavour. It is also time for harvesting excess chives, which you can rinse, pat dry, and chop then use to fill ice cube trays. Once the cubes are frozen, transfer to an airtight container or Ziplock bags and use when you don’t have any onion family plants growing in your garden. Add them to your soups, stir fries or crêpes. They are very convenient in winter months!

Chive Crêpes with Miso Flavoured Ground Beef

Makes about 12 pieces of 6 inch circles

Chive Crêpes

2 egg yolks

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups water

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups chives, finely chopped

Vegetable oil

A bunch of strings of chives for tying

For fillings

2 carrots, julienned

½ red onion, thinly sliced

A bunch of cilantro, rinsed, drained and torn in pieces

20 mushrooms or more, rinsed and sliced into ¼ inch pieces

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Pinch of salt

5 tablespoons Haccho miso (it is different from the typical red miso, with a much darker, richer and sweeter flavour)

5 tablespoons white wine, water or mixture of both

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

A small knob of ginger, finely chopped

1 lb lean ground beef, room temperature

Mix the egg yolks, flour, water, salt and chives in a large bowl and stir well until the mixture is smooth without lumps. Let sit in the refrigerator for about half an hour.

Prepare the carrots, red onion, and cilantro (if the temperature is really warm in the room, store in a container or if you are using a plate, use a piece of saran wrap to cover and keep cool in the refrigerator). Prepare the mushrooms and set aside.

Make the miso sauce. Set a small pan over medium heat and combine the miso, the white wine or water, the sugar and the soy sauce. When the mixture starts bubbling, turn the heat down. Stir steadily so as not to boil the miso sauce, for about 8 minutes.

Set a large pan over medium high heat. Add the sesame oil and sauté the mushrooms for about 5 minutes. When the mushrooms become soft and moist, add the sesame seeds, adjust with the salt and transfer to a serving bowl. Use the same pan over medium high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, stir-fry the garlic and the ginger until nicely coloured. Add the ground beef and stir-fry until there is no bloody juice left. Add the miso mixture to the beef, stir well and let the beef absorb the sauce for a few minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Set a medium sized well-seasoned pan (preferably non-stick) on medium heat. Oil the pan if necessary and, when the pan is really warm, pour the crêpes mixture inside using a ladle. Quickly swirl the mixture to create a 6 inch circle. Bake for a few minutes or until the bottom looks nicely coloured. Flip to bake the other side. As you make crêpes, keep them warm in a tea towel. Repeat the process.

Serve the carrot, red onion, cilantro, mushrooms and beef in separate bowls along with the crêpes. Roll the crêpes as you eat or let a guest(s) experience the rolling. Place a crêpe on a plate and put the fillings on the end that’s the closest edge to you. Start rolling from where you placed the filling. Tuck both ends then roll to the other edge of the crêpe. Tie with a few strings of chives (see photographs). Enjoy!