Homemade Oyako Donburi

Not the greatest picture...but here's my mom's oyako donburi. YUM! The recipe (see below) came from one of our Japanese cookbooks from the United Japanese Christian Church.



ORIGINAL OYAKO DONBURI RECIPE (she didn't include kamaboko, and she added peas & carrots), submitted by Laurie Wong

3 chicken thighs, skinless, boneless, sliced
4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 med. onion, sliced
green peas
green onions, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
Red kamaboko (fish cake), cut into matchsticks

--> SAUCE:
1/4 cup water (use liquid from soaking mushrooms)
1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
3 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
1.5 tablespoons sugar

+ 5 cups cooked rice

1. Cut chicken into slices
2. Soak shiitake in warm water until soft
3. Cut off hard stems and slice thinly. Save liquid.
4. Cut onion into thin slices
5. Mix sauce ingredients together in 10" skillet & bring to boil
6. Add chicken, shiitake & onions
7. Cook over medium heat until chicken is done & onions are tender
8. Add peas and green onions
9. Beat eggs in small bowl & pour over chicken *cover with lid*
10. Cook over low heat for a few minutes until egg is set
11. Portion steamed rice into bowls & gently lay 1/4 portion of mixture on top of rice
12. Sprinkle kamaboko on top & serve immediately.

* Serves 4 *

Dreyer's Slow Churned Drumstick Ice Cream

Drumsticks (the ice cream kind, of course) were one of my FAVORITE things to eat when I was a kid. Apparently my mom loves 'em too...because tonight she chose this at Vons when searching for a good tub of ice cream. This tastes really good. It really tastes as if someone broke up a bunch of Drumsticks and mixed them into vanilla ice cream.

Japanese Popsicles

These bring back childhood memories. So fun and good, although you could argue that they don't taste much like anything. I love how you just pop 'em apart and share them (or just eat both halves).

Got these from Central Fish Co. for $3-something. Sorry you can see my shadow in these pics. I tried to avoid that, but obviously I failed.


hmm... Never thought about cutting them up into pieces:

Trader Joe's Has a Demo Station!

I didn't know that Trader Joe's has a demo station, where they give customers free samples of pretty much anything they have in the store. I wanted to buy my boss these spicy Thai cracker snacks that she had gotten from there before, but they were out of it when I got there, so I thought I'd try those Lime & Chile Mixed Nuts because they looked like the stuff that was on the cracker. I asked an employee if she knew if they tasted similar, and she had no idea, but she referred me to the demo station, where they cut open the bag and gave me a sample. I tried those Sesame Honey Cashews too. Both were delicious!