RECIPES

Recipes from Traveled Countries

Japanese Recipes

A few fun to cook recipes specially selected from the Japanese culture.

Spicy Edamame

In the world of Japanese summertime foods, there is nothing so simple and fun to eat as edamame. Whether they are served hot or cold, these delicious little soy bean pods have a mellow, full-bodied umami flavor that goes well with spicy and savory

seasonings.

Try this easy recipe for freshly prepared edamame with Japanese shichimi togarashi seven spice.

How To Prepare

To cook frozen pre-cooked edamame, place them in a large bowl and completely cover with boiling water. Leave for a few minutes, then drain.
To season sprinkle with shichimi togarashi/Japanese seven spice before serving.
Serve in a bowl along with another empty bowl to dispose of the pods. Remember you can’t eat the pods.
To eat simply pop the beans out of the pod using either your hands or your mouth.

Additional Information

- To cook fresh raw edamame cook in a saucepan of boiling water for about 5 minutes and then drain.

Yakisoba Chicken

Japanese buckwheat flour noodles with chicken a delicious meal! Noodles can be purchased at an Asian foods market.

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons chile paste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 onion, sliced lengthwise into eighths
1/2 medium head cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
8 ounces soba noodles, cooked and drained

Directions

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Ready In 30 minutes

In a large skillet combine sesame oil, canola oil and chili paste; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add garlic and stir fry an additional 30 seconds. Add chicken and 1/4 cup of the soy sauce and stir fry until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove mixture from pan, set aside, and keep warm.
In the emptied pan combine the onion, cabbage, and carrots. Stir-fry until cabbage begins to wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining soy sauce, cooked noodles, and the chicken mixture to pan and mix to blend. Serve and enjoy!

Vegetable Tempura

Ingredients

5 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sparkling water
ice cubes, if needed
1 lb. assorted vegetables
1/2 cup ponzu sauce

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the club soda and whisk until the batter is smooth. If the batter is too thick, add an ice cube to help thin it out.

Cut the firm vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes into 1/8 inch slices. For softer vegetables, 1/4 inch will do.

Pour enough oil into a medium saucepan to measure about 2 inches. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the pan and heat the oil to 350F. Line a plate with a double layer of paper towels.

Working in batches, drop a few slices of vegetables into the batter. Stir gently to coat. Using tongs or chopsticks, lift the food from the batter, allowing excess batter to drip back into the bowl. Carefully add a few pieces to the hot oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Turn vegetables occasionally and fry until lightly golden on all sides, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Let temperature heat back up to 350F in between batches. Transfer tempura to paper towels. Season with salt and serve with ponzu sauce.

Serves 4 people.

Fluffy Japanese pancakes

Make these tall Japanese pancakes and watch them bounce and jiggle. Something a little different for your next brunch or weekend breakfast treat.

Ingredients

150g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp rapeseed, sunflower or grapeseed oil
180ml milk
dash of vanilla extract
oil spray for cooking or a mild-flavoured cooking oil (whatever you use in the batter)
maple syrup,, ice cream, crisp bacon, berries.

Directions

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and oil. Stir them into the flour then gradually add the milk and use a whisk to beat the liquid in. You can also put the lot in a blender and blitz it. Stir in the vanilla. This batter is best used quickly.
Put a non-stick pan over a low heat and put one or two non-stick crumpet rings (about 3.5 cm high) in the pan. Spray (or brush) the pan lightly with oil and the inside of the rings too. Fill them no more than ¾ full with batter then cover the pan with a lid and cook the pancakes for about 10 mins on a very low heat. By this time the top of the pancake should be covered in little bubbles and look dry around the edges.
Very carefully turn the pancakes over. You can do this by lifting each pancake in its ring onto the lid and then inverting the pan over them before turning the whole thing back over and taking off the lid. Cook for another 1-2 mins. Keep warm while you use up the rest of the batter. Stack and serve with your favourite toppings.

Recipe from bbcgoodfood.com,

PREP: 10 Mins. Cook: 1 Hr, 30 mins. (or approx 12 mins cooking per pancake).

Serves 6 people.

Teriyaki Beef & Lettuce Cup

Add a taste of Asia to your next party with these irresistible, easy-to-pick-up finger food favorites.

Ingredients

350g trimmed sirloin steak
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce marinade, (we used Kikkoman teriyaki marinade)
1⁄2 cucumber
2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped juice 1⁄2 lime
6 Little Gem lettuces leaves
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
1⁄2 red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

Put the steak between two sheets of cling film and beat with a rolling pin until half its original thickness. Thinly slice the steak, then mix with the teriyaki marinade in a bowl. Leave to marinate for 5-10 mins.
Roughly dice the cucumber and mix with the chopped coriander and lime juice. Season with a little salt.
Heat a frying pan until very hot, then fry the steak slices for 1½-2½ mins for rare to medium, turning the slices halfway through.
Pile the cucumber mixture into the lettuce leaves, then top with the seared teriyaki beef, chilli and red onion.

PREP: 10 Mins. Cook: 5 Mins.

Serves 2 People.

By Good Food

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French Recipes

Traditional French Recipes. Bon Appétit

Quiche Lorraine

A Quiche is a French consisting of pastry crust with savory custard and pieces of cheese, meat, seafood

or vegetables..... you pick the combination!

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cubed

3 tbsp. ice water

For the Quiche

8 slices of bacon

1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese, divided

1 shallot, minced

6 large eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

Kosher salt

Directions

Make the crust: In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt until combined. Using your hands, add butter, working it into the flour until the mixture resembles pea-size crumbs. Add ice water by the tablespoon until the mixture forms into a crust. Form into a disc, wrap in a plastic wrap, refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. ON a lightly floured surface, roll out crust until 1/4" thick. Loosely drape over a 9" pie plate and crimp edges. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Crop bacon into small pieces and sprinkle cooked bacon on pie crust with 1 cup of Gruyère and chopped shallot. In a large bowl, whisk together creme, eggs, cayenne and nutmeg and season with sale. Pour this mixture over bacon and cheese. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake until crust is golden and eggs cooked through, about 40 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before slicing and serving. You can serve hot or cold.

Recipe from delish. Serves 6 people. Prep time 30 minutes, Total time 1 hour and 40 minutes.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

4 tbsp. butter

3 large white onions, thinly sliced into half moons

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup white wine

2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

4 cups low-sodium beef stock

8 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

8 baguette slices

1 cup grated cheese

Directions

In a large pot over medium-high heat melt butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden about 25 minutes. Add flour and cook 1 minute until no longer raw. Season with salt and pepper, and then add white wine and let simmer for about 3 minutes. Add chickened beef stocks and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove thyme.

Preheat broiler to high. Place two baguette slices on a large baking sheet and top each slice with 2 tablespoons of cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is bubbling and golden brown, about 1 minute.

Serve soup in bowls or large mustard with baguette slice on top. Garnish with a thyme sprig.

Serves 4 people. Prep time 20 minutes. Total time 1 hour 5 minutes.

Crêpes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1 tbsp. butter

Fresh fruit, for serving

Powdered sugar, for serving

Nutella optional

Directions

In a large bowl, mixing bowl, create a well with flour then add eggs, slowly whisking them into flour. Add sugar and salt and stir until combined. Gradually add in milk, whisking to combine after each addition. Let batter stand at room temperature until slightly bubbly on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter. About 1/4 cup at a time, drop batter evenly onto pan, swirling it to coat.

Cook 2 minutes, then flip and cook 1 minutes more. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve crêpes warm with fresh fruit and powdered sugar.

Serves 4 people. Prep time 15 minutes. Total time 35 minutes.

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Ingredients

2lb. russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick rounds

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 small onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup parsley chopped

Kosher salt

Directions

Cover potatoes with 2" cold water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Drain completely

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet until shimmering, add 1/2 potatoes and 1/2 onion. Let cook until potatoes are starting to crisp and the onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the butter, oil, potatoes, and onions and continue to cook, mixing until all onions are softened and browned, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 4 people. Prep time 10 minutes. Total time 45 minutes.

Italian Recipes

Traditional Italian Recipes. Buon Appetito!

Vegetable & Cheese Focaccia

Ingredients

1 cup of water

4 1/2 tsp. of olive oil

4 1/2 tsp. of sugar

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 1/4 tsp. of salt

3 1/4 cups of active dry yeast

(For a simpler recipe you can use a frozen store bought dough, instead of making your own dough, just thaw to room temperature. Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Roll loaf into a 13x9-rectangle. Place in a 13x9-inch sprayed pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Remove wrap. Press dough down with fingers to form a dimpled surface. Go to the third paragraph of the Directions.

Topping:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. dried basil

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 cup of frozen broccoli chopped, thawed

Note: You can add additional vegetables.... zucchini, mushrooms, olives...You choose!!

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing: add 1-2 tablespoons water or flour if needed.)

When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pinch dough down. Roll into a 13x9-in. rectangle; transfer to a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.

For topping, brush dough with olive oil; sprinkle with basil. Layer with tomatoes, onion and broccoli; sprinkle with salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown and cheese is melted.

Authentic Italian Fettuccine Alfredo

You haven't tased Fettuccine Alfredo until you've tried the authentic version!

This Roman version of Alfredo is simpler, easier and lighter than the American version, but has the rich, cheesy deliciousness you crave!

Ingredients

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 10 to 12 slices

6 oz. freshly grated or shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

1/4-3/4 cup of salt (to taste)

16 oz. uncooked fettuccine, dry (or 1 lb. fresh fettuccine)

Directions

Fill a large pot with water and heat it over high heat until boiling. Once the water boils, add a good dash of salt and the noodles. Cook only until al dente, 9-10 minutes.

While the pasta heats, gently melt the butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet with high sides.

Drain the pasta (reserving the water) and transfer the pasta to the skillet with the melted butter.

Add a 1/2 tsp. salt and toss the pasta with tongs to combine.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Add a handful of grated cheese and a ladle of hot pasta water, tossing the pasta continuously with your tongs to incorporate the cheese.

Add more cheese, a little at a time, tossing between each addition, until all the cheese has been used.

Add more hot pasta water as needed to melt the cheese so that it coats the noodles. ( Be careful not to add too much. You don't want a watery sauce.)

Taste the pasta and adjust the salt as necessary.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Serves 4 people. Prep time 5 minutes. Cook time 25 minutes.