Spicy Garlic Fried Rice

I love these Japanese fried rice mix packages! They are so good to have around the house for days when I don't feel like spending more than 20 minutes in the kitchen. If you've never tried them, I urge you to go to your closest Japanese grocer and try all the different flavors, they are delicious! One flavor I often use is garlic. It's mild but still gives the fried rice a good, almost smoky base. To that I add a few more ingredients, serve it and watch my husband deliriously happy devour his bowl of fried rice. This recipe is his favorite because it encompasses two flavors he adores: fish sauce and tobanjan paste. The result is spicy, salty and smoky garlic fried rice. Yum!

Can't find Japanese fried rice mix packages? Look at the end of this recipe for 3 basic, tasty fried rice recipes.

Ingredients:

- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium size onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 tsp tobanjan
- 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- garlic fried rice mix
- about 2 cup pre-cooked rice (you can use any type of rice for this)
- 2 tbps oil
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup, finely chopped mushrooms
- salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

In a medium/large size pan, add oil garlic, onions and celery. Cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add rice and slowly break it down with a wooden spatula, and stir for 2 minutes. Add fish sauce, tobanjan and fried rice mix, and stir well for another minute.

Lower the heat, push the fried to one side of the pan and break the 2 eggs on the other. Whisk the eggs with the spatula (like you would if you were making scrambled eggs) and once the eggs are almost cooked, slowly incorporate into the fried rice. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

If you don't have pre-packaged fried rice mix, you can try this simple vegetable fried rice, Japanese fried rice or garlic fried rice I also created. They're all very similar but with a slight change of ingredients.

Shishito peppers stuffed with tsukune (ground chicken)

Shishito Tsukune

Recipe by Caroline Phelps

I discovered this yummy dish at Yakitori Totto, one of my top 3 Japanese spots (Izakaya) in the city. Skewered and grilled on a brazier, and served with a raw quail egg that's broken and used as a dipping sauce, it's a beautiful and fun dish to eat. Since I don't own a grill I've instead used an oven and skipped the quail egg, though I highly recommend you try it if you come across some. Shishito peppers can be spicy with the seeds attached but aren't when you remove them. They're sweet and pair well with the teriyaki like flavor of the chicken meatballs. (makes a large plate, enough to serve 4-6 people)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 thumb size ginger, grated
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp sake
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
• Shishito peppers (about 20-25), cut in half, seeded and membranes removed
• For the Dipping/Brushing Sauce:
• 1 tbsp sake
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp granulated sugar

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a pan over medium/high heat, add oil, ginger, garlic and onions. Cook until onions are transparent (about 3 minutes). Transfer mixture into a bowl and let cool (put in fridge or freezer to speed up the process.) When the mixture is room temperature, add ground chicken, sake, soy and salt . Mix well with your fingers (not for too long.) 

With a knife, spread a generous amount of the mixture on each piece of shishito pepper. Discard the rest or save for later (if I have any left, I'll usually make mini burger patties or eat it on top of Japanese rice with ichimi and soy sauce). Lay each piece on a tray covered with aluminum foil (or parchment paper). Bake for 15-17 minutes, until chicken has cooked through. While shisihitos are cooking, make your sauce. 

Mix all the ingredients and microwave for 20-30 (to melt the sugar). Take shishitos out of the oven and with a basting brush, dab the sauce over each piece. Put leftover sauce in a small bowl and serve next to shishito tsukune (people can use is as a dip).

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