Teriyaki chicken - my first Japanese dish!

I didn't ever set out to have a back catalogue of "dishes from other countries", but as you progress with your cooking (that'll be the royal "you" as opposed to you specifically), you find that you're quickly looking at dishes that originate from abroad.  I suspect it's all part of that wunnerful whirled we call t'internet, with its accessibility to things otherwise unknown, both good and bad.  I just choose things that look tasty, look simple to cook in their processes and that will fit within our increasingly restrictive requirements where ingredients are concerned.  

As a result, let me introduce you to my first Japanese dish - Teriyaki chicken.  By all accounts, this method of producing a meat or fish glazed with sugar, mirrin and soy dates back to the seventeenth century.  I was surprised by that, as it seems such a simple process to have been around, unadulterated, for all that time.

The end result for this dish is entirely reliant upon the quality of your soy sauce(s).  I've found - and have no doubt said before - that even though products such as Blue Dragon and Amoy are in just about every supermarket, that doesn't mean they are good quality.  Try, where possible, to access some authentic soy.  I've got Lee Kum Kee's light and dark soy sauces and for all that even they aren't the proper deal, they're about as good as you're going to get without having to take out a mortgage on the house to buy them.

We took a trip to our local Chinese supermarket where we found the Lee Kum Kee products and after consulting the lady in the shop, also took home her recommended Mirin and Sake.  (Which incidentally, weren't the most expensive ones in the shop, either).  For sure, the Mirin is another sport entirely when compared with Sainsbury's own version (which is like water in comparison) and as for the Sake, well that's the first bottle of Sake I've ever bought so have nothing to compare it with.  However, it does a very good job in the cooking!

My first go - before I found decent soy sauce

This recipe is taken from loveFOOD.com and I only reproduce it here just in case it ever disappears from their website, as we love it and definitely want to keep hold of it!  The original recipe is here and by all means follow the link and refer to it there rather than here, taking this as recommendation.  However, I have adjusted the quantities to accommodate our three diners, swapped to chicken breast because we prefer it, included a wee drop of dark soy because it makes all the difference where the colour is concerned and I always toast the sesame seeds.  So, on that note, onwards!

TERIYAKI CHICKEN   (serves 2-3)

Ingredients :

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 to 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

pinch of ground black pepper
500g boneless & skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp diagonally sliced spring onion (or coriander) for garnish.

For the teriyaki sauce :

3 tbsp light soy sauce

half a tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Sake (or substitute a dry sherry)
2 tbsp Mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar.

Method :

For the teriyaki sauce, combine the ingredients in a bowl and set aside until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour the sesame seeds into the dry frying pan and over a medium heat, gently toast them until they are a light golden colour and fragrant.  Don't leave them for a second, or they'll instantly burn.  Decant into a small bowl and set aside for garnish.

Place the chicken with the cornflour and pepper into a plastic bag (or in a bowl) and toss to coat.  Heat the oil in the frying pan over a high heat.  Cook the chicken for around 5 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through.

Reduce the heat to medium.  Pour over half the teriyaki sauce and simmer, stirring regularly, until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken, beginning to caramelise.

Pour over the remaining teriyaki sauce, stirring until it thickens again, glazes and adds to the caramelised areas whilst still retaining some sauciness.  If the sauce becomes too thick or too reduced, add a wee drop of water to let it back down.

Serve with fried rice and sprinkle the sesame seeds and spring onion over the chicken, to make it look extra pretty and taste a little bit more delicious.

Printable version

Pork & Pepper stir-fry : yes, the one that wasn't, until it was!

I've talked about the menu list that I post up on our fridge every Tuesday, which tells the family what will be for dinner on each night that week.  I've also, very recently, talked about what I call various dishes, in order that the name doesn't set up a resistance with either son (or his Dad, sometimes!).

Well, this is the stir-fry that wasn't a stir-fry, until suddenly I was rumbled and it was.

I hadn't done a stir-fry for ages - and I really like them.  I have to admit that I much prefer stir-fries that contain more veggies than this, but I was attempting to strike a compromise with the veggie-haters amongst us.

I used the pork steaks from our butcher and trimmed off the excess fat.  I didn't give the fat to the dogs this time, but saved it until the next time I was using the oven, whereupon I roasted the bits to extract the fat for roast potatoes.  The roasted and crunchy pieces then went in the dog's dinner.  Better that they rest on their waistlines, than on mine, but I will admit to shedding a wee tear, at the time.

It was, interestingly, the first time I had dabbled with Jasmine rice.  It's really quite nice, isn't it?  Not a huge difference between that and ordinary white rice, but its fragrance is inviting and the grains are a nice size.


Something else that I hadn't done before, was to toast sesame seeds.  It's weird but sometimes I think that I've watched so much cooking t.v., that I think I've done something that it turns out I haven't - and toasting sesame seeds is one such.  It took longer than I was anticipating, but the fragrance they give off as they toast is mouthwatering.


The dish has a lovely (well, hubby and I both thought it was lovely) sweet and sour flavour that is down to the lime juice and honey.  The chilli gives it that nice back of the throat warmth, without blowing your head off.


It'll probably be some time, but I'm definitely doing this one again!


PORK & PEPPER STIR-FRY (serves 3)


Ingredients :


150g Thai Jasmine rice
1.5 tbsp sesame seeds
1.5 tsp sunflower oil
6 pork steaks or 400g pork fillet, sliced into finger width strips
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced into fine strips
1 leek, cut into rounds
3 tsp cornflour
3 tsp soy sauce
juice of 1.5 limes
1.5 tbsp clear honey
1 red chilli, seeds removed and sliced.


Method :


1.  Place the rice in a saucepan with 450ml boiling water.  Bring back to the boil, stir once, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low (or "just on").


2.  Cook for 15 mins, stirring from time to time, by which time the rice should have absorbed the liquid and be perfectly cooked.


3.  Dry-fry the sesame seeds until toasted golden, then set aside to cool.


4.  Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok.  Add the pork (in instalments if needs be) and stir-fry for 5-6 mins over a high heat until the pork is lightly browned and cooked through.  Reserve to keep warm.


5.  Cook the peppers until they reach your favourite consistency - we prefer around 10 minutes or so.


6.  Mix the cornflour and soy sauce together in a bowl, then add the lime juice, honey, chilli and sesame seeds, plus 8 tbsp of cold water.


7.  Pour into the wok and immediately stir well, cooking until the sauce has thickened.


8.  Add the pork and stir or toss to ensure everything is coated in sauce.


Serve.


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