Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Easy comfort food

10/24/12 dinner


I have to admit I do tend to make more Japanese food than others and I'd like to say it's because I really cooked for myself when I lived in Japan....but that's really only part of the reason. Japanese home cooking has always been a comfort food for me since I interned in Japan waaay back in the summer of 2003. That introduction to what Japanese food is beyond sushi rolls, tempura, and miso soup was something I'm eternally grateful for. That summer marks my fateful meeting with nikujaga, among so many other dishes, which is now one of my favorite dishes to both cook and eat! I use the recipe I got from my one of my favorite recipe books I bought in Japan. The title literally translates to "dishes you want to make again and again."

Untitled

I love flipping through this book but I haven't had time to sit down and actually cook all that many of them. However, I can definitely say the nikujaga and karaage recipes are big hits with me and also my family. My dad couldn't stop eating the nikujaga and he firmly believes (and I do too most times) that the onions are the best part. Not the beef or the potatoes, despite them being the namesakes of the dish lol. Today I just added the last carrot I had in the fridge to give some more color to the table and a lot of times I'll add either shirataki or chunks of konnyaku in as well add in a different texture to the plate. You could also decorate with some snow peas or just leave it as meat and potatoes. So versatile, and yet so yummy!

nikujaga

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