Shoyu Tofu Dango

Most commonly featured in animes and Asian dramas, dango is pretty much glutinous rice balls served on a skewer. They can be easily found in Japan anywhere for about 100 to 150 yen each. Well in the USA, that's a different story. I know they can be found at a stand in Little Tokyo in LA, and of course in the refrigerated section at your local Japanese market, but sometimes that may be a whole lot of trouble for something that can be so easily made. This recipe is a modification of ochikeron's recipe from youtube. The dango she makes look good but I do not entirely agree with putting potato starch in the shoyu sauce; it's just not traditional. Not that I am an expert at being Japanese or anything but here you go! (;

Shoyu Tofu Dango

Dango:
100 grams shiratamako flour
140 grams silken tofu, drained
1 teaspoon sugar

Sweet Shoyu Glaze
1 tablespoon shoyu
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon brown sugar

1. Bring a pot of water to boiling.
2. Meanwhile, combine the shiratamako, tofu, and sugar together. Knead until soft but not sticky. Add a little bit more flour or water until the right consistency is reached. ("soft like an earlobe")
3. Separate the dough into twelve equal pieces and roll into round balls. Place the dango balls into the pot of boiling water until it floats to the surface. Allow to boil for an additional 2 minutes.
4. When the dango are finished cooking, immediately place them in a iced water bath for 1 minute. Strain and remove the dango from the iced bath.
5. Now we can make the shoyu glaze! Place all the ingredients in a small pot and heat under medium heat. When the sauce is bubbling, turn off the flame and allow to thicken.
6. Pour or brush the shoyu glaze onto the dango skewers and serve!

Cucumber and Tomato Tzatziki Salad

Are you ready? CHIBICHOMPS has again collaborated with Sachiko Studios!!! Salad is probably one of the most well known diet foods out there. Whenever someone tries to lose weight, most likely they'll opt for salad for meals. However, not all salads are created equal. Often times, salads are calorie bombs; the addition of goodies such as bacon bits, croutons, etc and/or a heavy dressing can make it more fattening than a regular meal. Conversely, the healthy olive oil and vinegar option can get pretty tiring and bland. It sure makes it difficult to stay on course with healthy eating; however, I have something I'm sure everyone will love. Here's a super easy and refreshing salad to be eaten as a side or even a meal. Here, I've paired it with a side of pan fried crispy salmon (stay tuned for the recipe!) For those tired of salad, try stuffing it into pita pockets or even making a sandwich. By the way, did you know that Greek yogurt has twice the amount of protein as regular yogurt plus other benefits? . Anyways, this one's definitely a winner so I hope you enjoy the photos and the recipe! Thank you again to Sachiko Studios for the amazing pictures!


On a side note, I prefer Persian cucumber because american cucumber sucks.

Tzatziki Salad
3 cups Greek yogurt, strained
2 pounds Persian cucumber
1 pound cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoonds extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon mint, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt

1. Strain Greek yogurt over night to get rid of excess liquid. The amount of yogurt will be significantly less than you started with. To set this up, place coffee strainers or paper towels over a mesh bowl. Take the mesh bowl and place over a larger bowl. Scoop the yogurt onto the paper lined mesh bowl and cover with saran wrap. Leave over night. Voila!
2. In a bowl, combine the strained yogurt, mint, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil together and mix well.
3. Cut the cucumber into half centimeter slices and slice cherry tomatoes into halves.
4. Fold in the sliced cucumber and tomatoes into the yogurt mixture.
5. Serve cold and enjoy!

Italian Truffle Cheese Pizza

Hello all! It's been a while since I posted but here it goes! My inspiration for this recipe actually came from a restaurant called 800 Degrees Pizza from when my boyfriend took me to eat there. Funny thing is, we never ordered the truffle cheese pizza; I just saw it on the menu and thought it seemed tasty but was expensive (an extra three bucks for truffle cheese?!). Luckily, this is easy peasy gourmet; you can purchase all these ingredients from Trader Joe's at very reasonable prices. To be honest, I have no idea how it's supposed to taste like. However, my thoughts for this recipe are: Success!!! Often presumptuous of me? Well why don't you try it out and tell me what you think. I'm hoping to get into habit of posting more regularly! Enjoy!

On a side note, I always buy crimini mushrooms over button mushrooms because the overall flavor is better.

Italian Truffle Cheese Pizza
16 ounces of pizza dough, premade
4 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 ounces Italian truffle cheese, shredded or crumbled (or more depending on how cheesey you like it)
4 cloves garlic, minced
sprigs of fresh oregano
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1. Split dough in half and allow to rest for 20 minutes. (Handling instructions may vary depending on the dough you buy or if you choose to make your own pizza dough)
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
3. Meanwhile, drizzle some olive oil in a hot pan and saute minced garlic until caramelized, set aside for later use.
4. After the dough is fully rested, stretch the dough out onto a baking sheet until the desired thickness. (I made my pizza super thin so it was a little less than a 11 by 17 inch baking sheet.)
5. Sprinkle the dough evenly with cheese. Add sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with caramelized garlic and fresh oregano leaves. Don't worry if the amount of mushroom seems overwhelming, they do shrink after baking. Lightly drizzle with olive oil.
6. Depending on the thickness of your pizza, bake for 8-10 minutes or until fully cooked. The cheese should be slightly toasted and golden.
7. Serve while it's still hot!

Panuchos

Warm weather, hot sun, what better to eat than... Panuchos? I have never even heard of these until recently when I happened to chance upon them while passing by the magazine aisle at CVS pharmacy (I was getting my stomach flu meds) and instantly I was like "What the heck are those? They look awesome!" Apparently they're a Yucatán favorite and I can definitely see why. Panuchos are pretty much like Mexican pita pockets and in this case filled with beans and can be topped with a wide variety of goodies. I used chicken in this recipe but these taste great without meat as well so this would also make a pretty tasty vegetarian option.   Preparing these takes a lot of effort (took me half a day) but I think they are worth it. Pressing and puffing the tortillas take a bit of practice to get the hang of, but rest assured it is not difficult at all and quite fun. In short, I enjoyed the crispy outer shell, gooey hot bean filling, and the freshness of the toppings you can put on. The original recipe from Sunset magazine calls for achiote paste but I was unable to find any so I made my own to marinate the chicken. What I have down now is still tasty but I think I can make it awesome. It's still a work in progress, but I shall post the final recipe when I've perfected it--I think I'm on to something!

Note: Cotija cheese is not pictured here because I was hungry and I just wanted to plate and take the picture before I chowed down. 


Panuchos
Chicken: 
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons ground annatto seeds
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1 bone-in skinned chicken breast


Panuchos:
1 can (15 oz) black beans 
1/4 cup minced brown onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 lbs prepared masa for tortillas (a bag costs less then 2 bucks, just buy it pre-made)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt


Toppings: (pretty much whatever you want but this is what I used)
spanish rice
red onion
tomato
lettuce (I think a spring mix works well)
cotija cheese
avocado
lemon
red radishes
cilantro


1. Chicken: Preheat oven to 375°. Combine spices and vinegar into a paste and slather onto the chicken. Roast for about 20 to 40 minutes until cooked through. When cooked, let the meat rest for 5 to10 minutes, shred, and set aside. 
2. Beans: Purée entire can of beans until smooth and creamy. In a frying pan, cook onion in oil under medium heat until golden. Stir in beans and cook until bubbling. Cover and set aside. 
3. Shell: Combine masa and salt in a bowl. Mix by hand until well combined. (Add a bit of water or flour if needed so masa is pliable but not sticky.) Divide dough into 20 equal balls, set aside on baking sheet and cover with plastic so it does not dry out. Heat griddle over medium heat until hot. Working with 1 masa ball at a time, (I don't have a tortilla press but if you do, by all means use it!) line work surface with plastic (gallon sized ziplock bag works especially well). Place masa ball in center and cover with another sheet of plastic and press with a frying pan until dough is 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Peel masa from plastic and place the tortilla on a hot griddle. When the underside is slightly speckled, flip the tortilla. Flip again when the opposite side is speckled and using a clean kitchen towel, firmly press the tortilla all over (this helps it puff). Cook until puffed then transfer over to a work surface. Slit tortilla at the edge and make a 2 inch long opening. Without tearing the tortilla, slide a spoon or butter knife inside to create the pocket. Set aside to cool and repeat with the rest of the dough. 
4. Open up the pocket of the cooled tortilla and spoon some beans inside. Pat top of tortilla to spread beans. Fill each panucho the same way. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add some oil. Place a single layer of panuchos on the pan. Cook until golden crispy. Pop panuchos into a 250° oven on a baking sheet to keep warm while you fry the rest. Add more oil as needed. 
5. Top with goodies and serve. 


You can actually make steps 1 to 3 ahead of time. I recommend making the shells and beans first and storing the tortillas in a ziplock in the fridge. Alternatively, barbecue the chicken in indirect heat for smoky goodness.