Text 3759, 119 rader
Skriven 2008-03-12 22:43:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av CAROL SHENKENBERGER
Ärende: Re: Tips again
======================
-=> Quoting Carol Shenkenberger to Jim Weller <=-

 >  > Go back to school and then get a better job!".

 > By the time I hit college I was on pipeline making $3.50

 CS> Lucky you.  Most are not so fortunate.

I had to leave home and move 3000 miles for that job. That is always
my second piece of advise to people who complain about their lousy
jobs. Go to where the good work is.

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Vegetarian Okonomiyaki 
Categories: Japanese, Pancakes, Vegetarian
  Servings: 1 info file

           Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a typical festival food in Japan - at every Omatsuri
you can be sure to find at least one or two okonomiyaki stalls.
Osaka is famous for this dish that consist mainly of shredded
cabbage and a pancake-like batter, spiced up with beni shoga,
pickled red ginger, all fried on a hot plate and topped with a
special dark brown sauce and oftentimes mayonnaise. The version from
Hiroshima contains fried soba and the ingredients are not mixed up,
but first the batter is fried to something like a pancake and than
the other ingredients are all piled up on it to one tower of
okonomiyaki that shrinks during the frying but it still looks like
an artistic feat to turn it over.

The usual okonomiyaki is not vegetarian, but made with fish-based
dashi (stock), often with those tiny kind of shrimps and topped with
my friends the katsuobushi (fishflakes).. Actually it would be no
problem to leave those little beasts out, but as it often is in
Japan you make people very uneasy if you ask to modify a
traditional, original, century old recipe even the slightest little
bit. It seems to be a sacrilege, (it is you know! -JW) impossible
because the dish is just perfect as it is - I don't dare to doubt
that, but I prefer an imperfect veggie dish to a perfect one with
dead animals in it.

Usually it still tastes great and for me personally it tastes better
when there are no little sad eyes staring at me from my plate! (no
eyes in mine! -JW) But it seems like there is no way to make it any
different, although the name okonomiyaki implies "fry whatever you
want"... Well, yet there is a way: just do it yourself!

Monja (also called monjayaki) is the softer, more liquid and mushy
sister of okonomiyaki - a dish originating from Tokyo, to be eaten
directly from the hot plate it is fried on, for example in one of
the countless monja places in shitamachi. There you also should be
able to find veggie versions, but it is also easy to make it at home
- you only need a hot plate. There are special ones for okonomiyaki
(and monja), but I think it should also work on those hot plates on
top of raclette ovens, maybe even in a good not-sticking pan.
Although making it in a pan is not an ideal solution, cause the
sociable, comfortable and fun aspect of sitting around the hot plate
waiting for the next piece of food and watching the batter sizzle.
You can easily spent two hours eating like that - nice! Now to the
recipes. I don't know exact measurements, but I think it is a dish
that does not require exact measurements. Just try to fry one
okonomiyaki and if it is too soggy add some more flour before you
fry the next one or add more stock if you think it is too dry - easy
as that.

Cut about half of a cabbage in thin slices.

Mix about 3 cups of flour with 1-2 eggs (oh no, all those never born
murdered baby chickens - JW) and some veggie stock (less than 1 cup
should be enough), add a little salt.

Mix the cabbage and the batter and add as much beni shoga as you
like (don't take too much, otherwise you won't taste anything else
anymore).

Now you can add whatever you like, for example: thinly sliced
shiitake, okra, green asparagus, onions or leek, pieces of mochi
(sticky not-sweetened ricecakes), corn, even cheese is not unusual
and tastes fantastic with it.. Our okonomiyaki-host also added
Agedama (also called Tenkasu), that is something resembling the
German "Backerbsen" (are they called soup pearls in English? Until
that night I didn't know they exist outside of Germany). Than fry a
big spoon of it on the hot plate with very little oil and turn it
over when it is still soft on top but golden brown on the underside
and fry it on the other side for a short time. 

Afterwards top it with a thick and sweet soy sauce (since
okonomiyaki sauce is usually with oyster extract and worcestershire
sauce, that resembles it a lot contains anchovies as far as I know),
mayonnaise (if you like it - I hate mayonnaise so I don't use it),
sprinkle with aonori (dried seaweed). Part it in four pieces with a
wooden spatula and serve hot. While eating the next serving is put
on the hot plate.

For making monja you make the same batter, just add much more water
or veggie stock and grated yam and stir it a bit longer. Then put
the cabbage and whatever you want to have with it (I recommend
asparagus and cheese) on the hot plate and let it stir-fry for a
moment, make a hole in the middle and add the batter. Then everyone
spreads out bitesized pieces of it thinly with a wooden spatula, so
that those pieces become brown, a bit gumlike and crispy on the
edges - these portions are to be eaten directly from the hot plate
with chopsticks.

  From: Http://Vegetarianjapan.Blogspot.Com
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------


Cheers

YK Jim


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