Ingredients

• 3 green onions (we’ll use only the green parts)
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 lb. (907 g) pork belly block
• Water for cooking pork belly
• 4 boiled eggs
• ¼ cup (60 ml) sake
• ½ cup (120 ml) water
• ½ cup (120 ml) mirin
• ½ cup (120 ml) soy sauce
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar

Preparation

We will only use the green parts of the green onions (use the white parts in miso soup to go with this dish). Cut the green parts in half. Peel the ginger and slice it thinly.

On the pressure cooker, press the “Sauté” button on your Instant Pot and heat the oil. Cook the pork belly. You can skip this part to cut down the cooking time, but this process will render more fat and make the dish tastier.

Pour water to cover the meat, then add the green onions and sliced ginger. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button on the Instant Pot to stop cooking. Press the “meat/Stew” button to switch to the pressure cooking mode. Cook under pressure for 35 minutes. If you’re using a stove-top pressure cooker, you won’t have the buttons to press. Just cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then reduce the heat to low to maintain high pressure for about 30 minutes.

When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the “Venting” position to let out steam until the float valve drops down, OR let the pressure release naturally (takes about 15 mins). Unlock the lid and drain the cooking water and discard the green onion and ginger. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.

Put the pork belly back in the Instant Pot and add water, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Mix the seasonings a little bit and add the boiled eggs. Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot and press “Adjust” once to increase the heat. Bring it to simmer to let the alcohol evaporate. Once the alcohol smell is gone, press “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the Sauté mode. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “meat/Stew” button to turn on the pressure cooking mode. Press the “minus” button to decrease the cooking time from the preset 35 minutes to 10 minutes.

When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the “Venting” position to let out steam until the float valve drops down and unlock the lid. If you have time (this is optional), press the “Sauté” button and simmer on low heat until the liquid in the cooker has reduced by half.

Serve the rice in a (donburi) bowl and pour the sauce on top. Place the pork belly and egg (add blanched green vegetable if you have any). Pour additional sauce over the meat and serve immediately.

Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 2 handful of dried bonito flakes (or 4 small packs of dried bonito flakes) [CP: I used about 30g of bonito; one medium-sized package, and a bit more than 4c. water]

Preparation

Boil water and then add dried bonito flakes in a pot. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Strain it. Use it as instructed in recipes.

Japanese Cooking 101

Ingredients

• 3 cups (720ml) dashi
• 2 1/2lb kabocha (pumpkin)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sake

Preparation

Remove seeds and cut kabocha into 3" square pieces. Cut off sharp edges of the kabocha pieces. Boil dashi in a pot and put kabocha in it. Cook kabocha covered until tender at medium heat, about 20-30 minutes depending on how hard your kabocha is. Add sugar, soy sauce, salt and Sake to the kabocha. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook another 15 -20 minutes to reduce the broth a little. Remove from heat and let it sit covered until cool. As it cools, kabocha will absorb more of the flavor from the broth. If you like it warm, reheat before serving.

Japanese Cooking 101

Ingredients

• 12 jumbo (11-15 count) shrimp
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• 1/3 cup, plus 5 teaspoons olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 8 ounces soba noodles
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 green onions, whites and greens thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation

Rub the shrimp with half of the garlic and ginger, and the sriracha. Cover and let the shrimp marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Spread the asparagus out on a baking sheet and brush it with 2 1/2 teaspoons of the oil. Roast just until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove, season with salt and pepper, and set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. Toss the shiitakes with another 2 1/2 teaspoons of oil, spread them out on a baking sheet, and transfer to the oven. Roast just until the mushrooms begin to shrivel, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Put the shrimp in a small baking dish or ovenproof sauté pan, cover with the remaining 1/3 cup oil and season lightly with salt. Cover the dish with foil and poach the shrimp in the oven just until the exteriors are bright orange and if you slice into one, the interior is still opaque, about 15 minutes (don’t worry that it doesn’t look completely done as it will carry-over cook a bit). Remove the shrimp from the oil and reserve the oil, allowing it to cool.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse with cold water and set aside to cool.

Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces and the shiitakes into thin strips. Toss the vegetables with the cooled noodles.

Whisk together the remaining ginger and garlic with the soy sauce, honey, and mustard. Slowly whisk in the reserved poaching oil. Pour the dressing over the noodles and toss well to combine. Top with the shrimp, green onions, and sesame seeds before serving.

Girl in the Kitchen, via HuffPo

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced peeled ginger
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha chile sauce
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 6-ounce, 1-inch-thick tuna steaks
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Preparation

1. In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the ginger, onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, orange juice, mirin, wine and Sriracha and simmer until the liquid is almost evaporated, 10 minutes. Add the cream and simmer until reduced by half, 15 minutes. Strain the sauce, season with salt and pepper; keep warm.

2. Season the tuna with salt and pepper and coat both sides with the sesame seeds. In a nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the tuna; cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until the sesame seeds are browned and the tuna is medium-rare, 5 minutes. Slice the tuna 1/3 inch thick and serve with the ginger cream.

Hosea Rosenberg, HuffPo

Ingredients

• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger

• 2 tablespoons sweet white miso

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil

• 1/4 cup grapeseed or another neutral oil

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 small/medium head of lettuce (I used Bibb) or mixed greens of your choice

• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 avocado, quartered

Preparation

Whiz the carrots, shallot and ginger in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, then add the miso, vinegar and sesame oil. While the machine running, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil and the water.

Divide the lettuce among four bowls, add some of the onion and a quarter of the avocado. Drizzle with plenty of dressing and serve.

Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 4 10-to 12-ounces salmon steaks, bone in [CP: or other fish steaks, such as tuna, adjusting the cooking time/method below]
• 1/3 cup white miso
• 2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• Kosher salt
• 4 lime wedges (for serving)

Preparation

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil; brush lightly with vegetable oil. Place salmon steaks on prepared baking sheet. Whisk miso, mirin, vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil in a small bowl to blend. Spread half the miso mixture over salmon steaks; season lightly with salt. Turn salmon steaks over and spread with remaining miso mixture; season lightly with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 1 hour.

Position an oven rack 6"–8" from broiler and preheat. Broil salmon, turning once, until golden brown and just opaque in center, 10–12 minutes total.

Transfer salmon steaks to plates and serve with lime wedges.

Bon Appetit, May 2010

Ingredients

• 3/4 c mirin
• 3/4 c tangerine or orange juice
• 2/3 c lower-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tbl sugar
• 1 tbl dark sesame oil
• 1 tbl grated tangerine or orange peel
• 1 3 in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 1/8 in thick
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipolte chili powder
• 1 tbl cornstarch
• 1 1/2 lb shelled, deveined uncooked med shrimp
• 1/3 c sliced green onions
• 3 tbl toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

Simmer mirin, tangerine juice, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, tangerine peel, ginger and chili powder in large skillet over medium-high heat for 3 min.

Combine 3 tbl water and cornstarch, stir into sauce. Simmer 1 to 2 min until thick and glossy. Add shrimp, cook 3 to 5 min or until shrimp turn pink. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.