Rainy Day Tokyo Curry

 Hi everyone,
Can you believe it? Its finally raining here in L.A.! I was starting to get worried that it was creeping back into the 80s here and I would quickly lose what little of a Winter we have here. As it is an off day for me (finally!) I thought that there would be no better of a day to cook my comforting yummy Tokyo Curry.

Back when I had a Hurry Curry restaurant near me, I would get the Tokyo Curry which was a ground meat curry prepared to the consistency of a chili. It was hearty and delicious. Now I make it from time to time with my favorite ingredients. I particularly love this recipe because it gets a good amount of veggies into a hot steamy meal. You can add as little or many varieties you desire.

 Please keep in mind that the list below can be changed to your liking. I literally just grabbed whatever was in the fridge to use.  I don't think there's really a wrong or right way to make Japanese Curry. I know that everyone that cooks it has there own way of making it. 

Some tips that I will tell you that seem to help me. 

1)Add a little wine in to mellow out the flavors. Sometimes the curry has a bit too much of a 'from the box' taste for me. The wine helps that immensely; as does a little bit of tomato sauce. 2)Match your veggies. Consider your veggies and how they pair with each other. As easy as it is to throw in a bunch of stuff, it might not give you the best results. 3) Put in things at different times. You could technically throw everything in a once and let them boil, but I've found that adding in the ingredients separately give a mix of firm and soft texture adding interesting levels to the dish. 

I also love to add Okra to my Asian cooking. It's just so aromatic and add a nice thickening agent to my sauces. My favorite pairing with Okra by far has to be a good hot bowl of Korean Jjajangmyeon (blackbean noodles)! They also add interesting color and shape to dishes. 

Ingredients List of Rainy Day Tokyo Curry:

20-30 minutes

Prep: 10 min, Cook: 15 min

• 1/2 package of cubed curry sauce mix (I used House)
• 1/2 lb of ground meat of choice (I used chicken, but I'm sure a soy substitute would work.)
• 5oz of firm tofu cubed
• A medium onion grated (Gotta love an old fashion cheese grater)
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 medium peeled and grated carrots (again, cheese grater)
• Okra thinly sliced (I put in about a handful)
• 1/4th cabbage thinly sliced
• 1 can of kernel sweet corn
• 1/2 can of tomato sauce
• 3tbsp cooking oil (I use Canola)
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper for taste
• a dash of cooking wine (anything will do, I used a mix of white and marsala) 
• About 3 cups of water or tea (You'll need this as the curry blocks absorb the moisture.)

Garnishes: (all optional)

• Brown Rice
• Boiled Egg
• Fukujinzuke Pickles
• Black Toasted Sesame Seeds

Heat your oil in a large pot with bay leaves. After it reaches a good heat, add your ground meat, onions, and garlic to pot and let them simmer. At this time you can begin adding some wine and seasoning. Let it simmer until the meat looks slightly browned.

Next add shredded carrots and cabbage. Open and drain your corn and add in as well. If the mix looks a bit dry, don't be afraid to add water here and there. I used some day old steeped tea for a little kick. Let the veggies simmer on medium heat until the cabbage starts to get a little clear.

Turn down your heat if bubbling and add your tomato sauce and curry. Break the curry into block and let them simmer in, stirring and folding the mixture until they melt. Pour in water or tea in the pot as needed as the curry sauce will begin to take moisture and get thick. When adding your tomato sauce, add in by the table spoons and taste often. You don't want the tartness to over power the curry. Adding a little more wine to taste will help keep the bitterness at bane.  When mixture starts to look even, add a little water or tea to make it slightly runny and cover pan for 5-8 minutes to let it mix.

 Lastly add your tofu cubes and your Okra bits and cook until okra gets a little dark. This will be for about 5-10 minutes depending on your simmering heat. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the pan. Serve with rice and garnishes. I love my curry with  Fukujinzuke; a sweet and salty pickle made of daikon radishes. Leftovers also go great in an omlette!

Enjoy!

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My First Meditation Class (w/TEA)

This weekend I finally came around to trying meditation. This is something I've been wanting to try for quite sometime. When I was looking over the program of the Tea Festival and I saw the class, I knew that I had to take the class Meditation with Tea. The thought of anything for the first time with tea is something that I can easily dip my toes into. Think of it like your teacher holding your hand as they lead you to recess when you were younger, scary but comforting...

I was led to an open forum in the Japanese American Museums Resource Center just across from it. The walls were curvy and aided to a soothing water like feel. People were already gathering in a circle and I dived right in with a little courage (it helped me of course that Eugene was with me). The classes started and to my surprise it wasn't structured at all. I enjoyed that the Instructor felt the way the crowd was an slowly took her time getting to the points.

I got to learn breathing techniques and how to ween the mind from distractions and worries. The techniques were simpler than I thought they would be, which was opposite to the way my brain normally functions with it's task and competitive nature. We moved on to meditating on the blessings in our lives, something that everyone was happy to reflect on. We even did a writing exercise where we listed three things: what was on our mind that instant, what we were grateful for, and what people in our life we couldn't live without. She suggested we keep the poems to reflect on the next time that we do our meditations. She finished this exercise by handing us haikus and explaining how to meditate with them and poetry.

As for the tea, we reviewed how to be involved in the process of tea. We started with understanding the importance of meditation as the tea brews and being present with the pot and not to be distracted. Next we went over the idea of savoring the notes of flavor in the tea and using it to hone in on our senses. Her choices were a Keemun and a Green Darjeeling; both I felt were perfect since they are underrated for their complex notes and natural unique flavors.We also lightly discussed food pairings to add into the meditation of the tea process. The one highlight I took from the whole thing was the importance of taking a Sabbath for ones self. This is attained by picking a day out of the week just to relax and unwind. This way your soul and body are rejuvenated and ready for life's busy tasks.

Overall I really loved the whole experience. On a personal level, I adored learning from the wonderful Diana Rosen. She was so positive and enchanting and had a way of grabbing your attention softly but gracefully. As an advocate of body acceptance, I loved that she was bigger woman that didn't care about her image and ran the class with a balance of love and assertiveness. I hope to grow up with as much poise as her through experience and age.

I bought her book and I look forward to reading it. Just from flipping through it I can tell that she has an amazing directory and glossary from her personal tea journey. I look forward to further practices of meditation. I am starting with her breathing exercises every morning which have given me a burst of energy. I have yet to try tea meditation on my own, but I'm looking forward to it. Anyone curious about meditation, don't be scared to try even the simplest for of it. It's wonderfully beneficial.
-Stef

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Out & Abouts: Mako Bowl

Friday Night I wanted to go out, but I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg doing it. There is just something about trying to make a fun Friday night and it happening naturally. I also wanted to celebrate this rare time where the weather was actually cold for a weekend in SoCal (Yes, even in October) and enjoy something warming. As we browsed the shops in Pasadena we decided on a good old friend: Mako Bowl.

Mako Bowl was a place that I regulared while I was attending Community College for a short time. There was one right across from the front of the campus. To summarize Mako Bowl, its basically a Japanese comfort food place, much like Yoshinoya except healthier and with much better options. Something that always made it a choice to go to was the affordable sushi, Eugene's favorite and choice without fail is the Salmon Bowl where they give you salmon sashimi laid on a fresh pile of sushi rice. You can also get it with slices of avocado if you want even more of an indulgence.

Veggie Tempura, Chicken Udon, & Salmon Bowl

I for one was always a soup person so I'm a sucker for the Chicken Udon. Fresh skinless/boneless chicken boiled in Udon broth and loaded with noodles and green onions. It's the cheapest entree on the menu but so filling! to mix things up I usually order a side of something, usually its either California Rolls or Tempura, which I went for the Veggie Tempura this time.

By the time I was finished, you had to roll me out of the shop! It was cold enough of a night that we took a light stroll around to let the food settle; later to find our way into Old Town. If your in Pasadena and like Japanese food, give Mako Bowl a try. Trust me, it's a place your taste buds and wallet can agree on.
-Stef

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