Bamboo Rice

Source: JW’s Easy Japanese Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Cups of rice
• 1/2 lbs of ground beef or pork or chicken
• 1 can of green bamboo shoots
• 1/4 carrot or 4 baby carrots chopped thin
• 3 TBsp soy sauce
• 2 TBsp sake
• 1 TBsp mirin
• 1 TBsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dashi powder
• 1 half inch piece of ginger (see TIP: Ginger)

Directions:
Wash 2 cups of rice and set it on your rice cooker with slightly less than regular water measurement. For extra flavor, I add a couple shake of dashi powder to the cooker for this partiuclar dish.

While the rice is being cooked, open up the can of bamboo shoots. You can find these at most Asian groceries, or bigger supermarket on the Asian food isle. There are pre-chopped sliced kinds, but I like getting the whole ones and chop them into chunkier pieces like shown on the photo. Also chop some carrots into thin slices.

Heat up the frying pan, add some oil and cook your choice of ground meat on medium high. While the meat is still half cooked, go ahead and add the carrots and bamboo.

Add sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, ginger (shredded) and 1/2 teaspoon of dashi powder and stir well. When everything is mixed (should only take a minute), change the heat to low, and place a lid and let it simmer and have the flavor soak into bamboo and meat for about 5 minutes. Make sure the heat is low enough that all the liquid doesn’t dry up.

After about 5 minutes, most of the liquid should be gone (it’s ok if there’s some, just as long it’s not more than 5 TBsp of it.

When the rice is finished cooking, mix all of the bamboo and ground meat mix into the rice and serve!

Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps

Source: MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients:

• * 1 1/2 Pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally and thinly sliced
• * Coarse salt and ground pepper
• * 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• * 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• * 1 large red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
• * 3 garlic, minced
• * 1 1/2 Teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• * 1/4 to 1/2 Teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• * 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• * 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• * 1 1/2 Teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• * 12 to 16 Boston lettuce leaves, (about 2 heads)

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add half the chicken; cook, stirring constantly, until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Add remaining tablespoon oil to pan, along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender and golden, about 4 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
3. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, ginger, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch mixture; remove from heat. Add chicken and any accumulated juices; toss to coat. Serve in lettuce cups.