Seared Steak & Chile Butter@Blue Apron ★★★

Seared Steak & Chile Butter with Kale & Cheesy Potatoes. Potatoes are roasted for 24 minutes. In honor of Earth Day, paired it with a bottle of National Geographic 2015 Ocean Reserve Blanc de Blancs from Iron Horse Vineyards. The bottle benefits to marine protected areas and sustainable fishing.

Dukkah-Spiced Chicken@Blue Apron ★★

Dukkah-Spiced Chicken with Pistachio Orange Salsa, Brussels Sprouts, and Brown Rice. Amazed by how easy it is to make grilled meat – season both sides and cook 6-7 minutes in pan for each side. Mix raw spinach with cooked rice, and the spinach will cook itself. Paired it with a bottle of Sangria (+diced fresh fruits) just because I saw the word “salsa”, which was fruity and perfect.

Seared Salmon & Ponzu Mayo@Blue Apron ★★★

Impressive Meal from Blue Apron. They do not disappoint. Learning more about cooking from them. Who knows adding garlic, salt, and mirin to Jasmine Rice would make such a huge difference. Vinegar & sugar to marinate Cucumbers and Bell Peppers. Sear Salmon with skin side up for 4-6 minutes, cover, and turn for another 2-4 minutes. Ponzu & mayo mixture on top, then garnish with Togarashi (7 spices) seasoning. Paired it with Chardonnay.

Bow Tie Pasta with Japanese Sauce ★★

Bow Tie Pasta with uncured black forest ham, fresh tomato, shiitake mushroom, and special Butter & Soy Sauce bought from Don Don Quixote bought from Tokyo, with a side of fried fish fillet from Trader Joe's. Paired with a bottle of Lemon Moscato.

Butter & Soy Sauce bought from Tokyo

Chicken & Wonton Noodle Stir-Fry@Blue Apron ★★★

Blue Apron Meal Kit Delivery Service. They send you the pre-portioned ingredients and recipe. You just do the cooking. I ended up taking 2-3 times longer than their cooking time. This dish is delicious. They premixed the Asian-style sautéed aromatics for you, but I guess it's butter, garlic, ginger, and green onion inside. Other than that, they provided 1/4 cup of Sweet Chili Sauce, 2 Tbsps of Black Bean Sauce, 1/3 cup Soy Glaze, and 2 Tbsps of Rice Vinegar. Chopped Chicken Breast, Carrots,  Green Cabbage, and Snow Peas. This dish is so good that it inspired me to take my cooking to the next level. I paired it with Junmai Sake.

Chicken & Wonton Noodle Stir-Fry
with Snow Peas, Carrots & Cabbage

Nanbu Bijin Junmai Daiginjo Sake

Kraft Mac 'n Cheese

Take Spongebob Lightly or Join the Dark Side. Fun meal with fun shapes. While it's fun to eat and find the shapes of the characters, I think this serves better as a side rather than main dish. It's more about the fun shapes than the taste. Added real bacon pieces to enhance the dish.

The force is strong with this one.

Masago Salad & Miso Eggplant Recipe ★★★

Favorite Easy Side Dishes. I made the Masago (Smelt Egg) Salad based on the one I had in Hong Kong decades ago. I attempted a lazy version of Miso Eggplant a few days ago. This time I improved it with pre-mixing the marinade. It got bumped to wow, Japanese restaurant quality. Both recipes and masago tip below.

Frozen Masago from Korean Market
just scoop out what you need and put it back into the freezer

Hong Style Masago Salad ★★★
Ingredients:
Masago (frozen one got from Korean market)
Frozen Imitation Crab Meat – 1 stick, boiled, hand-shredded into strands and cut 1" lengthwise
Persian Cucumer – 1/2, sliced
Japanese Mayo

Directions:
Mix everything together and garnish with additional masago on top.

Masago Longevity Tip *Exclusive!
Masago is a trouble itself. When you get a frozen box, you have to thaw it in the refrigerator and use it within a week or so before it turned bad. Recently, I discovered a game-changer hack inspired by its 3-year shelf life:
• Buy a few boxes of them when they are on sale (I usually get it with $1 off each box)
• As instructed, keep it in freezer and never freeze it back after defrosting
• When you are ready to use it, before you cook, pull it from the freezer, use a thin spoon to only scoop out what you need. You will be surprised by how easy it is (put what you scooped in another container if needed and consume within a week)
• Put the frozen Masago back into the freezer
• Now your Masago will never go bad in the freezer and you will always have Masago on hand for any dishes you need! It also tastes great with California Roll, Japanese Tarako Mayo Spaghetti, or Kamameshi Steamed Rice Pot


Miso Eggplant ★★★
Ingredients:
Eggplant – 1, Sliced
Miso
Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Mix Olive Oil, Miso, and Mirin (about 1 teaspoon each) in a mixing bowl with a spoon.
2. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat foil lightly with oil so that eggplant won't stick.
3. Coat sliced Eggplant in sauce (dip or brush, front and back) and bake at 425° until Eggplant turns golden brown.