If you've ever tried their curry, you'll realise there is something distinctively different about it that sets it apart from all of its other competitors. For years, I've tried a combination of different "secret" ingredients from orange jam, yoghurt, chocolate and tomato ketchup but none have produced anything close to Cocoichibanya's.
I've always been a huge fan of Cocoichibanya since I got my first taste of their famous curry rice during my first Tokyo trip many moons ago. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when the franchise finally made its way to our shores a few years back.
If you've ever tried their curry, you'll realise there is something distinctively different about it that sets it apart from all of its other competitors. For years, I've tried a combination of different "secret" ingredients from orange jam, yoghurt, chocolate and tomato ketchup but none have produced anything close to Cocoichibanya's. Teriyaki chicken... one of the most popular Japanese dishes to eat and pretty common on a typical Japanese resto menu yet so few actually get it right! I've had it in a few restaurants where the skin of the chicken was more like braised soy chicken than seared and crisp, and you sometimes wonder if their chefs have had any proper training... gaaahh. Needless to say, it tasted rather flaccid and unexciting.
Today's dish was done after poring through various recipes and I decided to come up with my own after some trial and error. I'm quite excited because it turned out quite well! The chicken skin stayed crispy even when cooked in the teriyaki sauce after being pan-fried. Whenever I visit a Japanese restaurant, there's a 90% chance that I'm likely to order this steamed egg custard dish as a part of my meal. What's not to love about this comforting and addictive appetizer that doesn't make you feel guilty eating more than one at a go?
Literally translated as "tea cup steam" in Japanese, this tasty dish is actually so easy to make you don't even need to have any prior experience in cooking! The secret is in the proportion of the stock to the eggs and also the heat control when you steam the eggs. It's also usually stuffed with gingko nuts, chicken, mushrooms and Japanese fishcake or crabstick. For my own version, I usually like to put some prepared bottled kamaboko mushrooms at the bottom of the dish as well(this can be easily purchased from the Japanese section of any supermarket). There's nothing quite comforting like a hot bowl of wakame udon soup any time of the day(yes, even at 2 am) and this simple dish is so easy to put together yet so satisfying to the tummy!
I only recently discovered the amazing food section at Daiso about a year back and despite it being just a couple of shelves, you can actually find it well stocked with basic Japanese necessities like dried udon and soba noodles, rice vinegar, shaved seaweed, teriyaki and sukiyaki sauce, instant Japanese curry sauce, bonito flakes and a whole lot of other seasonings at just $2 each. That's how I usually end up spending a lot more than I try to budget for cos you get sucked into the idea that everything is so cheap...ha! Anyway, I came across the dried udon noodles and was curious to see how it would compare to the fresh udon you can usually find in supermarkets. This is what it looks like. Also known as Daikon to butabara no nimono, this simple pork stew has a homely taste and is perfect for rainy days (and today happens to be one of those days after a long drought spell here in Singapore). For health reasons, I used leaner pork in this version but you may use fattier pork if you wish.
Store it overnight in the fridge and it tastes even better the next day! Serves 5-6 Ingredients: 200g pork belly (cubed) 1 daikon 5 tbsp soya sauce 1 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp sake (alternatively Chinese rice wine) 2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp bonito stock powder 700ml water Directions: Firstly, you will need to get rid of the porky smell. In a pot of boiling water, boil the pork cubes till you see scum starting to form, about 5 minutes. Remove the water and rinse the pork briefly. Using a clean pot, place the cooked pork cubes inside, followed by the daikon on top. Pour in the 700ml of water till it about covers the top of the daikon. Stir in the remaining seasonings. Cover and let it simmer for 45-50 minutes or until the daikon has softened. Serve with warm fluffy rice. |
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