Kozmo Kitchen

Authentic Japanese Home Cooking

Bento Anyone?

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Finally! I will start my bento delivery services next week (probably on Wednesday). It’s sort of a trial project at this point, and there will be some adjustment and improvement as I go. Stay tuned for more details! Or contact kozmokitchen.gmail.com for more info.

The bento for next week (the date is TBD) is Karaage Bento. The delivery locations will be a few buildings on the Microsoft campus. If that goes well, I might be able to expand delivery areas to Seattle such as downtown, Fremont, etc, but I’ll need to use some help to arrange the delivery locations.

Anyhow, here is the current menu:
Karaage (Japanese fried chicken)
Potato salad
Tamago yaki (rolled omelet)
Ingen Gomaae (green beans with sesame dressing)
Nasu Agebitashi (fried eggplant in dashi broth)
Kyuri Karahizuke (cucumber quick pickled in mustard brine)
Ginger rice (rice cooked with fresh ginger)
Note: Contains meat (chicken), eggs, no dairy. Contains wheat in soy sauce.

karaagebento

Matsutake Gohan

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Print Recipe
 Matsutake Gohan
It's Matsutake season! You can't let the fall go without trying the mesmerizing aroma of Matsutake! Love living in the Northwest!
Course Rice
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Rice
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Clean matsutake with damp paper towel if you see any dirt. You can shave off the very bottom of the mushroom if it's too dirty.
  2. Slice matsutake mushroom stems, and tear the stump by hand into small pieces.
  3. Rinse and polish rice and strain it through a collandar. Put it aside (for about 30 minutes)
  4. In a Dutch oven or any deep pot you have, put in the rice and add dashi, soysauce, sake and salt. Add in sliced matsutake. If you have an electric rice cooker. Note: If you have an electric rice cooker just cook the matsutake rice with all the ingredients as you normally cook rice.
  5. Place the pot, turn on the heat over High and wait for the liquid to start boiling. A lid is not required.
  6. Turn the heat down to simmer, put the lid on if you haven't done it yet, then cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat then but do not remove the lid yet.
  7. Wait for 15 minutes. Open the lid and fluff the matsutake rice! Don't pass out with the incredible aroma!
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Nibitashi – dashi soaked vegetables

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In Japanese home cooking, Abura-age (fried beancurd ) is a very popular ingredient. It’s basically a deep fried sliced tofu and available at any Asian grocery stores these days (at least in Seattle area). Typical recipes using abura-age include miso soup, rice dishes and Inarizushi (sushi stuffed sweeten abura age), but you can easily substitute meat products with abura age because of its rich and satisfying flavor and texture.
Here is one dish I often make especially when I get fresh Komatsuna at the farmers market (@ Taki farm). It’s easy to make, lasts for several days in the fridge, and of course very tasty 😀

Print Recipe
 Nibitashi - dashi soaked vegetables
A quick and easy recipe to enjoy fresh komatsuna or other leafy greens. It's a good idea to have dashi stock available in the fridge.
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Katsuo (Bonito flake) Dashi
Nibitashi
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Katsuo (Bonito flake) Dashi
Nibitashi
Instructions
How To Make Katsuo Dashi
  1. Put water and kombu in a medium sauce pan, and heat it over medium-high heat.
  2. Once the water starts bubbling, add bonito flakes. Do not boil. Turn off the heat in 30 seconds and let the dashi sit for 5 minutes until the bonito flakes start sinking to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Using a cheese cloth, sarashi (Japanese cotton cloth), or paper towel, strain dashi slowly. Save the strained kombu and bonito for reuse (and making the second round of dashi making).
Nibitashi
  1. Cut komatsuna into 2 inches long. Note: If you use spinach, you should blanch it in boiling water for 30 seconds, strain it and squeeze excess water).
  2. Pour hot water on both sides of aburaage to rinse off excess oil. Slice aburaage thinly (5 mm wide, 1 inch long).
  3. Put katsuo dashi, sake, and mirin in a sauce pan and heat over high heat. Once boiling, add soy sauce and turn down the heat to medium-low.
  4. Add in the cut komatsuna and aburaage. Cook for a minute. Turn off the heat. Leave the pan for 30 minutes to let the ingredients absorbe all the great dashi flavor. You can serve warm or store it in the fridge and eat cold.
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Amazake Marinated Fried Chicken

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Print Recipe
 Amazake Marinated Fried Chicken
Japanese fried chicken is called Karaage, very popular comfort food in Japan. This is a sweet twist using naturally sweet Amazake, which is a fermented sweet rice beverage!
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Amazake
Amazake Marinated Fried Chicken
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Amazake
Amazake Marinated Fried Chicken
Instructions
How to make Amazake
  1. In a medium sauce pan, cook rice and with 1/5 cup of water over medium heat for about 30 minutes until the rice grains turn to porridge.
  2. Add 1.5 cup of water to the porridge so that the temperature goes downs slightly before 140 F. Add koji in and stir well.
  3. Transfer the koji mixture to a thermos that can keep the 140 F temp for 8 hours (I use a Zohjirushi thermos https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DZ0HAC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
  4. Close the thermos and wait for 8 hours.
Amazake Chicken
  1. Cut chicken thigh into an inch square pieces.
  2. Make amazake marinade by mixing amazake, soy sauce and ginger. Add in chicken.
  3. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
  4. Dry the chicken pieces with paper towel and coat them in potato starch powder.
  5. Heat frying oil to 350 F. Dust excess starch off the chicken pieces and fry them until their color turns golden.
Recipe Notes

[recipe]

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Shio Koji Marinated Pork

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Print Recipe
 Shio Koji Marinated Pork
Experience Koji magic! Easy shio koji marinade gives wonderful umami flavor and amazingly tender texture to your everyday pork!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 8 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Shio Koji
Marinated Pork Loin
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 8 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Shio Koji
Marinated Pork Loin
Instructions
Shio Koji
  1. In a storage container such as a glass jar with a lid, mix water and salt well until salt is completely dissolved.
  2. Add dry koji and mix with the salt & water. Put the lid on but do not close the container tightly. Carbon dioxide produced during fermentation should be able to escape.
  3. Leave the container at the room temperature, stirring the content once a day.
  4. In one week to 10 days, when the koji becomes creamy, it's ready for use.
Koji Marinated Pork Loin
  1. Combine shio koji, garlic, and ginger well.
  2. Put the pork fillets and koji marinade together in a ziploc bag. Massage the pork, making sure to squeeze all the air out of the bag. Seal the bag and refrigerate it for 8 hours or overnight.
  3. Take the pork fillet out of the bag and wipe off excess marinade with paper towel, as the koji tends to burn quickly on a pan.
  4. Heat cooking oil in a cast iron or stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Place the pork in the pan.
  5. While cooking one side put the lid on and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes.
  6. Flip the pork, put the lid back on, and cook the other side for another 5 minutes or longer until the meat is cooked through.
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