Asian Authenticity!

Good evening bloggers! If you were around last night, we had a mash up of tons of different recipes. Tonight, I paired up with my lovely guest, Mae M. again and she shared these lovely authentic recipes with me. We are taking a bit of Asian culture and making it our own. Let's put our hands together for Mae and her recipes and let's get started!

Tokyo Fried Chicken

You will need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 inch long chunk of FRESH ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sake
• 1 teaspoon Mirin
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups rice bran oil
• 4 shisho leaves for garnish, cut into thin ribbons
• soy sauce for serving

1. Put the chicken into a bowl. 
2. Line a small bowl with cheesecloth. 
3. Grate the ginger over the bowl, gather the cheesecloth around the ginger and squeeze the cheesecloth to release the ginger juice. 
4. You should have 1.5 teaspoons of ginger juice. 
5. Pour the ginger juice over the chicken, along with the soy, sake and mirin. Toss the chicken to coat and let marinate for 10 minutes.
6. Place the cornstarch in small bowl. 
7. Remove the chicken and blot any excess marinade from the chicken with paper towels. 
8. Working with a few pieces of chicken at a time, drop them into the starch and push them around until coated, then put on a platter.
9. Heat the oil in a wok until it's 350 degrees. 
10. Working in batches, add 1/3 of the chicken to the oil. 
11. Fry for 1 minute on each side or until the chicken is golden and just cooked through. 
12. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter lined with paper towels. 
13. Cook the remaining chicken in the same fashion.
14. Transfer the chicken to a large serving dish. 
15. Sprinkle it with the shiso ribbons and bring to the table, along with a bottle of soy.
16. Enjoy!

Simmered Succulent Tofu

You will need:

• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons Mirin
• 1/2 cup Bonito Flakes
• 4 shisho leaves, sliced thin
• 2 scallions, roots and tops cut off and thickly sliced
• 5 cups Dashi
• 2 one pound blocks Silken OR Cotton Tofu

1. Blend the lemon juice, soy, and mirin in a small bowl to create a dipping sauce.
2. Place the bonito flakes in a small dish and the slivered shiso leaves and scallions on a small plate. 
3. Bring these garnishes to the table along with 4 small bowls for the dipping sauce.
4. Place the dashi in a deep, 3 quart oven to table casserole dish with a lid.
5. Gently rinse the tofu under cold water. 
6. Cut each block into large bite size squares and add them to the dashi. 
7. Turn the heat to medium. 
8. The tofu cubes will swell and puff as the dashi heats. 
9. When the dashi is almost boiling, reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the tofu cubes for 4 minutes. 
10. When you remove the casserole from the flames, cover it and set it on a trivet in the center of the table.
11. To serve, let each diner pour approximately 2 tablespoons of dipping sauce into a small bowl. 
12. Using a small ladle, retrieve a few tofu cubes from the hot dashi, along with a little extra dashi and add to the small bowl. 
13. Season with the garnishes if desired.
14. Enjoy!

Well, until tomorrow, I bid you a good night. Stay tuned for more amazing recipes from more friends like Mae! I'll catch you on the flip side. Happy blogging!