Japan: Chicken & Veggie Teriyaki with Bamboo Shoots, Japanese Rice, Spring Rolls and Chocolate Mochi Balls

For my first meal on this food adventure I cooked Japanese. I decided that my husband and I would take turns choosing the country from whose food we would cook from. He choose Japan for the first week. I am a huge fan of sushi and other Japanese foods, however, I was not going to attempt to make sushi my first week haha. I decided to make chicken teriyaki with steamed veggies and bamboo shoots, japanese rice, spring rolls and chocolate mochi balls.

Chicken Teriyaki with Steamed Veggies and Bamboo Shoots, and Japanese Rice:

Serves 4.

This was a pretty simple and yummy dish, which I am sure most of you have all had before.

2 Chicken Breasts, sliced into strips

For Brine:

• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Mirin

For Teriyaki Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. Mild Flavor Honey
• 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
- My FAV: Eden Foods Organic Tamari Soy Sauce -- 10 fl oz

• 2 Tbsp. Mirin
- My FAV: Eden Foods Mirin Rice Cooking Wine -- 10.5 fl oz

• 2 Tbsp. Sake

Marinate the chicken in the Brine for at least a hour before cooking.

For the teriyaki sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until slightly thick. Make sure not to burn it (I did my first try).

Once your chicken is done marinating and your sauce is ready, combine and cook it in a frying pan with some of the brine.

Steamed Veggies and Bamboo Shoots:

• 4 Carrots  
• 2 cups of Snap Peas
• 1 can of Bamboo Shoots
- TRY: Dynasty Canned Sliced Bamboo Shoots, 8-Ounce (Pack of 12)

You can choose whatever veggies you like. Wash veggies and drain bamboo shoots. Chop carrots lengthwise and in 4ths. You can steam them in the microwave or on the stove.

Stove: Fill a pot with water, up to the bottom of the steam basket. Boil water, add veggies and place a loose fitting lid on top.

Microwave: Place veggies and bamboo shoots in a large bowl with a 1/2-1 inch of water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Japanese Rice:

I used sushi rice.

Cook according to package, or for each cup of rice, use 1 1/4 cup of water or chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes. 

Spring Rolls:

Serves: Aprox. 10 rolls

• 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
• 1 green onion, cut lengthwise into fine strips 
• 2 medium cabbage leaves, core removed, finely shredded
• 3-4 oz cooked meat such as leftover roast chicken or turkey, roast pork or ham, finely shredded
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- My FAV: Eden Foods Selected Toasted Sesame Oil -- 5 fl oz

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- My FAV: Eden Foods Organic Tamari Soy Sauce -- 10 fl oz

• 1 tablespoon sake 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
• salt and pepper
• 1 packet readymade spring roll wrappers
- TRY: Spring Roll Rice Paper Wrappers 22cm, Vietnamese (4-pack)

• 1-2 tablespoons flour, dissolved in water to form a thin paste
• oil for frying

For this recipe, I had to leave out the onion (because my husband is allergic to onions), so I added more carrots and cabbage (it still turned out yummy!). I also added a little extra meat (I had leftovers to eat the next day, woohoo). 

Cook your meat with sesame oil. Then cook your veggies in sesame oil as well. I ended up using more than 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Then combine meat and veggies with soy sauce and sake. Add salt and pepper for taste. 

Add the water (which has the cornstarch) to the meat and veggies. Stir until the liquid has thickened a bit. Then take it off the heat and let it cool. 

To make each roll, place a wrap on a plate. This part became a little tricky for me. I bought non-frozen wraps and they seemed to be a bit crispy. When I tried rolling it up, the wrap would break. I figured out that if you rinse the wrap with water (while it is on the plate) it stops it from breaking. So, once you rinse the wrap (both sides) put some meat on the side near you. Then place a small spoonful of the flour paste on the opposite side. Start rolling the meat side towards the flour edge into a roll. Fold the sides. 

Once each wrap is rolled, cook in frying pan with plenty of oil (I used olive oil). Keep turning the roll over until it is fully cooked. Make sure not to over crowd the pan with rolls. Cook a few at a time.

Complete Meal:

This meal turned out delicious and got two thumbs up from my husband! Next up... Mochi Balls!

Chocolate Mochi Balls:

I love ordering Mochi Balls from Japanese restaurants. I've tried chocolate, vanilla and green tea. They are delicious and the texture is fun and different. It is ice cream stuffed inside a dough ball. The ones you will usually buy in restaurants or in stores are usually round and pretty. Well, mine turned out to be big blobs haha. Nevertheless, they were yummy! I tried cooking them a few nights before my Japanese dinner to see if I could be successful. I am glad I tried because they did not turn out at all haha. The second attempt was a little more successful, but still big blobs! Hopefully you have more success.

• Ice Cream of your choice
• 4/5 cups of Rice Flour
- My FAV: Bob's Red Mill Rice Flour White, 24-Ounce (Pack of 4)

• 3/4 cups of Water
• 1/4 cup of Sugar
• Cornstarch

 Mix the water and flour together. Once combined, add in the sugar. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and leave a little space open. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes, stir, and heat again for 30 seconds.

Cover a cutting board with cornstarch. Place the dough on the board. (You may want to wait until it has cooled off a bit before this next step). Push down on the dough until it has spread out and add some more cornstarch to the top.

Cut and divide the dough into however many pieces you can. I used the top of a cup to cut circles in the dough. I was only able to cut about 6 circles. Place dough in your hand and scoop ice cream into the dough. Then try to roll it up into a ball. Place in freezer and freeze for 30 minutes at least.

Here are my yummy Mochi Blobs!!: