UpCountry – Page 2 – The UpCountry

Aboveground Kalua Pork

Moist and tender, kālua (“underground” in Hawaiian) pork is a favorite food of mine, particularly when visiting Hawaii. Traditionally made in an underground pit called an imu, the pork is covered in banana or ti leaves to keep in the moisture during the cooking process.

James Temple has a good blog post on his Tasting Hawaiʻi blog about the traditional cooking method with lots of pictures.

If you’re like me, though, digging an imu, lining it with coals, and getting the ti leaves ready might be a little too much. When I’m in the mood for kālua pork, I make it in an oven, above the ground!

The biggest surprise about kālua pork—other than how good it is—is how easy it is to make. Typically, kālua pork made in the oven is started with brining the pork in a simple mixture of water and salt, but I find that too salty for my taste.

I take some pork shoulder, sprinkle coarse Hawaiian sea salt called alaea sea salt on it, and then add black pepper, garlic, ginger and a bit of liquid smoke. I place this in a deep roasting pan, wrap the whole thing with foil and bake in the oven for five hours.

Ono, delicious!

Subuta: Sweet-and-Sour Pork

Japanese-style Chinese sweet-and-sour pork

The universal appeal of Chinese cooking cannot be denied. Drawing on cooking traditions of the many ethnic peoples around China, “Chinese food” is an eclectic cuisine.

And not only is it eclectic, it is flexible. Around the world, you will find Chinese restaurants serving a variety of Chinese flavors modified for the local palate.

In Japan, just like in other countries of the world, Chinese food is a favorite, and one of the biggest surprises I had when I came to the US was how different the Chinese food is. One of my favorite Chinese dishes in Japan is subuta, which is basically sweet-and-sour pork. But it’s far sweeter here than in Japan and the color isn’t red. Of course, the Japanese name subuta literally means “vinegar pork,” so I suppose it’s actually a different dish.

In any case, here’s my version: Add garlic, ginger, green onions and caramelized apple to a sweet-and-sour sauce having a soy sauce base. Quickly toss fried pork into the sauce and thicken with potato starch.

“Itadakimasu!” as we say in Japanese before partaking in a meal

Mom’s Gyoza

There is no recipe to follow …

My mom makes the best gyoza.

I still remember making them with her when I was in elementary school in Japan. Stuff the skin and seal it tight, stuff the skin and seal it tight, stuff the skin and seal it tight, the crinkles forming gradually faster as my fingers learned the routine.

When I became an adult, throwing gyoza parties just seemed like a natural thing to do. I would get shiitake, napa cabbage, gyoza skins and the other ingredients together, wrap them up and then fry them in batches when my friends arrived. I hosted innumerable gyoza parties both here and in Japan long before I had any inkling that I would become a cook.

There is no recipe I use when making gyoza. The childhood memories of how my mom did it lay the path for me to follow.

Making Croissants by Hand

The croissant is a study of balance. The layers …

Croissants: Out of the oven and on the cooling rack!

The croissant is a study of balance. The layers should be thin, ideally formed with a sheeter (either automatic or manual, see “Making croissant dough”). As the layers are folded on each other (lamination), butter is added. If the temperature is too cold, the butter will not spread, and if the temperature is too warm, the dough will absorb too much butter–a croissant should be buttery but not oily. Also, an appropriate humidity level is required while the dough is rising (proofing). And then there is baking, which requires just enough time to get the croissants slightly brown and crisp on the outside while ensuring a fluffy interior.

Making croissants by hand is a challenge I take delight in. Without a dough sheeter, I must take extra care in the process. Practice and experience are needed to find that sweet spot of croissant excellence.

The layers of my handmade croissants are certainly not as thin as machine-made ones, but they I believe you can sense and taste the care and love that I put into their making. When I get the urge to make croissants, I am reminded of how I once was a baker, a job I both loved and yet did not love so much at the same time. Perhaps I have found my balance, too.

Orecchiette with chanterelles

For this dish, I started by sautéing some leeks and garlic …

Orecchiette is one of my favorite kinds of pasta to make … and eat!

For this dish, I started by sautéing some leeks and garlic for the base flavor. Then I added some cream, Gorgonzola dolce (cheese), kabocha purée and some pasta water. Into the sauce, I tossed orecchiette boiled al dente.

Finally, I quick-sautéed chanterelles in garlic butter to accompany the orecchiette. Buon appetito!

The Obento

The obento (bento box) is a meal filled with love and care. Traditionally made by mothers for…

This obento has rice with furikake sprinkled on it, a firm-boiled egg, bean sprouts, garlic chicken and broccoli.

The obento (bento box) is a meal filled with love and care. Traditionally made by mothers for their children, husbands and other family members to eat when away from home for a meal, the obento is usually for lunch.

I chose obento as the theme of my first blog post because it reminds me of how important it is to prepare each dish with care, a thought I keep foremost in mind when cooking at home or at the UpCountry.

I grew up in Japan, where food is very important. On this blog, I would like to share what I serve at the restaurant, what I eat at home and what I make for my dear friends and family members.

You are what you eat. You are who you are loved by. And you are who/what you care for.

This obento has rice topped with an umeboshi and sesame seeds, an egg and tofu dish, kinpira celery and karaage (fried chicken).

I hope you enjoy my posts.

Thank you.