March | Birth

That Recipe on my Mind | The Cycle of Life Calendar 19

Another Kind of Oyakodon

Chicken-almond milk soup. Egg almond souffle on rice crackers, simmered chicken, brown rice and chives.

Chicken stock-almond milk soup

Ingredients:

1 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight

4 cups of water

1 cup of chicken stock

pinch of salt

How to prepare:

After the almonds have soaked overnight, drain and rinse them.

Place the almonds in a blender along with four cups of water.

Blend on high for 2 minutes.

Strain the almond milk through a nut-milk bag and drop the mixture into a bowl or large measuring cup. Pour the almond milk into an air-tight storage container and place in the fridge overnight. Before serving add the almond milk to the chicken stock and heat but not boil. Add salt to taste.

Sake jelly

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sake

1 tbsp of unflavoured and disolved gelatine

How to prepare:

Pour 1 tbsp of the hot disolved gelatin in the small bowl with the sake nd stir.

Pour the mixture into tupperware or flat food container.

Leave the gelatin in the fridge until is completely set.

Ultra-thin rice cracker

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked sushi rice (I also tried with basmati and worked well)

1 tsp salt

How to prepare:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Place the cooked sushi rice in a bowl. Add salt.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Wet your hands and a tablespoon, use the wet spoon to form a golf ball sized rice ball.

Place the ball on the baking tray.

Top with another layer of baking paper, then squash the ball evenly. You could use your hands or a rolling pin till you a have a very thin rice layer (about 2mm). With 1 cup of rice you can prepare several golf ball sized rice balls.

Bake at 180 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes.

Allow the rice crackers to cool and break them in different pieces before serving.

Simmered chicken and boiled brown rice with chives

Ingredients:

250g chicken (thighs or breasts)

1/2 onion

75ml dashi stock

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp mirin

pinch of sugar

250g Japanese brown rice

clump of chives.

How to prepare:

In a pot, cook the rice so that it is ready for when you finish cooking the dish.

Cut up the chicken into very small bite-size pieces.

Add the dashi stock to the frying pan and heat before adding the mirin and soy sauce plus a pinch of sugar.

Bring to the boil and then simmer on medium heat.

Once the soup has been simmering for a few minutes, chop up a whole onion into thin slices and add them to the pan.

Add the chicken pieces and cook about 10 more minutes until chicken is done. Drain the mixture with a colander and set aside. Cut the chives in different lengths and set also aside.

Egg-almond souffle

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

pinch pepper

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs yolks

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

How to prepare:

Preheat oven to 190°.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and carefully add flour, milk, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until the sauce boils.

Set aside.

Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks well and combine yolk mixture with remaining sauce.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl, until stiff but not dry.

Fold the sauce into the remaining egg whites.

Spray 4 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray (or spread them with butter). Pour sauce into ramekins and fill to top. Place ramekins on cookie sheet and bake at 180° C for 20 to 25 minutes or until the soufflé rises and the edge pieces start to turn brown. Serve immediately (see plating instructions).

Plating

Instructions:

Carefully place the egg souffle in the center of a bowl (This is a tricky part: I call it “the birthing”, and you will have to play the role of the “midwife”. Turn the ramekin 180 degrees and allow the soufflé to fall holding it softly with your hand. If it sticks to the ramekin you help with a spoon or two, or -worst-case scenario- cut the risen part of the soufflé with a palette knife and place it in the middle of the bowl).

Cautiously add 3 or 4 tbsp of the boiled brown rice around the soufflé and add the simmered and drained chicken on top of the rice. Now add the rice crackers around the soufflé and garnish with the sake jelly and the chives.

Pour over the chicken stock-almond milk soup.