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{food} Japanese Lunch at Sakagura

A few weeks ago Bobby’s mom was in here in NYC for a few hours on a layover. We took the opportunity to have lunch at her favorite New York restaurant, Sakagura. Sakagura has lunch specials, so we each got a different one.

I think I got this: “Jewel” Oke Bento ($20.00) – Assorted Appetizers , Fried Tidbits , 5 kinds of Seasonal Sashimi , Grilled Tidbits , Mini Rice Balls and Miso Soup.

There were fried intertwined veggies; a hijiki seaweed salad (the black and orange stuff in the dark brown bowl); rice balls (looks like rice sushi in the middle but really was all rice); the white ball with yellow on top (top left) is satoimo, a Japanese sweet potato; fresh sashimi (tuna, scallop – my favorite, squid, salmon, and one other that I don’t remember – mackerel?), and finally on the bottom was eel with eel sauce, a piece of pork, a piece of potato, and some scrambled egg.

My favorite part? I loved it all.

Bobby got a soba box – it must have been this one: Kaisen Don ($21.00) – Assorted Variety of sliced Fresh Sashimi Served atop of Sushi Rice, with Soba Noodles ( Hot or Cold ). You can see the bowl of rice and sashimi (top), soba sauce (top left), soba (front and center), and a few edamame.

He also enjoyed his very much.

Bobby’s mom also ordered a soba set – I think it was set C – Yakizakana Gozen ($20.00) – Seasonal Grilled Fish, Seasonal Appetizers, A Bowl of Rice, Homemade Soba Noodles (Hot or Cold). It looks like the fish was salmon (front slightly right); there was steamed spinach (middle right); some seaweed, potato, and pork (bottom left); soba (back left) and soba sauce (top middle); and something in the middle there that I can’t quite make out.

We all shared a bowl of black sesame ice cream for dessert. No pic! It looked too good and I forgot to take one before diving in.

Sakagura is always a hit. We have been there a few times before, but I don’t think I have blogged about it.

What is your favorite Japanese dish?

I think mine is anything with hijiki seaweed. I even had some tonight – I had some “Japanese fried rice” from Trader Joe’s that had hijiki in it; then I added 2 scrambled eggs – perfection. When we lived in California I used to LOVE going to a place called Delica. They have a fantastic salad – the “Hijiki and Soybean Salad“. My attempt at recreating it is here.

Hijiki is also a staple in macro plates. Here are my favorite macro plates.

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OZU Macrobiotic Restaurant Review (New York)

I promised this a while ago, and here it finally is…

Ozu (Macrobiotic) Restaurant Review

Ozu is a small Japanese restaurant on the upper west side. I found it because my friend Mel works nearby and we wanted to find a place close to her work for our weekly lunch date (we have since moved to dinner dates; we just work too far apart for lunch to pan out as planned). Ozu is macrobiotic, but not really advertised as such. Traditional Japanese food is typically macrobiotic by default. Here is another inside view (small and cozy, but nice):

We went for lunch one day back in September and I got the lunch special – a macro plate with a side salad. Possibly the best macro plate I’ve had – a close tie with Good Health’s. This macro plate was: chickpeas, seaweed, carrots, yams, kabocha, and brown rice.

The salad was fabulous too, and came with a slightly tangy dressing.

Mel got a noodly pad thai dish…

A Second Trip to Ozu!

I didn’t grab a picture of the noodly dish at the time, but I brought Bobby and another friend back just a few days later and they both got the “Thai Noodles” on my recommendation. The dish had thick rice noodles stir fried in peanut sauce, with broccoli, string beans, carrots, kale, and collards topped with raw bean sprouts and walnuts. They added salmon as well.

I am pretty sure they were very satisfied. I got this vegetarian macrobiotic (and vegan actually) fried rice. I don’t know how I finished it all, but I did.

We also split the “Carrot Pancake” appetizer, which apparently I forgot to photograph. It was a pan-fried pancake of wheat flour, cabbage, carrots, kale, ginger, kabocha squash, coconut milk and carrot dressing. Served with soy dipping sauce. Reminded me a lot of my okonomiyaki (Japanese frittata thing) – I love my okonomiyaki recipe; must make it again soon.

Macrobiotic food is just about the only type of food I can always finish without feeling guilty and/or sick. Macrobiotic eating has really really helped me overcome any and all kinds of food phobias that I used to have; I would say that macrobiotics has actually been the major factor in helping me learn to eat intuitively. (Part of macriobiotics is remembering that it’s not about the food, and that to be macrobiotic you sometimes should not be macrobiotic… if that makes sense.)

Would anyone be interested in hearing more about macrobiotics?

I have touched on it before, and I did a macrobiotic experiment a while ago (macrobiotic wrap-up posts here – scroll to bottom of page), but I’m sure there is more to discuss. Do you have any specific questions about macrobiotics? Want any macrobiotic recipes? Leave comments and let me know!

P.S. I did do Meatless Monday yesterday and I also didn’t have any added sugar (as far as I know), both for Healthy Monday.

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Easy Peasy Crunchy Asian Coleslaw Recipe

This past weekend we were in NJ meeting with the person who is semi-officiating our wedding (it’s a Quaker wedding, so the ceremony is a bit… different). He is such a cool guy; I’ve known him since I was a teeny little kid. His son is almost my age. Anyway, we went over to his house to chat about what we want, and they happened to be having a BBQ. His wife Karen had made the best coleslaw I’ve ever had, so I had to try to recreate it. So that’s what I did just now (and accidentally ate it all, but that’s okay: I have more cabbage and will make it again as soon as I finish typing this).

Maggie’s/Karen’s Crunchy Asian Coleslaw Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4-5 cups of shredded cabbage (I used a mandoline – so much easier/faster than a grater!)
  • 3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (not vinegar, vinaigrette! you can make it yourself with oil and balsamic vinegar, or you can use your favorite bottled version – I used Wishbone’s – and please do not use the fat free version)
  • 1/2 package of ramen noodles, crumbled finely (not quite crushed completely, but broken down a lot)
  • 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce (or to taste)

Method

  1. Mix everything together. Add more dressing or soy sauce if you so desire.
  2. Serve! (These plates are biodegradable reusable palm leaf plates that are completely earth friendly – they get the leaves off the ground so they don’t even hurt the trees. I can’t remember what brand mine are, but here is an example of some palm leaf plates.)

It’s great for a snack, with lunch or dinner, and hey – even breakfast (if you like veggies at breakfast). It has an Asian feel to it because of the ramen so I figured soy sauce would be a good accent. It’s really yum!

Exercise of the day: Today I walked over to Central Park and walked up 5th Avenue (the east side of Central Park) for about 20 blocks. Then I walked back. I also walked home from work (a little over a mile). Total: exactly 4.0 miles (according to Google Maps).

I can’t get over the fact that I am getting married in a little over 3 weeks. 3 weeks! And then I’m going to Hawaii.

Is anyone interested in doing a guest post about something related to marriage / wedding / food / relationship / health / traveling / etc? I’m going to be gone for 2 weeks so I definitely need some help to keep the blog updated while I’m away. Please email me or leave a comment below!

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Recipe: Hot-Cold Asian Salad

Don’t forget about the hot sauce discount and the free yoga mat giveaway. Now…

One of my favorite meals is what I call a “hot-cold salad“. It consists of a raw lettuce base and it’s topped with some stir-fry variation. This is the one I made a few nights ago.

Hot-Cold Asian Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • handful of alfalfa sprouts, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 3 cups sprouts (I think they are soy bean sprouts; I get them in the Asian market)
  • 1 cup chopped broccoli
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
  • 1 cup frozen shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice (optional)
  • 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce or ponzu sauce
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter OR PB2
  • dressing – hot sauce and hoisin (wish I had Korean red sauce), chipotle ranch dressing
  • base – 1 head of romaine for me; white rice for Bobby

Method

  1. Chop the cucs, tomatoes, and alfalfa sprouts. Set aside.
  2. Heat the peanut oil (other oil is okay, but peanut has a wonderful flavor) over high heat in a wok. Cook the chopped onions for about a minute. Add the soybean sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms, red peppers, and cooked shrimp (I use frozen). Saute for another 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the OJ (optional), soy sauce, and peanut butter. Cook until the OJ evaporates.
  4. Remove from heat and toss in the cucs, tomatoes, and alfalfa sprouts.
  5. Top with any dressing you want (hoisin, Korean red sauce, Chipotle ranch, etc…).
  6. Serve over rice (Bobby) or lettuce (Maggie).

I loved it. So yummy! I ate more of it than Bobby did, and my mom was actually up in the city taking care of us (last week when we were sick) and she tried it too (and liked it a lot).

This hot-cold salad is very good for you – peanut oil is a healthy fat, shrimp are lean protein, tons of veggies provide fiber, and it’s colorful. A trick my old ballet teacher taught me is that in order to eat a balanced diet, eat a variety of colors.

Do you ever make hot-cold salads?

P.S. I’ll give you that update I owe you tomorrow… 🙂

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Recipe: Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

For vegans, sub in tofu for the shrimp. Yes, it’s that easy.

(Instead of eating out last night according to the plan, we ate in.)

After this meal Bobby said, “I guess we don’t have to go out for Vietnamese anymore.” This meal was better than most Vietnamese restaurants we have found in the city. It cost about $5 for everything (that’s overestimating), which is much cheaper than eating out in New York.

As an alternative dressing you can add on a peanut sauce – mix together peanut butter, hoisin, rice vinegar, and fish sauce – heavy on the peanut butter – and you will have a really fabulous topper. We used that in addition to the dressing below because I prepared the peanut dressing for a side dish.

Maggie’s Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce (romaine is fine too), chopped
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 servings Asian noodles (I used ramen – real ramen, not the dorm food) (vermicelli are great too)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
  • 1.5 cups frozen cooked shrimp
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped

Dressing ingredients

  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or lime)
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar
  • ground pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Make the dressing by stirring all dressing ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a pan on high heat. Add the garlic and onions; saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the shrimp and saute for another minute or 2. If the shrimp is uncooked, cook until they are done through. Remove from heat.
  3. Cook the noodles as directed on the package, then rinse with cool water until they are room temperature. Drain, but not too much (sometimes noodles can dry out depending on what kind you used).
  4. Mix together the lettuce, cilantro, scallions, and noodles; top with the shrimp mix. Add the dressing.
  5. Eat!

I served this with spring rolls (recipe will come tomorrow). Here is my old spring roll recipe.