Pizzadillas!!

Pizzadillas are a super easy weeknight appetizer (or dinner if you eat a couple). Just take a large tortilla, add shredded mozzarella and your favorite pizza toppings - in my case: pepperoni, jalapenos and black olives. You can either fill half the tortilla with cheese and toppings and then fold it in half,  or cover the entire bottom of the tortilla with the pizza filling and then add some extra cheese on top, and put another tortilla on top for a larger pizzadilla. 

Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Then simply add your pizzadilla (no oil or cooking spray needed) and let cook until the tortilla starts to brown in spots (do not burn - lower heat if needed). It should only take a couple minutes. If you have a big enough cover, put that over the skillet to help the cheese melt faster. Once one side starts to brown, flip it over with a spatula and cook the other side for a couple minutes until the brown/crispy spots start to form.

Cut them into wedges and serve with a marinara sauce for dipping. I also sprinkle some cilantro on top.

For the Marinara Sauce, I do a SUPER EASY version. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then a small can of tomato sauce. Add a pinch of kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder (maybe 2 or 3 pinches), sugar, oregano, basil, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Stir frequently until bubbling. Taste and add more seasoning as needed. Pour into a small serving vessel and enjoy.

Kimchi Udon Noodles

I think I saw this recipe in a Bon Appétit magazine and had to recreate it. The main trick here is to find FRESH udon noodles. I get mine at the 99 Ranch Market, an Asian market near me. I've tried several brands of dried udon, and none of them come close to shape and bite of fresh udon. I found this brand in a packet like you would for Ramen noodles. And like Ramen, I keep the noodles and throw away the sauce packet.

Otherwise, the recipe is fairly easy and straight forward. Kimchi (or kimchee depending on how you spell it) is getting to be a fairly common ingredient which you should be able to find in Trader Joes or any large grocery store.

Pork Fried Rice

Fried Rice is one of my favorite things to cook whenever I have leftover rice. You can add just about anything in the pantry to it, and it works. I found some sliced pork at the local market, and since I had everything else, decided to whip up some PORK FRIED RICE with some Asparagus I had on hand. Asparagus is not a very common ingredient in Fried Rice, but again, it's the kind of platform you can use to use up any produce that's going to expire.

INGREDIENTS:

Leftover Rice

Sliced Pork

Soy Sauce

Asparagus

1 Egg

Vegetable Oil

Frozen Peas and Carrots

Gnocchi

So, it's not exactly (or in any way) related to Asian cuisine, much less sushi, but I made Gnocchi from scratch for the first time a couple weeks ago, and it was so easy I thought I'd share... Plus, one of the great things about making gnocchi from scratch is that you can freeze the gnocchi in batches so you can have a quick easy meal whenever you feel like it!

INGREDIENTS:

2 large russet potatoes

1-2 cups of flour

1 egg

Butter for cooking

Fresh herbs like sage

Grated parmesan cheese

Chinese Crispy Beef with Green Beans

Last night for dinner I made Chinese Style Crispy Beef with Green Beans. To be honest, I'm not sure that it's an authentic Chinese dish to begin with, but it's a very popular dish in Americanized Chinese restaurants like P.F. Chang's.

Broccoli is more commonly served with Crispy Beef, but I had good green beans on hand so I used them instead.

Asian Cold Noodle Salad with Chicken

Asian Cold Noodle Salad with Chicken is an easy and versatile dish - perfect for a side or main course, a quick lunch or premade dinner, or a great dish to bring to a party. I usually make a lot at a time, as it lasts about a week or so.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 - 1/2 pack of Pad Thai Rice Noodles
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1 chicken breast (or 2 chicken tenders)
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/4 large white onion
1/4 cup cilantro
4-5 pieces of Broccoli
2-4 tablespoons of peanuts
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon lime juice
Soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup is easily my favorite Chinese style soup. When I go out to a Chinese restaurant, I always order it and it's usually the way I can instantly judge the quality of the restaurant.

It's usually cheap and easy enough to order by delivery, but hey, now and then it's fun to make yourself.

Tempura

Tempura (天ぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura) is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.

Kogi Truck Kimchi Quesadilla

My Homemade Kimchi Quesadilla

For those of you not familiar with the Kogi Food Truck, it's really one of the "OG" LA fusion food trucks, and one that helped transform the image of food trucks from roach coaches to gourmet mobile restaurants; helping to kick off the current fad of food truck mania sweeping the nation. Kogi and it's founder - the now legendary Chef Roy Choi - have since expanded the empire into 5 trucks, a number of sit down restaurants, and a cookbook/memoir about Chef Choi.

One of.... Scratch that... My FAVORITE item on the Mexican-Korean fusion Kogi food truck menu is and has always been the Kimchi Quesadilla. This isn't just my favorite item on the Kogi food truck menu, it's probably my favorite item (so far) on ANY food truck I've ever tasted.

Fresh Bibimbap Salad!

So okay, this isn't sushi, and it isn't even Japanese... But the Korean dish of Bibimbap is one of my all time favorite meals. And let's face it, this blog is still new and I'm figuring out what direction I want to take it, so just deal.

My "Fresh Bibimbap Salad"

The last time I was in Seattle I stopped at the well known Asian market Uwajimaya to pick up a few items. So of course whenever I'm there I make sure to stop at Shilla Korean BBQ in the food court. I'm embarrassed to mention a food court, but when you see the one at Uwajimaya, you wont think twice about eating there regularly. The first time I got the Bibimbap at Shilla I forgot for a moment that it was served in a sizzling hot stone bowl, and I burned my thumb and three fingers trying to pull the bowl closer to my mouth. It didn't matter. I plunged my fingers into a glass of well iced Sprite and continued to eat with my chopsticks hand. It was so good, I forgot completely about the burned fingers.

Shilla's Dolsot Bibimbap with Kalbi

Pickled Red Onions

I absolutely love pickled red onions! They're an extremely tasty and versatile condiment. They add an acidic and slightly sweet element to any dish, while also bringing the fresh vegetable crunch you want texturally. You can use them with virtually any cuisine from New American, to South East Asian, to Middle-Eastern, to Mexican or Tex-Mex. They're just as at home on a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich as they are on a juicy all-beef Hamburger. I use them frequently as a topping for either fish or meat, often in sandwiches, and all the time with salads of every type.

Spicy Mayo

To make Spicy Mayo combine 1 heaping tablespoon with 1 small teaspoon of Sriracha. I also add about a 1/2 teaspoon of Sesame Oil for every 2 tablespoons of Mayo. I suggest you use a good quality Mayonnaise like Best Foods.

You can check out the video on Youtube as well at this link: Sushi John's Spicy Mayo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oal7u_aJ1M&feature=youtu.be

Cucumber Sushi

Cucumber Sushi is bound to wow your friends. It's very artistic looking and surprisingly easy to make. There is just one technique I wasn't able to photograph, since I needed both hands to cut the cucumber. It involves slicing your cucumber into very thin strips. I'll either need to do a video on this one, or have a friend take a bunch of pictures while I slice... maybe both.