Twist

Okinawan Style Steamed Black Sesame Infused Pork

Early Summer-like weather once again demands our attention to the yard and garden. Newly planted pansies are already stressed out in the heat. I apologized as I water them –  talking to myself increases as I get older and plants are excellent listeners fortunately. Cabbage flower

I would like to have more gardening time yet I need to take care of strawberries and other things that are getting moldy so a large quantity of my time was spent in the kitchen…by the way, what am I making tonight? No answer of course. It would be spooky otherwise.

I love the sweetness and aromatic sesame flavor of this dish…perhaps it needs some acidity. On a long ‘to do’ list day like today, you can’t beat the easiness of this recipe. It was introduced in www.cookpad.com and I adjusted only a little.

Ingredients and instructions for 12 wrapped pork

Equipment: mortar and pestle, waxed paper or foil cut in twelve 7 inch squares steamer pan with lid.

• Black sesame seeds 1/2 cup Ground well with mortar and pestle
• Soy sauce 3 TablespoonsThe reduced sodium Tamari soy sauce I used is gluten free.
• Sugar 2 Tablespoons
• Vegetable oil 2 Tablespoons
• Parsley or green onion minced (optional) 1-2 teaspoons
• Thinly sliced pork meat 300 g or roughly 1 lb. (pork belly or shoulder meat) cut in 3 inch strips
  .

1. Mix everything except pork in a large bowl.
2. Add sliced pork and coat with sesame mix. Marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Prepare steamer by boiling 3 cups of water. Divide meat into 12 piles. Put one pile in the middle of a square and gather the paper or foil and twist tight at the top.
   
4. Place the wrapped pork on the steamer rack an inch apart.
5. Cover and steam on medium high for 5 minutes then steam at low heat for 30 minutes.
6. Serve with soy sauce, ponzu sauce, lemon juice or gyoza sauce.

I made a true and tested strawberry honey roll cake for a friend who is recuperating from an injury. Glad! She is ok with gluten.And I thought my husband would appreciate it if I made him one too. Yup, he did!

May is National Celiac Awareness Month –Experimenting on gluten free dishes. Not only gluten free, these non-dairy strawberry marshmallows are soft and light. It’s just not suitable for roasting. No s’mores for you.The No, No and No (no gluten, no dairy and no fat) steamed strawberry cake had absolutely no flavor. I asked my husband to make chocolate sauce for this and it was upgraded to a maybe. As you can see, losing weight here is awfully hard.

Many hours were spent making beets and turnip pickles, strawberry puree and burdock tea. I felt like a pioneer woman WITH modern conveniences like a dishwasher. That is not pioneer woman like, my husband chimed in. Hey, don’t comment, it’s just a monologue.

We’re happy to have a vegetarian meal night once in a while....simply I didn't have time to defrost meat. Awesome pea rice! My son would be envious from Japan…not!

Cinco de Mayo is Children’s day in Japan. This is a gift from a quilter friend. Traditional Children’s day symbols include from top: carp, helmet and Japanese iris. Though each has special meaning, trying to explain would be lost in translation. Speaking of children, I met this little girl at a wedding reception last Saturday. Adorable isn’t she?