Chikuzenni & Banbanji

Since I bought lots of Japanese vegetables from Mitsuwa, I made "Chikuzen-ni" which is very traditional Japanese dish with lots of vegetables.

I used lotus roots, gobo, carrots, konnyaku, shiitake mushroom and chicken. I but them into small pieces and cook with sake, soy sauce, sugar and mirin.

This is something which is not special at all in Japan but when you live in the U.S. like me, it feels very special since I don't get to eat this too often.

It is very healthy and goes well with rice. I was not sure if my husband likes it or not. It is not his favorite dish but he was eating so I guess it was OK.

I also made something called "banbanji". I think this dish comes originally from China. Basically, it is with steamed chicken with sesame sauce. I cooked bean sprout in microwave, then cut cucumber and add cooked chicken on top with sesame sauce.

This came out really good and my husband loved it. I cooked chicken in microwave with sake and green onion and grated ginger with a saran warp for 4 mins and left it until it gets cold. For the sesame sauce, I used white part of green onion, grated ginger, grated garlic, white sesame paste, vinegar and sugar and some fried garlic chili oil.

My husband and I love this sauce. It was a bit too garlicky so I have to use less garlic next time but it tasted great!