Cooking with Cat

Batter for pancakes

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c flour
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 T sesame seeds
• 3 c finely chopped napa cabbage
• 1 c shredded carrots
• 1/2 c finely chopped red onion
• 1-3 tsp minced serrano chili (optional – and be wary of adding too much heat)
• 2 T vegetable oil
• sesame seeds, thinly sliced green onions, slivered pickled ginger, if you happen to have it – all to garnish

Dipping Sauce #1 (just blend all the ingredients well)

• 1/2 c ketchup
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 2 T sake (or vermouth)
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Dipping Sauce #2 (blend all the ingredients well)

• 1/2 c mayonnaise
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 1 tsp lime juice

To make the pancakes, whisk the eggs until blended, then gradually whisk in the flour.  Add the soy sauce, salt, and baking powder and whisk again, then stir in the sesame seeds, cabbage, carrots, onion, and chili.

Add the vegetable oil to a medium hot pan.  Using about 1/4 c batter for each pancake (the pancakes should be about 2″-3″ across, smaller works better for appetizers), add the batter to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side.  If the pancakes aren’t a nice golden brown, flip again a cook a bit longer.

Garnish – and serve with the two dipping sauces.

• about 6 oz Ramen noodles, cooked according to pkg directions, then rinsed well with cold water, drained, and tossed with 1 T soy sauce (you can cut them in half, if you wish, after they’re cooked so they combine with the other ingredients easier)
• 1/2 c frozen edamame, cooked according to package instructions (I use the microwave), then drained and rinsed with cold water
• 1 c cucumber (preferably Persian), halved, the seeds cut out, and thinly sliced
• 1 c very thinly slivered red cabbage
• 1 c thinly sliced red bell pepper, with long strips halved

Dressing

• 1/4 c rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar (or honey)
• 1/2 tsp sriracha (optional)
• 1 T vegetable oil

Put all the salad ingredients into a medium bowl and combine.  Add the dressing to taste, adding salt if needed, and toss lightly.

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 T sake
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T butter, melted
• 4 oz. mixed mushrooms, such as shiitake, crimini, enoki, button; if the mushrooms are large, slice or coarsely chop them
•  a few very thin slices of onion
• a squeeze of lemon before serving (about 1 tsp)

Heat the oven to 425°.  For 4 oz of mushrooms, create a foil pouch by folding a 24-by-12-inch piece of foil in half to make a 12-inch square. Press the 12″ square foil into a small bowl.  Dab on the vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pouch.  To double or triple the recipe,  make a total of 2 or 3 pouches, or you can lightly grease a 9″x13″ baking pan to hold your mushroom mixture.

1 1/2 lb top sirloin steak,  about 1 1/2″ thick

Marinade for beef:

• 1/3 c brown (aka red) miso
• 2 T mirin (sweet cooking wine) Note: if you don’t have mirin, add about 1 T of sugar dissolved in 2 T water to the marinade
• 1/4 c sake (or white wine or vermouth)

In a medium bowl, combine the miso, the mirin, and the sake, making a soft paste.  Spread all but 2 T of the marinade over all sides of the steak. You’ll use the reserved 2T of marinade for the sauce to serve with the steak.  Put the steak in a seal-able plastic bag and let marinate in the refrigerator for 3-6 hours.

Sauce for serving with the steak

• 1/3 c water
• 2 T  mirin
• the 2T reserved from the miso marinade
• 1/4 c brandy

To make the sauce, put 1/3 c water, the mirin, and the reserved 2 T of miso marinade in a small pan.  Bring to a boil, stir until it’s mixed well, then add the brandy; reduce the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes (you want the sauce to reduce).  If the sauce is cooked ahead of time, re-warm for serving.

When you’re ready to grill the steak, remove it from the plastic bag and scrape off any clinging bits of marinade. Coat very lightly with oil.

Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to medium high.  Put the steak on the grill, watching for flare-ups especially when cooking the first side. (If the flames threaten to char the entire steak, move it off to the side for a few moments until the fire calms.) Grill 8 to 9 min. per side for medium rare, a minute or two longer per side for medium. Check for doneness by making a small cut into the steak and peeking—if the meat looks a shade less done than you like, it’s ready. Move the steak to a carving board, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 5-10 minutes (it will continue to cook a bit more).

Cut the meat into 1/4″-1/2″ slices and serve drizzled with the warm sauce.

For a 9″ pan – which the original recipe calls for:

• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 7 T butter
• 8 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 12 egg whites
• 2/3 c sugar
• parchment paper
• strawberries, to serve (optional)
• powdered sugar, to serve (optional)

For an 8″ pan (if you happen to have a 4″ deep pan, great.  Just grease it very well with butter, sides and bottom; no need for the parchment.  If using a 2-3″ deep pan, be sure your parchment paper lining comes up 4″ so the cake can rise as it should.

• 1/2 c milk
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 6 T butter
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 T flour
• 3 T cornstarch
• 9 egg whites
• 1/2 c sugar

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Place a 4-inch high parchment paper strip around the edge of an 8″x3″ or 9″x3-inch cake pan that is already lined with parchment at the bottom. If you are using a springform pan, make sure to wrap the bottom and sides completely in foil to prevent any leakage.

In a small pan over medium heat, whisk the milk, cream cheese, and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the vanilla until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the cream mixture, stirring until evenly combined.

Sift the flour and the cornstarch mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking just enough to make sure there are no lumps.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until you see soft peaks when lifting the mixer up from the egg whites. Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat until you see stiff peaks when lifting the mixer up.

Take about ¼ of the egg whites and fold them into the egg yolk mixture, then repeat with the remaining egg whites until the batter is evenly combined.

Pour the batter into the parchment-lined pan and tap gently on the counter to release any large air bubbles.

Place the batter-filled pan into a larger baking pan and then add about 1-inch hot water to the larger pan (creating a water bath for the cake).

Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, then reduce the heat to 275°F, and bake for another 50 minutes.  To maintain as much height as possible and avoid cracking, after the 50 minutes, turn off the oven and open the door a bit.  Let the cake stay there till it’s cool enough to handle comfortably – up to an hour.  If it’s the middle of summer and there’s no way you’re opening an oven door for an hour, carefully remove the cheesecake from the oven at the end of the 50 minutes and let cool in the water for 30 minutes and then another 30 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Now carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack (place a sheet of parchment or wax paper on the rack, if you want to avoid getting wire marks on the cake); peel off the paper that the cake baked in, if you’ve used parchment.  Then gently invert the cake onto a cake plate, so that the top side is now up.

If you’re serving immediately, sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar, slice, and serve with strawberries while the cake is still warm.  Or refrigerate for a day or two and serve chilled.  And the cake – surprisingly – freezes quite well!

It’s unique and so delicious!  Enjoy.