Okay, so today I decided to try my hand at making some “oec Japanese cuisine”. I’ve always loved Japanese food, but I’ve mostly stuck to sushi and ramen. Time to get a little more adventurous!
Getting Started
First, I looked up some recipes online. I wasn’t really sure what “oec” entailed, so I figured a broad search would be a good starting point. I found a bunch of different dishes, from simple stir-fries to more complex things I definitely wasn’t ready for.
The Chosen Dish
I settled on something that looked manageable: a chicken and vegetable stir-fry with a teriyaki-ish sauce. It seemed like a good way to practice some basic Japanese cooking techniques without getting overwhelmed.
Gathering Ingredients
Next, I hit the grocery store. I needed chicken, obviously, and I grabbed some broccoli, carrots, and snap peas. For the sauce, I picked up soy sauce, mirin (which I had to ask someone where to find), and some sake. I also got some ginger and garlic, because, well, everything’s better with ginger and garlic.
The Cooking Process
- First, I chopped up all the veggies and the chicken into bite-sized pieces. This took a bit longer than I expected, my knife skills aren’t exactly chef-level.
- Then,I did my best to mince ginger and garlic.
- Next, I heated up some oil in my wok (which I haven’t used in ages!) and tossed in the chicken. I stirred it around until it was cooked through.
- After that, I added the vegetables and cooked them until they were tender-crisp. I like my veggies to have a little bit of bite to them.
- Finally, I whisked together the soy sauce, mirin, sake, ginger, and garlic in a bowl and poured it over the chicken and vegetables. I let it simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickened up a bit.
The Result
I served it over some rice, and honestly, it wasn’t half bad! The chicken was cooked perfectly, the vegetables were just right, and the sauce had a nice sweet and savory flavor. It definitely wasn’t restaurant-quality, but for a first attempt at a more “oec” Japanese dish, I was pretty happy with it.
It was a fun little cooking adventure, and I’m definitely going to try more Japanese recipes in the future. Maybe next time I’ll even tackle something a bit more challenging!
