Asian Fusion

   
      This is a celebration of two special people born on the same day but two years apart. A celebration of life and another year added to it. Way before the month of their birthday I already planned the menu, a fusion of different Asian foods that we all like. A fusion with our own twist and made a few modifications to suit our taste. The hardest part was to find fresh tuna for the sushi. We were all so full afterwards but still got room for dessert. Besides my son kindly questioned the absence of cake since it is a mini birthday feast. Luckily I already baked a small cake and all I have to do was decorate it.

     My mom helped me by grilling all the meat that I had marinated the night before while I make some sushi (which turned out to be a lot even for us three adults). While I was in the process of making some california maki, my son suddenly was by the kitchen door and asked for his shumai. Oooppppssss! I mean major oopppppsssss because I completely forgot about it - I know, I know. While he convince me to make his shumai (since he saw the sushi and for him Japanese food means there should be shumai available) I try to convince him otherwise. It came to a point that I told him that we do not have any wrappers available at home. He disappeared and made me think that he let it go but guess what he did? He was again standing in front of the kitchen with his scooter in hand calling me. It surprised me way beyond words that I wasn't been able to say anything but laugh for a few seconds before I can ask him why he has the scooter with him. He then told me that he's ready to go to the Asian market to buy the wrappers. I laughed again but instead of just being amazed it made me realized how foolish I am to even try tricking my son knowing he'll find a solution for it.

     So for dinner that night we have beef kalbi on a bed of sauteed vegetables (courtesy of mom), tuna maki (maguro), california maki, grilled swordfish with grilled pineapples, clams and chicken with shrimp shumai. For dessert? we had chocolate mud cake topped with a relighting candle that freaked out my son.

Beef Kalbi:

Korean style beef short ribs or thinly sliced short ribs bone in
equal parts brown sugar and soy sauce
mirin (rice wine)
1 small onion, peeled and finely grated
1 small pear, peeled and finely grated
1 small apple, peeled and finely grated
4 cloves of garlic, finely grated
dark sesame oil
black pepper
salt

   Sprinkle salt and pepper on both side of the beef. Set aside and mix remaining ingredients in a bowl or a resealable bag. Transfer beef to marinade and ensure that the meat is evenly coated and covered. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.
 
   You can either grill stove top or in a charcoal grill 4-6 minutes on each side or to preferred doneness. Serve accordingly.


Grilled Swordfish:

2 cuts of swordfish steak
equal parts sake and mirin
equal parts sugar and soysauce
salt and pepper
lemon rind
lemon juice
5 garlic cloves, grated

   Rub salt and pepper on both sides of the fish. Like in the beef kalbi, mix remaining ingredients according to taste then transfer the fish. Cover bowl or seal in bag removing all air and let sit in the refrigerator no more than 8 hours. Grill according to preference and serve hot.


Sushi:
 
Tuna Maki:

Fresh tuna cut into thick strips
Cooked sushi rice
Nori paper

California Roll:


Imitation crab meat
Fresh mangoes, cut into long strips
Cucumber, cut into long strips
Sushi rice
Nori paper

Tools:
Sushi mat wrapped in clear plastic (to avoid rice from sticking to it)
  
   Feel both sides of nori paper before placing it on top of the sushi mat. One side will be smooth and the other rough. When placing the nori, make sure that it should lay with the rough part facing upwards.

   For the tuna maki, I put first the nori paper, top with rice and spread it evenly. I placed the tuna and inch away from one end and roll gently.

   For the california roll, I again place the nori paper and spread rice on top. Gently turn it upside down with rice facing upwards. Place the crabmeat with an inch of a distance from the end. Place a slice of cucumber on the side then top cucumber and crabmeat with a slice of mango. Roll gently and slice according to preferred size.

* Soak knife in warm water everytime you slice the rolls to keep rice from sticking to it.
* Sometimes mayonnaise is used in california rolls by spreading a thin coat over the nori paper before putting the fillings. But I omitted it instead.

Clams:
 
  The clams were cooked Filipino style. Sauteing garlic, onion and ginger. Add clam and saute for no more than 5 minutes. Add water and boil till the shells all opened up. Remove from heat once done since clams becomes rubbery when overcooked.

Happy Birthday again mom!