Pork Hash w/ Lup Cheong

Just my usual Steamed Pork Hash but this time with sliced lup cheong on top while steaming. Eat over rice with oyster sauce as dipping sauce. Delicious!

Also made Stew today so have a lot of stuff in the refrigerator for dinners and lunches this week.

Special Salad Dressing

This recipe was given me by the manager (his family owned the franchise location) of a pretty well known izakaya here in Okinawa. A secret recipe. But when I was leaving the previous time (December 2003) I was here, he gave the recipe to me, though it was to make 4 gallons. Had to adjust down considerably to a home manageable quantity. It is used over salads, especially the sashimi salad.

Salad Dressing (~4 cups)

1 cup shoyu (しょうゆ)
1 cup Mitsukan vinegar (みつかん酢)
1/2 cup mirin (みりん)
1 cup salad oil (サラダ油)
1-1/2 tsp. sugar (砂糖)
pinch Ajinomoto (味の素)
1/4 ea. blended (grated) onion (たまねぎ – ミキサー)
2 ea. shiso leaves (大葉), very finely minced
1/4 cup dashi (だし汁)

Belly Pork w/ Hum Nyee

Tried this way after seeing a recipe a while back. This is what I meant about trying a different way.

Used thinly sliced pieces of belly pork, marinated for a while with shoyu, oyster sauce and some cornstarch. Put in a flat dish, added a piece of hum nyee, and sprinkled with lotsa julienned ginger. Then steamed for 45 minutes.

The pork tasted pretty good, though the hum nyee taste was weak. The belly part of the fish (right side of piece) had practically no taste at all. Though the meat around the bone (to the left) was good. Think I soaked it too long (overnight and today). For this particular fish I will have to soak much less to keep the flavor. But it was tasty anyway. I love a lot of ginger!

Harvest Moon over the East China Sea

Still with jet lag I got up very early and looked out - there was the full moon with it's reflection on the ocean. It was huge! But then it was gone! But was so beautiful and amazing! Sorry there's no reference to compare the size to, only the reflection. But that shows how bright it was.

Plus my malfunctioning camera's zoom doesn't work. Otherwise I'd have gotten a bigger picture. Time for a new camera. Anyone have any suggestions?

Chinese Salted Fish - Hum Nyee

This is a dried salted fish from China. Amazing that I have to buy this in Hawaii and bring back here. Okinawa is only about 300 miles from China!

After taking these pictures I chopped the body up into ~1" wide strips and 1-1/2" squares. Hard work, is kinda hard. Soaking a piece for dinner tomorrow night. Smelly to most people, but not me. Makes my mouth water. Oh so tasty!

I've posted about it before - Pork Hash w/ Hum Nyee and Steamed Pork Hash w/ Salted Fish.

Show you the finished product tomorrow. Thinking of a different way. Still gotta decide on dinner tonight.

Lazy tonight...

Didn't want to think to much about cooking, so just made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. The All American comfort food! Was good. Simple, fast, not too much thinking involved. Used Swiss and sharp cheddar cheese. Two sandwiches, two bowls of soup and I'm stuffed.

Now feel like going to sleep. Am going through a serious case of jet lag. Try to stay up as late as I can (last night 11 PM) but still wake up at about 3:15 in the morning - 8:15 AM Hawai'i time. And it's hard to go back to sleep. Been like this since I came back, a week and a half ago.

Hone Shiru

For lunch today went to a different restaurant in Hamby Town to eat their hone (pork neck bones) - they call it Hone Shiru as opposed to Hone Jiru at Gajimaru shokudo. Same thing - jiru or shiru. I have to get someone to give the name of this place.

They give more than Gajimaru but no vegetables, except for the sprouts, daikon, konbu and tofu. Tasty none the less! Sorry, I started eating before I took a picture. It costs only 450 yen here. There's some kim chee and grated ginger. Asked for a lot more ginger though.

Okinawan Lunch Bento

There is small neighborhood market 10 minutes away from my office in Yomitan. Called Sun Market, though don't know the Japanese name. It's maybe the size of a 7-11 store.

But in one corner there is a food thing where they have at least 20 items you can choose from to make your own bento. You take a container and fill it with what you want by yourself. All freshly made daily. There's also unagi-don bowls, tonkatsu/curry bowls. Lots of Okinawan foods.

My bento from the top left - tempura gobo, tori karaage, rice, then chanpurus of brocolli/carrots, nasu/onion/carrot, goya/luncheon meat/tofu, then small teriyaki pork ribs and a pork/cabbage/carrot chanpuru. Also comes with a little cup of soba.

Didn't have my favorite kinpira or stir-fried ong choi/pork today. There's also stir-fried ramen noodles like yakisoba, nabera, chikina chanpuru (another favorite), fu irichi, macaroni salad, fried rice, nishime, too many to remember!

Plus there's a section next to it that they sell items by weight, like fried saba, bigger pieces of tori karaage, rafute, tempuras (vegetable, tako), tonkatsu, many, many items! I've bought teriyaki chicken thighs/drumsticks to take home for dinner!

I want to take a picture but they really don't like that to be done here in Okinawa, especially markets. Going to have to figure out a sneaky way.

But the surprising thing is that it costs only 400 yen for this size container! That's about $3.50. You can get a smaller container and pack it in for only 300 yen ($2.65)! I'll get one next time and post a picture.

I go at least once a week and more if I don't have leftovers. Plus for my veggie fix. Really hard to beat the price and the variety of offerings!

Fukuya Delicatessen & Catering

Fukuya in Mō'ili'ili is my favorite okazuya place. Great food, pretty good parking, friendly staff. Your typical Island-style okazu that you can't find here in Okinawa.



My lunch bento one day when I was home - inari (or cone) sushi, potato hash, vegetable tempura, shrimp tempura, kinpira, nishime and namasu. Only favorites of mine that weren't available at that time (went about 10 AM) was the misoyaki butterfish and BBQ beef. Probably being prepared for the lunch rush. I could eat this stuff almost every day! To me their shrimp tempura is one of the best in the city.





And a little bento for my daughter and grand daughter - potato hash, mochiko chicken, hot dog, nishime, takuan and a maki sushi roll. My grand daughter loves the hot dog, takuan and the maki sushi. Was actually supposed to buy their hot dog maki sushi, but it was all gone.

About once a week when I was working back in Hawaii, I used to stop there at about 5:45 AM, even though they say they open at 6:00 AM. I knew a guy who cooks there and he said they start to bring out the food way before 6 and will sell at that time what was prepared and was ready. Selection was still pretty good at that time.

So I'd be back on the road at 6 to get to Wheeler by my 6:30 start time looking forward to lunch. Though did usually buy a roll of maki sushi for breakfast and enjoy through the morning!

Okinawa was lucky!

Okinawa was very lucky with this typhoon. I mentioned in an earlier post that a new typhoon was forming and was initially headed towards Okinawa. But it has since changed directions clipping Taiwan and is supposed to turn towards Shanghai. And has turned into Super Typhoon Wipha (Cat. 5 hurricane).

You can see that the estimated wind speed at this time is 135 knots (155 mph) with gusts to 165 knots (189 mph). That's strong!

Passed directly over Ishigaki-jima and Miyako-jima, the two most southern islands in the Okinawa Islands. Conditions must be really, really bad there! I feel for them!

Counting our blessings here!

P.S. September 21, 2007

Super typhoon lashes Ishigaki with record winds
Japan Update 2007-09-19

Only a week after Typhoon Nari set new wind records in Okinawa, Super Typhoon Wipha has broken them on Ishigaki Island.

Super Typhoon Wipha roared across Okinawa Prefecture Tuesday, packing record winds of 70 meters per second (156.6 miles per hour), eclipsing Nari’s record breaking bluster of 62.8 m/s (140.5 mph) last week. Air traffic between Ishigaki and Miyakojima was shut down, tourists were stranded at the two airports, and ferries stayed in port. More than 7,500 travelers were reported waiting for the storm to pass.

Typhoon Nari hit Kumejima last Friday and Saturday, uprooting trees, flipping cars and blowing out building windows. Aside from the winds, Nari dumped more than 120mm (6”) of rain, including 45mm (1.8”) in a single hour.

Super Typhoon Wipha produced even more rainfall, 300mm (11.8”) on Ishigaki Island, and 250mm (9.8”) on Miyakojima. Weather observers issued flood warnings, and government agencies added landslide warnings for the islands.

Iriomote Island felt the storm’s wrath about 8 a.m. Tuesday with 65.9 m/s winds that plunged more than 10,600 homes into darkness. Wipha’s winds were the second highest to ever hit the island. Some 1,200 homes were reported without telephone service. On Ishigaki Island, half the homes remain without power, causing health concerns. Foods are spoiled, as refrigerators and freezers were without electricity.

Wipha has now been downgraded from a Category 5 super typhoon as it skirted China. The system is expected to be a tropical storm as it crosses into North Korea tonight.

Okinawa Rainbow!!!

What a surprise this morning! A rainbow! One of the few I've seen here. Was a complete rainbow but was too big for my camera. Beautiful! 5 minutes later it was gone!

P.S. A sign of things later in the morning. Few hours later listened to the University of Hawaii "Rainbow" Warriors defeat the UNLV Rebels over the internet. A good day!

Some places I ate at

A list of places I went to when home:

Zippy's (corned beef hash/eggs/rice/gravy all over, saimin, beanless chili, lamb curry, hamburger steak, teri beef)*
Royal Kitchen, Chinatown (baked baos - lup cheong, Portuguese sausage & char siu - all ono!)*
Boston Pizza, Kaimukī (spinach/garlic/anchovies/mushrooms, no sauce just cheese - delicious, my favorite pizza!)*
Lam's Garden Chinese Restaurant, Kāhala (black bean clams, roast duck, minute chicken w/ choi sum on cake noodles)*
Makino Chaya, Aloha Tower (the lunch buffet - AWESOME!)*
Fukuya Delicatessen, Mō'ili'ili (okazu - still great!)*
Gulick Deli, King St. (okazu - not good, original place better!)
Verbano, Kaimukī (escargot, sautéed mushrooms, veal piccata - not as good as I remember)
Kona Brewing Company, Hawai'i Kai (Big Wave Shrimp Melt w/ Caesar Salad – Kaiwi Steamed Clams is off the menu)
Marukai Wholesale Market, Dillingham (always good!)*
Maile Chinese Restaurant, Mililani Shopping Center (Wor Wonton)* if in the area
Mililani Restaurant, Mililani Shopping Center (Wonton Mein, the Portuguese Sausage Fried Rice is really ono too!)
Chuck E. Cheese, Aina Haina (go for my grand daughter's sake but the pizza is really not bad!)*
Sunny Side Restaurant, Wahiawa (Chocolate Cream Pie - Best ever in my opinion!)*
Char Hung Sut - SHUCKS, ON VACATION*

*Definitely will go when back again.

Places I missed but wanted to go:

Romy's Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp, Kahuku
Happy Day, Kaimukī
Maple Garden, Mō'ili'ili
New Eagle Café, Nimtz Hwy.
Rainbow Drive-In, Kapahulu

A Lunch from Marukai

Unagi-don


Misoyaki butterfish


Futomaki roll

One day when out, stopped to buy lunch at Marukai Wholesale Market where there's a concession of delicious stuff prepared by Tokyo Bento. To me one of the better places in Honolulu to get ono food.

Morning after Typhoon Nari

Typhoon Nari has passed. But there's another one forming to the east and headed this way! Maybe a week away!

Going through a typhoon again!

Smaller typhoon - Nari, not like the last one - Man-yi. Winds this time of 115 knots, gusts to 140 knots at the eye, but passing some 30 miles south of Okinawa. So less intense here a third of the way up Okinawa at Chatan.

Constant activity at Kadena AB this morning before lunch, when they were flying out all the aircraft to Guam. We had our own stuff to do to typhoonize our stuff.

Still exciting, with lots and lots of rain pouring down right now, and haven't lost power. Ate a quick early dinner of grilled ham/cheese sandwiches before the electricity might have failed.

But didn't have internet access all evening until now.

Junk that it's happening on the weekend though.

Bento Pail

A bento pail I have back in Hawai'i. It's at least 50 years old. Surprising thing it was made in the U.S. Must be what workers on the mainland also used. Finally remembered to take pictures of it.

I remember when I was real young my mother used to take my father dinner when he worked late at his store. Rice in the top and whatever we had earlier for dinner in the bottom. He would eat and then come home with us. In those days it was only one car per family!

Nobody wanted it so I took it!

Back in Okinawa!

Signed up for a flight this morning at 8 AM, Sept. 11, Hawaii Time, got selected, and left at Noon Hawaii Time. A KC-135 tanker. Arrived back here 9 hours later, 5 PM, Sept. 12, Okinawa Time. Lost a day traveling this direction.

Not too many pictures but I'll post one this time. Could only take a couple pictures before my camera gave out again. But it's a weekend lunch visit to Makino Chaya at the Aloha Tower Marketplace. $16.99 on weekends and holidays, $13.99 weekdays. Definitely worth it!

My first plate of my favorites:



Cocktail sauce, melted butter, tempura sauce.
Stir-fried garlic shrimp, cocktail shrimp, shrimp tempura.
Steamed clams, tako legs tempura (just took the legs, hee hee!), King crab legs, crab siu mai.

Delicious! My son-in-law's first plate was just a dozen of the crab legs! And he went back for more for his second plate!

This is just scratching the surface of what's available there. There's the nigiri sushi bar, teppan yaki grill (made to order), hot dishes I didn't even notice, love the place!

Will post a couple more different things that came out (when my camera worked) later.

Home and enjoying it!

Was very, very lucky with getting a flight so quick. Signed up for Space A on Friday afternoon. Discovered on Saturday about noon that there was a very early flight the next day on Sunday, August 26, with a show time of 0440 in the morning. Didn't have much time for getting ready (washing clothes, packing), no time for buying gifts, much less much sleep. Was expecting to leave on Wednesday, August 29. Nice of my boss to let me go early.

Got to Kadena AB in time, checked in, was selected, and the aircraft (KC-135) left about 0630 Sunday morning (Japan Time). Arrived at Hickam AFB 10 hours later at 2130 Saturday night (Hawai'i Time). So got to have Sunday the 26th over again in Hawai'i.

Bad news is my camera is on the blink. Plus my travel laptop's hard drive failed (3 years old). Just got it back from a friend who replaced the hard drive. Took the opportunity to upgrade from 30GB to 80GB, and also add RAM, from 256KB to 1GB (cost $150 for parts and a lunch for my friend). So, have been setting it up again. Thank goodness for USB flash drives. So at least back on line.

Gotta think about a camera now to get you folks pictures.

But have been enjoying eating. Will start listing list later.