WTF

What The Furikake?

My friend Jean recounted a wonderful dinner party she had with her family and salmon furikake.   It sounded like they had such a good time, and I know Jean to be a down-to-earth eater whose father supplied Alice Waters with mulberries.  What better foodie recommendation could I have to try this Japanese seasoning? 

But, “What in the world is fuikake?”, you ask--as did I.  Furikake is a Japanese rice seasoning.  The usual predominant ingredient is bonito (tuna) flakes, but it also has seaweed and sesame (and some sugar).  Different variations exist.

I went on a shopping bonanza in “town” (Spokane) at one of the 3 Asian markets over Christmas and was ecstatic to see Furikake in the dry goods sections.   I must have been jumping up and down in delight, as Mr. Artifact and Number One Son rounded the aisle wondering if I needed assistance.  I bought Noritamago Furikaki (sesame, wheat, dried yolk powder, sugar, salt, shave bonito, and seaweed) and Katsuo Fumi Furikaki (shaved bonito, sesame seed, sugar, salt, soy sauce, seaweed).

Here is what I have done with them so far:

Katsuo:  sprinkled over grilled fish and served with a pho broth (with noodles, green onions, green chiles,  sautéed garlic, and shredded Daikon and carrot)

Noritamgo: sprinkled on homemade mayonnaise that topped some salmon baked in black bean curd sauce and served with rice

Both were pretty yummy.  I think they would also be great sprinkled on rice—as is their advertised purpose.

This was a tasty new addition to my pantry.

Here’s a cool recipe for Furitaki Chex Mix   that I am really excited to try. What do you think?

Broth Pageant #1

This weekend I made another batch of broth, something I do every 2-3 weeks.  I was out of leftover chicken/turkey carcasses and only had a ham bone from a relic of a spiral sliced ham we had around Christmas. So, I was faced with buying some bones.  My local market regularly has these.  Imagine my surprise to find that they are no longer cheap or free!  After paying $1.90/lb for 4 lbs of bones (most of which appeared to be upper femurs and pelvises from young cows) I trundled home along with the rest of my groceries.

To get the best flavor, you need to roast the bones.  I wacked mine with some olive oil and salt and stuck them in the oven at 350 for about an hour.  They did smell delicious and rendered off a nice bit of fat (that I gave to the chickens). 

Then, they and my old ham bone went into the stock pot with the usual suspects:  onion, garlic (fresh and some leftover roasted garlic), celery, carrots, fennel, star anise, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, tarragon, rosemary, bay leaves, a quarter of a lemon, sea salt and pepper corns.  After 4 hours simmering, it was ready to be strained and filtered. Then I gave it another hour to reduce.  It was a pretty brown, but I wanted it darker and sweeter, so I added a tablespoon of Kitchen Bouquet (shhh. . . don’t tell anyone!) and a tablespoon of sugar.  Owing to the all the marrow, the broth was/is really rich.

It yielded 20 cups of shimmery and gelatinous, mahogany broth.  But I forgot to take a picture!

But, have no fear; I have pictures of many other broth adventures.  You know, some people take pictures of sunsets or cats, but I take pictures of broth . . . well, at least some of the time. 

So, here is my first installment of the Broth Pageant!

p.s.  I gave the leftover meat/cartilage bits, carrots, celery and garlic to the dogs.  No wonder they hang around the kitchen! (Sorry, no cooked bones or onions for dogs!—a different post.)



All the goodies at the start of something great!





Looks like lots of carrots in this beef broth.



Love the herbs, star anise, cinnamon and garlic!  Very picturesque.



Yeah, that's a payday!