Teriyaki

This is Bob's signature dish. He learned to love plate lunch when he was growing up in southern California and hung out with a Hawaiian friend; later he found a wonderful teriyaki sauce recipe. We make this often for guests. The teriyaki recipe makes a remarkable quantity of sauce, but it stores easiliy (doesn't require refrigeration) and then you can use it as a marinade any time you want. Or the recipe can also be reduced.

We use thinly sliced pork or beef - steak from the Mexican store is perfect--or chicken thighs (breasts tend to be too dry). Pork steaks work well and are very inexpensive. When we're cooking for a crowd, we usually prepare a couple of different kinds of meat for the sake of variety.

Teryaki Sauce

½ gallon soy sauce
2 cups water
10 cups sugar (now you know why it tastes so good)
2 Tbs. granulated garlic
1 Tbs. ground ginger

Combine ingredients in a large pot and stir together over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Use several cups to marinate meat (pork steaks, chicken thighs, beef, etc.) for 2 to 3 hours before grilling. After grilling the meat, chop it into bite-sized pieces. Serve with short grain or Japanese rice; pour additional sauce on rice topped with chopped meat. Makes one gallon.

Potstickers

I suppose potsticker is the Enligsh name for these little delicacies; they are known in Japan as gyoza, in China as jyaudz, and in Korea as mandoo. Whatever you choose to call them, they are fabulous, and easier to make than you might think.

For several years we were consumers of the Costco frozen variety. Then a few years ago our Japanese neighbor, Yumi, came over to teach us how to cook a variety of Japanese foods. We've been making these ever since.

Potstickers
1 lb. ground pork
2 T. soy sauce
1 ½ cups shredded Napa cabbage
½ t. hot chili oil, or to taste
2 green onions, diced ½ t. sesame oil
4 t. fresh ginger (2 t. dry)
4 T. vegetable oil for frying
1 egg lightly beaten
1 pkg. round potsticker wrappers

In a medium bowl, combine the ground pork, shredded cabbage, green onion, ginger, egg, soy sauce, chili oil and sesame oil.

Lay a wrapper in front of you. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Wet all the edges with water. Fold the sides up to form a semicircle, and then pinch the edges firmly to seal. We like to pleat the top edge after we've sealed it to make it prettier. Continue with the rest of the wrappers until the filling is gone.


To cook, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 12 - 15 of the potstickers and cook for 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the potstickers. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan and cook until the water is absorbed (5 to 7 minutes). Repeat with the remainder of the potstickers.

Potsticker Sauce

1/4 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. ginger
Mix all ingredients together. Serve over potstickers.