Salmon Ochazuke

It is not extremely cold here in East coast this year, but winter is still a winter which we all want to stay cozy inside and have a warm food to fill us up. I am a soup lover..... so this season is a perfect excuse to have all sorts of soup for a meal! My favorite & go-to winter dinner meal is "Salmon Ochazuke". It is a classic Japanese meal that people normally eat often at home in Japan. Ocha refers to green tea and zuke means "submerged". It may sound strange to think of salmon and green tea submerged in one meal. However, this simple, quick, interesting, heart-warming dish will instantly change your mind about this mysterious combination!

A fascinating part of this meal to me is that how subtle the taste is. Like other Japanese meals, it doesn't contain a strong flavor. But I want to warn you ahead that it is an addictive taste that you will crave for it a few days. Ingredients needed for this meal are quite simple.

Once you make this meal for yourself on one cold winter evening, your home will become like you are at a midnight diner in Japan.

Ingredients: Salmon fillet, rice, water to boil, green tea bag, straight tsuyu, seaweed nori, scallion, sesame seed, salt and pepper for salmon.

1. Cook a rice in rice cooker or pot in advance.

2. Boil a water and brew green tea bag in boiling water (green tea or matcha powder also works). Once tea is brewed, add 2-3 tablespoons of straight tsuyu in green tea.

3. Marinate a salmon fillet with olive oil, salt and pepper for 10 minutes.

4. Cook a salmon throughly on fry pan.

5. Chop up seaweed nori and scallion into small pieces.

6. Place a cooked rice in the middle of the bowl and add salmon on top of it (you can slice the salmon into 2 pieces if it is too big).

7. Pour green tea tsuyu broth into the bowl. Sprinkle seaweed nori, scallion, and sesame seed on top.

8. Enjoy!

Mushroom Alfredo Rigatoni

Until I lived in Italy, I've never thought that pasta would become a huge part of my life. The most fascinating part of pasta is there are various shapes and various sauces you can choose ; from spaghetti, penne to rigatoni....and from tomato, pesto to alfredo. There are so many options in pasta! It can be really simple meal, but classy.

When I am tired of tomato sauce based pasta, I usually go for pesto or alfredo. If I am craving for more creamy taste, I choose alfredo sauce. Alfredo sauce goes well with mushroom and ground pepper. I told you- indeed it is a simple pasta and you can pair it with dry red wine. In terms of what kinds of pasta to use.... You can choose either penne, rigatoni or fussili. Personally, to better appreciate this creamy texture and taste, I vote for rigatoni which is thicker and bigger than any other pastas (Most importantly, it is easy to grab few chunks with fork =)). How about making this as a dinner date for your lover? Quick, easy, simple, delicious, but still classy.... Consider pairing with bread basket (+olive oil and balsamic), salad, and wine. Buon Appetito!

Ingredients: Olive oil, salt, pepper, rigatoni pasta, alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese, mushroom (white or portabella).

1. Boil the water with salt in a pot. Put a rigatoni and add some drops of olive oil.

2. While waiting for rigatoni, chop up mushrooms into thin slices.

3. Drain the water from the pot.

4. Add alfredo sauce and sliced mushrooms on top of rigatoni (directly into the pot).

5. When sauce gets smeared into rigatoni, put some parmesan cheese and a bit of salt.

6. Transfer your pasta onto dish and sprinkle some pepper.

Cold Soba Noodle

While growing up in Korea, my mom always takes me to Soba place during hot summer time. Cold Soba Noodle is originally from Japan, but it has become really popular dish in Korea for summer to cool down the heat. In Korea, we usually eat this noodle with some side dishes such as Kimbap, Mandu (kyoza), or Yubu (tofu) roll. There are 2 different ways of eating this noodle depending on your preference; dip the noodle from separated bowl or all-in-one noodle bowl. You can also decide how much strong flavor you want for the noodle by mixing water into Tsuyu base.

Favorite thing about this dish is that it is really simple and quick meal to prepare without much hassle. Also, since it is a cold dish with an ice inside, this is a perfect dish for hot summer days. Just try it, you will see how addictive this taste is!

Ingredients: Buckwheat noodle, Straight Tsuyu, Daikon radish, cucumber, sesame paper, scallion, water, ice.

1. Chop cucumber, scallion, and sesame paper into thin strips.

2. Blend Daikon radish.

3. Boil buckwheat noodle for 6 mins and then wash it with cold water.

4. Make tsuyu base- Mix 1 or 1 1/2 cup of straight tsuyu with 1/2 cup of water (you can put more straight tsuyu and less water if you want really strong flavor with noodle), then add some ice and scallion inside.

5. Ready to eat! - Put daikon radish as much as you want in tsuyu. You can either put noodles and all other ingredients in tsuyu or dip noodles and cucumber from separate bowl.