Shoyu Chicken

I cooked shoyu (soy sauce) chicken last night for dinner, and it was delicious. Shoyu chicken is a Hawai'ian/Japanese dish, and I first learned how to make it from my college roommate Jay, who hails from Hawai'i. Here's his recipe (with my added variations):

6 chicken thighs
1 cup soy sauce (Kikkoman recommended)
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup aji mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
Chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds for garnish

In a medium sized saucepan, sear the chicken thighs (without oil) with skin side down for five minutes on each side. Add the minced garlic and ginger and sautee for two minutes. Deglaze with the aji mirin, and reduce the liquid to half. Add the water, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add more sugar to taste.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and serve with hot steamed white or brown (for whole grain) rice and sweet corn. Enjoy!

Baja Fish Tacos

Tonight for dinner Lediya and I prepared some Baja Fish Tacos, courtesy of a recipe by Rachel Ray. It was absolutely delicious.

Instead of boneless cod, we used mahi-mahi that we purchased from Costco.

Also, instead of corn tortillas, we used whole-wheat tortillas to make the meal even healthier.

Get the recipe here.

Chicken Katsu & Miso Soup

Tonight Lediya and I decided to prepare a Japanese dinner of chicken katsu (breaded chicken breast) and miso soup (soybean paste soup).


To prepare the chicken katsu:

Pound 4 (1/2 inch thick) chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper. Coat with 2 tbsp. flour, then dip into 1 beaten egg and finally coat thoroughly with 1/2 cup panko (Japanese style bread crumbs). Deep fry in 1-inch vegetable oil, heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Serve with katsu sauce (Kikkoman brand recommended).

To prepare the miso soup with enoki mushroom:

Boil 2 cups of water, add 2 teaspoons of Hondashi (Japanese fish broth granules), and 2 teaspoons of soybean paste. Bring back to a boil, add desired amount of tofu and enoki mushrooms. Serve hot.

Battlestar Galactica

Our favorite TV show of the moment is the SciFi Channel's re-imagination of Battlestar Galactica. Thanks to our buddy Sam who got us hooked by bringing over the Mini-Series/Season 1 DVD set to Park City. Big thanks to Wilson as well who lent us his copy of Season 2.

It's a great series with creative writing, deep characters, and a multi-layered storyline. While the actors are mostly unknown (except for Mary McDonnell who plays Laura Rosslyn and Edward James Olmos who plays Commander Adama), the acting is thoughtful and very believable. A special kudos to James Callis, who plays Dr. Gaius Baltar. So funny!

Check out BSG on the SciFi Channel every Friday at 10/9 Central.

More information on the show can be found here.

Park City

Lediya and I spent last holiday weekend on the slopes of Park City with 8 other friends. Usually around this time we make our annual snowboarding trip to Mammoth but this year we decided to change things up a bit by going to Utah. It's a great all-around resort: within 30 miles of Salt Lake City airport, the mountain is huge, long but not too difficult runs, powdery snow, slopeside accomodations, and reasonable prices. All in all a great weekend.

Check out more photos here.

Snowboard Tune-Up and Hot Wax

Since we will be going to Park City next weekend, I thought I'd give the snowboards a minor tune-up and hot wax to get ready for the trip. I have a Burton Custom 160.5 while Lediya has the Burton Troop 154.

This year I decided to give the boards a minor tune-up because the side and base edges were getting dull and rusty. I also wanted to deburr the front and rear edges just to clean them up a bit. I do it all myself because a minor tune-up can easily cost $50 at REI while a machine hot wax can set you back at least $20.










The materials that I used were: an FK side/base edge pocket tuner ($20), a deburrer ($10), a Toko plexiglas scraper ($5), Scotch-brite ($2), One Ball Jay wax, and an old clothes iron. Here is somewhat of a step-by-step guide to a minor tune-up and hot wax:

EDGE MAINTENANCE:

1. Clean the snowboard with a soft cloth and a neutral cleaner (water or 409) to remove loose dirt and grime.

2. Use the Scotch-brite to also remove loose dirt from the base.










3. To sharpen the side edges, use the tune-up tool and choose how much bevel you want on your edges. I chose a 1 degree side edge bevel and a 1 degree base edge bevel. Note: Be sure to push or pull the file only in the direction of the file.










4. Use the deburrer around the front and rear edges to remove rust spots and to manually sharpen the edges.














HOT WAX:

1. Use the middle setting on the iron, then invert it so that the pointed end is pointing towards the board base.

2. Take the wax and place it on the hot iron. Distribute the hot wax uniformly around the base, paying special attention to the edges and the area under the bindings.

3. Let wax cool and re-harden for 10 minutes.










4. Place the iron bottom down on the base to re-melt the wax. Move the iron in the direction of the snowboard (leading edge to rear edge). Make sure all the wax melts to ensure consistent distribution on the base surface. Let cool for another 10 minutes.










5. Use the scraper, starting at the leading end of the snowboard, to remove excess wax. A thin layer of wax should be left.










6. Finally, use the Scotch brite to buff the wax starting at the leading end and finishing at the rear end.

7. Enjoy the ride on a newly tuned and waxed snowboard!