Bento Cook (warning, not BBQ)

[Big George's BBQ]

That really looks Good Bob Thanks It is always fun to look at your cooking

 

[John Bowen]

If you could I would like to know the details on how you made the cucumber and sprouts. I really like them and yours looks really good.

 

[landarc]

Cucumber Tsukemono:
2 Japanese Cucumbers (or English Hot House, or Straight Eights)(or 6 pickling cucumbers) get some cucumbers!

Slice thin, I use a cheap mandolin set to make slices between 1/16" and 1/8" thick, I can do this by hand, but, why? Take the cucumbers and place in a colander, add 1/4 cup of kosher salt, and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and toss. Let drain for 15 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly. I then place in a salad spinner and spin them dry. (you will now have visually limp, but, slightly crunchy cucumber slices, and they will have gotten thinner).

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, or other mild vinegar
3 tablespoons sherry, sake, lager or some such light flavored alcohol
3 tablespoon light soy sauce
sugar to taste, it should be sweet and sour
1 to 2 tablespoons dashi (optional)
Whisk to combine all ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes, whisk again. The sugar needs to dissolve. OR, you can use rice syrup (my choice) or corn syrup (not Karo, has to be pure corn syrup, no vanilla), some folks use honey as well. Again, sweet and sour.

Combine dressing with cucumbers, taste for salt, adjust if needed (it should not be). Let sit for at least one hour. It is better overnight. Add shrimp one hour before serving. Some people add clear noodles (harusame), but, I prefer without.

Bean Sprouts Tsukemone:
Get really fresh bean sprouts, and I prefer the larger ones for this. They should be nice fat, white, dense and crisp (that sounds like a BBQ cook). Prepare an ice bathg to dump the beans into, also boil a large pot of water. You want to par boil for around 3 to 5 minutes, until the bean sprouts are just soft and no longer smell 'beany'. Once they no longer smell beany, and just get soft, dump the sprouts into the ice bath. Then strain and let cool.

Dressing:
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar (or syrups, or honey)
2 tablespoons sake
salt to taste
one dash Tabasco (optional, I use a product called YuzuPao, which is really tasty)

Whisk together ingredients and dress bean sprouts. Let sit in fridge for at least one hour, preferably overnight. I will sometimes top this with ground sesame seeds.

 

[deguerre]

You just forced me to subscribe to this thread so I can find the recipes again.