Cabbage Seafood Salad

I'm exhausted from my weekend.  Yes, from my weekend.  I spent Saturday morning at a volleyball game, and I was quite impressed with the Kohala Cowboys.  Country teams cannot be taken for granted.  They must dedicate lots of time to practicing and honing their skills.  No more volleyball until after spring break.  Spring break, what took you so long?

Just two more days to keep it together at work.  Yay!  I can't believe I made it this far (and I know there is still a long road ahead of me to finish the year).  Prom is coming up soon and graduation will be here in two months.  Ugh.  I feel so unprepared, although I'm more than ready to relax.  I even have my liquid refreshments on deck, and in case Kraken falls short, I brought in reinforcements-wine from a recent Costco trip. 

On the cab ride back to her dorm (bags not even at ambient temperature), D1 laid it on me about the Pure Aloha Festival in Las Vegas coming up in mid April.  No, wait.  I got my story wrong.  She didn't tell me about the festival; she asked me to book her air travel (book=pay for).  Her friend's family will be selling 808 logo items at the festival so she claims she is going there to work.  If she had a car, she could drive to Vegas, but I don't dare suggest it, especially since I know what her driving is like.  I don't think she has ever been to Vegas and likely has no idea how crazy it is to drive there. 

In a few days, D2 will be off on another adventure.  This time the adventure will take her across the continent.  Glad she will be with Uncle Edz (happy 5-0 to you!).  Once again, I'm amazed at all the travel opportunity kids have now.  Times certainly have changed.

With D2 gone this past week, it was only The Help and me.  I figured this was a good time to use up the imitation crab sticks I bought in the jumbo pack from Costco.  D2 said they did not taste like kanikama and wanted nothing to do with them. 

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Cabbage Seafood Salad

     3 tbsp butter, melted
     1/2 small onion, sliced thin
     1/4 c celery, sliced thin (optional)
     2-3 c shredded cabbage
     2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/2 c cornflake crumbs
     1 c imitation crab, shredded
     1 c mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 1 1/2 quart ceramic dish.  Pour 1 tbsp butter into a skillet.  Saute onion, celery and cabbage.  Add Worcestershire sauce and salt.  Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.  Combine remaining 2 tbsp butter with cornflake crumbs.  Set aside.  Add imitation crab and mayonnaise to sauteed vegetables.  Spread mixture in prepared dish.  Top with cornflake crumbs.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Baked Crab Sushi

It was nice to have a holiday last week.  And it will be nice to have a holiday later this week.  I'm grateful for holidays which occur soon after a long vacation.  It makes it easier to re-adjust to the work week.

By this time next week, I will be done with two proms (only one to go!) and a sushi feast at Takenoko Sushi.

I am sooo looking forward to going to Takenoko Sushi.  I've been there several times, and each time, the food has been absolutely delicious.  I had the omakase (chef's choice) several times, and while I got to eat stuff I wouldn't usually order, there were other items on the menu which sounded good but weren't included in the omakase offering.  On my most recent visit, I tried the salmon skin salad.  It was different from the version I'm used to (Hayama Japanese Restaurant), but it was really good too.  They also happened to have mirugai (geoduck clam) that day.  I'm not sure what I will have this time.

Meanwhile, I still need to get through the 2 proms in order to get my sushi reward.  I'm amazed I still have $ left to enjoy a sushi lunch.  Proms cost a lot.  Bids (for a couple) are easily over $100.  Then there are flowers to buy.  Most proms include a dinner, but I'm sure there is some feasting which occurs after the prom...late night snack at Kuhio Grille or Ken's. 

As a teaser for my upcoming Takenoko Sushi trip, I'm going to make baked crab sushi sometime this week.  Of course, I'll substitute shredded kamaboko (pink & white fishcake) for the imitation crab so D1 can eat it.  And since we are playing nicely with The Help, I will use a portion (less than half) of brown rice so he will feel better about having a few pieces.

Baked crab sushi, has become a very popular potluck dish recently.  Its easy to take to parties and can easily be doubled (use a 9 x 13" pan) for larger gatherings.  Using the small, pre-cut Korean nori (seaweed) makes it even easier to serve (no need to cut the nori).

Many variations of this recipe can be found, some of which only contain mayonnaise (no sour cream).  I find the sour cream helpful in mitigating the oiliness of straight mayonnaise.  The Ds aren't big fans of shiitake mushrooms (I'm not sure I am either), so I just use a little or leave it out entirely.  We all enjoy the surprising crunch of tobikko (flying fish roe). 

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Baked Crab Sushi

     2 c rice (rice cooker measure), cooked
     2 tbsp furikake
     1 dried shiitake mushroom, soaked, squeezed and chopped fine
     1 pkg (10-13 oz) imitation crab or kamaboko, shredded and/or chopped
     2 tbsp tobikko
     1/2 c mayonnaise
     1/2 c sour cream
     Korean seaweed pieces

Combine shiitake mushroom, imitation crab, tobikko, mayonnaise, and sour cream.  Set aside.  Firmly press cooked rice into a square (8 x 8" or 9 x 9") baking pan.  Sprinkle furikake all over surface of rice.  Spread crab mixture evenly over furikake.  Broil until top is lightly brown.  Serve small portions of rice and topping in Korean seaweed sheets.

A year ago (Monday, March 24, 2014), I congratulated my friend CT for making the jump over to the dark side of town.  I knew the students would love her and she would be amazed at the amount she saved on gasoline.  This year, I am congratulating her again.  In a few short months, she will be starting another chapter.  Welcome, and really, what took you so long!?

Imitation Namako

 Years ago, Mr. Dependable would drive his Pathfinder to Kapoho, and he and his friends would pick namako.  Namako is an edible variety of sea cucumber. He would come home with a bucket of these short, fat, worm-like creatures.  I would make sure Dad would get some because Dad is the absolute best at preparing them.  Dad's namako is sliced thin and pickled in a vinegar-lemon juice-sugar solution, which preserves the namako and prevents it from melting away.  When its time to serve, a small scoop of grated daikon radish is placed in a small dish, along with a generous squirt of shoyu.  Then the namako pieces, along with some of the acidic sauce, is added to the dish.  Yummmm.

But namako is difficult to obtain.  The Mr. Dependable hasn't gone for years (or if he goes, he is not giving me any).  I haven't tried preparing any of the dried namako from the Chinese store, although I did eat some that Uncle Hanok brought from Korea on his last trip here.  But Uncle Hanok cooked the reconstituted dried namako.  I like it raw.

The best approximation of raw namako is thin slices of konnyaku, a gelatinous-like substance often used in Japanese cooking.  By slicing the konnyaku thinly, and preparing the same condiments as in namako, its easy to pretend you are slurping on namako.  The one important thing to remember is that konnyaku, unlike namako, needs to be chewed well, as it will not readily dissolve or melt.  By slicing it thin, the choking hazard is greatly reduced.

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Imitation Namako

     2-3 blocks konnyaku

     1 c grated daikon

     2 tbsp lemon juice

     1/4 c sugar

     3/4 tsp salt

     1 tsp hondashi

     1 tsp shoyu

Rinse and cut konnyaku in half.  Cut each piece in half (butterfly) to make it thinner.  Cut in thin slices.  Salt konnyaku and massage.  Rinse and drain.  Combine with rest of ingredients.  Chill overnight.