Again, strange happenings on leftover day. I had some black pasta from our local Costco (See? Even in Japan we have certain amenities!).  I also had some leftover pseudo-pho, worthy of a post itself. Pho is a standard Vietnamese noodle dish. My wife and I ate it during out visit, I got a local cookbook on the way out of Saigon, and we started eating faux pho right in Japan. I would eat some roasr chicken, boil the remainder to make stock, and then add a variety of ingredients, usually centering around mint, fresh coriander (celantro) and, of course, nam plah (Thai fish sauce). My wife took the leftover soup, and added black and white pasta, chili peppers, and more fresh coriander. Beyond the taste, the appearance was spectacular.

Posted in Chicken, Japanese Fusion Cooking, Soups and Stews, Spicy 1 Comment »

What happens in an East/West (ne’er shall the twain meet) house when leftover day comes along? The twain meets, and Gyouza Bologna Pizza is the result.

Gyouza refers to the Japanese meat dumplings also known as potstickers. These are made by what look like mini flour tortillas, which, since we can’t eat nearly enough gyouza to use up all the tortillas, were used as a pizza crust. The usual pizza stuff went on top, along with some leftover bologna. My kids love bologna sandwiches, but not my wife.

On top is some home grown celantro (coriander). That’s something we need to use before the first big storm comes along and wipes those delicate herbs out.

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