居酒屋料理 Izakaya Cuisine

This evening I prepared some food based on recipes from an Izakaya (Japanese Pub) Cookbook.

First I prepared YasaiMiso,Vegetable Miso, 野菜味噌。From what I can see in this book, YasaiMiso is used in various ways. One way is as a coating for Grilled Rice Balls, YakiOnigiri, 焼きおにぎり。Another use is as a condiment for Fried Whole Garlic, AgeNinniku, 揚げにんいく。

野菜味噌の写真
photo of Vegetable Miso











I only prepared the Miso tonight. I will use it for Onigiri or for Fried Garlic, another time. Time will help the flavor develop.


This evening I also prepared Ponzu Sauce, ポン酢。
I will use the sauce after it matures. Two to Three days from now.
There is a recipe for Sliced Duck Breast with Ponzu Sauce, KamoToNegiNoOroshiPonzu, 鴨とネギのおろしポン酢、 which I will cook a few days from now, so I needed to prepare the sauce before hand.
Since I was in the mood to try duck tonight anyway, I defrosted one of the free range organic duck breasts from my freezer, cooked and sliced it for an small dish with a Dijon Mustard and chinese Chili Sauce for dipping. I did not like the chili sauce much, but the duck was nice with the mustard.

Here's a Photo:
A pretty simple meal, anyone Tom could make this. My gratitude for the duck which once lived before becoming sustenance for my body, my education and living. I am sometimes at odds with my career choice, for a chef who has never prepared a simple dish of roast or pan fried duck, can hardly gain much respect from his peers. If I could have it my way, I would not prepare food using any land animals, I would make an exception for fish, although there is another issue in itself. I do make an effort to purchase meat from companies that have respectful raising techniques, preferably organic, raised on an open farm, not in cages, and fed their natural food. And the fish I buy, I only buy wild caught preferably from Australian waters. Fish are also being exploited and diminishing at a concerning rate.
It's beyond my ability at the moment to know how these animals are fed, although some information is given as far as wether the animals have been organically treated and raised, and wether has lived on a free range or in cage.
If anyone reading this knows how to obtain more detailed information about the companies raising animals for consumption in Australia I would appreciate some help.