Teriyaki for the Colder Months

Teriyaki sauce is an excellent marianade, and gives flavor to a lot of things, while clearing the palette, which is grand for the winter months, when we face cold, damp, snowy weather. Marianating vegetables and meats in teriyaki sauce gives a fresh flavor to the meal, and allows everyone to flavor the rest of the dish to taste.

The rich, bold flavors of the harvest add to the flavor of the savory teriyaki sauce. The autumn months bring chill, and a need for added spice and salt to clean the pallette.

Batter-fried Shrimp Teriyaki

frozen shrimp
teriyaki sauce

Marianate the above two ingredients in a small, deep bowl for at least eight hours, preferably no more than 3 days, in the refrigerator.

1/2 cup pancake mix
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tablespoon oil
egg

Blend the above ingredients with a fork. The batter is thick so that you have the option of using less oil

1/4 cup oil (corn, safflower, or olive), plus 1 tablespoon sesame oil, or 1/4 cup sesame oil
saucepan

Heat oil at medium low for 5 minutes, add 2-3 drops of water to check the heat.
Fry battered shrimp until golden brown (3-5 minutes), turn over, fry on other side.

Chinese umbrellas, toothpicks or skewers make excellent ways of serving this food, along with fruit leather, beef jerky or cocktail napkins. The batter-fried shrimp also serves well on a bed of rice with bamboo shoots, mung beans, and water chestnuts, which should not be in the teriyaki.

I like having a flat sheet of misubi nori (seaweed wrap) on hand to dry off the shrimp. Once in a while, something goes wrong, as in, the chef is hungry, or the seaweed wrap is too dry to use otherwise, or someone does not want their shrimp batter-fried.

Adding a few drops of oil to the seaweed wrap allows a person to wrap the shrimp in the seaweed roll without the bamboo mat. Leave each end with about 1/2 inch of blank space on each side for the shrimp, and roll carefully. Slice the seaweed with a knife, and tie each end of the wrap with a mung bean sprout, or slice of fruit leather.

Teriyaki Tuna Sandwiches

Filling

Open can of tuna three hours prior to preparation of the sandwiches, and drain.
Dilute 1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce with 1 tablespoon of cold or lukewarm coffee, add to tuna fish in bowl or can.
Place covered can or bowl of marianating tuna fish into refrigerator.

1/4 cup chopped green onions, scallions or chives (throw in food processor to mince)
1 8 ounce can of marianated tuna fish
1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts (throw in food processor to mince)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Mix ingredients together in a bowl with a fork.

Bread

1/4 cup margarine or olive oil spread
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
Mix above two ingredients, in a shallow bowl.

Toast eight bread slices, butter with teriyaki mixture, using a knife or a butter brush. Cut bread, two slices at a time into four pieces. Fill with tuna fish mixture, add toothpicks, or plastic appetizer holders to sandwiches to serve.

Pumpkin terikyaki

Fall is a great time for pumpkins, and the natural birght orange color of pumpkin flesh makes for excellent teriyaki. Take 2 cups of pumpkin, and cut into 1" square cubes, to be marianated in the teriyaki sauce for 3 days to 2 weeks in advance. Use 8 ounces (1 cup) of teriyaki sauce, and 8 ounces (1 cup) of Lapsang Soochong tea (chinese restaurant tea). These are just right for placing on skewers, to serve tiki or hawaiian style, with pineapples and meat. (Preparing squash is similar to preparing pumpkin, except that mixing the teriyaki with green tea looks better given the yellowish color of the squash flesh.)

Mushroom Teriyaki

Rinse the mushrooms carefully under slowly running cool water. Remove any defective or unusual-looking mushrooms. If any mushrooms are larger than 1" square, cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the mushrooms into a deep coverable container, leaving 2" at the top. Cover the mushrooms with cool water, add small amount of teriyaki sauce. Allow to soak for 3 - 6 hours. Pour out water, add straight teriyaki sauce, leave to marianate overnite.

Things not to marianate in teriyaki sauce for the teriyaki skewers include, pineapple, fresh shrimp, water chestnuts, orange slices, lychees.

Teriyaki meat strips

Steak chopped into cubes should be marianated in full strength teriyaki sauce, or a blend of teriyaki sauce and soy sauce overnight.

Teriyaki roast beef

Separate freshly sliced deli-style roast beef into slices, place back on deli paper shake on 1 teaspoon of teriyaki sauce onto each slice, fold deli paper, leave in original wrapper, on dish, overnight, in refrigerator.

This may be wrapped around cooked vegetables, cooked shrimp, or turned into a redneck roll with rice.

Redneck Roll

1 strip teriyaki steak
1 strip teriyaki chicken
rice

Compress ingredients, and wrap with slice of roast beef.

Fresh harvest produce
Blending and preserving
Clearing the senses.

Teriyaki Peanut Sauce

I make this stuff all the time, and exactly how to make this depends on the equipment being used. What I usually do to make the peanut teriyaki sauce, is start out with a dilute cup of green tea, and add to a small saucepan, cooking at low heat. Then, add about 1/4 cup of peanut butter, squeeze in a lemon slice, reserve the rind, then shake in teriyaki sauce, at about a teaspoonful per shake, to the mix while stirring.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup green tea

Add to saucepan, stir in 1/4 cup of peanut butter, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 4 teaspoons teriyaki sauce.

A lot of people think of almonds for winter, especially in Chinese cooking. Given that almonds are exported to China from places on the Pacific Coast such as Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, a voyage that took over a month to accomplish, prior to about fifty years ago, this makes sense.

Teriyaki Almond Sauce

This is a richer delicacy, a way of using a small amount of your mandarin orange, canned pineapples or lychee sauce, and a good winter flavoring.

1/2 cup juice from canned mandarin oranges, canned pineapples, or canned lychees.
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup almond butter
1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Mix above ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat.

Winter chills, damp clogs
Unblocking the throat and nose
Clearing the palette