What I Eat In A Week: Mom’s Birthday Tempura Feast!
This week is my mom’s birthday, so we’re showing her some love with a tempura feast! I’m being more intentional aboutย finding the beauty in the day-to-day activities, and I’ve spent this week making sure I’m taking care of myself within a busy schedule. Join me and see what I ate this week as I prepare for a large Japanese-style tempura and sushi meal for my family, have sandwich picnics with my friends, and use up leftover fridge ingredients for a One-Pot Sukiyaki meal!
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Korean Spicy Octopus Stir Fry
Today I’m making Spicy Octopus Stir Fry (Nakji-bokkeum). If you’re a foodie and you love Korean drama, you need to watch Let’s Eat, because it’ll open your eyes to a whole new world of delicious recipes that will get you drooling every single episode.
I rewatched the scene where they ate Nakji-bokkeum recently, and it got me craving it so much! I actually found frozen octopus in my freezer last night so I can make it today. Here’s an easy recipe that you can make at home in less than 30 minutes. It’s super saucy, and easy to make.
I especially love the flavor of the bean sprouts covered in cheese. The rice cakes soaked up all the flavorful spicy sauce. The best part? After finishing all the octopus, you can also make the saucy leftovers into fried rice in the pan. It’s like having 2 meals in one! It’s easily my favorite part of the meal! The rice soaks up all the yummy goodness and then the bottom gets a little bit crispy!
Korean Spicy Octopus Stir fry Ingredients
- 800g of Baby Octopus (cleaned)
- ยฝ Onion (sliced)
- ยฝ Cabbage (sliced)
- 1/4 Carrot (sliced)
- 3 stalks of Green Onion (cut into 1.5-inch pieces)
- 4 tbsp of Korean Red Chili Paste
- 1.5 tbsp of Korean Red Chili Powder
- 1.5 tbsp of Sesame Oil
- 2 tbsp of Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp of Corn Syrup (or honey)
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper
- 1.5 tbsp of Garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp of Ginger (grated)
- 1 cup of Rice Cakes (optional)
- Sesame Seeds to garnish
Ham and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
Life gets busy and it can be easy to forget about our own needs sometimes, and the first step is eating a proper breakfast. Thisย ham and cheese breakfast sandwichย is a MUST HAVE for busy mornings. It hits the spot every time, even if Iโm in a rush. We had a bit of car situation last night so this morning, I wanted to make sure that I started the day right with this cheesy, satisfying breakfast sandwich.
Breakfast Sandwich Ingredients
- 2 English Muffins
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices of ham
- 2 slices of cheese
- Pepper to taste
Mom’s Birthday Tempura Feast
Today is my mom’s birthday, and we’re making some of her favorite dishes! After a bit of a chaotic night, I really wanted to cheer her up a bit. To start, we’re making a tempura feast for sure! One of my core memories growing up was going sushi with my mom. She would always order assorted tempera, and we’d take turns picking out which piece we wanted.
I’ve bought tons of vegetables for assorted vegetable tempura: perilla leaves, pumpkin, Korean peppers, eggplants, and more! To add some proteins and carbs, we also added tenzaru soba with tons of shrimp tempura and Karaage. Finally, we added a little fun flavors with salmon aburi sushi, giving us a full Japanese food feast! I also give you some tips on how to make perfect tempura EVERY TIME, so take a look!
I want to say a big thank you to my mom for being my rock and my best friend. You’re always down to recipe test with me and have fun in the kitchen. You’re the best mom and make feel so safe and loved my whole entire life. I literally wouldn’t be here without you and I love you! Happy birthday, Mom!
Veggie Tempura Ingredients
- Corn Starch
- Cake Flou
- Baking Powder
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 1 egg
- Ice cold soda water or beer
Tenzaru Soba Ingredients
- 2 servings of soba noodles
- 2ย cupsย Dashi Stock
- ยฝย cupย Soy Sauce
- ยฝย cupย Mirin
- 1/4 cup Sake
- Shrimp Tempura Recipe
- 1/2 โ 1 lb of shrimp, tail on
- 1ย cupย ice cold club soda or beer
- 1ย beaten egg
- 3/4ย cupย cake flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2ย cupย corn starch
- 2ย tspย baking powder
- 1/4ย tspย garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken Karaage Ingredients
- 5 piece boneless chicken thigh with the skin on cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cloves Garlic Grated
- 0.5 tbsp Ginger grated
- 2.5 tbsp Soy Sauce
- Black Pepper Freshly Grated
- 0.5 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 2 tbsp Sake
Karaage Batter
- 2 tbsp Corn Starch
- 1 Egg
- ยผ cup Japanese Potato Starch
Salmon Aburi Sushi Ingredients
- 340g of salmon sashimi (or sashimi-grade salmon filet, sliced)
- 1/4 cup Takoyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup Japanese Mayo
- 1 cup alfalfa sprouts (for garnish)
- 2 jalapenos, sliced
Sushi Rice
- 2 cups cooked sushi rice (about 1/2 cup uncooked rice before cooking)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- A pinch of salt
Spicy Bulgogi and Lemon Garlic Chard
After a quick trip to the farmer’s market, I whipped up an easy, healthy meal of Spicy Bulgogi with Lettuce Wrap. I got some really pretty chard that I stir fried with lemon juice and garlic, and made a Spicy Bulgogi with ground beef instead of my usual sliced beef. We ate our bulbogi with kimchi, bowls of rice, and layers of lettuce for wrapping. It’s a fun and refreshing bite in one!
Spicy Bulgolgi Ingredients
- 2 pieces of Steak of your choice sliced thinly (I used ground beef today)
- 1/2 Onion Sliced
- 5 Green Onion (chopped separately by the white and green)
- 6 cloves of Garlic (chopped)
- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 3 Tbsp of Mirin
- 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Korean Chilli Paste
- 2 Tbsp of Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbsp of Honey
- 1 Tsp of Black Pepper
- 1 whole Kiwi (grated)
Summer Sandwich Picnic with Friends
My friends and I decided to pack a picnic before our concert together. It’s such a fun Saturday night memory to have ingredients laid out in front of us, chatting while building our own sandwiches.
We packed tons of fruits, sodas, snacks, and sandwiches and headed over to the concert. It was TONS of fun! I’m thankful to be taking time to maintain adult friendships and just spending time with people I love and care about. It’s a reminder that no matter how busy life gets, having friends who understand and support you really makes everything better.
Easy One-Pot Sukiyaki
happy Sunday guys I just got back from yoga and that was actually so much fun I’ll definitely be doing ARA yoga again I especially liked it when we went upside down and really got into the deep stretches it was kind of scary but really really fun
anyways for lunch today the goal is to clear out the fridge I have a lot of ingredients from my mom’s birthday dinner on Friday like some mushrooms some cabbage that I kind of want to use up so I’m think thinking of making a easy one pot lunch inspired by one of my favorite Japanese dishes suyaki
Sukiyaki Ingredients
- 1ย tbspย butter
- 1-2ย stalksย green onionsย separate white and green parts
- 1ย packย hot pot sliced beefย or any thinly sliced fatty beef, around 250 g
- 1/2ย packย Medium-firm Tofu
- 1ย packย Frozen Udon
- 4-6ย Shiitake Mushrooms
- 1ย cupย Shimeji Mushrooms
- 1ย packย Enoki Mushrooms
- 1ย bundleย Chrysanthemum Greensย small bundle, Or any leafy greens
- 1ย raw egg
Sukiyaki Sauce Base
- 100ย mlย Soy Sauce
- 50ย mlย Mirin
- 50ย mlย sake
- 1ย tablespoonย sugar
- 1ย tspย dashi powder
