Isoide!

Isoide, I have just learned, is Japanese for "Hurry up!" (at least according to Linguanaut.com) I find myself saying this--Hurry up, not Isoide, an awful lot every morning.  Or any time I have to be elsewhere with the Kid.  The little one is easier to get moving since she still depends a lot on me, so how fast she gets ready is about as fast as I can get her ready.  But the boy is simply impossible.

To make matters worse, I can't even do anything to make him act faster.  Since he developed some anatomical parts which I am not to mention here for fear of being disowned as mum, I have been declared an alien who needs to present her passport to gain single, mind you, not multiple entries to his room.  The passport is just my screaming voice, actually.  But under normal circumstances, entry is non-negotiable.  I understand the need for privacy, really, I do.  I don't know what it is exactly that he does in there and frankly, so long as it's not drugs-- I don't really want to know.  BUT. PLEASE.  For the love of God and everything good and beautiful on this earth...ISOIDE!

Oh, he's going to Japan for lunch later.  Today's lunchbox contains: Beef Negimaki, Mixed Mushrooms Teppanyaki, some Tamagoyaki with spring onions, Japanese rice with a packet of nori.  :-) 

Tamagoyaki

I like to make my own and add stuff to it like I did in this recipe.  It's fairly easy to make.  Basically it's just rolling layers of egg back and forth on a rectangular shaped non-stick pan.  I made mine last night.  I like using Bounty Fresh Organic Selenium Enriched Eggs because they're as bright and yellow as sunshine and actually taste like eggs.  I learned to make this just by following the exact recipe from http://www.justhungry.com/tamagoyaki.  You can add stuff like cheese, ham, mushrooms and it will turn out like an omelet only Japanese which is what Tamagoyaki is. But, if you're too busy for this, there's no problem with buying the ready made ones.

Beef Negimaki

Thinly sliced beef (like sirloin or beef belly bacon cut)

1/4 Cup Mirin

1/4 Cup Japanese Soy

1    tablespoon Honey

Green and Red Bell Pepper Strips
Some Carrot Cut into long Strips

Marinate the meat in mirin, soy sauce and honey for at least an hour.  You can do this way ahead.  Like way ahead and just freeze it for future use.  After marinating, you can actually cook it as is but I like to make it a little fancier. So when I'm about to serve it, I roll the meat slices around my vegetable of choice.  Technically, it should be rolled around spring onions.  But I find that you can roll it around most any vegetable you like.  Carrots, mushrooms, cucumber, asparagus, zucchini.  Any vegetable you can cut lengthwise, actually. Then, I just toss them on the pan grill on medium heat until they're a little bit caramelized on the outside and the vegetables are still bright and pretty. And then it's good to go.

Mixed Mushroom Teppanyaki

Bunch of mushrooms (Shitake, Enoki, Shimeji, Oyster)

Onion Slices

2 cloves of Garlic

Some Japanese Soy

Butter

Wipe clean your mushrooms and heat some oil on your pan.  Throw in the garlic (don't burn it) and the onion slices.  Add your mushrooms, one kind at a time, being careful not to overcrowd them.  Season with some soy, salt, pepper and finish off with a tablespoon of butter. :-)