CoCo Ichibanya

Have you ever found a food that you knew you would never again be able to live without? The kind of food that you (or your wife) would crave whilst pregnant? A food so delicious, you ate it at least once a week, even after three years of eating it? Those of us "lucky" enough to be stationed on Okinawa, Japan have found that food. It comes in the form of curry.



You could bet your bottom dollar that if you passed by a CoCo's, there would be more Americans than Japanese there. Chicken cutlet with cheese? Level mild through 10? Side of Na an? Absolutely. Cody was a chicken cutlet boy, like most Americans. We only got the half order because it was the perfect amount of sticky rice. Plus it came with a drink. We also worked the level 10 curry like it was our job. I switched from the popular chicken to shrimp....then to vegetable. The had these spicy potato croquettes that were a great little appetizer. Mango and milk desserts...ice cream at the front...toys for the kiddos. This place was pure belly-burnin' heaven. I obviously needed to make it my life-long goal to recreate this dish.

Let's start with the cutlets.

I made homemade seitan last week to recreate a different dish (to be posted later. This is far more important.) Seitan is actually easy. It's cheaper than buying pre-made fake meat, plus it's more versatile. I had a mound left, so I thinly sliced it into culet-esque shapes, dredged them in flour, buttermilk, then panko bread crumbs. The gluten seitan itself takes a bit of time to prepare, so make sure you plan accordingly. Here's the seitan recipe:

Seitan
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour (You can easily find this in the bulk section of Whole Foods!)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (Again...Whole Foods)
1 cup very cold water
1/2 cup soy sauce (I used about 1/3
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a microplane grater
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Simmering Broth
10 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 cup soy sauce (I would use either the broth or the soy sauce. Not both.)

1. In a large bowl, mix together Vital Wheat Gluten Flour and nutritional yeast flakes.

2. In a seperate bowl, mix together reamining ingredients: water, soy sauce. tomato paste, garlic, lemon zest.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine with a firm spatula, knead dough for about 3 minutes until a spongy, elastic dough is formed. Let dough rest for a couple of minutes and prepare your broth, but don't start boiling it.

4. Now roll your dough into a log shape about 8 inches long and cut into 3 equal sized pieces. Place the pieces in the broth. It is important that the water/broth be very cold when you add the dough, it helps with the texture and ensures that it doesn't fall apart. Partially cover the pot (leave a little space for steam to escape) and bring to a boil.

5. When the water has come to a boil set the heat to low and gently simmer for an hour, turning the pieces every now and again.

6. Now you've got gluten. Let it cool in the simmering broth for at least a half an hour. It is best if it cools completely.

7. What you do next depends on the recipe you are using. If it calls for gluten use it as is. If you want to store some of it for later use put it in a sealable container covered in the simmering broth.

8. If your recipe calls for seitan cut your pieces up as desired.



There's more to the seitan recipe, but I'm going to get you started on the rice next. Good sticky rice is so important. I think I've finally mastered it. I made too much last night, but it's ok, because dessert was rice pudding. Here's the sticky rice recipe:

Sticky Rice
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

3 cups medium grain white rice
3 cups water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar

1. In a colander with a large bowl underneath, place rice under running water. Press and move rice until water gets cloudy. Remove the colander, dump the water bowl, and repeat until the water is no longer cloudy. This is extremely important! I wouldn't skip this step. The result isn't pretty.

2. In a rice steamer or large pot over medium heat, add the rinsed rice and the 3 cups of water. Steam until steamer is done. If using a pot, check often to make sure rice isn't burning or sticking. Rice is done when the water is gone.

3. In a small bowl, microwave the rice vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add to the rice, fluff, and there you have it! Sticky rice!



Now we have to prepare our cutlets.

Seitan Cutlets
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes

1 seitan log (as made above)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper, to taste
2-4 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Slice your seitan log to make 4 1/2-inch thick cutlets. In separate shallow bowls, set aside one with flour (and salt & pepper, if using), one with soy milk and lemon juice (stir and let curdle), and one with panko bread crumbs.



These bread crumbs are important for the whole experience. I found mine at a regular grocery store in the Asian isle. You shouldn't have a problem coming across them!

2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Take one cutlet and completely coat in flour. Get in the nooks & crannies! After floured, coat in soy milk mixture. Then get it covered with panko bread crumbs, pressing to make sure it's coated well. Carefully place in the pan. Repeat till all the cutlets are in the pan.

3. After a few minutes, check the cutlets to make sure they're a golden to dark golden brown color. Flip to brown on both sides.

While the cutlets are cooking...

This is another little nugget I found in the Asian isle of Smith's. If for some reason your grocery store doesn't carry it, check at Whole Foods or even better, a world market, if you have one.



Curry
Prep time: Hardly any!
Cook time: 5-10 minutes

1 box S&B Curry
1 2/3 cups water
Habanero powder, to taste
CoCo Curry powder, if you're lucky enough to still have some

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add 1 2/3 cups of water. Place your broken up curry pieces into the pot and stir well. Add spice to taste. If you're like us, you'll run out of habanero powder.

2. Assemble plate: the sticky rice goes in a half moon shape on one side of the plate. The other side of the plate is for the cutlet. The curry is put on top of the rice...then I mix it all together, close my eyes, and enjoy. Here's what my plate looked like:



Naturally, as I was making dinner, I had to send a mass text out letting all of our now-stateside friends what I was making. Just as naturally, I got a few "jealous!", "send me some", and "make sure you blog about it!". So here it is, my dear friends. CoCo's Curry.