Review #2 for Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook

The Shogun Dinner, from Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook. The recipe sounds like we are going for a shoot out at dawn. Japanese cowboy style. I have the cowboy hat; I should have worn it while making this dinner. A wok, the main cooking paraphernalia. Sizzling hot with a little butter in the bottom, bubbling and ready to bronze whatever gets tossed in. Basically, a shogun dinner is a meal made up of several parts. In this case, it is an appetizer with a sauce and a stir fry dinner with a sauce. The best way to tackle this dinner would be to make the sauces up ahead of time and refrigerate and have all the ingredients prepped before starting. The appetizer and dinner cooks really fast and so there is plenty of time to sit and enjoy the shrimp and sauce before moving on to making the dinner. I actually had a lot of fun making this. The drawback to this dinner is that the sauces were to strong in flavor for me and I do not see myself making them again. Also, the amount of sauce that is called for to be made was unreasonably large compared to the amount of food that gets dipped into the sauces. I had over 2 cups left over. Because I didn't like the strength of the sauce, it was not saved after using with dinner. I would make the stir fry again but create my own seasonings because the combination of meat and veggies was delicious!

The appetizer for the Shogun Dinner is sauteed Shrimp and a Ginger Sauce to dip the shrimp into.

I made sure to have all my ingredients ready to go so and after the wok was heated, the cooking only took about 4 to 5 minutes.
Just saute the shrimp in butter, soy sauce, lemon juice, and seasonings. Easy.

Ginger Sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/2 T. ginger root, fresh, coarsely cut

2 T. onion, coarsely cut

2 T. water

1 1/4-inch slice lemon

1 c. Japanese soy sauce

1/2 c. rice wine vinegar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

4 sprigs parsley

Directions:

Soak fresh ginger root in water for a few minutes to easily remove skin. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor with a steel blade and blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator up to a week.

Shrimp Appetizer

Ingredients:

1 pound of medium shrimp, raw and peeled

2 T. butter

salt and pepper to taste

Dash of soy sauce, I used about 1 T.

1/2 t. lemon juice. . .I used 1 t. which to me was perfect for the amount of shrimp used

Ginger sauce

Directions:

Clean, rinse, and dry shrimp. Heat butter in a wok or skillet and quickly saute shrimp until fully cooked. Season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and lemon juice.

Serve with ginger sauce as an appetizer.

The Shogun Dinner could have any combo of veggies put with the meat and it would be wonderful!

Main Dish

Ingredients:

4 T. butter

1 c. onions, sliced

1 c. zucchini, sliced

1 c. mushroom buttons

1/4 c. sesame seeds, roasted

1 pound chicken breast meat, boneless, cut in 1/2-inch cubes

1 pound strip sirloin steak, cut in 1/2-inch cubes (I left my strips longer and thin)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dash soy sauce, I used 1 T.

Mustard Sauce (Recipe Below)

Directions:

In a large wok or skillet, melt butter and quickly saute vegetables until tender. Season with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Add roasted sesame seeds and remove vegetables from wok. Set aside and keep warm.

Add cubed chicken to wok and quickly saute until tender. Season with same ingredients as vegetables. Remove and repeat with sirloin steak. When steak is cooked as desired, remove to a serving plate with vegetables and chicken arranged across plate.

Serve with mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

2 1/2 T. sesame seeds

1 T. onion, coarsely cut

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 T. dry mustard

1 ounce vegetable oil

2/3 c. water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread sesame seeds on a flat baking dish and bake until lightly toasted (about 10 minutes). Combine with remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed.