Don Don Donki has a wide selection of ingredients that you can use to make oishii homecooked meals. The ones that get the most attention are their seafood, vegetables and meats. However, there is one under-the-radar item that you may have overlooked — the humble packet of inari age.
Inari Age are deep-fried tofu pockets simmered in sweet and savoury broth made with soya sauce, mirin and sugar. While Donki sells unseasoned deep-fried tofu that you can braise at home, they also carry the more convenient processed product, conveniently packaged in packs of 16 pieces.
One common way of using inari age is to make Inari Sushi, a staple in Japanese restaurants all around the world. It’s simple, tasty and happens to be one of my go-to choices when ordering sushi.
While rice is typically the only filling used, The Wife likes to prettify her homecooked version with various colourful toppings, including steamed purple sweet potato, edamame and egg salad. And of course, when making the egg salad, she uses Kewpie mayonnaise.
To appreciate the flavours of inari age, the best way is probably as-is, laid on top of hot soba with a sprinkle of finely-chopped spring onion. I’m a huge fan of soba and this simple dish is one of my favourite ways to enjoy buckwheat noodles.
But perhaps the most efficient way to use inari age is to cut them up in strips, and dump them into a wok of chopped green vegetables, together with any remaining liquid from the packet. Stir-fry them quickly and you have a simple and healthy dish. No need in to add any further seasoning.
You can also use the same technique for mushrooms of any kind. It works equally well, with the juicy strips of inari imparting an rich pop of umami to the fresh fungi.
Given its convenience and versatility, The Wife makes sure to always have a packet of Misuzu Inari in our pantry. So that she can use it to whip up a quick and tasty homecooked meal.
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Don Don Donki
Shopping for sukiyaki ingredients at Don Don Donki
Since Donki is a Japanese chain store grocer, we were confident of sourcing reasonably-priced ingredients to cook a decent beef sukiyaki at home.
Don Don Donki beef chips are really quite versatile
These offcuts, retailing at S$9.90 for a 300gm tray, tend to sell out pretty fast. That is, if they even make an appearance in the store chillers.
1 avocado, 2 oranges, 3 eggs and 4 karaages make a hearty dinner salad
Even though there’s deep-fried chicken involved, you’re still technically having a “salad”. Which magically transforms it into health food.
The frozen oden at Don Don Donki is actually quite nice
If you happen to come across the petite Kibun Oden Set in Donki’s freezers, you might want to give it a try. Because good things do come in small packages, and it’s especially true in this case.
Eight different Aomori apples from Don Don Donki
I know that fruits are good for me, but I don’t particularly enjoy eating them. There are some that I tolerate, and will grudgingly have. Apples are one of those.
The amazing cost performance of fresh fish from Don Don Donki
Next time you visit your favourite Don Don Donki outlet, why not buy some kampachi kama, buri fillet and salmon fin and whip up some simple Japanese dishes at home? Both your stomach, and your wallet, will thank you for it.
Auspicious mochi waffles on the first day of the Chinese New Year
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, and The Wife wanted to start off the year with an auspicious breakfast. So she made some mochi waffles and paired them with Jeju yuzu citron and Canadian maple syrup.
Nature moves at its own pace
The sprouts shot up at quite an amazing pace and after only seven days, they were ready to be harvested and eaten again. It’s unclear if the Totoro had any significant impact on their speed of growth.
Hotpot at home using ingredients from Don Don Donki
To officially put our new induction cooker into service, we headed down to Don Don Donki at Orchard Central and picked up some fresh meats and vegetables for a simple home hotpot.
Looks like I’m able to eat supermarket sushi again
On our previous grocery runs to Don Don Donki in Orchard Central, we walked past the large coolers that housed the many trays of takeaway sushi but didn’t buy any. This time, we choose one tray each and brought them home for dinner.
