Amagi Brilliant Park - Volume 3 - Chapter SS

Bonus Food Glossary and Recipes! 
This volume of Amagi Brilliant Park concludes with a trip to Yokohama, followed by a meal out in Chinatown. Yokohama Chinatown is a tourist attraction for locals and foreign visitors alike, a place packed to the brim with delicious foods that will satisfy your desire for spice in a country whose cuisine tends toward the mild. The area traces its roots to the mid-19th century, when Japan first opened its borders for trade. Yokohama was one of the first open ports, and China swiftly came calling, establishing a nexus of Chinese culture not far from Tokyo that continues to this day. 
In addition to two Sichuan Chinese recipes mentioned at the end of this volume, we’re also sharing a recipe for nikujaga (lit. meat and potatoes), another late 19th century import that has since become a staple food for Japanese families. While it could be thought of as a simple meat and potato stew, it differs from Western preparations in its use of the classic Japanese dashi base (the same dashi-soy-mirin-sugar combination usually seen in udon and soba soups) that is significantly reduced before serving. 
Moffle tries to kill Tiramii with an onion-packed nikujaga in this volume as well as shamo chicken tataki with new onions. If you’re wondering what “new onions” are, the term refers to onions that are shipped out immediately after they’re harvested in the spring, rather than undergoing the preservation process that makes onions such a great pantry veggie. Fresh, uncured onions are sweet and tender and delicious both raw or in soups. 
As for the chicken tataki itself? Well, seeing as it amounts to eating raw chicken, we’re not going to offer a recipe for that. We’d rather not do to our readers what Moffle was trying to do to Tiramii with the onions, after all. 
Do try these great recipes below, though, for a taste of fusion cuisine at its best. 
Twice Cooked Pork 
Ingredients: 
2 lbs pork belly (skin on, and in 1 piece) 
12 scallions (ends trimmed and cut into 2" segments) 
6 slices of fresh ginger, 1/4" thick 
1 TBSP salt 
1 TBSP finely chopped ginger 
2 TBSP finely chopped garlic 
3 TBSP cooking oil 
1 to 1 1/2 TBSP sichuan chili bean paste (sometimes labeled doubanjiang or tobanjan) 
1 TBSP shaoxing wine 
1 TBSP soy sauce 
2 TBSP sugar 
Instructions: 
Place the pork belly, 6 scallions, ginger slices, and salt into a large pot. Add water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 20 minutes. 
Remove pork from the liquid, wrap in tin foil, and refrigerate for 3 hours. Once pork is chilled, cut into thin rectangles, about 1/4" thick each. 
In a separate bowl, combine chili bean paste, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside. 
Heat oil in wok or skillet. When very hot, add pork and stir fry for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add finely chopped garlic, ginger, and scallions, then stir fry for 2 minutes. Add contents of separate bowl, stirring to coat, and stir fry for another minute. 
Serve hot. 
Nikujaga (Japanese meat and potatoes) 
Ingredients: 
1 TBSP cooking oil 
6 ounces thinly sliced beef (cut into 2" lengths) 
1 white or yellow onion (cut into thick wedges) 
2 to 3 carrots (cut into bite size pieces) 
6 small potatoes (peeled and quartered) 

4 shiitake mushrooms (stems removed and quartered) 
10 green beans (boiled and cut in half) 
2 TBSP sugar 
2 cups dashi 
2 TBSP mirin 
4 TBSP soy sauce 
Instructions: 
Warm the oil in a thick-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes, or until translucent. 
Add the meat and cook until it changes color. 
Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and green beans. 
Add the dashi, turn heat to high, and bring to a boil. 
Reduce heat to medium, skimming any impurities that rise to the surface. 
Add sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. 
Cover pot, and simmer until the vegetables are softened, about 15 to 20 minutes. 
Serve warm. 
Sichuan Chili Shrimp Stir Fry 
Ingredients: 
1 lb raw shrimp (peeled and deveined) 
2 TBSP finely chopped ginger 
2 TBSP finely chopped garlic 
2 TBSP scallions (diced) 
2 TBSP cooking oil 
1 TBSP soy sauce 
1 TBSP corn starch 
1 TBSP cooking oil 
4 TBSP chili garlic sauce 
1 TBSP sugar 
Instructions: 
In a mixing bowl, combine shrimp, soy sauce, and corn starch, stirring until the shrimp is evenly coated. Marinate for 10 minutes. 
Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add garlic and ginger, stirring a few times until fragrant. 
Add shrimp to wok, working quickly to spread them across the bottom of the pan. Let cook without stirring for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir, being sure to flip the shrimp. Continue cooking for 1 minute. 
Add chili garlic sauce and sugar. Stir to coat shrimp evenly. Cook for an additional minute, or until shrimp begin to curl. 
Serve hot.