Chicken Burgers in Tomato Sour Cream Sauce (Low Carb)

I've been hesitating to post this recipe for quite some time. It's not because it's bad. In fact, this is an extremely tasty dish which I make fairly often. It's nutritious, cheap, and low carb. You can also make it with ingredients that are easily purchased in Tokyo supermarkets. The reason I've hesitated is that it photographs terribly. It may look sloppy and strangely orange but it's really delicious.

Generally speaking, I don't care what food looks like but there's something about putting it out for public consumption which makes me wary. It's also possible that living in Japan, where the appearance of food is often more important than the taste, is starting to rub off on me. After years of sampling food which looked great but was a huge disappointment, you'd think I'd start shopping around for uglier-looking dishes.

While I make this recipe with chicken burger, it can be made with hamburger or turkey burger if you prefer. I've never tried it with beef but I imagine that beef would add a fair bit more oil to the sauce so I'd recommend using lean ground beef. Also, if you want to reduce the fat content, you can cut the sour cream quanitity in half and substitute one heaping tablespoon of plain yogurt. Be advised though that the yogurt adds much more of a sour flavor than the sour cream.

Chcken Burgers in Tomato Sour Cream Sauce

• 4 (raw) burgers of any size (I use 3.5-4 oz./100-120 grams) of any ground meat you favor (chicken, turkey, beef)
• 2 large tomatoes or 3 small ones (cut into small chunks)
• 1 small onion (finely-diced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 100 grams/3.5 ounces sour cream
• 1-2 tbsp. olive oil (as needed for frying)
• 4-1 oz./28 gram slices of cheese or 4 oz./115 grams of grated "mixed cheese" (optional)
• salt and coarsely-ground black pepper (to taste)
  

Heat a large skillet and then add the oil and allow it to heat a little over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook it for about 2 minutes until slightly aromatic (this will flavor the oil). Add the onions and tomatoes. Salt and pepper them to taste and stir. Even if you don't like pepper, try to add just a bit as it boosts the flavor. Cook uncovered until most of the moisture has cooked off and the vegetables have shrunken. Stir every 5 minutes or so to make sure they are not sticking or burning. This should take 20-30 minutes.

Push the vegetables to the sides of the skillet and place the burgers in the center. Cook the burgers, covered, until they are done, turning over at the half-way point. Be sure to keep the burgers covered to trap the moisture in the skillet. This is used for the sauce.

Place 1 oz/28 g. of cheese in the bottom of each of 4 dishes (if desired). Place the cooked burgers on top of the cheese. Add the sour cream to the vegetables and juices and stir until smooth and hot. If you substitute yogurt for some of the sour cream, stir it in last with the heat off or on very low so it doesn't curdle. Serve the sauce over the 4 burgers, dividing it evenly.

This works really well as a meal of leftovers as it re-heats wonderfully in the microwave. I store the extra in microwave-safe Rubbermaid sandwich boxes and pop them into the microwave for quick dinners.

By the way, "mixed cheese" is one of the only kinds of natural cheese (as opposed to processed cheese) that can be found in the average Japanese supermarket for less than the price of caviar. Most of the cheese in Japanese shops is processed cheese.

New Year's Day (2007) - Pt. 4 -The Liquor Shop

This particular post isn't as much about New Year's day happenings as it is about a local liquor shop which is pretty unusual in Japan. However, the pictures were taken on New Year's day and some of the activities are unique to that day so I'm closing out my reports with it.


This particular shop has several unique attributes. The first one is that they sell a great deal of imported beer from around the world. If you've been thirsting fo a particular brew and haven't seen it since you arrived in Tokyo, this place has a pretty good chance of selling it. Some of the stand-outs are Henry Weinhard's and Anchor Steam which are west coast brands. They also have Rolling Rock and Guiness. My husband, who is the only one in our household who drinks alchohol, said there are over 40 varieties including Mexican, German and Chinese beer varieties. It doesn't come cheap though as the prices tend to be about $3-$3.50 a bottle.

On New Year's day, they were standing out in front (as pictured above) giving free drinks of sake from wooden boxes (masu). The fellow doing the pouring offered my husband a drink but he declined since he's not much into wine of any sort.


These boxes are traditionally made of cypress wood and the serving fellow was setting them aside after each drink. I'm wondering who got the unhappy task of having to wash them all out after passersby had had their fill.


The second point that makes this shop unique is that they are extremely foreigner-friendly. In fact, if you look at the "help wanted" sign above, all of it is in English as well as Japanese. That means they'd hire you even if you were a gaijin so long as you had a driver's license. It is relatively unusual for shops which do nor require a foreign language as part of the work involved to be so open to foreigners. In fact, I've never seen a sign like this anywhere else in Tokyo.


The subject of signs leads me to the next unique aspect of this shop and that is that the English on the signs (click this one to read it more easily) is always correct. My husband tells me that he has seen foreigners working at the shop around the time of the tanabata festival celebration in our area. I'm not sure what the connection is but these people could be a poster business/family for a truly internationalized Japan. They present a culturally-integrated front more than any small business I've ever seen.


Finally, my favorite unique aspect of this place is that they have had a cat at the front desk off and on during all of the years we've been going by this place. The cat isn't always there, mind you, but his box is always there. I'm guessing he can't always hang out around the cash register because he's got important business to attend to.


This cat is rather unique-looking because he has a moustache-like coloration under his nose but he's much more than that if you look closely enough.


This is a focus on another angle. The picture hanging on the wall says "business manager" and he has his own business card taped to his box. These people have a great sense of humor, and they allow you to take pictures inside the shop without hesitation. They almost make me wish I was a drinker so I could patronize them more often.

New Year's Day (2007) - Pt. 3 -The Shrine Area

Among all the pictures my husband took on New Year's day, these are the ones I'm least qualified to speak about because they involve Japanese religious rituals with which I'm relatively unfamiliar. The truth is that the reason I'm unfamiliar with them is that the vast majority of my students don't understand them either. Those who visit shrines on New Year's eve or New Year's day go through the motions but know very little about the underlying meaning.

The extent to which I know about them is largely related to what I learned during my serious preoccupation with sumo. A lot of shinto purification rituals are a part of sumo so I can tie what the wrestlers did before entering the ring and how they dressed with some of the scenes at the shrine.


The picture above is an area which eventually leads into a shrine but isn't an entry area itself. This point represents where a back of a long line to actually reach the shrine ends.


This is a combinations of photos of sections of the line. If you click on it and look at the bigger view, you get a better idea of how it snaked around a block. The line was about 150-200 people deep around 3:30 pm. The first picture is by the crosswalk shown in the first picture.


The line eventually leads to this point of general entry into the area of celebration. You may notice that there are crossing guards at both ends of the line helping out.


This is the ultimate destination of those in the line. People step up to it, clap their hands, pray and throw money into the white box that they are standing in front of.


This second view shows that the box is very large and hollow. My students do tell me about this process as some of them do it. They say they generally pray for the usual things like good health, prosperity and well-being. It's not a particularly deep or religious experience and most of them do it as a custom more than out of a sincere feeling that it will affect the outcome of the coming year. I've never actually met a deeply spiritual Japanese person who isn't a member of a Christianity-based religion. That doesn't mean they aren't out there but I don't think there are many of them.


This is a little area where people can do a purification ritual . My husband said the line for this area was relatively short compared to the area where prayers were made and contributions tossed into the box.
This is a closer look at the water and the cups. My husband said he did not see what people actually did but this type of long-handled cup is familiar to me from watching sumo. Sumo wrestlers drink from such cups (and spit out the water) before entering the ring. They also toss salt into the ring. I don't know if people drink water in this area near the shrine or if they wash with it but, if it involves drinking, it may explain the short lines. They may not feel entirely comfortable with sharing the cups with strangers.


The little strips of paper attached to this frame are tied there by the visitors. People write their wishes for the coming year on them. I've seen these types of strips hung in a wide variety of areas including subway stations. There are little year of the boar placards hanging around the top.


This is a close-up of one of the placards. You can buy them for 500 yen (about $4.50) or so from vendors near the shrine. My husband bought me one as a souvenir and its hanging next to my computer desk now. Before he told me about buying one, I mentioned that I thought they were nice and I'd have purchased one had I been there. I guess he knows me pretty well. ;-)


We are uncertain about what this area is for but the sign mentions a specific date (November 22, 1990) and the royal family. The altar design reminds me of the small altars in Japanese homes where people pray to their ancestors but I doubt this is related to the internment of royalty. However, I could be wrong.


These are sacred arrows or "hamaya" which are good luck charms. They are supposed to ward off demons because of their ability to slay evil creatures. The price on these items in Japanese is 1,000 or 2,000 yen (about $9-$19). I'm not sure what the rakes are all about but the character says "hand".


This is a collection of tiny little bells shaped in the figures of the Chinese zodiac. Each is 500 yen or about $4.00. They are about an inch and a half long and an inch high. My husband bought me the tiger one as a souvenir. They're incredibly adorable and I'd have had to resist buying one of each had I been there. They're so rounded and stylized that it's a little hard to make out what each one is without looking up the animals represented in the zodiac. Click on the picture to see the large version and try and guess.


This is what becomes of last year's little souvenirs and good luck charms. It's not a pretty sight, is it? All the lovely items you buy become outdated and part of a large pile of trash.


The trash is put to "good use" though because it's used to keep fires burning to keep people warm. I'm guessing there is a spiritual reason why these items should be burned or most people wouldn't bother carrying them back to the shrine and would just toss them (because it'd be a lot easier). I think the trash heap is so large because more people come at night when there are fireworks and there's a greater sense of anticipation as the clock ticks down and they have more than can reasonably be burned over night. The backlog is likely saved to burn during the less-heavily trafficked daytime visits.


What's a festival without food? There were several food vendors there including this takoyaki (octopus dumplings) stand. The fellow on the right was so tuckered out by all the holiday activity that he went to sleep on the spot. I always marvel that so many Japanese people seem able to sleep in uncomfortable situations and places.

Here's a close-up of the takoyaki-making process. It's not really a pretty sight. The preparation area looks none too clean but I guess these people have probably been going non-stop since last night and a mess was bound to happen. Maybe the napping fellow is in charge of the clean-up.


What Japanese New Year's festivities are complete without crepes? That wonderful, traditional Japanese, er...well, perhaps not everything is about tradition. This fellow uses limited space to his advantage and both stores his stock of sauces and fillings and advertises the varieties available. The oddest item on the table is the peanut butter. Peanut butter and crepes sounds like an unfortunate clash of French and American culture.


This is the okonomiyaki table. This is one of those dishes which is hard to explain because it includes a lot of variations by region and to the taste of the consumer. It's more or less a savory cross between an omelet and a pancake with very little flour and a large amount of egg as the base then a wide variety of other crap thrown on top. I had this once when I first came to Japan and the sauce and fish components put me off. Every Japanese person I've ever asked about this dish is crazy about it.


Finally, we have a little boy playing a badminton-style game with his mother in the area. I'm not sure what this game is but my husband said several other kids were also playing it with what looked like a shuttlecock.

My overall impression after reading my brother-in-law's coverage of night celebrations and seeing my husband's pictures of day celebrations is that the day-time events and shops that remain open seem more kid-oriented (or family-oriented) in general and that you'll find people with families out and about on New Year's day whereas you'll see mostly adults late at night. This makes sense since it's probably harder for kids to stay up late (even if they would enjoy the fireworks) and it's colder in the evenings.

New Year's Day (2007) - Pt. 2 -The Station Area

This is the station end of the Pearl Road shopping street. The McDonald's on the corner has stood the test of time over the 17 years or so we've been here while nearly every other shop in the area has gone out of business at least once and been replaced. You can see another woman taking a relative or person she cares for out as well as the thickening crowd.


Of course, the pachinko place nearest the station is open. The sign near this young woman says "happy New Year" and "please take care in the following year". She seems to be giving away packets of hand towels but it's hard to tell from the picture. I can read some things on the sign but they don't make much sense without having pachinko experience. It mentions something about "gold dolphins" and that there is a special new year's campaign from the 1st to the 3rd. I wonder if the "gold dolphins" may be special gold balls put in the machines which warrant special prizes if you get them.


This is a fuller shot of the Ultraman display behind the woman giving away free gifts. In the previous picture, there's also a big Ultraman banner hanging inside the shop. The cardboard box has the gifts she's handing out. Just inside the window, behind the box, you can see several plastic containers of steel balls that someone has won while playing. They trade these balls for gifts when they're done playing then take the gifts somewhere else to trade for cash. Since gambling (via pachinko) is illegal, this is a backdoor way of playing for money.


The Starbucks in the staton was open and pretty busy. This shot may look like a bunch of people in line but I encourage you to click on this picture and look closer at the little girl in the blue coat at the front of the line. She's holding three ten-thousand-yen notes (about $260) in her hands and buying what appears to be an espresso machine by the size of the box. She also appears to be unescorted by her parents. I guess not all kids buy toys with their New Year's gift cash. I wonder if she'll be getting her caffeine fix then getting a pack of cigarettes. ;-)


This is a sign in front of a "conveyer belt" sushi (kaiten zushi) restaurant with a nice decoration and a sign announcing their change in hours during the holiday. The sign at the bottom lists prices for various types of sushi by plate color. In this type of sushi restaurant, you take all you want from the conveyer belt and they add up your bill by the number and type of plates you have accumulated. In this case, they have green, purple and blue plates and the blue is the priciest.


Seiyu supermarket was open and selling decorations for the holiday. I'd think that this would be a bit late in the game for such decorations but I guess they might hope to catch a few people who didn't have much holiday spirit until they got out and about.


Seiyu was also pushing tiny rolls of pork for about $9.50. I've never heard of pork being a traditional New Year's dish but perhaps they felt it was appropriate given that this is the year of the boar.


My husband took the two previous shots inside of Seiyu and was politely told he wasn't allowed to take pictures in the store. Belatedly, he noticed the sign outside the store (with the three red circles) saying no pets, no pictures, and no smoking were allowed inside. Oops.


This is a shopping area on the north side of the station (the shopping street in part 1 is on the south side). It's got decorations which resemble fireworks rather than traditional Japanese New Year's decorations. This area leads to a small shopping mall and has an underground grocery store.


This is a sushi place which very nicely displays all the traditional decorations. Most places seemed to have one or the other but not all three.The ornaments on either side of the door are kadomatsu and welcome ancestral spirits. The ropes hanging above the door are shimenawa and are for purification. They are quite familiar to me as part of the sumo wrestling grand champion's (yokozuna's) dress attire.

New Year's Day (2007) - Pt. 1 -The Shopping Street

My husband and I usually take a walk around the neighborhood on New Year's day each year to see what's going on but this year I couldn't make it due to some health issues. However, he took my camera and went out and captured a lot of great scenes for me that explain a lot about what happens on New Year's day as well as some of the more interesting aspects of our neighborhood. Because of Blogger's laborious picture insertion procedures, I'll be posting about the day in segments. (As always, you may click on any picture to open up a super-sized version to see more detail.)


This is what we both expected to see a lot of on New Year's day. These are closed signs for shops that will be out of commission for an extended period of time during the holiday. They are mass-produced and merchants can write the date when they will re-open at the bottom.

What we didn't expect is that there were actually quite a few places open. In the years we've been here, we've seen more and more places open each year on January 1. I guess that sentiment comes second to commercial opportunity.


This fellow must have been out too late partying and forgotten to put up his "closed for the holiday" sign. This picture was taken around 3:00 pm and he's out in his pajamas putting up a homemade sign.


From one end of the street, things look pretty empty and deserted. This is the end which is furthest from the Japan Railway (JR) station nearest our apartment. The shopping street in these pictures is very long and takes about 10-15 minutes to walk through if you walk at a reasonable pace (neither slow, nor fast) so it's quite long. One end opens to a major street in Tokyo and the other to the station. The street end was quite dead.


As one approaches the mid-point though, more and more shops are open and the place starts jumping and it gets increasingly crowded as you get nearer to the station.


The Baskin Robbins which recently opened was quite busy despite fairly cold weather (about 50 degrees F./10 degrees C.). The line was 5 people outside the door around 4:30 pm. My husband noticed a few things about the people that he saw out and about. First of all, there were a lot of kids and families (which may relate to the popularity of ice cream).


The other thing he saw a lot of was people taking elderly or handicapped relatives out in their wheelchairs. Since this is the most important holiday of the year, I guess that's not too surprising. Suffice it to say, it's not altogether unusual to see people out with relatives or the people they care for in wheelchairs but the frequency with which one sees them is lower.


One of the reasons kids are out with their parents is that they received gift money (o-toshidama) for the New Year. In order to capitalize on this, the local toy shops remain open on the first. There are 2 shops on our street and both were open. This one has a variety of dolls and balls out front and features more toys for younger kids. The plush toys include popular Japanese cartoon characters like Doraemon, Anpanman, and Keroppi as well as well-known Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) and Winnie the Pooh.