Growing up in Hawaii, we ate a lot of teriyaki. Teriyaki chicken, teriyaki beef, teriyaki pork, teriyaki you-name-it. It’s almost like its own food group in Hawaii enjoyed by the general population. It’s served in school cafeterias, fast food chains, delis, restaurants, and just about everyone's home.
I remember in high school, sometimes my friends and I would pass on eating lunch in the cafeteria and would save our money for an after school treat at the local Dairy Queen. A teriyaki beef cutlet served on a hamburger bun with lettuce, mustard and mayo, and a coke, please. All that for less than a buck!
Ahh, the good old days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Okay, it wasn’t that far back, but wow, things were pretty cheap.
You can really teriyaki a lot of different foods. Some of the stranger things I remember are teriyaki bologna, teriyaki Spam, green mango slices dipped in teriyaki sauce, and Grandpa’s favorite…teriyaki sardines cooked right in the tin on top of the stove burner.
So, here I am with teriyaki bratwurst sausages, which isn’t really a stretch. It's a tasty combination that makes sense. Salty sausages complemented by a sweet sauce and topped with a sweet and spicy cole slaw. Stick it all into a slider bun and it’s a Big Bang Bite that will promise to please you. Scrummy!
Makes 12
Slaw:
- 3½ cups finely shredded cabbage
- ¼ cup shredded carrots (I used a mandolin for a fine shred)
- 1/3 cup grated apple
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 T sweet chili sauce (found in the Asian food aisle)
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- ½ tsp. sriracha sauce or ¾ tsp. if you want more heat
- dash of pepper
Teriyaki Sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- dash of ginger powder or ¼ tsp. grated fresh ginger
Sliders:
- 12 slider buns or dinner rolls
- 6 bratwurst sausages, cut in half
- oil for charring
- 3 cherry tomatoes, sliced into 12 pieces for garnish
- black sesame seeds for garnish
Carrots bleed, so before you prepare the slaw, rinse the grated carrots in a sieve. Pat dry. The bit of sriracha sauce will already add some orange to the slaw, so rinsing the carrots will help make it look less orange. Whisk the mayo, sweet chili sauce, vinegar, mustard, sriracha, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the cabbage, carrots, and apple. Toss to combine. Set aside, so flavors can meld.
Prepare the teriyaki sauce. Combine the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger. Stir to dissolve the sugar. You can also microwave the mixture for about 30 seconds. Set aside.
Score the sausages on both sides, perpendicularly. This is so the sauce can get into all the grooves. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the sausages to get a nice char on the outside. Remove the sausages and wipe the pan clean. Put the sausages back in the pan with the teriyaki sauce and cook on medium/low heat until the sauce thickens into a glaze. Remove from heat.
Cut an opening on the buns vertically as in the picture. Warm them in the microwave. Place the sausages in the buns and drizzle some sauce on top. Cover the sausages with the slaw and garnish with tomato slices and black sesame seeds.
No comments:
Post a Comment