How Marna's Cooking Chopsticks and Turner Changed My Cooking: Making It Easier to 'Not Drop and Flip Easily' (Realized with Pork and Root Vegetable Miso Stir-fry)

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To conclude, rethinking your cooking tools from just 'chopsticks and a turner' makes daily stir-frying surprisingly stress-free. Today, I'm talking about making a rich and savory pork and root vegetable miso stir-fry using Marna's silicone cooking chopsticks and turner. They aren't flashy tools, but they are quietly effective.

On weekdays, I tend to rely on 'one-dish satisfying stir-fries' for meals that require heat. This miso stir-fry is just stir-frying pork offcuts, burdock root, and carrots, then coating them in a miso sauce. It takes little effort, but the sweetness of the root vegetables and the richness of the miso make it a go-to dish for this dad in charge of dinner.

First, the recipe: Rich and Savory Pork and Root Vegetable Miso Stir-fry

Ingredients for 2-3 servings: 150-200g pork offcuts (or belly slices), 1 burdock root (approx. 100g), 1/2 carrot (approx. 70g), 1 tbsp sesame oil. 1cm minced ginger. For the sauce, mix 1.5 tbsp miso, 1.5 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp sake, and 1/2 tsp soy sauce (you can use mentsuyu instead of soy sauce). It's easier to mix all the seasonings beforehand.

Preparation goes like this: Lightly scrape the skin off the burdock root with the back of a knife, then slice it diagonally or shave it. Soak in water for about 3 minutes to remove bitterness, then drain well. Cut the carrots into thin strips or rectangles to match the size of the burdock. For the pork, the trick to saving effort is choosing 'no-cut-needed' meat like small offcuts.

The stir-frying process isn't difficult either. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat, cook the ginger until the sharpness fades, then stir-fry the pork. Once the color changes, add the burdock and carrots, and stir-fry thoroughly for 3-4 minutes until the burdock is tender and coated in oil. Stirring well here brings out the sweetness and umami of the root vegetables. Finally, lower the heat slightly (medium-low), add the mixed sauce all at once, and stir-fry until the liquid reduces and everything is glazed. Just be careful, as miso burns easily.

Make prep even easier with frozen stocks and boiled vegetables

I had a small discovery this time. I usually slice burdock with my regular peeler and keep it in the freezer, but this time I tried saving time with store-bought 'boiled burdock.' It turns out that even boiled, it retains a nice crunch and works perfectly fine.

I used frozen carrots. Root vegetables are a bit of a hassle to cut, so slicing and freezing them is a huge help for my weekday self.

By the way, I use a Seki Magoroku wide peeler for slicing the burdock and carrots. Slicing thin with a peeler and freezing makes it convenient to toss them into stir-fries while still frozen. I've written about the peeler in detail in another article, so check that out if you're interested.
Click here for the Seki Magoroku wide peeler article →

For storing frozen stocks, I use Kichinto-san gusseted freezer bags. Because they have a gusset, the sliced root vegetables lie flat, which is quietly helpful for storing them upright in the freezer.

Kichinto-san Gusseted Freezer Bags (My favorite)

Click here for S (18 bags). It's the perfect size for freezing small amounts of aromatics or leftover vegetables.

Click here for M (16 bags). This one is easier to use if you're stocking up on sliced root vegetables.

Iremo freezer bags seem to be a standard choice for the same S size. I haven't used them yet so I can't speak to the experience, but the count is similar, so I think they could be an option.
S (18 bags, unused): https://amzn.to/3T6et1F

M (16 bags, unused):

Main topic: Marna's cooking chopsticks and turner are the secret to the ease

Now, here is the star of today's show. This miso stir-fry is actually quite easy to make, thanks to my tools.

I used my favorite Marna turner for stir-frying. Perhaps because of the flexible tip and its thinness, it is incredibly easy to flip things with. It slides easily into the bottom of the pan and slips right under the ingredients. Even with ingredients of varying sizes like pork bits and root vegetables, it's great at flipping them all together without breaking them apart. I think the stress of stir-frying comes from 'not being able to flip well, causing ingredients to fly out or break,' but that has been significantly reduced.

For plating, I used Marna's cooking chopsticks. They are made of the common silicone material, but they are light for being 31cm long and are easy to grip with just the right length. I used to use bamboo chopsticks, and honestly, I would sometimes slip and drop ingredients, but since switching to these, I haven't dropped any food. I can properly grip things like thinly sliced root vegetables that would just slide off bamboo. Using slightly better chopsticks also makes me feel a bit better when plating. I've come to realize in a small way that just using tools you like makes cooking more fun.

Marna Easy-to-Insert Turner (Silicone/Dark Gray)

A turner that can be inserted at any angle and scoops cleanly. Being heat-resistant and dishwasher-safe is also appreciated for a tool used every day.

Marna Easy-to-Grip Cooking Chopsticks (Silicone/31cm/Gray)

Non-slip and easy to handle due to their lightness. Heat-resistant and dishwasher-safe. For those who find it subtly stressful to slip and drop things with bamboo chopsticks, these are worth switching to.

Tools aren't necessarily better just because they are expensive. But just by eliminating small stresses like 'hard to flip' or 'dropping things,' daily cooking becomes much more relaxed. These two items from Marna were exactly that kind of 'relaxed' tool.

● If you like the same pork and miso combination, I also often make a miso soup that can be done in 10 minutes. Please check it out as well.
10-Minute Pork and Cabbage Miso Soup

● Here is another one, a chicken tender and egg fried rice made with Marna's cooking chopsticks and turner. Includes the honest truth that it doesn't get fluffy with a home gas stove.
Fragrant Chicken Tender and Vegetable Fried Rice Made with 4 Eggs

I've also compiled the kitchen tools that this 'Dad in charge of meals' uses every day. Please take a look if you'd like.
[Summary] Kitchen tools used daily by the dad in charge of cooking

#Cooking #TimeSavingRecipes #KitchenTools #Marna #MisoStirFry #DadInChargeOfMeals #TodaysMenu