...butter yaki & won tons

In continuing with my winter vacation stories.... I have to show the pictures of a big tradition that my family has. Ever since I was a little girl, we have made a dinner called "butter yaki". Now, my spelling of this Japanese dinner might be off, but in short, you cook it in an electric skillet, using butter to cook the vegetables & marinated meat. My family "adopted" a man named Floyd, who lived in Kansas City to go to dental school when I was little. He was the one who taught the family this amazing meal. I have also heard he named his daughter after me as well.... :)

There is a lot of preparation for this dinner. My parents start soaking the chicken (or steak) in homemade teriyaki sauce the night before. My mom likes to cut up the meat when it's still partially frozen and cuts it very thin (that way it cooks faster). Then she pours the marinade over the meat and places it back in the fridge.

We use all different kinds of vegetables. Broccoli, sprouts, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, snow peas... you name it! We all give our opinion on what we want in our stirfry....

This is my dad. He's the cook of the night... always the cook the night we have butter yaki. It's just the way we roll in our family. Dad cooks the butter yaki. He takes a little of each ingredient and stirfries it... and serves it to us. Then he does it again: melt butter, add meat, & add veggies. He usually does about 3-4 rounds of this. We always have leftovers. Mom makes the rice and fries the won tons. Oh, won tons you asked? Now, THIS, is my most favorite food in the ENTIRE world. Other than chocolate. Every year my mom always asks me what I want for my birthday dinner, and it's always won tons. I would be perfectly happy with just won tons. Nothing else.

It also takes a bit of time to prep these babies. You mix up the mixture of chicken, green onions, soy sauce & egg whites. Then you buy the won ton wrappers, spread a little in the middle, and fold it accordingly. My girls are now helping with the job that my brother and I held for so many years. I love teaching them the tricks that I learned... {use the fingers!}

Then, my mom fries them. Yummm! Keeps them warm in the oven until it's time to eat.

In order to fully appreciate won tons, we dip them in a sauce made out of mustard & soy sauce. One can also use plum sauce. Very delicious!

My dad this year made virgin strawberry margaritas for us (the kind in the bucket, w/ ginger ale). Again, a very special dinner for our family! We don't get it often, but when we do get it, it's a special treat for us!

***Recipes will be on my recipe blog!