Yaki-onigiri



Yaki-onigiri with Japanese pickles

Yaki-onigiri means roasted rice ball.
Onigiri is a very popular,typical Japanese food.It's easy to eat,so from ancient times people always took onigiri to eat while on pilgrimage or traveling from place to place.
People can buy ready made onigiri  from any of the  numerous convenience stores,bento(lunch box)shops or supermarkets.It's also important to include onigiri in the traditional bento(lunch box),to be taken on any outdoor expedition.
Today,I will teach you how to make Yaki-onigiri with the following pictures.

Ingredients  (for 2 people)
4 triangle shaped onigiri
2tbsp shoyu
1tbs mirin or water

***attention***
when you make onigiri,it's very important to wet your hands and press very firmly.Otherwise onigiri will fall apart.

pour shoyu and mirin(or water)into a saucer, coat  the flat surfaces lightly.
with a teaspoon,you can use rest of sauce to baste the onigiri.

fry in a lightly-oiled pan on low heat,until crispy and nicely browned turning often as they roast.
(it should take about 10 min)

Eat with vegetable soup(lower right),boiled spinach(upper right) and

Japanese omelette(upper left).

Next time,I will show you how to make Japanese omelette!

Kuma

Kuma means bear.
Yesterday when I was waiting for the lights, I noticed new poster in the window of "Mister Donut"(spell is different for the shop name).It was advertising some new bear-shaped doughnuts,which are available for a limited time only!!!They were so cute, I couldn't resist,I went in and bought some.
Japanese females are bulnerable to this kind of marketing.
We love everything kawaii(cute) staff."Hello Kitty" is a well-known example.





eat me!

  

Imo-mochi

Imo-mochi(imo=potatoes,mochi=rice cakes) is Japanese style potato cakes.

This food is special product of Hokkaido(the north part of Japan)but nowadays it's easy to buy it a big supermarket or online shopping.

Today I cooked imo-mochi for my lunch,so I will show you how to cook with my photos.
Let's get started!!!


      ingredients (for 2 people)      

potato cakes 
4 medium-sized potatoes(boiled,peeled and mashed)
5tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch
a pinch of salt

sauce
1tbsp shoyu(Japanese soy sauce)
1tbsp sake(Japanese wine) or dry sherry
2tbsp sugar

Until the mashed potatoes is still warm mix with arrowroot and a pinch of salt in a bowl.









When well-combined,use your hands to knead until it has consistency of bread dough.
(it's enough 2or 3minutes)




Break off golf ball sized pieces,roll and flatten into 1cm thick cakes.










Fry in a lightly-oiled pan at medium heat, until golden brawn and crispy.

Put the cakes aside and in the same sauce pan combine sauce ingredients and simmer for about 30sec.
Return cakes,shake the pan to cover both sides.

This is the Japanese style but if you like,you can try chocolate,honey sauce and butter like pan cakes.



*These cakes are better eaten before they go cold otherwise the texture will become tough.

Goemon

Today I'd like to introduce "Goemon",a very popular Japanese-style spaghetti chain restaurant.The restaurant chain is named after "Goemon"a well-known thief from the late Sengoku period(1594) who was finally captured in Kyoto and executed by being boiled alive in a cauldron. Not many details are known about his life and exploits but there are  documents that prove he existed.

If you are a big fan of Samurai drama or Kabuki,you may have heard his name as he often appears as a character.

The name is very apt Goemon having suffered the same fate as the spaghetti being boiled in a pot.It may seem strange to see everyone eating spaghetti with chopsticks,but this is a Japanese spaghetti restaurant so there are no forks available for customers.

My favorite is mentaiko (salted cod roe)with tsukemono (Japanese pickles)and thinly sliced pork,sprinkled with sesame seeds,fine strips of nori(sea laver) and finely chopped spring onions.I usually order this one!!!
Most of spaghetti in this restaurant Japanese style but of course you can eat Carbonara and  Bolognese etc with chopsticks.

You can see plastic replicas of the dishes available in the restaurants front window like this.
When I was taking this photo,the staff were starring at me as though I was a spy from another restaurant,but actually I'm just a big Goemon fan!!!

Izu(2)

2010.12.30 (the final day)

After I had checked out the hotel,I went to south part of Izu peninsula Shimoda.Shimoda was the first port opened to American ships after the 300years at Sakoku (closure)during the Edo era.There are many historic buildings from the period,preserved in Shimoda.

I ate kinmedai (red snapper,splendid alfonsino)  for lunch. The fish has golden eyes!
It is difficult to find kinmedai in  Osaka(kansai area) but the waters surrounding Izu peninsula are rich in kinmedai which are fished all year.

There was a large variety of dishes to choose from but I selected boiled with shoyu. It comes with some side dishes such a seaweed,egg and miso soup.Needless to say the taste was fantastic.

From Shimoda to my house it takes about 8 hours by car using expressway,but some parts of Izu peninsula don't have only local roads.It's a quite long for me.

On the way I chose ramen (noodles) for dinner because it's so quick. The restaurant decorated with Japanese red lanterns it's remained me summer festival in Japan.Maybe I can show it in 5or 6months.

I slept well in the car for the rest of the trip!!! 

Izu(1)

2010.12.29 ( Day 1)

At the end of the last year, I traveled to Izu in Shizuoka prefecture for 1night 2days.
Izu peninsura is a great place to visit because the scenery is so great you can see forests,lakes,mountains and the Pacific ocean.

Today,I will show you some pictures that I took.
I hope you can  feel the beauty  atmosphere that I was trying to capture.

I could see Mt.Fuji from the expressway,It is the highest peak and having been an active volcano.
Mt.Fuji's beautiful shape is a well-known symbol of Japan especially in winter when it's covered in snow.
It's definitely volcano however the last eruption was about 300 years ago.




On the way to Izu, I stopped  in Higashi-shizuoka to see the once only "Hobby fair - Gundam" featuring 18M high replica.
Gandam is a giant robot of Japanese anime which was broadcast 30 years ago it was first time.I've never watched it but it exploded onto the TV screens and became hugely popular with boys in the 80's. Along with newly converted fans,these boys who have grown into their 30's and 40's are still excited about Gundam.
I don't understand at all but my husband is one of these Gundam's otaku's(fanatic).If you are a fan of Japanese manga or just an interested spectator,you can visit Higashi-shizuoka's "Hobby fair"until March 27th.

Anyway,my main purpose in going to Izu was to stay at a typical Japanese hotel(ryokan).It's a great tradition to relax and eat many varieties of fresh sea food at these kind of resorts which are found all over the country.

I had a great time there.The Onsen(hot spring)was fabulous but unfortunately I couldn't take photo's because it's not allowed inside the baths.The fact that bathes are all naked,makes it punishable by law.    
My favourite is the rotenburo( outdoor  spa)which has a view of a beautiful Japanese garden
and the sky.I feel enveloped by the peace and beauty and my stress melts away,making Onsen the
best place for me to spend a holiday.

Akafuku

Akafuku is a kind of wagashi(traditional Japanese sweets for eating with green tea)almost every district has it's own local speciality but this one comes from Ise city in Mie prefecture.
The city is also famous for Ise grand shrine a very ancient shinto temple belonging to the emperor.

Since ancient time Ise Jingu has attracted many pilgrims,and even today the temple and it's surrounds are busy with people buying the areas famous souvenirs. The most famous is Akafuku,an egg-sized ball of sticky rice(mochi)covered in sweetened red bean paste(adzuki bean).

My husband recently returned from a business trip to Mie with a box of Akafuku.He tole me  that these local rice cakes have been sold for over 300years. The directions on the box one that they must be eaten in less than 3days as they are prone to spoiling.

Indeed,about 3years ago the factory was closed down after factory workers leaked the fact that many of the products sold are in fact frozen before sale.
This prompted an investigation by health department officials.During the year long factory closure and withdrawal of Akafuku from the market,the truth was uncovered.
Firstly,there were no cases of any customers becoming ill after eating the sweets.
It was rather a case of misrepresentation.The company had led the public to believe they were offering a freshly made product only.
When the factory re-opend there were strict guidelines to ensure this misrepresentation could not continue.

Anyway they were delicious and I learnt  something about their origins from the packaging.Apparently,the pattern on the top of the cake stands for stream while the enclosed  sticky rice ball represents a stone.
This refers to the beautiful river beside the factory with it's bed of smooth stones.
Actually,Akafuku's soft texture(like a baby's cheek)makes it very safe to eat even for old people who have lost their teeth.



Akafuku might be my No.1 favorite wagashi.
I ate a lot !!! 



Bangohan

Bangohan means dinner.
Today I cooked Japanese style curry not Indian style.
This is daily meal for lunch and dinner,usually eat with rice.

Ingredients:potatoes,carrots,
     spring onions and beef

In my city Osaka, beef  is a
favoured ingredient,but in Tokyo
people often use pork instead.
Eastern Japan(kanto)and western
Japan(kansai)have quite different food cultures.






  With salad and Japanese pickles.              Yummy!!!

Chanko-nabe

Nowadays,Chanko-nabe is a very popular winter meal in every house in Japan, but formerly it was a special food for sumo wrestlers.

Firstly it is high calorie content gives the wrestlers bulk.

Chanko-nabe also has special significance in that it contains chicken which walks on 2 legs rather than 4.By eating chanko-nabe regularly the wrestlers hope to absorb the chicken's powerful 2 legged posture and balance.As you may know if a wrestler is forced to his hands and knees(like a four legged animal)he loses the match.

In old time, it took time and effort to make the special dashi(stock)in which the meat and vegetables a cooked.But nowadays,most of Japanese house wife can choose from an abundance of prepared nabe dashi which are sold in every supermarket.There are at least 30 different varieties ranging from miso,kimchee,soy-milk and curry to name a few.

Today I would like to introduce the basic, shoyu flavoured version.

In Japan,each family adds their own favorite vegetables according to personal preference.But some of the most common vegetables are chinese cabbage,carrot,daikon,shitake and enoki mushrooms,mizuna,bean sprouts,tofu,spring onions.Meat is also a matter of personal preference,commonly including thinly slice pork,bite sized chunks of chicken thigh.

In Japan,it is easy to buy thinly slice pork and beef.