Mitarashi-dango

This is a typical Japanese sweet and one of my personal favorites.
It's made from glutinous rice flour,which is simply mixed with water and corn starch then rolled into with small balls and skewered on bamboo skewers.
Usually the shape is round but at my favorite store the  shape is cylindrical.According to the store owner,the cylindrical allows for better coating.

It is covered with tare (special sauce for Mitarashi-dango a mixture of shoyu (soy sauce),suger,water and corn starch) it's very sweet and sticky.
This is a popular snack for Japanese,it's a little bit filling really fills you up but I can't stop to eating!
It really goes well  with matcha (Japanese green tea).

Kinkauji

Recently I've been focusing on Japanese food, but today I want to write about something a little bit more cultural.
It's known as "Kinkakuji " ( Kinkakuji temple,the golden pavilion) but the real name is "Hokuzan-Rokuonji".
In 1994 it became a world heritage site.It's located in the north-western  part of Kyoto city.It was built in 1397 by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Kinkakuji is very beautiful and shiny because of the extensive gold foil plating and urushi (Japanese lacquer work).
The pavilion was built within a large Japanese garden setting,on the edge of large pond,so to see it with it's reflection on the still surface of the pond is one of the most loved scenes by Japanese and tourists alike.

Of course we have to buy an admission ticket before entering,a brochure is always included in the ticket price.

Brochure and admission ticket

Unfortunately the current Kinkakuji  is not the original one.The original was a set a light and burned to the ground by a firebug in 1955.But the brochure never tells tragic story of it's true story.

The culprit was a very young novice monk,who was sickly and prone to mental illness.He was arrested but he passed away in his cell in 1956 due to illness.
Needless to say this was a huge incident because Japan lost a priceless national treasure.
But Kinkakuji was rebuilt according to the original plan.Luckily the plan had been written in detail because Kinkakuji had been renovated many times.

If you are interested in this incident,I recommend the novel "Kinkakuji" written by Yukio Mishima(1925-1970).The novel is not perfect fiction but it was based on the true story and written from the culprit's perspective.



San-nin

San-nin means 3peoples. (san=3)
Which people do you like the best???

The middle one is mixed with a small amout of Shoyu(soy sauce)

Panda bento

Have you heard about bento (lunch box)?
The term bento  is used for portable meals,usually packed in a special container.
Nowadays bento is getting popular in many places, so I want to show you my bento sometimes.

Before, I introduced how cook tamagoyaki,(← if you don't know about it,please click here) but today I cooked very colorful one's by including mixed frozen vegetables.  

I also tried using the normal round fry pan after realizing that Japanese rectangular pan is unavailable out side Japan.The good news is that it works.

Let me show you how to make panda shaped onigiri (rice ball).

ingredients
*2 oval shaped onigiri(rice balls)
*nori (sea laver sheets)

method
Cut into various shape according to the following pattern.
While it's still warm,press the shaped nori(sea laver) onto the rice balls,otherwise they won't be combine !!! 

Twins Panda

Kaimono

Are you interested in a Japanese supermarket?
Shall we go kaimono (shopping) ?
Today I'll show you some Japanese food in a supermarket.  



Fresh fruits

Fresh vegetables



Japanese ingredients(umeboshi,tsukemono etc)

Tofu &  deep-fried bean curd

Eggs

Fish

Daily products

Frozen goods

Drinks

Meat



Sauces and  seasonings



Teriyaki chicken Donburi

Today I will teach you how to cook home made Teriyaki chicken donburi (donburi means big rice bowl).
It's also a common addition to bento boxes in Japan.


   ingredients (for 2 people)    

Teriyaki chicken donburi 
☆chicken thigh   200-250g    cubed
☆2 eggs
☆1/2(half) bunch of spinach

sauce
☆1tbsp shoyu(Japanese soy sauce)
☆1tbsp cooking sake(or dry sherry)
☆1tbsp mirin(or honey)
☆1tbsp sugar

＜Method＞1. mix the sauce ingredients in a cup

2. ＜spinach＞

Simply boiled in salted water and drained.When cool enough chop into 2cm strips.

3.＜eggs＞

 Beat  the eggs well into a pinch of salt and pepper.Then  pour into lightly oiled pan stirring well with chopsticks.

The consistency you are looking for like bread crumbs that is small dry and yellow.

It takes only 3mins but you have to really scratch it up with those chopsticks.

4.＜chicken＞

Saute the chicken in a lightly oiled pan.
On medium heat SKIN SIDE DOWN
until skin is crispy.

Then turn over and cover letting the chicken steam until cooked through.
The chicken skin side is very oily, so wipe off  an extra oil in a paper towel.

Turn to low heat adding the teriyaki sauce※(method 1)※ to the chicken,turning often(3-4times) until the sauce is reduced by half.

To complete the Donburi (big rice bowl),the chicken which should be serve warm is arranged on 1/3 of a bowl of hot rice.

1/3each for spinach and egg,the hot sauce is then drizzled mainly over the chicken,but also a little over spinach.

The egg is left undrizzzled for it's beautiful yellow appearance.



Most Japanese home cooking uses mirin(sweet-sake), 

sake(cooking-sake) and shoyu(soy-sauce).

If you can't find them in your local supermarket Japanese food shops are sure to have these and other Japanese ingredients,so please check the internet for your nearest store!!!



Bento box version



Kawaii

         What are these???
                Chocolate?         Soap?       Ice cream?

Believe it or not they're Yudetamago.(boiled eggs)
Today I'll show you how to make these kawaii (cute)yudetamago.

These are moulds which
I bought in a  ￥100 shop.

They cost only ￥100  for 2.




They're light made from plastic.

The method is so simple,just boil the eggs in the normal way for 10 mins but instead of cooling,peel the eggs while still hot.
 (this is the only tricky part  Ouch!!! )

Then,put the hot shelled eggs into the moulds and let them cool in a bowl of cold water for 10mins.

Be careful when taking the eggs from the mould as it's easy to ruin the shape.

Another interesting but simple Japanese invention!!!

Japan to use these kawaii shapes for making bento boxes. 

☆　Have you read  about Kawaii kuma?　☆

Kama-meshi

Kama-meshi is a very important,but not well-known food of japan.It's named for the kama,Japanese iron rice cooking pot which was used before 1950's in every household and restaurant.
Meshi means rice and meals but this word is a little bit old-style Japanese.Nowadays,usually men say meshi but it means meals and casual Japanese.

 portable kama

Since it's replacement by the electric rice cooker it has become a cultural icon.Reminding Japanese people of their connection to  an ancient culture.The electric rice cooker is so convenient,cooking the rice and keeping it warm at the push of a button, so it's wide spread adoption was inevitable.
But kama-meshi is revered by modern Japanese,who claim it gives a special flavor to the rice and are able to bask in warm memories of their childhood and cultural roots.

Anyway,I went to yakitori restaurant so I ordered " Tori(chicken)kama-meshi " which is a chicken,shimeji mushroom and carrot version.The flavoring ingredients are placed in the kama with row rice and dashi(soup stock)and slow cooked for 30 min.
After ordering the kama-meshi is brought to the table and cooks before the guests eyes.
As we wait patiently we must never take off lid even for a second , otherwise the dish will be spoiled resulting in hard  under cooked rice and the offender will be scolded.

After 30min has passed the lid is lifted,the aroma is savoured and the contents are well-mixed before serving.