shizuoka « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Tamagoyaki with Spinach & Corn

dragonlife — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:41:45 +0000

I have always been surprised to find out how Japanese Omelette or Tamagoyaki is so popular abroad.

Here is a simple recipe that adults and children alike will love to eat either as a main dish or as a snack!

Tamagoyaki with Spinach & Corn!

INGREDIENTS: For 2~3 people

-Eggs: 3
-Dashi/soup stock (konbu/seaweed or chicken): 3 tablespoons
-Japanese Sake: 1 teaspoon.
-Sugar:: 1 tablespoon
-Salt: 1/4 teaspoon
-Spinach: 50 g (boiled and drained completely)
-Soy sauce: 1/2 teaspoon
-Corn: 4 tablespoons (already boiled/canned)
-Vegetal oil: 1/2 teaspoon

RECIPE:

1 Boil the spinach for a minute or two maximum. Let cool completely and press hard to drain all water out. Chop finely.

2Boil the corn if necessary and drain completely. (If canned, drain thoroughly)

3 Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add dashi, Japanese sake, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add spinach and corn and mix well.

4 Heat frypan and cook as described in Tamagoyaki Basic Recipe.

5 Cut and serve!

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Neglect

luulabee — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:12:11 +0000

Everybody knew it would happen… but who knew it would be so soon? Lol.

I went on a school trip organized by the International Exchange Center at AGU. It was a 1 night/2 day bus trip down to Shizuoka/Yamanashi prefecture, and about 80 international students and 20 regular Japanese students attended the trip. It was of course impossible to get to know everyone (what with the size of the group and all…) but I did meet some new people

What we did:

11/2 9:00 AM > Leave AGU Aoyama campus by bus

11/2 12:00PM > Arrive in Yamanashi, go grape picking at a vineyard

11/2 1:00PM > BBQ lunch at vineyard

11/2 2:30PM > Arrive at hotel in Shizuoka

11/2 3:00PM > Discussion groups

11/2 6:00PM > Buffet dinner

11/2 7:00PM > Free time

11/3 9:00AM > Leave hotel

11/3 10:30AM> Arrive at Nenba community, Free time

11/3 12:30PM> Make and eat “hohtoh” noodles (looong, flat noddles in a miso-base soup)

11/3 3:00PM > Leave for AGU

11/3 5:30PM > Arrive at AGU, dismissal

…and we pretty much followed that.

I borrowed Steve’s camera for the trip (I still need to buy my own DX) and I’m glad I did ’cause on our way to the hotel the first day and all day the second day we had a clear view of Mt. Fuji. It was my first time seeing it, and I ended up taking a whole lot of photos… although I only uploaded the good ones. You can see them on facebook.

Here’s a photo that my friend took of us in the bus:

After the trip it’s pretty much just been schoolx3. Up until now we barely had any homework from any teachers, but they decided to give it to us all at once >< I had like…two reports and two presentations this week and they were all assigned a week before (yeah srsly wtf?)

But at least there’s no midterms!!

Happy Thanksgiving I’m missing turkey so please eat lots for me!!

What’s everyone’s Christmas plans look like? You might know this already, but Christmas isn’t traditionally celebrated in Japan. But the media made it seem like if you spend this day alone you’re lonely and sad and no one likes you…so, couples go out and look and pretty illuminations at fashionable places in Tokyo (for a fee), have fried chicken and cake at home or go out to a nice restaurant, and exchange presents like matching rings, etc…

So around this time there’s a high couple rate on the streets(!!) and we’ll see how things are after Christmas.

Also recently Steve and I went to a cat cafe. It’s basically a room full of sofas and reclining chairs and mattresses, and you just relax and eat/drink and play with cats <3 Or you can read manga, go on the internet, take a nap… etc. We went right before their dinner time when some cats were still sleeping and the ones that were awake were too groggy to play. Next time I wanna go earlier in the morning when they’re supposed to be the most active!!

Here’s a really cute cat that wouldn’t play with me

I’m gonna be going to Osaka for New Year’s with my friend and Steve, so we’ll hit up Kyoto and all the surrounding areas then. Can’t wait!

Tofu Chocolate Cake

dragonlife — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:44:14 +0000

As I said before, tofu has the great quality that it makes all things lighter, especially cakes.
have you ever thought of combining it with Chocolate?

Tofu Chocolate Cake!

INGREDIENTS:

-Light flour: 80 g
-Baking powder: 10 g
-Cooking chocolate or normal chocolate (the higher percentage in cocoa, the better!): 1 standard tablet/bar
-Eggs: 2
-Margarine or butter: 1 tablespoon
-Cocoa powder: 20 g
-Rum: to taste
-Tofu (light/kinu tofu): 300 g
-Sugar: to taste (depends on people!)

-Fresh cream: 100 ml
-Jam: 1 tablespoon

RECIPE:

-Whip the tofu until smooth. Pass it through a fine mesh sieve.

In a separate bowl pass the flour and baking powder through a fine mesh sieve.

-Melt margarine/butter and chocolate on a bain-marie (put the bowl inside a larger one over a fire.
Add 50 ml of hot water and the coca powder. Keep mixing until misture thickens.

-Separate egg yolks and whites.
Beat the whites in to solid meringue.

-Add flour and baking powder, egg yolks, rum and sugar to chocolate mixture. Mix well. Fold in the egg whites in.

-Check taste. Add flour and cocoa powder if necessary. mix in quickly.

-Line your rice-cooker with a little oil. Pour in the whole mix and switch on the rice-cooker.
If you do not have a rice cooker, pour the mixture inside a mold and bake for about 20~25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (check from time to time.

-Wait until cooled down completely before taking out.
Serve with whiiped cream mixed wit a little jam of your choice.

Plenty of variations possible!

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Japanese Cuisine: Cabbage Rolls

dragonlife — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:58:08 +0000

Cabbage Rolls or stuffed cabbage have a long history and have become one almost universal dish.
The concept comes from the “dorma” in Anatolia (turkey) during the first Century A.D. which were conceived with grape leaves.
Cabbage being a prominent vegetable in Europe, it was only a question of time before cabbage leaves replaced the grape leaves!
The first mention in Japanese history dates back to 1895 when they were called “Rooru Kabetsu/Roll Cabbage” (the other way round!).
They can found in most homes, at oden restaurants and in many other establishments. They are particularly popular in winter when cabbages are everywhere in supermarkets.

The recipe below is the basic one. I will leave to you how to experiment on quantities!
Keep in mind that meat can replaced with tofu, but you will probably needs konbu dashi/seaweed stock.

Choose cabbage leaves of the same size (number depending on servings).
Bring lightly salted water to boil and dip cabbage leaves in water long enough to soften them. Lay the cabbage leaves on a piece of kitchen paper or clean cloth to take off excess water.
Put aside.

Chop some onion very fine and mix it with minced meat of your choice (pork, beef, lamb). Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, clove and pther spices of your liking. Mix well.
Note: I personally add some chopped garlic and tiny cubes of lotus root.

Shape minced meat mixture into elongated balls of the size you wish for stuffing the cabbage. Their length should be equal to the width of your hand (that is, if you are not 7 feet tall!).
Fry them in olive oil until their surface is well cooked (this will prevent unwanted breaking off later). Sprinkle them with a little white wine or Japanese sake for more seasoning.
Place them on a plate and let them cool off completely.

Roll a meat ball in each cabbage leaf.

Bring the ends of the cabbage leaves under the roll and place each roll in the pot as shown on picture above to prevent rolls from moving away (around). If you are not confident, tie some kitchen thread around or secure them with a wooden toothpick, altough this can become very bothersome upon serving and eating.

Fill the pot with a soup made with chicken stock.
This is when you can add a few more spices, but don’t overdo it!
Of course you could could cook it with kimchi for example.
Simmer for about 30 minutes over a medium high fire.
Only then can you scoop the cabbage rolls out.
Keep in mind the soup is great, too!

Here you are! Enjoy!

NOTES:
-If served to children, careful on the spices and garlic!
-Instead of the chicken stock, you may use tonkotsu ramen soup!

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Mountain

alice — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:18:58 +0000

by Nao

yama, san

Yama is a mountain. Most Japanese mountains have the suffix -san, such as Fujisan (Mt. Fuji) between Shizuoka and Yamanashi, Asosan (Mt. Aso) in Kumamoto, Zaōsan (Mt. Zaō) in Tōhoku, Rokkōsan (Mt. Rokkō) in Kōbe to name a few. The suffix –yama is similarly used for some mountains. Some examples are Kurohimeyama (Mt. Kurohime) in Nagano and Wakakusayama (Mt. Wakakusa) in Nara.

Yama also means a peak. The climax, the most important stage, or the critical juncture is called yamaba. Ba is a field.

Your speculation or guess is yama. If your speculation has succeeded, you can say yama ga atatta. Atatta is the past tense of the verb, ataru, or to hit. Failed speculation is described as yama ga hazureta. Hazureta is the past tense of the verb, hazureru, or to miss.

Start from the vertical line in the middle. The vertical strokes on both sides are about the same length.

Draw the vertical line from the top center.
Draw the L-shaped stroke from the left.
Draw the short vertical stroke on the right.

Japanese Gratin: Doria

dragonlife — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:01:18 +0000

The Japanese have their own version for Gratin called Doria which is prepared with rice, especially leftover rice.
It is said it was first invented by an Italian family with the name of Doria who tried to represent the Italian flag (with tomatoes, cucumbers and chicken) in this recipe they first cooked in Paris.
It was first prepared in Japan in Yokohoma by a French cuisine chef from Switzerland at the New Grand Hotel in 1925!

It has become a mainstay in Japan in homes and restaurants.
The variations are endless, but here is the basic recipe:

Japanese Gratin: Doria

RECIPE:
I leave the kinds and weights for the ingredients to your creative imagination!

First make a bechamel sauce:
Use the smae volume of flour and butter.
Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Once the butter is melted, add flour and stir until you obtain a smooth mixture.
Add milk (warm will make things easier) cup by cup and stir well. make as much as you want. Keep stirring until you obtain a thick (the thicker, the better) bechamel sauce. Season with salt (easy on that!), pepper and nutmeg.
Set aside and let cool completely.

Slice onion thin and fry in a little oil until soft and just before colouring.
Scoop out and set aside.
You may of course add such vegetables as sweet pimentoes, etc.

The Japanese make their doria with chicken usually, but you may of course replace it any white meat, fish or seafood.
Cut the chicken into small pieces and fry them in same oil until crispy.
Scoop out and set aside.

Use leftover steamed rice.
Fry it with salt (careful on that one again!), pepper and tomato sauce (ketchup is fine, tomato puree is even better).
Season with other spices if you wish to.
Add onions and chicken and stir fry until all ingredients are well mixed.

Butter the inside of an oven dish.
Pour the whole fried rice inside.

Cover the rice with as much as bechamel sauce as you wish.
Add a generous layer of cheese of your choice.
The original recipe called for parmegiano, but cheaper cheese did not exist then!

Bake inside oven as you would do for any other gratin.
Keep in mind the colour you wish to attain.
It might be a good idea to serve them in individual dishes as they come out very hot!
Can be frozen until cooking them in an oven!

The same recipe with boiled macaroni!

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Real Potato Chips

dragonlife — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:33:47 +0000

Now, what are real potato chips?

Not the French fries, which are actually Belgian fries.

And not the poor imitations you wolf down with untold amounts of salt and preservatives!

Real potato chips, as known in Great Britain or France (!) are made with potatoes, real ones I mean, and they are easy to make and much, much healthier!

Now, what do you need?
Potatoes, of course, a (very) little salt and good oil.

How do you prepare them?

Your potatoes, being old or not, can be used with a simple technique.

If they are old, no problem.
If you brush them (with a real hard brush) under clear water, you will be able to reduce their outer layer to a very thin skin that is edible (actually most of the really beneficient matters are contained in their skin!).

Cut them as thin as possible (with their skin!).

Important: slices of different thickness should not be fried together.
Try to separate them as shown on above pic and fry them separately.
Great fun if you have the kids around!

Clean potato slices in cold running water. This is an important step unless you want them to stick together, turn black and make a mess!
Dry them thoroughly inside a large clean cloth (or the water will fly upon frying!).

Heat frying oil to 170 degrees Celsius.

This is how your chips should look just before frying!

Use long wooden chopsticks to prevent chips from sticking to each other.

Your chips will change colour and if the oil is at proper temperature swell nicely!

Once you are satisfied with their colour, take them out of the oil and let them rest for a very short while over a fine mesh to get rid of excess oil. Sprinkle a (very) little salt for taste. I personally like some parmegiano and pepper instead of the salt!

Don’t forget the “wrong shapes”! They make for great chips, too, especially with the kids!

I susally serve the round chips with oven-baked chicken or guinea fowl!

Did I mention vegans can eat these?

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Vegan Smoked Tofu

dragonlife — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:36:54 +0000

It is sometimes a hard world for vegans when it comes to find new ideas and recipes, even you love tofu!
Here is a simple way to prepare and enjoy tofu as it was a big piece of cheese!

Vegan Smoked Tofu!

INGREDIENTS: for ? People

-Tofu: a large piece 300~400g or more
-Miso of your liking, as much as you wish
-Soy sauce, not too much (beware the salt)
-Sake or mirin, a little just for the taste
-Spices, if you wish!

RECIPE:

-As the tofu shouldn’t be too soft, choose “momendofu”, or slightly solid.

-Place the tofu on a clean cloth.
-Top it with a clean plate or board.
-Put a heavy weight on top.
-Leave it like this for half a day. The tofu will reduce to half.

-Smear the whole tofu on every face with plenty of a mixture of miso, soy sauce and other ingredients of your choice. The more, the better.

-Wrap it carefully in cellophane paper and leave it in the fridge overnight.

-Take it out of the fridge and take off the cellophane paper.
-Let it dry for 2 hours at room temperature over a piece of kitchen paper.

-Smoke inside a Chinese smoking set for 1 hour.

-Very practical for smoking small quantities!

-Here you are! Enjoy!

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Shizuoka Prefecture Sake Tasting Session at the 2009 JALT Conference

dragonlife — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:24:23 +0000

Who is this guy? LOL

Thanks to the incredible efforts of Etsuko Nakamura and her companion in life, Ted, Japanese Sake, and Shizuoka Sake in particular became a major feature for the first time during the Annual JALT (Japan Association of language Teachers) Conference held again in Shizuoka City at Grandship on November 21st~23rd.

The Shizuoka sake Waiting Team!

The sake events came in two distinctive parts.
On Saturday 21st from 16:30 to 20:00, JALT members and visitors were offered the possibility to choose from 9 different brews (paying 1,000 yen for three different tastings) chosen among the 28 breweries existing in Shizuoka Prefecture:
-Hatsukame Brewery (Okabe-cho): Junmai
-Aoshima Brewery (Fujieda City): Kikuyoi Junmai
-Shidaizumi Brewery (Fujieda City): Junmai Ginjo
-Sugii Brewery (Fujieda City): Suginishiki Junmai Nama Genshu Kin No Kai
-Isojiman Brewery (Yaizu City): Bessen Honjozo
-Doi Brewery (Kakegawa City): kaiun Junmai
-Morimoto Brewery (Kikugawa City): Sayogoromo Kao Label Tokubetsu Honjozo (my favourite!)
-Kokkou Brewery (Fukuroi City): Tokubetsu Junmai
-Kansawagawa Brewery (Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku, Yui): Shosetsu Karakuchi Junmai Homare Fuji
-Fujinishiki Brewery (Shibakawa Cho): Junmai

Drinking in the Dark?

The tasting was a great success.
Incidentally, visitors did not all go for the more famous brands. i wonder why? LOL

On Sunday 22nd, from 16:30 to 20:00, a second tasting session was held. This time the brewers or owners were present. Actually your servant was drafted in to extoll the merits of Eikun as the owner’s daughter had fallen sick on the very morning (no need to say that interpretation was necessary!)!

Do you recognize this gentleman? LOL

This time not only brews were tasted but a full-fledged sale event was organized for visitors who wished to bring these rare sake back home (The JALT Conference attracted no less than 1,600 professionals!):

-Takashima Brewery (Numazu City): Hakuin Masamune (Homarefuji Junmai + Ymahai Junmai + Junmai Daiginjo Tobin Gakoi)
-Eikun Brewery (Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku, Yui): Eikun (Tokubetsu Junmai Hiyaoroshi + Junmai Ginjo Midori no eikun +Daiginjo Tobin Gakoi)
-Kansawagawa Brewery (Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku, Yui): Shosetsu (Shosetsu Tokubetsu Junmai + Shosetsu Tokubetsu Honjozo + Daiginjo)
-Hatsukame Brewery (Okabe cho): Hatsukame (Kamejirushi Ginjo + Kamemaru Junmai Ginjo + Daiginjo)
-Isojiman Brewery (Yaizu City): Isojiman (Daiginjo Junmai Emerald)
-Kokkou Brewery (Fukuroi City): Kokkou (Tokubetsu Junmai + Junmai Ginjo Nakgumi + Junmai Daiginjo Tobin Gakoi)
-Aoshima Brewery (Fujieda City): Kikuyoi (Kikuyoi Junmai Ginjo + Junmai Ginjo matsushita mai 50%, organic sake!)
-Sanwa Brewery (Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku): Garyubai (Garyubai Junma Genshu + Junmai Ginjo Yamada Nishiki)
-Doi Brewery (Kakegawa City): Kaiun (Junmai Hiyaoroshi + Junmai Hana no Kaori Nama)

All the above could be tasted for a mere 1,200 yen!

Courtesy of Shizuoka Shinbun Daily (nOVEMBER 23rd, 2009)

On the same day the local media was lurking around and had a field day with all these “gaijin” who loved their sake and could express their opinions in Japanese!

Once again, Etsuko and Ted, a very big thank you for all the incredible work!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
Warren Bobrow
Tokyo Terrace

Shizuoka Sake Tasting 17/9: Sanwa Brewery

dragonlife — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:45:45 +0000

The Japan Blog List

Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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It7s been some time I sampled a brew by Sanwa Brewery in Shimizu Ku (formerly shimizu City).
Their brand name, Garyubai, created some four years has stuck for good, and almost all brews bear the name.
The particularity of this brewery is that it is the only one in this Prefecture not using the Shizuoka Yeast!

Sanwa Brewery: Garyubai Junmai (Genshu)

Rice: Nihon Nishiki 100%
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 16~17 degrees
Acidity: 1.4
Bottled in June 2009

Clarity: very clear
Colour: almost transparent
Aroma: Strong alcohol, fruity: bananas, almonds, a memory of bitter chocolate.
Body: velvety
Taste: Soft on the tongue at first, with a strong alcohol attack at the beack of thepalate.
Finishes on a smooth note. shortish tail. complex.
Fruity: almonds, bananas, coffee beans.
Starts almost sweet to finish on a strong dry note with mandarines, more almonds and bitter chocolate.
“Adapts” itself with food well with more facets appearing.

Overall: A sake which is both strong and complex.
Marries well with food.
Its dry fruity taste might become an acquired taste, though.
Even knowing that this brewery does not use the Shizuoka yeast, it is obviously off the beaten tracks in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Cream Cheese Brownies

dragonlife — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:32:04 +0000

The Japanese have become extremely efficient at reproducing and improving on European/American (I mean the continents!) recipes when it comes to cakes and desserts.
Here is an example I found in my notes:

Crema Cheese Brownies!

INGREDIENTS: 20×20 cm square mold or a 23cm diameter round mold.

Cream Cheese Topping:
-Beaten egg: 1
-Cream cheese: 225 g
-Sugar: 50g
-Vanilla essence: 1 teaspoon

-Brownies
-Chocolate (for cakes and baking): 115 g
-Unsalted butter: 115 g
-Brown sugar: 150 g
-Beaten eggs: 2
-Light cake flour: 75 g
-Baking powder: 1 teaspoon

RECIPE:

-Butter/oil the inside of the mold and sprinkle with flour/line the mold with baking paper.
Sift and mix flour and baking powder together.
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (3725F)

-Soften cream cheese inside microwave oven for 10 seconds and beat it just long enough as to obtain a smooth cream.

-Mix in te beaten egg, sugar and vanilla essence.
Set apart.

-In a separate bowl, drop the chocolate and butter and soften for 10 seconds inside a microwave oven. Take care not heat it too long, otherwise the chocolate will solidify.
Mix well with a spatula.

-Add brown sugar and mix well with electric mixer. Ad the 2 beaten eggs little by little and mix well.

-With a spatula (no mixer, please!) fold in the flour and baking powder in three equal steps.

-Pour in the brownies mixture inside the mold (about 4 fifths of its depths) and smoothen surface with spatula.

-First place the cream cheese into 4 parts on top as in picture.

-Spread each cheese cream “ball” around with the spatula.

-Make “patterns” with a stick.

-Bake at 160 degrees Celsius (325F) for 25~30 minutes.
Let cool completely before taking out the cake.

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Freelance 5 - Centenario Inmigración Prefectura Shizuoka

Victor Nishio Yasuoka — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:17:28 +0000

Muestra por celebración del Centenario de Inmigración de japoneses provenientes de la Prefectura de Shizuoka, Japón. Asociación Peruano-Japonesa, 2006. Diseño publicitario, impresión y montaje de muestra.

Ramen: Tonkotsu Ramen-Professional Recipe

dragonlife — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:20:39 +0000

Here is the “professional recipe” for tonkotsu ramen as promised!

INGREDIENTS: (will provide 3.5 ltres enough soup, enough for quite a few servings!

-Pork bones: 5 (2500 g)
-Water: 13 litres

RECIPE:

Bring frozen bones to room temperature in plenty of water.
It should take about 2 hours. If you cook frozen bones directly, the blood will solidify and will be very difficult to get rid of.
If you can get fresh bones, skip this step.

Fill a very large cooking pot with water and bring to boil.

Switch off fire as soon as the water boils. Drop in the bones and let cool. This process will help you get rid of the blood and blood vessels easily.

Leave it to coll down for 30~40 minutes.

Drain the water off the bones in a large strainer.
Throw off the water.
Check and take off any blood or blood vessels for the bones.
Don’t forget to clean the pot!
Break all the bones intwo with a hammer.

Fill the pot again with clear water and bring to boil.
Drop the bones inside.

Keep cooking over a strong fire and scoop out foam and unwanted matters coming up on the surface (this shoiuld take 20 minutes at the most).
As the bottom might get hooter than near surface, stir with a large ladle from time to time.
If the inside of the pot over the water surface gets clogged with matter or gets dark, switch off fire, clean with a clean cloth and switch fire on again.

Above picture shows the soup after alll unwanted matters have stopped coming up.

Cover with a lid and a weight to prevent steam coming out from under the lid. Keep simmering on a low fire.

That’s how it looks after 1 hour.
Keep cooking.

That’s how it looks after 3 hours.

That’s how it looks after 6 hours.

That’s how it looks after 10 hours.

And after 12 hours (start early in the morning!)!

Keep cooking. Remember you are aiming at 3.5 litres of soup.
After 12 hours you may raise the fire to accelerate the cooking.
Keep the lid on!

This is what you are looking for!

This is how the bones will look after 15 hours of cooking!
Cooked at last!

Filter the soup and here you have your tonkotsu base soup ready!
After that it is up to you and your preferences: add miso, tofu, salt, sesame oil, garlic chips and your little secrets!

Now what secret ingredients have I thrown in? LOL

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Daigaku Matsuri 2009

Ando-kun — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:46:06 +0000

Seperti janjiku sebelumnya, kali ini aku memuat tulisan mengenai 大学祭 – Daigaku Matsuri (kadang disebut daigakusai, karena huruf kanji matsuri bisa dibaca dengan pelafalan sai) yang berarti festival universitas.

[kiri] depan kampus; [kanan] denah kampus saat matsuri

Orang Jepang kulihat suka sekali menyelenggarakan berbagai macam festival dengan beragam tema. Sekitar bulan November biasanya para universitas di Jepang mengadakan matsuri di kampusnya masing-masing. Biasanya matsuri yang diselenggarakan mengadakan berbagai macam kegiatan untuk meramaikannya dan yang paling sering muncul adalah bazaar makanan, ajang penampilan kelompok ekstrakulikuler seperti dance group, a capella dan pentas musik yang diisi oleh band-band kampus (atau kadang juga band undangan). Tahun ini Daigaku Matsuri diadakan oleh kampusku pada tanggal 14 dan 15 November 2009. Cuaca pada hari sabtu tanggal 14 ternyata kurang bersahabat, hujan turun cukup lebat hingga siang hari. Akan tetapi setelah itu dan juga pada hari minggunya cuaca cukup cerah, walaupun angin dan cuaca dingin musim gugur lumayan membuat menggigil orang-orang dari daerah tropis seperti aku ini.

[atas] suasana matsuri; [bawah] atraksi dance group

Seperti yang Daigaku Matsuri yang diselenggarakan tahun lalu atau pun yang sudah-sudah, tema yang diusung tetap Techno Fiesta karena kampusku dikenal sebagai kampus teknik. Acaranya sendiri tak jauh beda dengan tahun lalu seperti yang pernah kutulis tahun lalu di sini. Beberapa grup penelitian mengadakan bermacam-macam percobaan menarik untuk anak-anak. Tentunya dengan tujuan agar anak-anak merasa tertarik untuk menggeluti dunia teknik di masa depan. Grup penelitianku sendiri mengadakan dua macam percobaan:

1. Percobaan pertama diberi nama slime yang dibuat dari campuran PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) dengan boraks dan dipadukan dengan kombinasi warna yang menarik. Tentu saja pencampuran bahan kimia dilakukan oleh anggota lab kami. Barulah setelah aman untuk dipegang dan dimain-mainkan dengan tangan, anak-anak diperbolehkan untuk membentuk slime sesuai dengan bentuk yang diinginkannya dan slime yang telah dibuat boleh dibawa pulang.

2. Percobaan kedua diberi nama Shippouyaki – 七宝焼き　yang bertujuan membuat dekorasi menarik dengan menggunakan bahan gelas sebagai enamel yang ditata diatas logam. Logam yang digunakan adalah Douban – 銅版 atau lempengan tembaga. Karena koefisien penyebaran panas logam lebih tinggi daripada gelas dan akan membuat logam melengkung lebih cepat (dan mengakibatkan enamel retak), maka perlu digunakan material tambahan dibawah lempeng tembaga sebagai buffer untuk menahan tegangan agar tembaga tidak gampang melengkung. Cukup lah basa-basi ilmu materialnya, yang penting hasil dari percobaan Shippouyaki ini bisa dinikmati oleh anak-anak yang mendekorasinya dengan tangan mereka sendiri dalam bentuk gantungan kunci.

[kiri] anak-anak mendesain shippouyaki dibantu orang tuanya; [kanan] contoh gantungan kunci hasil shippouyaki.

Bazaar makanan sendiri berlangsung seperti bazaar makanan pada hari-hari matsuri lainnya. Karena cuaca musim gugur cukup dingin (sekitar 13-15 derajat Celsius), makanan yang dijual biasanya yang hangat seperti ramen, udon, yakisoba, dan oden. Ada pula yang menjual makanan khas matsuri seperti choco banana. Mahasiswa asing juga tak ketinggalan memeriahkan matsuri dengan makanan khas negara masing-masing. Ada 4 kios mahasiswa asing yang buka yaitu China, Korea, Vietnam dan Malaysia. Jangan tanya deh kenapa mahasiswa Indonesia tidak mau ikut buka warung tenda, selain memang jumlahnya sedikit, mungkin memang sudah merasa cukup kaya dan tak perlu jualan

[kiri] kios makanan Malaysia; [kanan] kios makanan Vietnam

Sekedar info, kios makanan mahasiswa Malaysia menyediakan sate ayam (yang ini juga jangan ditanya, nanti bakalan ribut klaim-klaiman seperti kasus batik) sebagai hidangan khas.

Seperti juga tahun lalu, pentas musik juga menjadi pusat perhatianku. Kalau tahun lalu aku merasa puas nongkrong di depan pentas mendengarkan cover band keren yang membawakan lagu-lagu Tokyo Jihen dan Onmyouza, tahun ini kualitasnya agak menurun terutama masalah kekurangan vokalis handal. Hal yang paling terasa adalah masalah vokalis yang memiliki suara kurang bagus, baik dari segi teknik maupun memang fals dan lafal yang kurang pas (untuk lagu berbahasa inggris). Mengenai kemampuan bermain instrumen musik, kebanyakan dari mereka memiliki kemampuan diatas rata-rata. Sayangnya cover band Tokyo Jihen tahun ini yang bernama Hama Matsu Jihen kalah jauh dibandingkan pendahulunya Soko-Soko Dynamic yang tampil dipanggung tahun lalu sebagai cover band Tokyo Jihen. Satu-satunya kelebihan Hama Matsu Jihen adalah keyboardist mereka yang punya tampang kawai. Band yang paling bagus kualitasnya secara musikal mungkin Kyodai Sensei (cover band Mr. Big), lengkap dengan atraksi pakai drill buat gitar plus ngejam bareng gitaris-bassis ala ritual Gilbert-Sheehan. Sayangnya suara vokalis Kyodai sensei lumayan bikin sakit kuping, kalau saja mereka punya penyanyi dengan suara keren tentu aksi mereka lebih sempurna.

[atas] jadwal band manggung untuk 2 hari
[kiri] hama matsu jihen band; [kanan] kyodai sensei band, jamming guitarist-bassist

Selain dua cover band diatas, ada pula cover band grup terkenal lainnya seperti Jinn (Raion band) Luna Sea (dengan nama Tamu Sea band) Radwimps (undangan dari kampus Shizuoka), RHCP (dengan nama grup yang sangar, HENTAI!), Oasis (Oa-base band) dll. Grup terbaik versiku adalah Barusu yang tampil dua kali yaitu sebagai copy band Bump of Chicken dan band yang membawakan lagu original ciptaan sendiri. Barusu band tampil cukup sempurna, baik dari segi kemampuan permainan instrumen maupun vokalis nya yang memiliki teknik vokal yang cukup bagus.

[kiri] HENTAI! band; [kanan] Barusu band

Terakhir, kampusku kedatangan pertunjukan live band GO!GO!7188 (baca: GOGO nana ichi hachi hachi) yang mengadakan pertunjukan di gedung Taishikan dalam kampus pada tanggal 14 November jam 16.00 hingga 17.00 dengan harga tiket 800 yen (murah tuh buat tiket konser live). Sayangnya aku tak sempat nonton karena kesibukan lain, padahal aku lumayan cocok dengan lagu-lagu yang mereka bawakan. Paling tidak setengah jam akhir aku bisa mendengar gratis di luar Taishikan sambil nongkrong makan sate-lontong hasil beli dari kios makanan anak Malaysia

Tempura: The Basics

dragonlife — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:50:55 +0000

Home-made style tempura

Tempura (天麩羅, or 天婦羅, tenpura, also written as “天ぷら”), which may be of Portuguese origin, is a popular Japanese dish of deep fried, battered seafood, or vegetables which has spread all the world!

The word tempura, or the technique of dipping fish and vegetables into a batter and frying them, comes from the word “tempora,” a Latin word meaning “times”, “time period” used by both Spanish and Portuguese missionaries to refer to the Lenten period or Ember Days (ad tempora quadragesimae), Fridays, and other Christian holy days.

Tempura at a Japanese Restaurant

In Japan, restaurants specializing in tempura are called tenpura-ya and range from inexpensive fast food chains to very expensive five-star restaurants. Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a set meal or an obento (lunch box), and it is also a popular ingredient in take-out or convenience store obento boxes. The ingredients and styles of cooking and serving tempura vary greatly through the country, with importance being placed on using fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Vegetables Tempura

Batter
A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour. Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added. Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches using chopsticks for only a few seconds, leaving lumps in the mixture that, along with the cold batter temperature, result in the unique fluffy and crisp tempura structure when cooked. The batter is often kept cold by adding ice, or by placing the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice in it. Over-mixing the batter will result in activation of wheat gluten, which causes the flour mixture to become chewy and dough-like when fried.

Specially formulated tempura flour is available in worldwide supermarkets. This is generally light (low-gluten) flour and occasionally contains leaveners such as baking powder.

Some varieties of tempura are dipped in a final coating, such as sesame seeds, before frying. Tempura generally does not use breadcrumbs in the coating.

Shrimps Tempura

Frying
Thin slices or strips of vegetables or seafood are dipped in the batter, then briefly deep-fried in hot oil. Vegetable oil or canola oil are most common, however tempura was traditionally cooked using sesame oil. Many specialty shops still use sesame oil or tea seed oil, and it is thought that certain compounds in these oils help to produce light, crispier batter.

When cooking shellfish, squid, or hard-skinned watery vegetables such as bell pepper or eggplant, the skin is usually scored with a knife to prevent the ingredients from bursting during cooking, which can cause serious burns from splashing oil.

Oil temperature is generally kept between 160 and 180 degrees Celsius, depending on the ingredient. In order to preserve the natural flavour and texture of the ingredients, care is taken not to overcook tempura. Cooking times range between a few seconds for delicate leaf vegetables, to several minutes for thick items or large kaki-age fritters.

The bits of batter (known as tenkasu) are scooped out between batches of tempura, so they do not burn and leave a bad flavour in the oil. A small mesh scoop is used for this purpose. Tenkasu are often reserved as ingredients in other dishes or as a topping.

Tempura Tendon (on a bowl of rice)

Ingredients
Seafood: Prawn, Shrimp, squid, scallop, anago (conger eel), ayu (sweetfish), crab, and a wide variety of fish and shellfish.
Vegetables: bell pepper, kabocha squash, eggplant, carrot, burdock, green beans, sweet potato, yam, potato, renkon (lotus root), shiitake mushroom, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, okra.
There is no real limit, actually.
Keep in mind that it is probably the best way to appreciate wild mountain vegetables!

Tempura served on Soba!

Serving and presentation
Cooked bits of tempura are either eaten with dipping sauce or used to assemble other dishes. Tempura is commonly served with grated daikon and eaten hot immediately after frying. The most common sauce is tentsuyu sauce (roughly three parts dashi, one part mirin, and one part shoyu). Alternatively, tempura may be sprinkled with sea salt before eating. Mixtures of powdered green tea and salt or yuzu and salt are also used.

Kakiage on a bowl of rice

Kakiage is a type of tempura made with mixed vegetable strips, such as onion, carrot, and burdock, and sometimes including shrimp, which are deep fried as small round fritters.

Tempura is also used in combination with other foods. When served over soba (buckwheat noodles), it is called tempura soba or tensoba. Tempura is also served as a donburi dish where tempura shrimp and vegetables are served over steamed rice in a bowl (tendon) and on top of udon soup (Tempura Udon).

Tempura and Kakiage Professional recipes coming soon!

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Kabocha Lemon Cupcakes

dragonlife — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:24:16 +0000

It seems I have finally caught the “cupcakes disease”. I cannot fail being attracted to cupcake recipe, but with the difference I’m only interested in the Japanese varieties!

Kabocha, or Cambodia abóbora in Latin, originally came from the Andes region in South America but was develpped as the present variety in Cambodia, hence its name.
The Japanese grow a lot of them but they have to import them notably from Tonga in the South Pacific to satisfy the enormous demand!

Here is a very simple recipe for people in a hurry!
Kabocha Lemon Cupcakes!

INGREDIENTS: 8~10 cakes

-Hot-cake mix: 200 g
-Honey (liquid): 3 tablespoons
-Kabotcha (or pumpkin): 3 tablespoons (mash them first)
-Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
-Milk: 60 ml
-Unsalted butter: 80 g
-Eggs: 2 large
-Almond slices (to taste)

RECIPE:

-Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Bring butter back to home temperature.

-In a bowl mix the eggs and butter well until smooth. Add honey and mix. Add mashed kabocha and mix.

-Add milk and mix. Add hot cake mix (powdered mixture) and mix well.

-Add lemon juice and mix well.

-Fill cups up to 6 or 7 tenths of their depths. Decorate with almond slices

-Bake in oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 2~23 minutes.

Easy, isn’t it?

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Ramen: Korean-style Recipe

dragonlife — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:26:40 +0000

Not only the Japanese, but koreans also make succulent ramen.
Here is a very simple home-made recipe in Korean style:

Korean-style ramen!

INGREDIENTS: For 1 person?

-Instant Korean ramen with their soup powder: 1 pack (size is up to you! readily available in all Asian markets)
-Water: 500 ml
-Squid: 50 g
-Shrimps: 50 g
-Mushrooms: 30 g
-Fresh beasprouts: 50 g
-Thick short leek: 2
-Salad oil: 1 tablespoon
-Grated garlic: 1 teaspoon
-Oyster sauce: 1 teaspoon
-Salt: a little
-Pepper: a little

RECIPE:

-Cut the squid in 1 cm/5cm pieces. Take shell off shrimps.
In a frypan pour the oil with grated garlic and switch on fire/heat.

-As soon as the garlic aroma comes out add shrimps and squid and fry until shrimp have changed colour. Add mushrooms, beansprouts, oyster sauce, salt and pepper and stir-fry for a short moment.

-In a large pot bring water to boil. Drop ramen, instant Korean powdered soup and other seasoning if included.

-As soon as you are satisfied with the consistency of the ramen add fried squid and shrimps and leeks cut in proper size.

-You prefer to serve in the following way:
First the ramen with their soup.
Second topped with fried squid, shrimps and mushrooms.
Last decorated with cut leeks.

Simple and easy to improve on!

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Robert Yellin's Newsletter: Japanese Pottery by Fujioka Shuhei

dragonlife — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:12:16 +0000

Greetings from Mishima,

We hope this finds all well and enjoying the wonders of autumn
(here in the northern hemisphere).

As the rain falls here for the past few days, I know magical snow is falling on Mt.Fuji, what a wonder to see when rain stops and the clouds part; I hope to share that wondrous sight in a future online listing! Stay tuned, yet for now it’s Iga time.

We are excited to announce and share previews of our third Fujioka Shuhei exhibition. Iga ceramic artist Fujioka Shuhei (b.1947) possesses the power to make mountains out of clay. He then fires his bold creations in an anagama to ‘fire-brush’ on mossy green, blue and gray natural ash glazes.

These captivating colors contrast and highlight the rich clay flavor and hi-iro (fire color) that Iga is world-renowned for, as well as the koge scorch colors (Iga has three famous keshiki-landscapes of hi-iro, koge and bidoro-glass). Iga is one of those magical medieval styles that speaks volumes of the Zen-inspired ways that are to be found within Tea-pottery; Fujioka understands this. His heart is pure and he loves the earth at his feet, whether it is for his clay works, or the vegetables he grows in the fields. Like potters of old, he too is a farmer and listens to the teachings that nature whispers in his ears. In a nutshell, after graduating college Fujioka went to work for a production kiln in Seto. Yet upon seeing a Ko-Iga piece, he then knew there was no other style for him. He apprenticed with Tanimoto Kosei before establishing his own kiln in 1975.

He’s had countless solo exhibitions throughout Japan and has been featured in numerous publications. Fujioka is to Iga what Harada and Kakurezaki are to Bizen, except without all the awards. He’s a soft-spoken man, humble and deep; all these qualities are in his work as well as an awe-inspiring feel of the power of nature. Fujioka fires a small kiln for three
days and if he gets a one-third success rate for any kiln he feels it’s been a success. The high loss rate is one reason we find so few Iga potters, it’s almost loony–as Fujioka himself says—to work in Iga with all its hurdles and failures. Yet the successes are clay jewels, as you’ll see for yourself in the following links. We are extremely pleased to offer the world a chance to see Fujioka’s Iga world online or here at our Mishima gallery until December 10th.

The exhibition will go online for public viewing on Tuesday of next week, for those who have signed our guest book please see the following hidden preview links. Only minimal details are noted and any extra information or additional photos will gladly be sent upon request. We hope you enjoy the world of one of Iga’s most important ceramic artists today, Fujioka Shuhei:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Also, our gallery was very honored to be the feature in arecent Japan Times article, you can access that here:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20091114a1.html

Kampai and all the best from Japan.

Cordially,

Robert Yellin
HOMEPAGE

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Organic Delights in Kamakura

dragonlife — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:50:18 +0000

Kamakura beach and surfers

Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture is an internationally celebrated tourist post.

Unfortunately for all the beauty of the city, its mountains, old buildings, ancient culture and striking sea shore, the great majority of its restaurants and cafes are little more than traps for the crowds of tourists and surfers.

The perfect fried organic potatoes with anchovy and garlic savoury garnish at Magokoro!

But some locals belatedly realized that things had to change or else.
Heaps of organic food are grown or raised in Kamakura and its neighbourhood.
Just add to that the marine produce of the Pacific Ocean and you have the ideal combination to satisfy all tastes and priorities, be they omnivore, vegetarian or even vegan.

The same locals formed their own association, The Japan Vegetarian Society, in 1993 to help their fellow citizens and newcomers alike to discover restaurants, cafes and shops in accordance with their favourite food styles.

Since then they have grown into a small but extremely active non profit organization not only with their own blog/website but also a semi bilingual free pamphlet with a guide and map to no less than 51 establishments!

Blog address (Japanese)
Call 0467-25-2668 if you cannot find the map.

Organic Vegetables and fish (mackerel) Lunch tray at Magokoro

The pamphlet/map is a real little treasure as it features not only restaurants, cafes, confectioneries, fair trade goods shops, grocery stores but even “earth-conscious (ecological) shops”, temples, body-care-shop, bicycle rental shops, hiking courses, temples, cooking schools and tourist information desks!

Each establishment is represented with at least one picture with letters indicating whether it serves or sells vegan, vegetarian food. It also clearly explains through the same simple lettering system if the food contains seafood, seafood seasoning, dairy products, eggs or even if it does contain such produce as leek, Chinese chive (nira) Japanese shallot (Rakkyo), onion or garlic!

It goes as far as counseling people to double-check in some cases!
The whole literally backed up by an easy English/Japanese lexicon for tourists with special gastronomic priorities on the other side of the pamphlet!

The same very ecology-conscious association has initiated an unusual association of shops with their own currency: Beach Money and Beach Money Shops!

The all-organic vegetables lunch tray at Magokoro

One outstanding establishment among this unforeseen wealth is a café/restaurant located right in front of the main beach where surfers and wind-surfers practice their sport all year round: Magokoro/麻心！

Founded in 2001, it has become the reference to organic (for all tastes!) food in the city of Kamakura.
For lunch you can choose among trays of organic food containing only vegetables, or a combination of the same and meat or fish. They will make sure not to include any dairy products, egg or mayonnaise for vegans upon request.
Vegetarians and omnivores will want to sample the restaurant organic creations featuring pizzas, curry dishes, macrobiotic cakes, organic coffees and teas, hemp beer according to the seasons and times of the year.
Keep in mind you might have to wait as it is extremely popular!

In the afternoon it will be easier to enjoy the sea view from their bay window counter seats or relax surrounded by a décor all of wood, painted walls and charming artistic bric-a-brac, the more for it as the whole establishment is non-smoking!

Live music and events are organized in the evenings (also in daytime occasionally), including Colour Therapy Sessions.
Better check in advance!

The Organic & Hemp Style Café & Bar, Magokoro
2-8-11, Hase, Kamakura, 248-0016 (within walking distance fromHase Station)
Tel. & Fax: 0467-25-1414
Homepage (Japanese, but including pics of their food!)

Kamakura Welcome Guide Association
Tel.: 0467-22-3516
Homepage (English, French, Japanese, Chinese plus services provided in Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian)

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Ramen with Komatsuna and Minced Meat

dragonlife — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:51:28 +0000

All ramen lovers, please check Ramendo’s great Ramen Poll!

Ramen make for excellently balanced meals when properly combined with green vegetables and meat.
Here is a simple recipe combining ramen with minced pork and bee and komatsu leaves:

Ramen with Komatsuna and Minced Meat!

Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis or var. komatsuna, コマツナ/小松菜、冬菜、鶯菜) is a type of leaf vegetable. It is a variant of the same species as the common turnip. It is grown in Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It is also known as Japanese Mustard Spinach and can be stir-fried, pickled, boiled and added to soups or used fresh in salads. It is an excellent source of calcium. It is also used for fodder in some Asian countries. The leaves of komatsuna can be eaten at any stage of growth. In a mature plant they are dark green with slender light green stalks, around 30 cm long and 18 cm wide. It is most often grown in the spring and autumn, as it cannot endure extreme heat or cold for more than a short time.

INGREDIENTS: For 2 persons

-Non-fry instant ramen (sold with shoyu/soy sauce taste stock soup powder): 2 packs
-Minced meat (half beef, half pork. Can be replaced with chicken): 180 g
-Komatsuna (or spinach): 1 bouquet (as much as you want, actually!)
-Ginger: 1 fresh piece (2×2 cm)
-Garlic (little smell variety if you can find it): 1 large clove
-Sesame oil: 1 teaspoon
-Chicken Bouillon powder (to taste): 1 cube~ crushed into powder

-Cornstarch: to taste (depends on how thick you like your soup)
-Water: 50 ml

RECIPE:

-Cut the komatsuna/spinach into 2 or 3 easy to eat lengths. Chop the ginger fine. Slice the garlic.

-Mix the cornstarch with a water in small cup (don’t forget to stir it again before using it!)

-Prepare the soup by heating water added with the soup bought together with the instant ramen.

-Boil the ramen in salted water to the consistence of your liking.

-While the ramen are boiling, In a frypan fry the ginger and garlic in sesame oil over a small fire so as to bring out flavour.

-Once the aroma of the fried chopped condiments come out add the minced meat and fry over a medium high fire.

-Once the meat is well cooked, throw in the komatusna, lower stems irst for a few seconds and then all the rest, over a strong fire.

-Add the chicken bouillon powder and mix well.

-Reduce the fire to low. sprinkle over with all the starch mixed with water. Turn the fire to high and stir until the sauce around the meat and veg has thickened to your liking. Switch off fire.

-In a bowl (two bowls for 2 in this case), drop the boiled and drained ramen. Cover with soup and top with fried komatsuna and minced meat.

Simple!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
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Non-Wheat Kabosu Cupcakes

dragonlife — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:29:49 +0000

Here is a tasty Japanese inspired cupcake for wheat allergics!

Non-wheat kabosu cupcakes!

Kabosu (カボス or 臭橙) is a juicy green citrus fruit (Latin name: Citrus sphaerocarpa) closely related to the yuzu/Japanese lime with the sharpness of lemon, used instead of vinegar in some Japanese dishes. It grows on a flowering plant with sharp thorns, and the fruit is harvested when still green but ripens to yellow. Kabosu was brought over from China in the Edo Period and became a popular fruit in Japan. It is produced in most areas of Ōita Prefecture (Kyushu Island) but particularly in Taketa and Usuki. The actual fruit is regarded as a delicacy in other parts of Japan, as it is often expensive outside of Ōita Prefecture. It improves the taste of many dishes, especially baked fish, sashimi and hot pot dishes.

INGREDIENTS: for 6~7 cupcakes

-Kabosu 1 (if notavailable, use lime, yuzu or lemon or your choice!)
-Eggs: 2
-Rice powder: 80 g
-Sugar: 50 g
-Butter: 50 g
-Sugar for icing

RECIPE:

-Cut out six thin slices from the kabosu/lime. Press the juice out of the rest (15 ml). Cut the skin into thin strips (later cut them again into small pieces according to your preference).

-Melt the butter inside a microwave oven (500~600W) for 40~50 seconds. Keep aside.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

-In a bowl beat the eggs with half of the sugar over a bain-marie (a larger bowl containing hot water (about 60 degrees Celsius). When smooth add the rest of the sugar.

-When the mixture has reached a temperature equivalent to a human body temperature take bowl off the bain-marie. Keep beating until the mixture attains a whitish colour. Then beat at low speed for 3 more minutes.

-Add the rice powder and fold/mix it in with a spatula.

-Add melted butter, Kabosu/lime juice and chopped Kabosu/lime skin/zest. Mix them in gently.

-Grease mold with butter or olive oil if you use a mold instead of cupcake paper cups. Fill in mold/cups with mixture.

-Place one slice of Kabosu/lime on top of each cake. Sprinkle sugar over the top.
Bake in oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minute.

-Take out and let cool down completely before taking cakes out of their molds.

-If you do not serve them immediately, wrap them in cellophane paper and preserve them inside fridge.

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Tofu Pound Cake

dragonlife — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:42:22 +0000

Tofu has the great quality that it makes all things lighter, especially cakes.
Have you ever thought of making a pound cake with it (with a twist added!)?

Tofu Pound Cake!

INGREDIENTS: For a cake 16.5 cm long and a square cut of 7 cm sides

-Egg whites: 2
-Egg yolks: 2
-Sugar: 30 g
-Tofu (after taking some of its water off): 120 g
-Honey (liquid): 2 tablespoons
-All-purpose flour: 50 g
-Baking powder: half a teaspoon
-Soy sauce: 1 teaspoon
-Mirin/sweet sake: 1 tablespoon
-Milk: 2 tablespoons

RECIPE:

-Mix flour and baking powder well.
-Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

-In a bowl drop the egg whites with half of the sugar. Beat until solid. Beat 30 more times with a whisk.

-In a separate bowl drop in the tofu, rest of the sugar and egg yolks. Beat with a whisker until smooth. Do not mix too much!

-Add honey, soy sauce, mirin and milk in that order to the egg yols mixture and mix in one each at a time.

-Add and mix in the flour and baking powder mixture little by little with a spatula.

-Add the meringue (beaten egg whites) by folding them in with a spatula in 2 or three sessions.

-Line the mold with baking paper and pour in the whole mixture.
Bake for 40 minutes (the picture above shows the cake baked after 10 minutes)

-Leave the cake inside the oven for 10 more minutes after the oven has switched off after the 40 minutes of cooking. Open the oven, but leave the cake inside for an extra 10 minutes before taking it out.

-Let cool down completely.
Leave inside the fridge for half a day before serving.

NOTE:

You can replace the soy sauce and mirin with cocoa powder (1 tablespoon)!

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Ramen: Simple Recipe with Beansprouts, Butter and Miso!

dragonlife — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:37:52 +0000

The Basic and Complete Ramen Recipe, I must admit, was complicated and a bit hard for friends to follow, but ramen can also be made simple and tasty.
Here is an example:
Ramen with beansprouts, butter and miso!

INGREDIENTS: For 2 servings

-Beansprouts (“moyashi”/もやし): one pack or a very large handful. Fresh, please!
-Onion: one half
-Bacon: 2 rashers
-Ramen: enough for 2 persons
-Butter: 1 tablespoon
-Miso: to taste

RECIPE:

-While you boil the ramen, cut the onion and bacon into thin slices and fry. Boil some very lightly salted water for the soup (if you have bought the ramen with their soup, add it to the water, although it might become a bit heavy)

After the onion have become translucent and started taking in the bacon juices throw in the beansprouts and butter. Add just enough soup water as to obtain a thick enough soup. Add miso and stir.

In a bowl drop the boiled and drained ramen and top it with the beansprouts, bacon and onion soup!
Easy, isn’t it?

NOTE:
If you wish to make your ramen spicy add spices and chili when you fry the onion and bacon.
Don’t be afraid of using a lot of beansprouts (and other thinly cut veg if you wish)!

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Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2009/11/16)

dragonlife — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:15:41 +0000

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

After several months of conditioning, the 2009 version of Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale is at last ready for release. The draught version will be pouring from our Taproom taps as well as the taps of other Baird Beer retailing pubs and restaurants beginning Thursday, November 19. 633 ml bottles will be available for purchase beginning the same day at fine craft beer retailing liquor stores throughout Japan.

Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale (ABV 7.7%):

Scotland, an historically important center of beer brewing, has a cool climate that favors cultivation of the hardy barley plant. Scottish Ales, thus, tend to feature the rich and robust flavor of malted barley. Baird Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale is, in a word, opulent! The color is a deep mahogany brown and the head is dense, creamy and tan. The aroma is one of soft fruit esters and warm fusel alcohols. The body is chewy and the flavor exhibits notes of molasses, caramel apples, rum cake and pit fruit. One hearty pint is enough to take the bite out of the late autumn chill. Two pints will leave you toasty, and blissfully, warm. Three pints and…. YABAI!

Beers for Books Charity Event @ Numazu Fishmarket Taproom (Sunday, November 22):

The Numazu Fishmarket Taproom is joining hands with the Beers for Books organization (www.beersforbooks.org) to raise money for the Room to Read charity which purchases books for poverty-stricken kids in third world countries. All day long on Sunday, November 22, the Fishmarket Taproom will donate 100 yen per Baird Beer pint sold (and 10% of revenue generated from other drink sales) to the Room to Read charity. In conjunction, the Baird Brewery will be conducting charity-supporting brewery tours for interested attendees at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 pm. A charity beer quiz and guess the # of hops in the Jar contest also will be held and prizes awarded. We even are trying to organize a catch the biggest fish competition hopefully to be held in the fish market inner harbor across from the Taproom. This is a terrific cause and the event promises to be as enjoyable as it is constructive. Please plan on joining us.

Cheers!

Bryan Baird
Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

The Japan Blog List

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Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
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Ramen: A Basic Complete Recipe

dragonlife — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:22:59 +0000

The following ramen recipe is complete but basic and can be improved on with many variations and other ingredients. It originally comes from Saitama prefecture, just morth of Tokyo.

INGREDIENTS: For 14~15 servings

SOUP/STOCK
-Pork bone: 1~2
-Pig feet/trotter: 1
-Chicken frame/chicken carcass: 1 whole chicken
-Pork belly (for chashu): 1.3 kg
-Onion, carrot, potato: 1/2 of each
-Cabbage: 1/8
-Leeks (green part): 2
-Figs: 2
-Fresh ginger root: 3 slices
-Garlic: 1 whole
-Chili pepper: 1 whole

JAPANESE BASE SOUP/STOCK:
-Water: 2.5 liters
-Konbu/dry seaweed: 6
-Iriko (small dry fish): 50g
-Dried shiitake mushroom: 2
-Kongoukezuribushi or Niboshi dashi/dry sardines shavings for stock: 1 pack

CHASHU/CHAR SIU SAUCE
-Water: 1000 ml
-Soy sauce: 500 ml
-Japanese sake: 200 ml
-Mirin/Sweet sake: 50 ml
-Sugar: 110 g
-Fresh ginger and garlic: 2 each
-Chicken breasts: 2 (optional)

SHOYU DARE/SOY SAUCE SAUCE:
-Japanese base stock soup: 300 ml
-Konbu/dried shiitake: 1 each
-Japanese sake: 100 ml
-Mirin/sweet sake: 1 tablespoon
-Iriko/small dry fish: 30 g
-Kongoukezuribushi or Niboshi dashi/dry sardines shavings for stock: 80 g
-Soy sauce: 500 ml
-Salt: 1 tablespoon
-Hana katsuo/large bonito shavings: 150 g
-Chashu/Char siu sauce: 150 ml

MEN/NOODLES:
-Bread flour: 1 kg
-Cookie flour: 500 g
-Salt: 23 g
-Eggs: 11~12/580 g
-Butter: 90g

MENMA/ (メンマ or 麺麻 or 麺碼), a Japanese condiment made from lactate-fermented bamboo shoots
-Packed boiled menma: 1 kg
-Sesame oil: 1~2 tablespoons
-Chili pepper: 1 whole
-Mirin/sweet sake: 2 tablespoons
-Japanese sake: 2 tablespoons
-Soy sauce: 6 tablespoons
-Chashyu/Char siu soup: 4 tablespoons

OTHERS:
-Boiled egg, chopped leeks, nori seaweed, etc.

RECIPE:

Konbu and dashi sold in Japanese supermarkets.

Packed boiled menma sold in Jpanese supermarkets.

FIRST DAY:

Keep in mind that such ramen take two day to prepare!

JAPANESE STOCK:
Pour all the ingredients for the Japanese soup stock in a large bowl and let rest a whole night (inside the fridge in summer!)

Wash the blood off the chicken carcass and pork bones with clear cold water.
Break the pork bones in two.

Holding the pork feet with tongs, burn the hair away over a gas flame.
Clean with clear cold water.

Roll thepork belly cut with the thinner part inside. Secure it by binding it tightly in cooking rope/thread. Do the same with the chicken breast if you use them.

Wash vegetables and cut roughly.
Do not peel them!

In a large enough (7~10 l) pot, pour plenty of water and boil the pork bones inside over a strong fire.
Skim off the water regularly of all unwanted matters.

When unwanted matters have stopped appearing, add chicken carcass, pork belly, pig feet/trotters and boil over a medium high fire, skimming off all unwanted matters regularly until they stop appearing.

Add vegetables and seasoning and simmer over a medium high fire for 2 hours.
Switch off fire.

Chashyu/Char siu
Take out pork abelly (and chicken if used) out of the pot and simmer it in the Chashyu/Char siu sauce for 2 hours.

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SECOND DAY

SHOYU DARE/SOY SAUCE SOUP
Take out all solid ingredients out of the Japanese base soup stock pan.
Take 300 ml out of it into a separate bowl.
Add the other ingredients (-Konbu, dried shiitake, Japanese sake, Mirin/sweet sake, iriko/small dry fish, Kongoukezuribushi or Niboshi dashi/dry sardines shavings for stock, Soy sauce, Salt, Hana katsuo/large bonito shavings) and 150 ml of the Chashyu/Char siu sauce.

SOUP
Bring the soup left after cooking the chashyu/Cahar siu to boil.
Discard vegetables.

Add the rest of the Japanese base soup stock and cook over a low fire for 2 hours. This will be your basic soup.

NOODLES

Prepare noodles bymixin the ingredients as you would do with pasta.
Cut the noodles with a pasta machine to 2×2 mm and let rest inside fridge.

MENMA

Bring water to boil in a pot.
Boil the menma for a little while.
Drain completely.

Pour the sesame oil in a frying pan. Lightly fry menma and chili pepper. Add other ingredients. Keep frying until juices have reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Transfer into a bowl. Let cool completely. Keep in fridge.

The proportions for the soup and shoyu dare should be of 360~400 ml of soup for 35~50 ml of shoyu dare. Adjust to taste.

After having chilled the chashyu/char siu well cut ino slices of the thickness of your preference.
Chop the leeks.

Heat large serving bowl in hot water.
Boil the noodles in a large pot for 4~5 minutes.

While you boil the noodles, throw hot water out of the serving bowl.
Pour shoyu dare then the soup.
Drain the noodles and drop them in the soup.
Place chashyu/char siu, boiled eggs, chopped leeks and nori on top and serve!

NOTE:

The noodles according to this recipe should have enough “bite” to them while blending well with the soup!

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