Recipe: Hojicha Roasted Tea Pudding

It's been a while since I posted, belated Happy New Year :)
I would like to introduce this simple and easy dessert recipe as a first post of the year.

Hojicha is a type of roasted green tea with smokey and nutty flavor. Looks very earthy... just as it smells and tastes :) In Kyoto I used to live near tea shop where Hojicha was being roasted in spinning drums every day. I found the smell of the tea was very therapeutic.

Since it is made with stalks not only with leaves, it contains less caffeine than green tea, therefore it can be enjoyed in the evenings, served after dinner.

Hojicha making started in early 20th century, originally it was made not to waste parts of the tea plant which is usually scattered as debris. Even though it was created for economical reasons, it has still some sort of elegance in it, probably due to careful roasting process.

Hojicha really goes well with milk since it's got some caramel flavor. I make Hojicha Chai, milk tea with spices such as cinnamon or ginger. When it's cold outside, it warms my body and soul.

ほうじ茶プリン
Hojicha Pudding (Roasted tea pudding)

Ingredients for 4

• Hojicha: 10 grams
• Whole Milk: 1 cup
• Brown sugar: 3tbsp
• Egg: 2

Steps

1. Mix 3 tbsp of hot water and Hojicha, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Heat milk  in a small pot. Once it gets close to boiling, turn off the heat and add brown sugar.
3. Strain the Hojicha and remove the leaves and stem, add the Hojicha liquid to the pot.
4. Whisk the eggs and slowly add in the pot.
5. Separate mixture into 4 small cups(I used ramekins)
6. Using the steamer, steam at medium heat for 6 minutes
7. Turn off the heat, let them rest for 10 minutes and remove from the steamer.

Isn't it super simple :) This year I will explore recipes using hojicha and other unique ingredients. Please look forward to!

Recipe: Chicken Wings with Glaze

Since I started living with my fiance, my cooking routine has changed.

When I was living by myself, most of the time I made simple vegetable dishes such as soup, curry or quick rice bowls with occasional meat dishes. I repeated similar dishes.. and it was a bit boring, as I think of it now.

Now I am preparing food for me and my fiance, I enjoy cooking than ever before. Because he loves to eat, and has been to all those good restaurants in NYC, I feel a bit more motivated, and become more serious about cooking.

It is a great feeling when we cook for someone and see them enjoying it :)

Since he loves Japanese Izakaya(tapas bar), I often make dishes we see on their menu. Today's recipe is Tebasaki, Chiken wing with pepper and sweet savory sauce.

Tebasaki is such a crowd pleaser and every time I made for parties, they loved it. The aroma of sweet savory sauce is so appetizing! In Izakaya, wings are usually deep fried, but here I just fried with less amount of oil to make it healthier. Therefore texture is softer than deep-fried ones, but it still tastes delicious ;)

If you prefer extra crispy skin, you can deep fry just like you make Karaage before soaking in the sauce (Tips: Fry twice! See my recipes Salmon Tatsuta)

手羽先の甘辛揚げ
Tebasaki no Amakara Age: Chicken Wings with Savory Sweet Glaze

Ingredients for 4 

• Chicken wings: 10 pieces
• Katakuriko(Potato starch): 3 tbsp
• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• garlic: 1 clove, ground
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Sesame seeds(Optional)
• Shichimi Pepper(Optional)

Steps

1. Fork the wings, salt evenly and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
2. To make glaze, mix soy sauce, sake, sugar and garlic, and bring it to boil. As the mixture thickens, remove from the heat and put it aside.
3. Take out the wings from the refrigerator, pat dry with paper towel and sprinkle black pepper
4. Put wings in a bowl, sprinkle Katakuriko and toss it until wings are evenly covered
5. On a frying pan, heat about 1/2 inch of oil , fry both sides of the wings until the skin become golden brown 
6. Transfer wings to the glaze and coat it 
7.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and Shichimi pepper(optional) and serve

Just as buffalo wings, please enjoy with using your hands!

This day, we had Tebasaki with Okura&Hijiki seaweed salad, and brown rice. The salad was also yummy so I will post the recipe sometime soon :)

Recipe: Sake Lees Soup with Root Vegetables

All those beautiful Facebook/Instagram photos of the fall foliage from Japan tell me that fall is getting deeper and deeper there, and winter is right around the corner.

People in Japan(or everywhere) love to celebrate seasons in many ways, like visiting countryside or park to enjoy transitions of landscape, decorating the houses, attending cultural events and traditional festivals, and of course, cooking seasonal dishes.

Today's recipe is Kasujiru, Sake Lees soup with winter root vegetables.

Kasu is a lee left over from sake production, but it is too good just to be "leftovers". It looks like cheese but tastes and smells exactly like sake. It's used for marinading or flavoring for fish, meat, or even for desserts. Not only cooking, it is also used to make facial masks for anti-aging.

Kasu is packed with nutrition such as protein, vitamin B1, B2, B6 and minerals. In the cold season, some people make Amazake(rice wine) from Kasu to strengthen the immune system and stay healthy during winter.

In the US, it can be purchased in any Japanese grocery store, usually sold in frozen food section.

Sakekasu

First time I used Sake Kasu was when I was working in Kyoto where there are many famous sake breweries. My senior coworker Mrs Yamamoto brought Sake Kasu to share with us, and she suggested making Kasujiru. The winter in Kyoto was brutal, the cold winds chilled my bones but I could survive it with this hearty Kasujiru.

Kasujiru is perfect for cold days, especially with root vegetables which keep our body warm and are rich in anti-oxidants.

粕汁
Kasu jiru: Sake Lees Soup

Ingredients for 4:

• Sake kasu: 6oz
• Chicken thigh: 4oz cut into bite size
• Carrot: 2oz, peeled and sliced
• Daikon radish: 3oz. peeled, cut into half and sliced
• Japanese sweet potato: 3 oz, cut into half and sliced
• Gobo(Burdock): peeled and sliced
• Dry shiitake mushrooms: 1 oz. stem removed
• Scallions: 1/2 cup, thinly sliced
• Warm water: 5 cups
• Miso: 2 tbsp
• Pinch of salt
• Shichimi red pepper to taste(Optional)

<Prep>

1. To make kasu mixture, crumble kasu into a small bowl and add 1/2 cup of water(additional) to soften, set aside.
2. To make dashi stock, soak shiitake in 5 cups of warm water for 20 minutes, take out shiitake and squeeze liquid  to drain, and reserve the liquid and mushroom separately.

Steps: 

1. Heat dashi stock in a pot, put carrot, daikon, sweet potato, burdock and shiitake. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes
2. Add chicken and shimmer until vegetables and chicken are cooked
3. Add Kasu mixture and pinch of salt, gently stir, simmer for 1 minute
4. Make miso paste: In a small bowl, take out 1/2 cups of liquid from the pot, add miso and whisk until smooth
5. Turn off the heat and stir in Miso paste. Serve with scallions and red pepper.

In this recipe I used chicken, but also salmon fillet or thinly sliced pork works well.

Kasu still contains alcohol but it will be gone in the process of cooking with heat. I still have a lot of leftover kasu sheets, so I am thinking about making sweet rice wine sometime soon... if I do I will let you know how it goes!

Recipe: Shiso Tsukune : Chicken Meatball

If you have been to Izakaya, Japanese style tapas bar, you might have seen Tsukune on the menu.

Tsukune is Japanese style meatball covered with Tare(savory sweet sauce). It usually is grilled on chacoal in Izakaya or Yakitori restaurant, but today I am sharing recipe using frying pan so we do not have to bring BBQ grill out.

I made it several times for my fiance and guests, and everyone love it, so I am sure you will do too! Just as my other recipes, it is pretty easy and quick to cook with very little effort.

In this recipe I use Shiso leaves, known as Japanese basil, to add some fresh aroma. Yes, Shiso is that vibrant green leaves resting under Sashimi. You might have wondered if it's edible or not. It has pungent flavor similar to basil or mint leaves and can be paired with anything from cooked meat to raw fish.

Shiso can be found in Japanse supermarket but if you cannot find it where you live, you can omit it and it still tastes great!

To combine ground meat well, some uses panko, tofu or egg instead of Katakuriko. Others uses chopped fish cake(Hanpen), lotus roots(Renkon) or cartilages(Nankotsu) to change its texture.  Once you know how to make basic Tsukune, you can play around with different ingredients for your preference.

青じそつくね

Aojiso Tsukune: Chicken Meatball with Green Shiso Leaves

Ingredients for 4

For Tsukune:

• Ground chicken : 1 lb
• Shiso(Green Shiso) : 8 leaves, chopped
• Onion: Large 1/2 Finely chopped
• Ground ginger: 1 tsp
• Soy sauce: 2 tsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Pinch of salt
• Potato starch(Katakuriko): 1tbsp

For Tare(sauce):

• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Sake: 2 tbsp

Steps

1. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for sauce.
2. In a large bowl, knead ground chicken and pinch of salt very well.
3. Add soy sauce, sugar, ground ginger to the meat mixture and continue kneading until it becomes sticky.
4. Add katakuriko, shiso and chopped onion and mix well.
5. Divide mixture into 8 portions, roll them into small balls and slightly flatten them.
6. On a frying pan, heat oil over medium heat and fry meat balls until each sides become brown
7. Add sauce mixture and cook until the sauce becomes thick and a bit glossy.

If you like to enjoy only Tsukune, you can skip making Tare and it still tastes great! Tsukune goes very well with white rice, but I also like to wrap with fresh lettuce and bite it with big mouth. 

And if you have plans to do BBQ, definitely try cooking on the charcoal grill with skewers :)

Soshoku: Traditional Breakfast

For Sunday brunch, we made traditional Japanese breakfast:

Rice, Miso soup with Daikon raddish, Komochi Shishamo(Grilled smelt), Mentai(Spicy cod roe), Natto(Fermented soybeans) and egg.

Traditional Japanese meal is very simple, and it usually contains rice, soup and one or few side dishes.

We call this style of the meal Soshoku 粗食(Frugal food), and menu is descriped as Ichiju Issai 一汁一菜（One soup, one dish） or Ichiju Sansai 一汁三菜（One soup, three dishes) depending on the number of side dishes.

The word Soshoku originally means the meals for Buddhist monks in Zen temples, but the tradition of simple meal can be traced back to really, really long time ago.

People in Yayoi period(300 BC to AD 300) were reported to eat cooked sticky rice, soup and dried fish. Hmm, almost the same as what we had for brunch.

Soshoku is widely popular in Japan as a balanced diet which is low in fat, high in fiber, less-processed and nutrition-packed, and helps to prevent lifestyle diseases associated with eating habits.

 Also, probiotic foods such as miso, natto and pickles contains powerful bacteria beneficial for building strong immune system and maintaining better digestion.

Besides great health benefits, it is absolutely delicious. It's surprising to see how simple things can work in harmony and create such good flavors.

Enjoying Soshoku -- Simplifying our meal, decorating nicely, eating slowly to appreciate the aroma, colors and taste of each bite will give good rest to our digestive system, and probably, calmness to our minds.

I still want to explore diverse culinary culture in NYC or indulge myself with ice cream, and occasional soshoku helps me to balance my diet, overall health of my mind and body.

Gochisousama!

Recipe: Marinated Fried Salmon and Vegetable

Look what we got from farmer's market in Brooklyn last week..

It's so pretty. I would like to thank farmers for bringing those fresh veggies to our table.

As the lady of the store recommended, we made pesto sauce from carrot green which I usually discard. It was my first time to use carrot green for cooking, and it came out very well. Nothing to waste :)

And now we have plenty of carrot and leek.. it seems like it never finishes!

Today's recipe is Sake Nanban: Marinated Fried Salmon and Vegetables. And I am using carrot.

It's a delicious pickled fried salmon in Japanese style seasoning. It's got lovely colors, not only delicious to the eyes but also packed with nutrition.

What does Nanban mean?

Nanban originally means people from Portuguese, Netherlands and Spain, who arrived Japan during Nanban trade periods in the 16 centuries for trading or missionery. Later, it became the words to describe something brought by them.

Onion, peppers and deep-frying methods are the things brought from those countries in the period and become popular among Japanese people, that's why the word Nanban(Zuke means marinade) is used as a name of the dish.

The ports for Nanban trade were located in the northern area of Kyusyu island, where my hometown is, and we still see great cultural influence from the countries.

So that's the history and now, recipe!

鮭の南蛮漬け: Sake no Nanban Zuke
Marinated Fried Salmon and Vegetable
Cooking time: 40 minutes(Plus 2 hours of refrigeration)

Ingredients:

• 2 Salmon fillet
• 1/2  medium yellow onion: Thinly Sliced
• 1 Carrot: Thinly sliced
• 1/2 large bell pepper : Thinly Sliced
• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
• Mirin: 2 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Rice Vinegar: 3 tbsp
• Katakuriko(Potato Starch)
• Salt and Pepper
• Vegetable oil: 2tbsp

Steps:

1. Salt and pepper the salmon on both sides and leave it for 10 minutes
2. Make marinade: mix soy sauce, mirin, sugar and vinegar in a dish
3. Cut the salmon into bite size and dredge them in Katakuriko 
4. In a nonstick pan over medium heat, stir-fry onion and carrot(No oil needed)
5. Add bell pepper and keep stir-frying until cooked
6. Add 5 to marinade
7. Clean the pan, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat and fry salmon until both sides are cooked and the crust become light brown
8. Add 8 to marinade
9. When it's cooled, let it rest in refrigerator for 2 hours
10.  Serve warm or cold

Good thing about this dish is, we can save it in the refrigerator up to 5 days. 

Instead of salmon, chicken, mackerels or sardines can be used and they taste great as well.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Grilled Onigiri

Today's recipe is Yaki Onigiri :)

Yaki means Grill, Onigiri is riceball. Simple! It's grilled seasoned rice ball.

Yaki Onigiri is also served in Izakaya(Japanese pubs) in Japan and here in US. Everyone loves the aroma of caramelized soy sauce and the crunchy rice crust.

I remember my mother made yaki onigiri for me when I was studying late at night for exam, and I had it at my study desk.. Onigiri on the left hand, and pencil on the right, in front of hisotory textbook.

Traditional way to make yaki onigiri is to form onigiri using unseasoned white rice, and grill over chacoal using brush to apply soy sauce.

Here I am using difference method which is popular in Japan these days. Mix the rice and the sauce before frying, so onigiri will be seasoned inside as well.


焼きおにぎり
Yaki Onigiri : Grilled Seasoned Rice Ball

Ingredients

• Cooked Japanese Rice (from 2 cups uncooked rice)
• Soy sauce : 2 tbsp
• Mirin : 1 tsp
• Dashi powder :1tsp
• Pinch of salt
• Sesame Oil(Or butter) for greasing pan

Steps

1. Mix soy sauce, mirin, dashi powder and salt in a bowl
2. Add cooked rice and mix well 
3. Form Onigiri using cling wrap *
4. Heal Sesame oil in a pan over medium heat and cook rice ball until the surface gets crisp and brown. Cook all sides evenly.

SInce soy sayce and mirin browns fast, please keep your eyes on your onigiri. I like crunchy crust, so I usually cook slightly longer.

Yaki Onigiri can be made on a BBQ grill, and if you do, your guests would be happy for sure. You can replace sauce for BBQ sauce. And try wrapping with Nori(seaweed sheet) or fresh lettuce. It's a great to-go snack as well!

*If you are curious how to form nice triangle shape, here is a link of youtube video I found is useful: How to make Onigiri