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Cakes, 美食, Dessert, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Vegan, Vegetarian cuisine, Wagashi, 和菓子

Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子12: Dango-団子-Sweet Dumplings-Recipe

December 10, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

DANGO-1a
(Mitarashi Dango)

Japanese dango are not complicated, although it might be better to make a lot at a time!

INGREDIENTS:
-Rice (“Uruchi Kome”/normal Japnese round rice): 200g
-Water (for dango): 130cc
-Water (for sauce): 60cc
-Cornstarch: 1 teaspoon
-Sugar: 1 teaspoon
-Soy sauce: 2 teaspoons

RECIPE:

DANGO-RECIPE-1

Wash rice thoroughly.
If rice is no-wash type, skip 3 first steps.

DANGO-RECIPE-2

Once the rice washing water is coming out clean, drain rice and spread ontowel. Take off all excess humidity.

DANGO-RECIPE-4

Let the rice dry for two hours.

DANGO-RECIPE-3

Pour rice in Blender/mixer. First work the blender for only a few seconds at a time until all the rice has been broken completeley. Then blend three times 15 seconds at a time.

DANGO-RECIPE-5

If the rice does not turn into powder easily, sift rice as many times as necessary until all rice has been reduced to powder.

DANGO-RECIPE-6

Finish the job with mortar and pestle.

DANGO-RECIPE-7

Once the rice has been reduced completely into powder, work the pestle in for 5 more minutes.

DANGO-RECIPE-8

Add water and mix well with spoon.

DANGO-RECIPE-9

Divide into small portions and steam for 15 minutes.

DANGO-RECIPE-10

In a pan add cornstarch to water (for the sauce). keep stirring over a low fire. once the water has been become transparent add sugar and soy sauce and mix well until you obtain a smooth syrup. take off fire.

DANGO-RECIPE-11

Fill a glass with water and keep within arm’s reach.
Drop all the steamed dango paste into mortar.
Work dango paste with a wet wooden pestle.
Once the paste has been become sticky and elastic, form small balls (the operation should not last more than 10 minutes).
Wet them to prevent them from sticking to each other.

DANGO-RECIPE-12

Push a wet (important!) stick through the balls (4 or 5 at the most).
Grill the balls (or not) for better effect.
Serve them smeared with syrup.

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

美食, 野菜, 観光, 農業, Fujinomiya City, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism, vegetables, 富士宮市

Healthy French Gastronomy in Shizuoka City: Le Comptoir de Bios-s by Bio Farm Matsuki! The Dinner!

December 10, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Pro and very friendly
Equipment: Great overall cleanliness and splendid washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: A palette of Shizuoka Prefecture Products! Great use of organic vegetables and meats from Shizuoka Prefecture. True healthy gastronomy! Excellent wine list!

As promised here is the dinner report at Le Comptoir de Bios-s, the new restaurant opened on November the 2nd in Shizuoka City!
I also had the pleasure to meet the man who made it all possible!

Kazuhiro Matsuki/松木一浩さん

Kazuhiro spent a long time in Paris working for such elevated establishments as Taillevent and Joel Robuchon before coming to Shizuoka instead of his native Nagasaki thanks to his wife hailing from our prefecture and establishing an organic farm called Bio Farm Matsuki in Fujinomiya City.
Since then the venture grew and grew. After Restaurant Bio-S and Bio-Deli he opened Le Comptoir de Bios-S in Shizuoka where he makes a point to appear three times a week to serve and socialize with his customers, thus establishing a direct contact from producer to consumer.

The whole place is very reminiscent of a modern cafe-restaurant in France with sober but comfortable tables and seats along the wall or the large bay windows.

You can read (part of) the menu on the wall while your companion is poring through it!

But the place to be is the counter where you can socialize with the staff and your neighbors in a very easy-going and animated atmosphere.

And looking at your food being prepared is always good fun!

Now, their wine list is worth a careful perusing!
I discovered a wine from my own home in Cote Chalonnaise: Rully, Domaine Dureuil-Jeantha, “Maizieres”, 2009, White!

One more reason to patronize the place! This white wine almost drank like a premium sake!

The menu might look short to some but the quality is not easy to emulate. But even a big appetite like mine was to be satisfied!
Another great quality of the staff is that they help you by offering you sets combining dishes on the menu although it is not mentioned or point out when to eat only half of a dish when it is obviously designed for two!

Smoked chicken by Aoki Farm in Fuji City.

Fried organic vegetables from Bio Farm Matsuki and red squid from Suruga Bay.

Organic greens from Bio Farm Matsuki.

Raw mushrooms from Hasegawa Farm in Fuji City.

My second dish was all Shizuoka Prefecture again!

Organic Red Moon Potato Fries with real home-made mayonnaise! The potatoes are fried with their skins!

A terrine of wild boar caught on Amagi Plateau in northern Izu Peninsula!
A beauty that would make a lot French people envious!

My third dish was a trip to Italy: Cooked and grilled organic vegetables with bania cauda sauce!

I actually took a picture of the chef preparing them!

Different tubers and radish.

Organic potatoes and carrot and bania cauda sauce.
If you are a vegan just ask for olive oil!

Radish, spinach and burdock root.

I still had enough space left for another French treat: Chicken Liver Paste!

From the same chickens bred in Aoki Farm in Fuji City!

The desserts will be for my next visit!
Once again I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

Le Comptoir de Bio-s by Bio Farm Matsuki
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Kooya machi, 12-8, Sankousha Bldg, 1F
Tel./fax: 054-221-5250
Business hours: 11:30~15:00 (Last orders 14:00), 17:00~23:00 (Last orders 22:00)
Closed on Mondays
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

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Cakes, 美食, Dessert, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Vegan, Vegetarian cuisine, Wagashi, 和菓子

Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子11: Dango-団子-Sweet Dumplings

December 9, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

DANGO-1a
(Mitarashi Dango)

Dango (団子) is a Japanese dumpling made from mochi-ko (rice flour), related to mochi. It is often served with green tea.
In Edo times, they were very popular at tea stands along the country roads.

Dango are eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons. Three to four dango are often served on a skewer. One variety of dango from Hokkaidō is made from potato flour and baked with shoyu (soy sauce).

Types of dango:

There are many different varieties of dango which are usually named after the various seasonings served on or with it.

DANGO-2
Chadango: Green-tea flavored Dango.

DANGO-4
Dango served covered with anko.

Actually, if you want to write all about Dango, you’d need to publish a whole book!

But I will publish an easy recipe tomorrow!

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Cakes, 美食, Dessert, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Vegan, Vegetarian cuisine, Wagashi, 和菓子

Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子10: Youkan-Easy Recipe-Mizu Youkan

December 8, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

MIZU-YOKAN-1

Youkan come in many guises. Here is an easy and very basic recipe for “Mizu Youkan” that you will be able to adapt into many creations of yours! For vegans, vegetarians and omnivores!

INGREDIENTS:
-Boiled azuki beans: 1 can (430 g)
-Brown sugar: 60 g
-Salt: a pinch
-Agar agar Powder (“kanten” in Japanese): 4 g
-Water: 300 ml + 300 ml

RECIPE:

MIZU-YOKAN-2

Blend beans and 300 ml of water until smooth.

MIZU-YOKAN-3

Pass mixture through fine sieve.

MIZU-YOKAN-4

In 300 ml of water drop agar agar. Bring to boil, stiring at the same time. Then keep stiring vover medium fire for 1 minute.

MIZU-YOKAN-5

Switch off fire. Add sugar and salt. Mix well. Add bean paste. Mix well.

MIZU-YOKAN--6

Pour in recipients of your choice (that is when the fun starts!) and let cool completely. Keep in fridge (not too cold, please). Take out of recipient and serve!

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Cakes, 美食, Dessert, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Wagashi, 和菓子

Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子9: Youkan/羊羹

December 8, 2011 dragonlife 7 Comments

YOUKAN-JELLY

Here is another popular type of Japanese Wagashi fit for Vegans and Vegetarians: Youkan!

YOUKAN-MIZUYOKAN
Mizu Youkan

Yōkan (羊羹) is a thick jellied dessert made of red bean paste, agar (寒天/”kanten” in Japanese), and sugar. It is usually sold in a block form, and eaten in slices.

There are two main types: neri yōkan and mizu yōkan. “Mizu” means “water”, and indicates that it is made with more water than usual. Mizu yōkan is often chilled and eaten in summer.
Although most yōkan found in Japan and abroad are typically made with red bean paste, yōkan made from white kidney bean paste (しろあん, 白餡, “shiro an” in Japanese) are also relatively common. This type of yōkan is milky and translucent with a much milder flavour than the ones made of red bean paste.

YOUKAN-GREENTEAYOUKAN
Tea Youkan

As such, they can be effectively flavored and colored by using green tea powder or matcha.

YOUKAN-TRICOLOUR

MizuyōkanYōkan may also contains chopped chestnuts, persimmons, whole sweetened azuki beans, figs, and sweet potato, among other additions. Sugar can be also be substituted with honey, dark brown sugar, or molasses to alter the taste of the yōkan produced. There is also shio yōkan, which uses small amounts of salt (shio/塩) as an additive.

Other Pictures of Youkan:

YOUKAN-BICOLOUR

YOUKAN-CHERRY

YOUKAN-PINK

I will introduce an easy recipe soon!

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美食, 酒, 農業, Fuji-Takasago Brewery, Fujinomiya City, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, 富士高砂酒造, 富士宮市

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Fuji-Takasago Brewery-“Tatsu/Dragon” Limited Edition Futsushu

December 7, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

The New Year is around the corner, and as next year is the Year of the Dragon, many breweries put out various limited brews with a Dragon label!
Fuji-Takasago Brewery in Fujinomiya City came up with a limited Futsushu/regular brew for the occasion!
Be assured that the label will be carefully stored away!

Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Dryness: + 5.0
Bottled in November 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Strong and fruity. Dryish. Coffee beans, vanilla.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Very powerful and fruity attack backed by pleasant alcohol warming up back of the palate.
Coffee beans, dark chocolate, vanilla, apricots.
Fairly quickly disappears on a very dry note.
Varies little with food but gets drier with some oranges joining in with dry coffee beans.
Coffee beans repeatedly make a strong comeback with every sip.

Overall: A sake obviously designed for food but eminently drinkable on its own.
The fruitiness tends to conceal the dryness at first.
Can be appreciated in any ways: chilled, room temperature or lukewarm.
Considering it is only a futsushu, one might overreact and talk of extravagance for such a cheap price!

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Cakes, 美食, Dessert, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Wagashi, 和菓子

Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子8: Recipe-Beni Mochi

December 6, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

BENI-MOCHI-1

Here is a simple Japanese Cake/Wagashi Recipe that can be adapted to all shapes by vegans and vegetarians! Beni Mochi.
Beni Mochi, or 紅餅 in Japanese, means “Red Mochi”.

INGREDIENTS: 16 pieces

-Rice flour: 250 g
-White sugar: 80 g
-Water: 100 ml/half a cup (for white mochi)
-Brown sugar (take care in choosing the colour): 80 g
-Water: 100 ml/half a cup (for red mochi)

RECIPE:

BENI-MOCHI-2

Divide rice flour into two equal parts (125 g) and pour into two different bowls.

BENI-MOCHI-3

In a deep pan, drop red sugar and add water. Heat over fire until completely melted. Switch off fire. Add rice flour and mix well.
Repeat same procedure with white sugar.

BENI-MOCHI-4

In a steamer, put mochi pastes (take care no to mix them) on a steaming paper and steam for 10 minutes.

BENI-MOCHI--5

Take out. Let cool. Make two balls and keep in different bowls.

BENI-MOCHI--6

Shape the mochi as above or according to your preference. Put them back inside the steamer on steaming paper and steam for 10 more minutes.

BENI-MOCHI--7

Let cool and serve!
Are best enjoyed with Japanese tea, hot or cold!

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Cakes, 美食, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, vegetables, Vegetarian cuisine, Wagashi, 和菓子

Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子7: Creation 2-Hanabira Mochi

December 5, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

WAGASHI-HANABIRAMOCHI

Here is another traditional Japanese Cake/Wagashi: Hanabira Mochi (菱葩餅 in Japanese)!
Hanabiramochi is a Japanese sweet usually eaten at the beginning of the year. Hanabiramochi is also served at the first tea ceremony of the New Year.

The name “Hanabiramochi” literally means “Flower petal mochi”. The original form of Hanabiramochi is Hishihanabira, a dessert that was eaten by the Imperial family at special events coinciding with the beginning of the year.

Hanabiramochi was first made in the Meiji Era (8 September 1868 – 30 July 1912), but it is now a familiar New Year wagashi.

The exact shape of Hanabiramochi is strictly defined by tradition. The white mochi covering is flat and round, folded over to form a semicircular shape, and must have a pink color showing through in the center of the confection, fading to a white at the edge. Unlike a daifuku, the mochi must not completely seal the insides.

In the center of a hanabiramochi is a layer of anko, a sweet bean paste, commonly the white kind made from sweetened mung beans. In the very center is a thin strip of sweetly flavoured gobo (burdock root) which protrudes from the mochi on both sides.

Each element of the hanabiramochi is significant.

The red colour showing through the white mochi is not only appropriate to the celebration of the New Year but also evokes the Japanese apricot/plum (ume) blossom, which in turn represents the purity, perseverance, and renewal associated with the New Year.

The gobo represents pressed ayu, a fish exclusive to East Asia, and a prayer for a long life.

A vegan way to celebrate the New Year!

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Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子6: Creation 2-Sakura Mochi (& Recipe!)

December 4, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

WAGASHI-SAKURA-MOCHI-2

Sakura Mochi (桜餅) is a variety of wagashi, or Japanese confectionery consisting of a sweet pink mochi (rice cake) and red bean paste, covered with a leaf of sakura (cherry blossom).

Sakura Mochi (桜餅) or Cherry Blossom Mochi has been popular all over Japan since the beginning of gastronomy in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The style of Sakura Mochi differs with the regions in Japan.
Basically, the east of Japan such as Tokyo uses shiratama-ko (白玉粉/ rice flour) and the west side such as Kansai uses dōmyōji-ko (道明寺粉/glutinous rice flour) for “batter”.

WAGASHI-SAKURA-MOCHI
Anko is folded inside a mochi sheet and again inside an edible cherry tree leaf.

WAGASHI-SAKURA-MOCHI-3

Here the anko is inside white mochi, then folded in cherry tree leaf and topped with an edible cherry flower.

WAGASHI-SAKURA-MOCHI-4

A smaller, very cute Sakura Mochi: the colored mochi contains anko and is presented inside an edible cherry tree leaf.

WAGASHI-SAKURA-MOCHI-5

Sakura mochi as sold over the counter in the Kansai/West Japan Region.
They are also called Sakura Dango/Cherry Balls (no comment, please!LOL)

SIMPLE RECIPE
This recipe is for making Western-style sakuramochi. Serves 8.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup red bean paste
red food coloring (optional)
8 sakura leaves pickled in salted water

PREPARATION:
Wash pickled sakura leaves and dry.
Boil water in a pan.
Mix glutinous flour in the water.
Cover the pan with a lid and leave it for 5 minutes.
Place a wet cloth in a steamer and put the dough on the cloth.
Steam the dough for about 20 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the steamed dough to a bowl.
Mash the dough slightly with a wooden pestle, mixing sugar into the dough.
Dissolve a little bit of red food color in some water.
Add some of the red water in the dough and mix well.
Divide the pink mochi into 8 balls.
Flaten each mochi ball by hands and place red bean paste filling on the dough.
Wrap the filling with mochi and rounds by hands.
Wrap each mochi with a sakura leaf.

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Bayern Maister Bier, Beer, Beer Brewery, 美食, 観光, 農業, Fujinomiya City, Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Tourism, 富士宮市

Shizuoka Beer Tasting: Bayern Meister Bier, Edel Weiss First Class Premium Beer

December 4, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

Stephan Rager in Fujinomiya City is the only German national who is both the owner and the master brewer of a brewery in Japan!
The German Embassy in Tokyo is fully aware of it and regularly orders his beer for special occasions!

Stephan fluently speaks English and Japanese on top of his own native language, and if you cannot read Japanese you might have to call him for more information!

At least the cap is overwritten in plain German!
I did actually conducted a tasting of the same brand two years ago with my good friend Patrick, but I certainly needed some refreshing!

Product name: Edelweiss First Class Premium Beer
Contents volume: 330 ml
Alcohol: 5.5%
Ingredients: barley malt, hops and live yeast all imported from Southern Germany.

Clarity: smoky and clean
Colour: Dark orange-apricot color
Foam: Fine bubbles, disappearing quickly. Soapy head.
Aroma: Strong, sweetish and fruity. Bread, yeast, faint oranges
Taste: Dry deep and refreshing attack. Complex and sophisticated. Fruity, yeasty, tangy, moreish (British expression), looking forward to drinking more. Bread and faint oranges, Lingers on palate for quite a while.
Very solid. Marries well with food, especially pork, potatoes and Izakaya fare.
Varies little with food and stays very dry and deep all the time.

Overall: Refreshing and reassuringly solid. Nice long aromatic aftertaste. Can’t wait for the second glass.

Bayern Meister Beer Co. Ltd.
Shizuoka Prefecture, Fujinomiya City, Kami-Ideji, Kawaharatan, 1254-1
Tel.: 0544-443311

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Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子5: Creation 1-Birthday Cake

December 3, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-1

Here is an example of what could be done by a Japanese chef as Wagashi/Japanese Cake!
This particular Birthday Cake creation is the work of Chef Maeda at Kouseido in Osaka City!
Will look around and post other creations whenever I can!

Here is a breakdown of the above:

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-MOMO

“Momo”/Peach

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-MIKAN

“MIkan”/Orange

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-TSUBAKI

“Tsubaki”/Camelia

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-SAKURA

“Sakura”/Cherry Blossom

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-ICHIGO

“Ichigo”/Strawberry

WAGASHI-VARIETIES-MELON

“Meron”/Melon

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Shizuoka Ekiben/Railway Station Bento:　Fuyu Chisen

December 2, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Fuyu Chisen/冬千扇 means the “Thousand Fans of Winter”.
This is the fourth ekiben of a year-long limited series I already have introduced in Spring, Summer and Autumn! I finally made it all!

The ekiben as it was sold to me this morning at Shizuoka City Railway Station!

As usual Tokaiken has clearly written the contents on their wrap!

Some collectors will want this box!

Notice that it lies on the table in front of me on the Shinkansen Bullet Train!

Beautiful design, isn’t it?

As usual a film of rigid transparent paper protects the contents!

Now, what do we have?

Rice steamed with chicken and burdock root shavings and a little soy sauce.

Boiled lotus root and cucumber lightly marinated in rice vinegar.

Boiled green asparagus, steamed mushrooms, steamed sweet potato and mandarine orange.

Boiled egg with soft yolk seasoned with black sesame seeds, boiled string bean, carrot, burdock root, seaweed (konbu) and konyaku jelly.

Shuumai, Ebi chiri Harumaki/Shrimp Spring Roll and fried buri/Japanese Amberjack!

No better way to learn about Winter food in Shizuoka!

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Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子4: Recipe-Mochi

December 2, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

WAGASHI-SAKURA-MOCHI
Wagashi/Sakura Mochi

Mochi/餅 is probably the most ancient sweet/cake confectioned by humans in Japan as its main ingredient is glutinous rice.
It is the more popular as it can be eaten and made all year round.
Kinako/黄粉 is a powder made from roasted soy beans (next article).
The combination of the two and other ingredients such as sweetmeats/anko/餡子, also made from soy beans, make for a valuable, tasty and nourishing food!
Read notes below!

Here is a simple way to make mochi.
Bear in mind that mochi can be eaten fresh as it is, especially with wagashi cakes, and that it can be mixed with other ingredients for colouring. It can be also dried and grilled and also included in soups and other recipes such as mochi pizza!

INGREDIENTS:
Glutinous rice: 3 go (Japanese measure): 540 cc (2.8 cups)
Kinako (to taste)

Notes on kinako and glutinous rice:

MOCHI-KINAKO

Kinako (黄粉 or きなこ), also known as soybean flour, is a product commonly used in Japanese cuisine. In order to create the soybean flour, soybeans are toasted and ground into powder. Its flavor is commonly compared to that of peanut butter.

Kinako, being composed of soybeans, is a healthy topping and flavoring which contains B vitamins and protein. It can also be used as a drink;. For example, warabi mochi is a famous kinako-covered sweet.

I will introduce a recipe soon!

MOCHI-TRADITIONAL

Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice) is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous (Latin glūtinōsus) in the sense of being glue-like or sticky and not in the sense of containing gluten; on the other hand, it is called sticky but should not be confused with the other varieties of Asian rice that become sticky to one degree or another when cooked.

RECIPE:

MOCHI-1
Wash the rice and let it soak in water overnight.

MOCHI-2
Pour water in steamer. Bring to boil. Set a clean cloth inside. Drain rice. Pour rice inside cloth. Dig a “well” in the middle for better cooking.

MOCHI-3
Steam over a medium fire for 20~25 minutes.

MOCHI-4
Pour hot water inside pestle bowl and leave the wooden sticks inside water for long enough to have all of them well impregnated with water. Throw water away just before next step. This will insure a better mochi!

MOCHI-5
Check rice for an even cooking. No water should be left or the mochi will be runny. If you make a small quantity, softer rice than usual is better as it will tend to dry faster than a large quantity.

MOCHI-6
Now this is the hard part!
You will need three adults to press hard on the rice with the wooden sticks at the same time to crush the rice completely. It might take as long as 10 minutes.

MOCHI-7
Now that the rice has been softened, one can continue on his own or work in shifts. Pound the rice in the middle 10 times. Turn over the rice from outside to inside and continue always around the clock.
Important: always pound in the middle, never on the sides or you will break the bowl!

MOCHI-8
That is how it should look. Make balls by twisting rice out.

MOCHI-9
Roll mochi in kinako mixed with sugar to taste. They are ready to be eaten!

MOCHI-10
This is how they are served in Japan for children (and adults!)

MOCHI-11
If you want to preserve them for a while before eating, roll them in rice powder. Rice powder will come in useful if you want to fashion the mochi into thin sheets or else.

MOCHI-12
That is how they look grilled!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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Japanese Vegetarian & Vegan Cakes: Wagashi/和菓子3: Recipe-Shiro Anko/White Sweetmeats

December 1, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

WAGASHI-SHIROANKO-1

In my previous article, I introduced the recipe for “red sweetmeats” or just “anko” in Japanese, an important ingredients in Wagashi.
But the red/violet colour is not always wanted.
Another popular way to make anko is to use “ingen mame”/kidney beans (US), or string/French beans (Europe).
Note that soy beans/”daizu” are not used in this recipe!
The advantage are multiple, as the “white” (actually beige) colour can be modified by adding green peas (green), pumpkin (yellow or orange), fruit pulp from papaya and mango (orange). Variations are practically unlimited!

INGREDIENTS:
Kidney beans: 500g
Sugar: 400g
Salt: three small pinches

RECIPE:

WAGASHI-SHIROANKO-2
Put beans with 3 times their volume of water in a large pan. Let soak for two nights. Change water twice a day.

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Beans should have lost their “wrinkles” by then.

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Bring water to boil over strong fire. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium fire.

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Drain water, making sure beans don’t dry up. The skin of the beans should peel off easily. Take skins and dark spots away.

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Simmer again peeled beans until they get soft and start breaking up. Start on a strong fire to bring to boil, then lower to medium fire.

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Heat until most of the water has evaporated. Beans will pass through sieve more easily.

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Pass all the beans through the sieve. Wash and dry the pan.

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Add sugar to sieved beans and stir/mix over low fire.

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Sugar becoming liquid upon heating will give a watery aspect to the mixture. Heat over low fire, stirring all the time for 25 minutes.

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Once satisfied with the paste consistency, add salt, mix and stop fire.

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Transfer to another dish for preserving until use. Do it at once while it is still hot.
Make sure it does not dry up.
Cover with a lid.
If lid does not close well enough, wrap the whole into cellophane paper.

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First Shizuoka Gastronomic Skills Meet-2011/食の芸術(集い・平成２３年度)

November 30, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Top award-winning chefs Touru Arima/有馬亨 (Pissaenlit/Shizuoka City) and Fuminori Nishitani/西谷文紀 (Nori/Fujieda City)

On November 29th was held the First Gastronomic Skills Meet/食の芸術(集い) in Shizuoka City under the auspices of the Shizuoka Prefecture Government which has been actively been active in promoting the gastronomic products and skills of our Prefecture notably with the publication of a book titled [ふじのくに食の都つくり仕事人]/[The Professionals who promote the gastronomy of the Land of Mount Fuji] which introduced 200 of the top-class chefs of our Prefecture.

For the first year 13 Chefs were given the top cccolade of Chefs of the Year (2011) while 63 of their colleagues were also given official recognition and 26 products were officially labeled as Designated Products of Shizuoka Prefecture.

The official banner!

A total attendance of more than 300 professionals, officials and gastronomes!

Some of the laureates!

A beautiful MC from a local TV Channel!

Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu/川勝平太 made a passionate (and loger than expected) speech about Shizuoka Prefecture products. An easy task when you realize it has been officially recognized by the Japanese government as the Prefecture boasting the greatest (by very far) number of agricultural and sea products!

Top-award winning chefs waiting for their accolade.

A small sample of the media in attendance!

After all this somewhat stiff officialdom (this is Japan!) we were finally invited to the neighboring hall to discover the Shizuoka-branded products and dishes prepared by some of the award-winning chefs!