Tag Archives: Dessert

Kakigoori/Shaved Ice Dessert at Iwaraya in Shizuoka City!

Service: Kind and friendly
Equipment: very clean
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Authentic traditional Japanese desserts!
Entirely non-smoking!

When I arrived in Shizuoka City 35 years ago there were almost more traditional Japanese dessert shops than their Western equivalent.
Now you must gear yourself on the exploration mode to re-discover them!

They are certainly worth searching for as traditional Japanese desserts are far healthier than our (delicious) Western cakes and creams. Moreover, most are devoid of wheat flour and in many cases of dairy products.

The blazing hot summer in Japan means it is the season for kakigoori/かき氷/shaved ice!
Iwaraya serves no less than six varieties!

Although Iwaraya has a long history dating back to 3 generations and 80 years ago, they opened their own shop only 5 years ago in Takajyo, a gastronomic venue in the City of Shizuoka!

It also has the great merit to be located away from the crowds near the cute Takajyo Shrine dedicated to falconry!

There is a dessert for all seasons as they also make o-shiroko, anmitsu, o-sekihan, o-mochi and waseigashi!
Great with a cup of matcha tea!

This time I enjoyed the lemon shaved ice!

The lemon is juice squeezed in front of you from fresh lemons!
Incidentally their strawberry kakigoori is made with real crushed fresh strawberries!

Now, if you have a Japanese sweet tooth to satisfy try what my friend ordered: Zenzai, a traditional Japanese dessert assortment!

Tempting, isn’t it?
Looking forward to my next visit!

IWAGARAYA/いわがらや
Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Takajyo, 1-5-12
Tel.: 054-252-0587
Business hours: 10:00~18:00 (~18:30 0n weekends)
Closed on Wednesdays

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

French & Italian Dessert: Mascarpone Tiramisu & Glazed Organic Fig!

Service: excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to slightly expensive, good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products.
Entirely non-smoking!

The other day after the two succulent eggplants/aubergines dishes I savored at Pissenlit in Shizuoka City I simply had to have a dessert:
Italian-style Mascarpone Tiramisu with a glazed fig organically grown in Shimizu ku, Shizuoka City!

I had some problems choosing the top picture, so I’ll show you the other two!
First, the second one!

And next, the third one!
Frankly speaking, as for the pictures, I did not know whether to taste the tiramisu or the fig first!

I opted for the Mascarpone Tiramisu!

It might be a classic of the Italian Gastronomy but I must say I’ve not been often impressed with this type of dessert…

But Chef Touru Arima’s creation reconciled me with the whole of Italy!
Unctuous and so well-balanced with neither the coffee or the mascarpone taking the lead!
Niether a cake, a cream or an ice-cream, it was difficult to describe lost as I was in savoring it!

Now for the glazed organic fig! The mint is organic, too, by the way!

It is inddeed a large variety grown organically at some altitude in Shimizu Ku in Shizuoka City, an area well exposed to the sun.
It was first pan-fried with plenty of brown sugar and then finished inside the oven.
Cutting through the sugar crust gave you the impression of breaking a creme brulee!
For all the sweet taste of its crust, the warm insides produced a highly perfumed flavor which married so well with the first flavor encountered through its crust!

To be continued…

PISSENLIT
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

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

French Dessert: Shizuoka Soy Sauce Cake, Frozen Orange Compote & Orange Honey Sorbet at Tetsuya Sugimoto!

Service: Highly professional and friendly
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prefecture. Organic vegetables. Seasonal food only.

Map (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

This the fourth of the four-part report on the lunch I had the other day at Testuya Sugimoto in Shizuoka City!
And since it is the last episode, it is naturally the dessert!
But this dessert is a Shizuoka concept!

First of all, the bottom part of the “ice cream”!
It was made with a mandarine orange grown inside a greenhouse in Hamamatsu City, Western part of Shizuoka Prefecture.
Tetsuya first peeled it, cooked it as a compote and then froze it!

The sorbet was made with orange flower honey conceived in Nishiura, Numazu City, Eastern Part of Shizuoka Prefecture!

Now, the cake is even more striking!
It is basically a mousse firmed up with gelatin. The mousse was created with soy sauce from Shizuoka Prefecture!
As for the sugar used in the same cake, it comes from sugar cane grown in Kakegawa City in Central Western Part of our Prefecture!
Its bottom was lined with Genoise short cake and the top sprinkled with more crumbled Genoise.

The soy sauce used in the cake is called “Hon Maru Tei” and is made by Amano Co. Ltd. In Gotemba City in the Western Part of Shizuoka Prefecture!
Testuya explained that soy sauce is not all about a salty taste and that creations are practically unlimited with such an ingredient!

As for the sauce, the chocolate might not be of Japanese origin nut the mint is organic and from Shizuoka Prefecture!

To be followed…

Tetsuya SUGIMOTO
420-0038 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Umeya,2-13,1F
Tel./Fax: 054-251-3051
Opening hours:11:30~14:30,17:30~21:30
Holidays: undecided
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE

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

French Gastronomy: Shizuoka Dessert-Fig Compote and Dark Tea Jelly at Pissenlit

Service: excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to slightly expensive, good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products.
Entirely non-smoking!

Shizuoka City and Prefecture are not only famous for their vegetables, but also for their fruits, and figs are certainly very popular here!
Shizuoka Prefecture also produces more than 45% of the total green tea crop in Japan, but did you know it was also the birthplace of dark tea (black or red) in Japan?

Chef Tooru Arima/有馬亨さん has this knack and talent to combine French and Japanese gastronomies in a constant search for originality and new tastes!
I wonder how much time he spends on them as the simple complete peeling of a fig before cooking it in compote is painstaking and sticky work!

Preparing food is one thing, but presenting it is certainly another!
No wonder Tooru’s desserts are so celebrated in this town!
Incidentally, this beautiful mint is organic from Hirokawa Garden in Mishima City!

The jelly is made from dark tea cultivated and processed in Shizuoka Prefecture and laid over a granite made with the juices of the fig compote!

Yes, not only a spoon but you also need a fork and knife to fully enjoy and appreciate this superb dessert!
I do not need to explain the pleasure I had cutting the fig and admiring the colors!

And it was absolutely succulent and again perfect in this hot weather!
To be continued…

PISSENLIT
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

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

Dessert Plates at Rouge & Piquant

Service: Friendly, attentive and without any fuss
Facilities: Great tidiness, beautiful washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Very natural taste cakes, great artistic food design, late hours
Entirely non-smoking!

It’s been some time since I visited Rouge & Piquant which has become an institution of its own in Shizuoka City!
Last Friday I finally found a good reason to sample its supreme desserts after a great dinner at an Italian restaurant. We had decided to skip the dessert there for an extravagant finish to the evening!

Rouge Et Piquant is definitely an off-the-beaten-tracks cafe/cake shop.
The opening hours (14:00~24:00) are surely not the norm in Japan. Ms. Kanae Tsunogai’s confectionery concept shows some courage and determination in a very stereotyped country in spite of all its great creators. The accent is not on the sweetness, but on the true taste of the ingredients. So do not expect mountains of sugar or sweeteners. Her cakes are definitely for an adult audience in all the senses of the expression!

Cakes do not lay for an eternity inside a glass display, but their ingredients are assembled on order at the last second before being served. This is slow food cakes and desserts at their best!

Cakes are served individually or in dessert combination plates.
I opted for the “Rouge/Red” dessert consisting of two cakes:

A small red fruit tart with cassis, redcurrant, raspberry, blueberries, strawberry and apple slices mounted on a soft Chantilly Cream!

Raspberry, orange, pear, cassis sorbet balls, orange wedges and meringue artistically arranged on a sablé biscuit!
The sauce is raspberry coulis.

My friend opted for the “Chocolat/Chocolate” plate which consisted of:

Chocolate and banana cake with slices of chocolate génoise intersped with chocolate mousse and banana, the whole topped with Chantilly Cream and chocolate flakes!

And a sablé biscuit cup filled with (naturally!) home-made vanilla and caramel ice cream decorated with almonds and a chocolate ribbon.
The sauce is chocolate cream.

Need I comment any further?

Rouge Et Piquant
420-0032 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryogae-Cho, 2-4-29, Aspis Bldg. 2F
Tel.: 054-221-4538
Business Hours: 14:00~2:00
Closed on Mondays
Sits 2~3 at the counter and 8~10 at tables

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Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

Cream Cheese Tiramisu (Japanese style?)

The Japanese are very fond of their cream cheese and cheese cakes, But they are also crazy about tiramisu!
Here is a simple recipe uniting both in a Japanese style!

Cream Cheese Tiramisu!

INGREDIENTS: For a mold 15 X 20 cm

-Cream Cheese: 200 g
-Fresh Cream: 200 g
-Sugar: 100 g
-Rum (or brandy): 1 large spoon
-Soft Biscuits: 150 g

Coffee syrup:
-Water: 100 cc/1/2 cup
-Sugar: 30 g
Instant coffee: 2 teaspoons

Finishing:
-Cocoa powder: as appropriate

RECIPE:

1- Pour the ingredients for the coffee syrup into a large cup and let heat in a microwave oven for 1 minute. If the sugar is completely dissolved, let it cool down completely.

2- In a large bowl drop the cream cheese and work with a spatula until smooth. If too hard warm it up lightly first inside the microwave oven for 30~60 seconds.

3- Add one third of the sugar to the cream cheese and mix well. Repeat the same process once again.

4- In another bowl pour the fresh cream and add the remaining one third of the sugar and beat up until 80% hard.

5- Add and mix the cream cheese into the fresh cream one half at a time and mix well both times. Add rum (or brandy) and mix well.

6- Line the bottom of a mold with one layer of biscuits (half of the total). Brush the biscuits with plenty of coffee syrup (half).
Spread evenly one half of the cream cheese over the biscuits.
Lay the other layer of biscuits. Brush plenty of coffee syrup over the biscuits and evenly spread rest of cream cheese over the biscuits.

7- Sprinkle plenty of chocolate powder over the whole cream cheese with a sieve. Chill well and serve!

Easy, ain’t it?

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

French Cuisine: Shizuoka Products at SUGIMOTO TETSUYA-Part 4 (Dessert: Fried Watermelon and Green Tea Ice Cream)

Ranking
Service: Highly professional and friendly
Equipment: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Prices:~
Strong points:Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prfecture. Organic vegetables. Seasonal food only

Map (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

If you happen to visit Shizuoka City, you will find many restaurants and izakayas serving and mainly using produce/products and ingredients from Shizuoka Prefecture. There are many treasures to be discovered in this hoard!
one of them is the French restaurant going by the name of Sugimoto Tetsuya!

If you can read Japanese you will know what is waiting for you inside!
A gastronomic paradise in Shizuoka Prefecture!
Mr. Sugimoto does everything by himself: chef, waiter and entertainer! This is real slow food in its true and best meaning!
Almost all ingredients are from Shizuoka Prefecture, be they vegetables, fruit, meat or fish!
But his specialty is organic vegetables from Shizuoka Prefecture!
I requested that this menu feature only produce for Shizuoka Prefecture only.
Since it has turned into a fairly long meal to explain I go about it dish by dish. This is the last part (at last): Dessert! An evry unusual one!

Tetsuya Sugimoto cut out a rectangular piece out a Shizuoka-grown watermelon and fried it on both sides on a lttle oil.
Now, who would have thought of that?!

He placed the hot watermelon on a rectangular plate and seasoned it with vicotto sauce (alright, not for Shizuoka!LOL)

He then put some vanilla (of course not from Shizuoka, but the ice-cream is home-made!) with the idea that it will melt quickly and will become a second seasoning.

On top he placed a large portion of ice cream he made with “Hon-yama” green tea (not matcha), probably the most famous brand of green tea in Shizuoka Prefecture (45% of the total Japanese production!).
He put the finishing touch with fresh leaves of Shizuoka-grown organic mint!

The combination of warm and crunchy watermelon with the unctuosity is the ice cream is difficult to describe as at least four kinds of taste stimulate your palate!

A must try recipe!

Tetsuya SUGIMOTO
420-0038 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Umeya,, 2-13,1F
Tel./Fax: 054-251-3051
Opening hours:11:30~14:30,17:30~21:30
Holidays: undecided
Cedit cards OK
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

French Dessert: Chilled Musk Melon Soup at Pissenlit

Service: excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable, good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products.
no-smoking-logoentirely non-smoking!

This is the “third part” of my previous lunch at Pissenlit, dessert!

Musk Melons are a specialty of Fukuroi City, where more than 300 farmers grow them in a great environment, most of the time organic!

This dessert for all its simple concept, was a true dlicacy.
Half of it was soup made with flesh and juice of musk melon, and the other half of musk melon quarters you scoope out with yor spoon with some of the grapefruit sorbet wimming on top!

It certainly deserved a separate posting!

PISSENLIT
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

Japanese Dessert: Yuzu Sorbet 2

This recipe is also dedicated to Comestiblog who made the request!
It is the frist of simpler recipes!

INGREDIENTS: For 4~5 people

-Yuzu: 8 small ones
Will produce 75 cc/ml of juice
Zest/skin: 3
-Sugar: 80 + 20 g
-Water: 350 cc/ml
-White wine: 50 cc/ml
-Egg whites: 2

RECIPE:

-Clean the yuzu throroughly. Grate the skin/zest of two of them. Peel 1 more and cut skin/zest in very thin strips. Set apart.
Press out all the juice. Ypu should obtain 75 cc/ml (if not, press another one!).

-In a small pan pour the water and add 80 g of sugar (in hat order!).
Bring to boil. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, add the thin yuzu strips. Switch off fire and let cool completely.

-In a bowl drop the egg whites. Add 20 g of sugar. Beat until “hard”.

-When the yuzu syrup has completely cool down add the grated yuzu skin/zest and white wine. Mix well.

-Add the meringue little by lttle and mix. Put the whi\ole into a Tupperware and leave inside freezer. Take out every 2 hours (3 times in all should be sufficient), break with a spoon and mix and put back into freezer.

-Break and mix again before serving in a glass of your choice!

NOTE:

-You can either replicate the recipe with oranges, lemons or grapefruit, or experiment with mixtures of all!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

Japanese Citrus Fruits 1a: Oranges

Satsuma Mikan Basket

Oranges are not only one of the best sources of natural fluids/water for the human body, but its skin is also a very valuable medicinal asset (provided it is cleaned of all insectisides, wax et al!).
Naturally everyone knows about their high contents in Vitamin A beta Carotene and other irreplaceable vitamins.
Combined with other foods it can help prevent cancer like other ctrus fruits!

In Japan, depending on the season, oranges will be called natsu mikan/夏みかん/Summer oranges, haru mikan/春みかん or even fuyu mikan/冬みかん/Winter oranges and accordingly will be available im more varieties.

I will present in a separate posting called Japanese Citrus Fruits 1b: Oranges!

VARIETIES:


Unshu Mikan Cross Section

Unshu Mikan/温州みかん

The satsuma (Citrus unshiu) is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin introduced to the West. In Japan, it is known as mikan or formally unshu mikan (Japanese: 温州蜜柑, unshū mikan). In China, it is known as Wenzhou migan (Chinese: 温州蜜柑; pinyin: Wēnzhōu Mìgān). The Japanese name is a result of the local reading of the same characters used in the Chinese, the name meaning “Honey Citrus of Wenzhou” in both languages. It is also often known as “Seedless mandarin” (Chinese: 无核桔; pinyin: wúhé jú). The Korean name for the fruit is gyul (Korean: 귤).
Shizuoka Prefecture is a major growing region in Japan.
Depending on the growing area, they will come up with many brand names.

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Valencia Orange

Also simply called “Oranges”, The Valencia Orange is an orange first created by the Californian agronomist William Wolfskill, on his farm in Santa Ana. Its name comes from the Spanish city of Valencia, widely known for its excellent orange trees. Most in Japan are imported from the US for their good value as orange juice.

Miko Orange/美娘オレンジ


Miko Orange Cross Section

A variety grown in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu Island, Miko Orange is difficult to grow and is comparatively expensive, but very juicy with a beautiful aroma.

Setoka/せとか

Setoka are remarkable fortheir rich skin. That skin being thin, it ios very easy to peel. Very juicy and sweet. Slightly bigger than Unshu mikan.

Blood Orange

Blodd Oranges are called so because of the colour of their flesh.
They are particularly popular for fresh pressed juice.

Neburu/Navel oranges/ネーブル

A single mutation in 1820 in an orchard of sweet oranges planted at a monastery in Brazil yielded the navel orange, also known as the Washington, Riverside, or Bahia navel. The mutation causes the orange to develop a second orange at the base of the original fruit, opposite the stem, as a conjoined twin in a set of smaller segments embedded within the peel of the larger orange. From the outside, it looks similar to the human navel, hence its name.

Because the mutation left the fruit seedless, and therefore sterile, the only means available to cultivate more of this new variety is to graft cuttings onto other varieties of citrus tree.
Today, navel oranges continue to be produced via cutting and grafting. This does not allow for the usual selective breeding methodologies, and so not only do the navel oranges of today have exactly the same genetic makeup as the original tree, and are therefore clones, all navel oranges can be considered to be the fruit of that single nearly two hundred year-old tree.

he Japanese varieties are available around February and March, making for an invaluable late winter orange.

HEALTH FACTS & TIPS:

-Choose specimen with a uniform colour and bright colour.

-For every 100 g, oranges (enshu mikan) contain:
Energy: 46 kcal
Water: 86.2 g
Proteins: 0.7 g
Carbohydrates: 12.0 g
Potassium: 150 mg
Calcium: 21 mg
Iron: 0,2 mg
Vitamin A Beta Carotene: 1000 micrograms
Vitamin B1: 0.10 mg
Vitamin B2: 0.03 mg
Nyacin: 0.3 mg
Vitamin B6: 0.06 mg
Vitamin C: 32 mg
Dietary fibers: 1.0 g

-Combined with asparguses, or with turnips, or with beansprouts, or with potatoes, will re-inforce the digestive system, help prevent common colds, and help recover from constipation.

-Combined with broccoli, or with chingensai, or with shiitake mushrooms, or with strawberries, will help prevent cancer, obesity and common colds.

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Japanese Dessert: Yuzu Sorbet 1

This recipe is dedicated to Comestiblog who made the request!
This is the complicated one.
I will come with two more, far simpler!

Yuzu, ripe

Yuzu, young

The yuzu (Citrus ichangensis × C. reticulata, formerly C. junos Siebold ex. Tanaka; Japanese ユズ, 柚, 柚子 (yuzu); 유자 (yuja) in Korean; from Chinese 柚子, yòuzi) is a citrus fruit and plant originating in East Asia. It is believed to be a hybrid of sour mandarin and Ichang papeda. The fruit looks a bit like a very small grapefruit with an uneven skin, and can be either yellow or green depending on the degree of ripeness. Yuzu fruits, which are very aromatic, typically range between 5.5 and 7.5 cm in diameter, but can be as large as a grapefruit (up to 10 cm or larger).

The Japanese use yuzu, both young and ripe, depending whetherit is used for seasoning or making dessert.

For this recipe, use ripe yuzu.

INGREDIENTS:

A)
-Yuzu: 3
-Sugar: 70 g
-Water: 180 cc/ml
-White Wine: 50 cc/ml

B) Italian Meringue
-Egg white, 1 + 10 g (if egg white has been kept inside fridge, bring it back to room temperature!)
-Sugar, 50 g + water, 50 cc/ml

C) Yuzu zest marmelade
-Yuzu zest (skin): 1 whole fruit
-Sugar: 30 g
-Water: 30 CC

RECIPE:

-Peel off 2 of the 3 yuzu and chop finely, or grate them off directly from the fruit.
Peel the third one into thin strips (about 1 cm long) to be cooked in syrup to be used for decoration later.

-Press the juice off the 3 yuzu. You should obtain about 75 cc/ml of juice. Depending on the size and maturity of the fruit, you might fall short of your target. Either complement with water or an additional fruit.
Add the finely cut/grated yuzu zests/skin to juice.
Add 180 cc/ml of water, 50 g of sugar
Cook for a while to obtain a jam mixture.
Let cool completely and work it smooth with a blender.
Add wine and put inside freezer.

-Prepare the zest marmelade:
Peel off the zest/skin of 1 yuzu, cut into thin strips and chopp finely again across the legth.
Boil in water for 1~2 minutes.
Drain.
In a small pan, pour 30 cc/ml of water and 30 g of sugar.
Bring to boil.
Drop in the chopped yuzu zest/skin. Lower the fire to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Let cool completely and store inside the fridge.

-Take out yuzu/wine mixture out of the freezer, break and mix with a fork and put back inside the freezer. Repeat the operation twice, leaving enough time in between to allow the mixture to freeze again.

-Once the yuzu/wine has frozen well, prepare the Italian meringue:

-In a small pan pour 50 cc/ml of water and 50 g of sugar. In that order, please!
As the quantity is small, heat on a lower fire until dissolved.
While the syrup is dissolving, beat the egg white in a clean bowl.
Add the sugar to egg white and beat again until “hard”.
Using an electric had mixer at middle speed, add the syrup little by little in a very thin thread, beating all the time. When all the syrup has been included, raise the speed and beat until to obtain a very smooth meringue.
Chill inside fridge.

Take the frozen yuzu/wine mixture. Break and mix with a hand mixer. Take care that it does not melt!

Use a patula or fork if you think that the hand mixer will melt it.
You should obtain the mixture as shown in above picture.

-Add half of the Italian meringue and mix carefully.

-Add the second half of the Italian meringue. Mix quickly but well.

-Pour in a metal dish (plastic is ok, but metal is better!) and keep inside freezer

-When serving, make sure it is well frozen.

-Serve decorated with yuzu zest marmelade

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope

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Japanese Dessert: Kakigoori/Shaved Ice With Syrup

KAKEKOORI-1

The days have turned with a vengeance, but this is the time to enjoy Kakigōri!

Kakigōri (かき氷) is a very popular Japanese dessert made from shaved ice flavored with syrup.
It was served for the first time in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1869!

KAKEKOORI-2

Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, “blue-Hawaii” sweet plum, and colorless syrup. Some shops provide colorful varieties by using two or more different syrups. To sweeten Kakigōri, condensed milk is often poured on top of it.

KAKEKOORI-3

It is nearly identical to a snow cone but can have a slightly rougher consistency and a spoon is almost always used. The traditional way of making kakigōri involves using a hand cranked machine to spin a block of ice over an ice shaving blade. However, electric ice shavers are most often used, though street vendors can still be seen hand-shaving ice blocks in the summer.

KAKEKOORI-4

In addition to the streets, kakigōri is also sold in festivals, convenience stores, coffee shops, and restaurants. During the hot summer months, kakigōri is sold virtually everywhere in Japan. Some coffee shops serve it with ice cream and sweet bean paste. Convenience stores may also sell it already flavored and packaged similar to ice cream.

KAKEKOORI-5

In other countries in East Asia, similar varieties can be seen.

Halo halo: Filipino shaved ice topped with sweetened beans, nata de coco and ice cream. “Halo-Halo” literally means “mix-mix” in the Tagalog language. Some shops in Japan also sell these sweets.
Bingsu (빙수) Korean shaved ice. The most popular kind is patbingsu. It is topped with sweetened red beans, canned fruits, and soybean powder. Many other varieties can be found throughout the country.
Bàobīng (刨冰) in Mandarin Pinyin or Chhoah-peng (剉冰) in Taiwanese POJ: Taiwanese shaved ice. There are many varieties in Taiwan. Some of them are topped with fresh fruits, fruits syrup and condensed milk. Some of them are topped with sweetened beans, glutinous rice balls and brown sugar syrup, while others will even use seafood. Some vendors use milk ice to make finer shaved ice, and some vendors may sometimes use a hand blade to shave block ice in order to produce rough crushed ice.
Ice kacang: Malaysia and Singapore Shaved ice topped with sweetened syrup of various colours and flavours, condensed and evaporated milk, and sometimes also durian pulp or vanilla ice cream. Beneath the ice sweetened red beans, canned fruit, attap seeds and grass jelly are usually added. Electric ice shavers are often used; though some vendors may use a hand blade to shave the ice in order to produce a rough texture. A variation of this would be Cendol which is shaved ice with sweet green coloured glutinous rice noodles drizzled with palm sugar it is usually accompanied with kidney beans and canned sweetcorn.
Nam Kang Sai: Thai Shaved Ice. In Thailand, this kind of cold dessert is very popular as well. The differences from other countries’ shaved ice is that in the Thai version the toppings (mixings) are in the bottom and the shaved ice is on top. There are between 20-30 varieties of mixings that can be mixed in. Among them are young coconut that have been soaked in coconut milk, black sticky rice, chestnuts,sweetened taro, red beans, sarim (thin strands of cooked flour that is very chewy and slippery) and many more.

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French Dessert: Banana Moelleux

Bananas are not only great for humans as an easily assimilable source of energy, but is almost a medicinal plant by itself with a proven capacity to combat all kinds of diseases.
It’s only a question of diversifying its culinary approach!
Why don’t you try this simple banana soft cake recipe?

Banana Moelleux (soft cake)!

INGREDIENTS: for 4~6 people

-Flour: 220 g
-Sugar: 200 g
-Butter: 150 g ; a little for the mold
-Bananas: 3 medium sized, ripe
-Eggs: 2
-Yoghurt: 40 cc/ml, well stirred
-Cinnamon: 1/2 teaspoon (half a teaspoon)
-Vanilla essence: a few drops
-Yeast: 1/2 (flat) teaspoon
-Salt: a pinch

RECIPE:

-Melt butter and let cool to lukewarm.

-Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

-Peel bananas and and process them into a very liquid homogeneous puree.

-In a large bowl pour the banana puree. With a hand whisker add and mix one by one in the following order: Yoghurt, eggs (without the shells!LOL), sugar, cinnamon, vanilla essence and salt.

-Add the flour and yeast in small quantities at a time through a sieve to improve the best absorption/mixing. when all flour and yeast have been mixed in, add melted butter and mix.

-Butter the insides of the mold (about 20 cm diameter). Pour in the whole cake mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife stabbed into the cake comes out smooth and clean.

-Eat cold as it is or with a cream nappage made with cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, vanilla essence and lemon juice (Do it after the cake has completely cooled down, or even better slightly chilled).


NOTES:

-Follow the order for better quality!

-You may add crushed walnuts or chocolate bits in the cake.

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Social Culinaire, Sushi Nomads, Cook, Eat & Share, Gourmet Fury, 5 Star Foodie

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French Dessert: Green Tomatoes and Vanilla Tart

Ever thought of using green tomatoes as dessert?
Especially small ones can come as a surprise!

Here is a simple recipe which will please all, adults and kids alike!

Tarte aux Tomates Vertes Vanillees/Green Tomatoes & Vanilla Tart!


INGREDIENTS:
For 6 people

-Pate Brisee/Shortcrust Pastry (sweet/sugared) : Check this easy recipe if you want to make it yourself (In French) 400 g
-Small green tomatoes: 700 g (cut in halves)
-Lemon juice of 2 lemons
-Sugar: 150 g
-Vanilla pods: 2
-Cornstarch: 2 tablespoons
-Butter: 40 g
-Egg white: 1


RECIPE:

-Line the mold with the shortcrust pastry and pre-cook it for 15 minutes in oven at 220 degrees Celsius.
Take the mold out the oven and immediately brush the pastry with egg white to prevent the pastry from drying up.
Put aside.

-Cut the two vanilla pods lengthwise and take out the “heart” and seeds. Mix them delicately with lemon juice.

-In a large frying pan, melt 20 g of butter and fry the tomatoes on a medium fire for 2~3 minutes, taking care not to shake them around too much and damage them. while the tomatoes are cooking, add sugar and cornstarch to the vanilla and lemon juice mix. Mix them in and pour over the tomatoes. Keep frying until the whole becomes translucent. Finally add 20 g of butter and mix quickly.

-Place the tomatoes over the pre-cooked shortcrust pastry and bake in oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

-Serve with a rose wine.

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Doughnuts/Donuts: The best in Shizuoka at Hara Donuts!

It is the first time in my life I found something worthwhile writing about doughnuts or donuts as they are sometimes spelt!
I’m not going to rant about the dangers of fast food and sugar absorption, but these are the reasons why I have been avoiding the wares sold by the many famous chain shops (no names!) for so long!

There is only a single Hara Donuts Shop in The whole of Shizuoka Prefecture.
They originated from Kobe City where the original shop is still kiciking and alive. Apparently there are more in large citieslike Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe. Look out for them!

The original recipe for Hara Donuts was created Mrs. Hara, the owner of a tofu store in Kobe City in 1968.
Now the interesting thing is that all ingredients, even including sugar are made or found in Japan!
Moreover soy milk is used instead of milk! Great for lactose allergics!
The sugar content is low and only real sugar cane sugar is used. No “Company Miracle Recipe Mixture”, preservatives, colorants and what’s not there!
Although it could be considered a chain company now, all donuts are made on site from scratch with the same selected ingredients!

Count a minimum of 10 regular donuts and at least 5 seasonal donuts everyday!
They also make great vegetable donuts!

I chose before taking them withmy coffee to the tiny cafe behind the oven room.
This one (sorry for the fuzzy pic!) is the straight Hara Donut.

This one is a seasonal spinach donut!
Very light but surprisingly fullfilling!
Well-balanced with just enough sugar!

The cafe at the back is tiny and can sit only a maximum of 12 guests.

It’s cozy and extremely clean.
The toilets, a bit small, are state-of the art! (all computer-activated!)

All non-smoking incidentally!
Coffee and tea, cold or hot and in different varieties are available.
Just order your donuts and drink together and a smiling staff will bring it onto your table! Pay at the counter first.
As for take-out, don’t be surprised if you fnd out queuing, it is popular!
Especially with ladies.
Being situated along Aoba Koen-Tokiwa Koen/Aoba-Tokiwa Street Park across Showa Street, it will give you the opportunity to stroll at leisure before reaching the place!

HARA DONUTS
420-0034 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa-cho, 2-4-5, Tokiwa-Cho Emple Court, 1F (along Aoba Koen?Tokiwa Koen)
Tel.: 054-2708653
Opening hours: 10:00~19:00 (or if donuts are sold out!)
HOMEPAGE

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