Tag Archives: recipe

French gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes

Salmon Trout Pie Recipe

May 21, 2015 dragonlife 2 Comments

Whatever the weather prevailing, one often expects a hearty hot meal back home from a long work day.
I personally cook dinner twice or three times a week at the most, but I can guarantee you that the Dragon does expect a proper meal if I happen to be back home before her!
The problem is that I tend to cook too much, and I consequently end up finishing both plates to the detriment of my waistline! LOL.
In winter and spring reasonably-priced salmon trout is readily available, and taking in account my partner’s inordinate love for salon, it is easy enough to please her!
Here is what I concocted for her the other day:

INGREDIENTS (for 2 to 4 persons depending on your appetite!)
-Salmon trout: a large (~15 cm long) piece/filet. Cut the ends square if needed. The small bits can be put on top wherever to adjust the level of the contents. Pare off all the excess fat as it tends to sog the pie. In any case cooked fish fat is not appealing either in shape or taste!
-Frozen pie sheets: 2 large enough to leave necessary margin around the fish.
-Lemon juice: 1 large lemon juice squeezed into a small glass.
-Fresh basil: 20 leaves, finely chopped/cut.
-Fresh Italian parsley: 10 sprigs, finely chopped/cut.
-White mushrooms (other varieties are fine),: 4 large, finely chopped.
-Fresh shiso/perilla leaves: 12 large. If not available, use 24 salad spinach leaves. Boil them in salted water for 15 seconds. Spread on kitchen paper to suck off as much water as possible.
-Scallops: 4 large, sliced in two.
-Egg: 1 large, beaten.
-Shallot/Echalotte: 1, large, finely chopped.
-Garlic: 2 cloves, finely chopped.
-White wine: 50cc/one quarter cup.
-Olive oil: 2 large tablespoons.
-Salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste. You may add (or do without) spices according to taste and tradition.

RECIPE:
-Pour oil in a non-stick frying pan. Drop in chopped shallots and garlic. On a medium fire, when shallts are becoming transparent, add half of the lemon juice and all the wine. Stir. Lower the fire to gentle, drop in chpped mushrooms, a little sale, pepper, nutmeg and spices. Slowly fry until there is almost no juices left. Take off fire, pour the lot on a flat plate and let cool off.
-Preheat oven to 210 degrees C. (about 420 Degrees F)
-Spread one pie sheet onto a large piece of cooking paper laid over the oven plate.
-Cut salmon trout into 3 equal “sheets/layers” with a large sharp knife. Spread bottom slice on pie sheet. Brush it lightly with lemon juice. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper.

-Spread chopped basil and Italian parsley on top. Then spread fried vegetables, taking care to include as little juice as possible.

-Spread second slice of salmon trout on top. Brush with a little lemon juice and sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Spread half of the perilla leaves (or spinach) on top. Spread the sliced scallops on top. Brush with a little lemon juice. Spread the remaining leaves over the scallops.

-Spread the last slice of salmon trout over the top. Brush with a little lemon juice and sprinkle a littlle salt and pepper.

-Brush beaten egg over th uncovered parts of the pie sheet.
Spread the second pie sheet over the whole, stretching it carefully as to fall equally onto the bottom pie sheet. Press “margins” (I do it with a fork) and roll them so as to “close” the pie.
Brush the whole surface with beaten egg (the more, the better!).

Cook at 210 degrees for 1 5minutes, then lower to 160 degrees (about 290 degrees F) for 15 more minutes. Cook a little while longer if you are not satisfied with the color of the pie.

Served with cream dressing and a tossed salad, it should satisfy any appetite.
Serve with white wine or sparkling wine!
Enjoy!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pie
rre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Italian Gastronomy, Recipes, Tomato

From my Recipe Book: Cold Pasta Salad With Shizuoka-grown Ameera Tomatoes

August 21, 2014 dragonlife Leave a comment

Cooking is so easy when you have the right and superlative ingredients within your hand’s reach!

Japan, and especially Shizuoka Prefecture, is famous for producing all kinds of succulent varieties of tomatoes.
I brought back home a batch of Ameera (meaning “sweet” in local dialect) tomatoes grown in the Western part of Shizuoka Prefecture. They are the size of large plum tomatoes and are very firm and sweet. You could actually eat them as fruit!

The weather having turned mild (it will soon be hot), cold pasta salad becomes a favorite!

I prepared some Spaghettini and let them cool down while I boiled some broad beans and peas in the pods.
The latter once cooked (but still firm), I peeled the broad beans and cut the peas in the pod in halves at a slant.
I sliced the tomatoes and fried them a little in olive oil.
Once everthing had cooled down to the same temperature, I tossed the lot (including the tomato juices) with cold basil pesto based sauce and some pepper.
Nothing else! The fresh and natural combination of sweetness and light saltiness with basil was just perfect!

Easy, yes. Great ingredients, yes!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

French gastronomy, Recipes, Rice

From My Recipe Book: Mango Curry Cream Sauce Prawns and Scallops with Wild Rice

August 10, 2014 dragonlife Leave a comment

Here is a simple recipe of mine (yes, I do sometimes cook for the Missus! LOL) I have wanted to introduce for a long time. It calls for reasonably easy to find ingredients in many parts of the World. It is of course open to many variations!

Ingredients: For 2 people

-Fresh or frozen scallops: 12
-Medium-size prawns: 12
-Broccoli or Romanesco: 12 “flowers”
-Basil leaves: 12
-finely chopped red and yellow pimento: 4 large tablespoons
-Wild rice: 1 cup (200 cc)
-1 large mango: cut in small cubes
-Lemon juice: 1 large tablespoon
-Fresh cream: 1 cup (200 cc)
-White wine a quarter of a cup (50 cc)
-Chopped Shallots: 1 large
-Chopped garlic: 1 clove
-Curry mix powder (or paste) 2 large tablespoons
-Salt, pepper (and spices to taste)
-White Butter: 1 large tablespoon
-Chicken stock: half a cup (100cc)
-Olive oil: 2 large tablespoon

Recipe:

-Cook the wild rice in lightly salted water for at least 20 minutes.
Drain water completely. Add butter and chicken stock and cook on a medium fire until you are satisfied with the consistency of the rice. Keep warm

-Prepare sauce:
Pour olive oil inside a large saucepan over a medium fire. Drop in shallots and garlic and fry until shallots become translucent. Add wine, mango, curry powder and fresh cream. let cook for a few minutes, mashing mango from time to time.
While doing this, first boil Romanesco broccoli in slightly salted water until tender enough ( a couple of minutes). Drain and keep warm.
In a fry pan pour a little olive oil. Fry prawns, then scallops (season with just a little salt and pepper) long enough to cook the outside but leaving the inside almost raw. They will be more tender for them. Keep warm.
-Sieve the sauce for smoothness and getting rid of unwanted fibers.
Add chopped pimentoes and basil laves, heating the sauce over a small fire for a couple of minutes.
Season the sauce with salt, pepper and spices to taste.

On a large plate (that you would have kept warm inside the oven!), place the scallops, prawns and broccoli alternatively in a crown.
Pour plenty of sauce all over.
Finally transfer the wild rice in the middle for good effect!

Enjoy!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

French gastronomy, Pasta, Recipes

From My Recipe Book: Cream Sauce Prawns & Potato Pagoda

August 10, 2014 dragonlife 1 Comment

Recently I’ve been digging in my cooking books & notes and dug out some easy recipes!
Here we go!

Frankly speaking, I was stumped by how to call this simple, healthy but fulfilling home-made recipe reminiscent of the Curry Sauce Mango Prawns and Scallops recipe I posted a couple of days ago!
Lauren would probably have kicked if I had called it “Prawns and Potatoes Sandwich in Cream Sauce”! LOL
As with other recipes, it can be multiplied into many variations. Vegetarians can replace the prawns with boiled cauliflower and Broccoli for example!

Ingredients (for 2 people/large appetites!):

Small -medium prawns: 18 without their shells and kept in a little lemon juice
Potatoes: 4 medium-large
Courgette/Zucchini: 1 small cut in thin strips (at least 9 or 10. See pic above)
Eringi Mushrooms or substitute: 2 large cut in thin strips (at least 9 or 10. See pic above)
Fresh dill (for decoration)
Fresh sweet basil (for topping)
Sauce:
Shallots: 1 large, finely chopped
Garlic: 1 large clove, finely chopped
Red, yellow, green pimento: 2 large tablespoons of each, finely chopped
Fresh Cream: 1 cup (200 cc)
White wine: 1 quarter of a cup (50 CC)
Olive oil
Lemon juice: 1 lemon
Salt, pepper, nutmeg, chili pepper (the last to taste). You can make it Indian by using curry mix powder.

Recipe:
Organize yourself so as to have everything on hand and ready from the beginning!
You will need at least two frying pans and one deep pan.

-Cut potatoes as thin as possible. The thinner, the better. Also keep in mind you have to make 6 “pancakes”. Wash them. Take all water off them with a clean cloth or kitchen paper. Add a little salt, pepper, nutmeg and chili pepper (last one can be discarded) to them in a bowl.
-Pour a little olive oil in one non-stick frying pan. On a medium-large fire wait until oil is hot enough and form a “pancake with potato slices. The trick is that no space should be left between potatoes and at the same time avoiding two sliced to cover each other completely. Wait until potatoes have cooked enough to stick together (“help” them if necessary by pressing them). Turn them over and cook the other side to a nice crispy light brown. Continue until you have obtained 6 “pancakes”. Keep warm.
-While the potatoes cook, fry first zucchini then eringi mushrooms in a little olive oil until tender to taste. Add a (very) little salt to them while cooking. Keep warm.
-Sauce: In a deep pan, pour 3 large tablespoon of olive oil, heat oil over medium fire. Fry shallots and garlic. When shallots have become translucent, add wine, fresh cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper, nutmeg and other spices. Take it easy with salt and spice at first. You can always rectify later. Let cook for a few minutes. Sieve sauce, add chopped pimento and cook for a good 5 minutes on a medium fire. Lower fire if it boils.
-Fry prawns in a little olive oil until only their centers are still a little raw. If you cook them any longer, they will harden up.

On a large plate you had kept hot in the oven, first place one potato pancake then 3 prawns on top. Repeat the operation twice more to obtain the “pagoda” or “Sandwich” shape. Place alternatively zucchini and eringi around to form a crown. With a large tablespoon scoop up the pimento out of the sauce and pile them on top of the Pagoda. Pour the sauce on the vegetables around the Pagoda. Decorate with plenty of fresh dill around and sweet basil leaves on top as shown on pic above.

Serve with a dry white wine or Pilsner type beer. Non-drinkers could drink a nice fresh lemonade (real one!) with it!

Enjoy!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

Eggplants, French gastronomy, Recipes

French Recipe: Caviar d’Aubergines-Eggplant Paste!

August 6, 2014 dragonlife Leave a comment

Summer is a season for fresh eggplants (aubergines in French and British English) aplenty and this seemingly modest vegetable can be easily turned into an elegant and sophisticated dish, appetizer or a finishing touch for a multitude of dishes.
This is the basic recipe of a French I was wolfing down every summer back home that is so easy to reproduce even here in Japan!
This is the basic recipe for Caviar d’Aubergines or Eggplant Paste that you can transform and expand on at will!

Eggplants: 6 (only 3 shown in picture for lack of space!)
Fresh garlic: 2 cloves (reduce if you are not too keen on garlic taste. Can be replaced with fresh red chili peppers)
Rosemary: a small sprig (can be ignored or replaced with another fresh herb)
A few black olives (not on the picture above). Use spicy ones if you like your food so.
Lemon: 1:2 Important as it will preserve the color and the food!
Salt
Black pepper
Optional spices
High quality olive oil

Cut the eggplants/aubergines in halves and grill them until their inner surface gets dark.
Do it in two batches if necessary.

Cut garlic cloves in halves and take out the central green core. Important as that particular part is indigestible!

Crush and chop garlic as finely as possible.
Chop rosemary as fine as possible.
Can be done with a blender.
If using a blender use it for the above first as the eggplants may not be blended too long or they will becone a running paste!

Chop the black olives as finely as possible. Do not blend.

Once the eggplants/aubergines are properly cooked, scoop the flesh with a spoon.
Discard any long dry filaments or burned skin.

Drop the eggplant/aubergine flesh, garlic, rosemary, and black olives into a bowl.
Add lemon juice, a little salt (you can rectify the seasoning later!), black pepper.
Mix roughly.
Add olive oil little by little and whisk to form a kind of mayonnaise (without eggs?).
Taste regularly to check if you have poured in enough olive oil.
Rectify seasoning with salt, pepper, and spices if deemed necessary.
Blend a few seconds if you wish to obtain a smoother paste, but do be easy with the blender. Hand work is definetly recommended!

Some like to eat lukewarm especially if you add it immediately to another dish, but I prefer to preserve it in the fridge for snacks and appetizers!

I like it best on a toasted piece of superior bread!

You can add the caviar d’aubergines to many dishes as a finishing touch such as ratatouille, pizzas, sandwiches, hamburgers, eggs mimosa, carpaccio.
Suggestion: prepare very fresh white flesh fish cut into thin slices. Apply a thin layer of caviar d’aubergine on them, roll them and secure them with toothpicks to be served as tapas!
Best enjoyed with a solid re wine or a great craft beer!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Snack

Japanese Appetizer (O-toushi/お通し): Carrot Salad & Onsen Tamago/Hot Spring Egg!

April 11, 2014 dragonlife Leave a comment

O-toushi/お通しis actually a bit difficult to translate.
In a Japanese (in Japan) izakaya it is an appetizer that is served with the first drink and that you pay for in general in lieu of a cover charge.
I have nothing against such a notion as it gives you a good idea of the chef’s skills!

Dragon has two specialties of her own.
One is a carrot salad she prepares with finly cut carrot, rice vinagr, sugar and a secret she wouldn’t tell me.
Serving it walnut and parsley it already makes for a colorful and healthy salad!

Her other specialty is onsen tamago/温泉玉子/eggs soft-boiled so as to preserve a soft yolk core.You do need high quality eggs, though, with a great yolk.
Once cooked and forcibly cooled down she peels the eggs and marinate them, hence the outside color.
The point is not to cut the eggs open but to “tear” them open carefully!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

レシピ, Cakes, Chiffon Cake, 美食, 静岡県, 静岡美食, 静岡市, 農業, Gardening, Gastronomes, Japan, Japanese Culture, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Tofu

Tofu Chiffon Cake Steamed in Rice Cooker

January 26, 2014 dragonlife 2 Comments

Rice cookers come very handy when you want to make lighter cakes you can either eat hot, lukewarm or cold!

Here is another simple and healthy recipe for a chiffon cake including tofu!

INGREDIENTS:

Silk tofu: 150 g
Eggs: 2
Hot cake mix: 200 g
Milk: 100 cc (1/2 cup)
Sugar: 30 g
Vanilla essence: 2~3 drops

RECIPE

Put the tofu into the rice cooker bowl.
There is no need to get rid of its water.

Beat the tofu with a whisk.

Add milk, eggs and sugar.

Beat until you obtain a smooth mixture.

Pour in the hot cake mix and mix well.
Last add vanilla essence and mix.

Set the steamer on, close and switch on.

Prick it with a wooden toothpick or a long and thin wooden pick.
If it comes out clean the cake is ready. If not cook again for a few minutes.

You should be able to easily take it out!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

レシピ, Cakes, 美食, Dessert, 静岡県, 静岡美食, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes

Tea Chiffon Cake Steamed in Rice Cooker

January 23, 2014 dragonlife 6 Comments

Rice cookers come very handy when you want to make lighter cakes you can either eat hot, lukewarm or cold!

here is a simple recipe for a chiffon cake!

INGREDIENTS:

Eggs: 2
Egg whites: 2
White sugar: 40 g
Salad oil: 2 x tablespoons
Baking powder: 4 g
Flour: 4 x tablespoons
Black tea teabag: 1 (Darjheeling, Earl Grey or whatever your favorite tea!)

RECIPE:

Make 2 tablespoons of tea with teabag. The more concentrated, the better.
Warm up inside microwave oven.

Beat the egg whites with half of the sugar. Add the sugar in two steps.

Beat until you obtain solid meringue/beaten egg whites and sugar.

In another bowl the two whole eggs and the rest of the sugar.
Beat until the mixture becomes whitish.
Add the warm tea and salad oil and mix again.

Mix in 1/4 (one quarter) of the meringue/beaten whites) with a spatula.

Add flour and baking powder.
Mix gently with the spatula.

Having obtained a smooth mixture with no flour curd bits, add rest of meringue/beaten egg whites and mix quickly with the spatula.

Pour the mixture into the rice cooker basin. regulate the temperature a bit down and cook once.

Check if it is cooked to your liking with a wooden stick.
Actually it’s best to cook it twice!

Once cooled down serve it with a whipped cream of your choice.

Bear in mind that it tends to crumble easily so cut it with a very sharp knife!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

レシピ, Crab, Crustaceans, 美食, 花咲蟹, 魚海の幸, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomic Photography, Gastronomy, Hansaki Crab, Japan, Japanese crabs, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, sushi

Sushi: Hanasaki Crab Chirashi Zushi for the New Year!

January 1, 2014 dragonlife 4 Comments

Chirashi zushi/散らし寿司 means “decoration sushi” in Japanese!
It is a free form of sushi very popular at homes!

We received this magnificent crab directly from Hokkaido!

Its name, Hanasakgani/花咲蟹 means “Flower Blooming Crab”!
This is probably due tp its many spikes!

We received pre-boiled although the original color is almost the same!
The Dragon had a hard time to prepare it as the shell is hard. I did propose to help her but she refused!

This crab can be found only in the North Pacicific around Hokkaido, The Behring Sea and the Sakhalin.
It does not have a specila English name and goes by the Latin name of Paralithodes brevipes.

It is considered as one of the top three crabs (at least in Hokkaido) with the Kegani/Horsehair Crab and the Tarabagani/Red King CRab! It is expensive but we recived it as an End of the Year present!

The meat out of its shell!

The Dragon prepared a chirashi sushi served in the traditional round wood bowl for 4 of us, but we couldn’t finish and had more for the next breakfast!

The Dragon first prepare the sushi rice inside the wooden bowl.

She had mixed the rice with some golden sesame seeds before adding roughly shredded hanaski crab meat and chopped fresh mizuna herbs.

As this is the New Year, she also added plenty of ikura/salmon re!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Food, Food Health, Health, Japan, Shizuoka

Gastronomic Nightmares in Japan: Calories Count at McDonald’s, Starbucks & Mr. Donuts

March 28, 2012 dragonlife 3 Comments

McDonald’s at Shinjuku, Tokyo

As demonstrated by many food bloggers, cooking and creating great foods and drinks have become incomplete and unsatisfying when not considering the benefits or adverse effects of the same foods and drinks regardless of their taste.
I do not intend to delve into counselling or consulting, but only to offer some knowledge about the nutrition and health facts in Japanese food.
The Japanese have their own imported diners represented mainly by McDonald’s, Starbucks and Mr. Donuts. Since they are doing good business here, I was curious about the calories intake in their offerings.
Here are the results of my research. Please note that these numbers concern only food served inside Japan. I will let you judge the benefits!

MCDONALD’S

-Double Quarter Pounder Cheese: 825 kcl
-Bacon Lettuce burger: 422 kcl
-Hamburger: 274 kcl
-Cheese Burger: 322 kcl
-Teriyaki Mac Burger: 509 kcl
-Fillet Fish: 352 kcl
-Chicken Mac Nuggets (5 pieces+bbq sauce): 322 kcl
-Cinnamon Melts: 449 kcl
-Mac Fried Potatoes (M size): 454 kcl
-Mac Shake Chocolate (S size9: 211 kcl
-Hot Apple Pie: 211 kcl

Starbucks, Shinjuku, Tokyo

STARBUCKS

Below drinks are all Tall Size

-Matcha Cream Frapuccino: 430 kcl
-Caramel Frapuccino: 307 kcl
-Caffe Mocha: 320 kcl
-Starbucks Latte: 203 kcl
-Soy Latte: 200 kcl
-Mango Passion Tea Frapuccino: 144 kcl
-Caramel Makiart: 189 kcl
-Drip Coffee: 20 kcl

Mr. Donuts, Sendai City

MR. DONUTS

-Cookie Cruller Coconuts: 397 kcl
-Choco Fashion: 307 kcl
-Honey Cello: 192 kcl
-Old Fashion: 277 kcl
-Baked Chou Custard & Whip: 176 kcl
-Double Chocolate: 240 kcl
-Rich Donut Honey dip: 190 kcl
-Bon.De.Ring: 225 kcl
-French Cruller: 158 kcl

As an indication a non-active (physical exercise) lady needs 1750 kcl a day, a moderately active lady needs 2050 kcl a day and a physically active lady needs 2350 kcl a day. Count 20% more for a gentleman.

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India
Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London
Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, 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,
Susan at Arkonlite, 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

Citrus, 美食, Dekopon, Desserts, 観光, 農業, Food, Fruit, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shiranuhi, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, 不知火

Dekopon Oranges Producer: Nobuhiko Onuma

March 28, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Nobuhiko Onuma/小沼宣彦 between his daughter/睦代, and wife, Yoshiko/良子!

Dekopon (デコポン) is a seedless and very sweet citrus fruit, a hybrid between Kiyomi and ponkan (Nakano no.3), developed in Japan in 1972 starting from Kyushu Island. Originally a brand name, Dekopon has become a genericized trademark and it is used to refer to all brands of the fruit; the generic name is shiranuhi or shiranui (不知火). Dekopon is distinctive due to its sweet taste, large size and the large protruding bump on the top of the fruit.
Shizuoka prefecture has become a major producer thanks to its ideal climate.

Okitsu Mountains under a glaring sun.

I recently had the chance to make a new friend, Ms. Chikayo Onuma working as a nurse at the Shizuoka Children’s Hospital, whose parents are producers of Dekopon and other oranges in Okitsu, Shimizu Ku, Shizuoka City!
Her parents were very kind to accept this foreign resident to visit and interview them!
Okitsu in Shizuoka Prefecture is nationally famous for its citrus fruits thanks to an ideal sun exposure and wide differences of temperature between day and night contributing to an extraordinary sweetness of the fruit.

Unfortunately the picking season was finished but we still had a lot to talk about before moving to the Onuma’s home to have a look at their crops.
Mr. Onuma produces an annual crop of 3,000 kg of Dekopon, 1,000 kg of Aoshima (Aoshima Shutarou) Oranges, as well as Kiyomi and Suruga Elegant varieties.

A typical farmhouse in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Mr. Onuma sells some of his crop through the JA but mostly deals with a network of private customers and accepts orders through the phone/fax as long as there are any fruit left. You had better hurry as they will disappear soon!

Mr. Onuma was kind enough to prepare an explanation of the cultivation for my perusal:
May: Flowering
July~August: Pruning and thinning the trees to keep only the best fruit. A neck braking work!
From August: regular watering
About the 20th of November: Each fruit is individually protected with a paper bag. More neck-breaking work!
From January 20th: Harvesting.

But the work is far from being finished as I will explain later!

Moreover, fungicide has to be spread 12 times a year.
Mr. Onuma told me that he keeps any such fungicide to a minimum and does not use any other agrichemicals.

More work is to come as the fruit will be stored in a dark cool shed to mature.
The fruit must attain a level of 13 on the official sweetness scale before they may be called Dekopon.
Mr. Onuma’s crop of Dekopon has been awarded the special appellation of shiranuhi (不知火) by the Prefecture, as a sure mark of its excellence!

Mr. Ozawa’ shiranuhi have even been prized in spite of the fierce competition!

Even Japanese nationals will be hard pressed to pronounce the Kanji for shiranuhi (不知火) properly!

Temperature inside the shed is strictly regulated!

And the place is also kept dark at all times!

Moreover, each fruit has to be individually wrapped in an open vinyl pouch!
I can’t start to imagine all the work and time spent!

Not to mention all the back-breaking work carrying 10 kg trays out and preparing orders!

Mr. Ozawa’s dekopon in my bento!

All this to make sure that all the fruit reach customers in the perfect state!
Thank you so much, Mr. Onuma!

Nobuhiko Onuma/小沼宣彦, Dekopon and oranges producer
424-Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ku, Okitsu Inoue Machi, 177
４２４－０２０２静岡市清水区興津井上町１７７
Tel./Fax: 054-369-2670

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Organic Vegetables Salad at Pissenlit in Shizuoka City!

March 26, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Excellent and very friendly.
Facilities: Great cleanliness overall. Superb washroom (mouthwash and toothpicks provided!)!
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive, very good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products, especially organic vegetables and Shizuoka-bred meat.

Spring is very near and vegetables have become sweet for all the cold weather we had to put up with, which just shows that nature is still making us favors!
It is always a pleasure to savor a whole salad of them for a “quick lunch” at Pissenlit in Shizuoka City, a restaurant which plays a major role in making them known to all!

I took a “sneak review” of the vegetables on offer in the kitchen as I came late enough not to disturb any guests!

All organic vegetables!

Vegetables mainly come from Shizen no Chikara Farm in Shizuoka City, Kitayama Farm in Fujinomiya City and Hirokawa Farm in Mishima City!

But while Chef Touru Arima/有馬亨さん was busy preparing my order I was served a succulent and hot organic kabocha potage!

The salad!

Sometimes I experience almost more pleasure taking photographs than actually eating these little treasures!

Vegetable flan/pudding, the only non-vegetarian/vegan elemnt in the salad. If you are vegetarian, this should be no problem, just tell the chef!

And the dressings are always such superb finisihing touches!

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)
E-Mail: pissenlit2008@ybb.ne.jp
Credit Cards OK
Entirely non-smoking!

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French Desserts: Macaron Framboisé & Matcha Parfait Cannelé at Pissenlit in Shizuoka City!

March 21, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

The Japanese, as a general rule, are not so keen to savor cakes at the end of their repasts and prefer to enjoy them in between meals.
Therefore, it is quite a feat if a restaurant can convince them to find some space for a succulent dessert!
Chef Touru Arima/有馬亨さん does not sem to encounter any problems to convince his guests to stay a bit longer and acquaint themselves with his supreme creations!

I have just had the occasion to sample two of his recent desserts as I have to visit him often not only for pleasure but also for work.
The first one is an enormous macaron with a very feminine touch despite its size!

For a closer look!

Big and thick as it is, you certainly need a fork and knife to eat it.
As its name indicates, it is perfumed and colored with raspberry extract with the butter and marzipan filling containing real raspberries!
A sin, if there is one!

The second dessert was a combination of Bordeaux and Shizuoka Cuisines!
In the middle you can see the canelé prepared in the true Bordeaux tradtion but it had been hollowed out!

Now, what does it contain?

Shizuoka Honyama Green Tea Matcha ice-cream!
The cannelé had been frozen together with the ice cream!
It was the first time I found myself eating a cannelé with a knife and fork!
And I’m sure to do it again!
A true gastronomic experience!

PISSENLIT

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French Gastronomy: Organic Vegetables & Madai Seabream at Pissenlit-Shizuoka City!

March 17, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

Difficult to believe as it is, but Shizuoka Prefecture, both officially at the Government level and unofficially by all gastronomes here, has the largest number of varieties of food grown, bred or caught both on land and at sea in Japan!
No wonder that the local restaurants find it both so easy and pleasurable to associate local products any time of the year!

So the other day, actually Saturday last week when I had lunch at Pissenlit in Shizuoka City, Chef Touru Arima/有馬亨さん first served me as an amuse-bouche a veloute/smooth soup made from organic Takinogawa burdock root from Kitayama Farm in Fujinomiya City.

The wine served then was not from Shizuoka, but it is worth talking about it as it was made in Osaka from Delaware and Koshu grapes! Its name, “Ganko Oyaji Tetsukuri Wain”, means “Wine hand-made by an old stubborn man”!

Nakamura Winery in Osaka also makes the above white wine called “Yume Asuka” or “Dream Asuka”!

Here is the happy marriage of products from the land and sea of Shizuoka Prefecture!

The Madai/真鯛/”True Seabream” was caught off Sagara/相良 shore, west of Shizuoka City, an area of Suruga Bay replete with semi-deep water fish.
First sauteed on its skin and then finished in the oven, the skin had a beautiful crispy bite in superb contradiction with the flesh perfect tenderness. The sauce kept to a minimum with lemon and butter accentuated all the freshness of the fish.

The organic vegetables came from two distinct farms: Shizuen No Chikara In Shizuoka City and Kitayama in Fujinomiya City!

Beautiful carrots!

Now, what is this organic vegetable from Kitayama Farm?

Romanesco broccoli bud!
So extravagant, elegant, beautiful and full of flavors!

To be continued… (can you wait?)

PISSENLIT

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French Gastronomy: Organic Rape Flowers and Egg in Meurette style at Pissenlit-Shizuoka City!

March 16, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Last Saturday since I needed to talk with Chef Touru Arima/有馬亨さん at pissenlit in Shizuoka City, I took the opportunity to eat a late lunch there.
In fact I was too late for the specials of the day which all gone by then…

Side view!

But I had noticed some beautiful rape flowers resting inside a bowl in the kitchen when I walked past the large glass windows which allow a full sight of the chef’s lair!
I asked if an “appetizer” could be done with them…
Right-O! was the reply…

A “riding” view!

The rape flowers were organic from Shizen no Chikara Farm in Shizuoka City.
Rape flowers, na no Hana/菜の花, also go by the name of Broccolini and Tenderstem Broccoli.
Actually I wonder if i should call them rape flowers at all also they are also of the Brassica Family!
Chef Arima simply gently boiled them, then fried with a minimum of seasoning.
He placed an enormous poached on top with a generous portion of wine sauce according to my homeland, Bourgogne, recipe for oeufs en meurette!
The egg comes from Mr. Hotta farm in Okabe, Fujieda City and are branded under the name of “Yuseiran/有精卵!