Tag Archives: 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

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

レシピ, 美食, 静岡県, 静岡美食, 静岡市, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Culture, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Cuisine

Japanese Rice Recipe: Yaki Meshi

December 18, 2013 dragonlife 4 Comments

If you have any steamed rice left, do not worry as this is a chance to make a totally new dish for the pleasure of your family or impressing a special person! And it always so easy!
I’ve got a few stored and this is the second installemnet: Yaki Chahan/焼飯!

This recipe being a guide more than anything I leave to your priorities as for the quantities!

INGREDIENTS:

Hot or cold steamed rice
Bacon
Vegetables
Eggs
Salt
Pepper
Japanese sake
Light soy sauce

RECIPE:

Prepare all ingredients before starting to avoid running after something in the middle of cooking!
As an example get the following ready:
Steamed rice
Lettuce
Cabbage
Bacon
Eggs (1 per person)

Cut the bacon in strips thin enough to be easily mixed with the rice.
Instead of bacon you can use pork belly, beef, minced meat or canned tuna, whatever you have on that day!

Chop the lettuce and cabbage. Add some salt to them. Mix by hand. This step is to help the vegetables to sweat out their water which would soak the rice into the wrong taste and appearance. Put aside.

One can use hot or cold steam rice, but cold steam rice is better as it contains less water.
Beat the egg into a smooth liquid and mix well with rice.

Fry the bacon first in wok.
One can use normal oil with the meat, sesame oil, butter or leek oil.
Of course you may add some chopped garlic at that point!

Once the bacon or meat is cooked, press the chopped vegetables into a ball to get rid of its excess water. Throw the water away.

Add the egg rice and stir fry over strongest fire possible.

Once the rice has properly cooked add the vegetables and stir fry until well mixed together.Do it in as little time as possible or the vegetables will become sticky!

Season with salt, pepper and soy sauce, stir quickly and serve hot!

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

レシピ, 美食, Eggs, 静岡県, 静岡美食, 静岡市, 農業, Food, Food Health, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Culture, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Rice, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Shizuoka Prefecture

Japanese Rice Recipe: Tamago Chahan-Egg Fried Rice

December 17, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

If you have any steamed rice left, do not worry as this is a chance to make a totally new dish for the pleasure of your family or impressing a special person! And it always so easy!
I’ve got a few stored and I will begin with the simplest one: Tamago Chahan/玉子チャハン! “Tamago” stands for “eggs” and “Chahan” for fried rice!

This recipe being a guide more than anything I leave to your priorities as for the quantities!

INGREDIENTS:

Cold/hot steamed rice
Eggs
Leeks, finely chopped. White part of a thick leek if possible
Oil
Salt
Water

Optional: pepper and spices. Japanese sake and sesame oil

RECIPE:

Chop the leek very fine
Think of one egg per person.
Beta the egg until you obtain a smooth even colored liquid.
Prepare a wok.

First heat the wok until white smoke starts coming out.
Pour a full ladle of oil in the wok and stir it all inside the wok.
Pour all the oil back into a pot for that usage.
This is an important step that will insure that the rice or the egg stick to the wok!

Pour 2 or 3 spoons of fresh oil into the wok (you may use normal oil, sesame oil or leek oil, whatever your preference).
Drop the rice inside. Bear in mind that too much rice will be difficult to cook properly. This is not done in a restaurant where gas heat is far more powerful than over a home gas stove!
Spread the rice with your ladle.

Pour the beaten eggs over the riceas evenly as possible.
The reason why the eggs are poured after the rice is to prevent them to become an omlette or stick to the wok!

Stir continuously over the hot fire so as to mix the rice well with the egg.
This is the most important step as you do not want the rice and egg cooking separately!

Having fried the rice and egg for about 30 seconds, add some salt. Do it little by little. That is, add the salt. stir a few seconds and check the taste. Repeat as many tin\mes as necessary until it is salted enough to your taste!

throw in the finely chopped white leek and stir fry for a few seconds. you can pepper and other spices then if you wish too.

Pour a little water around the wok over the rim of the fried rice. Let the water bubble under the heat and stir only once. This is when you can replace the water with Japanese sake, or sesame oil, or even a little soy sauce. But bear in mind the taste will be diffrent, so do experiment!

Eat at once while it is very hot!

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

レシピ, 美食, 野菜, 農業, Food, Food Health, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Natto, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Vegan, Vegetarian cuisine

Japanese Vegan Recipe: Natto Cha Zuke・納豆茶漬け

September 7, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

I’m not a vegan and never will be, but I do have many friends who are and when I can find a recipe for them it os always a pleasure to put it online!
Now beans, especially fermented beans/natto/納豆 comes with a lot of healthy ingredients for such a priority.
Rice (you may use it whole of course and tea have also plenty!
Chazuke/茶漬け is a Japanese way to accommodate cold leftover steamed rice by basically warming it up through pouring hot tea over it. A cold version is also possible, especially in summer!

INGREDIENTS (I leave the proportions to your appetite!):

Cold steamed rice (leftovers)
Hot tea
Natto
Soy sauce
Chili pepper powder
Finely chopped scallions/white leek
Optional: sesame oil, grated ginger, etc.

RECIPE:

Pour some plain natto inside a bowl.

Mix/stir natto with chopsticks or fork long enough to see natto completely linked with sticky filaments. As a criteria stir it a hundred times!

Season it with soy sauce (and sesame oil as an option) and chili pepper powder and stir.

Add finely chopped scallions/white leek (and grated ginger as an option) and mix well.

In a bowl place enough cold teamed rice and natto on top.
Pour hot green (or oolong) tea over the rice up to the top of the ice.
For the cold version pour ice-cold tea.
Enjoy!

So simple and healthy!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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:

-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: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-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

Bento, 美食, 野菜, 駅弁, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/32): Curry Rice and “Ebi-mayo” Bento!

July 26, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

The Missus was in a bit of a quandary this morning as she had plenty of steamed rice leftovers!
Not to worry, let’s make a Japanese-style curry out of it!

She first fried all kinds of vegetables cut small in olive oil, salt and pepper: red, yellow and green pimentos, baby corn, and even sliced black olives and French cornichons and let it cool down a little.
During that time she re-heated the rice in its pot and added plenty of curry powder mixture.
Once the rice had been properly been cooked/fried with its spices she added the fried vegetables and mixed the lot!

She put the curry rice aside and prepared the “ebi-mayo”. “Ebi” stands for (large) shrimps and “mayo” stands for mayonnaise.
Over a low fire she first fried the shrimps in a non-stick pan with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. When the shrimps were half-cooked she added mayonnaise and kept stirring the whole until it was ready.
She filled the main box with the curry rice and topped it with the shrimps and some lemon cuts for extra taste.

She combined vegetables and fruit in the side box: baby leaves and ice-plant, cheese, mango and blueberries!

Great combination and plenty of nutrients sorely needed during this very hot summer!
And delicious!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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, 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!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Beef, Bento, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/31): Wagyu Beef Bento!

July 24, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

There are no less than 12 varieties of wagyu beef in Shizuoka Prefecture!
The Missus fund some (very thin) slices of Shizuoka-bred black hair wagyu beef/kuroge wagyu/黒毛和牛 at a discount price!

She prepared o-nigiri/rice balls for a copious and easy to eat bento!
Can you guess how they were made?

She first made nigiri with freshly steamed rice mixed with hijiki sweet seaweed and golden sesame seeds, the whole enveloped in shiso/perilla leaves.
As for the other kind of nigiri, she first mixed the rice with home-pickled wasabi stem and Kyoto-style pickled cucumber. She then wrapped them in wagyu beef sliced and pan-fried them in sauce!
Absolutely delicious!
And extravagant!
She gave the finishing touch with home-pickled gourd.

The side dish was composed of a salad and dessert:
The salad contained pan-fried mini corn kobs, goya, carrots and sesame seeds and fresh cut tomato.
The dessert included blueberries from Shizmizu Ku, Shizuoka City and mango from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa!

A single word for this bento: a treat!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Beef, Bento, 美食, Ekiben, 観光, 農業, Food, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, 和牛, 弁当

Shizuoka Ekiben/Railway Station Bento:　Ashitaka Beef in Numazu JR Railway Station

July 10, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

People often forget that Shizuoka Prefecture is not only celebrated nationally for cultivating the largest number of vegetables varieties as well as catching the largest number of seafood varieties, but that it also boasts no less than 12 recognized varieties of wagyu beef!

Numazu JR Station is comparatively a smaller railway station in Shizuoka Prefecture as the Shinkansen bullet train does not stop there but it has too many products to be proud of not to have a substantial ekiben booth at its entrance!

It sells no less than 7 regular ekiben on top of seasonal offerings!

As I had to attend a function there the other day I just couldn’t let pass the opportunity to sample their local wagyu beef ekiben!

Ashitaka/愛鷹 beef is raised on the slopes of Ashitaka Mountains north of Izu Peninsula and doesn’t come too often on the local tables as most of it is gobbled in Tokyo!

This particular ekiben has received national recognition!

Tounakaken Co in Numazu City advertises precisely all the contents.

The contents are well protected by a rigid transparent lid. Naturally chopsticks, separate spices and toothpick are provided together with the package!

Now, what do we have?

Boiled egg marinated in beef juices and boiled string beans.

Boiled kabocha and shirataki/Konyaku-konjac noodles.

Ashitaka beef cooked in two manners:
-Gyuu Sukini: beef slices simmered with onion and leeks.
-Gyuu Soboroni: minced beef simmered as above.

It actually proved more satisfying and well-balanced than expected. The beef taste would please anybody, be they Asian or Westerners!
A rare treat! And a collector’s item!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/30): Smoked Salmon Sushi Rolls Bento!

July 4, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

It’s been some time since the Missus had created a bento with sushi, especially sushi rolls!

Those sushi rolls are a bit a classic for the Missus and she concocted two kinds with one common ingredient!

Having prepared the sushi rice she rolled some around smoked salmon and processed cheese and some more around smoked salmon and French cornichons, all of them wrapped in large fresh leaves of lettuce instead of dry seaweed. A Western-style sushi roll? Definitely! LOL

She completed the sushi box with pickled wasabi stems on a bed of lettuce and boiled black beans and chestnut compote for my dessert.

As for the side box:
Salad consisting of yellow and violet potatoes from the Missus’ family garden and black olives on a bed of lettuce, carrot tagliatelle (raw), walnut and plum tomato salad!

As usual, plenty of colors and very satifying food!
Certainly needs it in these rainy season days!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/29): Karaage and Burdock Bento!

July 4, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

This is another leftovers bento of the Missus!
At least it is so with the karaage which she “adapted” (according to her own words) from the leftovers of a big batch she had made the night before!

For once the rice came under the form and shape of three musubi/triangular (they can also be round!) balls of steamed rice!

She made two kinds of them, one containing sweet umeboshi/pickled Japanese plum pickled again in honey and wrapped in egoma/large shiso/perilla variety leaves. These are softer in taste and have more flavor than the usual shiso.
The other variety of musubi was rice mixed with nori/dry seaweed and hijiki/sweet seaweed furikake and partly wrapped in dry seaweed.
Both varieties of musubi were sprinkled with golden and black sesame seeds for more crunch.
Pickled cucumber and ginger roots in one corner and pickled carrot and wasabi stem in the other corner completed the main box.

This is the so-called leftovers box!

The Missus first stir-fried large chunks of burdock root and then dropped the leftover karaage in the pan at the last moment adding Thai sweet and hot sauce and black sesame seeds.
Once ready she let them cool down together before placing inside the side box.

The other third of the box contained fried goya and red pimento salad with an onsen-style boiled egg and Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes for dessert!

Great balance, beautiful and delicious!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/28): Scotch Quail Eggs Bento!

July 3, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Normal eggs would be a bit too big for Scotch Eggs in a bento, so the Missus used quail eggs which are available anytime of the year here!
They are certainly daintier and more attractive!

While the rice was steaming she wrapped ready-boiled quail eggs in pork and beef minced meat seasoned with a little salt and pepper and made more cosnsistent with some breadcrumbs. She then fried the Scotch eggs slowly in olive oil and finished them in a teriyaki sauce of her own before letting them cool down.
Once the rice was properly steamed she just filled a box with it and topped it with plenty of freshly chopped parsley.

For better design she placed two Scotch Eggs cut in halves beside a whole one to also show the teriyaki sauce coating and completed the lot with Kyoto-style red cucumber pickles.

The side dish was conceived to complement the main box both in design and colors and a good supply of vitamins and fibers:
Salad consisting of lettuce, boiled carrot and broccoli, plum tomatoes, avocado, walnut, thin burdock root and pickled mini melons.
And for dessert, American cherries!

Once again plentiful, colorful and succulent!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Food Health, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/27): Canned Mussles Bento!

June 27, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Any time we travel to France or New Caledonia, our two main foreign destinations on long holidays, we acquire as much canned food as possible as it is invariably cheap and so easy to accommodate back home in Japan!

The Missus has a special fondness for Spanish recipe escabeche-style mussles. It is difficult to find the small variety in Japan and she buys them always with a thought for “mazegohan/mixed rice”!

The rice box is no great difficulty and the idea can be expanded at will:
After steaming the rice she adds the whole contents of the can/tin, oil included, and mixes the lot while the rice is hot.
She adds the finishing touch with finely chopped thin leeks for more color and vitamins!

A closer look will prove it is very appetizing indeed!

But eating all these vegetables in Japan back from some heavy food in France is certainly a blessing!

Salad consisting of red, violet and yellow potatoes from the Missus family’s garden, black olive, corn and ice plant on a bed of lettuce and cherries for dessert. Plenty of colors there!

Two more salads to help me recover from the beautiful terrines and pies back in France:
-Chicken breast fillets (leftovers), tomatoes, sesame seeds and cucumber.
-Lightly stir-fried pimentoes of three different colors.

I could have called this bento, “The Link Between France and Japan Bento”! LOL

In any case very colorful, tasty and satisfying!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/26): After the Rain Leftovers Bento!

May 31, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

After two days of extraordinarily foul weather with torrential rain and hail, thunderbolts striking everywhere and flash floods, farmers and fishermen had to stay home as most housewives did.
So, the bento had to be made with whatever could be found in the fridge and pantry!

The Missus first steamed rice and served it with all kinds of leftovers!

She mixed the rice with “Chikaka/mixture of wet bonito flakes and cheese” and put some on top as well with thinly chopped dry seaweed. Very tasty rice!
She also included pickled ginger made by her mother for extra zip.

She then boiled some stringbeans and carrots and seasoned them with ground black sesame before adding them to the rice.
She baked some salmon and then fried it in soy sauce. She let it cool before placing it atop the rice.
Finally she decorated the lot with her special half-boiled marinated egg sprinkled with black sesame seeds!

As for the salad and dessert box the Missus arranged together fresh lettuce, pickled mini melon wedges, pitted prunes, cherries and orange wedges!

A bento to perk you up in bad weather!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/25): Teriyaki Vegetable Chicken Rolls and Tamagoyaki Bento!

May 29, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

I called this bento “Teriyaki Vegetable Chicken and Tamagoyaki Bento”, but I could also have called it “Oyako/Parent and Child” Bento as they call any combination of chicken and eggs here in Japan!

The Missus prepared an interesting mame mazegohan/rice mixed with various beans by adding salad beans, and boiled green peas and broad beans leftovers with freshly steamed rice.
Great colors and very satisfying!

The side box was also very satisfying and for once I took my time to savor it instead of wolfing it down!

The Missus concocted two types of rolls with chicken breast fillets/sasami:
One containing mini green asparaguses,
the other containing carrots and pickled wasabi stems and leaves.
She fried them whole first before cutting them to size.
As for the teriyaki sauce I’m afraid this was a secret I’m not privy to!

She added some plain tamagoyaki (for dessert?) and plenty of vegetable with fresh lettuce and some sauteed green and red pimentos.

Very satisfying as I said above, yummy and so colorful!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/24): Color Orange Bento?

May 24, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

Now, why did I call this bento “Color Orange” (nothing to do with “Agent”!)?
Well, the color was obviously present not only in the picture but also in the ingredients! Just remember that one way to translate “orange” in Japanese is “daidai/橙”!
Incidentally, orange is the official color of Shizuoka Prefecture!

The Missus (did I tell you her nickname is “Dragon”?) introduced the color in the “mazegohan/mixed rice” which included finely chopped carrot. She just filled one box with the lot sowing plenty of boiled (from her family’s garden) green peas for added taste and design.

Can you guess the element “orange” in the side box?
Actually one is invisible as an ingredient?

The orange color is obvious in the Missus’ half-boiled egg atop a salad consisting of potatoes, red onion, black olives and pink pepper flanked with lettuce grown at home.
I always try to entice the Dragon to include as much of her potato salad as possible! LOL

Beside the delicious plum tomato lies an interesting concept for a salad: thinly sliced cucumber, sesame seeds, natsu mikan orange wedges and boiled prawns, the lot seasoned with Daidai Koshio pepper, the invisible “orange” element!

If the Missus continues in the same vein, her bentos will not only be great to eat, they might become a photograph essay of its own!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

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, 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:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/23): Egg Ribbons and Beef Chirashi Sushi Bento!

May 23, 2012 dragonlife 10 Comments

The Missus loves to make Chirashi Sushi for my bentos (and her own lunch!) but this might be the last for some time as “she is running out of ideas”!
Well, this particular one was a good idea!

The chirashi Sushi was designed in a two-color concept with a neat third coloration provided with violet daikon sprouts!

The Missus did prepare egg ribbons first while steaming the rice. They are not so difficult to make although they are very spectacular!

She stir-fried fine beef ribbons in ha sauce of hers (she wouldn’t disclose the ingredients!) and let them cool down.
Once the rice was steamed she added vinegar and a little sugar to turn it into sushi rice and finally mixed it with some fried beef and boiled green peas for more impact.
She then filled the box with the sushi rice mixture and topped half with egg ribbons, the other half with stir-fried beef and boiled green peas and drew a separation with fresh violet daikon sprouts!