Valentine’s Day is almost here and, like many of our Western traditions, it has found a place in Japanese culture though they do things a little differently.
On February 14th it is the ladies who have to buy a gift for the special men in their life and that includes husbands, boyfriends, family members and even your boss.
The gifts are usually chocolate or cookies (the cynical history of Valentine’s Day in Japan is it was introduced by the chocolate manufacturers) and can be bought or handmade, depending on how strong your feelings are for the person you are giving it to.
Special chocolate gifts are called honmei-choco and men do think it’s a big deal if they are lucky enough to get given them and are suitably gutted if they don’t get anything. What makes it worse for those unlucky in love men is that ladies also dish out gifts to men they are not in love with but they consider important in their lives such as co-workers and male friends, known as giri-choco.
Valentines Day is so popular that it accounts for more than half of the annual sales of chocolate in Japan. And, if you all think it sounds a bit one sided and unfair, White Day was invented to redress the balance – on March 14th it’s the ladies’ turn to be pampered and spoiled by the men in their life.
This diversion from our western traditions may not go down so well with wives and girlfriends who will still be expecting the five-star treatment this weekend. A happy compromise could be a Japanese take on the romantic dinner for two.
A lot of Japanese food comes in bitesize portions such as sushi rolls and tempura, or can be made small like teriyaki meat kebabs or mini fish cakes. Sharing food by candle light is always a romantic hit and is even more impressive if you have made it yourself, especially as Japanese food is visually so appetising. Cooking a bitesize Japanese menu and sharing it with chopsticks is a unique and special way to show you care rather than supermarket flowers and a box of chocolates.
Valentine’s Day always divides the cynics and romantics but it is a great excuse to make a bit of effort in the kitchen and impress with your culinary skills. And, guys, if you do dare to forget there’s always White Day to fall back on.
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“Green Tea may offer some protection against Lung Cancer” So say Taiwanese Cancer experts who study the disease at a Univercity in Taiwan.
Rates of Cancer are much lower in Asia than other parts of the world and green tea or sencha, some people think is one factor. Among smokers, those who didn’t drink green tea at all were 12 times more likely to develop lung cancer than those who drunk at least one cup of green tea a day.
For More info see the full article on the bbc site here
New Sencha Japanese green tea today!
It’s by YamaMotoYama and it’s just £1.99 for a box.
That’s got to be worth a try!!
Here’s a truly British sushi roll! Our friends over at www.eatweeds.co.uk have generously donated this fantastic recipe. Black mustard is a great, locally sourced alternative to wasabi with several thousand less food miles, and a carbon footprint of 0! Any left-over black mustard leaf can be added to a vinaigrette for spice and colour.
Ingredients
For each sheet of nori which makes 1 roll you need:
You will also need a sushi rolling mat and some Clearspring Organic Tamari Soy Sauce for dunking (optional but very tasty)
Directions
- Wash the sushi rice until all the milky starch has come out. Usually takes 4 – 5 washes. Place the rice in a saucepan or rice cooker and add the measured water and cook as you would normally. For more info on cooking sushi rice see our post here.
- Tip the rice into a sushi oke / Hangiri (if you dont have one of these any non-metallic dish will do). Pour over the sushi seasoning vinegar and use a rice paddle to cut and fold the liquid in to the rice without squashing the grains. You are aiming for a glossy texture with separate grains. Cover the rice with a damp tea towel until cooled.
- Put the mustard leaves into a small food processor with a dribble of oil and blitz until the leaves are finely chopped. You could also finely chop the leaves using a knife and chopping board, adding to a small bowl and a little oil added to just bring together.
- To shape the sushi lay a sheet of nori shiny side down on a sushi mat. Add the cooled rice and spread over the seaweed leaving a 1cm margin along the top and bottom edge nearest to you. Sprinkle a line of mustard leaf across the middle from the left to right edge followed by the cucumber matchsticks on either side. Fold the bottom edge of the nori over the rice and using the mat roll the nori towards the far end. Wrap the mat firmly around the roll so it will keep its shape when cut. Place the roll on your work surface with the joining part of the nori face down, this will allow the moisture of the rice to stick the roll together. Never wet your nori or the roll will collapse when cutting.
- Hold the roll with one hand and pull the far edge of the mat gently away from you Remove the mat and using a wet sharp knife and a sawing motion cut into 8 even-sized rolls. Place cut side up on a plate and serve with Temari soy sauce for dipping.
This recipe was kindly donated by www.eatweeds.co.uk (SS)
Japanese Curry Base
When you think of eating curry, you think of India, Thailand, even Birmingham and Japanese isn’t the first world cuisine that springs to mind.
In fact, curry is a very popular dish in Japan though, as you would expect, they bring their own special twist to the dish. Curries in Japan are not as spicy as some of the Indian varieties but first came to Japan while the British ruled India because of Empirical trade.
Curry (kare) is a light curry sauce mixed with meat and vegetables and can be served with rice or noodles. It grew steadily in popularity and is now found in restaurants and supermarkets across the country. The thick, delicious sauce is usually served in a bowl and is one of the few dishes to be eaten with a spoon rather than chopsticks.
The basic ingredients of Japanese curry are onions, potatoes and carrots with either beef, pork or chicken. One of the most popular dishes is Katsu curry when a chicken or pork escalope is covered in panko breadcrumbs (a lighter and crispier crumb than ours) and fried until golden and crispy. It is served smothered with the curry sauce and with a dollop of rice on the side. There are some great Katsu curry kits available with everything you need except the meat and veg, making it simple to rustle up a Japanese curry.
If you fancy having a go at cooking curry from scratch there are a range of delicious sauce rouxs that come in hot, medium and mild, depending on your preference. In about 20 minutes you can have a velvety-smooth, hearty curry for six people (or for less with delicious leftovers) and you can vary the recipe to use different meat and vegetable combinations every time you make it.
Japanese curry is not a complex dish to make in terms of technique or ingredients. It is all about powerful flavours and varied combinations that will suit most people’s taste and is fantastic served with noodles or rice or just eaten on it’s own.
sweet potato curry
This is one for he sushi beginner and the sushi veteran alike. The Turkey, Bacon and Avocado Soy Cone!
It’s a tasty looking thing isn’t it! The difference with this hand rolled sushi (called Temaki in Japanese) is that there is no nori (sushi seaweed sheets). Instead we have cunning used something called a soy wrapper. They are made by he same people who make our nori sheets, YamaMotoYama but are made out of soy! In Each pack of Soy Wrappers you get 2 of each colour:
- Tumeric Yellow
- Sesame White
- Paprika Orange
- Original (cream coloured)
- Spinach Green
In our recipe we’ve used one of the spinach green sheet sheets. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients (makes 1 cone)
- 1 x Spinach Green YamaMotoYama Soy Wrapper
- 1 x small squirt of QP Mayo
- 50g sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- 25g sliced turkey breast (good quality)
- 25g sliced avocado
- 1/2 rasher of steaky bacon sliced into small pieces
- 25g cucumber sliced into sticks
- salt and pepper to tatse
Directions
- In a small dish, mix in the chopped sun dried tomatoes with the Japanese Mayonnaise. Season as required.
- Roll the Spinach Green Soy Wrapper into a cone shape by bringing the bottom corner to the top centre then rolling until an empty cone shape is achieved. This takes a bit of practice but you’ll pick it up after a few trys
- Fill the roll with the Turkey, cucumber, avocado and bacon.
- Top with sun dried tomato-mayo mix.
- Use a Strip of the paprika orange soy wrapper to make a band around the base.
- Place your finished soy cone in a tamaki stand (which are coincidentally on sale!!!) and repeat to make as many as you need!
Here’s a great spin on your normal Indian curry. Why not try a fragrant and seriously tasty Japanese curry on these cold January Nights. This recipe makes Enough for 5/6 people.
Ingredients
1 Pack (125g) of House Vermont Curry ( Hot)
200g thinly sliced beef, cut into strips
200g spinach
1 large onions, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 large carrots, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
900 ml water
Directions
- In your rice cooker, cook 750g of Japanese Rice
- In a medium size pan, bring some water to the boil and cook the spinach for 30 seconds. Drain the spinach and squeeze out excess water. Chop the spinach into 2cm slices and set to one side.
- In a large an, heat the vegetable oil. Sauté the beef, onions, carrots and potatoes.
- Add 900ml water to the pan and bring to a boil. skin off the white film that may appear on the top. Simmer mixture over low to medium heat for around 15 mins or until the mixture softens.
- Remove the pan from heat. Break up House Vermont Hot Japanese Curry roux (roux is a sauce concentrate) and add to the meat/vegetable mixture. Mix well until combined. Heat the water back to simmering over low heat until sauce thickens. Add spinach and cook for a further minute.
- Serve warm along side your fluffy Japanese rice.
Spicy Japanese Beef and Spinach Curry with Japanese Rice
Instead of making New Year resolutions you are sure to give up this January, it makes more sense to pick something you can succeed at like trying new recipes or styles of cooking.
You don’t need to be an expert in the kitchen to make excellent Japanese cuisine. With just a bit of patience and creativity you can enjoy sushi, nigiri, noodles and a full range of tasty, healthy and nutritious dishes and you can give yourself a pat on the back for keeping your resolutions for a change.
Japanese food has the added bonus of being low in fat so if you are still determined to lose some of those extra Winter pounds, here is an idea for a low-fat lunch that will fill you up, teach you some basic sushi-making skills and is good for you all at the same time.
Tuna and Cucumber Hosomaki with Japanese Salad
Hosomaki are ideal for lunch as they are the smallest sushi rolls and this salad dressing is versatile with a variety of vegetables.
First, make your sushi rice, on the hob or in a rice cooker, transfer it to a large bowl and fold in some sushi rice seasoning.
For the seasoning, mix 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 2 teaspoons of castor sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Cut a nori sheet in half and lay it on your sushi magic machine or hand rolling mat and put on a layer of rice, some thinly sliced raw tuna (or tinned if you prefer) and some thin strips of cucumber.
Roll it up and cut into inch long rolls.
For the salad, in a bowl mix 3 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil.
Thinly slice some iceberg leuttice and grate a raw carrot. Mix these well with the dressing and that’s it.
The small Hosomaki are easy to take to work in some Tupperware with a blob of wasabi and you can take the salad separately, or make it for lunch and scoff it all at once.
A delicious, filling and calorie busting two-course Japanese lunch is really that simple.
Cucumber sushi rolls - Kapa hosomaki
January is traditionally a month of fad diets as everyone tries to shed the extra pounds from Christmas and is looking ahead to the summer.
Instead of eating just cabbage soup or kicking the carbs sushi is a healthy and delicious food choice that will fill you up without feeling like you are missing out. Because of the enormous variety of fillings, sushi rolls and dishes, dieters are less likely to give up. In fact, swapping sandwiches for sushi is isn’t really a diet at all but just a healthy eating choice with the added benefits of being tasty, nutritious and low in fat.
Like any food choice, the health benefits of sushi depend on what fillings you choose and how many maki rolls you scoff in one sitting. Also, rather than eating salmon nigiri or roe gunkanmaki for breakfast you should include sushi as part of a balanced, low fat diet. Victoria Beckham reportedly keeps herself super skinny with a diet of sushi and strawberries but most people will need a little more sustenance to get through the day without a rumbling stomach rebellion.
The reason sushi is so good for dieters is it fills you up without the need to eat vast amounts. Sushi in all its forms includes a small portion of rice which is a carbohydrate, and a portion of protein as the filling which is usually mineral rich fish or vegetables. Scientifically it is the ideal balance between protein and carbohydrate and has a hardly any of the saturated fat that many modern foods are loaded with.
Healthy choices to fill your maki rolls include tuna, sea fish like red snapper or halibut and shellfish. Oily fish like salmon and mackral are also delicious and excellent for cholesterol. Avoid fillings mixed with mayonnaise or cream cheese or anything including tempura which is deep fried. Soy sauce can also be quite salty so should be used in moderation but wasabi and Japanese pickles such as diakon radish are relatively low in fat and an equally tasty accompaniment.
Finally, the beverage of choice to wash down your sushi is a cup of Japanese green tea which is famous for its fat busting abilities as it accelerates the ability to burn calories.
These are just a few reasons to try sushi to help you maintain a healthy diet and cut out unnecessary calories and check out this blog next week for some delicious, low fat sushi recipes.
Forget a soggy sandwich and crisps, Bento is the Japanese way to ensure you eat like a champion at lunchtimes.
Bento is the Japanese version of a packed lunch and can be made at home to take to work or school or bought at news stands, cafes or various shops when you’re out and about. Each box is divided into a number of different compartments for a variety of delicious foods. Traditionally they will include fish or meat, tofu, a portion of rice or onigiri rice balls, pickled vegetables or radish, other cooked vegetables and fruit. All the food is made to be eaten cold and, typically for the healthy Japanese, includes a portion of protein, fruit and vegetables.
The Bento boxesthemselves can be bought to make at home and are made of hand-crafted, lacquered wood. In Japan they are often lovingly prepared by housewives for their husbands and children to take to school or work. In fact, so much attention goes into some of them there are actually national competitions to recognise the art form of Kyaraben – a form of novelty food arrangement in which the food is made into people, animals, landscapes or cartoon characters for children. It certainly a unique way of getting your kids to eat fruit and vegetables if you have the time.
While travelling in Japan, Bento boxes are a real treat and much tastier and healthier than the fast food or prepackaged options we get here. I was told by my Japanese friends that it’s traditional to get yourself a can of beer and a Bento to eat on the super fast bullet train. A few hours later, I found myself tucking into an amazing Bento box the size of a proper evening meal for just £5. Takeaway Bento is known as Ekiben and, because of the seasonal delicacies and regional varieties, it is possible to zoom round the country on their excellent trains and enjoy a culinary tour without leaving the railway station.
Bento boxes are popular for all sorts of outdoor eating such as picnics and packed lunches. However, they are also a common menu item in restaurants where a hot meal is served in the beautiful lacquered boxeswith all the usual attention to detail and colour that Japanese cuisine is famous for. I may just be me but there is something quite pleasing about eating food from little compartments rather than mixed together on one plate and it makes each flavour quite distinct.
We are all back at work and school, the warm summer nights still feel a long way away and lots of us are keen to offset the excesses of the festive season. A delicious Bento box is a tasty, creative and healthy way to add some joy to your day and make lunchtimes worth waiting for.
