This Sunday, most people will be celebrating Mother’s Day by giving a present or a card but in Japan it’s a day for treating all the special ladies in your life.
Mother’s Day is not until the second weekend of May in Japan but the special holiday this Sunday is White Day when ladies get gifts from the men in their lives in return for their efforts on Valentine’s Day (which is all about women treating men).
Ladies can expect to receive gifts from all the men they bought gifts for the month before which is not just your other half but includes friends, family members and workmates as well. Men are expected to spend a little more on their girlfriends so jewellery and lingerie are common gifts as well and cookies and chocolate.
However, most western cultures will have got all the romance out of the way in February and will be fully focussed on treating one special lady this weekend, mum.
Like with many celebrations in Japan, food plays an important role in Mother’s Day or haha no hi as it’s known. As well as buying flowers it is seen as a chance to remember and celebrate mother’s cooking and involves making some classic Japanese dishes.
Most Mother’s Day cuisine is not fancy but traditional, home cooked comfort food of the type mum’s do best. Warming bowls of Miso soup are often served but with the addition of steamed vegetables or delicate strips of pork to make a hearty meal.
Onigiri rice balls are another classic taste of Mother’s Day. The rice balls are shaped into circles or triangles, either by hand or using an onigiri mould. Onigiri are often found in bento boxes, made lovingly by mums for work or school lunches.
Other dishes include steamed vegetable dishes or braised leaves such as gomaae spinach or seaweed where the leaves are steamed and dressed in a rich, glossy sauce of sesame seeds, sake, sugar and soy sauce.
This is a nice tradition and much more personal than a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates. Cooking for your mum this Sunday will definitely put you in the good books for the rest of the year whether you are whipping up some of the classics of your youth or impressing her with your sushi making skills.
If you want to sample the finest food in the world then you need to get on a plane to Tokyo – officially the world’s gastronomic capital for 2010.
In late 2009, the meticulous inspectors of fine food from Michelin visited the Japanese capital and gave it an awesome 261 stars, bumping the guide’s home city of Paris into second place for the first time ever. Tokyo restaurants now hold the most number of Michelin stars – 261 in 197 of the cities eateries – and the city also boasts 11 with the prestigious three Michelin star rating.
The Michelin inspectors praised three main elements of Japanese cuisine, the quality of the food, the enthusiasm of Japanese diners to try new things and the vast choice of cuisine available. The Japanese do love to eat out and the Japanese dining experience is all about fresh food, stunning presentation and fantastic hospitality. Food is available everywhere and even most bars provide tasty nibbles or snacks of some kind and not just peanuts and crisps. Tokyo has thousands of cafes and restaurants, many of which are on the high floors of tall buildings with excellent views as well as delicious food.
Some of Tokyo’s three-star restaurants may seem unremarkable but have been praised for the skills of the chef and the freshness of ingredients such as Sushi Mizutani, tucked away in the basement of an office building in the Ginza business district but offering sushi sliced and rolled in front of you and sashimi fresh from the world famous Tsukiji fish market a few streets away. According to Michelin, this unassuming counter is officially the world’s best sushi.
As well as sushi are a range of contemporary Japanese restaurants proving that it is not the country’s only signature dish such as Esaki that serves mackerel marinated in the uniquely Japanese flavour of Miso. The praise is no surprise as Japan has become world renowned for the quality of its ingredients like Wagyu beef from the town of Kobe where the cows are treated like royalty to produce meat of mouth-watering tenderness and flavour.
Attention to detail is at the heart of Japanese cuisine, from sourcing and using the finest ingredients to stunning presentation that celebrates the art of food both with the careful use of colour and dramatic tableware. Japanese diners are treated to a visual feast before they have put anything into their mouth so it’s no wonder that eating out is such a popular pastime.
“Tokyo remains by far the world capital of gastronomy and also has the most three-star restaurants,” said Jean-Luc Naret, director of the Michelin food guide.
The European version of the guide came out in February, cementing Tokyo’s place at the top of the world culinary map, though France still has the edge as a country, just.
Early winter is the ideal time to eat Halibut – a delicate white fish popular for sushi and prized for sashimi in Japan.
The tender flesh is very soft and chewy and a delicate pale pink. It is often served with a squeeze of lemon or lime or a light soy sauce to compliment the flavour which is more distinctive than other whitefish like cod. It is a great alternative to salmon for nigri and sashimi and is often served raw on Japanese menus, sliced thinly with a super sharp sashimi knife.
This recipe is simple but brings out the best of the halibut flavours and is served with another seasonal best, broccoli though the beauty of tempura is you can use a wide variety of vegetables to fry up in the light, delicious batter.
First steam your fish in a bamboo steamer. This will not only preserve the unique flavour of the fish but Halibut can go dry if overcooked so it will keep it moist and soft. Squeeze a generous squirt of fresh lemon over your cooked fish and leave it to cool.
Then it’s time to make your sushi rice. You can do this on the hob following the instructions on the rice packet or you can use a rice cooker. When the rice is cooked, transfer it to a hangiri or wide, flat bottomed dish and leave it to cool before mixing in a rice dressing (ready made or home made) using a wooden spoon or flat paddle.
You are now ready to roll. Put a sheet of nori on a bamboo or silicone rolling mat or rolling machine such as the Sushi Magic. Spread on layer of cooled rice leaving a 1cm margin along the top and bottom edge. Flake up the soft, lemony fish and spread it out in a line across the middle along with thin strips of avocado. Roll up, slice and you are ready to go.
For the tempura, it’s best to use a ready made batter mix like Yutaka tempura mix. The instructions are fairly simple but it is important to remember to use iced water and keep your standing bowl of batter as cold as possible as this is what gives the tempura it’s distinctive light, crispy texture. Tempura batter should only be mixed with water very lightly so don’t worry if there are a few lumps in your mixture.
In a heavy bottomed frying pan, heat about 6cm of vegetable oil. To test the temperature, drip a tiny bit of batter in and, if it sizzles and floats to the top then it’s ready.
Cut your broccoli into florets and dip them into the tempura batter before dropping them into the hot oil and cook in batches until golden. Fish them out with a slotted spoon and drain the briefly on kitchen towel before serving.
Serve your rolls and tempura with wasabi, pickles and soy sauce with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and enjoy a delicious fresh taste of February.
Kids love to cook and the easiest way to get your child to try new foods is to involve them in making interesting things to eat.
The joy of making sushi with kids is that it’s really hands on – there’s cooking, chopping, mixing, stuffing, rolling and a range of fun foody skills involved with healthy and delicious results. If you are new to cooking sushi, there are sushi making kits available with everything you need to make step-by-step superb sushi but here are a few of the main elements.
Rice
Fluffy, sticky rice is the basis for all sushi rolls and nigiri. Whether you are using a rice cooker or making it on the hob, make sure you buy proper sushi rice and follow the instructions on the packet. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes to cook.
Once the rice is done, transfer it to a wooden bowl known as a hangiri (though any wide and flat bottomed bowl, pan or dish will do) and spread it out to cool with a wooden spoon or paddle.
Sushi rice is dressed with good quality rice vinegar or rice seasoning to give it a sweet and tangy flavour. Use the paddle to mix this in with a slicing motion and then cover the rice with a damp cloth to keep it moist until you are ready to roll.
Filling
Some people are put off giving sushi to kids because they associate it with raw fish. Sashimi is a small and specialist part of sushi cuisine and there are endless tasty fillings and flavours for your maki rolls.
Here are a few ideas:
- Cook and shred some chicken breast and mix it with a tangy Japanese mayonnaise
- Marinade some beef or salmon in a teriyaki marinade for 30 minutes, cook and chop into small pieces
- Use tinned fish such as tuna, salmon or mackerel
- Cook a plain omelette and slice it up
- Chop thin slices of avocado, carrots, cucumber, peppers or spring onions and use them on their own or with any combination of the fish and meat above.
Depending on the age of your child, you may have to do the chopping yourself but choosing the fillings and combinations can be just as fun. When you have decided what kind of maki rolls you want to make, lay all your prepared ingredients out on a chopping board so you can pick and choose as you roll up your sushi.
Rolling
This is the fun bit whether you use a bamboo or silicone rolling mat or a sushi rolling machine. Lay out a sheet of nori seaweed and a thin layer of rice on top and lay out your filling in a strip across the middle. Then you are ready to roll up your sushi. There are lots of ways to make rolls including with the rice on the outside of the seaweed and it is easy to get the hang of it.
Once the rolls are done they will need to be sliced to an inch or so thick using a sharp knife to make sure they hold their form, which may not be a job for the little ones.
Enjoy!
Sushi is not only fun to make with kids, it is fun to eat too. Dipping each delicious sushi roll into little dishes of tasty soy sauce or sesame sprinkles, adding a bit of pickled ginger (maybe not wasabi unless you have a particularly brave child) and pushing the sticky, tasty parcels of rice, seaweed and vegetables into your mouth is the real treat of all that preparation and cooking.
Everyone has different tastes and favourite foods but learning to enjoy cooking and trying new things at a young age is the ideal way to open your child’s mind to a range of exciting culinary experiences later in life. Itadakimasu – Happy Eating!
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!
