I know that I have a soft spot for Miso soup but did you know that there are at least 3 kinds of Miso in the market? The miso we know is made from fermented soybeans but the term miso also applies to the product created from fermented barley and rice. The three varieties of Miso I know off are:
The red and white miso are the ones most commonly used in miso soup that we drink and it’s sold worldwide as a generic term, “Miso”. The raw materials used to produce miso may include any mix of soybeans, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, rye, wheat, hemp seed, and cycad, among others. Lately, producers in other countries have also begun selling miso made from chick peas, corn, adzuki beans, amaranth, and quinoa. Fermentation time ranges from as little as five days to several years. The wide variety of Japanese miso is difficult to classify, but is commonly done by grain type, color, taste, and background. Black Miso in this case is perhaps produced from buckwheat or other dark colored grains.
Here’s a very ritualized video …almost artsy fartsy… video of making miso soup with some noodles.
Rice for breakfast in Japan is not an unusual thing. In the west, eating rice for breakfast may seemed a bit weird because it’s just not the same as bacon, eggs, toasts or cereal and milk. But look at it this way, people eat healthy carbs for breakfasts, the Japanese does too – with rice.
Tamago kake Gohan is essentially piping hot rice with an egg broken into it. The concoction is usually stirred and the hot rice will semi-cook the egg. It is not unlike softboil egg on rice except it is all mixed together.
What you need is:
1 egg
1 bowl of hot rice
soy sauce
Method:
1. Crack egg in a plate, season with some soy sauce to taste. Stir to combine.
2. Take out the bowl of hot rice, make a center in the middle and pour the egg mixture in. Stir well and eat it with your favorite Japanese pickle and a side of miso soup.
This is the easiest, most nutritious breakfast on the go if you think about it. If you have left over rice from last night, just heat it up in the microwave with a sprinkle of water and crack and egg in. Hey, Rocky drank eggs every morning, i don’t see why we can’t eat eggs and rice. Seems like a yummier version, if you ask me :)
Since Aomori is located by the sea, naturally their cuisine involves a ton of seafood. In my opinion, produce from the seas offers the BEST in terms of flavors. Fresh seafood like fish, clams, crabs and shrimps has a type of sweetness in its flesh that requires very little seasoning. One main reason why sashimi needs sushi-grade fish is for this reason.
One of the local specialty in Aomori is the Ichigo-ni, which literally translates to stewed strawberries. It’s nto made out of strawberries but sea urchin eggs decked ontop of a soupy delicious broth. It needs little seasoning and is eaten with a touch of Shiso. Writing this, my mouth is salivating as sea urchin eggs are my favorite. The texture and creaminess of the eggs is unbeatable and I would say, liken to the roes of Hairy Crabs roes from China.
Do you like tamagos? The sweet savory Japanese omelette is no stranger to sushi or eaten as it is. I sometimes find tamagos to be a tad too sweet for my liking but I don’t mind them in general. This video teaches you how to make them just like in the restaurants:
Do you buy Teriyaki sauce from the store? That small bottle costs quite a bit, doesn’t it? Well, I have a homemade recipe for Teriyaki that beats the rest of those store bought ones anytime. That is just in my humble opinions anyway but it’s true. This simple sauce can be made at home and then customized to your liking.
Not all teriyaki sauce tastes the same from household to household in Japan. This sauce will be a useful one in your pantry; whether it’s just for stirfry or for a marinade.
Here’s what you need:
1 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Method:
1. In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients together and turn the heat on to medium.
2. Stir until all sugars dissolve and until the mixture comes to a soft boil.
3. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes, the liquid will be slightly thicker by then. Take off heat and let it cool down.
4. Store in a bottle and refrigerate until ready to use.
This Teriyaki sauce is great with meat, vegetables and even for BBQ.
I wrote about Niigata and the sake festival that’s coming up but one thing I would like to point out is the quality of rice that comes out from that prefecture. You see, rice is an integral, if not most essential, part of cooking in Japan. It’s importance is unsurmountable although modern day foodies have claimed that the importance of rice has dwindled in the generation. What I mean by insurmountable is the fact that, despite it’s supposed dwindling importance, rice has managed to remain in the modern day Japanese’s lifestyle in more ways than one — it is here to stay.
For example, the rice cakes (onigiri) that so many love as snacks daily regardless of age or trend. Or mochi, that sweet chewy stuff everyone loves and cannot do without during the New Year? Or sake, a drink that is importantly popular and unique to Japan and sushi, the mother of all Japanese food to the commercial world. All of these foods need rice and the best rice comes from the Niigata region, touted as the rice capitol of Japan.
Niigata is known throughout Japan as the home of Koshihikari rice, sworn by many to be the best in Japan. The region is also known for its severe winters and heavy snowfall. The Echigo Plain, sometimes referred to as Japan’s rice belt, stretches far and wide around the city of Niigata, home to around 810,000 people. Niigata’s abundant harvest of high-grade rice yields some of the most sought-after sakes and rice crackers in Japan.
You can read more about the region in the link above but there is one recipe that I would love to share with you. It’s a specialty from west of Niigata called Sasazushi. It’s bamboo leaf wrapped sushi and it’s especially similar to it’s South East Asian counterpart called Lemang, glutinous rice cooked in bamboo casing. In any case, it looks something like these although there is no set ways of making it and recipe varies from family to family.
Nigiri is another type of sushi where the rice is hand pressed instead of rolled out with a nori sheet. While it may seem like the simplest thing to do, it is actually not so simple. Correct pressure and size of the rice roll is crucial in making the perfect nigiri. And some sushi chefs takes years to perfect this skill.
If you apply not enough pressure while pressing your rice, your nigiri sushi will fall apart before you could even pick it up, but if you apply too much pressure, you’ll feel like you’re eating mochi. Either way, it just wouldn’t do.
Here’s a very useful video of making Nigiri demonstrated by some very generous people who put it up on YouTube.
Every mythic hero normally has an equally mythic weapon. Zeus had his thunderbolts. Thor had his hammer, Mjolnir. King Arthur had his Excalibur. Frodo and Bilbo had their Sting. Rhydderch Hael had his Dyrnwyn. King Kong had his bananas…you get the idea. It’s time for you to join the ranks of the heroes and heroines of lore as you wield your own legendary weapon in your battle against a very powerful foe: hunger.
So they say. Why would I want a spork? Because it’s like a fork AND a spoon, it cannot get any better than that. Oh wait, it can, it’s made out of titanium so it’s light weight and hardy. No more bending cutleries from tough meat, my friend. Only Titanium Sporks win this time!
Look at how sleek this kitchen is! It looks like a complex technological lab but we are assured that it is very simple to use. Check out their website for full information: Gorenje. This kitchen is a perfect combination of function and design – form full of function, it seems.
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