Horenso no Gomaae

Horenso means spinach.
I have already introduced you "Horenso no shiraae" as a dressed food.

In this time, I introduce you other dressed dish of spinach.
This is boiled spinach dressed with sesame sauce.

We usually boil spinach in hot water.
Put it cold water.
Squeeze it, and mix it with sesame sauce which is made by mixing grounded sesame seeds, soy sauce, and sugar.

Hiyamugi

Hiyamugi is a Japanese thin noodle made of wheat flour.
Hiyamugi noodle is similar to "Somen noodle".
But hiyamugi noodle is slightly thicker than somen noodle in size.

HIyamugi is usually served in cold water with ice and some vegetables.
We take a bite full of noodles and dip in the dipping sauce, and eat.
Hiyamugi is nice in summer.

Yomogi Mochi

Yomogi mochi is a traditional Japanese sweet which is also called "Kusa Mochi".

It is a mochi (glutinous rice cake) flavored with Japanese mugwort.

Usually it is stuffed with sweet red bean paste.

Yomogi is a Japanese herb.

It has a nice fresh fragrance.

Sekihan

Sekihan (赤飯) literally means red rice.
Sekihan is steamed mochi rice (glutinous rice) mixed with red beans.
Usually it is sprinkled with sesame seeds and salt after it is steamed.

Originally it is made by steaming with bamboo basket.
But, if we cook it at home, we usually cook it with rice cooker.

Sekihan is usually served on celebratory and congratulatory occasions.

Takenoko no tosa-ni

This is a simmered bamboo shoot with dried shaved bonito.
Takenoko means bamboo shoot.
Spring is nice season to have takenoko in Japan.
Tosa-ni is a type of simmered dish which has rich flavor of dried bonito.
Takenoko has nice texture and plain taste.
Dried bonito has rich taste.
This combination makes wonderful taste.

Sakura mochi (Domyoji mochi)

I have already introduced you Tokyo style sakura mochi.
In this time, I introduce you kansai-area style sakura mochi.
It is called "Domyoji mochi.

Sweet red bean paste is covered with dough which is made from domyoji flour, sugar, food red and water, and wrapped with sakura (cherry blossom) leaf which is pickled in salt.
Domyoji flour is made by steaming mochi rice, later dried, and ground coarsely.

Sakura mochi (Chomeiji mochi)

This is a Tokyo style sakura mochi.
Sakura means cherry blossom.
Sakura mochi is a Japanese traditional sweet.
It is pink dough and sweet red bean paste wrapped with sakura leaf.
We have two style of sakura mochi.
One is Tokyo style, and another is kansai area style.

In this time, I introduce you Tokyo style sakuramochi.
It is also called chomeiji mochi.
Sweet red bean paste is wrapped with fried dough and wrapped again with sakura leaf.
The dough is made from mochi rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, food red, and water.
The sakura leaf is pickled in salt, it has nice fragrance.

Rakkyo

Rakkyo (rakkyo-zuke) is pickled Japanese shallots.
(We also call Japanese shallot "Rakkyo" )
Cleaned rakkyo(shallots) are pickled in the sauce which is made from water ,vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper.
usually, those are pickled around three weeks.
Rakkyo is well known healthy food.
Personally, I eat a few piece of rakkyo every day.
It is rich in mineral.
And, allyl sulfides which is included in rakkyo aid the absorption of vitamin B1.

Goma Dofu (Sesame Tofu)

This is a traditional vegetarian dish (shojin-ryori).
Goma dofu looks like tofu.
"goma dofu" literally means sesame tofu.
( "goma" means sesame )
It is not made from soy bean.
Goma dofu is made from sesame seed , arrowroot flour, dashi-soup.

It has a rich taste and smooth texture.
We usually dip it with wasabi-jyou ( soy sauce mixed with wasabi ) and eat.

Aji no Nanban-zuke

"Nanban-zuke"(nanbanzuke) is a type of marinated dish.
It is made by marinating deep-fried fish ( or meat ) into vinegared sauce.

"Aji" means Japanese horse mackerel.
It is rich in DHA and EPA, it is a healthy food.

Cut filleted aji into around two bite size.
Coat them with wheat flour slightly, and deep-fry them.
marinate deep-fried aji into sauce which is made by mixing vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, dashi-soup, and red pepper.

Ikura no Gunkan-maki

This is a salmon roe sushi.
Ikura means salmon roe.
It has a rich taste.

Gunkan-maki(gunkanmaki) is a style of nigiri-zushi.
Hand formed sushi rice is surrounded with nori.
And Ikura is toped on the rice.
Nori works just like a wall, so ikura is set on the rice.

Vegetables for Osechi おせちの野菜

Carrots and renkon (lotus root) cut for osechi ryori. The trimming don't go to waste but find their way into soup.

Kazunoko no Nigiri-zushi

Kazunoko means herring roe.
It is dried under the sun, or pickled in salt.
Those roes are very small, but adheres and became lump.
It has a pleasant unique texture.

This photo is herring roe sushi.
Herring roe is put on oblong shaped sushi rice which is formed by hand.
And those are bound with nori.

Osechi Tataki Gobo おせちのたたきごぼう

The earthy flavor of gobo (burdock root) rounds out the osechi ryori which is filled with many sweets. The gobo is whacked (tataku or tataki) and cooked until tender and then dressed with a sesame dressing. Here you see my mortar and pestle for grinding the sesame seeds.

Daikon and Carrot Pickles おせちの紅白なます

The colors of red and white are fortuitous and the colors are represented here in the julienned daikon and carrot pickled in a sweet vinegar, kohaku namasu. This is for the New Year's osechi ryori. 

Gomame - Sweet Soy Simmered Dried Sardines

For New Year's Day I worked on making "osechi ryori" for my husband's family. This dish, gomame, are dried sardines that are cooked in a sweet soy sauce. The sardines are dry roasted in a pan then set aside. The sauce is made of soy sauce, sugar and mirin in the pan and then the sardines are added back. The results are crispy sardines with sweet covering to them.

Tuna at Tsukiji Market 築地市場の鮪

The top photo shows fresh tuna being cut into smaller pieces and the bottom two photos show the frozen tuna auction, which is open to the general public.

Fresh Tuna Auction at Tsukiji Market

This is actually closed to the general public, but wanted to share these photos of the fresh tuna auction at Tsukiji Market. You can see the tails are cut off. Buyers will access the quality of the fish by looking at the tail, amount of fat, color of meat, etc.

Overlooking Tsukiji Market 築地市場

I love these photos that give you a better idea of how huge the market is.

Tsukiji Market Photos

Just a small part of the massive Tsukiji Market.

Buri Zuke Donburi ぶり漬け丼

Shinji-san makes a great "zuke donburi" for breakfast when we have leftover sashimi. This one is made from buri (yellowtail) marinated in soy sauce and mirin overnight. We topped it with tamagoyaki (egg omelet) from Shoryo in Tsukiji.

Teriyaki Buri 照り焼きぶり

Buri (yellowtail) is a fatty fish and when grilled with the teriyaki sauce it comes out tender and falling apart.

In a plastic bag I put one part soy sauce to one part good quality mirin. Add the buri steak and marinate 24 to 48 hours, then grill.

Japanese Sake Map of Japan 日本酒の地図

Salmon and Ikura Rice

This dish could not be any easier and you are rewarded with bits of salmon in the rice accented with bursts of ikura (salmon roe) with every bite.

Grill the salmon, place on top of rice before steaming.

When the rice is cooked, remove the bones and skin from the salmon.

Incorporate salmon into the rice and then top with ikura when serving.

Slippery Nameko Mushroom Miso Soup

One of my favorite miso soups is nameko, tofu and wakame. Nameko mushrooms are famous for their slippery, slimy texture and earthy taste.

Aji Himono

Himono of aji from Nagasaki.

Buri Teriyaki - quick & easy recipe

This recipe is a breeze. Take two fresh buri (yellowtail) steaks. In a tupperware, combine 1 part soy sauce to 1 part mirin. Add buri and let marinate overnight. Grill and voila!

Shinji-san's Sashimi Platter

Shinji-san often makes fresh sashimi for part of our dinner!

Moules

Moules with garlic, butter and bread crumbs toasted in the oven. Not as good as when I lived in Brussels...

Nimono Fish

Tender karei with eggs simmered in soy sauce, sake and mirin until falling off of the bones.

Breakfast of Champions

A healthy breakfast of simmered fish, salad, miso soup and rice cooked with grains.