EDIBLE CHRYSANTHEMUMS

Image via WikipediaI've encountered a lot of completely new vegetables in Japan, and shungiku instantly became one of my favorites. This dark green leafy member of the chrysanthemum family looks a bit like spinach when it has been cooked, but had a delicate flavor unlike anything else. It's really good in nabe, delicious tossed with lettuce in salad, and wonderful steamed with a light dressing of soy sauce or ponzu. But my favorite way to eat shungiku is in clear soup with mini gyouza (a kind of small Chinese dumpling.) I always add the gyouza dressing (made of soy sauce, sesame oil, a touch of chili, and lemon juice or rice vinegar) to the soup.

DELICIOUS DINNER

This was my dinner last night. I had pan-fried pork steak. Pork is my favorite meat, and I always enjoy it. I also had sweet potatoes with mustard flavored mayonnaise, fried tomato, and mushrooms with parsley pesto. It was all very delicious.  

 

Zucchini was a real treat, because usually one zucchini costs at least 100 yen (NZ$1.50) in Japan, but my supermarket had a few for only 50 yen. I have no idea why it's so expensive here, because it's a really easy vegetable to grow. I know this because it was one of the few vegetables I managed to grow successfully in New Zealand, where I had a really pathetic vegetable garden. 

NEW TEA STORE

Image by MotleyPrincess via FlickrThere's a new store in town, near the Oike Street end of Teramachi, my favorite shopping street. The store is called Lupicia.  (ルピシア）They sell tea, and they are a class act! The shop is gorgeous. Along the one wall there are small tins of different teas - probably hundreds - for customers to inspect and smell. If you want to try before you buy there is an area at the back of the store where they will brew a cup of whichever tea you are interested in. They have teas from all over the world, green teas, black teas, herb teas, fruit teas, flower teas, even South African red bush tea. There are some very special Japanese style teas available in pretty little sample packs of three teabags for 300 yen, and also in various sizes of beautifully packaged gift tins. They would make wonderful souvenirs or gifts for tea drinking friends back home.
The store opened just yesterday. I found they have a mail order tea business on the internet, but I chatted with the charming European manager who was strolling around the shop in traditional Japanese dress, and he told me the store is the only one in Kyoto. (After we left the store my friend and I were speculating about the nationality of the manager. My friend thought French but I thought perhaps Belgian or Swiss...)

Now I'll tell you what I bought! The first tea that attracted my interest was 'Karigane Nikki' ( 雁ヶ音日記 ) which is Houjicha (roasted tea) with cinnamon. Then there was the fruity-scented 'Karakoro' ( からころ ), a black tea flavored with yuzu (citrus) and  plum. Finally I bought 'Tattoo', a green tea blend with jasmine flowers and longan fruit, which smells heavenly and is described on the packet as having a smoky flavor.
I only bought 300 yen sample packs of each of these, but I still received three gift teas at the check-out, where they also inquired whether I wanted my purchases gift wrapped. So in addition to my selections I will also be able to try 'First Flush', 'Grapefruit' and 'Champagne Rose' (no English description on the packets so I don't know what I'm in for.)

It's enough to make me wish I was into tea... but sadly, although I drink the occasional cup of tea, and I do like to try new things, what I really like is coffee...

AS-YOU-LIKE-IT PANCAKE

Sometimes described as Japanese 'pizza', okonomi-yaki is a kind of giant cabbage pancake or fritter, and the name literally means 'as you like it'. I realize that cabbage pancake doesn't sound very inspiring, but it's one of my favorite meals in Japan. I was introduced to okonomi-yaki by the first Japanese home-stay student who ever stayed with us. He also taught me my first Japanese words beyond konnichiwa and sayonara... ika (squid) and ebi (prawn or shrimp.) Different areas of Japan have different styles of okonomi-yaki. For example, Hiroshima-yaki uses noodles and hardly any (maybe none?) cabbage. But my favorite kind is Kansai style. Here's how I make it.

You need 2-3 cups of finely shredded cabbage, an egg, 1/4 flour, and a little cold water (2 or 3 tablespoons.) A little grated yama-imo (slimy mountain potato) always makes it better, but that would probably be difficult to get if you're not in Japan. You mix the egg, flour and water to make a medium batter, then add the shredded cabbage. And here is where 'as you like it' comes into play... add anything you like for extra flavor. Common additions are diced squid, shrimps, kimchi, cheese, pickled ginger, and chopped onion or leek. Just use your imagination, and maybe clean up the left overs in the fridge.

Heat some oil in a heavy frypan and add the mixture (it should cover the frypan and be 2-3 cm thick). Turn the heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. You are supposed to lay strips of thinly sliced pork belly  on top before you turn it. I've used bacon, but usually I just skip this step. The easiest way to flip it is to slide it onto a plate and turn it over back into the frypan. Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes. (Check that the middle is cooked through.)

So that's the okonomiyaki, but you need the right sauce. If you can get proper Japanese okonomiyaki sauce, great! If you can't, mix 3/4 ketchup with 1/4 Worcester sauce, and a dash of soy sauce. Slather this sauce over the okonomiyaki, and a creamy mayonnaise (not sweet or vinegary) and enjoy.

If you visit Japan, you should really try to go to an okomiyaki restaurant. They are usually not expensive, and often have a large hotplate at the tables, so that you cook your own. It's fun. The picture shows Hiroshima-yaki from a restaurant near the ferry terminal at Miyajima-guchi in Hiroshima-Ken.

INSTANT SOUP

Japan has all sorts of wonderful instant stuff, and I'm still surprised by something new from time to time. One of my friends gave me two different kinds of instant soup to try. I think she said the first one was from China. It looked like a rice puff cracker. You were supposed to put it in a bowl, sprinkle the powder sachet over, and pour on hot water. It was quite nice.

The other came beautifully presented in a gift box with four different flavors, small wafer containers with kanji written on them. You were supposed to break the wafer container open, place it in the bowl and pour hot water over. It was good, and even had chunks of dried vegetable in it.

FRIENDS WHO COOK

I'm so lucky. I enjoy cooking myself, but I also have friends who cook. Have you ever eaten a cookie called a yoyo? Made with custard powder and sandwiched together with white icing, any New Zealander or Australian  would recognize them immediately. My Kiwi friend in Japan makes divine yoyos. And her lasange is to die for.

One of my Japanese friends often makes delicious cheesecakes. Along with an Asian desert made of steamed rice cake topped with red beans, they are her specialties. Once she made a sweet potato pie with puff pastry which was really good.

Another cooking friend of mine worked in sushi shops in Toronto and California, and knows how to make some unusual and delicious variations on the usual sushi types. (Unfortunately he is used to larger, more easily cleaned kitchens so my tiny cluttered kitchen smelt horribly fishy when he was finished.)

A while ago the same friend cooked me this delightful meal. Eggplant, red peppers, beansprouts, chicken and Mexican seasoning mix. It tasted as good as it looks.

CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

Cold weather makes me feel like baking... This is my favorite brownie recipe, translated from Japanese especially for you. (Who would have thought I'd find a favorite brownie recipe in Japan? But these are seriously good!)
Line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper and preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

For the brownie mixture:
50 grams butter
150 grams chocolate pieces
60 grams (1/4 cup) of sugar
2 eggs
50 grams (1/2 cup) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the cheese mixture:
100 grams cream cheese
30 grams sugar
3 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice

First make the brownie mixture:  Melt the chocolate and butter together over hot water (or microwave for about 50 seconds)
Beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick. Mix in melted chocolate, then add sifted flour and baking power and mix gently until just combined.
Now make the cheese mixture:  Combine softened cream cheese with other ingredients, beating until thoroughly combined.

Pour cheese mixture onto chocolate mixture and swirl around with a spoon to create a marbled pattern. Bake for about 30 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius. Cool in tin and cut into squares or triangles.