Having lived in Japan for no less than 8 years, I am quite accustomed to living in badly constructed houses, with paper thin walls and zero insulation. It comes as no surprise then that I also have experience of dealing with the harsh winter cold by gathering friends together, sitting with the kotatsu wrapped up around me, and sharing nice Japanese Nabe (which means a hotpot).
Kotatsu?
A Kotatsu is pretty much required to live in Japan. It’s a heated table, and you lay a large futon underneath the table top, so you can pull it over yourself and keep toasty inside the warm goodness it provides. People have been known to fall asleep under the kotatsu, it’s feel so good; and cats often hide there too. Before you even consider staying in Japan for the winter, you must get a kotatsu. This is not an option, it is a legal requirement (not really, but anyway).
Nabe?
Yes, Nabe! The Japanese hotpot, and daily essential for anyone living in Japan. Generally eaten either as a family, or as an excuse to gather your friends round. Incredibly easy to make, and oh so delicious and warming.
Ingredients:
You WILL need to raid the local Asian food supermarkets for this one, there is no way around that.
- A pack of Kimchee, and some additional Kimchee sauce depending on how spicy you want it
- Thinly sliced pork
- Enogi mushrooms (long and thing, they come as a bunch)
- Shiitake mushrooms
- 1 or 2 Leeks
- Your favourite kind of Tofu
- Your favourite kind of noodles
- Chinese cabbage
- Pretty much anything else you like the look of
- Japanese dashi (fish stock) if you like it
As you can see, the ingredients are not really set in stone. It’s more like a follow your heart kind of thing. Personally, I also like to add in some meatballs, and small Chinese dumplings!
Preparation:
You’ll need a casserole dish to prepare this, the larger the better. Traditionally you cook it at the table in front of everyone, but if you don’t have a portable stove this might be a little impractical. Fill the dish half full of water and kimchee, and as much kimchee sauce as you like.
The only preparation you really need to do is cut the bottoms of the Enogi mushrooms and wash, as well as cut the vegetables however you like.
Once the water is boiled, throw everything except the noodles in, and cook. Once the meat looks done, start spooning out the good stuff into bowls and serve!
The noodles are a final step, after all the other vegetables have eaten. Noodles tend to soak up the juice, so you use them to finish the Nabe off, as it were.
By: James A Bruce
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Nov 18th, 2010. 
Do you love Japanese food? The funny thing about Japanese food is that you either love it or you **** it. There is no in-between. And chances are, if you **** it, you probably haven’t really tasted Japanese food yet or haven’t given yourself a chance to sample it enough. Japanese food is hard to appreciate after only one bite. And sometimes, the idea that you are tasting raw food just won’t escape your mind that you are already predisposed to hating Japanese food even before you actually taste it.
Personally, I love Japanese food. There really is no other cuisine like it in the world in terms of its unique taste and presentation. Who would believe that something so raw could be so delicious? For those of you who have not yet discovered the pleasures of Japanese food, allow me to present the following primer.
The standard Japanese meal always involves a bowl of white rice as well as soup and side dishes such as pickles, vegetables, meat and fish. Japanese food is classified by the number of viands or “okazu” that are served with the rice, soup and side dishes. A meal with one okazu is called ichiju-issai and a prime example of this is the traditional Japanese breakfast which consists of miso soup, rice, grilled fish and one pickled vegetable.
The regular Japanese meal usually involves three okazu to go along with the soup, rice and pickles. Traditionally, each of these three okazu are cooked in a different way from the others. They can either be served raw or grilled, simmered, steamed or deep fried.
Another hallmark of Japanese food is seafood, which is the most popular and most widely consumed food in Japan. The most popular dishes include all types of fish as well as shellfish, squid and octopus. Crab is another favorite delicacy and so are whale and seaweed. Despite the fact that Japanese are not heavy meat eaters, you will hardly find any vegetarians among them either probably owing to their deep fashion for seafood. Beef and chicken are also popular among the Japanese.
By: Jonathon Hardcastle
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Nov 13th, 2010.
Japanese Green Tea Powder is becoming the choice for more and more people everyday. That is because we are becoming more knowledgeable and health conscious. The most important thing you need to become aware of is that there is a huge difference in the quality of various green tea choices.
Just because the tea you purchased at the local store has pretty packaging does not mean it is the best quality. Advertising should be questioned as well, since they will say just about anything to get you to purchase.
It is possible to do your own research by identifying the source and quality of what is being offered… before you buy. Let’s start here with a little bit of tea background.
This is important for two reasons:
You want to receive the greatest possible health benefits. You don’t want to waste your money on what I call ‘junk food’ green tea.
What is not commonly known is green tea has been known as ‘King of all Herbs’ in Chinese culture for over 4,000 years due to its many medicinal uses. It’s also the only herb recommended for daily use and is considered one of the seven necessities of Chinese life.
It has been grown in Japan for many 100s of years. There are less heavy chemicals and pesticides used on tea farms in Japan than in China. This will have an impact on the quality of your tea, so look for farms that grow their tea naturally.
Why Is Green Tea Powder the Best Choice?
Matcha leaves have been stone ground into a powder for hundreds of years. This was the tea commonly used at the Japanese Tea Ceremonies. There are now farms in Japan that offer other breeds and blends that are stone ground into green tea powder as well. This offers you choices in taste and flavor.
Two Very Important Benefits:
Drinking it in powder form means you’re consuming the whole tea leaf, so you are also getting benefits from consuming the fiber and chlorophyll. Most importantly, you are receiving up to 30% more nutrition and antioxidants because you’re consuming the whole tea leaf! In addition it’s convenient and easier to drink. The powder mixes easily into hot or cold water instantly without the need of steeping.
What to Look For When Purchasing Green Tea Powder
Where is it grown? Look for a farm that grows naturally in an ideal location that is famous for its tea quality. Location is critical since soil, weather and environment play an important role. Look for a farm that hand picks their tea leaves, to ensure the leaf is at its absolute peak when harvested. Many farms use machines and they can’t discern when the leaf is at its best to pick. Look for a farm that has experience in stone grinding. This is an art form, if done incorrectly the tea becomes burnt. And most important of all – make sure it is fresh. After harvesting, it will lose up to 80% of its antioxidants after it is 1 year old. Tea in your local store, starts off at a low quality, and is typically many years old from time of harvest.
A quick recap
The quality you are consuming means everything in terms of whether you’re actually getting the medicinal qualities you’re looking for.
Japanese green tea powder has tons of advantages over regular green tea.
Now go forward with your new knowledge and purchase fresh, quality Japanese green tea powder.
By: Deb Amon
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Nov 12th, 2010.
Are you a fan of yakitori? Japanese food is one of the healthiest foods worldwide, and so it is not surprising to know that the Japanese often grill their food. This grilling is called hibachi, and Japanese hibachi cooking is not only famous in Japan, but in other parts of the world as well. These meats on sticks are a favourite of many, as these taste good, and come fresh and hot; grilled over direct fire.
The best way to do Japanese hibachi cooking is to grill over fire-and not a hot plate. The fire gives your meat a smoky, authentic flavour, which lacks in those which are prepared using metal plates. One example of Japanese hibachi cooking is the sukiyaki. A favourite among many, sukiyaki involves grilling thin slices of beef and then adding vegetables and noodles or rice.
But whether it is beef or chicken you want to grill, the principle holds the same: use authentic over the fire grillers. Also, many agree that one of the secrets of great Japanese hibachi cooking is the sauce.
A great recipe for shrimp sauce is this: you will need two cups of soy sauce, a cup of whipped cream, one-third cup of ground, roasted sesame seeds, a pinch of garlic powder and a teaspoon of dry mustard (dissolve it in a teaspoon of water). Place all ingredients except the cream in a blender for fifteen seconds. In a saucepan, put the mixture and the whipped cream, stirring it over low heat.
Another example of great sauce is simply a mixture of the following: a cup of mayonnaise, a couple of teaspoons of sugar, one and a half teaspoons of chilli sauce, a half teaspoon of paprika, half teaspoon of garlic powder, half teaspoon of lemon pepper, a quarter teaspoon of black ground pepper, one and a half tablespoons of catsup, and a pinch of salt. Use these sauces and your grilled meats will have that extra zest and tanginess.
By: You Lin
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Read more on Japanese Hibachi Cooking – Free Recipes Inside…
Filed under Food And Drink by on Sep 9th, 2010.
Dorayaki cake is a traditional Japanese dessert recipe that is a sweet cake with an anko filling. Anko filling consists of sweet azuki bean paste. It is a delicious addition to any traditional Japanese meal and you will love the texture, taste and flavor.
Ingredients for Japanese dessert recipe – Dorayaki Cake:
o 3 eggs
o 2/3 cup of white sugar
o
Filed under Food And Drink by on Sep 2nd, 2010.
Sukiyaki, teriyaki, tempura, and sushi are only some of the many foods eaten in Japan. In this article, I would like to suggest three Japanese dishes for you to try. I love these dishes, but I had never heard of them before visiting Japan.
1. Cold ramen
Cold ramen is served in restaurants from May through September. Ramen is boiled and then chilled in cold water. The ramen is then poured into a bowl without any broth. Sometimes the ramen is served over ice cubes or with a few ice cubes in it. A soy-sauce based or sesame seed sauce is generally used for the cold ramen and a dash of hot Japanese mustard is on the side of the bowl to mix in with the ramen. The ramen is then covered with cold toppings. Cucumbers, eggs, and ham or pork are the most common. They are served cut in long strips, but you can also find other toppings on your cold ramen.
2. Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a giant Japanese pancake, but this unique pancake is not to be confused with the pancakes we eat for breakfast in the states. In Japanese, okonomi means what you like and yaki means grilled. Okonomiyaki has two parts: the batter and the ingredients added to it. The batter includes eggs, flour, and shredded cabbage. The ingredients added to the batter vary widely and can be one or more of the following: pork, octopus, squid, shrimp, clams, scallops, oysters, vegetables, natto, kimchi, mochi, and cheese.
While okonomiyaki is made and eaten at home, eating it in restaurants is far more common. Some restaurants serve a standard okonomiyaki. That is, the table server brings you a plate with an okonomiyaki on it, but most Japanese prefer to eat their okonomiyaki in restaurants specializing in it, restaurants where you cook it yourself. The server will bring you the batter and the ingredients. You can mix the batter and add the ingredients, cooking at your table on a hot grill in the middle of your table. You can cook, play with, and eat your okonomiyaki.
3. Takoyaki
The word takoyaki uses the same yaki as you can find in okonomiyaki and many other Japanese foods. If you look yaki up in a Japanese to English dictionary, you will find it defined as roast (for pork), broil (for fish), grill (for chicken), bake (for bread), and do (for meat, fish, and chicken) as well as a host of other definitions. Like okonomiyaki, takoyaki also uses a batter. Octopus and a few minor ingredients are mixed into the batter. The batter is then poured into a mold that cooks the batter into small balls while evenly heating them. You could think of takoyaki as miniature octopus muffins, although they are a little heavy to be muffins. Takoyaki, unlike the okonomiyaki and cold ramen, is not a meal, but a snack. You will often find it sold at festivals. Poorly cooked takoyaki is heavy, doughy, and sits in your stomach like lead. Properly cooked, the hot dumpling tastes of octopus and a bread-like dough covered with a thick soy sauce like sauce.
As Japanese food continues to disseminate around the globe, you are more likely to find these three tasty foods. I recommend that you try each of them. If you cannot find any of the three where you live, you might want to think of coming to Japan for a food trip.
By: Tom Aaron
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Read more on Three Japanese Dishes to Try – Cold Ramen, Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki…
Filed under Food And Drink by on Aug 12th, 2010.
The Japanese tea ceremony is a unique Japanese cultural tradition, which began in the 15th century. It has evolved and changed over the centuries, and today there are many different styles and schools of tea in Japan. Despite the various styles and schools of tea, they all share the same overall philosophy, which has been shaped by its origins in Zen Buddhism.
The guiding philosophy of the Japanese tea ceremony rests on the principles:
‘Wa’- Harmony
‘Kei’- Respect
‘Sei’- Purity
‘Jaku’- Serenity
One of the key historical figures in the Japanese tea ceremony – Sen no Rikyu, is believed to have emphasized these principles in the development of the tea ceremony. Sen no Rikyu is credited with having developed all the steps in the tea ceremony and with turning it into a ritual which he passed down onto his students.
Sen no Rikyu emphasized the spirituality and the simplicity in the art of drinking green tea.
Japanese Tea Ceremony Today
Today the Japanese tea ceremony is still actively studied by students of all ages. There are tea ceremony clubs in high schools, cities and the countryside. Although the Japanese tea ceremony was restricted to only the wealthy in the past, today it is something everyone can take part in.
Apart from people studying the tea ceremony as an interest, they are also held to mark a special event (wedding) or time of the year (New Year). That is why, most Japanese people have
experienced the tea ceremony, most likely by being a guest at one.
The Setting
The Japanese Tea Ceremony usually takes place in a traditional Japanese tatami room. A traditional tea room has a raised alcove at the front of the room, which is simply and elegantly decorated with a hanging scroll and a flower arrangement.
The hanging scroll usually has a simple poem written in Japanese calligraphy, which has been carefully chosen by the host to set the mood and atmosphere of the tea ceremony.
The Tea Ceremony Itself
There are many steps which the host will carry out during the tea ceremony. The most important thing for the host to do for the guests, is to create an atmosphere of tranquility and calm.
Initially the host will greet the waiting guests, by serving them some traditional Japanese sweets.
The host will then bring in the tea and tea utensils to be used in preparing the tea (There are many unique utensils used only in performing the Japanese tea ceremony).
The host will then tell the guests to relax, and enjoy their sweets while the tea is prepared.
During this time there are usually no words spoken, and the guest can observe the host preparing the tea.
Once the matcha green tea has been prepared, it is served to the guest.
The host will ask the guest ‘How do you like the tea?’, to which the guest replies saying ‘It is very delcious’.
After all the guests have enjoyed and finished drinking the tea, the host cleans all the utensils and then invites the guests to hold and look at them. Each utensil including the tea container, the tea scoop and bowl are handmade by skilled craftsmen. At this time, the guest can ask the host questions about each utensil (artist, style etc.).
Finally, the host will take all the utensils and tea out of the tea room and thank the guests for coming, marking the end of the tea ceremony.
By: Brigita Feltham
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Read more on Japanese Tea Ceremony – Still an Important Part of Japanese Culture…
Filed under Food And Drink by on Jul 23rd, 2010.
If you have found yourself liking traditional Japanese food and you are interested in making several dishes yourself, here are two of the most famous Japanese food recipes that you may enjoy.
Sushi – traditional dish which is usually composed of three basic ingredients: seafood, seaweed and rice. Famous varieties of this dish includes California Maki, Futo Maki and Ebi Maki. Their name indicates the type of seafood or ingredient used in the dish. “Futo” for example indicates that the main ingredient is egg.
To make Ebi (Shrimp) sushi you would need:
-
Filed under Food And Drink by on Jul 22nd, 2010.
Japanese food is, as known by many, very healthy. More and more people are becoming fans of Japanese cuisine, not only because of the health benefits it offers, but also because of its wonderful taste.
Today, many people are also looking for Japanese dessert recipes. Not only meals or perhaps to complement the Japanese meals, people are learning to make Japanese desserts. The best thing is that Japanese dessert recipes are easy to follow.
Anmitsu is an example of Japanese dessert that is a favourite among many. To make kanten jelly for it, you need half a stick of kanten, sic tablespoons of sugar, and a teaspoon of lemon juice. For the syrup, you will need two tablespoons of lemon juice and two-thirds cup of sugar. One-third cup of anko, peaches or oranges will serve as toppings for the dessert.
Soak kanten for an hour and tear it into pieces. Place one and two-thirds cup of water in a pot and heat. Add the kanten pieces and sugar. Boil, and then simmer for ten minutes while stirring. Pour the liquid in a flat container and let cool. Put one-fourth cup of water and two-thirds cup of sugar in a saucepan and simmer. Add lemon juice and let cool. Cut the kanten jelly into small cubes, add the fruits and pour the syrup in. Put anko on top and serve.
Onimanju is a cake with sweet potato. To make this, you will need three-fourths lb of satsumaimo, cur into cubes; half cup of sugar, a cup of all purpose flour, one tablespoon of shiratamako flour, and two tablespoons of milk. Soak the satsumaimo in water for fifteen minutes. Drain and sprinkle sugar, setting it aside for half an hour. Drain it again, this time keeping the liquid, adding in the flour and shiratamako. Mix and add in milk. Throw in satsumaimo cubes, get a spoonful of dough and place on parchment paper. Steam for ten minutes, let cool, and serve.
Japanese dessert recipes are easy to follow, and these are great desserts for you to serve after a Japanese meal.
By: You Lin
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Jun 30th, 2010.