Pumpkin salad

On the weekend I went to an electronics store near my place just to have a look. It's surprising that there are always new products coming out. The TVs that I saw half a year ago were discounted about half the price, and newer products with other technologies are already getting cheaper.

This may be due to the big amount of competition between Japanese manufacturers. We can buy good quality products, but on the other side it makes those firms work so hard and put themselves under high-pressure. I cannot believe how all the people keep up with the never-ending-development-war.

Ingredients:

pumpkins

sesame

mayonaise 

1- Cut the pumpkins into 2cm square pieces.

2- Boil or microwave 1 until it becomes soft.

3- Mix with sesame and mayonaise.

Itadakimasu.

Bitter gourd salad with egg sauce

Today I will cook a salad with this seasonal vegetable called bitter gourd ("goya" or "nigauri" in Japanese). Bitter gourd used to be eaten by people in Okinawa but it has become popular and now you can find it everywhere in Japan, even in Hokkaido.

One of the reasons why it became popular was because its nutrient-richness can help you go over the summer heat. It's too bitter to eat by itself so usually you stir-fry it with meat, another vegetables and tofu etc. As they say "bitter things do good to the stomach", this healthy diet vegetable has attracted people!

This time I want to make a cold salad. I will make it less bitter by microwaving, washing with a cold water and mixing with mayonnaise & egg.

Ingredients:

bitter gourd (1)

egg (1)

mayonnaise

salt and pepper

1- Slice the bitter gourd, put some salt around and microwave or boil for 2-3 minutes. Wash it in a cold water and drain the water.

2- Boil the egg. Crush it with a spoon and mix with mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

3- Mix 1 and 2 well.

Itadakimasu.

Rice vermicelli salad

Japanese summer is hot, exciting and busy with festivals!

There are so many famous festivals in summer. You can even go to just a fireworks festival every weekend if you want. But be careful, those large-scale festivals attract too many people to walk properly. You can hardly find a place to sit unless you get there half day earlier.

There are also local dancing festivals from July to September in every community. We found one last weekend and it gave me a great feeling of Japanese old times. Old people were dancing in the circle with kids, some were catching gold fish, others were playing the little games and the good smell from all the little food shops made people hungry.

Please enjoy the vermicelli salad on a hot day.

Ingredients:

rice vermicelli

capsicum

carrot

salt

sesame oil (1tsp)

soy sauce (1tsp)

1-  Cut the capsicum and carrot thinly.

2- Boil the vermicelli and 1 for 5 minutes with a bit of salt.

3- Drain the water and stir with sesame oil and soy sauce.

Itadakimasu.

Macaroni Salad

Hello!

I'm happy to see more fresh vegetables coming out in this season. Especially the green varieties such as lettuce, cabbage and some of the dark-green leafy vegetables. Of course you can find those vegetables in middle of winter but the non-seasonal food doesn't have as many nutrients and also takes a lot of energy to grow, which is not kind for the earth.

I enjoy going to food markets when I travel as well. It's a pleasure to feel the season by looking at local vegetables at the market. What do you find in your place?

Ingredients:

macaroni 

lettuce

onion

canned tuna

olive oil

horse radish

salt
mayonnaise

vinegar

pepper

parsley (fresh or dried)

1- Boil the macaroni and cut the lettuce and onion.

2- Make the sauce. Mix the olive oil, horse radish, salt, vinegar, mayonnaise, pepper and parsley.

3- Mix 1, tuna and 2 together.

Itadakimasu.

Daikon salad with wasabi sauce

On the weekend, I went to Minatomirai in Yokohama (map) with a friend of mine. Yokohama was developed as a port city 150 years ago so that means there are many old buildings and small houses near the port. Some of the places look empty and give you a feeling of a place dying out.

However, this area called 'Minatomirai', which is just at the port was renovated in a modern way and now it's more like an urban sea-side entertainment complex with theme parks, cinemas, concert halls, bars, cafes, art spaces and shopping malls. This place fascinates a lot of camera people as well as it creates a romantic yet nostalgic atmosphere.

Today I will make a salad for summer time. When you don't feel like cooking or eating oily things, then why not make a salad with a wasabi sauce. The wasabi might increase your appetite.

Ingredients:

daikon

lettuce

wasabi(1tsp)

mayonnaise(1tbsp)

vinegar(1tbsp)

salt

1- Finely cut the daikon and lettuce.

2- Make the sauce. Mix wasabi, vinegar, mayonnaise and a bit of salt.

3- Mix 1 and 2 together.

You can also cool it down in a refrigerator before eating.

Itadakimasu!

Bean sprout salad & Vietnamese food report1

Vietnam has some French culture from the colonial period. Bread is one of them. The French-style breads are so popular there as a quick meal and a lot of local shops sell baguettes on the streets. A plain baguette is only about US$0.2-0.5.

Also you can find western style bakeries in big cities like Saigon where you can enjoy pastries with coffee (refer the photo). There are so many types of beautiful bread including Vietnamese-tasting ones for US$0.5- 1.

OK, Today's cooking using bean sprout is refreshing and goes well with strong tasting food.

Ingredients:

bean sprout

chicken breast

wakame (small seaweeds)

soy sauce

vinegar

sesame

1- Boil bean sprout and wakame.

2- Boil and tear the chicken in small pieces.

3- Mix 1, 2, soy sauce, vinegar and squashed sesame.

Itadakimasu!

Egg sauce salad for lunch

 How was your weekend?

I visited Nakano(map) where we used to live. It's located next to Shinjuku that is the hub of transport to north-west Japan. So it's not metropolitan-like like Shinjuku but very convenient to live in.

This suburb is known by comic theaters and otaku ("otaku" means computer/anime/comic geeks) culture. There is a popular second-hand camera store that is always crowded with otaku men as well.

The atmosphere is full of local color and alive. You can see a lot of old houses, little old shops where you can find cheap food and clothes, and many people from non-Japanese to old locals

We decided to walk to Shinjuku after lunch at a small nice Thai restaurant in Nakano. This trip reminded me of many memories I had here.

Today, I made the salad with an egg sauce for lunch. It might be a good idea for sandwich as well.

Ingredients;

lettuce

carrot

egg

mayonnaise

salt, pepper

dried herbs

1- Cut the lettuce and carrot (finely) and stir.

2- Crush the boiled egg and mix with some mayonnaise, salt and dried herbs.

3- Put 2 on 1, then powder some pepper on top.

Itadakimasu.

Potato salad with horseradish

Walking outside in the warm evening, feeling the nice wind and looking at blossoms makes me realize that the long winter has finally ended.

Also new things always happen in the spring at schools, universities and companies in Japan. So naturally the sakura time makes you feel more excited as it's linked to your new life.

Today I am making the potato salad with horseradish. I have once eaten a fresh horseradish sandwich in Australia and it was very spicy! But this type of horseradish cream bought in Australia tastes gentler and the smell reminds me of a bamboo shoot...

 

Ingredients;

potato

carrot

salt

pepper

parsley (dried or fresh)

mayonnaise

horseradish

1- Cut the potatoes and carrot roughly and boil till they become tender.

2- Get the boiling water away and mush.

3- Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, mayonnaise, parsley and some horseradish.

Japanese mayonnaise is usually a little more sour than ones in Europe and Australia, so maybe you can add some vinegar as well.

Itadakimasu.

Sesame spinach for bento

What do you eat for lunch at work? In Japan, we have a lunch box called "bento" which contains a few types of food and rice. You can find bento everywhere at convenience stores and supermarkets, and also some restaurants sell bento as well.

In my childhood, the lunch was provided by the city at the primary school and the junior high school but not at the high school. We could of course buy breads at school but most students had a nice hand made bento.
My mother used to cook the breakfast(soup, rice, some dishes) and bento for the whole family every morning, which was a hard work and greatly appreciated. It amazes me whenever I realize how much Japanese people work on breakfast...

Today's cooking is a simple spinach salad that is suitable for bento because you can put it in a little cup and keep in the freezer. Whenever you want to add some green in your bento, you can put the frozen spinach in the morning, then it will defrost by lunch time.

Ingredients;

spinach

white sesame (2tbsps)

sake (1tsp)

sugar (1tsp)

soy sauce (1tsp)

1- Crush the sesame with hands roughly, mix it with sake, sugar and soy sauce.

2- Wash the spinach, boil or microwave and wash. Squeeze the water and cut.

3- Stir 2 and 1.

Itadakimasu.

Tofu and wakame salad

Tofu has been my favourite food since it saved me when I got sick from stress working in US. It made me realize that I was Japanese!

You can buy tofu outside the original places now but it's a little harder to find a Japanese fresh tofu. I only found Chinese tofu at an Asian supermarket in Australia and it surprised me that there were many more types than Japanese tofu.

I like eating tofu just with a bit of soy sauce, then feel the kind taste of soy beans and the softness in my mouth. It also refreshes you when you eat with a strong tasting food. I often make a salad. Tofu can suit any type of taste even for Italian or French style salads. If you enjoy tomatoes and tofu with olive oil, basil and pepper, then you can feel it as a ricotta cheese.

Ingredients;

tofu

bean vermicelli

wakame seaweed*

oil

vinegar

soy sauce

red chili powder

*Wakame is explained here.

1- Keep the bean vermicelli in the warm water until it becomes soft. Cut wakame into 3cm pieces.

2- Make a dressing with oil, vinegar, soy sauce and red chilli.

3- Break the tofu and stir it with 1 and 2.

Itadakimasu.

Octopus salad after a powerful city

Hi, how are you?
Yesterday, I went to Shibuya (map) to meet a friend. Shibuya is known as a mecca for the young generation placed in central Tokyo. It has everything from fashion, theatre, music, karaoke, food, clubs to art.... If you go there on Friday or Saturday night for the first time, you will get 'people sick' after 5 minutes. But of course it's fun if you are still 'young'.

When you are a little tired after being in powerful places, you can have some refreshing food? I actually got train sick on the way home...

I found some boiled octopus in the supermarket, so how about octopus salad with Chinese cabbage which is in season?

Ingredient for 2 serves:

octopus

Chinese cabbage

carrot (small)

soy sauce (2tbsps)*

vinegar (2tbsps)*

*for dressing

1- Boil the octopus (if it's raw) and slice in 5mm strips.

2- Boil the Chinese cabbage, cool it down, wring and then cut.

3- Cut the carrot finely and boil or place it in the microwave.

4- Mix the soy sauce and vinegar.

5- Stir 1, 2, 3 and then 4.

It's popular to eat octopus in the Mediterranean and Asia, so you will find beautiful cousins if you like it.

Itadakimasu.