Kiem Hwa

I made my Matcha Castella.... I don't have a scale yet, but I put 2 Tbsp of my self-milled matcha, and then added 1 Tbsp of bought matcha later (I didn't think I had enough). It came out a little undercooked (forgot to make sure it was done, I was too excited...), but tastes great!!! Also, just a note, but I could tell the matcha I milled with my matcha mill was bigger grains then the purchased matcha. However, I think having this recipe is going to be a problem for me..... It is one of the few desserts I have self-control problems with.....

I finally found the Japanese website for my favorite TV show! It is translated as "Next Stop Discovery", and the Japanese name is....."Burari?" ぶらり途中下車の旅 (ぶらり とちゅうげしゃ の たび)...."Burari tochyuu geshya no tabi" In this show, a host picks a railway line somewhere in (greater) Tokyo, including Yokohama, and gets off at random stops along the line and wander around the area to look for "cultural expereices". Its pretty fun cause they are always poking thier noses into anything that looks mildly interesting, and always seem to find interesting cutural things (usually crafts or activities), and of course eat at least 2 or 3 times every episode (usually interesting dishes too). For instance the episodes shown tonight (probably old re-runs), along Yamanote Line, he ate soft-shelled turtle soup (Sugamo Station), and Gyuushi, a "turkish delight", that looked like sticky mochi (Takanobaba Station). The guy who rode Saitamo Express Line ate uni-spaghetti, and found a group of people tasting "Tokyo Weiners", main ingredients being kabocha, kim chee, or spinach! http://www.ntv.co.jp/burari/index.html (Japanese only) I think there is a episode archive listing of the places they went and what they did. http://www.ntv.co.jp/english/pc/ntv-entertainment.pdf Limited explanation of the program in English (downloadable PDF). Has anyone else seen this show? What do you think? I think there are many similarly styled shows in Japan.

Oishi so desu!!! That sounds yummy! If you ever get a chance to try it out, let us know

Many ingredients used in Japanese cuisine are considered to have health benefits, and be good for you. I thought it would be nice to have a thread discussing which ingredients are considered to be healthy and why. This should include "raw" ingredients, as well as "processed" ingredients (in other words, both soybeans and miso). I will start with one of the most obvious healthy foods....SOYBEANS (Edamame) 枝豆 Soybeans are high in protein content, and is one of only two plant foods known to contain all the essential amino acids, similar to those found in meat (the other plant food is amaranth seed, a wild green). Soybeans have been shown to to lower blood cholesterol levels as well as lipoproteins, both known risk factors for heart disease; may have anti-cancer effects; and reduce menopausal symptoms. For more information on the health benefits of soybeans: http://www.talksoy.com/Health/TechnicalInformation.htm We have been discussing Edamame here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26715 Soybeans are made into many other ingredients also considered to be healthy (in several cases, the processing adds unique health benefits). This is why I love soybeans so much, not only are they healthy, they are so dynamic!!!! TOFU 豆腐 To make tofu, the coagulant Nigari (bittern, a concentrated solution of various salts remaining after the crystallization of salt from seawater) is added to soymilk. Nigari itself is now considered a healthy ingredient, said to contain about 80 types of minerals, including magnesium chloride, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, and manganese. More about Nigari: http://www.kameyamado.com/english/natural_nigari.html We have been discussing Tofu here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19772 MISO 味噌 Miso is made from soybeans and other ingredients including rice or barley, by a lactobacillus fermentation process, which may increase the quantity, availability, digestibility and assimilability of nutrients already found in soybeans. The fermentation process also produces the anti-mutagen ethyl-ester. Miso is thus thought to combat aging, cancer, lower cholesterol, alkalinize the blood, counteract the effects of radiation exposure, and neutralize the effects of smoking and environmental pollution. Unpasteurized miso is abundant in lactic-acid bacteria and enzymes that aid in digestion and food assimilation. Miso health benefits and miso-making process: http://www.miso.or.jp/miso-e/effect/index.html http://www.clearspring.co.uk/pages/site/pr.../miso/info3.htm We have been discussing Miso here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=17794 NATTO 納豆 Natto is a good source of protein and vitamin B2, which keeps your skin young. The process of making Natto requires fermenting soybeans with a bacillus that releases vitamin K2 and Nattokinase. Vitamin K2 is important in bone formation and thus is helpful in preventing osteoprosis. Nattokinase is reported to reduce and prevent blood clots. Hmmm...Natto is so healthy, maybe I should force myself to it More about healthy natto: http://www.gaia21.net/natto/natto.htm We have been discussing Natto here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=10215 Other Soybean-based Ingredients: Shoyu (Soy Sauce) Kinako (roasted soybean powder) Soy milk (Tonyu) Okara (by-product from tofu-making process)

Today at the store I saw a baggie that had what looked like soupy mushed up rice and other stuff in it. I forget what it was called, but I think it was this. It is just about the right time.... What does it taste like? Maybe I'll go back and try a bag. There were two different types....

Yum... this reminds me of a tonkatsu restaurant (chain) I went to in Kyoto, where we were given suribachi to grind up some sesame seeds, then added our tonkatsu sauce to it.... I bought a suribachi when I got home just to be able to do this myself

Thank you very much Kristin. I really appreciate you taking the time to translate a recipe for kanji-illiterate people like me. I am going to try this recipe out as soon as the osechi is cleaned out from the fridge (the fridge is so packed right now!!!). Well, not that it has to go into the fridge, but we have to focus on eating those foods first:) Hopefully by this weekend.......

We used katakuriko (potato starch) to kind of roll it in first, but I tried not to use too much or my kinako wouldn't stick to it. Maybe I need to use more and then "drown" my mochi in kinako? I will try using more next time and see how it comes out. Thanks for the tip.

MIL's friend brought this over this morning (same woman who made us the Hijiki Gohan). Yumm...featuring the purple "okinawan" sweet potatoes, and peas.

Kristin- So what was the final ruling on your o-cha castella?

Yay Kristin!!! So...how does it taste? Did you refridgerate it? Does the upper crust peel off easily? Im so excited!!!

Yay!!!

抹茶カステラ Thanks for the link Kristin! This castella looks just like the one I used to get at the grocery store! Yummy!!! Only....my Kanji really sucks, so I got as far as カステラには、色々な作り方がありますが..."There are various ways to make castella"?....erm...I need to study Kanji again.

Yup, in Hawaii we definately have to have our mac salad!..... All this food (over half of it wasn't even plated) was supposed to be for only 6 people (who had also just eaten ozoni)! I guess we really don't need to cook for several days....

Also, the day before we pounded our New Year's mochi, MIL and I went to her friend's house, and we "pounded" mochi, using her friend's mochi-making machine. She also had this little apparatus to squeeze the mochi through afterwards, so we could make uniform sized mochis. These mochis were very pretty looking (too bad I didn't take my camera). So you would think that after all that practice, the mochi we made on the next day for New Years would come out looking nicer.... hmm... Maybe I need that mochi-squeezing apparatus.....

My 2005 Ozoni: Ozoni with clear broth, contains mochi (we pounded it New Years eve), mizuna, daikon, carrots, oysters, ahi (tuna), kamaboko.

Me, MIL, and MIL's mother (grandma) cooked all day yesterday..... the results were pretty yummy... but now we are all on strike from cooking for the next week. The three of us made everything here except the kamaboko. Made by me: Sekihan: mochi rice steamed with azuki beans and satsuma imo (sweet potato). Kuri Kinton: sweetened mashed Satsuma imo with chestnuts (Kuri). Clockwise from upper left: Nishime, grandma's Kinpira gobo, potato-macaroni salad, triple plate (clockwise from top): Kuri Kinton, my kinpira gobo, sekihan, Tako steamed in sake (miso sauce not shown), kamaboko, and namasu. Clockwise from top: Grandma's Inari (cone sushi) and sushi, konbu maki, kuromame, kinpira gobo (cut off), Rafute (Okinawan shoyu pork).

Here we are eating our soba as cold noodles, put into a ponzu dipping sauce. I'm not sure if it is more customary to eat Toshikoshi soba as a soup? In any case, we are also eating it as the first course for our dinner (since my BF and I are leaving right after to go eat dinner again at my Aunty's house). Then we are going to pop fireworks all night until midnight to bring in the New Year. (Do Japanese pop fireworks too, or is this the Chinese influence in Hawaii?)

Mine appears to be made by a brand called Porlex. ポーレックス お茶ミル Mine was bought in Hawaii at a Japanese store called Shirokiya, but it looks like you can buy one on the Japanese Amazon.com http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/tg/det...8#more-pictures

I recieved an O-cha Mill for Christmas.... http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11044544..._1104534329.jpg And was reminded of last year when I was trying to use Matcha to make Green Tea Castella. For anyone who hasn't had this wonderful cake, it is refridgerated (sometimes?), soft, moist, and green tea flavored. I had found a really great brand at the Japanese shops in L.A., and I haven't seen that same brand yet in Hawaii. In any case, since the good brand was so expensive, my goal for a while was to make this myself....I tried adding Matcha to many cake recipes, but it never came out good. Has anyone made this?.....Recipes?.... I think now with my endless supply of Matcha, I can begin trying again.

My O-cha Mill !!! I just got this for Christmas....It works pretty good. It requires high-grade tea (no stems), and makes it into a fine powder you can use for Matcha. Here I am planning to make Matcha and I will eat my Melty kiss with it (green tea and sweets )

My MIL's friend brought over some Hijiki takikomi gohan the other day. It was quite good. She flavored it with shoyu, mirin, mushroom powder, and clam juice (sauce from the canned clams). It also features hijiki (a seaweed), shiitake, carrots, and peas.

I remade the same Takikomi Gohan from before. The first time I pre-cooked the kabocha before adding it to to the rice cooker, this time I wanted to see if I could just add little uncooked chunks. It turned out better this time!!

We were watching my favorite show the other night, "Next Stop Discovery" where the host chooses a train line in Tokyo and gets off at stations along the line to look for "cultural experiences" (most often is food) and in this episode he ate omuraisu. Well, we also remembered seeing omuraisu shops in Japan (though we didn't try any), so we were inspired to make it ourselves! The rice featured ketchup, portugese sausage, onions, garlic, peas, and some Thai sweet chili sauce. It was quite good (but my BF made it and hes pretty good at making fried rice). The final results?...Yummy!!! I don't know how it is made in Japan, but it tastes good here!!!

What is the one in the bottom right corner? Is that mochi? How is it with mochi inside?