Kiem Hwa

I have been reading a cookbook on Shojin Ryori (Buddhist Monk Food) there is a recipe for the Shiso-wrapped Natto, which is then tempura-ed. It is called "Kizami Natto no Ao-jiso Age", "Jade Nuggets"...does Kizami mean Jade?? Now I am definately going to try this out (Ive been putting it off, even though I said I was going to try it.......)

Even though I have a nice recipe for the mochi part of the Daifuku, posted above as "Super Easy Daifuku Mochi Recipe", by the next day (spent overnight in the refridgerator), my mochi still gets kind of hard and breaks apart easily, making it messy and not as good by the next day. Does anyone have any ideas about how to make the mochi so it is still as soft the next day (if it is even possible)???

What a great trip Sizzleteeth!!!!! It seems like you had a great time. I have absolutely loved every trip (3 so far) I have taken to Japan, and each time I try to go somewhere I havent been to yet. As far as your cooking classes, were those also arranged by the "tour" company? Looks like great fun. I actually borrowed a Soba book (from the library), so Im going to attempt making soba sometime very soon.....maybe Ill have to ask you questions as the instructions seem quite complicated for kneading the dough, as you mentioned. Also, i love to see places people went to that make me really want to go there to....like Takayama. What a cute town! I am definately putting this town on my list of places to go to next time I visit Japan!!!! Thanks for the Ryokan link Hiroyuki!!! Sizzleteeth, how many different Ryokan did you stay in during your trip, and are there any you would recommend?

Yumm....this looks fun. I dont have a waffle iron...can a similar recipe be used to make pancakes instead?

Over here, everyone pretty much buys the same brand of mochiko from Koda Farms. So if you ever see any recipes saying "1 box mochiko", this is the box they mean: it is 16oz. It is Strawberry season, so a perfect time for everyone to learn how to make Ichigo Daifuku!!!

I made my godoufu! It is such a nice texture, I suppose somewhere in-between tofu and mochi. Very delicious! So far (I was lazy), I just poured some ponzu sauce over it, but tonight I will try another sauce, probably the miso-dengaku, or maybe a yuzu-miso. Thanks for leading me towards a new exciting experience JasonTrue!!!! Just some questions....Im not too experienced with cooking with thickeners (like kudzu-ko or katakuriko). Is there any way to shorten the cooking time (like adding extra thickener or something)? What kind of texture would I get if I did shorten the cooking time....The only reason i ask is because 40-minutes of comstant stirring makes for a dish Ill be too lazy to make that often, even though I really enjoyed it.

SUPER EASY DAIFUKU MOCHI Its really really easy! I used to use a microwave version too, and it always sucked so i gave up making mochi for awhile (except for occasionlly pounding some for special occasions). All you do is boil 2 1/2 C water + 1 C sugar in a pot (The water can be with other flavorings/colorings in it - like my (boiled with some baking soda then blended up) yomogi). Then reduce the heat to really low and dump in 1 box mochiko, stir until it is mixed well (its kinda hard, make sure theres no clumps). Then turn off the heat. I dump it out onto a saran wrap coated with katakuriko and knead it (in the saran wrap) a bit to make sure theres no lumps (its pretty hot), and then just cut off clumps to make the daifuku. I like this recipe because it gives a nice consistency of the mochi and it doesnt get hard right away or get too sticky....and its super fast and easy. For the strawberry part, I clean the strawberries, then coat them with the kushian (roll it around the strawberry). Make sure to prepare all the strawberries before making the mochi part, then just pull the mochi around the strawberry-an. Or just prepare clumps of anko or whatever you want to put inside, but the strawberry daifuku was unbelievably easy to make.

I just ate some green tea cookies yesterday - I think they were shortbread, and they were dipped halfway into some chocolate

For Kodomo No Hi, our friend bought us a package of various Daifuku. These are from a shop called "Two Ladies" on the Big Island of Hawaii....popular omiyage from that island. There were a few Ichigo (strawberry) daifuku. The purple one (I forgot to take a picture!) was the purple sweet potato (beni-imo). The white one just had azuki inside, but the other little brownish one....... Marshmallows, chocolate, and azuki! This of course was a huge hit with my BF who loves anything that is sweet as possible. So..... me an MIL realized we should make our own Ichigo Daifuku: The light-green ones were my first attempt at yomogi mochi, using my yomogi plant I have now.... the recipe I read said a "handful" of yomogi....well, I guess I underestimated how much I needed because it was barely even green, much less any noticeable yomogi flavor.

At the Shirokiya over here, we just had a Fukuoka Fair. I picked up this Ume-Chirimen, which had little bits of dried ume and shiso leaves in mixed in with the Chirimen...yummy! Now I need a hot bowl of rice....

At the Shirokiya over here, we just had a Fukuoka Fair. I ate some Inari stuffed with various flavored okowas, wrapped in mustard cabbage leaves, also they had sushi rolls using the mustard cabbage to wrap it instead of nori (I think there was nori wrapping stuff inside it though). Another thing I picked up was this Ume-Chirimen, which had little bits of dried ume and shiso leaves in mixed in with the Chirimen...yummy! Now I need a hot bowl of rice....

Here is some delicious Yubari Melon-Chocolates I bought recently. Our store here had a "Hokkaido Fair", I think these are from Sapporo. They look like a melon cut in half - like a half of a round ball, the outside is a greenish color with a melon texture, with an orange center! Cute and delicious!

Here is some delicious Yubari Melon-Chocolates I bought recently. Our store here had a "Hokkaido Fair", I think these are from Sapporo. They look like a melon cut in half - like a half of a round ball, the outside is a greeninsh color with a melon texture, with an orange center! Cute and delicious!

This is the tteokbokki I made following skchai's recipe (for the most part). I added in some tofu, and put a bit too much meat. It was a winner! Everyone loved it and want it often now

This is the "gochujang" I recently bought. There were so many different ones at the store (all with different Korean characters on the label), and I was quite confused as to what exactly was the true gochoujang. Well, I settled on this one:

I just bought another soymilk made locally. It doesnt have an ingredients list, only it says "made from water and organically grown soybeans". I'll try making the yuba again (and the gudofu) and see if I can tell a difference in texture versus the Pearl soymilk.

Nevermind....I found it....I went to Palama Gorcery store for the first time today.... what a fun store! Im going to try out your recipe skchai!

I used the Kikkoman Pearl Organic Soymilk (original flavor). This is my favorite soymilk to drink (actually the green tea flavor is my favorite), but it is sweetened, so in the end I had sugar crystals in the pan after making the yuba, but it still tasted yummy! This brand seems to be pure soymilk also, as opposed to the soymilk substitutes JasonTrue discussed.

skchai, can I ask where you bought these tteok from? This looks exactly like the noodles I ate in Shanghai, I was trying to identify them in the China thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=64791

Yes! Thats exactly what Im talking about! YUM!!! They called them "milk-cream" buns.....so it is using a dried milk powder? Mooshmouse, if you can find the name for them, that would be great!

I made yuba tonight! (My first time). It was so yummy...Since my BF didn't want any, I didnt have to share, so I ate them as they came off the stove I tried it with a yuzu-shoyu sauce and a shoyu-wasabi sauce.

Would that be Kinokuniya in Little Tokyo? I love going there!

Ideta's is my favorite Japanese restaurant right now....and not too far from the airport either! They have awesome sashimi and fish - though they often occur as specials, if they have any fish specials, I usually get that. Also thier Ideta's Teishoku (about 16$) is awesome, and probably thier best value - you get loads of various foods, and it is all good, which is what I get if they dont have any fish specials. They are also not usually crowded at dinnertime, though I hear lunchtime is packed. the price range averages 16-25$. Heres is one review I found http://www.hawaiibusiness.cc/hb72004/defau...fm?articleid=10 Ideta's is right off of Dillingham: 620 Kohou Street Honolulu, HI 96817 (Honolulu / Chinatown Area) Tel. (808) 847-4844

No, these are not typical pineapple buns, though they have a topping like the pineapple bun. They are not custard buns either. The inside is called "milk cream" but it is not not creamy like custard, but more of a pasty consistency. I dont bake custard much, but it may be a drier, baked custard, which becomes kind of solid (like dried toothpaste), but it is not egg custard or the same custard I see commonly in baked or steamed custard buns at dimsum restaurants. I dont think it it gai mei bao, there is no apparent coconut flavor (cock's tail buns- in the shape of a cock's tail, filled with a sweet coconut paste). Perhaps it could be a version of nai wong bao 奶皇包 - are these steamed buns with milk cream or custard buns? Maybe there is a recipe on this page? (I cant read Chinese). http://www.chefsrecipe.net/ChineseFood6.htm this recipe sounds maybe promising, since it is a little different from the egg custard recipes i have already tried. Thanks for everyones help! Too bad I only get to have these buns on my occasional visits to LA. I have had these fabulous buns also made into a bread-loaf roll.....the same custard rolled up into a bread, with a nice, thick pineapple topping ...my favorite! The fabulous bakery: Jade's Bakery 1354 W Artesia Bl Gardena, CA 90248 (310) 719 8889

Jasontrue- godoufu sounds yummy! I love mochi and I love tofu..... can you spare more details on how to make this? Thanks!