Nama choco. When Valentine hell is paved with weird ideas… (via GiO)

Nama choco. That’s a ganache, a melty creamed chocolate. Today, a vegan version…

Mosaic….

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Black power 3 (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Ultra-simple and very nutritive dish. Only 3 ingredients : black pepper, black soy beans and black neri-goma (pounded sesame, tahini). Kuromame is there Japanese name.These beans are huge and very hard. I soaked them 48 hours to minimize cooking and that still took hours. It's better to make big batches. But the taste and texture are really great. The sesame kuro nerigoma brings its velvety feel and nutty richness. Mmmmmm ! … Read More

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Bubbly grapes (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Fruity dessert. Table grapes tend to be very sweet. I don't really appreciate them because it's too much for me. Unless I mix them with something neutral. to dilute sweetness. Delaware grapes, produce of Osaka. Very cold. Free. Jumbo size tapioca. After cooking and rinsing, let overnight in colored water with a little strawberry essence. Mix and enjoy ! Fun to eat and delicious. … Read More

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Ubatama (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Photo and shape could be better. It's an experiment + we have totally awful dark days of typhon. Not enough light for photos. I'll do some again, nicer. It's a wagashi (Japanese sweet), great for Summer. it looks like a truffle caught in ice. They are very refreshing. Ubatama is the name of the peyote cactus. So maybe the shape comes from that… or the cactus was named after the sweet. Tama is ball. Uba may mean "bird wing", like black crow wing … Read More

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Kuro-natto, shira-ae. Black beans and white harmony. (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Black and white menu. Two Japanese classics. Natto is cooked soy beans, that are then fermented (originally they were wrapped in rice straw and getting ferment from it, not it's cultivated like yogurt). Natto is usually brown. This one is make with black soy beans. It's less strong in taste, more flavorful. With wasabi. Grated fresh wasabi root. I put the hot rice on the natto. Shira-ae, white harmony… White dressing if you prefer. It's a commo … Read More

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Refreshing cold miso soup with somen noodles and nameko sticky mushroom (via Gourmande in Osaka)

This is really delicious and that makes you forget the heat and humidity. What is left ? Superb blue sky and great weather. Nameko are those orange sticky mushrooms. I already showed you some : Nameko the sticky/jelly mushroom This time I have huge ones : And you can see that "glue". When they are boiled that becomes a jelly : Serve them very cold ! About mushrooms… This is vegan dashi. Dashi is the Japanese all-purpose stock, made from dry fis … Read More

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Pari pari potato salad, with pickled cherry dressing (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Third potato salad of the series. Pari pari pari… scratch scratch scratch… well that sounds crispy no ? Usually those crispy bits of potatoes are fried. Here they are boiled, dried, then toasted. Healthier ? The taste of potato is intense and very pleasant. Lots of fresh green makes the bed. Pickled sour cherries (cinnamon flavored) bring the orignal touch. Le temps des cerises, the pickling season… The sauce cannot be simpler : the vinegar … Read More

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Frugal : soba with okra tororo (via Gourmande in Osaka)

It's hot and humid. Meals have to be simple. This Summer in Japan, due to electricity shortage, we can't afford living in the air conditioned world. I wouldn't anyway. It's hot. It will be hotter. Food can be our climatisation and help the body adapt to the season. Neba neba ! It's the onomatopea for this texture. Sluggish food is an acquired taste… but when you got it, that's yummy ! I'm addicted to it. Okura tororo : Okra (gombos) briefly bla … Read More

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From the shop : kashiwa-mochi, oak leaf sweet (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Lucky ! You've found a pearl in your oak leaf. This sweet is eaten in this season, and particularly on May 5th , for the Children Day. This one is bought. That's why it is more perfect than mines. Hey, baker is a job and you don't get the professional skill overnight. It's really shiny, and harder in texture than daifuku mochi. The recipe is different. Use the little wood knife to cut it… It's filled with koshi-an (smooth anko bean paste). Good … Read More

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Edamame tofu, 3 ways to enjoy the pastel green flan (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Tofu made of edamame, you can buy it or make it (next post). Classic, with grated wasabi and nama shoyu soy sauce. Unmold it, pour a crown of sauce around, a chestnut of wasabi on top. Seasonal, with kinome on top and a sweet tsuyu (reheat kombu dashi stock with a little mirin and soy sauce, bring to boil, let cool). Sweet for the small flower. Drizzle honey on it. Top with dry fruits (goji berries). You can have it as a dessert. Actually, that w … Read More

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Making kombu dashi, Japanese vegan stock (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Kombu seaweed, dry. As you can find it in all Asian markets. On the beach, they are very long, several metres. They cut bands of 50 cm to dry them. Then they are sold like that at markets or pre-cut for convenient packaging. It's easy to cut with scissors. It is used in combination with dry fish to make dashi, the Japanese all purpose stock (click on text) : Quick dashi from scratch… or from fish flakes But you can also make a pure kombu dashi. T … Read More

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Kinome flavor on ankake agedofu (wood fragrant glazed fried tofu) (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Tofu is the uttermost delight ! No, I am not crazy. i have not lost my tastebuds. I know it has bad reputation. Well I have tried to eat those blocks of rubber that are called tofu in the West (ello, Old Europe) and in the East (East of year, that's you, America) and I didn't like that. We have great tofu in Japan. It can be eaten like that bare feet in front of the fridge at night… And if you add a great recipe, it's the paradise of flavor. Fr … Read More

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Japanese Sunday roast : bamboo shoots, konnyaku steak and my small tree of sansho (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Vegan brunch. It's roast konnyaku steak, with kinome and green peppers, and roast fresh takenoko ( bamboo shoot). The konnyaku (konjac, konjak) is a sort of root vegetable that is not sold whole but processed in blocks of different shapes. It has nearly no calories and it has digestive properties. Taste is inexistant, unless you get flavored versions, but the texture is pleasant and it will absorb the taste of the sauce of condiments, like here. … Read More

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Jajamen (Morioka style udon noodles, a vegetal variation) (via Gourmande in Osaka)

A vegetal version on jajamen, a dish from Morioka, a city in the prefecture in the North of Japan. Chinese migrants brought there the recipe of zha jiang mian and the Japanese variation took a new name. The most obvious difference is in the type of noodles, but Chinese noodles are also served in Japan. The principle : you stir-fry ground pork, you add a special fermented bean spicy sauce. You serve it on noodles, with raw or cooked veggies, etc.. … Read More

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Sestubun : Oni hunt is opened. Don’t count your daizu before they are hatched. (via Gourmande in Osaka)

These ugly oni invaded this blog (and all Japan). Today is called Setsubun. If you succeed in chasing the bad and mean oni out of the house, happiness and Spring will come. Weapon to kill them. On the left dried daizu (soy beans) that can kill your teeth. On the right, iri daizu (roast soy bean) that you throw around at the oni. Let's go ! I got those fancy masks at local shops. They give them when you buy daizu. Of course, the roast ones are a g … Read More

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Breaking the mirror mochi (via Gourmande in Osaka)

On New Year, you've seen I had this decoration. This white pile with a plastic orange on top is the kagami mochi (mirror mochi). But that was a fake plastic one, you can see real mochi on the side. They were hidden inside. I replaced the false orange. Some people use real mochi : (photo found on google) What I call "real mochi" is cooked sticky rice, pounded into a paste, and let dry. It becomes solid blocks. For "soft sweets" with mochi see daif … Read More

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