Okayu for the Woman New Year (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Once upon a time in Japan, there was 正月 Shogatsu (new year) and 小正月 Koshogatsu (little new year). If you click, you arrive on the Japanese wikipedia page, which is exact (as far as I know), but if you pass on English version, it is about something unrelated. In those time, the Moon ruled the world. The little New Year was at full moon… now we say that would be January 15th. Some say 14th. Well now… The little new year was also called 女正月 Onna … Read More

via Gourmande in Osaka

Okayu with sweet potatoes

Hop ! We’ve stepped into December, the darkest month. But we often have bright days in Osaka… in the cold.
Okayu, congee, rice porridge is a good way to fight the cold. With sweet potato, yellow like the leaves of icho (gincko).

Brown rice and cubed sweet potato (with its skin), rinsed, cooked overnight in the rice-cooker.

Simple toppings :
sea salt
poppy seed slightly roasted under the broiler
goji berries and all their vitamins and commercial promises (let’s believe, 10 a day and you’re eternal…) and they are red like the leaves of momiji (Japanese maple)

Sencha green tea as many bushes stay green through Japanese Winter (I’m not sure it’s a bush of camelia… could be).

A little kaki (persimmon) like other fiery leaves.

That seems very simple, but the combination of tastes of that okayu was perfect, sweet, earthy, nutty…

Cal 263.5 F2.2g C65.5g P5.4g