All posts by Hiroko

  • Baked & Fried Sweets Sweets

    My Legendary Banana Cake

    There are so many different Banana Cake recipes. I had tried four or five different recipes until I tried a Japanese one. I normally don’t like Japanese cake recipes because they always require weighing ingredients. I like measuring by cups. Anyway I tried the recipe with very well ripe bananas which were nearly black. The …

  • Vegetables

    Kale Salad with Peanut Butter Dressing

    One of the most common ‘Ae-mono’, a type of Japanese salad, dressings is called ‘Sanbai-zu’ which is made with Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar and Sugar. Based on this dressing, I added Peanut Butter to create this Kale salad. My husband and son don’t like Kale, but they enjoy this salad even though Kale is uncooked. …

  • Vegetables

    Silverbeet Leaves ‘Namul’

    They say that Silverbeet (Chard) is easy to grow. Yes, Silverbeet does grow so well and it’s not easy to keep up eating. How do you cook Silverbeet? Stir-frying, adding to soup, simply steaming, mixing with Fetta, etc. Here is one Asian recipe for you to try. Makes 4 Servings Ingredients 200g Silverbeet Leaves1 clove …

  • Spaghetti & Pasta Vegetables

    Umeboshi, Tomato & Shiso Spaghetti

    My home-made ‘Umeboshi’ is just right to add saltiness & sourness to this pasta sauce. This is another perfect pasta dish on a hot day in summer. The key ingredients might be difficult for you to find, but they are often available from Asian grocery stores. Shiso (Perilla) can be replaced with Basil, just maybe …

  • Vegetables

    Kale & Carrot ‘Namul’

    Kale and Silverbeet are always sold in a large bunch. Do not let that stop you to purchase them. Here is one recipe for you to use up a lot of them. This ‘Ae-mono’, a type of salad, is good as a side dish but it can be a main dish. Because it is simply …

  • Donburi (Rice Bowl) Fish

    Canned Salmon Miso Don

    For cooking one-person meal, the canned fish is very handy to have in the pantry. I try to stock canned salmon, tuna, sardine and mackerel when they are on special. This ‘Canned Salmon Miso Don’ can be cooked, of course, with fresh salmon fillet but fish are all very pricy in Australia. A small canned …

  • Tofu & Soy Protein Vegetables

    Spring Onion & Tofu Salad

    This is an extremely simple yet absolutely delicious tofu salad. If you like tofu, please try this dish. Healthy, nutritious, cheap, yummy, and what else do you want? The spring onion mixture can be mixed with tofu of medium firmness or it can be enjoyed as a topping with very soft silky tofu. Makes 4 …

  • Chicken Mushrooms Takikomigohan

    Chicken & Shimeji Takikomigohan

    This ‘Chicken & Shimeji Takikomigohan’ is a very simple rice dish yet so tasty as it is seasoned with the oyster sauce. Shimeji can be replaced with Shiitake, Oyster Mushrooms, Maitake or other Asian mushrooms OR you can add multiple types of them. Makes 4 to 6 Servings Ingredients Japanese Short Grain Rice 3 cups …

  • Mochi & Dango Dumplings Nuts Sweets

    Muscovado & Walnut Mochi

    Mochi, Japanese rice cake made of short-grain glutinous rice pounded into rubbery chewy paste, is often used for making sweets. With limited ingredients and utensils, this mochi sweet can be actually easily made using rice flour. It takes only ten minutes. Makes 4 to 6 Servings Ingredients Rice Flour 1/2 cupGlutinous Rice Flour 1/2 cupMuscovado …

  • Beef Donburi (Rice Bowl)

    Gyū Don

    ‘Gyū’ means Beef. Thinly sliced Beef and Onion simmered in a sweet soy sauce flavoured dashi stock on top of the rice. ‘Gyū Don’ is s very popular food in Japan, it is commonly served with Beni Shōga (pickled ginger). Probably every family has its own recipe. I used to add Shirataki (Konnyaku Noodles) but …

  • Dips & Spreads Vegetables

    Fresh Veggie Sticks and Walnut Miso Dip

    On the other day, I heard a friend of mine complaining about something I would love. She grows vegetables in the backyard and occasionally gets too much harvest to eat. She was particularly complaining about too much cucumbers. Ahhh… come on! Here is an Asian flavoured ‘Miso Dip’ that would help her to snack a …

  • Fish Other Seafood

    Squid & Edamame Patties

    In Japan, I used to enjoy many traditional food made from fish such as ‘Chikuwa’, ‘Kamaboko’, ‘Fish Sausages’, etc. One of my favourite is deep-fried fish patties with squid pieces in them. The only way for me to eat them now is making them by myself. One day I reluctantly tried and discovered it is …

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