The weather in Melbourne, Australia, is famous for its unpredictability. It is said to have four seasons in one day. Sometimes it is absolutely true. It can be rather cold, but it might turn scorching hot next day. The temperature can easily go over 40℃. I don’t like hot weather as I lose energy to …
‘Shiso’ (Perilla) is so difficult to find where I live. It is something you can’t use for cooking if you are not growing yourself. But now I know one Asian grocery store that sells Perilla. It is a different type from Japanese ‘Shiso’, but it has same texture and fragrance. If you have ‘Shiso’ (Perilla) …
This cake recipe is almost identical to ‘Butter Beans Cocoa Cake’. I simply replaced Cocoa Powder with Matcha Powder. ‘Azuki’ Red Bean Paste is a very common and popular ingredient for Asian sweets. Canned ‘Azuki’ paste is available from most Asian grocery stores. White Chocolate Ganache or Muscovado Whipped Cream are also great fillings for …
I do not know the reason why this type of chocolate cake is particularly called ‘Gateau Au Chocolat’ in Japan. It’s French and it means ‘Chocolate Cake’. ‘Gateau Au Chocolat’ is quite rich as it usually contains plenty of Chocolate, Butter, Cream and Sugar. But my ‘Gateau Au Chocolat’ is lighter and fairly easy to …
‘Gomamiso-ae’ is a dish of vegetables seasoned with sweet miso sauce with aromatic toasted sesame seeds. The soy sauce version ‘Goma-ae’ and ‘Gomamiso-ae’ both are very popular and they can be made with so many different vegetables, even with the juicy fresh vegetables such as Tomato and Radish. Some people don’t enjoy fresh radish because …
I use sesame seeds for cooking a lot. I always toast them first, then keep the toasted sesame seeds in an airtight container ready to uses. When I need to grind sesame seeds, I use ‘Suribachi’. ‘Suribachi’ is a Japanese mortar. My suribachi is a small one, about 10cm in diameter. This is one of …
Along with the Japanese rice vinegar, Balsamic vinegar is an essential vinegar for my cooking. On the other day, I bought a bottle of ‘Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena’, and it was so sweet and rich. I was glad that I had spent extra dollars for it. This sauce is great for everything, chicken, pork, …
When I buy cabbage, I select a fresh head of cabbage. When I cook it, I take off withered and discoloured outer leaves if there are any. The problem is I often have darker green and fresh looking outer leaves, that are actually quite tough and woody, but I feel so bad to throw them …
I used my ‘1-Hour Focaccia’ recipe to make this ‘Pull Apart Garlic Bread’, so this yummy bread can be made in 1 hour. To achieve the crusty bottom of the bread, you’d better use a cake tin or a baking tin. The ceramic pie dish like this one in the photo looks nice but the …
This versatile sweet miso sauce goes very well with Chicken, Tofu, Fish, steamed Vegetables, and so many food. This sauce can be a great dipping sauce for ‘Shabu Shabu’ as well. The sweetness of the sauce is totally up to your preference. Very sweet and slightly sweet both are equally delicious. Ingredients 3 tablespoons White …
Have you tried ‘Butter & Soy Grilled Corn’? It is so yummy. When corn is not in season, frozen corn cobs or kernels can be cooked in the same way, and they are also yummy. Mix the butter & soy sauce flavoured corn kernels with freshly cooked rice to make this dish. It is yummy, …
‘Broccoli Slaw’ is my new discovery at a Coles supermarket. It was packed with creamy dressing and $5 for about 2 servings. I like it a lot, but the list of ingredients freaked me out, and also it is pricey! Coleslaw can be prepared easily and cheaply at home. You don’t need to buy the …