In the region in Japan where I grew up, there is a traditional salad dish called ‘Chisha-momi’. ‘Chisha’ is a type of Red Leaf Lettuce and it has a slightly bitter taste. To remove the unpleasant bitterness, leaves are massaged with a small amount of Salt. That process is unnecessary when you use common Leaf …
Balsamic Vinegar is an essential ingredient for my cooking. I particularly love Aged Balsamic Vinegar that is quite sweet. For this dish, Balsamic Vinegar is used not only for the marinade but also for the sauce. They both need sweetness. If your Balsamic Vinegar lacks sweetness, add some Sugar. Makes 4 Servings Ingredients 500 to …
Lotus Root is a common ingredient for Japanese cooking, but it is one of the hard-to-find vegetables in Australia. However, ready-to-use frozen Lotus Root is available from many Asian grocery stores. Lotus Root has no strong flavour, but it has very unique crispy and crunchy texture as well as potato-like texture. I don’t know any …
‘Sweet & Sour Pork’ is popular and my family loves it, but I just don’t want to cook it very often because pre-cooking Pork is quite demanding. Then I tried a very easy method using Pork Mince. This is so easy and quick, and as delicious as the proper ‘Sweet & Sour Pork’. Makes 4 …
Edible Chrysanthemum is easy to grow. If you have no access to this beautiful vegetable, it would be a fun and rewarding activity for you to try. Edible Chrysanthemum is growing crazy in my herb garden at the moment. I picked leaves, blanched them and combined with ‘Peanut-ae’ sauce. You may prefer ‘Goma-ae’ sauce made …
‘Fukujinzuke’ is a very popular condiment in Japan. Curries are often served with these crunchy pickles. The name of the pickles originates from the tale of ‘Seven Lucky Gods’ as some varieties of ‘Fukujinzuke’ are made with seven different vegetables. It is easy to make at home. Renkon (Lotus Root) might be impossible to find …
When my son was young, he hated most vegetables. If I have chopped up the vegetables finely, he would have tried to remove those particles. The best solution was to cook the vegetables in the flavour he loved, that was curry flavour, OR to mix the vegetables with something he loved. This is a very …
You thought that you were going to make this salad using frozen Mixed Vegetables? Sorry, but it won’t work. You can use Frozen Corn Kernels, but you can’t use frozen Peas and Carrot. If you can’t find Edamame (Young Soy Beans), dried Chickpeas can be used. Soak them in water over night and cook retaining …
Grilled cobs corn with Butter & Soy Sauce are very popular in Japan. Actually, Butter & Soy Sauce flavour is very popular. Why? Because it is yummy! This is a very simple dish of sautéed Frozen Peas & Corn, seasoned with just Soy Sauce. You would never know how yummy it is until you try …
‘Tamago Toji’ is a Japanese cooking method to bind the ingredients cooked in sauce or soup with ‘Tamago’, egg(s). Obviously, ‘Toji’ comes from a verb ‘tojiru’ that means ‘bind’. The method is popularly used. ‘Oyako’ Don is an example. This recipe uses Cabbage and Peas, but you can use whatever vegetables you have in hand. …
This recipe must be credited to a person whose name is Asa and who gave me her recipe of ‘Golubtsi’. Asa’s ‘Golubtsi’ is not only delicious but also light & healthy as it is full of vegetables, especially Cabbage. I simply filled Red Capsicums with her ‘Golubtsi’ mixture and baked them. Tasted great and looked …
If you are looking for an alternative for ‘Mashed Potatoes’, try this ‘Mashed Cauliflower’. It looks exactly like ‘Mashed Potatoes’. The texture is, of course, different and lighter than ‘Mashed Potatoes’. The most importantly, it is a lot lower in calories. Makes 4 Servings Ingredients 1 head Cauliflower *cut into florets2 cloves Garlic1 teaspoon Salt …