My Japanese style ‘Mabo Dofu’ recipe is quite versatile and you can replace Tofu with vegetables such as eggplant. All eggplant lovers should try this dish!It is very easy to cook but you need patience to precook eggplant pieces until they are tender as crunchy eggplant is not very nice. If you are OK with …
This is one of the most popular salads in Japan and everyone knows how to make it. It is easy to make and its flavour depends on which mayonnaise to use and the amount of seasonings. Fresh onion and sweet corn are essential for my salad. This salad strangely brings back the memory of the …
A store of Daiso has opened in a shopping centre near my house recently. If you are interested in Japanese culture, you must know Daiso. Daiso stores sell a great variety of Japanese products all at one price $2.80 each in Australia. They sell some cooking ingredients and ‘Shredded Kombu (Kelp)’ is one of them. …
The rocket that is growing in my veggie garden has very bitter peppery flavour. That’s why I blanched the rocket to milden the flavour, but blanching is also good to reduce the volume of it. We can eat more so that we can take more nutrients from the green. If you use Baby Rocket leaves, …
‘Shira-ae’ is a type of ‘Ae-mono’, Japanese style salad, which is mixed with mashed Tofu. The most common ‘Shira-ae’ is probably Spinach ‘Shira-ae’, but a variety of Vegetables, Mushrooms and Konnyaku (Konjac) are used for this dish. I used Rockets because I have a lot of them in my veggie garden. Please use Spinach if …
I often make a large batch of thinly sliced vegetable mix for salad. This is so handy to make a lunch for myself. Sometimes I mix with noodles or mix with fish or meat to make a rice bowl dish like this one. If you wish to make this dish with Smoked Salmon, you need …
The Kale in my veggie garden, which I sowed the seeds eleven months ago, is now finally close to the end of season. I have created several new Kale recipes this season and this is one of the best. I am quite sure many children who hate Kale would enjoy this salad. Makes 4 Servings …
I love the peppery taste of Watercress. Whenever I find fresh watercress in a shop, it’s hard to resist buying a bunch. This salad is not for children. The Watercress is peppery, and Radish and Red Onion are also peppery, and even Wasabi is added to the dressing. Fresh Wasabi is preferable, but it’s impossible …
For the Japanese, ’Kombucha’ is ‘Kombu-Tea’ which is basically ground Kombu (kelp) powder. Sometimes tea leaves and salt is added. You make the drink by mixing the ‘Kombucha’ powder with hot water. ‘Kombucha’ tastes more like dashi stock. It is totally different from the ‘Kombucha’, a tea-like health drink made form fermented mushrooms originated in …
Thinly sliced pork and beef are commonly available in Japan, but not here in Australia. Occasionally I find frozen sliced meat in Asian grocer stores but the ordinary butchers and supermarket stores don’t sell them. That’s why I sometimes purchase a block of meat, half freeze it, slice as thin as I can, then freeze …
Watercress has quite peppery taste. The pepperiness becomes quite mild when blanched, and crunchy texture and the flavour go well with Wasabi sauce. I love this dish. But my family seems to enjoy it very little. Wasabi is a tricky ingredient to use. OK… you will enjoy this dish only if you like Wasabi. Makes …
The summer in Japan is severe. Every year I used to lose my appetite because of the heat and humidity, but something acidic always helped me to eat to survive. The vinegared vegetables are something I crave for when I am tired. I quite like strong vinegar flavour of this dish. If you don’t, use …