I often use sweetened butter bean paste for making Japanese sweets, but my husband is not a big fan of sweetened beans. He doesn’t eat even ‘Azuki’ Red Bean paste which is an essential ingredient for Asian sweets. I realised that the sweetness and the flavour of beans are not a good mix for some …
They say that Melbourne, where I live, has the largest Greek population of any city in the world outside of Greece. Thanks to them, we can enjoy a lot of beautiful Greek food. Greek flat bread and dips are so popular, and one of my favourites is ‘Tzatziki’. Because it is easy to make, and …
On a hot day, I made ‘Gazpacho’ for dinner, and I had no more energy to prepare anything else. ‘Gazpacho’ was not enough for my hungry children. I needed to make it more filling. How could I make ‘Gazpacho’ more filling? What I did was cooking thin spaghetti and mixed with the soup. That’s how …
‘Daifuku Mochi’, or Daifuku, is a Japanese sweet consisting of a small round glutinous rice cake stuffed with most commonly ‘Azuki’ Red Bean paste which is quite sweet. On the other day, I made ‘Matcha & Azuki Roll Cake’ and there was some left-over ‘Azuki’ paste. What could I use it for? The first thing …
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 use. 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 …
