In Melbourne where I live, a greater variety of rice are becoming available even from the average supermarkets. Short, medium and long grain rice. Glutinous rice, Wild rice, Arborio, Basmati, Jasmine, Brown rice, White rice, Red rice and Black rice. I particularly love the black coloured rice such as Wild rice and Black rice. They …
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 …
I bought a bag of Black Beans from an Asian grocery store and have found out they are different from the ones available from ordinary supermarket stores. Black Turtle Beans are commonly called ‘Black Beans’ in Australia, but what I bought from the Asian grocery store are Black Soy Beans. My grandmother used to pickle …
Since I moved to Australia, I have discovered many different food and ’Falafel’ is one of them. For a long time I didn’t know what they are made from. ‘Falafel’ is something I buy from shops and I never thought it could be so easy. The most important thing is to use uncooked chickpeas and …
Many Japanese words have been imported to English but often pronounced differently. ‘Edamame’ (the young soy beans) is one of them. It’s ‘e-dʌ-ma-me’ and NOT ‘e-dʌ-ma-miː’. When a word ends with ‘e’, English speaking people pronounce wrong. ‘Shiitake’ and ‘Sake’ are other examples. Please remember ‘e’ in Japanese words is always pronounced like ‘e’ in …
Just like using pesto on pasta as a sauce, I used my Edamame & Avocado Dip to mix with spaghetti. Wow! It was absolutely delicious. This will be my family’s favourite. The flavour is quite simple. So you may wish to add more sourness or spiciness to it. I actually drizzled some soy sauce over …
This dish is traditionally prepared to celebrate special occasions in Japan, because of its red colour which is symbolic of happiness. The dish is called ‘Sekihan’ (Red Rice) in Japan and it is steamed ‘Mochi-gome’ (Short Grain Glutinous Rice) with ‘Sasage Beans’ that are very similar Azuki Beans. These days more people conveniently cook it …
There is a vegetarian food called ‘Ganmodoki’ which means ‘mock wild-goose meat’. It’s a fried tofu fritter made with vegetables and sesame seeds. This ‘Tofu Balls’ is not vegetarian food as I used prawns and egg but very similarr to ‘Ganmodoki’. Firm Tofu is recommended as it is quite dry. If you use Momen tofu …
This ‘Okra & Natto’ is very popular in Japan. The slimy Okra mixed with slimy Natto makes it more slimy and it can be eaten as it is, but it’s a great topping for Rice, Noodle and Tofu as shown below. My mother used raw Okra, but I like Okra slightly cooked. Makes 2 to …
I love the chocolate flavoured butter bean paste that I made for Chocolate Truffles. So I used the paste as filling for this Roll Cake for my health-conscious daughter. You wouldn’t know the filling is canned butter beans. It’s absolutely delicious! Cake Tin Swiss Roll Pan *Large Square Cake Tin can be used Ingredients Sponge4 …
Shiro-an made from tinned Butter Beans is a very versatile ingredient for sweets. This Chocolate Truffle recipe is dairy-free and oil-free. You would hardly believe it’s Butter Beans! Add nuts and dry fruit that you like and make your own recipe. Makes 20 balls Ingredients Canned Butter Beans 200g *rinsed and drained well*You get about …
‘Manjū’ is one of traditional Japanese sweets. There are many different types of ‘Manjū’. Every region seems to have its own local specialty ‘Manjū’. My home town has its own popular ‘Manjū’ and I miss it. It is quite a challenge to make Japanese sweets in Australia because the ingredients are hard to find. This …