Our Adventures in Japan
Kat & Satoshi's eating and traveling adventures around Japan (and sometimes Hawaii)
Friday, January 27, 2023
this and that
Thursday, January 26, 2023
reminiscing
Four years ago we were trying 175 deno tan tan men
Eight years ago we were trying zabon-zuke
Thirteen years ago we thought spring was coming
Seventeen years ago we were talking about tsukiai and other things.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
monday
When it came time to line the muffin tin, I realized I inly had 3 muffin papers, so I used some parchment paper.
It was hard to fill with muffin batter, because the parchment didn't stay secure in the muffin tin.
Also while making the batter I only had a little mochiko, so I used half mochiko and half flour.
I put some yuzu peel that I had in the freezer, used up some chocolate chips and also added some cocoa powder
My baking powder expired but I used the hot water test and it still bubbled so I used it.
Even with all these obstacles, the muffins came out nice and will be good for breakfast or as a snack.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
sigh
After he came out I gave him my empty bags for us to use when we did some grocery shopping after our other errands.
First off, Satoshi wanted to update his bank passbook (yes Japan still uses passbooks!), so we stopped at the ATM, then we went looking for a particular white envelope.
After looking at a 100 yen shop and 2 convenience stores, we finally found the envelope at a different 100 yen store, and went to send something for his friend whose husband had passed away suddenly.
(The reason we needed a special envelope was the letter that Satoshi wanted to send said friend couldn’t be folded into "fourths"…Japanese death superstitions/etiquette)
Then we went to the cell phone shop so Satoshi could ask them about his cell phone.
It was then that I realized he wasn’t carrying the empty bags I gave him.
So we retraced our steps and still couldn’t find the bags.
And ended up walking all the way back home because I still needed bags to go grocery shopping and guess what we found on the sidewalk near our apartment…
the bags!
At least we found them but it was so weird that I hadn’t noticed he dropped the bags soon after giving it to him nor did he realize he had dropped them
(photo: this furry keeping warm and probably wondering what we were doing)
Monday, January 23, 2023
trying more recipes
The online version used hoshigaki (dried persimmon), but I only had ichidagaki which is a harder type of dried persimmon.
What you do is split it down the center, take out the seeds then put in a schmear of cream cheese.
The version I saw online, cuts the kaki with the cream cheese into rounds.
This was good as pupu, but I'll look for softer dried persimmons so that I can try this again.
On the recipe sheet from Shuetsu there was also a recipe for tartar sauce.Which reminded me of this recipe.
Again, I ad-libbed because the portions seemed a lot.
Tartar sauce : translated from Shuetsu
1 boiled egg, mashed
30 grams fukujinzuke, minced
8 grams fukujinzuke "sauce"
35 grams mayo
8 grams vinegar
parsley
salt to taste
Mix well and add salt to taste
NOTES: I used a 7 minute boiled egg, 15 grams of fukujinzuke, 1 gram fukujinzuke "sauce", 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
I didn't measure how much mayo I used but didn't use too much
I didn't have parsley but think this will add some color and more texture to the tartar sauce
I omitted the salt and added some pepper instead
We had this with beef rolls, which is what the Japanese tartar sauce I noted above is eaten with and it was delicious.
I'm glad I tried this recipe and look forward to trying a couple more on the sheet.
Friday, January 20, 2023
this and that
Instead of gifts, every year we all send photos to my cousin and then she puts all of the photos together into a calendar.
5 more months to go...
They cook in about 2 minutes and are super soft!
Finally got to try Torikyu's nori bento (they had it on hiatus)...500 yen (tax included).
Thursday, January 19, 2023
trying a new recipe
Toritsumire (chicken meatball) : translated from Shuetsu
200 grams minced chicken
1 gram salt
40 grams fukujinzuke, chopped
15 grams fukujinzuke "sauce"
3 or 4 leaves shiso, juilienned
10 grams oil
Mix the minced chicken with the salt
When the mixture gets a little sticky mix in the chopped fukujinzuke, "sauce" and shiso
Rub the oil onto your hands and form the meat mixture into bite sized balls.
Cook in a heated frying pan.
Enjoy!
NOTES: first off I thought this fukujinzuke was quite salty when I ate it with some instant curry, so I was kind of worried to use it in the recipes they gave.
Tsumire is apparently meatballs made with fish and usually found in a soup.
Tsukune is apparently a meatball made from ground chicken or other meat and is grilled or cooked in a pan.
Since Shuetsu calls this a tsumire, that is what I’m calling it.
Also, I thought some of the amounts they noted on this recipe was kind of high, so I kind of ad-libbed
First off, I omitted the salt that they have in their recipe
The recipe just said minced chicken, I used a mixture of ground thigh & breast chicken meat because markets here sell them separately
Instead of the amounts in the recipe, I only added 20 grams of fukujinzuke and 5 grams of the sauce
The shiso, I minced instead of julienning
I didn't want to rub oil onto my hands like the recipe said so instead I just drizzled a little on the pan before cooking it
While cooking, I also covered the pan so that the meatballs would heat and cook through faster.
I also used a spatula to turn them every so often so they would brown nicely.
This was delicious! not overly salty.
The fukujinzuke stays crunchy.
I think this recipe works because the pickles are in a shoyu based sauce, not too sure it would work with other types of pickles.
I would make this again.