Tonight's dinner was a mixture--Italian-seasoned roasted veggie salad, yaki gyoza (chinese fried pot stickers) and genmai (brown rice) with gokokumai (5 different grains). There is a grain in there, kurogome (black rice) that usually turns the rice a purplish color, so don't worry, I didn't burn the rice :)Gyoza is Satoshi's favorite food. Ask him what he wants for dinner and he will always mouth "g-y-o-z-a". The bottoms of the gyoza usually have this cripy crunch (from sticking to the pan/pot) to it and the tops are soft and usually juicy. The dipping sauce is very easy to make, a little vinegar, a little shoyu (soy sauce) and drops of rayu (a chinese chili pepper oil made from sesame seed oil and chili peppers).
Dessert were a couple of squares of Vosges' Barcelona bar. Although I'm a dark chocolate fan, this bar is actually 40% cacao milk chocolate with smoked almonds, and gray sea salt and very addicting! The sweetness of the milk chocolate goes really well with the gray salt and there is a hint of caramel in the chocolate. I've been noticing a lot of "dark milk chocolates" lately and aren't quite sure what that means.
In March, while in Okinawa, my mother-in-law bought me these pair of geta. Geta are the traditional footwear in Japan. Now, they are usually worn during the summer months. These geta are a bit different because you don't have to balance too much to walk. I like the sound of the geta as it hits the pavement. It has a clopping kind of sound to it. I wore them in Hawaii and have been wearing them here...summer is almost here! I will warn you in advance that I do not enjoy summers in Japan. It is very humid and very miserable. People often tell me, "but you are from Hawaii". And I say, "Yes, but if it is humid, it usually means that it will rain. And once it rains, it usually cools down."If you have ever visited Thailand, you will understand what the Japan summers are like. Anyway, more on this later...
Hope you are having a nice week.
7 comments:
Sounds delicious to me! What time's dinner?
Hi Ivonne,
Thanks!
Dinner is served between 18:00 and 19:00 daily. Casual attire, please :)
Kat
That looks absolutely delicious!! Did you make the gyoza yourself?? Yummy!!
oh yes, and that chocolate sounds awesome!! gotta love sweet and salty, and hickory, wow! Did you find that in Japan or abroad? (sometimes you can find cool things at the international shops in japan..)
Gyoza mmmmm
That chocolate MMMMM
I have been wondering how to cook the 5 grain rice as the packets at the supermarket never have the instructions (ie how much water to grain) and how long.... will you help? Thanks :)
It was reeaaalllyyy humid here all summer since we rent we didn't want to buy an airconditoner so we bought this little fan and you put frozen blocks (like the blocks that go in an esky/ice box to keep them cold plastic on the outside) and when you had it on low it de humidifed the air as the moisture would condense on the ice and run down to the collection tray! I highly recommend it if you don't have an airconditioner. It was impossible to sleep at night without it
I'm just wondering if you got all of the stuff for your dinner from that one grocery store, because if you did, that's the kind of grocery store that I love!
Now the thing with footwear that makes noise when you walk, is it me? Or is it the child in me? I love making clopping noises when I wear my island wedge slippers. You'd think that there was a horse walking around the restaurant!
Hi TM,
Of course not! Although, I've made gyoza before. I bought the chocolate awhile back from Neiman Marcus in Hawaii.
Hi Clare,
To make the 5-grain rice, I usually add a tablespoon or two to my 3 cups of regular rice. Wash the regular rice then add the 5-grain rice. Put 3 cups of water and cook in rice cooker. (I hope you have a rice cooker)
And yes, we have an a/c and would probably die from the heat without it. I don't really like to use it since it is bad for the environment, but without it, sleeping is out of the question.
Hi Rowena,
The gyoza was bought a couple of days ago and put into the freezer. Chocolate bought on a trip to Hawaii. Although there are gourmet supermarkets where you could get all this stuff in one store! :) I love the clopping sound too.
Thanks for stopping by everyone!
Kat
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