aquafaba

Have you ever used aquafaba?

I hadn't.

It is the liquid from cooking beans or canned beans and can be used like egg whites.

Blog friend & pen pal, LJ, wrote a book "Cooking With Scraps" and in it is her recipe for Aquafaba Brownies.

I've been interested in trying the recipe and finally did.

I cut the recipe in half to fit my 50 gram butter rule.

And I also baked this in muffin papers instead of a square pan, because the muffin tin fits nicely on my oven's turntable.

It was pretty easy to put together and you can't taste beans.

It is doesn’t rise too much, is rich and very fudgy

This is a good recipe to use especially with egg prices still being high here, plus I like saying "aquafaba"

If you've used aquafaba before please tell me how you use it.

baked beans with portuguese sausage

With a couple of linguica, I made a really small batch of baked beans for our Sunday dinner, and had enough leftovers for dinner on Monday…whoo!

I hadn't bought catsup in ages, but needed some for this recipe, so I bought a small bottle.

Also didn't have a can of pork and beans, just a can of baked beans, so that is what I used.

Found a "bigger" can of kidney beans...110 grams!

Will stock up on more "real size" canned beans the next time I go to the import market to buy our coffee beans.

I didn't have prepared mustard, only grainy, so that is what I used.

I should've added the molasses and brown sugar to give it another layer of flavor, but I felt there was enough sweetness from the beans and catsup.

And since I didn't have worcestershire sauce, I used a little okonomiyaki sauce.

No white vinegar either so I used rice vinegar.

Really ad-lib.

My mom would often make a big pyrex pot of this for our Sunday dinner gatherings and use kielbasa instead of portuguese sausage though.

Good memories and this hit the spot.

portuguese "bean" soup

Made a small batch of Portuguese Bean soup with a couple of the linguica...my only problem was that I couldn't find a can of kidney beans at the market I was at.

I ended up buying these kidney beans...50 grams.

This product is intended to be added to salads.

And this one with 5 beans and 5 grains...40 grams. 

Tastewise, the soup came out pretty close to what I've had at home.

I'm glad I got to make this.

ethnic bean salad

Dunno where I scribbled down this recipe from, so if it is yours, please leave me a comment and I will adjust my post to link back and credit you.

Dressing:
1/2 cup EVOO
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
sriracha sauce

1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed
a nice handful of edamame, cooked and shelled
half a red bell pepper, diced
handful of cilantro

NOTES: I hadn't scribbled down any amounts for the beans or cilantro, so I am noting what I used. Also, I cut the dressing in half. I didn't have red wine vinegar and used white wine vinegar instead. I grated the garlic and put in 1/2 teaspoon of sriracha.

The recipe didn't call for the edamame or red bell pepper, I just threw it in for color.

I like the flavors of this salad, a little tart, sweet and a little spicy. The taste was similar to the Fragrant Tuna and Chickpea Salad that I often make.

Next time, I would add more bean varieties, a little diced onion and maybe even a can of corn.

I'm making this again.

using up some canned goods

Been trying to use up some canned goods before the expiration date comes around.

This can of "baked beans" from Italy, tasted more like what we have in the US called "pork and beans" except without the "pork".

It sure made for a great dinner and I'm glad Satoshi ate this, I'm pretty sure he didn't grow up eating "pork and beans"...

I had this can of smoked salmon, but it didn't have an expiration date on it, so I figured I should use it as soon as possible.

I finally realized that it is super easy to make salmon patties in a food processor, just throw everything in and whizz!

I whizzed some onion, flat leaf parsley and the salmon, then I put everything into a bowl and added an egg.

What have you been cooking up lately?

sweet tart asian style 3 bean salad

Found this recipe by Ellie Krieger in the USA Weekend back in June.

I adapted it, kinda "eye balled" some things like the corn and edamame so the measurements are kinda "iffy".

about 4 servings

7 green beans, steamed and chopped
50 grams canned garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained
about 1/4 cup canned corn, rinsed, drained
about 2 handfuls of edamame, cooked and shelled
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
1/8 of an onion, diced

Mix everything well.
Chill and serve.

NOTES: Not sure exactly as to what makes it "Asian" aside from some grated ginger and maybe some scallions...

Tastewise, it reminded me of the 3 bean salad my mom makes.

Since I used marmalade and not fruit preserves as the original recipe uses, I didn't add the sugar that the original recipe calls for.

I would make this again, maybe using other veggies and upping the ginger.

soramame (take 2)

So, after my failure with soramame, the first time, I finally found some at the market and decided to try them again.

This time, I found 12 pods for 398 yen (about US$3.98), this gave me about 24 beans.

I boiled them for the 2 minutes and stopped the cooking by putting them in cold water.

Sakura ebi (sergia lucens) is also in season now and I've seen some recipe using both fava beans and this shrimp, so I wanted to try this for dinner. (this is about 3/4 cup)

This particular shrimp is colored with an edible red dye, I was looking for the natural colored ones but couldn't find them at the market.

So, after taking the beans out from the pot, I boiled my whole wheat pasta for a little under the time that was on the package.

Then, in a frying pan, I heated some olive oil, and threw in some minced garlic.
When I could smell the garlic, I added the shrimp to heat through.

Then I added the pasta and some pasta water.

I then added the fava beans and coated everything well.

At the end I ground some pepper and served.

The bean skins were a little bitter, and the overall pasta was a bit on the dry side, I think I should have added a little more oil, but this dish was tasty.

I think if I see these beans in the market again, I want to try roasting them.

soramame

Have you ever cooked with soramame (fava beans)? I hadn't until the other day.

I think the reason I hadn't tried this vegetable was because of the price. For 7 pods, it was 298 yen (about US$2.98).

What surprised me even more, is that there are only 1 or 2 beans per pod.

When you open a pod, it looks like the bean is packed in a soft sponge.

I read something online that says you need to take this little nub off, so I did.

Then I washed them and put them in a rice cooker to cook.

This is where I failed...

You know you've failed when you open the rice cooker and the beans are blackish and not a beautiful green...

Afterwards, I read online that you should only cook them for about 2 minutes...agh.

By cooking them in the rice cooker I had overcooked them.

Also, after cooking for the two minutes, you are supposed to remove the skins...agh(again).

Oh well, at least we got fiber and this was still quite tasty...I'm going to try this again, soon.

eating "local"

Last Monday, after my dentist appointment, I went into Hanshin department store to pick up something for lunch.

I also needed some celery so I went to their produce area. Now, I don't usually shop for produce at the department stores because they tend to be on the pricey side.

Surprisingly, they were having a sale and everything was rather reasonable and an even bigger bonus was that the items on sale were grown in Japan.

I found a bunch of celery for 298 yen (about US$2.98). Usually when I buy celery, they have 1 stalk packaged and it is usually 158 yen (about US$1.58)...so I was excited to pick up 3 stalks for the 298 yen.

The zucchini was of good size too and were 2 for 298 yen (about US$2.98). Usually when I buy zucchini, they are scrawny and cost 298 yen for 1.

Lastly, the asparagus were unbelievably cheap also...189 yen (about US$1.89) for 11 stalks. Usually they only have 3 woody local stalks for ranging between 158 yen and 198 yen (about US$1.58-$1.98).

When I went to pay for them, the cashier said to me, "how shall I cut it?", pointing to the celery. I told, "just cut it in half." She immediately pulled out a produce knife and cut it in half, this actually surprised me.

The good/bad thing about shopping at the department store was that they wrapped everything in this brown paper, though I guess it was better than a plastic bag.

I've already used some of the celery and one of the zucchini for 3 bean salad and vegetable soup.

And I've used the asparagus with some eringi and shimeji mushrooms for a stir-fry with a little butter and tarragon. We've also eaten the leftovers for breakfast with a sunny-side up egg on top and toast.

I also tried Ellie Krieger's "Grilled Zucchini Roll-ups with Herbs and Cheese". This was delicious, only problem I had was getting the zucchini slices thin.

Though we aren't truly eating local, we are eating more items from Japan. Have you been eating local and/or more items from your country?

odds & ends

It is the end of the month, so let's clean out the photos that weren't posted about.

Baked some scones using a new recipe. These definitely have to be eaten with jam--not sweet at all, still delicious though.

New version of stuffed bell peppers, added some renkon (lotus root) to the beef and onions and left out the egg.

Made some 3-bean salad (only with 2 beans--canned garbanzo & cooked daizu(soy bean)). Added corn, bell pepper and onion.

Curry fried chicken. Added some curry powder, salt and pepper to panko (bread crumbs). Dipped the chicken pieces in egg then dredged it in the panko mixture. Ate it with some tonkatsu (pork cutlet) sauce--delicious.

New version of Meiji's almond--this one has salted caramel wrapped around the nut. Japan's latest fad is salty sweets. Delicious, but gets quite salty after awhile.

Used one pod of the Lifou vanilla to make strawberry jam.

Have been enjoying the jam on yogurt in the mornings.

Cut some basil tops so that it wouldn't flower, put them in water---hydroponics?? (maybe) Planted them in the soil, hopefully they will grow.

Found these cute bananas, called "monkey bananas" in Japan and are also called Senorita. Thought they would taste like apple bananas, these were really sweet, not tart like the bananas we get in Hawaii.

Tried the Green & Black's Organic Cocoa. Followed the instructions on the can. Not much flavor. Kind of disappointing.

Got this Japanese confection from one of the memorial services. It is called Hakata no hito (lady from Hakata). A tiny baum kuchen with a sweet bean paste filling--delicious.

Our neighborhood 7-eleven closed on Friday. Satoshi and I are particularly sad to see it go because it came into the neighborhood the same year we moved into the neighborhood.

Another store which closed on Friday is the bakery in our shopping arcade a.k.a. my almost everyday lunch pick-up place. Since I have to find somewhere new, looked into buying bento (boxed lunch) from a sozaiya (pre-made foods store)--420 yen (about US$4.20)--rice with crunchy ume (pickled plum), hijiki (edible brown seaweed), tsukemono (pickled veggies), iwashi hamburger (sardine patty), tamagoyaki (omlette), pumpkin & kusamochi (rice cake mixed with yomogi (mugwort)).

lazy beans

Last night I made chili for dinner. I was too lazy to cook the beans for hours and hours and too cheap to buy a can of beans, so I threw the handful of dry beans (after rinsing them) into my rice cooker and cooked them with my rice (though you can't see them in the photo).

The heat of the rice cooker is so high that it cooks the beans to just tender, not mushy.

On a cold, rainy night. Chili with rice really hit the spot.

Clarification: sorry, I was a bit vague above. The bean-less chili I made in a separate pot. I cooked the beans with my rice.

spicy and cool dinner

Summers in Japan are HOT, hotter than the summers that I am used to in Hawaii. In Hawaii, we have tradewinds, this makes the heat of summer bearable, in fact most homes in Hawaii do not have air conditioning, or at least where I've lived in Hawaii, we didn't. Japan's summers have this awful, wet humidity that makes every piece of clothing stick to you. (If you've been reading this blog, you know that I do not like summers here.)

One dish that I really like during summer is tan tan men. Most times when I eat this dish at Chinese restaurants I usually can't finish it and give it to Satoshi, it is so spicy that just a taste will do. I found out while watching a program that Japan added soup to this dish, apparently when you eat this in China, it is just the noodles and no soup.

I've been anxious to try making tan tan men after I found a recipe for it in a cookbook I have called "Tenyu".

First off, you need to make ja jan, this is the minced pork which I used to make ja ja men. I posted about that here.

Tan tan men for 1 translated from "Tenyu"
50g ja jan
30g spinach
1 bundle of chinese noodles

Sauce:
1 teaspoon tsuonyu*
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1/3 teaspoon minced tsa tsai (pickled mustard tuber)
2 tablespoons chimajan**
1.5 tablespoon ra-yu (chili oil)
1 tablespoon minced scallion

Soup: 320cc chinese soup

*tsuonyu is an oil that is made with leeks, ginger and lard
you can make your own with the following recipe:
300cc melted lard
50g green part of leek
30g thinly sliced ginger

Rip the leek with your hands and put into a pot with ginger. Put 50cc of melted lard into the pot of leek and ginger, cook until fragrant then add rest of lard. Do not mix too much and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Then turn up the heat to high and fry the leek and ginger. Strain the liquid. Keep up to 1 month in an airtight container, makes 300cc.

**chimajan is a sesame oil with more of a paste consistency like tahini. To make your own, follow this recipe:
500g sesame seeds
500cc canola oil

Roast sesame seeds in a pan until golden and fragrant, put out onto a pan to cool. The seeds roast pretty quickly so work fast, if burnt it will taste bitter. When cool, put into a food processor or meat mincer to create a paste, run through the processor/mincer twice. Bring the oil to 140-150C (I wasn't too sure what the Fahrenheit temperatures would be) and mix in with a wire whisk. Mix well. Keeps in an airtight container for up to 1 month, makes 850g.

Now back to making tan tan men....

Boil spinach and drain.
Prepare your noodles according to the package.
Put the ingredients for the sauce together.
In a bowl add the sauce, then add the soup. Place your noodles into the soup and top with the ja jan and spinach....enjoy!

NOTES: If you don't like it really soupy, the sauce and soup can actually be used for 2 people. I didn't use or make the leek oil, also I didn't have tsa tsai or spinach so I left that out. It still tasted great. I had somen (Japanese vermicelli) instead of chinese noodles. Oh, most important, I only put 1/2 tablespoon of chili oil. It was just enough heat to leave a little sting on your lips, without setting your whole mouth on fire.

So that was the spicy part of my dinner last night, the cool part was this 3-bean salad. When I was living in Hawaii, my mom would make this every so often and I like it because it is tart and makes your mouth pucker, plus I love beans! She uses 1 can each of green beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans and adds diced onion and bell pepper. I couldn't find canned green beans and refused to pay the ridiculous price for canned kidney beans, so I steamed green beans and soy beans instead.

The recipe for the dressing is as follows:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup oil

NOTES: Try to make this a day ahead so that all the ingredients will be nicely marinated. I made this salad at lunchtime and it was pretty marinated by dinner time.

So, summer is finally here, the rainy season officially ended in the Kansai area yesterday. The cicadas are out and creating a ruckus. The news said that Osaka has the noisiest cicadas (um, okay...). They also said that today will be humid (I guess I jinxed myself...ugh.)

leftovers? quesadilla!

After making naan tacos, I had some black bean dip, ground beef, cheese and salsa leftover. So, I made quesadillas.

I've never made them before and just kind of winged it. I put the bean dip onto a tortilla with some ground beef, cheese and lettuce then put another tortilla on top.

Since everything was straight out of the refridge, I put the whole thing into a 150C oven for 10 minutes and then under the grill for 5 minutes. I cut the quesadilla into 4 pieces and ate it with salsa on top.

Fast, easy, yum!

baba ganoush & naan taco

Ever since having Baba Ganoush at the tea party last month, I've been wanting to make some. When I told Satoshi what I was making he said, "baba ga-what?" I think it is kind of fun to say, "baba ganoush", don't you?

Baba Ganoush adapted from The Leftover Queen
3 small eggplants
1 whole lemon, squeezed
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons yogurt, plain
1/2 clove garlic
salt
parsley
toasted pine nuts

Wash and cut off tops, pierce eggplants. Put into a 400F(200C) oven for 30 minutes. Cool and peel off skin. Whiz everything in a food processor, garnish with nuts.

NOTES: this is really easy to make. Since I couldn't find "tahini", I substituted Japanese sesame paste. I served it with some tortilla chips and it was delicious. I think the next time, I might have it with naan or a pita.

Black bean dip adapted from Ellie Krieger
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeno, diced
1 (15 oz)can black beans, rinsed
1 whole lime, squeezed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
cilantro
1 tablespoon water
salt and pepper

In a pan, saute the onions for 2 minutes and add the garlic and jalapeno. Add the beans to evaporate any excess water. Blend everything in a food processor.

NOTES: easy to make and this would be good with tortilla chips too.

Naan adapted from Video Jug
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sugar
200g plain flour (about 1.6 cups)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon EVOO
2 tablespoon plain yogurt
2 tablespoon milk

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix. When combined, knead for 5-6 minutes. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes in a warm place. After 15 minutes, divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll out to about half an inch thick. Bake in 275F (140C) oven for about 20 minutes.

NOTES:The naan dough didn't get as big as it should have, I don't think the yeast was that fresh (the last time I used the other half was making bagels)

I did try making naan taco, I forgot to buy lettuce, so I had to do without. I put a layer of the black bean dip, some ground beef that I sauteed with cumin, paprika, chili powder and cinnamon, cheese and salsa...delicious!

We're still having weird weather, hope you are keeping cool where you are. Have a great week.

hawaii eats (part 2)

As I look back, growing up in Hawaii was great, because of all the different kinds of foods you can get your hands on. Not only can you buy them as take out, but with all the different ingredients found at the local supermarkets, you can also make a lot of these foods too.

So, coming home for me is a chance to re-connect with all the foods that I loved while growing up.

Recently, my mom made a batch of Portuguese bean soup. I'm not too sure if it actually is a Portuguese dish, but one of the main ingredients is the spicy Portuguese sausage or linguisa. Linguisa is similar to chorizo. And although living in Hawaii doesn't always have soup eating climates, this soup is perfect for those wet, rainy days.

Another of my favorites is Korean food...kal-bi, mandoo, meat jun, kim chee...yum! Today I had lunch with my friend, Gaye. We ate at the Y'kele Korean BBQ at the Waikele Premium Outlet. For US$6.27, you can get this huge portion of Bi Bim Kook Soo--a cold somen noodle in a sweet broth, with lots of "namul" (a kind of marinade) veggies and a piece of barbecued beef on top. So filling and very delicious.

Y'kele Korean BBQ
Waikele Premium Outlets
94-799 Lumiaina
Phone: 808.676.0988