fishcake tempura

Remember the ikamenchi we had in Tohoku?

Well, when I tasted it, it reminded me of something my mom used to make for parties...

Luckily, the recipe for it was in one of the cookbooks I have...

Fishcake Tempura : "Recipes Please" makes 18-24 more or less depending on how you scoop the mixture

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1/2 cup fishcake (kamaboko), minced
1/4 cup green onion, minced
oil for frying

Combine dry ingredients
Add egg to water and beat until foamy
Mix into dry ingredients, stirring only to moisten dry ingredients
Add kamaboko & green onions
Drop by teaspoonfuls into oil heated to 365F
Fry 1 minute or until delicately brown
Serve with meal or as pupu (appetizer) while hot

NOTES: super close to ikamenchi!
The ikamenchi was on the sweeter side...closer to the flavors mochiko chicken has.

I love how it all came together quickly.

I'm making this again.

kamaboko dip

After making the spam wonton, I set aside 5 water chestnuts to make some kamaboko dip before freezing the rest of the can of water chestnuts.

This recipe is really easy to make, just throw the first 3 ingredients and the water chestnuts into a food processor and pulse then mix with some mayo.

Enjoy on Ritz crackers.

belated hinamatsuri

On the last weekend of February, Satoshi went to Kyoto, which I talked about yesterday.

MIL sent him home with this...Hinamatsuri kamaboko (fish cake).

The male character (left) is called O-dairisama & the female (right) is called O-hinasama. Both are supposed to represent the Emperor and Empress of the Heian court.

While I appreciate her sending this home with Satoshi, I wasn't sure how or when we would eat it.

It turned out that we ended up eating it after Hinamatsuri passed, but before the expiry date...whew!

We had this with some udon. I usually make my own tsuyu (soup/sauce) for noodles, the recipe is here. I don't strain the katsuo bushi (bonito flakes) before using the tsuyu, I serve it.

I also cut some green onion (from our lanai) and added a pinch of tororo kombu (thinly shaved kelp). We also sprinkled some shichimi togarashi (mixture of red pepper and 6 Japanese spices).

It was a great lunch on a cold, rainy day.

hello...kitty!

I wanted to share with you something that will keep you warm on those chilly days. Soba.

When I lived in Hawaii, I never really liked Hello Kitty, or Kitty-chan as she is known here. But, after moving here, there is something mysterious about her that gets you hooked--and she's everywhere!

I recently found a kamaboko (steamed fishcake) made by Kibun. I think they make this for mom's who want to add something extra to their kids' bento (boxed lunches). There was also a Mickey and a Minnie kamaboko too.

After checking the maker's website, I was bummed to find out that the market I bought it at was selling it at a high price than the estimated retail price....sigh.

I cooked up some soba. Diluted 1/4 cup of pre-made soba sauce with hot water and added green onions and a dash of shichimi (Japanese 7-spice). Kind of spooky seeing so many faces looking at you, but it was a nice, light lunch.

Have a nice week!

the day after...

It's the day after Christmas and Satoshi is back to work. Santa brought us some great gifts. We really appreciate our family and friends who also sent us some great things and who were really thoughtful for remembering us this Christmas. Thank you!!

Our party with Satoshi's co-workers and their families was nice. We were literally eating ALL afternoon.

I brought "kamaboko" (fish cake) dip (sorry I ran out of memory space on my camera, so no photo) and a box of Ritz crackers to eat the dip with. After the appetizers of kamaboko dip, salmon sashimi (sliced and raw) and salad, we moved onto the next course, bulgogi (a Korean dish of thinly sliced beef marinated in shoyu, garlic and other spices)...there was a brief intermission (the children, including the men went out to play dodge ball...)...the women chatted....the next course was "nabemono" or "nabe" (which is a meal cooked in an earthen pot).

Nabemono is eaten mostly during the winter months. The flavoring of the "nabe" broth varies from household. Recently, kim chee nabe and tonyu (soy milk) nabe have been big hits. We had kim chee nabe. Boy, was it SPICY!!

After the nabe was eaten, it was dessert time...Christmas cake. During Christmas, the price of cake skyrockets. You can expect to pay close to $40 (or more) for a 6" round cake. The cake is usually a yellow sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries in it and on top. You can also find yule log style cakes. Thank goodness the cakes were small, we all had a little piece and by 8:00pm were STUFFED to the gills!!

The children seemed to enjoy all the food and the adults enjoyed the company.

Kamaboko dip
1 kamaboko grated
chopped green onions (the amount is up to you)
pepper to taste
add mayonnaise for the consistency that you want
box of Ritz crackers (or your favorite cracker)
5 water chestnuts-chopped (I can't find them in Japan (don't know the Japanese name))--optional

It is a really easy recipe, try it!!
We hope you had a nice Christmas!!

UPDATE: the Japanese name for water chestnuts is kuwai (coo-why)