virtual hugs

Thinking of the people of Tohoku, especially today.

yakishisomaki

Been wanting to recreate this ever since coming across this at the market

I see them in the markets frequently so I've never tried the recipe I had bookmarked 

Yakishisomaki is a dish found in Tohoku, they eat it as pupu (appetizer), have it with Japanese tea, add it to their bento.

Each family has their own recipe so there are different ones all around the internet.

I made up this based on different recipes for the ingredients I had and for the amount I wanted to make.

Please adjust the recipe to your dietary needs and if you want to make more than the amount I made.

If you do use white miso, you might need to adjust the sugar since I feel white miso tends to be a little sweeter than other types.

Kat’s yakishisomaki : makes 2 skewers

6 shiso leaves, washed, dried, stems cut off

5 grams nuts, weighed then chopped medium fine

10 grams miso

7 grams sugar, I used brown

shichimi (seven spice mixture)

2 toothpicks

1 tablespoon of oil

Mix the miso with the sugar then add the nuts and shichimi

It will come to a thick paste

Portion the mixture into 6

Face the dull side of the leaf upward and put the point of the leaf pointing towards you

Put the miso mixture near the point then roll the point tightly upwards 

Skewer the roll with the toothpick

Repeat until you have 3 rolls on 1 toothpick

Heat the oil in a pan on medium and fry for about 30 seconds on each side

Drain on a paper towel

Enjoy!

NOTES: this was delicious and easy to make

Tohoku produces walnuts, so that is the nut that I used, but you can use whatever nuts you have on hand.

If you are allergic to nuts, you may want to use ground sesame seeds instead.

Also, if you want to freeze them, fry them first then put them into the freezer.

I’m not sure if there is a symbolic reason why 3 rolls are on a 1 skewer other than it just might be easier to fry many rolls at once.

I'll make this again.

virtual hugs

Sending hugs to friends and family in Tohoku and the surrounding areas.

Hard to believe it has been 11 years.

Be kind to each other, be well.

Have a safe weekend.

 

sanriku's tsubaki cha

My friend in Sendai, sent me a care package in February.

Inside there were all sorts of her favorite snacks which were all made in the Tohoku area and also included was this packet of tea.

As you know, there was a lot of damage with the tsunami that hit the Tohoku area in 2011, but what I wasn't aware of was that Sanriku, an area in Iwate prefecture had many bushes of tsubaki (camellia) that were also destroyed.

In the pamphlet that came with the tea, it also explained that the camellia roots "extend deep into the ground" and takes "years for the plant to reach full size".

I am not sure if there is something similar in English speaking countries, but in Japan, they have something called "hana kotoba" (literally flower words), a system in which the flower, its color is used to describe what the flower symbolizes. 

For example, red camellias symbolizes "pride", "unpretentious elegance"...according to the pamphlet I mentioned above, a reflection of the people of the Sanriku area.

This tea is blend of tsubaki (camellia) leaves and ama cha (sweet tea). Ama cha is made from the leaves of the hydrangea and is supposedly 200 times sweeter than sugar.

In Buddhism, you often see sweet tea during the "birthday" of the Buddha called Hanamatsuri on April 8th...The Buddha is placed in a covered pavilion with lots of flowers and you "bathe" the Buddha with the sweet tea...I have a photo of this here.

This tea was sweet and I'm glad we tried this.

Thankful to receive this and learn more about the Tohoku area.

10 years

Some might say that what happened on this day feels like yesterday while others may say it feels like a very long time ago.

Sending our prayers and thoughts to the people of Tohoku and the surrounding areas especially today.

virtual hugs

Thinking of the people of Tohoku especially today.

Be kind to one another.

hiraizumi-tohno

Since Momo no sekku or Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day) was coming around, it was nice to see all these tsurushi bina. (These were at Shizuka-tei).

Apparently in the Edo period most people could not afford the elaborate doll displays, so many would sew these types of tsurushi bina (literally hanging dolls) out of kimono fabric to pray/wish for the good health and happiness of their daughters.

After checking out, the inn dropped us off at the station.

Since we had almost an hour wait for our train, we went to have some coffee and something sweet at Yoshinoya.

This sweet shop has been in business since 1915!

The cream puff that we shared was delicious, not too sweet and filled to the gills with custard cream!

The owner's wife also gave us a taste of their sakura yokan (a thick, jellied dessert made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar).

From Hiraizumi to Tohno it was 2 and a half hours by train.

When we arrived the snow started falling slightly.

We had intended to look for lunch, but we also wanted to check out Kappabuchi, and luckily there was a bus that was scheduled to arrive in a matter of minutes, so we hopped on and headed out instead.

The snow was coming down quite steadily now, so we headed inside of Denshoen in search of lunch.

Hittsumi is the local dish filled with some veggies and "noodles" that are made by flattening and "pulling" at the dough.

The soup is shoyu based...what a great way to warm up!

We also tried the local sweet called ganzuki.

A steamed cake made from black sugar and is topped with walnuts and black sesame seeds.

The cake was so airy.

The snow had stopped and we were ready to look for kappa (river creatures).

On the way to Jokenji, we stumbled upon a farm that grows some of the hops for Kirin Beer.

It was cool to see how tall the hops grew!

On to the kappa...legend has it that Kappa were pranksters.

Once a kappa pulled a horse's tail and the rider fell off and got hurt.

The villagers heard what the kappa did and caught the kappa.

The kappa knew that if it was out of water too long it would die, so it pleaded to be spared.

The villagers made the kappa promise never to do pranks.

The kappa promised and the villagers set it free.

Nowadays, parents use the kappa story as a way to "scare" their children, saying that if they get too close to the edge of the river, the kappa will come and get them, in hopes that the children won't play near the rivers.

You should also know that Kappa apparently like cucumbers, which is why kappamaki have pieces of cucumber in them.

Anyway, behind Jokenji, is a river where you may see kappa.

While we were there, the wind picked up and made the area quite eery.

The blizzard also made things harder to see...

Of course, my new "friend" scared the bejeezus out of me appearing out of nowhere...

Since the bus wasn't running too often, we went back to Denshoen and called a taxi.

After checking in, we spent some time watching another blizzard whizz by our window...

Then after the blizzard stopped, we checked out the Tohno Museum next door to the hotel.

The museum shows life in Tohno before modern times and there are also displays of kitchen gadgets, farm tools as well as toys.

I was particularly intrigued by these wooden blocks.

Apparently on each side is a different picture with descriptions on them.

You roll them like dice and make up stories using the different pictures that turn up.

The lady working at the museum also showed us some custom blocks that were made using the German language instead of Japanese.

Down the street from the hotel was Matsuda Shorindo, a sweet shop that has been in business for over 150 years!

They created the sweet called akegarasu.

It is a semi-soft sweet that is made from rice flour, black sesame seeds and walnuts.

When sliced, the walnuts look like crows flying into the morning sky, thus the name "akegarasu".

These were slightly sweet and had a slight chew.

Bummer that their other sweets we purchased called Kappa no osara (kappa's plate), a manju like sweet had artificial sweeteners in it.

The owner's wife also mentioned that in a couple of days they would have a hinamatsuri event where many shops in the area would display their dolls.

Too bad we would miss this...I counted the shops on the map she gave us and there were over 40 to see!

We headed back to the hotel and just before dinner, there was a woman telling local folktales in Iwate dialect...talk about foreign language!

Dinner was again huge, though I didn't think this dinner was as good as the ones we had in the previous days.

Still, even if we didn't see any kappa, I'm glad we were in the area.

Denshoen
6-chiwari 5-1 Tsuchibuchi-cho
Tohno, Iwate
Phone: 0198.62.8655
Open 9:00-17:00

Jokenji
7-chiwari 50 Tsuchibuchi-cho
Tohno, Iwate
Phone: 0198.62.1333

Tohno Museum
3-9 Higashide-cho
Tohno, Iwate
Phone: 0198.62.2340
Hours: 9:00-17:00

Aeria Tohno
1-10 Shinmachi
Tohno, Iwate
Phone: 0198.60.1703

akita-iwate

We woke up the next morning and the snow was slightly falling.

I didn't eat much breakfast (good thing it was buffet style) because I was actually still feeling a little full from the night before.

Of course, guess who ate like he hadn't eaten in days....sigh!

I was super impressed though that they had a guy hand pouring coffee!

After breakfast, we checked out and went to stand at the bus stop in front of the hotel.

Look at how much snow had accumulated over the last couple of weeks!

At least it was "sunny" and was forecast to be "warm" 4C (39F)...

We caught the bus from Nyuto Onsen to the Towadako Station where we rode the bullet train to Morioka in Iwate Prefecture.

The weird thing about this bullet train was that there were only 3 cars.

2 of which were reserved seats and 1 was the green car (which is super expensive seating).

Our tickets were non-reserved so we were supposed to stand (in the connecting areas between cars)...though if there was no one reserved for that leg of the trip, you could sit in the seat.

The guy that was checking all the tickets, knew which seats would be empty for each part of the trip, BUT didn't bother to tell anyone...so many of us were standing for most of the trip...grr.

The reason we stopped in Morioka was to try reimen (cold noodles).

Not the best choice during winter...I think reimen is similar to Korean Naengmyeon.

Since the wind had picked up and it was snowing a little, we wanted to find a place close to the station, so we checked out Pyonpyonsha. (love saying the name!)

Luckily they had half sized reimen.

Choose your spiciness (they have 4 levels)...I chose the most mild (1), while Satoshi chose "a little spicy"(2).

With my bowl, the kim chee came separately, so that I could adjust the heat with the amount that I put into the soup.

While Satoshi's bowl, the kim chee was put into the soup already...I can only imagine how spicy (and red) 3 and 4 were...

I loved the chewiness of the noodles.

The piece of meat was on the hard side though...boo!

This version was served with asian pear but I have also seen photos of versions with watermelon in it.

Definitely a summery food but I'm glad we tried it and would love to try other places the next time we visit.

From Morioka, we caught the local train to Hiraizumi.

Satoshi wanted to check out Chusonji, an area with many temples.

We had actually visited this area in 2001 (pre-blog), but we were on a tour at the time.

The most impressive thing to see here is Konjikido, a golden structure that also holds the remains of 4 generations from the Fujiwara family.

It was a very tranquil place.

Another tranquil place is Motsuji (about a 10 minute walk from Hiraizumi station).

A temple and a huge garden area gives one a feel of the elaborate garden parties and lifestyle of the Heian period.

I could just imagine how beautiful this place must be during the other seasons.

About 15 minutes away and off the beaten path is Shizuka-tei, the tiny inn we would be staying at.

They only have 10 rooms and luckily, they have a pick-up service.

Our room had a massage chair which Satoshi and I took turns using.

Dinner was again huge and everything was delicious especially the steak that was served, so melt in the mouth tender.

Another busy day, but I'm glad we got to see the areas that Satoshi wanted to check out.

Pyonpyonsha
Morioka Station
9-3 Morioka eki-mae-dori
Morioka, Iwate
Phone: 019.606.1067

Shizuka-tei
10-5 Hiraizumi Nagakura
Nishiiwaigun Hirazumi-cho, Iwate
Phone:0191.34.2211

osaka-akita

From Osaka, it is about an hour and fifteen minutes to Akita Prefecture.

The airport has bus service into Akita city, but since we were going to Kakunodate, we booked a taxi.

The type of taxi was a "share" type...50 minutes later we were in a village that has many samurai residences.

The Ishiguro residence is the only one with actual family descendants still living in it.

It was awesome to be able to see a couple of the rooms of their home.

We were also lucky as it is close to Hinamatsuri, so they had their doll display out. (these are the top rows,

　and these are the bottom ones.

Next door was the Aoyagi residence.

This property was huge!

6 different buildings to wander through with all sorts of samurai swords and armor.

Akita has a sweet called "butter mochi", I thought it might be similar to the type we have in Hawaii, but since it had artificial sweeteners in it, we didn't try any.

Instead, I purchased kurumimochi (walnut mochi), which the area is also known for.

This was slightly sweet though I wish it had more nuts in/on it.

How is this grandpa?! shoveling snow off his roof...so many deaths during this time of year from people falling off their rooftops...though if they don't take the snow off their roof will cave in from the heavy snow.

We also checked out Ando Shoyu where I purchased this mountain greens to cook with rice.

I'm gonna use it in the coming weeks.

I also stumbled upon their kasanemochi (the stacked decorative mochi for New Years) which they hang to dry then fry up as "kakimochi".

Apparently this had been drying since the year before!

Another taxi picked us up and 50 minutes later we were at Nyuto Onsen, an area with several hot spring facilities.

After lunch of Hinaidori (the brand chicken of Akita) oyakodon for me and Nabeyaki udon for Satoshi, we were off to the hot springs.

Satoshi went to 3 different ones while I just went to the one that was next door to where we were staying.

If you are following us on Instagram, you know dinner was huge.

There was all sorts of foods, nabe (hot pot) with hinaidori, sashimi (swordfish, sweet shrimp and cod cured in kelp), simmered rockfish, snow crab tempura, rice with ikura (salmon roe), just to name some of the dishes.

I loved the handwoven baskets that we could use to put our towel and clothes in when we went to bathe in the hot springs.

And most of the doors had different sayings in Akita dialect.

Ours was "garitto" (gah-ree-toe) which means "isshokenmei" (ee-show-ken-may) in standard Japanese and in English means to do something with all one's effort.

It was a long day, lots of snow and lots of eating.

Ishiguro Samurai Residence
1-banchi Kakunodate-machiomote-machishimocho
Senboku, Akita
Phone: 0187.55.1496

Aoyagi Samurai Residence
3 Kakunodate-machiomote-machishimocho
Senboku, Akita
Phone: 0187.54.3257

Kyukamura Nyuto Onsen
2-1 Komagatake, Lake Tazawa
Senboku, Akita
Phone: 0187.46.2244

so...

So, if you are following us on Instagram, you know that we were headed for Akita Prefecture yesterday morning...

We were all onboard and waiting for the plane to back away from its spot.

After a good 10 minutes though, the captain came on and announced that our flight was cancelled due to major snow in Akita...

So we all deplaned and stood in line for refunds, rebookings, etc.

Since we used miles for our flight we weren't sure they would give us back our miles.

Fortunately, in the end, they did credit our mileage back.

We were bummed and on the way home decided to drown our sorrows in some matcha tiramisu and coffee.

I was also bummed because my spic and span kitchen now had to go into action...

Dinner was kim chee gyoza.

Although our travel plans were hampered it really was better that we were safe than sorry.

anzu shiso fuumi

Recently Hankyu Department Store had a Tohoku fair.

We picked up some bento for dinner (Yonezawa beef for me and salmon for Satoshi), iburigakko and anzu shiso fuumi.

If you recall, the iburigakko is a smoked pickle from Akita.

The anzu shiso fuumi (literally means perilla flavored apricot) and is a sweet-sour pickle/jam of sorts.

The taste reminds me of prune mui, a preserve we have in Hawaii.

We first tried this in Aomori, and reconnected with it at the fair.

This version is made by Kariya Shokuhin from Akita.

The owner, Mr Kariya, was a very friendly and good salesman.

So far, we've eaten it as is with breakfast and also chopped it up and added it to yogurt.

These apricot are also grown by Mr Kariya and he makes these with honey and shiso (perilla).

I think the syrup might be good on ice cream or pancakes.

What are you enjoying these days?

ii fufu

(photo taken on Sunday in Osaka)

Today is Ii Fufu (good couple) day in Japan.

I've written about this before here.

Sadly, the Tohoku area had another big one (earthquake) this morning.

They were told to evacuate and are on tsunami watch.

Hoping there won't be too much damage this time.

Sending hugs to Tohoku and the surrounding areas.

iburi gakko cream cheese

Remember that dip we had at Donpachi in Sendai?

Well, I found the tsukemono, Iburi Gakko (smoked pickles in Akita dialect).

Smoked Daikon, a type of pickle from Akita Prefecture.

I used about a 2-inch sized piece and chopped it up.

Then mixed with some cream cheese.

No real recipe.

I also found those Levain crackers, the ones that are made in Japan.

NOTES: This is great on crackers, but I am thinking it might be nice put in with a tuna sandwich too.

I'm making this again.

roof nubs

While traveling in Tohoku, I noticed that most of the homes had these little "nubs" on their rooftops.

Some were in nice rows, while some were scattered here and there.

I looked around online, and it appears that these "nubs" are to stop the snow from sliding off in big chunks.

Homes in these areas also had ladders leading up to the rooftops.

I've seen people shoveling snow off of their rooftops on tv during the winter.

I love seeing snow, but the novelty would definitely fade if I had to shovel.

Do you have snow where you live? Do the homes have "nubs" on the roof to stop snow?

tohoku omiyage

From Aomori : We got lots of apple things like these dried apples.

There were only about 10 pieces in the bag but were individually wrapped, perfect for snacking, though not ecologically friendly.

Apple tea, and an Aomori Blend filter drip coffee packet.

The tea is apple flavored, but the coffee is a nice chocolatey blend (not apple flavored).

Pickled garlic, shiso wrapped anzu (apricots) and shiso wrapped apple pickles

From Ooma: Maguro simmered in shoyu, konbu, sugar...good with rice.

Dried tako legs to make kamameshi (rice cooked with dashi (stock), veggies, shoyu, mirin, and other items like seafood, chestnuts, gobo (burdock))

Kinoi sake.

Aomori Nebuta Beer (Pilsner).

From Ishinomaki: I actually ordered these t-shirts and bumper stickers online because their shop, Tohoku Kazoku, wasn't open the day we were in Ishinomaki.

Since we only travelled with backpacks and weren't going to check our bags into the aircraft, we didn't bring back any liquids.

Things we ate/drank that we didn't bring back:

Aomori: Apple juice...so sweet! and they don't add sugar.

Sparkling apple juice...no alcohol, just fizz.

Apple Pie...buttery crust and lots of filling with a little custard, so good!

Sendai: Zunda mochi..soft mochi that is covered with mashed soy beans mixed with sugar

Sasakamaboko (fish paste that is steamed in the shape of bamboo leaves (sasa)).

Hope you enjoyed our omiyage.