rainbow red

Came across an interesting variety of kiwi called Rainbow Red.

This variety is grown in the Yame area of Fukuoka (Kyushu).

Most of the kiwi I've seen in Japan are imported from New Zealand, so I was interested in trying something "locally" grown.

Love the packaging!

It kind of reminded us of eating citrus more than kiwi.

Love the color!

Glad we tried this and will keep my eye for more.

 

daigaku imo

Last month, I told you I had bought a junk yakiimo (roasted sweet potato).

Well, I realized that it might be the market that I had bought it from not the sweet potato, I think they are not cooking the sweet potato long enough....because the one I had bought yesterday from that market was again...junk.

So, to try to save it, I wrapped it in foil and stuck it in the fish grill (broiler) for about 40 minutes.

Today, I used half of the re-roasted sweet potato to make daigaku imo.

About this time of year you can find daigaku imo in the premade food area of the markets and see them at festivals.

Daigaku imo literally means "college/university potato".

One story of how this got its name is a college student who couldn't pay his tuition made this to raise money.

Another story is that a sweet shop near a university, made this and it was a hit with the students.

Sweet potato is deep fried then coated with a "caramel" coating.

When I tried daigaku imo in the past, the sweet potato itself was super dry and the caramel was so sticky that everything stuck to my teeth...meh

To make this, instead of deep frying the sweet potato, I "fried" them on a special foil that gives foods a nice sear.

This foil is coated with silicon, so you can turn any pan into a non-stick and cook foods without adding oil.

I noticed this foil leaves a residue on non-stick pans, so I do not use this foil with non-stick pans....

After "pan frying" the roasted sweet potato, I coated the sweet potato with the "caramel".

Adapted from the internet:

350 grams roasted sweet potato, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon oil * only if you do not have access to this special foil

Caramel sauce:

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

1 tablespoon shoyu (soy sauce)

1 teaspoon vinegar (to prevent the sauce from crystalizing)

pinch of salt

black sesame seeds

Prepare the sauce ingredients except the sesame seeds and mix well.

“Fry” the sweet potato in a pan on medium, then add the sauce ingredients to the pan and coat the sweet potato well.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook in the caramel until everything is nicely coated and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

NOTES: Using roasted sweet potato was good because the sweet potato was moist, not dry.

The caramel was a little sticky but didn’t stick to my teeth.

Once the sauce goes into the pan, everything goes quickly, so don't walk away!

Don't cook this too long or your caramel will burn, 

It was my first time making this and I'm glad I tried, and would do this again.

It was easy, tasty and a nice way to save a junk yakiimo.

Have a safe weekend.

it's the little things

Remember last month I found JIF?!

Well, on a recent trip to Takeya, I found a bigger jar!

The price was a little higher, like a dollar more, than the smaller bottle but at least I now know that "normal" sized jars exist here.

How is your week going?
 

prunes

Our first time trying fresh prunes.

Somehow I grew up thinking dried prunes came from plums...

These prunes were grown in Nagano Prefecture.

The outer flesh was soft and a little bitter.

The inside was sweet.

I'm glad we got to try these and will keep my eye out for more.
 

vote

I sent my ballot out on October 1st.

The other day I checked online to see if my ballot made it to Hawaii.

It did...whoo!

Hope you will exercise your right to vote too.

green burger

Earlier this year, MOS burger came out with a plant based burger called Green Burger which is supposed to replicate their signature MOS Burger.

I got around to trying it recently.

(photo of the MOS Burger)

The Green Burger's patty is made from soy, konnyaku (jellied devil's tongue) and cabbage.

To be honest, the patty was kind of rubbery, but at least it wasn't dry.

One thing MOS did was omit the five pungent veggies that Buddhism avoids...this is called "gokun" (literally 5 pungent roots).

The basic list is onions, rakkyo (ramps), chives, green onion and garlic. 

(Some also add coriander and mustard cabbage to the list of pungent veggies to avoid.)

The Green Burger has a little more carbohydrates, no cholesterol, less fat, a little more fiber and a little less salt than the MOS Burger.

The bun is green because they mix some spinach puree in it.

I'm glad I tried it, I think it is a nice alternative and would buy this again.

 

baked manapua

Yesterday the temperature dropped to 14C (57F) and it has been raining.

There is a typhoon approaching (Chan Hom or #14) and should pass by over the weekend. 

Apparently, cooler ocean temps would help to break up the typhoon, but with global warming, the typhoon does not dissipate and also moves slower because of the warm ocean temps.

So..the typhoons these days do lots of damage because it takes such a long time to pass...

Anyway, since I stayed indoors, I decided to try making baked manapua.

I used part of the char siu that I made last month. 

And I used the recipe for the dough that I made beignets and pizza with during this pandemic.

I love this dough recipe because it comes together pretty easily.

I should have used a little more char siu and some green onion though, so that these manapua would be filled to the gills.

They are snack sized but I like the flavor and texture.

The next thing I want to try making with this dough is cinnamon rolls...

Hopefully I can try this before the weather gets too cool.

Have a safe weekend everyone.