godaikan

I love ume (pickled apricot). Until I moved to Japan, I only thought there was one kind of pickled apricot...scrunch up your face sour ones. But, there are actually sweet ones too--these are soaked in honey.

On Friday, we stayed at a B & B like hotel called Godaikan, which was featured on a local program a few years ago. (Godai means 5th generation, kan means building. This pickled apricot producer has been in business since 1834.)

I was interested in staying here because they have a furo (bath) in which you bathe inside of a large taru (barrel) which was once used to pickle apricots. And soaking in the water, they also have ume (pickled apricots) floating in a lingerie net. After the apricots soak awhile in the bath water, they start to fall off the stone and you are bathing in the pickled apricots.

In February, a famous Japanese actress gave their apricots away in her hikidemono (gift for attending the wedding reception), so her photo is displayed at the front desk, and is probably why this place was hard to get a reservation at.

When you first enter your room, most ryokan (Japanese inn) or hotels have a little treat, this is so that you can taste it and hopefully buy some from their gift shop too. This B & B served their ume (pickled apricot) and some ume candy. Both were delicious.

The dinner they served uses a lot of pickled apricots too. I won't go into a lot of detail, mainly because there was so much food and I don't remember all of it. I do remember that they used lots of local foods like Kumano beef, their pickled apricot, lots of seafood and local veggies.

We got to try the local beer called Nagisa beer. It was a dark pale ale. It was kind of fruity but very chilled, after a long trip and a long soak in the tub, it was delicious.

One thing you should know if you go as a couple to eat at a Japanese restaurant or eat at a ryokan (Japanese inn)/hotel in Japan. The woman's side of the table will always have the pot of rice and the tea pot. This is so you can "serve your man". I think if two women go, the rice and tea pot will be between them.

Anyway, I think this B & B is run by a couple. The guy that cooked our delicious dinner was also the front desk staff and his wife, took out our futon (Japanese bedding) as well as served our dinner.

And if you thought dinner was huge, breakfast was just as filling and delicious too.

We've stayed at B & B's in Hokkaido, but this one was a nice change of pace.

Godaikan
2500-99 Katada
Shirahama-cho, Nishimuro-gun
Phone: 0739.43.2296

shirahama

From Osaka it was about two and a half hours to Wakayama prefecture. The area we went to on Friday was called Shirahama, which means white beaches, it is popular during the summer for its white beaches and also for its hot springs.

As you approach Shirahama, you will pass through an area called Arida. This area is known for mikan (mandarin oranges).

I was excited to see terraced hillsides with endless rows of mikan trees just loaded and ready for harvest, as well as on the ground. It seemed like every piece of land had a mikan tree on it.

We arrived at Shirahama and the weather was quite windy and overcast, not very good for sightseeing, but since it was my first time here, so we hopped on a sightseeing bus and took their tour. I was disappointed to find out that most of this white sand is imported from New Zealand or Australia.

Our first stop was to a large plateau called Senjojiki. This plateau faces the Pacific Ocean and is said to look like several thousand tatami (straw) mats joined together.

Next was the Sandanbeki. A 50 meters high (165 feet), 2 kilometer (1.24 miles) stretch of rock. This cliff was created by erosion and is supposed to resemble a folding Japanese screen. There is an elevator to take you almost to the bottom of the cliff, but it was pricey and not included in our tour package.

Our next stop was a Glass bottom boat ride. On a windy day like it was, the sea was very choppy....Talk about....Blah! I really think they should have included the elevator ride at Sandanbeki in the tour package and thrown this part of the tour out!

Engetsu-to was named because it resembles a full moon. Many tour pamphlets show this islet with the sun setting within the round opening. Too bad the weather was so bad, it would have been an awesome sight. Still, I was amazed at how precise the ocean eroded this round circle in the middle of the islet.

Our last stop was Toretore Ichiba. This place is as big as Costco and filled with SEAFOOD! We were both feeling quite woozy from the boat ride but after seeing all this seafood, we were back to normal in no time.

They had kujira (whale) on special. Satoshi said that they serve whale for lunch at school, I think I would probably skip lunch that day. I've tasted it when I was studying in Japan and it is very fatty and oily...I know it is supposed to be a delicacy but ugh! no thank you.

Another delicacy in this area is maguro (tuna). There was tons of the stuff and really cheap too!

Besides mikan, Wakayama is also known for their ume (pickled plums). In an area called Minabe, you can see rows upon row of plum trees. At this market, you could buy a cup of pickled plum wine for just 400 yen...I wonder how big the cup was?

Stay tuned for more sights and eats...

see you soon!

We're off to Wakayama...be back in a couple of days.

white bean and carrot soup

The other day, the weather man said it was supposed to rain all day. Luckily, he was wrong and it stopped and was just cloudy all day. I took the train a couple of stops up to Minoo, just to walk around.At the train station, they had their annual poster which shows the progress of the fall foliage at different parks around Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto.

There are four boxes at the bottom of each destination. The green leaf means that they haven't started to change colors, the yellow leaf means that it has started. The next box is for the red leaf which means it is peak foliage viewing and the last box is for the brown leaf which means that the leaves are starting to brown and fall off the trees. They also post the fares from that station to the destinations, the left fare is for adults and the right fare are for children. I think it will be a couple more weeks before we'll be able to see some changing colors.

Dinner was a white bean and carrot soup from this book. I've been enjoying many recipes from this book. Most of the recipes are quite easy. It was a hearty and nice way to warm up.

White bean and carrot soup adapted from "Little Book of Soup": Serves 4
15 oz (425g) canned white bean, drained and rinsed
400g canned whole tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
2 small carrots sliced thinly
1 consomme cube
300ml (about 1.5 cups) water
3 tablespoons olive oil
sprigs of parsley
salt and pepper to taste
boule bread (a country style bread), sourdough or rye bread

Put the onion and carrots into a pot, use 2 tablespoons of the oil and saute for 3 minutes.
Add the water and consomme cube.
Add the tomatoes and beans, simmer for 20 minutes.
Using a food processor, whiz half of the soup.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Put a slice of bread into the bottom of the bowl. Drizzle part of the remaining oil onto the bread, sprinkle some salt and pour the hot soup on top.
Enjoy!

NOTES: this soup called for the beans to be soaked for several hours, but I took a short cut with the canned. Also it called for couple of cloves of garlic, but since it is a weekday and Satoshi's is self-conscious about garlic breath at work, I didn't add any in. Instead I added the onion, though I think if I did add the garlic, it would added another layer of flavor to this soup. I think the next time I eat this, I'm going to cut the toasted bread into cubes and throw it on top instead of having it at the bottom of the bowl, I didn't like the mushy bread texture.

If you missed the other recipes that I've tried from this book, here they are:
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Roast Pumpkin Soup, Onion and Garlic Soup
Chestnut and Chorizo Soup
Get ready...It's soup season!

buta no kakuni

Awhile back I made rafute, the Okinawan version of braised pork belly, what the Japanese call buta no kakuni. For last night's dinner I made the Japanese version. This dish takes some time to prepare, but at least it isn't humid and you don't have to stand near the stove the whole time while it is cooking.

I thought this recipe that I found on the internet was interesting because it said it was purely Japanese but uses cinnamon.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it: Serves 4
translated from doron.allabout.co.jp

500g pork belly (about a pound)
1 leek (only the green part)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
5 tablespoons kurosu (dark vinegar)
4 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
700cc water (about 3.5 cups)
6.5 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 star anise
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
neri karashi (Japanese mustard)

1. Cut the pork into 1.5 inch wide pieces making sure to have some fat on top of each piece.
2. In a pot, put the water, ginger, vinegar, leek and sake. Add the pork and heat on medium heat for 20-30 minutes scraping off the scum that forms on the top.
3. Take out the leek and add the shoyu, sugar, star anise and cinnamon stick. Simmer for an hour or until the liquid evaporates to half.
4. Add the honey and turn heat to high, let caramelize.
5. Take out star anise and cinnamon stick. Serve with neri karashi and some steamed green veggies, like spinach and lots of rice (be sure to put some of the gravy onto your rice too).

NOTES: After adding the shoyu and other ingredients, I simmered the pork for about an hour and a half. This was really tender and delicious. Satoshi liked it also.

Monday morning when I opened the curtains this is what I saw. Doesn't it look like a whirlpool?

yudofu

I made this dish awhile ago, but I thought I would post about it today since it is raining and the temperature has started to drop here.

This dish is another great way to use ponzu. It is called yudofu, which translates to tofu (soy bean curd) boiled in a pot of hot water. Doesn't sound too appetizing, yeah? But, it is actually a nice, light way to warm up on these cold nights.

I don't have the donabe (ceramic pots) that you will usually see this dish cooked in in restaurants.

First make your stock. In a shallow pot, put 500 cc (about 2.5 cups) of water and a 2 inch piece of dashi konbu (kelp that you use to make stock), bring to a boil. If you are serving more than 2 people, increase the water and konbu.

While the broth starts to warm up, get your veggies and tofu ready. I used shiitake, carrots, hakusai (chinese cabbage) and a semi-firm tofu. You could also add leeks, I didn't have any.

To cut the star/cross on top of the shiitake, take your knife and cut the top at an angle from right to left, not cutting all the way through. Take your knife again and cut at an angle from left to right. Repeat until you get the design you desire, just don't cut through the mushroom. Throw the bits from the cut-out design into your broth.

Cut your carrots and hakusai to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness, this will help for them to cook quickly. Cut your tofu into cubes. If you use leeks, cut them at an angle to about 3 or 4 inch pieces.

When the broth starts to boil, turn heat to simmer and put in the veggies that will take the longest to cook--carrots and hakusai (and leeks). When those veggies get soft, add the tofu and shiitake.

Take out and splash some ponzu on and add a little more stock to your bowl.

Enjoy!

Hope you are keeping warm where you are.

foodie kind of weekend

On Saturday, we got together with my host family, their children and their children's children. I've written about my host-mom and a little about my host family here. With everyone's busy schedules, we were finally able to get together. Boy was it loud! 4 kids running around, mostly laughing and sometimes crying. My host-mom, who loves to cook, cooked up a storm! We had lots of good food and though it was hard for the adults to sit and chat because of all the running around, we still had a nice time.

Here's a little peek at the goodies we received from my host-brother, host-sister & host-mom.

From my host-brother--A moist cake called kuromame king made by Morinaka. Inside is a whole chestnut and the top are plump sweetened black beans. The cake is similar to a moist pound cake. This cake won the Monde selection for 2007. Monde selection is a Belgian award given to foods and beverages with International quality around the world. The Japanese really line up for stuff like this.

From my host-sister--Assorted cookies from Alsace. These cookies were very crisp and delicious.

From my host-mom--an assortment of sweets from Konigs Krone. These cakes were very moist and not too sweet.

Sunday was spent watching a recently released movie and just hanging out. I also picked some of our strawberries they are a little bit bigger than the first time and still very sweet.

For part of our dinner, I roasted 2 cloves of garlic then whizzed them in the food processor, added about 200g of cream cheese, some parsley and pepper. It tasted really good on Ritz crackers and toasted French bread.

This cup was so cute, it was the utensil and napkin holder at a little cafe we had breakfast at before the movie. When you turned it around it had "Bon Jour, cava?" written on it which I think meant "Good day, how are you?"

Hope you have a nice week.