bonbaiten

Monday was a National Holiday, Seijin-no-hi (Coming-of-age Day). It is when the 20 year olds are "initiated" into society. They can legally drink, which seems to pose problems and embarassment at the ceremonies. There are many girls who dress in furisode (long sleeved kimono) and the guys wear suits. I think it is losing its luster though, as I didn't see many out and about.

Since it was a beautiful day, Satoshi and I headed out to Shiga prefecture. On the way, we were able to see some snow flurries.

In Nagahama, they had an exhibition called Bonbaiten (potted plum exhibition). This is the 57th exhibition and it runs from January 10 until March 10. The admission was 500 yen.

Some potted plums were only 8 inches tall and some were 6 feet tall! There were many trees to view and some as old as 350 years! Some weren't blooming yet but they were still beautiful to see.

Lunch was in the Kurokabe area of Nagahama. We stopped into a machiya called Yokaro. Their specialty was saba (mackerel). I had the Bi-doro-bako (left photo) which was an assortment of seafoods like funa (carp), unagi (eel), kisu (sillago). Satoshi had the saba kaido (middle photo), this featured mackerel grilled then put on top of somen and on top of sushi. Everything was a bit too "fishy" for me, so Satoshi cleaned up what I couldn't finish.
We then were craving something sweet, but wanted to go somewhere closer to home, so I asked Satoshi if he would like to check out the place that I had had matcha fondue at. He was game, so we head to Kyoto. When we got to the place it was peak cafe time but the place was quite empty.

Satoshi had a babaloa (bavarian cream) with chestnut paste and bits of chestnut in it. I had the Saganoji, which was a light cheese cake with a sponge cake bottom, matcha mochi (green tea rice cake) layer in between and then was wrapped with a thin, soft mochi. I think it is supposed to resemble the cobblestones in Arashiyama, though it was light as a feather.

Hope your week is going well.

zenzai or shiruko

In Japan, many of the same things have different names in different parts of the country, especially food.

For example, in Kansai (Western Japan), zenzai is tsubushian (chunky sweet bean paste) mixed with water to make a soup-like treat and mochi (rice cake) is then added to it. In Kanto (Eastern Japan), this is called inaka shiruko (country sweet red bean soup).

In Kansai, shiruko is koshian (smooth sweet bean paste) mixed with water to make a soup-like treat and shiratama (rice flour dumplings) are added to it. In Kanto, this is called gozen shiruko (a high-class sweet red bean soup).

In Kansai, kameyama is mochi topped with tsubushian and there is no "soup" and is supposed to resemble a mountain in Kyoto. In Kanto, this is called zenzai.

What is all this leading up to? Well, today was REALLY cold, I think the weatherguy said that the highest it would be was 7C(44F). I was hoping for flurries, but no luck. So, anyway, for dinner, I wanted to make a dessert that would be warm...

At the market, I found these cute little mochi, so I also bought some tsubushian and some strawberries.

I followed the directions on the package of mochi and heated 3 of them up. After heating them, I cut each one in half.

Then I heated 100g of tsubushian with 50cc (about a 1/4 cup) of water until it was soupy.

I cut 3 strawberries into fourths.

Put 3 mochi into a bowl, add the "soup" and top with 6 pieces of strawberry...Kat's Kansai-style zenzai or a deconstructed ichigo daifuku...whatever you decide to call it...it is delicious!

NOTES: this makes 2 "cute" bowls or 1 serving.

omurice...omusoba

Omurice. This concoction can be found in many yoshokuya (Western style restaurants) here in Japan. It is a Japanglish word made by shortening the word "omlette" and putting it together with the word "rice".

Cooked rice is stir-fried with some veggies, chicken and ketchup--this is what the Japanese call "chicken rice". This is then wrapped in a thin omelette. And topped with more ketchup.

I made my "chicken rice" with no chicken, green peppers, onion, rice and a squirt of ketchup. Then made a thin omlette and draped it over the rice. (lazy way!)

I drizzled some tonkatsu (pork cutlet) sauce and some ketchup for a fast and easy lunch.

Another variation is called omusoba. This is yakisoba(fried noodles) enveloped in a thin omlette. I first tried omusoba at Marukai, a Japanese-American market in Hawaii. A lot of places in Japan, even Marukai, drizzle mayo on top, but I don't.

Both omusoba and omurice are delicious, easy and fast.

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.

yukke, yuk-hoe....don!

Lately, when we go to the kaitensushi (conveyor belt sushi), I've been hooked on wa-fu yukke sushi (Japanese style yukke sushi). Sushi rice topped with chopped up fish and a spicy, shoyu sauce, wrapped with a piece of nori (laver).

I've never tried Korean yukke, which I found out is actually spelt yuk-hoe, it is their version of steak tartare which uses raw eggs on top.

The sushi I've been hooked on doesn't use raw eggs, which is probably why I will eat it, plus the spicy sauce is quite addicting.

Wanting to re-create this sushi in the kitchen, I googled around and came upon a recipe for the yuk-hoe sauce. I bought some sashimi and chopped it up, sliced some chisha (bitter korean lettuce), put it over rice, drizzled the sauce, sprinkled some green onion and sesame seeds. I also sprinkled some thinly cut nori (laver)....here's my yuk-hoe donburi or yuk-hoe don.

Here is the recipe for the sauce, use your favorite raw fish.
Adapted from the internet
50cc mirin (sweet rice wine)
50cc shoyu (soy sauce)
50cc sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon kochujang (korean spicy miso paste)
1/2 teaspoon kim chee starter

Measure and mix everything well. Drizzle over your bowl of fish or even a salad!

NOTES: Loved this sauce, it is very close to the one I've had at the sushi places, though I think it could be a bit more spicy...next time I think I'll try it over vinegared sushi rice and maybe let the fish soak in the sauce for awhile.

machiya

As I mentioned in my last post, Tamakikat and I walked around the Shijo area and took in a walking tour of some machiya(townhouses). These houses are long in shape and the building in the front usually housed a shop of some kind. The white slats above the roof just above the door are called mushikomado and were a type of window.

At the entrance, you would sometimes find this guy...Shouki-san. He is the guy to ward off evil spirits from coming into the house.

Here is a close-up. These good luck charms were usually made of the same tile material that the roof tiles were made.

Also in front of most of these machiya, you will see a red bucket filled with water. These buckets are mandatory, most machiya are in quite cramped areas, so fire trucks can't access them easily.

To get to the main house usually you needed to pass through a long "hallway" of sorts.

This is the reverse angle, there were rooms above the "hallway".

This is what we saw at the end of the "hallway" to this machiya...a couple of houses.

Most homes have a toriniwa or a garden area which you could pass through, you can see the sky from the garden.

The rooms are separated by fusuma, a sliding door that can be opened for entertaining or just to let the breeze go through during the summer.

We were able to walk through this kitchen. Notice the kamado, a wood burning stove which is used to cook on. The kama, iron pots with wooden lids on top were probably used to cook rice or other dishes.

And the big tile basin. To the very right was an old water well.











This machiya was the first one to put spikes up on top to prevent burglars from climbing up over their wall. The black fence on the bottom is called inuyarai and is supposed to keep people and dogs away from the walls.

Some machiya used their "hallways" for sitting areas, maybe to talk with customers who visited their shop or guests that you didn't want to invite inside your home.

We thought this one had a very fancy window covering.

These lanterns on top used to be run by gas but are now run by electricity. Not only did they light up the streets at night, but also were used as store signs.

Here is a close-up of the lantern.

Walking around these machiya was like stepping into another era. It also brought back memories of the movie "Sayuri" or "Memoirs of a Geisha".

There were many retro things like this milk box.

And this newspaper holder.

It was fun exploring these machiya, plus they are free! no admissions.

Thanks Tamakikat for a wonderful day!

foodie tuesday in kyoto

Yesterday, I met my blogging friend, Tamakikat for walking, talking and noshing around her stomping ground, Kyoto.

We met in the morning and the weather was beautiful! As we walked through Yasaka Shrine, we saw a procession of people. It turned out that these people were from the Toei Movie Land in Kyoto and were going around to different establishments to give their New Year greetings.

At our last meeting, Tamakikat had mentioned about having matcha fondue, so I had her take me for some at the place she tried it at, Jouvencelle.

A two layered ceramic box comes filled with different types of seasonal fruit and Japanese confections.

The matcha fondue is warm and they also add warm milk to it at the end for you to drink (though we didn't drink it because we were stuffed!)

I thought they mixed white chocolate with matcha to make the fondue, though Tamakikat thought they had a matcha chocolate which they melted, either way it was delicious.

As we were walking about, we came upon this cafe. I don't think the owners realize what they named their cafe...or maybe they do.

Anyway, tomorrow, I'll post more about our adventure...roaming the machiya(town houses)...stay tuned.

Jouvencelle
South of the Yasaka Shrine Torii (gate)
Higashiyama, Kyoto
Phone: 075.551.1511
Open 10:30-18:00