no plan

So...Tokyo's numbers have been increasing 100 everyday...we had 463 today.

The main branch of government has not stepped up, they are on summer break...WT.

The photo is of the chairmen of the Tokyo Doctor's Association...he is "asking" the main branch of government to reopen and meet to negotiate a "plan" so that we can stop the increase in cases.

It makes me sad that he cannot demand, only ask.

It makes me frustrated that the Japanese are not more verbal.

I don't think I've watched government's actions this closely, ever...

Am pretty sure the asymptomatic people are the key to get the number down, which means we need more testing.

I cringe every time I see people chatting on the street without masks.

It is the end of July....hope the next month will bring better things to talk about.

Have a safe weekend.

ume syrup kakuni

Last night I made kakuni (shoyu pork) using ume syrup in place of mirin.

It was pretty easy to do.

Adapted from Cookpad

500 grams pork belly block

2 slices ginger

50 cc (1/4 cup) ume syrup

2 tablespoons shoyu

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon sake

Cut pork into sizes of your liking, I cut my block into 12 pieces.

Put the pork into a pot of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes, drain.

In a pan without putting any oil, brown the pork to get color on it.

Put the pork back into a pot, with water to cover, bring to a boil then down to a simmer.

Cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add the ume syrup, shoyu, brown sugar and sake and cook for 1 hour with an oshibuta (drop lid) on top.

NOTES: I should have boiled the meat for the 10 minutes to get rid of some of the fat.

I also should have made it a day ahead so I could scrape off most of the oil too.

I didn't get a good sear on the pork before simmering it, so I seared it after I cooked the pork.

This was melt in your mouth tender, would definitely make this again.

UPDATE: Japan had 1000 cases yesterday.  Iwate prefecture was the only prefecture that had no cases since the beginning of this pandemic until yesterday! Iwate now has 2 cases....boo!

Tokyo has had 200+ cases everyday for the past week.  We need more testing. 

Hoping the main branch of government will step up, though it doesn't look like they will because they are not in session at the moment...cowards!

Stay safe everyone. Keep positive.

tsuiseki yubin

In the early part of July, I received my absentee ballot.

Since the mail is still wonky between the US and Japan, I sent it back to Hawaii with my vote the next day as I figured it would take some time to get to Hawaii, if it even made to Hawaii.

Well, it made it (quickly) to California...and then all communication stopped...gah!

A neat thing is the receipt I received after sending it tsuiseki yubin which is literally "tracking post/mail".

They scan the to and from areas on the envelope and it is printed on the receipt.

This way of sending mail is a little more expensive, but at least I can keep an eye on it through the tracking system of the US Post website.

Hopefully it is not in California and is on its way to Hawaii...

myogazushi (revised)

Made myogazushi over the weekend.

I started by making myoga amasuzuke...

There was a cooking program that made this and I used the recipe to make some pickled myoga.

Here is the recipe if you want to make your own pickled myoga.

Myoga Amasuzuke : from Kyonoryori

9 pieces myoga (about 150 grams)

1/2 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon mirin

1 teaspoon salt + couple of pinches

After washing the myoga, split it in half lengthwise.

Make a slit at the stem to allow it to soak up the pickling liquid

Add a couple of pinches of salt and massage lightly, set aside for about 15 minutes.

Heat the vinegar, sugar, water, mirin and salt until the sugar and salt have melted

Cool.

After the 15 minutes, bring a pot of water to boil and add the salted myoga and blanch for 30 seconds.

Drain.

Add the warm myoga to the pickling liquid.

Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

On Sunday, I made the myogazushi without going through all the steps of the recipe that I used before.

For 1 cup of cooked rice, I put 2 tablespoons of the myoga pickling liquid over the hot rice and mixed with a shamoji (rice paddle).

I added a handful of shelled edamame.

1/2 teaspoon of ground sesame seeds

1 tablespoon of pickled ginger, diced

3 myoga amasuzuke, minced

NOTES: Quick and easy.

Love the pink color that the myoga turns when it is pickled.

Will definitely make more myoga amasuzuke and myogazushi as well.

copy cat trader joes

The other day my Instagram friend, @cre808 posted a picture of some snacks she received from her friend.

One that popped out at me was Trader Joes (TJs) Everything but the Bagel Nut Duo.

Of course we don't have TJs here in Japan, so I looked online to see if they had a list of the ingredients.

They did, so I adapted Ellie Krieger's Spiced Nut recipe and made a small batch for our pupus (appetizers).

If you want to try making your own, here is what I used....

1 cup mixed nuts & pumpkin seeds 

1/2 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon everything but the bagel spice

Mix everything well.

Put on parchment and bake in 170F (325 C) for 15 to 20 minutes (I baked mine for 15).

Cool and keep in airtight container.

NOTES: this was delicious.

A little sweet, salty, garlicky...am definitely making this again!

p.s. have a good week, heard that there is a hurricane approaching Hawaii, please be safe and take care everyone!

sports day

Today is Sports Day and would have been the start of the 2020 Summer Olympics. 

At the rate Japan is going, I don't know that we will be able to hold the Olympics next summer....

Hope everyone is doing well, have a nice and safe weekend.

umi no hi

Today is Umi no Hi (Ocean Day)...

The holiday was actually supposed to be observed on Monday, but since we were supposed to have the Olympics, they moved the holiday to today so that many people could participate in the events, volunteer, etc.

Well, with the way things have been going, all the other prefectures are allowed to travel and we are staying put so I am sharing a couple of photos from the past....

The Okhotsk Sea...taken from the beach near Shiretoko Iwaobetsu Youth Hostel (pre blog) at sunset.

And the Pacific Ocean from the Palau Pacific Resort at sunset.

Hoping we will all be able to travel safely & soon,