Spring Calls For Celebration

Spring is here! It is time for a little celebration at home.   My daughter loves these colorful sushi, clear clam soup with rice cakes inside, and five color sweet vinegar mix (lotus root, carrots,  fried tofu, konyaku, shiitake).    Rice cakes in soup are made of rice flour.   The pink colors in many of the dish symbolizes spring time, sakura and other flower blossoms.

Vegetables such as bamboo shoot, rape blossom, clam, lotus root, pickled sakura & leaves, are commonly used in cooking this season.

Meanwhile I like chirashi sushi, just simple - a set of my favorite raw fish on top of sushi rice*, with thin sliced fried eggs and nori (dried seaweed) and avocado for toppings.

The more time consuming one to make is a complete dinner course consisting:

Freshly cooked brown rice with a sprinkle of salt and grind sesame (black recommended, but i used white).

Vegetable miso soup (thin sliced burdocks, Japanese radish/daikon, carrots and tofu)

Mackerel cooked in miso paste and broth (mackerel has lots of bones but taste great)

Fresh raw octopus or boiled ones pickled with seaweed and cucumber.  (You can replace octopus with freshly boiled prawn or squid, or other fresh raw white fish.  I won't recommend tuna.)

Fried tofu and vegetables (string bean and pumpkins)

Dessert is a very spring like, an easy to make non-egg pudding with salted sakura as toppings.

The dessert is made mainly of flour and sugar, about 60 gram each.   First you melt the sugar in boiling water (150 ml) then add flour while continue to stir/mix well.   Pour the mixture into a container through a fine strainer so that you get a finer consistency.   Put container in the steamer and steam it for 15-20 minutes.    Cut into slices, decorate with salted sakura* and put them in the refridgerator first if you like to serve it cold.

*salted sakura is usually available at a Japanese shop/market during this season

*sushi rice is seasoned using vinegar, sugar, salt and a little of soy sauce - ref. Chirashi sushi recipe in January

Hanami Bento (Lunch Box)

Rice Balls With Green Soy Beans (Eda Mame Onigiri)

Prepare:

nori (dry seaweed)

already boiled and cleaned bamboo shoot - sliced thin

How to cook bamboo shoot:

Cook bamboo shoot in a broth (i like fish/chicken)  of 100ml for 200 gram of bamboo shoot, with 1 tbsp of sake, 1 tsp of mirin, 1 tsp of sugar, a little soy sauce and salt for seasoning

What you need to make rice for onigiri:

3 tablespoon of sake, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of salt for two cups of Japanese rice

Cook rice as you would do as usual using a rice cooker then put the ingredients above before cooking.

When the rice is cooked, open the rice cooker and stir the rice well so that the beans mix well with the rice.   Then begin to shape the onigiri (i like working by hands - wet your hands before touching the rice).  Wrap it up with nori and top with cooked bamboo shoot.

Grilled Spearfish (Marlin) With Sesame

I put 2 slices of cut Spearfish into 1 tablespoon of soysauce and 1/2 tsp of curry powder mixture and let it absorb the seasoning for 15 minutes.    Then I cover the fish in starch (about 1 tablespoon of starch for the 2), then sprinkle a lot of grind white sesame all over it.    Grill it at 200 degrees in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until it is cooked (Dont forget to flip half way to get an even color).   Alternatively you can fry them using salad oil.

Red Potatoes With Sesame

Deep fry red potatoes like you would do banana fritters.   Alternatively boiled red potatoes in sweet soy sauce (2 cups of water, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp of soysauce).    Then sprinkle with sesame after it is well cooked.

Boiled Rape Blossoms

Salt and water - boiled for only 2 minutes then put them into cold water to maintain freshly green color.

A New Brocolli ?

The other day I received a parcel from a friend, whose friend worked in the agriculture.   In the parcel was a strange looking vegetable, as big as an apple.  

This is a photo of a new type of broccoli - hm, to me it looks like a combination of broccoli and cauliflower ... i boiled it and had it for lunch.  It tastes sweet but has a texture somewhat different from broccoli nor cauliflower.

My friend said it is going to be the new type of broccoli currently being researched here as it is said to have a higher level of nutrients... etc.   Hm, i must keep a note on this one!

Rainbow Colors - Source of Vitamins

We already know that red, yellow and green pepper are good sources of vitamins, especially C.   Here is my favorite ways of presenting the rainbow colors of vitamins on the table.

Ingredients:

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 orange pepper

1 green pepper

Sauce:

3 tablespoon of soup (fish broth/chicken broth)

1 1/2tablespoon of soy sauce

1 teaspoon (1tsp = 5ml) of mirin

How to make:

1. Grill all colorful pepper until their skin turn dark all over.    

2. Put them into cold water so that it is easier for you to peel the skin

3. After peeling the skin, cut into smaller edible sizes and arrange them into a bowl

4. Prepare the sauce and pour it into the bowl (make sure the bowl can stand heat!)

5. Steam the bowl filled with colorful peppers with the sauce for 10 minutes.

Note:

If you get fresh and sweet ones, you need not add sugar, otherwise, you may like to add a little sugar for sweeter taste.   I hope this colorful side dish add a vibrant color to your menu!

Onions & Spareribs Soup

Another very easy recipe with a good source of collagen, protein and for better blood circulation.   Do you know that onions can improve your blood circulation?

Serve 2 (399 kcal/person, 1.6 gram of salt)

Ingredients:

2 Onions (300 gram)

Pork ribs 300 gram

2 tablespoon (1tbsp=15ml) of sake 

1 cup of water (160ml)

1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or more if preferred)

salt & pepper (a little)

How to make:

1. Prepare a pot of boiling water.   Boil spare ribs for 10 seconds in the boiling water and put it aside.

2. Put into another pot, sake and water accordingly, and bring it to boil.   Put into the soup pork ribs and cook at low fire for 30 minutes.   

3. Put the soy sauce, salt and pepper into the pot and boil again for another 10 minutes.

Serve hot with rice.

Hinamatsuri Sushi Cakes Recipe

My daughter is looking forward to having these sushi cakes on March 3rd, maybe you would like to try making some too! They are easy to make, look very attractive and taste good.

What you will need:

a cup of similar shape (see photo of sushi cakes - diameter 4 -5 cm is the best) 

freshly cooked rice (preferably Japanese rice)

rice vinegar, sugar and salt (for seasoning the rice)

raw tuna (make sure they are fresh)

raw salmon roe (make sure they 

are fresh)

scrambled eggs (2 egg yolk)

advocado - cut into slices accordingly (see photo) & mayonnaise

boiled shrimps 

a can of tuna

green seaweed for salad (alternatively boiled spinach) - both needs to be chopped finely

sakura paste/powder (alternatively beetroot)

How to make rice for sushi:

1. Rice for sushi needs seasoning

For example to season 2 cups of cooked rice, you need 1 tbsp of vinegar, 1 tbsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of salt.   Pour these seasoning while you stir the rice (while it is warm).   Continue stirring the rice with these seasoning until the rice is no longer steamy/hot.

2. Taste your rice and adjust according to preference, some children like it sweeter than others.

How to make layers of rice:

1. Put a layer of plastic wrap (one used for cooking) neatly into the cup before filling up the layers.   This will make it easier for you to get the cake out.

2. Press each layer with a spoon very firmly, so that the rice and other mixture will form a shape that you desired.   Remember that the shape of sushi cake will follow the cups you use.    Once three layers are made, flip the cup upside down and gently pat the top of cup so that the cake will drop nicely on a plate to serve.    

3. Remove the plastic wrap only after the sushi cake stays on the plate.

How to make the Yellow Pink Green Sushi Cake

1. First layer is green: Prepare mixture of rice with green seaweed/ boiled spinach to make the first layer, pour this mixture into the bottom of cup

2. Second layer is pink: You can get sakura paste/powder that you can mix it with rice.  OR you can use beetroot to color the rice.  Squeeze beetroot to get the juice and mix it with rice - adjust accordingly depending on color preference

3. Third layer is yellow: Mix the rice as you cook the scrambled eggs (2 egg yolk for 1/2 cups of cooked rice)

How to make the Avocado Shrimp Cake

1. Prepare mixture of rice with tuna (canned tuna) - ratio 3:1

2. Mix avocado with mayonnaise and put it in the middle layer

3. Decorate the top of sushi cake with slices of avocado and shrimp 

How to make the Pink Raw Tuna Cake

1. Prepare raw tuna by putting it into blender so you get a raw tuna in paste form

2. Prepare finely chopped seaweeds or finely chopped spinach (which was already boiled and water is drained properly)

3. See photo: mixture of green is to go in the middle of layers