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Book Review: Kawaii Bento Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Thu, 15 May 2014 01:39:00 +0000

There aren’t many bento cookbooks written in English, so of course I’m curious when a new one comes out. I’m a big fan of Japanese-language cookbooks for their glanceable step-by-step photos and intuitive graphic presentation of complex material. Kawaii Bento Boxes: Cute and Convenient Japanese Meals on the Go, newly published by Japan Publications Trading’s Boutique-Sha, really captures the essence of fun, kids-oriented Japanese bento cookbooks.

As I was leafing through it, though, something started to seem oddly familiar. A quick browse through my kitchen bookshelf revealed why I was experiencing deja vu: it’s a straight translation of the same publisher’s Japanese-language cookbook Ichinenju Yakudatsu Tsuen Obento: Daisukina Kondate ga Ippai: (“Children’s Bentos that are Helpful Year-round: Lots of Favorite Menus”), with identical photos, layout, and text.

Now, there are both good and bad aspects to a straight translation of a bento cookbook written for the Japanese market. It’s extremely well suited for bento enthusiasts or Japanophiles already familiar with Japanese food, but may miss the mark for others…

Like Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook (see my full review here), Kawaii Bento Boxes is aimed at parents of young children who want to add playfulness to packed lunches, with simple recipes for very Japanese bentos that can be prepared in 20 minutes or less. You can browse the inside of the book at Amazon, and view the full table of contents and sample pages. The US$18.95 book (currently $12.89 on Amazon) is 82 pages long and in soft-cover magazine-book (“mook”) format.

1. The Book Structure

Kawaii Bento Boxes opens with some brief but solid introductory material about bento basics, including an overview of bento gear and how to pack a bento (browsable in full on Amazon).

Most of the book consists of photos of cute sample lunches with short recipes and a time estimate of how long it will take to prepare the bento (usually 15-20 minutes, assuming you’ve got staples like cooked rice already made, fresh or frozen). Every other page has an abbreviated step-by-step tutorial with photos, like the section on how to make rolled pancakes below (very helpful). These lunches are further divided into types, such as rice, sushi, bread, pasta, warm-weather, cold-weather, favorites, and picnic bentos. Here’s the pancake page:

Throughout the book are a number of sections showing variations on a theme, that may inspire readers to think outside the box with their own creations. Here’s a page with differently decorated onigiri rice balls (see below) and a sample lunch.

Here’s the same page in the Japanese original, so you can see they’re identical.

And a few pages of food art accents made with eggs, sausages, fruits and vegetables.

Note the classic apple rabbits! (See my apple rabbit tutorial for detailed directions.)

At the end of the book is a visual, color-coded index of additional recipes, organized by the main color of the dish: brown/black, white, yellow, red, or green. This makes sense when you think of the five-color rule of thumb for bento composition. You know how a colorful meal is a healthy meal? Including a variety of different colored foods in a bento helps ensure a balance of nutrients, so it’s handy to have a glanceable index of recipes sorted by color. Staring into the fridge and can’t think of, say, a red/orange dish? Leaf through some cookbooks organized like this and you might get some quick ideas.

2. The Nitty Gritty

My main hesitation about recommending this book for everyone is the food itself and the lack of background information for those unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Japanese food. It includes unusual ingredients that may not appeal to the average American child, like gobo (burdock root), natto (fermented soy beans), ume (sour plum), and eel.

To get some perspective, I showed this book to a couple of mom friends (American and English) who pack lunches for their kindergarten-aged children. Their take was that they might use it for inspiration and general ideas for ways to pack bentos and what to include, but that it looks time-consuming so they’d probably apply their own food. The dishes seemed unusual to them and geared toward a Japanese audience (yakisoba sandwich, anyone?), and they didn’t always understand what some of the bento accessories like sauce containers were, mistaking them for actual food. Japanese readers wouldn’t necessarily need an explanation, but non-Japanese would definitely benefit from more background information or the inclusion of slightly different dishes that are more common here.

Overall, Kawaii Bento Boxes is quite professionally done, but with some omissions that may make it a little confusing to a Western audience looking to quickly prepare recipes with ingredients already in the kitchen. Look at it as inspiration, though, and you’ll come away with a lot of fresh new ideas for lunches you’d like to prepare using foods your family already enjoys.

If you’re already familiar with bento lunches and Japanese food, however, I think you’ll really enjoy this little gem. The Japanese version has been one of my favorites for a while now, so I’m pleased that it’s now accessible to English-readers.

FURTHER READING:

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Poll: How long does your schoolkid have for lunch?

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Wed, 14 May 2014 22:27:00 +0000

One issue we’ve run into since my son started kindergarten is the shorter time available for him to eat his lunch.

At preschool the children sat three to a table, and the teachers circulated, encouraging everyone to finish their entire meals during the leisurely lunch period. But now at kindergarten the children sit at one long table together, which has got to be more fun but distracting. Couple that with a shorter time to eat, and more bentos are coming back unfinished. (At least they have recess first, and then eat! If it were reversed I think a lot more would go uneaten.)

I look at this as even more reason to pack a bento lunch, so Bug isn’t wasting time waiting in line for cafeteria food and can just dig right in in the short time available. I’ve also been steering away from packing food that I know takes Bug longer to eat, like soup. I can only imagine the challenges for parents of picky eaters!

What about you? How long do your schoolkids have to eat lunch? (If you have multiple kids, go ahead and take the poll multiple times, answering once for each child.) What kind of issues have you had with the time allotted for school lunch, and how have you adjusted your lunch-packing accordingly? Let us know in comments!

How long is your child's lunch period at school?

26-30 minutes (27%, 215 Votes) 16-20 minutes (22%, 178 Votes) 21-25 minutes (16%, 126 Votes) 15 minutes or less (10%, 83 Votes) 41-45 minutes (6%, 52 Votes) 46 minutes or longer (6%, 49 Votes) 31-35 minutes (6%, 46 Votes) 36-40 minutes (5%, 37 Votes) no set time limit (2%, 19 Votes)

Total Voters: 805

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Poll voting closes at midnight Pacific on April 2, 2010. Bento-themed merchandise like the “got bento?” wall clock are available at the Lunch in a Box store on CafePress.

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Poll: How many American bento-makers are men?

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Wed, 14 May 2014 18:18:00 +0000

A Japanese radio station asked me to do an on-air interview about bento lunches in the United States, and they seem to think that there’s a growing trend of American men who pack bentos. This may be because of a recent trend in Japan of “bento danshi“, or men making bentos for themselves or their families, often as a way to cut food bills in rough economic times. (See the recent Guardian article and video on the subject, or a Japanese TV clip about bento men.)

Although I know of a few men who make bento lunches (Mr. T on the Lunch in a Box forum, A Man’s Bento blog), my impression has been that the vast majority of U.S. bento-makers are women. If you’re a bento-packer in the U.S., weigh in via the poll so we can either prove or debunk this theory!

Do you know of other men who pack bentos in the U.S.? Bento blogs or Flickr streams by men? Are you a man who packs bento lunches? Feel free to weigh in or share links in comments. The radio interview is slated to air in Tokyo late this week, and I’ll provide a link to the podcast afterwards. UPDATE: The bento segment aired on J-Wave Friday morning Japan time, with a Japanese write-up in the Global Frontline section of the station’s blog.

If you're a bento-maker in the U.S., are you male or female?

Female (82%, 874 Votes) Male (18%, 196 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,070

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Poll voting closes at midnight Pacific on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.

FURTHER READING:

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Spicy Wok-Fried Chicken with Chilis (Chongqing Chicken)

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Wed, 14 May 2014 15:17:00 +0000

I had been meaning to update this recipe for a while. Whenever I teach Intro to Sichuan cooking classes, we focus on simple and easy-to-love stir-fry dishes such as Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu, and Dan Dan Noodles. But anyone who has spent enough time in good Sichuan restaurants is bound to eventually try a dish listed as Chongqing chicken, Sichuan chicken with chilis, wok-fried chicken, or a number of similar names. (Lazi jiding is the name in Mandarin.) And inevitably in every class, when I go around the room during the intro ice-breaker and have students list their favorite Sichuan dish of all time, at least one or two will mention this dish.

When a student in a private class I recently taught requested we work on this dish, it reminded me of how long it has been since I made it at home. And so I decided to update this, making it extra crunchy with the method I developed for dishes like General Tso's Chicken and Chinese Lemon Chicken in my cookbook.

Lazi jiding (????) is like a more sophisticated version of kung pao chicken. It's smokier, spicier (a lot spicier if you chop up the chilis), and only a bit more complex in its preparation. (The way I make it is more like shallow-frying. I use about 3 cups of oil, and dredge the chicken in a cornstarch-salt-pepper mixture beforehand.) Few fried chicken entrees are enveloped by such a succulent tongue-tingling sauce.

Give this one a try, especially if you've already tried your hand at some of the more basic Sichuan dishes and want to up the ante!

________________________________________________________

Serves 4

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes1 1/2 cups cornstarch2 teaspoons salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper3 cups peanut or vegetable oil, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying8 to 10 dried red chilis1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn3 garlic cloves, minced1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced1 small piece ginger, minced

Marinade:

2 tablespoons soy sauce2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry2 egg whites

Sauce:

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce1 tablespoon soy sauce1 tablespoon chicken stock or water1 teaspoon cornstarchPrepare the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites. Coat the chicken with the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes. Mix together the ingredients for the sauce: chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, chicken stock or water, and cornstarch. Set aside.In a large bowl or plate, mix together the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken in cornstarch mixture and shake off the excess cornstarch. Heat the 3 cups of peanut or vegetable oil in your wok until it registers 350°F on an instant-read oil thermometer. Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the first batch of chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Wipe the wok with a paper towel to remove any brown bits, but don’t wash.Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the dried chilis to the wok and and stir-fry until just they start to blister, about 30 to 60 seconds. Add the leeks, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in sauce mixture and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the fried chicken, toss to combine, and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

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Khanom Sen Paa Net/ขนมเส้นป้าเนตร (เก๋ากึ๊ก)

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Wed, 14 May 2014 10:17:00 +0000

Most Thais are familiar with khanom jeen nam ngiaw (???????????????), the northern Thai staple of a pork- and tomato-based broth served over thin, fresh rice noodles. Yet few are aware of the variations the dish can take across the region. In Chiang Mai, nam ngiaw is often rich and oily, and is supplemented with the dried flowers of the cotton tree; in Chiang Rai the dish is hearty and meaty, and there’s even a variant made with beef; and in Mae Hong Son, khao sen, as it’s known there, tends to be thin and tart with very little meat.

Even Phrae, a relatively obscure province in northern Thailand, has its own version. On the surface, khanom sen nam muu (?????????????), as the dish is known there, appears deceptively simple. But as served at Khanom Sen Paa Net, a 60 year-old restaurant in the eponymous provincial capital, it might be the most interesting and delicious version I’ve encountered — largely due to the broth:

This is made by simmering a shocking amount of pork bones with coriander root, garlic, salt and a bit of fish sauce over very low coals for as long as six hours (allegedly they start making the dish at 3am). The result is one of the most amazing broths I’ve encountered in Thailand — virtually clear yet profoundly meaty without any of the funky “porky” odour that pork-based broths tend to have. Towards the end of the cooking process, they toss in a few halved plum tomatoes and cubes of steamed blood; the broth is served over khanom jeen noodles, drizzled with a mixture of crispy deep-fried pork fat and garlic. The tomatoes offer barely enough acidic tartness to counter the rich meatiness, and the dish is served with optional sides of ground chilies toasted in oil, lime slices, chopped coriander, shredded cabbage and bean sprouts.

Given the work that goes into the dish, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the folks here — the third generation to run the restaurant — are extremely proud of the food they serve, using the best ingredients and taking great care with them — practices one doesn’t always encounter in Thailand. I was told repeatedly that no MSG or stock powder were used in the broth; even the chili condiment is made from chilies sourced from Ubon Ratchathani (“They’re better than the local chilies,” I was told).

Typically served alongside khanom sen in Phrae is khao som, tomato-tinted rice topped with a mixture of deep-fried crispy pork fat and garlic:

The tomatoes are steamed before being lightly fried with the rice and a bit of salt. The dish has a slightly sour (the som in the name) flavour, and upon request, they’ll scoop up some of the simmered pork bones to accompany it.

Other than som tam, Thai-style papaya salad, the only other dish served at Paa Net is dessert, which on the day I visited took the form of sago pearls and corn in barely sweet/barely salty coconut milk:

which, like everything else, was utterly simple yet utterly delicious.

Khanom Sen Paa Net
Soi Muang Daeng, Phrae
054 620 056
9am-1.30pm

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NUTELLA: The 30 Best Recipes Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Wed, 14 May 2014 07:05:00 +0000

I am partnering with StyleVisa to give away NUTELLA: The 30 Best Recipes. There will be one (1) winner whom will each receive one (1) NUTELLA: The 30 Best Recipes. The suggested retail price of NUTELLA: The 30 Best Recipes is US$10.95.

Nutella is perhaps the world’s most famous chocolate and hazelnut spread. Sweet and rich, it is divine on toast for breakfast, in a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and as a topping to a favorite dessert. But Nutella, surprisingly versatile and easy to work with, can do even more than most realize.

The new book NUTELLA [Jacquie Small LLP, AUGUST 2013, $10.95 US / $11.99 CAN], explores new ways of using, baking with and enjoying Nutella with 30 mouth-watering recipes. These delicious recipes include irresistible macaroons and tasty cheesecakes, all in a handy, easy-to-use book for all the fans of the famous spread. Some of delectable recipes include:

Nutella and OrangeNutella Whoopie PiesNutella SoufflésNutella MousseNutella Mini Swiss RollsNutella Twelfth Night TartNutella CharlotteMango and Nutella Spring Rolls

The book is whimsically trimmed and bound in the shape of a jar of Nutella and is divided into sections such as little Nutella treats and Nutella for sharing that make it easy to find the perfect Nutella recipe for any occasion. Better yet, each recipe is accompanied by a gorgeous full-color photograph making the book even more mouth-watering and irresistible. NUTELLA: The 30 Best Recipes is the ideal recipe guide for fans of this most-loved of chocolate treats both near and far!

Eligibility: United States. No purchase necessary and subject to this official giveaway rules. Closing Date: June 1, 2014, 11:59 pm PST. Winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email on June 2, 2014. The prize is proudly sponsored by StyleVisa. To enter, please follow the steps below.

Fill in the form below. You can enter to win using this form every day.

You will be redirected to the “Thank You” page if your entry is successfully submitted.

ONE ENTRY PER DAY STRICTLY ENFORCED.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

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Water Saving Cooking Strategies

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Wed, 14 May 2014 03:01:00 +0000

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April 29, 2014Water Saving Cooking Strategies

The letter from the city arrived last week. We knew that it would but fantasized that it wouldn’t. The finality was clearly printed on paper: “Rationing will begin May 1st for all residential customers. You are receiving this letter because your average summer consumption is over your allotment, and steep penalties will applied to any water used in excess of your allotment.”

The City of Santa Cruz where I live relies up on a local water supply. We don’t tap into the California water supply system like many other municipalities in the state. Striking a blow for water freedom and independence has its price and this was it.

The letter said that our average monthly summer use was more than double our allotment. Okay, we had a couple of leaks in our sprinkler system last year and got them fixed; we weren’t water wastrels as the city made us out to be. The allotment is not unrealistic and actually generous for our household of 2, but unless we conserve, we won’t be able to water our back and front yard plants at all. They’re drought tolerant but to a certain extent only. Additionally, we hope to embark on a bathroom remodeling project that will likely use a fair amount of water. I don’t want to be a water Nazi to a contractor.

After digesting the reality of rationing, I got obsessed with replacing our home appliances with water- and energy-saving ones. Dishwashers, clothes washers, water heaters, toilets, faucets – I studied up on them. Turns out that replacing our appliances costs a bundle and figuring out what qualifies for energy saving rebates is no easy feat. (As a side note, peruse online sources but go to an old fashioned appliances sales places like Sears for consultation/reconnaissance on home appliances.)

We haven’t decided on the appliance thing but my husband and I did come up with ideas to save water around the house. We’ll set a bucket in the shower to collect water as the shower water heats up, take shorter showers consecutively so we don’t waste hot water, and flush less (you know what I mean). In the kitchen, my drought tolerant cooking strategies include:

Wash vegetables in a bowl of water. This is something my family used to do: partially fill a bowl with water to wash vegetables during food prep. I’d gotten into the wasteful habit of holding individual leaves of lettuce under a stream of water instead of immersing all the leaves in water at once. The vegetables get washed in order of the relatively clean (tomato or green onion) to potentially super dirty (lettuce or spinach).Rau ram getting watered with broccoli washing water.

Repurpose water for plants. Instead of pouring the water used for washing vegetables down the drain, I water our plants with it. It’s not like that water is greywater that has to get fully recycled to be reused. Most of our produce comes from the local farm so heck, we’re helping to complete the circle. Leftover water in a pitcher, flower vase, and Mr. Spring Roll rice paper dipping bowl gets poured into garden beds too.

Rinse rice then rinse skin. We make rice 3 or 4 times a week and it seems wasteful to dump the rinsing water down the sink. I collect it in a bowl and water plants with it. My mom told me that rice rinsing water is suppose to be good for the skin, so I occasionally wash my hands or face with it; the beige rice rinsing water is nice because it’s partially hulled. Because there’s starch in that water, you can use some of it to lightly thicken a soup or sauce (think of how you save pasta cooking water to use as a binder). See the comments below for Betty Ann Besa-Quirino's Filipino take on hugas bigas!

Spray versus stream of water. At a home builders convention in February, I asked a Kohler representative about whether the spray nozzle on the kitchen faucet used less water than the stream of water. The water flowed at the same rate so she wasn’t sure. I somehow think that you use less water with the spray as it seems to knock stuff off dirty dishes quickly. What do you think? I’m not about to put an aerator on my kitchen faucet to save water but I will use the spray more often.

Don't throw this murky rice rinsing water down the drain.Some times I spray as I fill a bowl with water to wash veggies.

Double duty dishwashing. If there’s a large pot that needs washing, I fill it with sudsy water to soak and while that’s happening, rinse my dishes in the pot before putting them in the dishwasher. I know that sounds kinda gross but it saves water.

Make a pot of water count. Cooking Asian food often involves blanching, parboiling or boiling several ingredients. To do that efficiently, I bring a 3 or 4-quart covered pot of water to a boil and use it to cook prepped ingredients. I order the ingredients from the benign (carrots or asparagus) to the potent (noodles or protein). Broccoli can turn the water smelly funky and affect other ingredients so I tend to cook it fast and last. This can be a little tricky at first so think about each ingredient and how it’ll affect the water it’s cooked in.

Use less water to boil pasta. Many pasta boxes and recipes say to boil noodles in an ample amount of boiling water but you can use a little less. In 2009 food scientist Harold McGee wrote a New York Times piece questioning the notion of cooking pasta in lots of boiling water. He suggested starting the noodles in cold salted water (say 1 pound plus 2 teaspoons salt in 2 quarts of water). It worked without lost of flavor or texture. Asian noodles cook quickly so I tend to use the 1 pot for many ingredients method above. But with pasta, I'd give Harold's method a try, especially on a relatively big burner on your stove.

May 1st is not far away and we’re hoping to do our part. We were stressed out about water rationing but then we came up with doable strategies to get us through the next several months. It’s a matter of being mindful about something we often take for granted.

What are your ideas for saving water?

Relates VWK posts and links:

Mr. Spring Roll rice paper dipping bowl Beige Rice: The middle path between white and brown How much water does pasta really need? (by Harold McGee in NYT)Posted in Cooking Tips & Tools, Gardening | Permalink

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His & her pasta frittata bento lunches

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Tue, 13 May 2014 22:03:00 +0000

Once a year, volunteer language teachers come from Japan to help out at my son’s school, and do a month’s homestay with families from the school. Part of the homestay deal is that the host family is to pack the teacher a daily lunch to eat at school. So that means that I’m back to making adult and child versions of the same lunch while “A-sensei” is with us — I’m finding it stimulating.

It was initially a little weird to be making bentos for a Japanese person. (You know, will she like our food? I don’t want them to look so thrown-together that the other senseis at school wind up gossiping about it.) But we’ve gotten used to each other over the past couple weeks, so I’m less self-conscious now and am learning her food likes and dislikes. The result? I’ve slipped back into my regular old speed bento habits for both lunches.

For this meal I fell back on pasta frittata, a simple egg dish that incorporates leftover spaghetti from the night before. Now whenever I make pasta I just go ahead and make extra, knowing that leftovers will get remade into breakfast or lunch the next day.

Contents of adult bento lunch: Pasta frittata made with leftover spaghetti, shrimp & tomato sauce (see the full pasta frittata tutorial). Sauteed orange bell pepper with garlic & soy sauce, and green grapes.

Morning prep time: 20 minutes for the two bentos, using leftover pasta for the frittata and including prep/cooling time for the frittata and peppers. Thoroughly cooling all foods before closing them up inside a bento box reduces the amount of condensation inside of the box, improving food safety and making it easier to remove the lid of the bento box. (Click for lunch details and a kid-sized version of the same lunch.)

Packing: I cut the frittata into large bite-sized pieces to make it easy to eat on the go. The peppers are packed in a removable food cup that’s part of the bento box, keeping them separate from the grapes. The lunch is packed in a Hakoya 600ml two-tiered bento box (300ml lower tier, 300ml upper tier) that I picked up last year at Soko Hardware in San Francisco’s Japantown (see my bento gear shopping guide for the San Francisco Bay Area). This make it the right size box for an average adult woman, according to the bento box size guidelines.

Verdict: Well, the box came back empty and I got a thumbs up on the frittata as an interesting way to use up extra pasta. I hesitate to read too much into it, though — our teacher’s very polite.

* * * * *

Contents of kindergartener’s bento lunch: Same as the adult lunch above: pasta frittata, sauteed orange bell pepper, and green grapes.

Morning prep time: 20 minutes to make and pack the two bentos, which includes time to cook and cool both the pasta frittata and the peppers.

Packing: I cut the frittata into small pieces to make them easier to eat without struggling with a knife in a small container, and packed them in two layers inside the box. The peppers went into a reusable silicone baking cup, and I separated the frittata from the rest of the lunch with a removable divider that came with the bento box. The lunch is packed in a 450ml Disney Cars bento box: Bug’s favorite and the appropriate size for him according to the bento box size guidelines.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Got back an empty box.

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Bento Box Song: Sandwich Version

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Tue, 13 May 2014 18:36:00 +0000

While watching Shimajiro, a popular Japanese cartoon of a tiger cub that teaches kids little songs, manners and safety, I stumbled across an uncommon variation of the classic Bento Box Song (“Obento Bako no Uta”) that features more Western food — sandwiches! It’s kind of a chant with hand motions referencing food words that sound similar to numbers in Japanese. It’s less of a counting exercise than the original, but fun nonetheless. I also dug up a comedy show riff on the bento box song that Japanese speakers may get a kick out of — the Osaka comedienne in the video clip takes issue with the vagueness of the original lyrics and makes up new ones after bullying her fellow singers.

I don’t want to infringe on the Shimajiro copyright, so I made a quick YouTube video of me singing the song and doing the associated hand motions (what was I thinking? Thanks to my Twitter followers for humoring me!). Full lyrics and an English translation follow. While I was at it, I made a little video for the original Bento Box Song to show the hand motions, and added it to the old post.

Translation:

In a bento box about this size
Put in some sandwiches
Minced parsley, top it with mayonnaise
3 strawberries, 3 mandarin oranges, 3 eggs, 3 bananas
3 macaronis with holes in them
and bacon with sinews running throughout

Bento Box Song (Sandwich Version)

Kore kurai no, obento bako ni (trace a rectangular bento box with both index fingers)

sandoichi sandoichi choitto tsumete (hold up 3 fingers, then 1, 3, 1, then mime packing a bento box. “Sandwich” in Japanese sounds like the words for 3 and 1.)

kizami parsley ni mayonnaise kakete (make a squeezing motion like squeezing out Kewpie mayonnaise)

ichigo san (put up one finger, then three fingers. “Ichigo” strawberry sounds like the numbers 1 and 5 in Japanese)

mikan san (put up three fingers, then three fingers again. The “mi” in “mikan” sounds like 3 in Japanese)

tamago san (hands over head like an egg, then put up three fingers)

baanana san* (do “jazz hands” on either side of your face like “peekaboo!”, then put up three fingers)

ana no aita macaroni san (make a hole with index finger and thumb, wave hand left and right)

suji no toota bacon** (run right hand up left arm from hand up to shoulder, pull down one lower eyelid, then make a muscle with the other arm)

* The “baa” in “banana” is a sound-alike joke referencing the “baa” in Japanese peek-a-boo (called “inai inai baa”). To play “inai inai baa“, the adult hides their face with their hands, saying, “inai inai,” then uncovers their face while saying, “Baa!” Coincidentally, “Inai Inai Baa” is also the name of a long-running TV show on NHK for toddlers and their parents, teaching them little songs like Guru Guru Dokaan (click for video). It’s along the same lines as “Okaasan to Issho” (With Mom), both popular with the preschooler set in Japan.

** The “be” in bacon sounds like “akanbe“, a teasing gesture used by Japanese kids like “neener neener”. When kids do akanbe, they pull one lower eyelid down to show the red inner eyelid and stick out their tongue. Not polite!

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Bento shopping in San Francisco Japantown

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Tue, 13 May 2014 13:46:00 +0000

It’s been a long time since my last bento gear shopping update, so there’s a lot to cover! Today I cover San Francisco Japantown, with a couple of new stores on the list. Highlights are the new Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift store with a variety of bento gear, the conveniently located (but partially hidden) Daiso dollar store, and the Sanrio store with a new shipment of heatable aluminum bento boxes.

Full store info and shop addresses are at the bento gear shopping guide for the San Francisco Bay Area, and you can also find reader updates at the Bento Store Locator with Google Maps. Photos of shop inventory were taken and used with store permission (click on any of the small photos for a larger version). (Click to read the full post.)

* Daiso (NEW)
* Kinokuniya Stationery & Gifts (1st floor) (NEW)
* Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift (2nd floor)
* Daikoku by Shiki
* Ichiban Kan
* Moritaya
* Nijiya Market
* Sanko
* Sanrio (NEW)
* Soko Hardware

(Warning: Photo-heavy post ahead!)

* Daiso (Japantown branch)

First off, there’s a small branch of Daiso in the same building as Ichiban Kan, on the bottom floor behind the staircase. Everything’s $1.50 unless otherwise market, and they have a fair selection of bento gear (including boxes, matching bags and bento bands, silicone food cups, onigiri rice ball molds, kitchen gear, food picks and other accessories). The quality of their bento boxes isn’t high, but prices are super-low, so I look at them as being semi-disposable boxes that I don’t mind Bug losing or breaking at school.

Daiso also has a small snack section, with things like interesting non-oil dressings (especially shiso and goma sesame flavors), and flavored seaweed. It’s much smaller than the large Daiso at Serramonte Mall in Daly City, and they don’t accept credit cards yet. But if you’re in the neighborhood to go to Ichiban Kan anyway, be sure to stop by and check out their inventory.

Here’s about half of the store’s bento boxes (the other half are shown in the photo above):

And their insulated bento bags and matching lunch cloths:

Daiso

22 Peace Plaza
Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94115

* Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift (#2)

This store opened late November 2009 on the first floor of Japan Center Kinokuniya Bldg. (by Japan Video store, under the main Kinokuniya bookstore), an extension of Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift on the second floor. It has a sizable selection of cute bento boxes, nesting/stacking boxes, utensils in cases, onigiri rice ball cases, cute food containers, and bags. Prices are on the higher end, but they stock San-X brand boxes that you won’t find at other stores. Definitely worth checking out.

Interesting trivia note: this is run by the same company as Kinokuniya Stationery on the second floor above it (see entry below), but these Kinokuniya gift stores aren’t actually the same company as the famous Kinokuniya Bookstore. The Kinokuniya Stationery stores are both part of NBC Inc., the same company that is behind MaiDo Stationery & Gift. Evidently executives at the two companies are friends, so Kinokuniya Bookstore allowed NBC to use the Kinokuniya name in some of its U.S. stores.

Here’s a look at about half of their bento gear:

And additional bento boxes:

The store manager said that bento boxes sell better at their New York branch than the San Francisco one, so he thinks that bento lunches are more popular in New York. I suspect that people just don’t know about this new SF store and their good selection of bento boxes, though.

Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift

1581 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94101
(415) 567-8901

* Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift (#1)

Located on the second floor of the Japan Center Kinokuniya Bldg., Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift is across from Kinokuniya Bookstore (not the same company). They have some unusual and cute bento boxes for children, including sandwich cases, nesting/stacking bento boxes, and snack boxes (see photo below). Prices are on the higher side, but quality is pretty good overall.

Kinokuniya Stationery & Gift

1581 Webster Street
Suite 218
San Francisco, CA 94101
(415) 567-8901

* Daikoku by Shiki

Daikoku by Shiki has a nice selection of more elegant, traditional-looking bento boxes by Hakoya. Prices are around $15-$20 per box, so they’re not exactly cheap, but they’re good quality. Their boxes are sized for adults, as opposed to the smaller Hakoya boxes at Ichiban Kan. Soko Hardware has some similar Hakoya boxes, but a smaller selection (see entry below). The SF Japantown website has a printable online coupon for Daikoku by Shiki here.

Shiki

Kintetsu Mall
1737 Post St, Ste 360
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 563-4550

* Ichiban Kan in SF Japantown
Oh Ichiban Kan, why oh why did you have to go and close your lovely online store? That place where people all over the U.S. could order bento boxes and accessories for $1-$1.50 a piece? We miss your online store! Store manager Rumi apologetically told me that they couldn’t make it work with the amount of upkeep the website required given their constantly changing inventory (something that makes the retail stores so fun to visit regularly).

So it feels a little cruel to show Ichiban Kan’s store inventory (their retail stores in the S.F. Bay Area remain open for business as usual), but here goes. Here’s their wall of bento boxes, matching bags, bento bands, side dish boxes, and utensils:

And small Hakoya-brand bento boxes, just US$6 each. Unlike the Hakoya boxes at Daikoku by Shiki, these are sized for children, with the yellow rectangular box sized at 380ml (150ml top tier, 230ml bottom tier), and the gingham checkered oval boxes measuring 415ml (180ml top tier, 235ml bottom tier). (These boxes are not microwave safe; see my care guide for bento gear.)

Ichiban Kan also has a line of cheaper, smaller boxes from Hakoya that appear quite sturdy, matching utensils, and fancier boxes with antibacterial silver ion coating (like this large bento box on J-List) for packed lunch food safety. If you find a Hakoya-brand box at Ichiban Kan, it’ll likely be cheaper here than anywhere else in San Francisco. They also have a few silver-colored Don Don Lunch Boxes (Hakoya) for packing donburi lunches, priced at $19. Surprisingly, these are $1 more than nearby Sanko Cooking Supply is selling their new stock of Don Don Lunch Boxes, in a wider variety of colors (see entry below).

In a neighboring aisle is their wall of cheap bento accessories, which include egg molds (make boiled eggs in the shape of bunnies, cars, fish, bears, hearts, & stars), food picks, silicone lunch cups & baran dividers, sauce containers, etc. Make Daiso and Ichiban Kan your first stops in Japantown so that you don’t kick yourself for spending too much money at other stores first, just to discover you could get things here cheaper.

Ichiban Kan

1625 Post St
Miyako Mall 22 Peace Plz, Ste 540
(between Buchanan St & Laguna St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 409-0472

* Moritaya

No photo updates here as they wouldn’t allow pictures in the store. Moritaya has character-themed bento gear for the preschool set, with characters like Thomas the Tank Engine, Miffy, Cars, Gaspard & Lisa, Totoro, Ponyo, etc. The downside is that everything’s seriously overpriced, with huge mark-ups on bento gear (including boxes from Ichiban Kan that they resell). If you can’t live without a particular anime character box but can’t find it locally, you may have luck here (but you’ll pay dearly for it).

Moritaya

1737 Post Street
(between Buchanan St & Webster St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 674-1345

* Nijiya Market

If you’re looking for a plain, sturdy, non-cutesy bento box that won’t embarrass the man in your life, stop by Nijiya supermarket and pick up one of their four Asvel-brand boxes (pictured below). Kamei (out on Clement St. in the Richmond) and Kukje Supermarket (Daly City) are the other good places to get these type of plain boxes at comparable prices. But if you’re in Japantown anyway, Nijiya fills this niche. Your teenage son will thank you for not packing his lunch in a pink Hello Kitty bento box…

Nijiya Market

1737 Post St
(between Buchanan St & Webster St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 563-1901

* Sanko Cooking Supplies
Sanko has a surprisingly good selection of unusual, better quality bento boxes and some interesting accessories, albeit at high prices. Most interesting was a new shipment of $18 donburi bento boxes in three colors (the Don Don Lunch Box by Hakoya, reviewed here), and a cute shaping mold for tamagoyaki (Japanese omelet) with three removable shaping plates (pricey but cute). The SF Japantown website has a printable online coupon for Sanko.

Some unusual bento accessories and Hakoya bento boxes with antibacterial silver ion coating. The egg molds and some of the red/blue Hakoya boxes are $4 cheaper at Ichiban Kan across the street.

Sanko Cooking Supply

1758 Buchanan St
(between Post St & Sutter St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 922-8331

* Sanrio

The Sanrio store in the Japantown mall didn’t use to stock much of anything interesting in the way of bento gear, but that’s changed with their recent shipment of aluminum bento boxes that can be heated in the toaster oven. The drawback to these kind of boxes is that they’re not watertight, but the unique twist is that you can actually cook dishes like a gratin right in them, and heat up the whole thing without using the microwave (I know there are some of you who avoid microwave ovens). See my earlier post on metal bento boxes.

Sanrio is the company behind such characters as Hello Kitty, Shinkansen, My Melody, Chococat, Cinnamoroll, The Runabouts, etc. Accordingly, they’ve got a selection of character-themed bento boxes, utensils, thermoses, food jars, and lunch bags at slightly high prices (licensing fees, anyone?). The SF Japantown website has a printable online coupon for Sanrio.

Sanrio

Kintetsu Mall
1737 Post Street #315
San Francisco, CA 94115

* Soko Hardware

Soko tucks its bento box collection in an out-of-the-way corner on the top floor back behind the staircase, not downstairs with the kitchen stuff. Here you’ll find good-quality Hakoya and Tatsumiya Shikki-brand boxes for adults and children, as well as picnic-sized juubako boxes for tabletop use. Prices are very reasonable for this quality; definitely check out Soko Hardware before buying the more elegant or traditional boxes elsewhere.

Downstairs you’ll find fairly run-of-the-mill rice molds, sushi molds, cooking equipment and middle-of-the-road prices (not as cheap as Daiso or Ichiban Kan for the same molds, but not an outrageous markup either).

One unique niche Soko Hardware fills is with all of the fun gadgets for making spam musubi! In addition to spam musubi presses (both single and double-size versions), they even carry a spam meat slicer that evenly slices an entire can of spam at once — just like a hard-boiled egg slicer. It’s an unnecessary gadget (got a sharp knife?), but fun nonetheless.

Soko Hardware

1698 Post Street
(between Buchanan St & Laguna St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 931-5510

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Bento gear on Menu for Hope 6

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Tue, 13 May 2014 08:47:00 +0000

The holidays are a time for giving, and in the food blog world that’s come to mean the Menu For Hope food blog annual fundraising campaign, now in its 6th year. Started by Pim of Chez Pim, Menu for Hope raises money for the United Nations World Food Programme, the world’s largest food aid agency (it raised over US$250,000 over the last three years for the program!). Specifically, this year’s donations will go to the WFP’s Purchase for Progress (P4P), a new initiative that helps smallholder and low-income farmers supply food to WFP’s global operations, improving farming practices and putting more cash into their pockets.

In Menu for Hope, food bloggers around the world offer a variety of food-related items for the online raffle. Every US$10 you donate earns you one “ticket” to bid on an item of your choice. At the end of the campaign, tickets are drawn and results are announced on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18, 2010.

A full list of bid items is will be posted at Chez Pim, and the Western U.S. regional prizes will be shown at Gluten-Free Girl. A mere US$10 gives you a shot at some pretty cool food-related prizes! Check them all out and see what appeals to you.

I’m happy to offer another bento kit for bidding this year, with products courtesy of Skater Company, Japan’s largest manufacturer of bento boxes, and ZESPRI, the New Zealand kiwifruit company. I’ll also give each of the winners a personal tour of San Francisco’s Japantown if you’re in town (details below).

What’s included:

“Winnie the Pooh Goes Bananas” Bento Box Kit and tour of San Francisco’s Japantown, by Biggie (me).
Pack adorable lunches with unusual Winnie the Pooh food shaping tools and a banana-themed “Putifresh” bento set. The yellow bento set includes a watertight bento box, two matching bags, chopsticks, elastic bento belt and a Zespri “spife” (spoon/knife combo) for packing whole kiwifruit. The tools include a boiled egg shaper, sandwich cutter, onigiri rice ball shaper, vegetable cutter, pancake ring and silicone food cups, all shaped like Winnie the Pooh. The Pooh-themed tools are high quality, direct from the Skater Company in Japan. Make lunch as tasty as your own pot of honey! (prize code UW20)

(Read on for full details and instructions on how to enter.)

“Winnie the Pooh Goes Bananas” Bento Box Kit and personal tour of San Francisco’s Japantown (prize code: UW20)

The Winnie the Pooh goods are all marked “For Sale in Japan Only”, so are uncommon outside of Japan. The manufacturer’s care instructions are noted below, but I often put these sorts of things in the dishwasher (no heated dry cycle) without adverse effects (see my guide on caring for your bento gear). The kit consists of the following:

Winnie the Pooh pancake ring with separate plastic faceplate for making Pooh’s face with cocoa or furikake. Ring can also be also be used for frying eggs. Oil inside of ring before use, hand washing recommended, not microwave or dishwasher safe.Winnie the Pooh-shaped reusable silicone food cups for packing side dishes in a bento lunch. Microwave- and oven-safe.Winnie the Pooh cutters and press that creates an imprint of Pooh’s face on vegetables, cheese or small cookies.

Winnie the Pooh sandwich cutter and press that creates an imprint of Pooh’s face. Can also be used for cookies. Hand washing recommended, keep away from heat, not microwave or dishwasher safe.Winnie the Pooh onigiri rice ball mold with handle and removable front and back. Scoop hot rice directly into the mold and use the pusher to compress. Saves your hands from hot rice burns, and improves food safety. Keep away from heat, not microwave or dishwasher safe.Winnie the Pooh egg mold for making hard-boiled eggs shaped like Winnie the Pooh. See my egg molding tutorial for details.

“Putifresh” yellow banana-patterned one-tier bento box with watertight lid with flaps. Total capacity of 480ml, so it’s a good size for a child according to the bento box size guidelines. Microwave-safe except for the lid. Hand washing recommended, not dishwasher- or oven-safe.Matching Putifresh cotton fabric lunch bag (kinchaku) with drawstring. The bento box fits nicely inside.Matching Putifresh insulated lunch bag with cotton cover and handles. Clean with a damp cloth; washing in a washing machine not recommended.Matching Putifresh chopsticks and carrying case. Dishwasher-safe with air drying (no super-hot dry cycles like in industrial dishwashers).Matching Putifresh elastic bento band, for use with two-tier bento boxes (not included).Yellow “spife” (spoon/knife) from Zespri, for use when packing a whole kiwifruit in a lunch. Use the gently serrated knife edge to cut the kiwi in half, then use the pointy spoon end to scoop out the fruit and eat. Dishwasher-safe.

If you live in or will be visiting San Francisco, I’ll give you a personal bento tour of San Francisco’s Japantown, visiting specialty stores for bento gear, food, and cookbooks that I wrote about in the SF Bay Area shopping guide for bento gear. Have your own Japanese speaker show you around and translate anything you have questions about!

I will ship internationally if the winner lives outside the U.S., and there’s no expiration date on the tour in case the winner lives outside the Bay Area but will be visiting at some point in the future. The tour is transferable if the winner won’t be traveling to San Francisco.

(Disclaimer: I have no commercial affiliations with Skater, but I worked with Zespri on a kiwifruit event this past year.)

Here’s what you need to do for a chance at winning the bento prize:

Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.Please specify which bid item you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 – 2xEU01, 3xEU02. The bid item code is UW20 for the “Winnie the Pooh Goes Bananas” Bento Box Kit with Tour. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18, 2010 for the results of the raffle.

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Free, Live Online Food Photography/Styling Workshop on Creativelive & More

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Tue, 13 May 2014 04:36:00 +0000

Hi everyone! Hope all is well over there on your end of the world. We’ve been working around the clock on some crazy new projects that we hope to announce soon. But we finally ironed out one of the first ones and we can share it.

Wanna join us for a free, live online food photography and food styling workshop in June? We’ll be teaching a 3-day, live workshop on Creativelive . We’ll also be chatting about video and why you should end each shoot day with a round of whiskey sours and gin & tonics. For real! :)

Register here for our free, live Creativelive workshop http://www.creativelive.com/courses/story-plate-food-photography-styling-todd-porter-and-diane-cu

Also, we have a few spots left for our intensive 2 day Food photography and styling workshop at our studio in May. Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/two-day-food-photography-styling-workshop-with-todd-porter-diane-cu-tickets-3134069085?aff=eorg

Have a great weekend!

diane and todd

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Thai Minced Chicken Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 23:57:00 +0000

This Northeast Minced Chicken Salad recipe is another recipe that I wanted to showcase from the Simple Thai Food cookbook by Leela at She Simmers. As I mentioned, I reached out to them and I will be republishing 3 recipes from the cookbook, with permission. The last recipe of Miang Kham is such a hit on Rasa Malaysia as well as my social media channels, so I have no doubt that this Thai Minced Chicken Salad from the northeast region of Thailand will win you over.

Isaan, or the Northeast part of Thailand is a vast land that is land-locked, and bordered by Cambodia and Laos. Due to the proximity to Laos, the cuisine for this part of Thailand is very different from what we know about Thai cuisine. Dishes such as lap (larb), a ground meat salad is very popular. This minced chicken salad is one of the variations of the popular pork larb.

Anyway, I think this dish is extremely flavorful and refreshing, with really complex and exotic flavors. Since it’s made with chicken, everyone can eat it. This minced chicken salad makes a great springtime salad, and I am sure you will find it delightful. If you like what you see from the Simple Thai Food cookbook, you can pre-order now at Amazon.

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A matter of (chicken) perspective, plus my method for roasting a chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 19:17:00 +0000

I have been pretty open about my health problems for the past couple of years on this site. One side effect of that has been that our household finances have gotten a bit worse, since I haven’t been able to work at full capacity…or even at half-capacity in some stretches. Medical costs in France are mercifully low, so we haven’t had a massive outlay in that area as we might have had if we lived somewhere else. But still, we have felt a slight pinch. We’ve stopped eating out mostly, or going off on mini-trips and the like. And we pay much more attention to the food budget too.

What that means also is that we’re eating a bit less Japanese food. Getting the proper ingredients here in semi-rural France is not so easy; the nearest Japanese grocery store is in Lyon, about 2 1/2 hours away by car…and it’s really tiny. The nearest fully stocked Japanese grocery store from here is actually across the border in Geneva, about a 3 1/2 hour drive! I do get dry goods and things by mailorder (mostly from the ever trusty Japan Centre) but fresh or perishable ingredients can’t be procured that way.

My sister Mayumi, who lives in Tokyo, recently posted this picture of bean sprouts on her Facebook:

Bean sprouts are one of the go-to ingredients in Japan when your purse feels light. A big bag of bean sprouts costs 20 to 30 yen or so (or in US terms, around 20 to 30 cents). Another cheap ingredient is tofu. You can get tofu on sale for as low as 50 yen; even top quality tofu costs 300-500 yen for a big block. Around these parts, very mediocre tofu costs more than the really high quality tofu in Japan.

When we’re feeling a bit low on funds, one our go-to recipes uses one of these:

Whole chickens are amazingly cheap here. A factory grown one is as low as 3 euros or so for a 1 kilo plus bird. Even ones that are free-range and happily raised, with the exception of something extra-special like a poulet de Bresse, is only about 6 euros, 8 euros tops, for a 1 kilo-plus bird. But in Japan, a whole chicken is considered to be luxurious feast food, only served at Christmas dinner and such, and is expensive.

As a matter of fact, bone-in chicken meat is more expensive in Japan than boned chicken - and harder to get too. Whole bone-in chicken legs are rarely used unless it’s for a ‘fancy’ meal. And you can buy chicken carcasses cheaply to make soup with. Just about all ‘chicken soup’ recipes in Japan are actually chicken bone (torigara) soup. One of the first things I had to teach myself to do when I moved to Switzerland many years ago is to break down and bone a whole chicken. Boneless chicken thighs for instance are unheard of in Switzerland or in France, so that’s the first step when I’m making chicken karaage (or the variation) for instance.

Another difference is the perspective of, and price difference between, white and dark meat. In France, or the U.S., or Switzerland, white meat is always more expensive than dark. I think this is because white meat is perceived as being healthier because it’s lower in fat than dark meat. It could also be that white meat was and is considered more refined or something like that. But in Japan it’s the opposite: white meat is the cheap chicken meat, and the dark thigh meat is more expensive and desirable.

Many of the “budget” recipes on Cookpad rely on the big three ‘cheap ingredients: bean sprouts, tofu, and white chicken breast meat. I guess this is one of those things that do not translate from country to country. For me a dish with those ingredients is a luxury, while for my sister Mayumi a whole roast chicken is a luxury.

This is barely a recipe, but I thought I would put it here anyway. ^_^ I like my roast chicken very simple, so the only ingredients you will need are salt, pepper and a chicken. I always get a chicken that is around 1 kilo (2 1/4 lb or so), or 1.2 kilo tops. This is more than enough for 2 people, with leftovers for stir fry or chicken rice or something the next day. Sometimes we save the bones for a soup too. I don’t iike cooking bigger birds, so if I need to serve more people I just roast more small chickens.

Preheat the oven to 200 °C (about 400 °F). Line an oven tray with parchment paper (optional; this just makes cleanup a bit easier.)

If your chicken comes with its legs tied together with elastic or something, cut this off. I don’t truss the chicken or anything; I just leave it with its legs wide open. It cooks more evenly this way, even if it looks a bit…easy? ^_^;

If there area any bits of feathers and things on the bird, take them out with fish bone tweezers.

Rinse the bird inside and out, and pat dry. Salt and pepper the bird generously inside and out. Sometimes I put half a lemon inside the cavity, plus a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme or something, but usually I don’t bother.

Put the bird on the lined oven tray breast side down. This is very important: don’t put it in the “right” way up, with the breast facing upwards. By roasting the bird with the breast facing down, the fat from the back of the bird will baste the drier breast meat.

With a 1 kilo (2.2lb) bird, roast it on its breast for 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the bird over, and roast it the “right” way up for another 40 minutes. There’s no need to baste the bird or anything - it bastes itself.

If you really want the breast meat to be juicy, and you don’t mind the calorie boost, slice up some butter and insert it between the breast meat and skin. But with the upside-down method you shouldn’t need to do this.

Save the carcass of the bird and any leftover bits of meat (or reserve them). Chop up an onion and a celery stalk and sauté them in a bit of the chicken fat, or in vegetable oil. Add the carcass and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 minutes. Optionally add a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme when you simmer. Skim off any scum.

Strain the soup though a strainer or a colander. Add more cut up vegetables if you like. When the vegetables are tender, add some chopped up chicken, and small pasta (I usually use thin, short pasta called vermicelles, which looks like cut up vermicelli). Season with salt and pepper. Optionally sprinkle with chopped parsley when serving.

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Leftover Remake: Risotto cake recipe & bento lunches

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 15:44:00 +0000

Because I’m not my son’s personal short-order cook, I love to use dinner leftovers in our bento lunches to minimize prep time. But eating the exact same thing for multiple meals can get boring pretty quickly, so finding new ways to quickly transform leftovers into different dishes is always welcome. Today I’ve got a simple Leftover Remake recipe for pan-fried risotto cakes.

With these lunches, I took cold zucchini risotto left over from dinner the night before, and made it into little pan-fried risotto cakes that my five-year-old ate as finger food. They’re reminiscent of Sicilian arancini (deep-fried rice balls stuffed with cheese, meat, or vegetables), but I improvised as I didn’t have a good melting cheese on hand.

Contents of kindergartener bento lunch: Pan-fried zucchini (courgette) risotto cakes (recipe below), teriyaki & pineapple chicken meatballs (my favorite, Aidells brand), red grapes, and steamed broccoli with onion-based salad dressing. For dinner, I’d made the zucchini risotto from a recipe in Marcella Hazan’s classic cookbook Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Morning prep time: 22 minutes for the two bentos, including cooling time for the risotto cakes, meatballs and broccoli. In the morning I formed and pan-fried the risotto cakes from leftover risotto, microwaved the frozen meatballs, and steamed the broccoli in my microwave mini-steamer. (Click for full lunch details, an adult variation on this lunch with additional fruit & veggies, and a basic recipe for the risotto cakes.)

Packing: You know that I’m not one for spending a lot of time making elaborate food art, opting instead for food picks and little lunch accessories to give a bento a quick shot of cute. A while back I stumbled on a package of new colorful hugging food picks shaped like Usahana at a local thrift store for US$1, so I used them with the meatballs to make easy eating for little hands. I used all silicone lunch accessories in this bento, with a baran separator and food cup for the broccoli — keeping foods from touching (more of an issue for Bug than it would be for me).

Thorough cooling of the lunch contents before packing up the box is important to prevent condensation that would: 1) make the risotto cakes soften up, 2) create a vacuum inside of the box that would make it hard to open, and 3) increase the odds of food spoilage as bacteria thrive on moisture, protein and warmth. The lunch is packed in a 450ml Disney Cars bento box with movable subdivider, the right size box for a 5-year-old according to the bento box size guidelines.

Verdict: Mostly thumbs up with everything gone except the grapes. Bug said he only ate half of a grape because he was trying to get the seeds out and peel the skin off with his fingers as he didn’t like the taste of the skin. He protested when I went to throw the remaining grapes out, though, saying he still wanted to eat them, it just took him too much time at school. So these big red grapes are off the bento list because they’re too time-consuming, but still in the kitchen at home for when we’re not in a hurry.

I added tangerine slices and smoked mushroom salad to our homestay Japanese teacher’s bento to round it out and make it different from the child’s version above.

Contents of adult bento lunch: Pan-fried zucchini risotto cakes, tangerines, smoked mushrooms dressed with homemade balsamic vinaigrette, red grapes, steamed broccoli with onion-based salad dressing, and teriyaki & pineapple chicken meatballs. I adapted a recipe for smoked mushroom salad in the terrific barbecue cookbook Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue , and my husband smoked them in a vegetable grill basket on his Big Green Egg ceramic cooker. (You know, men love their grills!)

Morning prep time: 22 minutes for the two bento variations, including cooling time for the risotto cakes. The mushroom salad was leftover from a previous dinner, and I quickly sliced up half of a tangerine.

Packing: I didn’t worry about separating the different foods as much for A-sensei, so I put only the drained mushrooms into a silicone food cup to keep the vinaigrette away from the grapes. The lunch is packed in a 600ml two-tier Hakoya bento box that I picked up at Soko Hardware in San Francisco’s Japantown last year.

Verdict: A-sensei ate everything, with a thumbs up on the risotto cakes. When I probed more deeply about what they were like at room temperature (as I ate mine at home when they were still warm), she finally said that she thought Bug might like them better with ketchup or some other dipping sauce. Bug disagreed and said they were good as is, but it’s an interesting suggestion.

* * * * *

Recipe for Pan-fried Risotto Cakes

leftover cold risotto (How much have you got? Try a basic risotto recipe is you’re starting from scratch.)1/4 cup flour (or breadcrumbs)dash of salt & pepper1 Tb vegetable oil (or vegetable oil spray) for pan-fryingkosher salt to tasteIn a shallow bowl or pie plate, mix together the flour, salt and pepper for breading the risotto cakes.Use a small disher or tablespoons to scoop up 2-3 tablespoons of cold risotto. Use your hands to shape the risotto into small rounds about 1/2 inch thick. (This is for small risotto cakes to fit in a bento box; feel free to make larger cakes if you like.)Place the risotto round into the flour mixture and lightly dust. Tap off excess flour and set aside.Heat the vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Place the floured risotto cakes in the hot pan without crowding, and fry until golden brown on the bottom (a couple minutes per side). Don’t mess with the cakes too much when you first put them in — you want them to develop a nice crust that’ll hold everything together when flipping.Flip the cakes and fry until brown on both sides. Remove from the pan with a small spatula, and cool on a cooling rack lined underneath with paper towels. Blot off any excess oil off with paper towels.Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste while still warm.If not packing in a lunch, serve right away while warm. If packing in a bento, let these cool as completely as you have time for before closing up in a bento box. This’ll help prevent condensation inside the box that would soften the nice crust you’ve developed on the risotto cakes.

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10 Recipes to Praise Pork and Saturated Fat

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 12:13:00 +0000

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May 06, 201410 Recipes to Praise Pork and Saturated Fat

My husband and I read the newspaper every day. Whenever we find a super interesting story, we read it aloud to each other. Sometimes the piece is funny, other times it contains incredible information. Last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal featured an opinion piece by Nina Teicholz, a researcher who has been investigating dietary fat and disease for years.

The crux of her work is that the public has been misled about saturated fats. The prevailing negative attitude toward saturated fats is not well reasoned, the result of “personal ambition, bad research, politics, and bias,” she argues. Her piece traces some of the history behind the anti-saturated fat movement.

Heart disease spiked in the 1950s and Americans wanted answers, she explains. Many people jumped on the bandwagon with a scientist named Ancel Keys whose “Seven Countries” landmark study of 13,000 men pointed to poor nutrition as the source of heart disease, not aging.

The research was flawed in many ways but that was not heavily discussed until 2002. For example, Keys’s star data points rested on a couple dozen men on the island of Crete who were eating very little because they were enduring particularly hard times and observing Lent. Statistically, that’s not a decent enough sample to survey and their circumstances didn’t accurately reflect their regular, day-to-day lives. (Where were the women in his research? I wondered.)

Say oink to these dishes: Green garlic with Chinese sausage, cornmeal crusted pork chops, Viet-Korean grilled pork belly lettuce wraps, bacon kimchi tofu tacos, Burmese pork belly and pickled mustard greens, old school sweet and sour pork

The American Heart Association (partly launched by Proctor and Gamble, the maker of Crisco) initially didn’t wholeheartedly subscribe to Keys’s hypothesis about the evils of saturated fat. In 1961, the ambitious scientist got on the AHA nutrition committee and persuaded the organization to his point of view. The USDA issued its verdict against saturated fat in 1980.

Interestingly, Tiecholz points out that despite studies totaling about a billion dollars, there’s been no conclusive evidence that having healthy heart hinges on maintaining a diet low in animal fat, eggs, cheese and butter. (The flip side is that no one has said that people should freely load up on saturated fats too.)

The unintended consequences of policies and attitudes against saturated fats include an increase in carbohydrate consumption by 25 percent since the early 1970s, says Tiecholz. Consumption of saturated fats decreased by about 11 percent, she noted. However, incidences of diabetes and obesity are up, which imply greater risks heart disease.

So what gives with America's unhealthy, imbalanced state? It’s murky and Tiecholz concludes that instead of blaming saturated fat for much of America’s health problems that we ought to look at other factors. Shunning fat is not the answer. She's trying to rock the boat and her article is worth a read for more detail.

My husband Rory and I stewed over the story while lunching on bagels, full-fat cream cheese, smoked salmon, and white wine. The medical and research community can come off as being so sure of their findings – and way too often the public kowtows.

Finishing his last bite, Rory said, “I’m tired of people telling us not to have fun. We all need to enjoy life. A drink and some rich food once in a while won’t kill you. All things in moderation like the Buddha said.”

Thai roast pork belly and vegetable stir-fry, Viet lemongrass grilled pork, Japanese pork belly buns, Chairman Mao red cooked pork belly

Indeed. For decades the public has been led to believe that saturated fats were ultra bad, potential killer foods. Tiecholz, the author of a new book called The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, brings together facts and ideas to poke holes in that notion. However, I’m not sure if she or anyone else has a concrete solution.

What I am sure of is that I’d rather have a single egg fried in butter than a big egg white omelet prepared with canola oil. Whole egg or low-cal mayo for banh mi? I’d rather slather on the former. When I chomp on crisp roast duck, I know that the next day, I’ll eat lighter and exercise more. Unless a recipe really warrants chicken breast, I’ll cook chicken thigh, thank you. Ditto for choosing pork shoulder over tenderloin. A few bites of pork belly in my vegetable-centric meals won’t hurt me either.

As a nurse said this to me years ago, “It’s not what you eat once in a while that matters, it’s what you eat every day.” We should make wise decisions for ourselves and be more skeptical of medical and research findings.

So let's celebrate a little and/or feel less guilt when we indulge. I’m a pork lover and find myself cooking with it more often than other meats. It’s versatile, affordable, and tasty. Below are ten porcine recipes from the archives. Use the search function to find more. And don’t forget the ribs from earlier this year too.

Got a take on this, experience or favorite fatty indulgence to share?

Deep-fried, stir-fried, pan-fried

Old School Sweet and Sour Pork Cornmeal Crusted Pork Chops Stir-fried Green Garlic with Chinese Sweet Sausage Burmese Pork Belly, Pickled Mustard Greens and Tofu Thai Pork Belly with Garlic and Broccolini

Wrapped and/or Grilled

Tofu Kimchi and Bacon Tacos Viet-Korean Grilled Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps Vietnamese Restaurant-Style Grilled Pork

Braised in a Bun (on Asian Dumpling Tips)

Chairman Mao’s Red Cooked Pork Belly Japanese Braised Pork Belly BunsPosted in Recipes: All, Recipes: Meat | Permalink

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Roasted Carrots with Mint Lemon Dressing

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 07:55:00 +0000

Last week we had a heat wave that lasted five days of hot, dry, Santa-Ana windy weather above 95 degrees. We were dying over here, so to make it bearable we ate lots of blackberry mojito pops. That’s how to cool down and freshen spirits in style! But mojito pops wasn’t all that we nourished on, especially when Spring vegetables are plentiful and perfect. We’re always trying to find balance and variety in our diet. If we indulge in cocktails, we make sure to add some carrots for health.

Tender spring vegetables are such a welcome treat to the table. It’s when vegetables are their sweetest and wonderful when eaten raw. But sometimes we overload on a batch of a single vegetable that sometimes we have to get creative to recycle some of the overload of produce sitting in the fridge. Consider carrots one of them. It’s hard to not pass up a gorgeous and perfectly crisp bunch of carrots at the market. Just looking at them in their fresh, green-topped, glory makes us feel a bunch of hungry bunnies.

For a quick vegetable side dish we roasted some carrots and added a variation of one of our favorite lemon parsley dressings, but this time with mint. Spring and mint pair so well together, so it made sense all around to serve these delicious roasted carrots with our easy mint lemon dressing.

We love this dish and it’s going to be a great side salad to our wood-fired oven menu. Yes, finally! After seven years of planning and researching, we’re finally building a traditional wood-fired oven! Friends, please excuse us, we’re geeking out over here. You all have no idea how long it’s taken us to plan this epic project. It’s not just any wood-fired oven, it’s a traditional one that’s brick laid in France. It’s going to be a part of our new outdoor wood-fired oven kitchen where we’ll attempt to make (and not burn- just char a bit ;)) wood-fired breads, pastries and roasts. Pizza, of course is included!

We’ll be sharing up dates on our wood-fired oven progress. Fingers crossed it’ll come out straight and not crooked! In the meantime, hope you are enjoying Spring, glorious produce and this awesome roasted carrot recipe.

hugs,

diane and todd

Yield: Serves 2-4

Total Time: 30 min

Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your carrots. If you decide to roast whole carrots that are thick, add additional cooking time. If you decide to slice your carrots, check them often to make sure they are not over-roasted. Please read post for additional recipe details and photos.

1 bunch carrots (about 1 pound), washed and ends trimmed1 Tablespoon olive oilKosher salt or sea salt to tastefresh cracked black pepper to taste3 Tablespoons olive oilZest 1 medium lemon2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice2 teaspoons brown sugar1 teaspoon dijon mustard1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt, or to taste1/4 cup chopped fresh mintPre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.Toss the carrots with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer carrots to a roasting pan or sheet pan and roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until carrots are tender.Add all the mint lemon dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk together well.When carrots are tender, transfer them to a serving platter or bowl and toss with the mint lemon dressing.Serve warm or cold.

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Phrae, March 23, 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 03:40:00 +0000

No comment;

Backstage at a Chinese opera, Phrae, Thailand

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Indonesian Chicken Curry Recipe (Gulai Ayam)

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Mon, 12 May 2014 00:04:00 +0000

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May 01, 2014Indonesian Chicken Curry Recipe (Gulai Ayam)

I have a tendency of preparing a chicken supper on Sundays. Sometimes it’s a roast chicken but last weekend, I hankered for a curry that we ate in Penang, Malaysia earlier this year. It was a Sunday when we wandered into a locals only spot for a lunch of chicken curry and roti (flatbread). The male Muslim cooks were hospitable and kind; they took pride in their craft. Their curry was well spiced but light on the palate, which meant it was perfect for the slightly greasy flatbread to soak up. The meal lingered in our minds long after we left Penang.

We got satisfaction a few weeks later with this chicken curry recipe published in a Saveur article by my friend Christopher Tan. He obtained the recipe from a West Sumatran Padang-style rice plate restaurant in Jakarta. I looked at his recipe and figured it was very similar to what we had in Penang. Culinary ideas flow easily through that part of the world, as Chris pointed out in “Spice World”, there are nasi padang restaurants in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore (where he lives).

I made the recipe soon after I saw it. It was richer and more sophisticated than the version we had in Penang, which was fine because we had it with rice instead of rich roti. The spices weren’t finely ground and lent nice texture to the sauce. I imagine that the Penang cooks used a pre-ground mixture of spices. My husband and I enjoyed the curry for days as one batch makes enough for several meals.

Kaffir (makrut) lime leaf, knotted lemongrass, and candlenutsAim for a vibrant orange oatmeal-like paste.

Last week, Saveur editor-in-chief James Oseland called to catch up. He’s expert on the foods of that region, having written Cradle of Flavor. Among the things we chatted about was how good this curry is. No wonder leading up to Sunday, I had gulai ayam on my mind.

I gathered up the ingredients from my pantry and garden for another delectable batch. The list of ingredients is long but the paste comes together in minutes in a food processor. I’ve made this in an hour from top to bottom, including the rest at the end. Go for it! Maybe work it into your Sunday night rotation?

Notes: I’ve modified the recipe by using chicken legs and skinning them. The skin is better saved for rendering schmaltz or discarded. Stewed chicken skin is unappealing. I opted for football-shaped coriander seed but you can use the regular round ones. One can of coconut milk worked well for my palate.

If you don’t have the lime leaves, omit them. A comment on the original recipe at Saveur said it was fine. I’d double up on the lemongrass, or add galangal if a Kaffir lime tree wasn’t right outside my door or I didn’t have a stash in the freezer. Use all Thai chiles or combine Fresno with Thai for less heat.

Candlenuts (sold at Chinese markets in the Indonesian section) thicken the sauce so make sure you use them or the macadamia nut sub. As for knotting up the lemongrass, see James’s tip in this video. You can opt for cutting it into short lengths and whacking it.

Leftovers keep exceptionally well for days. Along with rice, we’ve had this Indonesian chicken curry with tortillas (whole wheat ones are nice) as well as Middle Eastern flatbread. French bread would be terrific too.

RECIPE

Indonesian Chicken Curry Recipe

Gulai Ayam

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, or a mix of both (a good 3 lb / 1.5 kg total)2 teaspoon coriander seeds1 teaspoon cumin seeds1 teaspoon fennel seeds1 teaspoon grated nutmeg1 teaspoon ground turmeric½ teaspoon whole cloves¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds10 red Thai chiles, or 3 Fresno chiles plus 2 or 3 red Thai chiles, stemmed and roughly chopped5 large candlenuts or macadamia nuts4 cloves garlic, peeled1 medium shallot, peeled and quarteredChubby 2-inch (5 cm) piece ginger, peeled and sliced3 tablespoons canola or peanut oil (I used semi-refined Lion and Globe)5 or 6 kaffir (makrut) lime leaves2 sticks cinnamon1 fat stalk lemongrass, trimmed and knotted1 (13.5 oz / 400 ml) can coconut milk3/4 teaspoon salt

Method

Remove the skin from the chicken pieces. With the drumsticks, either cut the skin close to the knee joint to easily pull off the skin; or use a cleaver to whack off the knee joint, then remove the skin. Set aside.Put the coriander, cumin, fennel, nutmeg, turmeric, cloves, cardamom into a food processor. Whirl to grind up a bit. Add the chiles, candlenuts, garlic, shallots, ginger, and 2 tablespoons of water. Process into an oatmeal-like paste. It won’t be perfectly smooth.Heat the oil in a large saute pan or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the paste, lime leaves, cinnamon, and lemongrass until fragrant and no longer raw smelling, 5 to 7 minutes.Add the chicken, turning to sear the pieces a little on the outside, 4 to 5 minutes. You don’t have to brown it. Add half of the coconut milk and enough water to cover the chicken three-quarter of the way up. Let cook, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through; pierce with a knife tip to check.Stir in the remaining coconut milk and salt. Cook until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let cool, uncovered, for about 15 minutes for the flavors to meld and mellow. Taste to see if extra salt is needed. Enjoy with rice or whatever starch you’d like. The lemongrass, cinnamon, and lime leaf are not edible.

Recipe adapted from Saveur.

Related posts:

Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes Vietnamese Goat Curry with Coriander and Lemongrass How to Cook Perfect RicePosted in Recipes: All, Recipes: Chicken, Duck, Poultry, Eggs, Recipes: Gluten-Free | Permalink

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One Pot Stovetop Creamy Kale Mac and Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Sun, 11 May 2014 20:08:00 +0000

Yes, adding kale can justify mac and cheese being “healthier”, can’t it? Please say yes because that’s what my conscience was telling me when I wanted to combine two of my top 25 foods all in one pot. Perhaps I’m making up lost time as a kid when all I wanted to eat was mac and cheese, but instead I was fed a healthy diet of fresh fish, greens and rice. Oh, the “trauma” of eating fresh homemade food during childhood.

Please, let me explain.

As a hungry kid growing up in a family with five younger siblings, we add suffered from the pain of growing up in two cultures. When I say “pain”, it’s from the perspective of a thirteen year old who was always hungry for American foods. Granted, we never were actually hungry because my parents had a whole backyard of garden fresh vegetables and herbs. Practically every meal we ate was homemade, 50% homegrown and always fresh.

Fresh and homegrown were bad words back then when my siblings and I were growing up. Why? Because all we wanted to eat were mac and cheese, hamburgers, french fries and pizza. As kids, not only was it torture to have to help out in the garden and pull weeds every weekend when we wanted to play Atari, but it was even more torture to have to eat all the greens that my parents grew.

Yuck. That’s all we could think of every day for three meals a day. That amounted to 21 meals a week that had to be homemade and fresh. But we ate everything my parents put in front of us or else we’d starve.

The pangs of hunger and cravings for cheesy mac and cheese were only satisfied once a month. And that was in the form of the boxes of Kraft mac and cheese. If it was on sale, then my Mother would treat us to three boxes. Now if you did the math, that would mean three boxes between six kids, which meant that after it was all cooked, each kid only had about 1.5 cups of mac and cheese.

Yes, we were all good at math, including the two year old twins who knew how to count out exactly their fair share of 1.5 cups of Kraft mac and cheese.

So, now as an adult, I often have cravings for this comfort dish and always remember how little I had it growing up and am now making up for all those childhood years of lost mac and cheese dinners. So what does all mean?

Well, what it all means is that I indulge in my quick stove top mac and cheese, my “healthier” broccoli mac and cheese and now this kale version that’s super creamy, quick and satisfying.

Now that you know my childhood struggle, you can now join me and enjoy a big bowl of kale mac and cheese for me. And I’ll enjoy a few bowls of this creamy goodness myself.

Enjoy,

diane

Yield: Serves 6-8

Total Time: 40 min

Yes, you can certainly bake this dish to cook the macaroni into the cheese a bit more like I did in my past Broccoli Mac and Cheese Recipe. But if you're an impatient eater like me, this stove top version will be equally satisfying. Cook based on how patient (and hungry) you are. If you choose to finish it off in the oven then pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the mac and cheese in an oven proof vessel for about 20 minutes.

16 ounces pasta (penne, elbow macaroni or shells)1 large bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves chopped1/4 cup unsalted butter1 medium onion, minced1/4 cup flour2 cups whole milk1 cup chicken broth8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese1 cup grated Parmesan cheeseabout 1/2 cup of extra cheese for topping (optional)1/4 cup bread crumbskosher or sea salt, to tastefresh cracked black pepper, to tasteIn large pot, boil water and cook pasta to package instructions. Rinse pasta with cold water and allow to cool.Heat the same large pot on medium heat, melt butter and add onion. Cook onions until soft, then add flour. Stir the flour quickly to combine the flour and onion roux mixture. Add milk and chicken broth.Allow mixture to come to a gentle boil and sauce will thicken. Return heat to low and add cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Continue stirring gently until all the cheese is melted.Add the kale and pasta to cheese mixture. Gently stir together until the pasta is heated through and kale is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add extra cheese and bread crumbs on top.Serve warm.

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Goryo Hamaguchi: Earthquakes, Modern Medicine and Yamasa Soy Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Sun, 11 May 2014 15:57:00 +0000

There was a fairly strong earthquake in the Tokyo/Kanto region and along the coast to the south yesterday (May 5th, 2014). It was a holiday in Japan so there wasn’t as much disruption as there would have been on a regular Monday, but it was a reminder that another Big One may come sooner or later. It’s just a fact of life in Japan.

I happened to be re-reading this older article about soy sauce when I heard about the earthquake…which reminded me of someone who is associated with both. His name was Goryo Hamaguchi (????), and he was quite a remarkable man. I thought you might like to hear about him, since he’s barely known at all outside Japan.

Goryo Hamaguchi was born in 1825 in Kishuu, current day Wakayama prefecture, in the waning days of the Edo period. He was the son of one of the relatives of a big soy sauce merchant, which had been in business since 1645. He was subsequently adopted by the merchant to become the heir, and he eventually become the 7th owner and head of the company that eventually became Yamasa Corporation, one of the leading manufacturers of soy sauce to this day. They are still privately owned, making it one of the oldest companies in Japan under the same management in Japan and the world (the current CEO is Michio Hamaguchi, from the same family). That alone is a pretty remarkable thing, even though very old companies are much more common in Japan than in almost any other country. (One of the ways family businesses keep their companies going is to adopt a capable heir, as in Goryo’s case.) But of Goryo was more than just a soy sauce merchant.

Around the end of the 19th century, a popular legend sprung up about an old man, and elder in his village, who saw a huge tide coming in, and burned his freshly cut rice to warn the villages of the coming tsunami. (You can read the legend here). This legend was popularized outside of Japan be the Lafcadio Hearn, who called it a story about a Living God. It’s a tale that emphasizes the importance of warning systems when earthquakes hit, and has been re-told in textbooks and such in Japan.

The legend based on an actual event in Goryo’s life, although a lot of details differ. There was indeed an earthquake and Tsunami in the area where Goryo lived in 1854. He was just 35 then, not an old man, and he didn’t live on a mountain above the village, he lived in town. He did set his rice fields on fire, but they weren’t freshly cut with the rice still on them - they were just straw. But it did serve to warn the people in the area. But what he did after the earthquake was in many ways even better than the warning fires. He spent a lot of his own money - 4665 ryo or gold coins, which was a huge sum at the time (a family of four could live comfortably on 10 ryo a year) to make the area more able to withstand earthquakes and tsunami. One of the things he financed was a big levee. In 1946, 88 years after it was built, another large earthquake hit the area, but the levee was able to hold back the tsunami waves. In his home area, the spirit of Goryo Hamaguchi is honored by a shrine at the levee. (It’s quite common in Shinto for the spirits of great people to be worshipped after life as kind of demi-gods.)

Goryo was a very forward thinking man. He was one of the earliest proponents of opening the country to foreign trade after Commodore Matthew Perry’s fleet arrived, and he really wanted to study abroad for a while, although his request was denied the the Edo shogunate. He was also interested in western medicine, having befriended some prominent Rangaku or western scholars and doctors of the time. He contributed his considerable personal wealth in two areas: cholera prevention, and spreading the use of smallpox vaccinations. He built a hospital and a cholera treatment center in his home town of Choshi, and also backed the building and operations of the Western Smallpox Vaccination Center in Tokyo (now the Tokyo University School of Medicine), headed by Kansai Seki. He even financed the publication of the first full-fledged Western medical reference in Japan.

There’s a fictionalized account of this phase of his life in the great scifi-fantasy-medical drama manga and live-action miniseries Jin (?). In the manga he’s portrayed as a no-nonsense businessman who does not suffer fools lightly, and doesn’t just hand out money because people ask for it, but is willing to back what he sees as progress in medicine even if he doesn’t see any immediate profit from it. If all business leaders were like him, the world would be a much better place…

Goryo Hamaguchi died in 1885 at the age of 66, after an eventful life that included, on top of everything else, stints in both local and notional government in the new Meiji period (he was even a Cabinet minister for a short time). He finally fulfilled his wish to travel to the west, but he passed away in New York of an illness. At least he did manage to travel overseas finally.

So whenever you see a bottle of Yamasa soy sauce, you may want to give a little nod to Goryo Hamaguchi, who used the wealth the soy sauce brought to his family to improve the lives of others. I guess that the fact that Yamasa Corporation is involved in the biochemical industry as well as soy sauce may be his legacy.

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Better than Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Sun, 11 May 2014 12:51:00 +0000

I had always avoided Bangkok/central Thai-style food up in Chiang Mai. The few dishes I’d had weren’t exactly great, and anyway, how could I not take advantage of all the wonderful local stuff?

But it appears that all I needed was a bit of pointing in the right direction, and recently I encountered two restaurants that do dishes traditionally associated with Bangkok, but, well, better.

Phat kaphrao, minced meat fried with chili, garlic and the eponymous holy basil, is available on just about every street corner in Bangkok. It’s always cheap, salty and spicy, but almost never exceptional; in recent years I’d begun exclusively making it at home rather than getting it outside.

Unless I’m in Chiang Mai, that is. Raan Kraphrao Samrap Khon Chorp Phet translates as “Phat Kaphrao Restaurant for People Who Like Spicy”:

a slightly misleading name, as part of the deal here is that the customer chooses his preferred level of spiciness. I went for the pork version, medium spicy (shown at the top of this post). Unconventionally, the cooks here marinate the meat beforehand, and the resulting seasoning is spot-in. And I like that the holy basil (the eponymous kaphrao) is tossed into the wok at the very last second, so that it doesn’t wilt and disappear. Yet most of all, I was impressed by the texture of the dish, which emerges from the wok dry and concentrated, almost crumbly. This is an attribute I’d recognised in better versions of the dish, and something I’d always tried to recreate when making it at home.

Phat kaphrao is the obvious highlight, but they also do a daily selection of Chinese-Thai-style soups — perfect mild counterpoints to the spicy food — and full menu of central Thai dishes, including a really excellent phat khee mao.

Also putting Bangkok to shame is Pathom. This place specialises in khao tom, rice — steamed or boiled — served with various Chinese-influenced sides.

The menu here spans no more than a dozen dishes, which over Pathom’s 30 years in business, they appear to have absolutely perfected. This isn’t sexy cuisine: the dishes aren’t exactly handsome, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find presentation or garnish, but you’ll also be hard-pressed to find better versions of these staples just about anywhere in Thailand.

On my most recent visit (shown above), I had eggplant, Thai basil and fermented soybeans expertly flash-fried until just milliseconds away from turning to mush; crispy, meaty deep-fried pork belly; jap chai, Chinese-style braised vegetables, which here includes lots of cabbage and pork skin; a really excellent tao huu phalo, firm tofu braised in five spice broth, where here is served with dip that’s a near-perfect intersection of spicy and tart; and of course rice. I generally opt for steamed rice, but most customers go for the eponymous boiled rice, which allegedly is given extra gluten by the addition of a bit of sticky rice

Everything is made in advance and staff are efficient, so you’ll be eating in seconds.

And like Raan Kraphrao Samrap Khon Chorp Phet, in addition to better-than-in-Bangkok Bangkok-style food, the other linking element is a dining room that has all the charm of airplane hangar:

Bringing home the fact that, no matter where you’re eating Thailand, good food often involves a degree of compromise.

Raan Kraphrao Samrap Khon Chorp Phet/??????????? (???????????????)
Rte 1001, Chiang Mai
081 530 0380
11.30am-1pm & 4-9.30pm

View Thai Eats in a larger map

Pathom/??????????
Th Chang Phuak, Chiang Mai
7am-2pm

View Thai Eats in a larger map

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Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Sun, 11 May 2014 08:19:00 +0000

April is always a happy month—Spring is in the air, flowers are blossoming, the sun is coming out to play, everywhere you go or turn to has a new and revived energy. Spring is just a happy time and happy time calls for a smashing and happy recipe that everyone can enjoy and celebrate, such as this Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte recipe.

Since Easter falls on this Sunday, I thought this recipe will be excellent for the family. This Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte is so easy to make, extremely decadent, rich, and a crowd pleaser. The toasted walnut topping adds a nice nutty crunch and make the chocolate torte even better. After baking, you need to chill the torte, preferably overnight. So, if you are making this recipe for Easter Sunday, you can start making this Saturday.

The Martha Stewart Living Magazine April issue is available now at newsstand, so pick up a copy and check out all the amazing recipes now.

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Bulgogi & spam musubi bento lunches

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Sun, 11 May 2014 04:16:00 +0000

May I just say that kindergarten bentos have been kicking my butt this year? Bug’s new school starts super-early, and I’m NOT a morning person. Most mornings I’m thankful for every time-saving trick I can find, and I’m guilty of not taking many pictures as we rush out the door.

It’s been getting a little better lately, though. We’re hosting a homestay language teacher for a month, which has prompted me to get on top of our crazy morning routine (and declutter the house!).

Contents of kindergartener lunch: Shrimp & chive har gow dumpling, sauteed mushrooms, bulgogi (Korean grilled marinated beef), steamed broccoli with vinaigrette, and cheese cubes.

Morning prep time: 13 minutes, using a leftover dumpling and bulgogi from an earlier meal. In the morning I briefly steamed the broccoli and re-steamed the dumpling (to re-soften the dough wrapper) in my microwave mini steamer, then sauteed the pre-cut mushrooms. (I got a bag of cut mushrooms as sample at a food event, but I usually cut my own mushrooms with a knife or hard-boiled egg slicer.) I let the mushrooms and broccoli drain and cool in a sieve set over a bowl for a few minutes to prevent condensation inside the box once it was closed up (which also improves the food safety of a packed lunch).

Packing: Reusable silicone baking cups hold the mushrooms, broccoli and meat, keeping all flavors separate for finicky wee ones. Cheese cubes act as gap fillers to stabilize the lunch for transport. Not shown is a small sauce bottle filled with dipping sauce for the dumpling. The lunch is packed in a 450ml Disney Cars bento box with removable divider, about the right size container for a five-year-old according to the bento box size guidelines.

Verdict: Bug ate most of the lunch, but left about half of the dumpling behind. He said he ran out of time to eat, which is increasingly becoming an issue with his lunches (they’ve got less time for lunch at school than he’s used to at home). I’m not sure if there’s actually not enough time, or if it’s just more distracting to be eating at the same long table with the rest of his class…

* * * * *

Contents of kindergartener lunch: Spam musubi (rice with fried spam seasoned with teriyaki sauce, see the full spam musubi tutorial), sauteed snow peas with Thai oyster sauce, strawberry pineapple guavas, cherry tomatoes, and a 100% juice jello cup from a local Asian market. I picked up the tiny pineapple guavas (also known as feijoa or guavasteen) at a local farmers’ market; they’ve got a great fragrance and flavor, and we eat them out of hand as a snack. I even discovered a pineapple guava bush in the backyard of one of our friends recently, which they didn’t know about — delicious discovery for them!

Morning prep time: 10 minutes, using pre-fried/seasoned spam I had on hand, and frozen rice. In the morning I microwaved the frozen rice and quickly assembled a single spam musubi with my spam musubi press. That was SO the way to make spam musubi in the morning. Super-fast, and totally enclosing the rice in nori makes it easy for little hands to manage.

Speed bento tip: To speed up prep of the spam musubi, you can fry and season the spam ahead of time, and either refrigerate or freeze the seasoned spam so it’s on hand whenever you want it. Combine it with fresh or reheated frozen rice for speedy spam musubi in the mornings.

Packing: I kept the spam musubi whole to make it easier for little hands to eat without it falling apart. I cut the pineapple guavas in half beforehand so that Bug could use the little spoon from the jello cup to quickly scoop out the insides. The snow peas went into a reusable silicone baking cup to keep the sauce away from the other elements of the lunch. The lunch is packed in a 450ml Disney Cars bento box with movable divider.

Verdict: Big thumbs up on the spam musubi, which delights Bug whenever it appears in his lunch. He left behind one of the pineapple guavas (saying he didn’t have enough time), and also mentioned that one of the kids at school said it looked like a poop. We had a good laugh about who might have green poop, and evidently he told the girl, “Don’t yuck my yum!” (Classic food blogger kid — I’ve been using this line on him since reading it in the Michael Pollan NYT article on Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.

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Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Hao) — Sun, 11 May 2014 00:32:00 +0000

I am so glad that I am back in Penang, that means I can hangout with my girlfriends CP Choong (also my baking guru on Rasa Malaysia) and Craft Passion (super-talented craft blogger). I met up with them and told CP Choong to share new baking recipes on Rasa Malaysia, while I am on vacation eating around Penang and enjoying my kitchen days off.

This amazing looking and uber delicious Meyer Lemon Pound Cake is her creation. Since it’s springtime in the United States, and spring is meyer lemon’s main season of fruit production, this recipe is sure to please many people, if you love pound cake and the exotic great taste and aroma of meyer lemon.

What’s more, she made a killer meyer lemon glaze for the pound cake…now that’s sinful and I am sure you just want to pick up a piece, or two or three pieces of this meyer lemon pound cake from your screen.

Other than this recipe, I also have two other pound cake recipes here and here and Rasa Malaysia. Enjoy!

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