❤　little japan mama　❤

Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

2013-04-27T16:09:00.002+09:00

After posting my first Osaka Style Okonomiyaki Recipe, one of my friends asked me, "How about the okonomiyaki with noodles in it?"

She may have been referring to this, Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki, (also known as Hiroshima-yaki ) which has a layer of yakisoba noodles. The other main difference between Osaka Style Okonomiyaki and Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki is, while in Osaka style Okonomiyaki the ingredients (or at least, the cabbage) are mixed together into the batter, in Hiroshimayaki, each ingredient is added separately in layers.

Coming from a Kansai background, I had grown up on Osaka style Okonomiyaki. So, to add Hiroshimayaki to my blog, I first had to master it. My husband is a big fan of Hiroshimayaki, and has thoroughly enjoyed all my practice efforts. For the past year or so has been asking me "have you posted Hiroshimayaki on your blog yet?"

Finally, here it is...

Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki Recipe (makes 6)

Batter:

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 3/4 ~ 2 cups water

1~2 tsp dashi powder (1 sachet)

1/2 cabbage, shredded

a large handful of moyashi (mungbean sprouts)

a small handful of sliced negi (shallots/spring onions)

2 Tbsp beni-shoga (pickled ginger), finely chopped

3 packet/servings of yakisoba noodles

200~300g thinly sliced pork belly*

6 eggs

Toppings:

Okonomi Sauce

Japanese Mayonaise

Ao-nori, negi and katsuo-bushi

1. Mix together flour, water and dashi powder to make the batter. It should be quite runny, but not watery. Adjust if necessary (I can't be bothered measuring on scales, so cup measurements are always approximate).

2. Using a ladle, pour a little batter onto a preheated hotplate/teppanyaki plate/frypan, and swirl the bottom of the ladle around on it to spread the batter thinly. Sprinkle with Katsuobushi.

3. Place a very large handful of shredded cabbage on the base, followed by ginger, shallots and bean sprouts.

4. Open a packet of yakisoba noodles and place them on the hotplate (if making just one okonomiyaki at a time, use only half a packet of noodles)

5. Place strips of pork on top of the mound of vegetables. Sprinkle the pork and the yakisoba with a little salt and pepper. (Even BETTER, if you have it, sprinkle the yakisoba with some of the yakisoba sauce powder packet that came with the yakisoba.)

6. Pour a little batter over the meat and vegetables, then using two spatulas, flip the whole thing over. The base crepe now becomes a "lid" under which the vegetables can cook.

Don't worry if a little cabbage falls out the sides when you flip it, just sweep it all under the "lid".

Turn the yakisoba, which should now be getting crispy.

7. (When the pork is cooked through and a little crispy)
Spread the yakisoba noodles out into a circle the size of the okonomiyaki, then lift the okonomiyaki (using two spatulas) and place it on top of the noodles.

8. Crack an egg onto the hotplate in the spot where the yakisoba was. Break the yolk and spread the egg out a bit. Lift the okonomiyaki and place it on top of the egg.

9. When the egg is cooked, flip the whole thing, egg side up.

10. Generously spread Okonomi Sauce on top, followed by mayonaise, ao-nori, shallots and katsuobushi.

Notes:
*The pork is not paper-thin sliced pork as we would use in a nabe (hot pot), rather it is ideally medium-thin sliced pork belly (with a bit of fat on it) but a little thinner than Korean Samgeopsal pork.

Step 1: Batter "quite runny but not watery"?? The perfect batter consistency is similar to that of Osaka Okonomiyaki, it just takes a little practice, and you'll know what I mean...sorry.

Step 3: The vegetables will look like the hugest pile ever when you put them on raw, but when they cook at step 6 they flatten out.

Step 6: Don't overcook the cabbage at step 6, or you end up with the taste of... overcooked cabbage.

Okonomi Sauce: I've been asked about substitutes before, but for Hiroshimayaki, Okonomi Sauce doesn't really have any good substitute. Even Tonkatsu Sauce (which my mother often uses for Osaka style Okonomiyaki) is just a little second-rate here, sorry.

My other Okonomiyaki Recipes:

Okonomiyaki

Ebi Okonomiyaki

Sweet and Sour Pork (Su-Buta)

2013-04-16T14:07:00.000+09:00

Sweet and Sour Pork (or Chicken) Recipe

Su-Buta (lit. Vinegar Pork) is a classic Japanese Chu-ka (Chinese style) dish, and many Japanese make it using a packet-mix for the sauce. However there is really no need for a packet mix, as the ingredients for the sauce are probably already in your kitchen!

The meat is just coated with cornstarch and shallow-fried, so it's very easy. Or if you're really lazy like me, sometimes you might make it by just stir-frying the meat along with the vegetables.

300g pork or chicken, cut into roughly 1cm thick, 2x3cm pieces
a few tablespoons cornstarch
1 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 large green bell pepper/capsicum (or 3-4 piiman), sliced

Sauce Ingredients:
4 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp chicken stock powder
2/3 cup water
3 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with a little water

1. Place all sauce ingredients in a cup and stir. Set aside until the end.
2. Place a few tablespoons of cornstarch with a little salt and pepper in a plastic freezer bag. Add sliced pork or chicken and shake to coat well. Shallow-fry with oil until browned and crisp. Remove from oil and let drain.
3. In a wok or large frypan, heat a little oil and stir-fry the vegetables, adding capsicum/piiman last so as not to overcook.
4. Give the cup of sauce ingredients another stir, then add it to the vegetables, continue stirring over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
5. Add the cooked pork/chicken and stir to combine.

Serve with rice.

I often make this dish with chicken just because chicken is much cheaper in Japan, however if you make it with pork, you'll know why the dish is called "Sweet and Sour Pork", as the unique taste of pork goes amazingly well with the Sweet and Sour.

Although it is best fresh and hot, left over Sweet and Sour can even find a place in your bento lunch the next day!

Hayashi Rice

2013-03-04T13:23:00.000+09:00

Hayashi Rice Recipe

Like Cream Stew and Corn Potage, Hayashi Rice is a Yoshoku dish, which means it is the Japanese adaptation of a Western-style dish. You can buy blocks of Hayashi Rice Ru (ハヤシライス) for the sauce base, however, I prefer to make things from scratch - and if you're not living in Japan, it's certainly the more accessible and affordable option.
I like to find easy ways to do things, so like most of what I do, this recipe is super-easy, avoiding the annoying procedure of making the demi-gras (that's a french word) separately, but producing pretty much the same result.

300g beef, sliced

2 onions, sliced

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp red wine (or sake)

1-2 tsp beef stock powder and 300ml water

1 cup tomato juice or tomato-based vegetable juice OR 5 Tbsp tomato paste+2/3 cup water
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, optional
Potatoes and carrots, optional

1. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a frypan, and stir-fry beef and onions until beef is browned and onions are tender, adding the other Tbsp butter half-way through.
2. Sprinkle flour over, quickly stir to coat the beef and stir-fry for a minute longer.
3. Pour wine(or sake) onto the beef, let the alcohol evaporate a little, then add all remaining ingredients, stir and simmer 20 min.

Serve with rice on a pasta bowl or plate and sprinkle with Ao-nori, if desired. Eat with a fork and spoon (not chopsticks).

Night Sakura at Ueno Park

2013-02-28T12:46:00.002+09:00

If there's one thing more spectacular than the Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) in full bloom, it is seeing them lit up at night - "Yozakura" in Japanese. Ueno Park is one of the most popular spots in Tokyo for Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing or Picnic-ing), and is buzzing each night of the season with thousands of Hanami picnic partiers.

Illumination is generally from the end of March to around the first two weeks of April, to co-incide with the height of the short-lived Sakura blossoming. Dates vary from year to year. These are a few of the pictures I took April 12th last year at Ueno Park. Illumination is from 5:30 until 10pm.

Other top spots in Tokyo with Sakura Illuination include Chidorigafuchi (part of the moat around Chiyoda, the location of the Imperial Palace) and Sumida Park (along the Sumida River). That's where I'm planning for my Yozakura outing this year. (very excited)

I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful Yozakura as I walked through Ueno Park, but unlike places such as Shinjuku Gyoen, (see link for last year's photos) Ueno Park is not the most family-friendly Hanami picnic spot as it is quite crowded, and the large majority of picnic-ers are consuming (substantial amounts of) beer. They are otherwise well-behaved, however, and I did see one or two other young families like ourselves enjoying the evening.

The end of March to the first half of April is definitely a good time to visit Japan.

Happy Hanami 2013!

^_^

Piiman no Nikuzume (Stuffed Peppers)

2012-07-25T13:37:00.000+09:00

One of our favorite foods is Piiman no Nikuzume - Japanese stuffed peppers. They're surprisingly quick and easy, and I make them quite often, the only reason why I haven't done a post yet is because in Australia we didn't have real piiman, so I was making them with green capsicums (bell peppers)! Luckily they taste great made with capsicums/bell peppers so anyone around the world can make them.

This version of Piiman no Nikuzume is our favorite, with a thick, juicy, glaze-like sauce.
(It took me a while to think of those adjectives... in Japanese I would simply describe it as: toro~ri!)
Based on this recipe by ラビー on cookpad.

Piiman no Nikuzume

4-9 small green bell peppers/capsicums(what you really want is piiman but I think they're only in Japan)
300g pork mince
a large handful of chopped shallots (green onions) OR 1 small onion, chopped very finely
1/4 cup panko (breadcrumbs)
1 egg

Sauce Ingredients (mixed together in a cup):
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp dashi powder OR chicken stock powder (Since it's yoshoku, why not?)

2 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with a little water

Place egg, panko and mince in a mixing bowl, and knead/mix until well combined. Mix in shallots.
Slice peppers/capsicums in half or, if you couldn't get small ones, (as I often found in Australia) slice in thirds or quarters lengthwise along the natural lines of the capsicum, making sure they have enough depth and roundness to hold the filling in. You can sprinkle the insides with flour if you like, to help them to stick better, but I find this is not usually necessary.
Heat a little oil in a frypan, and arrange the peppers, skin side down, until the surface just has a grill mark.
Flip the peppers so the pork side is down, press gently. Cook until well browned.
Flip peppers pork side up again and use a paper towel to wipe excess oil from the frypan. Add Sauce Ingredients to the frypan and simmer until pork is cooked through.
Place peppers on serving plates. Add cornstarch mixture to the frypan, stir and bring to boil to thicken. Pour over peppers. Serve immediately, with rice and salad if you like.

Sprinkle with Shichimi if you like a little spice.

If you're keeping them for later, do not pour the sauce on yet. Keep them separate until after re-heating, then pour the sauce on just before serving.

I try to cook the pork as well as possible in step 4, and keep step 5 simmering as short as possible, as I like the peppers to still have a little crispness.

Kimchi Nabe (Hot-Pot)

2012-06-21T22:54:00.001+09:00

Kimchi Nabe (pronounced something like a short "nah-bay") is one of our long-time Nabe Party favorites, along with Sukiyaki and Shabu-shabu. We always cook it on a portable gas hob on the low table where everyone can sit around and reach it easily, adding more of each ingredient as the pot empties. Nabe parties are the best for conversation and slow, social eating - and they're always full of vegetables, which makes them healthy (and cheap)!

I don't know enough about cooking to say exactly why, but Kimchi nabe tastes amazing, every time.

(Is that the effect of the Kimchi Umami?)

And don't worry if you can't handle very spicy food - last time I just used less kimchi, and our 2-year-old had no problem!

Kimchi nabe is extremely easy to make, and just about impossible to get it wrong. Most of the time I don't even measure the ingredients.

Kimchi Nabe Recipe (serves 4, just add more veggies and pork to serve up to 6)

100g ~ 400g Kimchi, depending on how hot or mild you like it

300g pork (thinly sliced)

Chinese cabbage

Chives

Enoki Mushrooms (I used Shimeji this time, they're great too!)

Tofu

+/-Moyashi bean sprouts

+/-A bundle of Harusame (Bean thread vermicelli, often used in Vietnamese cooking) soaked in hot water and drained

1~2 tsp garlic

1~2 tsp ginger

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp sake

1 Tbsp miso paste

1 Tbsp ground sesame seeds

2 tsp chicken stock powder

2~3 cups boiling water

1. Season the pork: Using a spoon, scrape out some chilli etc from the kimchi (usually I find some at the top or bottom of the jar) and put it on the pork. Pour the juices from the jar of kimchee onto the pork. Add garlic, ginger and 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil to the pork. Massage it all in with your fingers. Leave the pork to marinate while you prepare the other vegetables and ingredients.

(Now, greet your guests as they've just arrived, and have them sit around the table.)

2. Heat 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil in the nabe (a wok or a frypan is great). Brown the pork, then add sake, ground sesame seeds, kimchi, water, miso paste (dissolve it in) and stock powder. Bring to the boil again, then add some of each of the vegetables and tofu, except for chives. Simmer for a few minutes, then add chives.
3. Make sure that everyone has a bowl of hot steamed rice, a torizara bowl and chopsticks, and then everyone digs in!
4. When the nabe is at least half empty, push the remaining cooked ingredients to one side, then into the open space, place some more of each ingredient.

(Torizara means a small plate or bowl for eating a shared meal. For nabe, the torizara is always a bowl, of course)

The soup is so delicious that you had better have a spoon or ladle ready so that everyone can take some soup together when transferring things to their own bowl.

If you have more than 6 people eating, you might consider making two separate nabe, so everyone can reach it easily.

...

Sadly, we had to leave our do-nabe (clay pot) in Australia, so I was too embarrassed to include the frypan in the photos. (恥笑)

...

If you don't have chives, you can substitute shallots.

...

I guess you could say that Kimchi Nabe is the Japanese adaptation of Korean Kimchi Chige?

Happy Nabe Party-ing!

Perfect Takoyaki, from Plain Flour!

2012-06-20T14:23:00.003+09:00

And the secret is...

my husband Makoto actually worked at Gindaco years ago, so he knows exactly how they make it.

^_^

I still can't make Takoyaki as good as his.

(Well, I guess I've mostly left it up to him - this is my night off cooking!!)

I did a post on Takoyaki last year, with step-by-step instructions on how to make perfect, crispy takoyaki. However, at that stage Makoto was still recommending takoyaki flour - we hadn't come up with the perfect, from-scratch takoyaki recipe yet.

So, as you can guess, we've tried a lot of recipes over the years,

and I think I've finally got it!

(Because these takoyaki were to die for!)

But then you say: "without takoyaki flour, surely you need yama-imo, right?"

My answer: Yama-imo might enhance the texture even more, but we didn't use either!

This recipe doesn't need it!

Perfect Crisp Takoyaki Batter Recipe

makes 26 (enough for 3 people) Cups are Australian Metric (250ml), eggs are 60g.

1 cup plain flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs
2 cups water
1 tsp dashi powder or chicken stock
3 tsp Japanese soy sauce

Place flours in a medium-sized mixing bowl, and combine/aerate with a whisk.
Add eggs, dashi powder and half of the water. Whisk until smooth.
Add soy sauce and the rest of the water gradually, while whisking.
Cover and refrigerate for half an hour, while you prepare the other ingredients:

Boiled Octopus, sliced up into 26 pieces
finely sliced negi (shallots/ spring onions/scallions)
1~2 Tbsp beni-shoga (red pickled ginger)

For On Top:

Takoyaki Sauce (or Okonomi or Tonkatsu sauce)
Japanese Mayonnaise
Katsuobushi
Ao-nori

5. Follow Makoto's instructions on how to Make Takoyaki: How to Make Crisp Golden Takoyaki
When all your takoyaki are ball-shaped, pour a drizzle of oil onto the hotplate in-between the takoyaki - enough that the oil goes into the holes under the takoyaki. This makes the surface of the takoyaki crispy as they actually fry in the oil. Keep turning balls until they are crispy and golden.

Karaage Chicken Recipe for Obento

2012-06-12T11:33:00.001+09:00

Karaage is Makoto's favorite bento "main", and probably the most popular style of fried chicken in Japan. The delicious karaage flavour is created by the marinade which includes garlic, ginger and soy sauce.

I certainly don't feel like deep-frying chicken in the morning, so I make a large batch of karaage one evening, serve some of it for dinner with a big leafy salad, and freeze the rest in small bags.

Since we're mainly making this karaage for freezing and re-heating for super-fast bento, this is the recipe for soft karaage (not super crunchy) - I'll do that karaage in a later post.

Karaage Marinade Ingredients:
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
3 Tbsp sake
2 Tbsp shoyu
1 Tbsp sesame oil

900g~1200g chicken thigh fillets, skin on (2~2.5 lb) (I used 1200g this time)

1 egg
1/4 cup cornflour
1/3 cup flour
Oil for deep frying

Slice chicken into randomly shaped pieces around 3x4x1.5cm (2"x1"x0.5")
Place in a large snaplock bag with all marinade ingredients, massage a little and refrigerate 30min
Add egg, both flours and massage the bag to mix. The marinade should turn into a thick batter.
Heat oil for deep-frying. Fry in batches, turning once. When golden-brown, drain on a wire rack or absorbent paper. Make sure you cook the chicken right through, but don't overcook - you want to keep them moist.

To Freeze:

Separate into small freezer bags and lay out on a baking tray to freeze. (I freeze 3 per bag)

When frozen, place in a sealed plastic container to keep them fresh up to a month.

Re-heat in the microwave until hot before putting in your bento.

Use good hygiene and touch the karaage as little as possible at all stages after deep frying to help minimize bacteria and keep your bento safe. (Use chopsticks, not fingers, to put your bento together!)

1. Slice the chicken.

2. Marinate the chicken with garlic, ginger, sake, soy sauce and sesame oil for 30 min.

3. Add egg, cornstarch and flour. 4. Deep fry until golden.

Choco Candy Fork-Picks

2012-06-09T22:08:00.001+09:00

A mouthwatering array of chocolates, candy, donuts and cookies!

Each fork-pick measures 3.8~4cm tall.
Colours of each pick may vary to those shown above, (the manufacturers seem to switch colours around often!) however rest assured I have only stocked sets in which at least one of the "choco" picks is brown.

Choco Candy Fork Picks Set of 10 $3.50

Mini Onigiri Rice Mold Rabbit Bear Flower Star 4 in 1

2012-06-09T21:25:00.000+09:00

This mold makes really mini onigiri! The rabbit is 3x2.9cm, the bear 2.5x3.4cm, basically everything measures under 1.5 inches. Which means a single onigiri is a single mouthful - even for my 2 1/2 year-old Ochibi!

One thing I love about this mold is that it's a 4-in-one - it's large enough to hold easily while you fill it with rice, and you may as well make all four at the same time!

Has 6 parts - Base, Top and 4 base plates make them easy to eject.

CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK
Mini Onigiri Rice Mold Rabbit Bear Flower Star 4 in 1 $3.90

Here I've made all four shapes with 60/40 brown/white rice mix, with furikake mixed in and wakame eyes.

Alphabet Food Cutters

2012-06-09T21:08:00.003+09:00

Leave special messages in someone's bento lunch, on a birthday cake, or teach your child to read using food!

This cleverly designed alphabet cutter set has all the letters of the alphabet on three rings, which is much less fiddly than dealing with 26 separate shape cutters! It also has a heart-shape cutter to add an extra sweet touch to your message, or create flowers by cutting out four hearts together, as shown in the picture below.

Letters are 11mm tall and cutting depth is 5mm.
Use the blunt end of a toothpick to eject the letters from the cutter if necessary.
Only letter outlines are cut out, so letters such as O, A, P etc have solid middles. If you like, use a toothpick to make an indent in the middle.

Alphabet food cutters ~~$3.50~~ $2.90/set

How to Make Soft Mini-Hamburg for Bento

2012-06-02T21:59:00.001+09:00

Hambaagu (or "hamburg", as in "hamburger" without the "-er") is something I grew up with, and wondered why we didn't eat them inside a bread bun like other people. (...And why my mother called them "hambaagu", without the "-er" or "patty"!) I've figured out the answer since then: Hambaagu is a Japanese thing.

The special thing about these hamburg, is that they're still soft, even after they cool down - one of the requirements for delicious obento foods. The secret is: lots of panko breadcrumbs, and after cooking on both sides, add a little water to the frypan, put the lid on and steam them, similar to making Japanese-style pan-fried gyouza. The panko absorbs the water and holds the moisture in.

I learnt how to make these watching a cooking show on Japanese TV, teaching mothers how to make obento for their kids when they start kindergarten. Mini-Hamburg and Chicken Karaage were named as the favorite bento "main" okazu for kids. (Japanese cooking shows are really useful!) I didn't write down the recipe at the time so I pretty much guessed it. You can't go wrong. I cook mine on a large electric okonomiyaki hotplate.

Ingredients:

400g pork mince (if your mince is low fat, mix in 1 Tbsp vegetable oil or Japanese mayonnaise)

Panko or homemade breadcrumbs: Almost the same volume as mince (maybe 1 cup? didn't measure)

1 small onion, sliced very finely

1 egg

1 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

a sprinkle of salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. It should be moist, if not, add another Tbsp milk.

2. Pre-heat a large frypan to med heat, wipe with a little oil.

3. Shape mini-hamburg in your hand and place them on the frypan (about 4~5cm dia)

4. Turn when browned and cook until browned on both sides.

5. Pour a little water onto the frypan (enough to cover the base of the frypan, about 1/4 cup, depending on the size of the frypan and how much you are cooking) and immediately put the lid on to keep the steam in. After a few minutes when all the water has absorbed into the hamburg, they're done! (Be careful not to burn yourself with steam when you open the lid.)

6. Wash the residue from the frypan before cooking the next batch.

Storage:
1. Allow to cool before bagging for the freezer.
2. Laying the bagged hamburg out on a baking tray allows them to freeze faster and keeps them separate.
3. Once they're frozen, place all the bags into a freezer-safe lidded container, and they'll be fresh for up to a month. (I use one with a hinged lid, it's easier to open and close)
4. Reheat 3 hamburg on a plate in the microwave on high for 1 minute, or until they are hot right though. Use however you like in your bento.

Kawaii Chopstick and Case Sets

2012-05-31T16:43:00.000+09:00

Don't just eat your bento with cute chopsticks, carry them in an adorable matching case!

Whip Cream Strawberry Flower 18cm Chopsticks and Case Sale Price $3.50

Whip Cream Ribbon Heart 18cm Chopsticks and Case Sale Price $3.50

Princess Story 16.5cm Chopsticks and Case Sale Price $3.50

Silicone Pancake/Egg Rings

2012-05-31T16:30:00.001+09:00

These silicone pancake/egg rings produce the most adorable shaped pancakes and eggs. The wide silicone base fits snugly to the surface of your frypan and helps to prevent egg or pancake mixture from escaping. (Although a little may escape here and there, I think they work better than the old style metal ones!)

Rabbit, Bear, Heart and Star shape are perfect for eggs or small pancakes.

Large Bear is the right size for regular-sized pancakes.

Use your imagination with other ingredients! Use in the frypan or oven.

Silicone Pancake Egg Rings

(Colours selected at random. If you have a colour preference please send a message)

Large Bear $1.80

Rabbit $1.80

Bear $1.80

Heart $1.80

Rabbit, Bear, Heart Set of Three (Random colours: Green, Dark Purple, Pink, Orange) $4.80

Star $1.90

Mini Onigiri Mold Set - Flower and Bear

2012-05-31T16:04:00.004+09:00

What I love about these is the 3-dimensional shape of the top of the onigiri! The flower petals are rounded and the centre of the flower is indented, just like a real flower!
And the bear...I haven't figured out why the bear's nose is indented, but I'm sure you can find a creative use for that!

The flower and bear mini onigiri molds make perfect-sized onigiri for my little Ochibi's bento box.

Their small size also makes them easy for a small child to handle.

Very easy to use, just fill, press and push the white backing to eject. (The molds have a hold in the base to poke your finger through.)
Flower 4.5cm diameter

Mini Onigiri Mold Set - Flower and Bear $3.60

Mini Heart Silicone Cups

2012-05-31T15:47:00.001+09:00

These adorable little silicone heart cups are the perfect size for umeboshi or other small portions of Japanese pickles.

They are also the perfect size for making gorgeous heart-shaped chocolates!

Mini Heart Silicone Chocolate/Dessert Cups Set of 10 $3.50

Hapimogu Food Drawing Pen

2012-05-31T15:35:00.001+09:00

Fill with sauce or (liquid) food and draw faces or whatever you like! Includes a 1mm and a 2mm drawing tip and a lid so you can store it in the refrigerator.

I haven't actually used this one, it was a special request from a friend.

Hapimogu Food Drawing Pen Sale Price $2.90

Mini Onigiri Triangular Rice Mold

2012-05-30T13:36:00.000+09:00

This is probably my most-used onigiri mold. It makes onigiri which are small enough for my two-year old to handle. It is also great for shaping rice for inside your bento box.

Wrap your mini onigiri in seaweed, roll them in sesame seeds, put faces on them! There are endless variations to the mini onigiri you can prepare with this.

It is very easy to use. Just wet the mold, fill with rice, push the top on, tip it over and push them out. The pink parts have a textured inner surface to reduce rice sticking.

MADE IN JAPAN

Mini Onigiri Rice Mold Sale Price: $3.30

3-Hole Mayonaise Bottle for Okonomiyaki

2012-05-30T13:17:00.001+09:00

Did you wonder how I did the mayonaise decoration on my okonomiyaki? It was really easy. This is the secret tool to impress your friends with!

Quickly and easily decorates Salads, Bento, Okonomiyaki or Takoyaki. A must if you want to use mayonaise on sushi! In Australia we bought the 1kg bottles of Japanese mayonaise, and they had big mouths, which meant mayonaise could only be squeezed out in fat blobs. I kept the big bottle at the back of the fridge and used it to refill this one. We love it because it efficiently uses our precious Japanese mayonnaise without waste!

When it gets near empty, store up-side down in the refrigerator and the mayonnaise will be easy to dispense to the last drop.

MADE IN JAPAN

Three-Hole Mayonnaise Bottle Sale Price $2.90

Furikake is Now in our Shop!

2012-05-30T00:02:00.000+09:00

"Furikake" means "sprinkle on", and it turns rice into a delicious treat!

Most of these furikake are "Mazekomi" ("mix-in") and are designed especially for mixing into rice for delicious and easy onigiri, or the rice for your bento lunchbox.

Makoto has this in his bento rice every day.

$2.50 each, Only available to Australia due to customs restrictions in other countries.

1) Pickled Ume-plum and Salt with Black Sesame and Kamaboko (fish cake) Flowers:

2) Black sesame and salt:

3) Colourful Vegetable and Wakame Mix-In:

4) Colourful Sea-vegetable and Wakame Mix-In:

5) Vegetable and Wakame Mix-In

I'm still in the process of checking the ingredients, this is not final, I'll check with my husband tonight to see if it's right and may add and make changes to the ingredients listings.

Sesame seeds, salt, kamaboko(Japanese fish cake), ume (Japanese plum), MSG, emulsifier, flavour.

Colourful Vegetable and Wakame Mix-in:

Wakame (seaweed), Daikon leaf (giant white radish), sesame seeds, salt, carrot, pumpkin, sugar, red capsicum, lactose, spinach, glucose, shiso leaf, soy sauce, palm oil, MSG, Vitamin E, Carotinoid Colour.

(may contain traces of wheat)

Sea-vegetable and Wakame Mix-in:

Wakame (seaweed), sesame seeds, salt, red algae, lactose, soy sauce, sugar, hijiki, kelp, soy product, calcium, palm oil, fish extract, aosa (sea lettuce), green tea, MSG, caramel colour, Vitamin E

(may contain traces of wheat)

Daikon leaf, wakame, salt, sesame seeds, sugar, palm oil, MSG

Aonori (Seaweed flakes for Okonomiyaki)

2012-05-29T23:39:00.000+09:00

This is ao-nori, the seaweed flakes for Okonomiyaki. It is also delicious on Yakisoba noodles, Takoyaki and other dishes.

Aonori 30g bag $2.50 Only available to Australia

Hide-and-Seek Bento Picks

2012-05-29T14:56:00.001+09:00

I found these colourful bento picks quite amusing! ^_^

From the top, you see:

a Flower,

a Lion,

a Four-leaf Clover and

a Butterfly.

But when you look closer, you’ll see who’s hiding underneath!

a Kappa (green mythical water creature)

an Oni (monster)

a Girl and

a Boy.

Each measures approx 4 cm in length. (Approx 1.5 inch)

Hide and Seek Bento Picks Set of 4 (Half-Pack, 1 of each) $1.80

Hide and Seek Bento Picks Set of 8 (Full Pack, 2 of each) $3.00

Silicone Baran Bento Dividers Bear Grass

2012-05-29T14:51:00.004+09:00

Silicone Baran Bento Dividers

These cute Silicone Bento Dividers will cleanly separate each okazu and rice in your bento box. Textured sides to help them stay vertical.

Width: 7.5cm and 3.8 cm Height: 4cm

Width: 3 inch and 1.5 inch Height: 1.5 inch,

Microwave and Freezer Safe

Silicone Baran - Bear Set of 3 Sale Price $2.80 SOLD OUT

Silicone Baran - Grass Set of 3 Sale Price $2.80 IN STOCK

How to Make Super-Easy Japanese Bento Lunches

2012-05-26T00:12:00.000+09:00

For the past few weeks I've been showing you all these bento boxes and my favorite kitchen tools...but wait a sec, this blog is meant to be about cooking! And I haven't shown any actual bento lunches yet!

Truth be told, I'm still working on my "bento-queen" side. My mother never made Japanese bento for me. (I'm serious, never. I think one reason she married an Australian was to escape bento-making!) So I always assumed that bento-making was a tedious waste of time, best to be avoided.

And then I married a Japanese fella. Time to bite the bullet, and do bento...

To my surprise, there's nothing tedious about basic Japanese bento! In fact, it usually takes me less than five minutes!! I couldn't make sandwiches faster than that. One trick is to have everything ready-made, in the fridge or freezer, just re-heat it if necessary and pop it in the box. (Even though it will cool down by lunchtime, re-heating frozen foods thoroughly makes sure they're soft and yummy.)

Japanese-style bento is roughly 1/2 to 3/5 rice, with the remaining portion okazu. (Okazu means things to eat with rice, eg chicken, fish, pickled vegetables, fish cake, stir-fry, salad etc)

I came up with a way to make a really easy bento for my husband every morning:

BASIC JAPANESE BENTO FORMULA:

Rice (usually with sesame seeds, nori or furikake)
+
Choose 1 of these:
Okazu Mains:

Karaage (marinated deep fried chicken pieces. Freeze well)
Mini-hamburg (mini meat patties which are soft and delicious even when cooled. Freeze well)
Salted Salmon (pan-fried the same morning, or kept from the night before in the fridge)
Deep-fried Crumbed Calamari Rings (Freeze well) (Makoto added this one to the list)
Leftovers from dinner (keep in the fridge or freezer in a silicone cup)

+ 1 or more of these:
Okazu Sides, Vegetable:

Cherry Tomatoes
Lettuce, watercress or other salad leaves
Sliced cucumber sprinkled with a little salt
Otsukemono (Japanese vegetable pickles or mildly pickled vegetables)
Edamame (we always have some in the freezer, and not just for bento!)
Steamed Broccoli (from last night's dinner)
Japanese Potato Salad or Pumpkin Salad (if you happen to have leftovers)
Kinpira Gobo, Carrot or other fridge-storable vegetable sides

+/- 1 of these:
Okazu Sides, Protein:

Tamagoyaki (basic Japanese rolled egg)
Wieners (miniature frankfurt sausage, microwaved)
Kamaboko (Japanese rice cake, from the fridge)
anything in "Okazu Mains" section, in an even smaller portion.

= A delicious and super-easy Japanese bento, in less than five minutes!

Rice

Rice is basic enough (just make sure you use short to medium grain or Sushi rice, that is still soft at room temperature).

The items listed in the Basic Japanese Bento Formula are not exclusive. Of course, there are numberless things you can put in your bento box, however if you want to do Japanese-style bento, I have a few simple rules for Obento Okazu:

Small portions. When hot food is eaten at room-temperature, it tastes good for only a few mouthfuls. Another benefit is that one large batch of mini-hamburg or karaage will make a dozen bento-portions for the freezer. (And that's after we've eaten 1/3 of it for dinner!)
At least 2-4 types of okazu. Since we're doing small portions, we need a few different items to fill out the bento box (and your stomach) and make it interesting. You can do more, but I'm lazy and around 3 is my standard. Generally at least one type of protein okazu (main course) and at least one type of vegetable okazu (side dish).
Okazu must be bento-able. It must taste good even when it has cooled down, it must be safe for a few hours at room temperature(eg fish must be salted), and it can't be soupy (we don't want leaks!).

In this post I have a few pictures of basic bentos for Makoto, all made in the morning rush:

(All the links below are to my recipes or shop items.)

Top: Chicken Karaage (just microwave re-heated from frozen), daikon namasu, lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Ume-gomashio with Kamaboko flowers Furikake on the rice.

Mini-hamburg with cheese (I put some cheese on each before microwave re-heating them from frozen)

Wieners, watercress, cherry tomato. Heart Onigiri with Shiso furikake,

Salted Salmon (pan-fried), Spinach ohitashi, Watercress, daikon and cherry tomato salad (all dinner leftovers, packed last night and kept in the fridge). Rice with gomashio furikake. Silicone Flower Cups.

Mini Hamburg, Chicken Karaage, Fried Rice (leftover), daikon namasu and cherry tomatoes in a Silicone Flower Cup, ume-gomashio furikake on the rice.

Salted Salmon (in the frypan 5min), tamagoyaki and cherry tomatoes. Shirasu furikake mixed into the rice (rice I took from the freezer this morning and re-heated in the microwave)

Sweet and Sour Pork (leftovers which I froze in silicon cups, and re-heated this morning), Wieners (microwaved), Watercress from the garden: Prep time: 4 min

Mini-hamburg (Japanese-style soft pork patties) from last night's dinner, daikon and carrot namasu (I made a large batch a few days earlier), cherry tomatoes. Rice has some barley cooked in with it. Prep time: 3 min

Pan-Pita Japanese Sandwich Maker

2012-05-25T14:33:00.001+09:00

Don't you just love cute Japanese sandwiches?

What I love about the Pan-Pita is that the fillings can't fall out when you eat your sandwich! This is a big deal when you have a 2-year-old.

At first I thought the crusts would be wasted, but I've found that crusts are handy for making french toast fingers and other deserts, or process them to make soft panko breadcrumbs, which are the secret ingredient to Japanese mini hamburg that stay soft even when cold! (a bento okazu staple)

Even if I decide to leave the crusts on, it's a handy way for me to seal sandwiches for my little boy.

Below you'll see photographs demonstrating how simply it works.