Kamakura became the political center of Japan, when Minamoto Yoritomo chose the city for his new government, Kamakura Shogunate in 1192.
The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amitābha Buddha located at the Kōtoku-in Temple in Kamakura and dates from 1252. The bronze statue has survived over 700 years from wars, tsunamis and earthquakes, however the hall was destroyed by storms many times and it has stood in the open air. It is approximately 13.35 meters tall and weighs 93 tons. The statue is so hollow that you can enter inside. Honestly saying, there is nothing to see, just empty!
Why don't you call at the shop when you visit Daibutsu in Kamakura?
This mochi looks so delicious! :o
RépondreSupprimerYes! Really tastes good!
RépondreSupprimerBut most of my European friends hate sweetened red bean paste. Do you like it?
Oh, I like it very much! When I did it the first time I could not find any, so I substituted it with thick sweet chestnut cream, it has similar texture. :)
RépondreSupprimerBut when I did traditional mochi with the red bean nobody could find out what is the filling :)) "some sort of jam maybe?" Yes, it is not ordinary in Europe to eat sweet bean :)
Last week I wanted to buy a can of thai red bean paste (previously I made it at home, it was a bit rough)... and I managed to buy something totally different, although it was called "sweet red bean paste" :)) It was so salty and creamy. I assume this is for a different dish, maybe for pasta.
Glad to hear that you love red bean paste. It is certain that it is similar to chestnut cream. Actually we have sweetened paste made from chestnut, sweet potato, immature soybean, white kidney bean and green pea besides it.
RépondreSupprimerHave you tried to cook sweet bean paste by yourself? We hardly cook it even in Japan, but I will introduce how to cook it soon.
Yes, I did it once and today I tried a new recipe :) I could not cook it till it becomes creamy so I used a mixer at the end :o Now it is thick and smooth, I love it. I will use it for mochi or maybe do some green tea ice cream, I guess.
RépondreSupprimerOnce I saw a video of filling the mochi with strawberry covered with marcipan! Now it is strawberry season in Hungary and I have lot of marcipan at home, so I must try this too. :) Is marcipan popular or known in Japan?
It takes 2 or 3 days to make smooth red bean paste with a traditional recipe. So I often canned smashed paste and vacuum-packed smooth paste. Do yo know Sarashian? It is powdery dried smooth paste and you can use it easily only with water.
RépondreSupprimerAs yo know, Marzipan is not our traditional food, but I often use it to bake Pain de Gênes and so on. In Japan, we have "Ichigo-daifuku" consisting of a strawberry filled with red bean paste and mochi.
Oh, then this was the simple recipe, not the traditional one (it was only afew hours to make it :))
RépondreSupprimerNo, I don't know Sarashian.
I like the Ichigo-daifaku, will try it definetely :)
OK, I will introduce how to cook it traditionally and Sarashian later on the blog;-)
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