Quatre quart au Shiromiso

Today I bake Quatre quart au Shiromiso, which I bought at the exhibition of Kyoto food and products. I cut down on butter by 30% and substitute sour cream for it to make the batter lighter and softer. And I also cut down on sugar as Shiromiso is relatively sweet. As soon as it's just baked and I open an oven door, I smell sweet like cheesecake and get very excited as I'm sure that it succeed smoothly. Same as the smell, it taste like cheesecake without sourness. I will surely keep this recipe on my iPad.

Shiromiso made in Kyoto

Yesterday I went to Yokohama to an exhibition of Kyoto food and traditional products held in Takashimaya. Last year I bought some awesome food made in Kyoto and Nara, and then came to love them as soon as I had a bite of them. I have impatiently waited for this exhibition for a whole year. 

My favorite is "Shiromiso" produced by Kantoya. There are mainly 3 kinds of miso in Japan; "Shiromiso"(white), "Akamiso"(red) and "Awasemiso"(mixed) and in Kyoto Shiromiso has been preferred. It makes Shiromiso sweeter and lighter than another kinds of miso that it is fermented for a shorter time with half the salt of them. 

In the region I was born and lives Shiromiso is not popular and it is not easy to get good quality Shiromiso. So this exhibition is one of a few opportunity to get the one. Honestly saying, I didn't like Shiromiso once, but this Shiromiso by Kantoya changed my mind and captured me intensely. 

Yesterday I got 3 packs of miso and 2 in my freezer now. It is no exaggeration to say that they are my treasure. I will use them carefully and enjoy each bite of them.

Ganmodoki

As you know, Tofu is not only a Japanese food, known the world over as a healthy food with plenty of vegetable protein. In Japan, there are many processed food made from Tofu.

Ganmodoki is a deep-fried dampling made with tofu and vegetables, and often cooked in Nimono (simmered dishes) seasoned with soy sauce, sweet sake and bonito soup stock.

By the way, Ganmodoki means "like a wild goose". Buddhist monks forbidden eating animal cooked and ate it as a substitute for meat.

Valentine's Day in Japan

In Japan, only women give presents, mainly chocolates to men on Valentine's Day. These gifts are classified into three types: "giri choco" which means an obligatory chocolate for the woman's fellow workers and superiors, "honmei choco" which means a chocolate for the man the woman loves seriously and "tomo choco" which means a chocolate for the woman's female friends.

These pieces of chocolate consist of couverture chocolates by Valrhona and by Callebaut, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins and ground black peppers. They are my honmei choco!

Kakigōri, a seasonal image in summer in Japan

Kakigōri is a Japanese shaved ice dessert topped with syrup and condensed milk. It's a seasonal image in summer in Japan. The way of making it includes using a hand cranked machine to spin a block of ice over an ice shaving blade. Lately some shops use ice frozen naturally in cold mountain areas.

Popular syrups are strawberry, melon, lemon and blue hawaii, though most of these syrups don't involve any fruit juice and no fruit pulp is topped unlike Taiwanese one with a lot of fruit pulps.

If you long for the traditional one, I recommend "Ujikintoki", green tea with sweetened red beans.

Eel Kabayaki

In Japan, the popular way of eating an eel is Kabayaki (蒲焼), a grilled eel with a sweet sauce made of soy sauce and sugar after filleted and boned. An eel has been considered as nutritious and stamina-generating food in Japan. Many people eat Kabayaki in summer, especially on a particular day called "doyo-no ushi-no-hi (土用の丑の日). The custom is derived from that an owner of an eel restaurant consulted Hiraga Gennai, a famous herbalist and inventor about the decrease in sales in summer. He suggested him to put an advertisement at the door of the restaurant which catchphrase was "Today is the day of Doyo-ushi ", because people in those days believed in the tradition of eating dishes that began with the letter u on the day of "Ushi-no-hi" was good for the health. By the way, an eel is called Unagi (うなぎ) in Japanese.

Japanese sanshō (山椒) powder is indispensable for Kabayaki. Every elel restaurant has it on each table available and packed Kabayaki are always sold with it and a small bottle of sweet sauce.

Chicken Nanban チキン南蛮

Kyushu (九州) is is the third largest island located in the southewest of Japan. It has 9 prefectures and each has many local specialities. Chikin Nanban (チキン南蛮) is a speciality of Miyazaki prefecture and lately becomes popular in another areas and especially a favorite as a dish for bento. It consists of a deep fried chicken coated with flour and egg, sour souce with soy sauce, sugar and vinegar, and tartar sauce. The dish has both a sourness from vinegar and a mildness from boiled eggs in tartar sauce and they are well suited to the flavor of the chicken.

By the way, Nanban means Portugal narrowly and China and Holland are involved widely. Normally deep fried fish or meat marinated with a vinegar sauce are called Nanban.