Tan Tan Tofu Nabe - Spicy Tan Tan Tofu Hot Pot with Miso & Sesame Sauce

Nothing cannot go wrong with a hot meal on a cold rainy day.

Ready in: 10 minutes

Ingredients for two:
[Sauce, prepare in a bowl]
1 tablespoon of miso paste
1/2 teaspoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of grind sesame seeds
1 teaspoon of chili sauce
1/2 teaspoons of grind garlic
1/2 teaspoons of grind ginger
1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil

[Soup, prepare in a pon]
400cc water
1/2 teaspoons of chicken stock powder

bok choi
green onions
1 block of Tofu
Pork or chicken meatballs, option

Step 1: Put soup, tofu and vegetables in a pot, and boil it.

Step 2: Mix ingredients for the sauce

Step 3: Serve

Tofu no Kara Age- Deep Fried Tofu (Wings Imitation)

Feel like eating non meat tonight? Try Tofu fritters.

Freeze tofu more than 2 hours, squeeze it and break it into cubes. Handle it as chicken cubes.

Ingredients and instruction: Tori no Kara Age- Deep Fried Chicken (Wings)

Udon- Homemade Udon Noodles

As I mentioned in the article chan pon stair fry on noodle soup ramen, my father is a noodle lover. When I was small, we used  to make different kinds of homemade noodles together on weekends. The key to make good noodles was how much you beat the dough up. We stepped on the  dough or bang it on thle table. It was really fun.  

Three Christmas' ago, I won a bread maker from a raffle at work. Since then, I've been making different types of noodles. It's not as good as my father's (less beat-ups), but it's quick and taste good.

My favorite way of eating it is with soy sauce and freshly squeezed lime juice.

Ready in: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Ingredients for four:

130cc of water

300g of flour

12g of salt

15-20g oil 

[Prepare in a bowl]

Your favorite soup, sauce or dressing, plus vegetables

Required Equipment:

Bread maker or stand mixer + a dough hook, or your muscle!

Pasta maker or rolling pin + knife

Step 1: Dilute salt in water.

Step 2:  Add flour. Start your bread maker at the dough setting. (Start mixing in your mixer or by hand for about 7 minutes.) 

Step 3: When your bread maker beeps to add "dry ingredients", add 15g of oil. For a mixer and muscular person, once the dough crumbles, add oil and continue mixing or folding. Add oil accordingly.

 

Step 4: When the bread maker becomes quiet, turn it off and take out the dough and put it in a ziplock to rest for 1 hour. (Do not start the raising mood.)

Step 5:  Divid the bough into 3 balls and put some flours around.

Step 6: Using your pasta maker or pin, flatten the dough. 

Step 7: When your sheet becomes your liking in thickness, change the cutter to Fettucine. Or fold the sheet into 3 or 4, and cut it into noodles. Hang the fresh noodles on a dishwasher or oven to dry for 30 minutes.

Step 8: Measure noodles 100-110g each. Put them in a ziplock to freeze if needed.

Step 9: Boil water and cook noodles 45-50 second. Choose a large pan to boil water.

Step 10: Rinse cooked noodles in cold water.

Step 11: Serve it! 

Soba Noodle Buddha Bowl

In macrobiotics, there is no strict dietary rule although it recommends people to eat less animal products or refined sugar.

Eat seasonal foods, listen to your body needs, and don't torture your body.

It gets really hot in Ottawa. Lately, I make lots of pickled vegetables and eat Yin food such as cucumber and tomatoes.

My body is telling me to stay cool this summer.

Add some ginger in the bowl to balance up Yin and Yang.

Ready in: 10 minutes

Ingredients for two:
200g Soba noodles
A few salad leaves
Pickled vegetables, such as peppers, red cabbage, ginger, and carrots (soak over night in sugar and vinegar)
Green onions as  decorations.
[Prepare sauce in a cup]
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of vinegar
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of Mirin or maple syrup


Step 1: Cook noodles by following the package.

Step 2: Put everything in a bowl and pour sauce on top.

Kocha Kinoko- Kombucha

One of my first Canadian friends asked me if I wanted Kombucha 6 years ago. Apparently, it was homemade. I thought it was interesting that she had a homemade Kombucha. Kombucha means a powdered algae tea in Japanese. It reminded me of my grandparent's house where I used to drink it. So I said, Sure!

She came back with a huge slimy jelly. It looked so gross! 

What the hell is Kombucha then?! This is my first impression of Kombucha.

I started brewing it by myself. It's actually not bad.

I find homemade one is less fizzy, it doesn't hurt my throat.

Ready in: 2 weeks or less, Ottawa is too cold to brew it fast!!

Ingredients for 1L:

1L water

80g sugar

2 cafainated black tea bags

Required Equipment:

Scoby

30-50ml store-bought Kombucha, or starter fluid (depending on the size difference of your scoby and jar)

Mason jar

Cheesecloth or paper towel or coffee filter

Elastic band

Towel, optional

Step 1: Make sure your mason jar is bacteria-free!

Step 2: Make dark tea in hot water or boiling water.

Step 3: Add sugar while tea is still hot, and cool it down to room temperature.

Step 4: Once it cools down, pour tea in a jar.

<Important> Do NOT put your scoby in hot tea. You will kill her!!

Step 5: With your surgeon-clean hands, slowly put a scoby in the jar. Add store-bought Kombucha or starter fluid. Cover it with a cheesecloth and elastic band. Let it sit in a dark place where you don't need to move it around. You may want to wrap the jar with towel to keep 20 degrees around the jar for a better result.

<Important> New scoby layer will start. At the beginning, it looks like grease on the surface. If you move the jar, you disturb the growth of the new scoby. 

Step 6: After 5-8 days, a new scoby layer starts growing. At some point, the original scoby comes on the surface. Once it gets about 3mm thick evenly, your Kombucha is ready to enjoy. Your Kombucha has a lighter color than black tea you made to start.

Keep a scoby in 30ml Kombucha, use it in your next brew as a starter

Optional Step: For the second ferment, put Kombucha in a sealable bin. For its flavor, you may want to add some fruits directly in the jar. Keep it sealed in the room temperature for 1-2 days. When you open the lid, you will hear a fizzy soda sound.

Saidah Zeri- Rain Drop Cake with Fruits

During the summer, it gets really hot and humid in Japan, just like being in a sauna. Using an AC increases the heat in the air because there are so many people on the tinny island, and it's so crowded! The warm air comes from neighbor's AC would come right in your house.

We try to stay cool in every possible way, by Cool Biz clothes, by cold food, or by visual of food!

We have so many different kinds of rain drop cakes. 

They make your body and mind cold and refreshing, inside and outside!

Ready in: 40 minutes, including 30 minutes in the fridge

Ingredients for four:

15g of agar agar, you can use jello as well

25g of sugar

5 tablespoons of canned fruit syrup

400ml of plain sparkling water, room temperature

Fresh fruits

Canned mandarin

5 tablespoons of canned mandarin syrup

Required Equipment:

Four 125ml mason jars

Pan

Skewer

Step 1: Mix agar agar with sugar. 

<Important> Agar agar gets lumpy in water if you don't mix it with sugar. If you use gelatin, follow the direction on its package.

Step 2: Warm up sparkling water in a pan, and add syrup. Slowly add the agar agar mix into it.

<Important> It's very important that you don't heat it up. Otherwise, you lose fizzy texture in your cake.

Step 3: Cut fruits. Wet jars and place fruits in them.

<Tip> Create water layer inside the jar, so your cake can smoothly come out of it.

Step 4: Pour [Step 2] into each mason jar, and leave it on the counter till it cools down. Then put it in the fridge.

Step 5: Once it's solid, stick a skewer to put some air in, and remove the skewer. Hold the jar up side down towards a plate, and tap the bottom of the jar. Your cake should jump out from the jar if you properly wet the jar before.

Meipuru Bata- Maple Butter

I know it's not Japanese food, but have to post this recipe! It's very Canadian and I love maple butter!
It's actually perfect macrobiotics food.

It's the season again!



Ready in: 2-3 hours

Ingredients:
2.5L of maple syrup

Equipment:
Cooking thermometer
Small strainer
Large pot
Large bowl
Wooden spatura
Ice cubes
6-8 maison jars

Step 1: Boil maple syrup in a large pot, and remove bubbles from the surface.

Step 2: Prepare icy water.

Step 3: When maple syrup reaches 240 degrees, immediately remove from the heat and put the pan into the icy water.

Step 4: Once maple syrup cools down to 160 degrees, start string using a wooden spatura.

30-40 minuts later

1 hour later

1.25 hours later

1.5 hours later

Step 5: Store it in jars.