For the past months, I could say 90% of our meals is Japanese, whether home cooked or not. Japanese food is a constant craving for the family. We love the balance of flavors and ingredients which makes the meals light and delicious. The fried items are filling in a good way... not too oily but just right. Some of the most common Japanese ingredients are soy sauce, miso, mirin, dashi, Japanese mayonnaise and sake.* Here are some of the table settings and dishes we do at home...
Shabu shabu table setting
Vegetables
Thinly sliced Ribeye
Other ingredients and condiments
The 2 sauces: Sesame and Ponzu
Sukiyaki table setting
Sukiyaki
-Another form of hot pot with beef, tofu, vegetables and noodles cooked in soy sauce, mirin and water.
Tempura
-Deep fried shrimp and vegetables. This comes with a sauce made of soy sauce, dashi and mirin.
Chicken yakitori
-Grilled chicken with leeks
Cha soba
-Noodles with green tea. This usually comes with a sauce and nori is used as a garnish.
I was inspired to try out some recipes I found online and in some cooking books at home. I know I won't feel the guilt because they're pretty much healthy.
Cold noodles salad with sesame dressing
Gyudon
-A rice bowl with thinly sliced beef and onions cooked in soy sauce, sake, mirin and ginger.
Mapo tofu
-This is Chinese inspired, this is with ground pork, tofu, onions, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and chili paste. This is best eaten with rice.
Salmon with miso mayo
-This is baked with onions and mushrooms under the salmon. I use Japanese mayonnaise here... I'm not a mayonnaise person but to me, Japanese mayonnaise is the best!
Japanese inspired Carbonara
-This is cooked with heavy cream, eggs, cheese, onions and pepper.
Now we go to dessert. The desserts are just fabulous! They look and taste great... not too rich, just right. They say Japanese desserts are very similar to European desserts.
Coffee jelly
(Some Japanese restaurants offer or give complimentary coffee jelly. It's served with either milk or ice cream.)
Japanese Christmas cake
-Also known as Strawberry Shortcake. So far this is the most tedious dessert I made. I haven't made cakes for a long time so this took me 3 attempts. In my first 2 attempts, the cakes were as flat as a pancake with holes.
Some facts I researched about Japanese culture:
-When eating noodles, slurping is a way of saying the food is delicious.
-Don't place the chopsticks facing upwards inside the bowl because this is a ritual done in funerals so it's considered negative.
-The number four is bad luck because it's associated with death.
-When making a toast, do not say "chin chin" as it's considered inappropriate. Say kampai.
-When eating sushi, it's best to eat it as whole because cutting it will destroy the chef's art.
If this inspired you to cook some Japanese food, you may find your ingredients in the grocery of The Landmark and New Hatchin. With this, I say Itadakimasu!*
The Landmark
Ayala Ave.
Makati City
New Hatchin Japanese Grocery
7602 Sacred Heart Street corner Metropolitan Avenue
San Antonio Village
Makati City
897-7202 / 890-5038
miso -fermented soy
mirin -rice vinegar
dashi -cooking stock
sake -rice wine (2 kinds: one for cooking and another for drinking)
nori -seaweed
Itadakimasu -This is said before meal time. Based on research, this means I humbly receive, I shall take, Let's eat. (The letter u is silent.)
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