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Super Food! Japanese Hijiki Rice

4/1/2015

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Hijiki! 
Full of iron, fiber, calcium and VItamin A. 
It's a superfood which will help us for a better blood flow, healthier skin and a superb intestine! 
What is it?
It's a brown sea vegetable, much like seaweed but chewy. 

For those of you who have not had a taste of it, and those of you who have, this recipe is a super-easy-must-try. All you do is throw in the following ingredients into your rice cooker. It'll turn into a savoury, warm Japanese rice dish. 

Ingredients
  • Hijiki (2 tbsp dry) You can buy these at Daiso, or at any Japanese supermarket. They come dry, so make sure you soak it in water before throwing it into the rice cooker!
  • 300g dry rice (cook w/ ~400ml water, or follow your rice cooker instructions)


Sauce
  • Japanese soy sauce 1 tbsp
  • Hondashi  (Japanese broth powder) 1 tsp
  • Salt 1 tsp
  • Japanese sake 2 tbsp
  • Japanese mirin 1 tbsp


Steps
  1. Wash the rice (as usual) and place the sauce into the rice
  2. Add the water per rice cooker's instruction (or add around ~400ml if you don't have instructions)
  3. Add the hijiki
  4. Stir a bit, then cook the rice as usual!
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Weekend Brunch Quick Recipe: Japanese people love fluffy omelettes.

2/1/2015

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Who doesn't love super fluffy omelettes?

Japanese girls like me are into fluffy snacks, fluffy food, fluffy anything right now. 
Pancakes, omelettes, pastries....The list goes on.

So instead of lining up for 1hr to get fluffy omelettes, why not try it at home?

This applies to those living in San Francisco too!


Recipe for 1 omelette:

  • 1 large egg (or 2)
  • 2-3 tbsp of milk (I use Whole)
  •  (Optional) Cheese, veggies


Steps:

1. Whisk the egg and milk. Try to get some air in there!
2. Heat a pan on medium heat.
3. On the heated pan, add a little olive oil or butter to prevent sticking.
4. Pour in the egg, add any optional goodies if any and mix the top layer so it gets a little scrambled.
5. Put the heat down to low and start cooking the egg to your favourite consistency slowly. Slowly!
6. Fold the egg and cook a little more.

fwah-lah!
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jpinsider's New Amazon Store!

7/8/2014

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I'll start throwing in some of the basic + necessary ingredients you'll need to cook amazing Japanese dishes here! 

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Practice makes perfect. 

7/11/2013

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I've got multiple comments about Tamagoyakis, Japanese sweet omelettes. 

According to some research, Japanese people only started to eat egg during the Edo period (16th to 18th century). Even then, I'm sure it was a luxury item. Now tamagoyakis are often made as a form of comfort food. Moms and Dads pack it in children's lunches a.k.a. obento. Every time I eat a tamagoyaki I always reminisce my mom's homemade lunches back in elementary school. 

Just like an onigiri (rice ball), it's a dish which reminds you of your family. Somehow tastes different depending on the family though the ingredients being used are probably the same. 

Ingredients being used are eggs and sugar with a dash of oil on the pan. Use a small pan for perfect results.

It may seem difficult at first but practice makes perfect. The more you try, the more easier it gets. I promise! 

As I mentioned earlier, I sometimes make these at night, cut them, freeze them in saran wrap and take it for lunch in its frozen state in the morning. By lunch time, they are defrosted and taste delicious! 

They go perfectly with rice; especially onigiri. I hope you check out the recipe I posted for this dish and try it out yourself! 
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Recipe: Salmon cooked in foil. No mess, no oil, veggie paradise.

4/7/2013

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My favourite fish to cook is probably salmon. I especially love to cook it in foil! It's mess free and best of all, I can throw in all the veggies I want. I've posted a recipe for this in the past using miso-mayo as a sauce on top. 

Today, I layered chopped raw onions, raw arugula, raw broccoli then the raw salmon (salt & peppered) and put a tablespoon of Japanese soy sauce and a tiny bit of butter on top. Popped it in a 470F oven for 15 minutes. EASY and DELICIOUS. Fresh squeeze of lemon prior to eating too :)
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Recipe: "Yaki-Onigiris" - Baked Japanese rice balls dipped in a delicious soy sauce mix. 

2/5/2013

5 Comments

 
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Number of steps:  6 super easy steps
Time taken: 10 min prep, 20 min in oven.
Approx. 90 kcal per mini yaki-onigiri

About This Dish:
Onigiris (rice balls) are delicious even when they are not baked, but when the rice is dipped in soy sauce and are baked on both sides, making the onigiri crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, it's becomes a dish you will start craving for! They're called Yaki-onigiris. In Japan, my mom used to make these for lunch as it is easy and goes well with various side dishes such as chicken. It is also eaten at Izakayas along with some sake and yakitori. It's just a fun twist to your regular onigiri, please give it a try! 


You don't have to use fresh cooked rice. You could even use left over rice in your freezer or fridge to whip this up quickly for lunch! Just make sure you warm the rice up before you dip it into the sauce.

What You Need:
(Makes 11 mini yaki-onigiris)
  • 2 cups of uncooked rice (Around 300g or 3 cups cooked)
The Sauce
  • 1 tsp of Hondashi diluted in water (If you don't have this, don't worry about it, skip it)
  • 2 - 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 - 1.5 tsp mirin
  • 1 - 1.5 tsp sesame oil
  • (Optional) sesame seeds

1. Cook the rice if you haven't done so already. Once the rice is cooked, pre heat the oven to 400F.











4. Using saran wrap, place a however much rice you want per onigiri. I like making mini onigiris so I use around 1/4 cup of cooked rice per onigiri. Wrap up the saran wrap and shape the rice into a triangular form. Photographs on how to do this are here. 
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2. Mix the ingredients for the sauce (soy sauce, dashi, mirin, sesame oil, sesame seeds)

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5. Take it out from the saran wrap and put it on an oven safe pan. Re use the saran wrap to make more onigiris. Once you're done, place it in the oven for 10 minutes each side! 

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3. Mix warm rice into the sauce. Mix well so that the rice soaks up the delicious sauce.

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6. You can re-wrap the cooked onigiris in saran wrap and freeze them up! Re hear using the microwave as needed :) Enjoy!

5 Comments

Recipe: Easy bite size, mini matcha cookies you can whip up with 5 ingredients. Not too sweet, not too bitter. It tastes just right.

2/4/2013

4 Comments

 
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Number of steps:  6 easy steps
Time taken: 10 min to prepare, 8 min in oven
Approx. 30 kcal per cookie

About This Dish:
Being a girl, sometimes you just crave for desserts. Unfortunately, I find the cookies and sweets in Boston too sweet compared to those in Japan. Solution? Bake my own! These matcha cookies are not too sweet, but not too bitter; it makes the taste of matcha truly come out. All you need is flour, butter, sugar, matcha powder and an egg yolk. I'm not a professional baker, and I must say these cookies came out perfect. Just make sure to use room temperature butter!

Note: The cookies I made are tiny, bite size, miniature cookies. Please cut and bake according to your taste!


What You Need:
(For approximately 30 mini bite sized cookies)
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour (120g)
  • 1 - 1.5 teaspoon matcha powder (~6g)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (60g) *Room temperature
  • 3 - 3.5 tablespoons white sugar (~45g)
  • 1 egg yolk
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1. Sift the flour and matcha powder together into a bowl.




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4. Wrap up the dough into saran wrap and place it in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. I rolled it up since it's easy to cut up when baking! Pre heat the oven to 335F or 170C.

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2. In a separate bowl, mix the butter (room temperature) and sugar together until it becomes a little creamy. Then, stir in the egg yolk.


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5. On an oven safe pan, line up the cut up cookies. I usually apply a super thin coat of oil on aluminum foil. You could also use cookie sheets, of course. Place in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

**You can also add sesame seeds, chocolate chips on the cookies!

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3. Add the sifted flour and matcha powder into the mix from step 2. Mix until it becomes smooth like the photo above. I started using my hands in the middle :P

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6. Cool the cookies down and enjoy :)

4 Comments

Recipe: Bored of the eggs you eat for breakfast? Try "niratama"; scrambled eggs with chives. A popular, casual, savoury Japanese breakfast dish! 

10/31/2012

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Number of steps:  6
Time taken: Approx. 5 min
Approx. 200 kcal per serving

About This Dish:
If you're bored of your regular scrambled eggs, you should definitely try "nira-tama", chives and eggs. Many Japanese moms make this in the morning since it's so easy to make but still so tasty! Goes great with rice (I love rice with natto), Japanese mayo and miso soup! 

What You Need:
(Makes 1 serving)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup of raw chives (Honestly, however much you want!) 
  • 1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Japanese sake
  • (Optional) You can add sugar, mirin, sesame oil etc. Be creative :)
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1. Wash, then cut up the chives to 3 - 4 cm lengths.



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4. Once the chives are heated, place them into the bowl with eggs and stir.

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2. Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the soy sauce, sake. Optionally you can add  a little bit of sugar, mirin, sesame oil; all up to you.

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5. Using the same pan, scramble the eggs. I usually keep the pan on MEDIUM HIGH heat and swiftly mix the eggs. Quick and easy!

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3. Heat up a pan on MEDIUM HIGH heat and pour the olive oil in. Once the oil is heated, place the chives in and cook for 2-3 minutes.

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Recipe: Simple yet irresistible salmon onigiri! Japanese rice balls are healthy, filling and a great way to start your day. 

10/14/2012

3 Comments

 
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Number of steps:  5
Time taken: Less than 10 minutes
Aprrox. 70-140 kcal per onigiri depending on how large you make it.

About This Dish:
History
Japanese rice balls which are called "onigiris" has been and still is a very popular staple food. Every convenience store has them for $1-$1.50 each while there are more premium onigiri stores which sell it for more than $4 per onigiri. The history of onigiri goes back to the Yayoi period (300BC-300AD)! It became a staple food after the war where a majority of the Japanese population started to eat it as a meal though it was only eaten by warriors before. 

Importance
There are so many ways of making onigiris. Extreme people treat it as a piece of art (for example, caring about the way the rice is cooked, which salt to use and to how the rice it touched) but this recipe is for people who eat onigiris casually. The most important thing to remember when making any type of onigiri is to put love and warmth into it when placing the rice into your hands. Onigiri is a comfort food in Japan; it has a sentimental and nostalgic element to it, even reminding many of their mothers or grandmothers. 

What You Need:
(for 4-5 medium sized onigiris)
  • 3 cups of cooked rice (I like using brown rice, but any rice is fine!)
  • A couple tea spoons of salmon flakes (you can buy them at a Japanese supermarket or easily make it yourself using this recipe)
  • Couple sheets of dry seaweed
  • Salt
  • (Optional) Sesame 

Related recipes: Japanese tamagoyaki (sweet omelettes), salmon flakes
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1. Once your rice is cooked, mix in a little bit of salt! We don't want the rice to be too salty, but keep tasting to reach your preference. I've added sesame seeds and little pieces of seaweed into my rice above.

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4. This is where the love comes in. Start shaping up the onigiri by simply cupping it into your hands. A triangular shape is traditional, but be creative if you like :)

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2. Get a piece of plastic wrap and place a scoop of rice onto it. Flatten it out and create a little concave in the center for the salmon flakes!



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5. Wrap it up with some seaweed and you are done! Put it in the freezer as it is (in the plastic wrap) to keep it delicious and fresh if you are making this ahead of time. Simply microwave the onigiri as is when you are ready to eat it.

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3. Enclose the salmon flakes by holding the sides of the plastic wrap. Twist and close up the plastic.


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Recommended: Eat it with a side of Japanese egg omelettes! The recipe is here!

3 Comments

Recipe: Salmon flakes used for Japanese rice balls. Yes, you can make it yourself and it's VERY easy & affordable.

10/14/2012

2 Comments

 
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Number of steps: 6
Time taken: 30 min

About This Dish:
You love Japanese rice balls (a.k.a. Onigiri) but are tired of going to a Japanese supermarket to buy the delicious salmon flakes...That was my problem. Thankfully, those salmon flakes in the rice balls are super easy to make! You can store them up for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and longer if you freeze them up! Perfect! 

What You Need:
  • A little more than 0.5lb of salmon! (I used the frozen salmon sold at Trader Joes)
  • Sake (Japanese rice wine) 1 tbsp
  • Salt 1/2 - 1 tsp
  • (Optional) Roasted sesame 1 tbsp
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1. Here's what you need at a glance. I didn't use the sesame seeds. Make sure your salmon is defrosted if previously frozen.




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4. Put the rest of the meat into a pan and start broiling it on low heat. Put it on heat for a couple of minutes to get rid of excess moisture.




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7. Once the flakes are completely cooled down, you can wrap them up in plastic wrap and freeze them for long term storage. I usually freeze some and put the rest in a tupperware for the fridge. It'll last 2 weeks if you put them in the fridge!

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2. Boil the salmon for 5 minutes until cooked.You can also grill it until cooked. Boiling is recommended as it is quick, clean and easy! 



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5. Add the sake. Once the sake soaks into the meat add the salt. Taste it as you go. If you want more salt, add more. It all depends on your preference. Broil it on low heat until you get rid of the excess moisture.

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3. Separate the skin and the meat of the salmon while breaking it up into small pieces. We only want the nice pink colored meat of the salmon! Throw out the skin and discolored meat.

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6. Spread it out on a plate until it cools down and excess moisture is taken away even more. We want the meat to be as dry as possible.

2 Comments

Recipe: Nostalgic and Appetizing Tamagoyakis (Japanese Sweet Omelette)

9/5/2012

2 Comments

 
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Number of steps: 8         
Time taken: 10-15 min



About This Dish:
This type of tamagoyaki is usually eaten for breakfast or lunch when onigiri (rice balls) or rice is served. Believe me, this goes terrifically with onigiri! Japanese mothers usually pack this into their children's lunch boxes making this dish a comfort food. 


What you need:

(Makes 6 pieces of tamagoyaki, enough for 2 people!)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1.5 TBSP sugar (brown or white)
  • Oil for the pan (I use olive oil)
  • A small pan 



Additional Comments:
  • Some people like to add soy sauce and vinegar. Play around and see what you like best! You can even try to add veggies.
  • I recommend using a small pan for this dish (circular or rectangular). I use a circular pan that is roughly 15-20cm in diameter. Amazon sells rectangular pans for making tamagoyakis :)
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1. Place 1 tbsp of oil on the pan and start heating it up using medium heat. We want to make sure the pan is hot hot before placing anything on it.

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2. While you are heating up the pan, place 2 eggs and 1.5 tbsp of sugar (I used brown sugar here) and mix it, just like when you make scrambled eggs.

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3. Pour in a sixth of the mixture from (2) and scramble it up. Put it all to one side (like the photo). This will be the center piece of the rolled up Japanese omelette!

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4. Pour in the second sixth of the egg mixture on top of (3). Lift the inner side of (3) so that the new mixture pours beneath it. 

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5. Roll the egg up! From bottom to top, starting from the heavy side of the egg where the center piece is.

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6. Move the rolled up egg from (5) to the bottom of the pan once again. If there is not enough oil, drop in some more of it before you move on to prevent the egg from sticking onto the pan.

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7. Repeat processes (4) through (6) four more times until you run out of the egg mixture. Remember, always lift the center piece up a little bit to pour the new mixture into the bottom (please look at photo below). This really helps when you roll the egg up; it sticks the new egg mixture to the already existing one.

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8. After you complete the process, cut the omelette up into 6 equal pieces! 

This dish is eaten usually for breakfast and lunch when onigiri (rice balls) and rice is served with other meat and veggies. Enjoy and please let me know of any feedback you may have! 

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