kanten #4

Hello,

Making Kanten Jelly is still going on...This time, I used pureed kiwi fruits and some diced strawberry with it.

The idea was pretty good I guess, but I have made a big mistake while I was making the jelly...

The package of Kanten powder which I have been using contains 2 grams. And you can use 1 cup of water per package. So, I could've measure the kiwi puree and add some water until 1 cup, and use the kanten powder.

But, I use a whole cup water and add the kiwi puree to the water, which makes jelly more softer and watery.

Here the Kanten Jelly looks nice in a glass cup, but it got way too watery for it's texture. But I liked the crunchy texture of the seeds and the taste combination of kiwi and strawberry.

Ni-Mame (Cooked Beans)

Hello,

Do you like beans?

I love to eat beans especially the sweet type!

Eating beans in salad, curry, soup... I love them anyway, but sweet simmered Japanese style beans, that's my best of best! That is Ni-Mame, which means "cooked beans" in English.


Cooking beans takes little longer time, but it's worth the wait.

Some people may consider eating beans as a comfort food, but for myself I also enjoy the time preparing the beans just as much as eating them.

You need to be careful with the heat so you do not burn the flavor of the distinct beans while it's cooking,

All those cooking elements are part of healing process, if I may say.

The first bite of the sweet taste...including all the prep time is comforting to me, every time I cook beans.

I got about 1 lb. of mixed beans at Whole Foods Market the other day, and cooked everything at one time. After I cooked the beans without any extra ingredients, I divided in 3 parts, 1 for Ni-Mame and other 2 Parts for freezing.


Then, I made a thin syrup with brown sugar and water, and pinch of sea salt. After it's started to boil in a pan I add all the beans and turn the heat down very, very, low and cooked for 30min. Turn the heat off and let the taste all come together as it's cooling down.


In my home back in Japan, Ni-Mame is one of the best Ocha-Uke (お茶受け/ little snack or condiment for break with green tea. And I believe my mother and grand mother are having it right now.

Takikomi-Gohan

Hello,

I love to eat rice, as well as my husband. Since, I started to want to shift more to a whole grain or brown rice more often for our diet, I do sometimes use as a side dish or salad for us both. But still we love to eat white rice. I just realized I can not eliminate white rice from our diet completely, but we can eat a bit less.


Instead of just a simple steamed (cooked) rice, I often make this rice. It's so easy to make because I can put any veggie, meat...aay ingredients I wish to use into the rice cooker together and press the start button. That's it. After 40min, it's all done and ready to eat.



This is called "Takikomi-Gohan". Soy sauce, sake,(yes, sake!) and salt are usually used to make this dish and added to one's taste. And for the ingredients, Gobo(burdock root), carrots, shiitake mushroom, Abura-age(fried tofu), chicken, those are commonly used, but can vary at each house with a variety of ingredients which is used. It's like a Japanese style paella.


For my version, I always add Hijiki Seaweed and Kiriboshi Daikon(Dried Shredded Daikon). Both great source for fiber and calcium.

I would like to create a good alternative recipe with more of these great Japanese ingredients and introduce it western kitchens. Finally my cooking class is coming up in September, and I definitely will use these ingredients in the class, too.

Kanten Jelly #3

Hello,

Now, I think I've finally made the perfect Kanten Jelly that I wanted!

I laid soft wax paper inside a small cup, and tied top of the paper after I poured Kanten liquid and placed a strawberry in the center. It was a small bite size, so it finished molding in the fridge within 3o min.

Doesn't it look nice? .It still isn't as clear as I wanted it to be, but it turned out OK, for Kanten Jelly.
My husband describes this as " Strawberry Crystals"

I used 1 Cup of water per 1 package's Kanten Powder (2 grams), and I could make almost 10 little pieces (little smaller than ping pong boll) of this little Kanten jelly with small strawberry in it.

Kanten jelly does not melted soon in a room temperature like gelatin jelly, so it's very easy to handle and make it. Like this shinny little dessert, I hope to see more summer like sunshine in here too!

Kanten Jelly #2

Hello,

Here, I made another Kanten Jelly, since I wanted to make it a more transparent looking jelly with a nice texture like I was trying to do in my last post, but...

I used dark brown sugar in this recipe(!) and the final result was this : (

It turned out looking like a jelly made with red tea. (Red tea might be a good idea, good thought. with a herbal flavor?)

I kind a felt some taste of red tea strangely, is it because of that color!?

Texture was all right, I even might be able to increase the amount of Kanten Powder.

I also added a few slices of peach. Peaches are so delicious when in season, and this worked out pretty good in jelly!

Still to be continued.....

Kanten Jelly

Hello,


I've been trying to change my blog's template, color and font etc...
but I can't decide which one I really really like. So, I have been changing it around, trying to find a new one that i like :)


The other day, I was making Kanten Jelly with flaked Kanten for my next cooking class, coming end of this month. (whoo whoo) I found these flakes at Whole Foods Market. I have never used the flaked type before, so I just wanted to try it out.

It took a little longer than I expected to melt all those flakes into the hot water, so it is difficult to put on my recipe because it's going to vary for the amount of evaporated water until all flakes melt. And also you don't want to keep boiling Kanten liquid for a long time. (This makes the Kanten jelly a more unclear color) In order to make easier and clear recipe, I am going to decide to use powdered Kanten.

I added brown sugar to taste, and put strawberries in it. I put plastic wrap inside of small bowl and pour the Kanten liquid and twisted the top of plastic and tied.

One of the great things about using Kanten is it's fast and the time it takes to turn to gel and be able to mold within 40-45min. You can use any kind of fresh fruits, (some can't be used in gelatin jelly because of the enzyme they contain) and they are almost non calories, (because it's seaweed) but it's great source of fiber!

But the texture is totally different from gelatin jelly. I love the texture, but people who never had this texture might not like it at all. So, I need to try making Kanten jelly's texture little closer to gelatin more westernized. At the same time, I need to test again and make more clear.

Good thing I have my husband who never had Kanten jelly before, right? :)

Kurumi-Miso (Walnuts Miso Sauce)

Hello,
Here I made a Walnut-Miso Paste, just like I made that Sesame Sauce the other day. It turned out with a miso like paste. And I created a few different ways to use it.



This is the paste, doesn't it look like miso paste? I mixed in a little miso paste in order to give the sauce more flavor and richness. I also used a food processor to mix it all together, and it turned pasty like this quickly. I touched the paste and felt all the fat from the nuts. (a lot, but good fat! if you take with proper portion)


And, the ways I created to use were.....

Sauce for Noodles:

I added some dashi (soup stock) and made a cold noodle's dipping sauce. After I added the dashi, the color turned a whiter beige color. It didn't look like miso paste anymore!

I used a egg noodle, but I believe that Soba or Udon noodle also go along with this sauce, too.

Creamy dressing:

I also added dashi and little salt to make a dressing for leafy salad.

Another dressing:

I tossed with peeled carrots.

I wrapped this paste in a plastic wrap and kept in the freezer. (results To Be Announced)