"UME"...This year's plum project

We've been making our own "Ume-shu" (plum liquor) at home past years.  The plum season is late May to June.


This year, we got tons of special plums from our friends in Bay Area, so I got to make different things with them.

First thing was, of course, "Ume-shu".  For the best results, it's typically made with green (under-ripe) plums, and that's what I've been using past years.  So, when I got those super-ripe yellow plums (smelled really nice), I was a bit worried, but I carefully selected unblemished ones and made the standard-ratio ume-shu.  I'm looking forward to tasting it when it's ready next year.

I also made another batch of ume-shu with regular green plums which I purchased from a store.  But this batch, instead of infusing with rock sugar, I used Okinawa "black" sugar.  It's going to be very nice, also.

This is 3-day marinade Ume Syrup!  I simply marinated the ripe plums (650g) with the equal weight of Okinawa "black" sugar, and 2 tablespoons rum for 3 days at room temperature.  The result was super aromatic rich syrup.  I bottled them to keep in the fridge.  It should keep for at least a month.  With this I made Ume Syrup Ice Cream.  I made plain ice cream and swirled in the syrup at the very last stage in the ice cream machine.  Amazing!

And, guess what, I even made my own Ume-boshi (salt-pickled plums)...which I've never acquired a taste of my whole life so far!  I just wanted to do it, especially because I wanted to make my own "Iri-zake" (very nice seasoning from Edo period...I will write about it next time), and also "ume-zu" (by-product of making ume-boshi...salty plum vinegar).  First, I marinated 1kg ripe plums in 150g sea salt and 50ml shochu (Japanese spirit) for 17 days at room temperature.

After 17 days, the plums released so much juice!  This juice is called "Ume-zu", and you can use it for marinade, making dressing, sauce, seasoning, etc.  So, I saved it in the fridge.

Pickled plums were sun-dried for 2 days, and nice "white" Ume-boshi was ready.  I took out my courage and tasted one...waaah, it did taste like ume-boshi which I tasted long time ago!  But, hmmm...maybe I will eventually acquire the taste for it...hmmm...maybe now I kind of like it:-)

My ume-stories will continue.

Amazake & Yomogi Rolled Cake

Another amazake dessert recipe I created...

I made sponge cake with dry yomogi weed (mugwort, from Aomori) and homemade donabe-fermented amazake. Then, rolled with amazake-cream & amanatto (sweet bean) filling.

Another HOME RUN!

The sponge came out so delicately textured, with the subtle sweetness. The filling also gave nice balance with the sponge. I loved it so much.

Here's how I made it:

Yomogi Amazake Rolled Cake

Ingredients

3 egg white

45g raw brown sugar

3 egg yolks

45g wheat flour, sifted

3 g dry mugwort (you can find it at Japanese grocery store)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

3 tablespoons amazake base

(filling)

100ml heavy cream

50 ml amazake base

50 g amanatto (sweet red beans)

Procedure

1. Make meringue by whisking egg white. Add sugar a little by little while whisking.

2. Add egg yolks one by one while whisking.

3. Fold in flour by a spatula. Add dry mugwort and mix.

4. Add the cream and amazake and mix.

5. Pour into a 8"x11" sheet pan (lined with parchment paper), and bake in the 375F oven for 15 minutes or until ready. Cool down.

6. Meanwhile, make the filling by beating the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the amazake and amanatto. Keep the mixture refrigerated until ready to use.

7. Take the cake out to a surface gently. Spread the filling to 2/3 of the surface from the end closer to you. Roll gently. Slice and serve.

Happy donabe and koji life.

Secret weapon...Donabe Hat

Making Amazake with donabe has become my regular routine lately. When I need a big batch, I use big Kamado-san (like shown in this blog post), but for regular home consumption, I normally use a regular (3 rice-cup) size donabe rice cooker, Kamado-san.

Now, instead of using a blanket to keep the donabe warm during incubation, I have a special insulated "hat" for Kamado-san! It's a gift from Nagatani-en (and we don't sell it in the US yet...sorry). It has a cute "iga-mono" logo stitched.

It works really well...I wrap Kamado-san with hand warmers in towel, and just cover with this donabe hat. In about 12 hours, beautiful Amazake is ready.

No, it's not a hat for your head, Jason!

Happy donabe life.

Back to my routine...Power drink

After coming back from consecutive trips to Japan and New York, I am finally getting back to my regular routine. I missed drinking homemade kefir in the morning, and I also missed drinking Naoko power smoothie after jogging in the morning.

My power smoothie contains soy milk, kinako (roasted soy powder), black sesame seeds, purple yam vinegar, nigari (extracted seawater), funmatsu-cha (grown-up green tea powder), homemade amazake (the best thing), frozen blueberries, strawberries, and protein powder. They are put in Vitamix and just blended.

Best smoothie...seriously.

Making a big batch Amazake with big Kamado-san donabe!

I’ve been making a lot of Amazake (and also a lot of steamed ankimo) with my donabe lately.

Instead of regular small size Amazake making with Miso-shiru Nabe, I decided to make a big batch with my large-size double-lid donabe rice cooker, “Kamado-san”. It became quite a dynamic process.


(all US measurement) First, I made porridge with 2 cups (about 480 ml) sweet rice with about 1.2L (1.2 qt) water. To make porridge, cover with both lids, and set over medium+ heat and cook for 25-30 minutes. Uncover and stir for a few minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and rice reaches porridge-like consistency.


Then, let it cool down (with the lid on) to about 150F degrees. Meanwhile, in a bowl, rub together about 3.5 cups of rice koji with both hands until slightly aromatic. Once the porridge has reached down to 150F, add rice koji and mix them together by a wooden spatula completely.


Kamado-san is quickly covered with both lids then wrapped with towel. I put 2 hand warmer packets – one on top and the other on the bottom – and wrap again with a blanket to keep the inside temperature warm. Inside of the donabe should be kept at around 130-145F degrees for koji mold to incubate. It’s rested for 8-10 hours (or overnight, if you make it before going to bed like I normally do). That’s it!


So, the next day, I checked my big-batch Amazake. I unwrapped the blanket and opened Kamado-san lids. The mixture was perfectly turned into pure Amazake!


I put the mixture to a blender until pretty smooth. Wow, the result was almost 2L (2-qt) Amazake concentrate! To serve Amazake traditional style (my favorite style after all), you can mix amazake with equal amount of water and heat until warm. Pour into a cup and drop a little amount of grated ginger.


Or, you can be creative, too. I made Amazake & persimmon smoothie. I put about 1/2C Amazake, 1 over-ripe persimmon, 1/2C soymilk, and some ice cubes in a blender and blended until smooth. It was extremely tasty! Jason even said it was mind-blowing and was the best smoothie he’s ever had! He also said it was like a drinking cupcake.

Amazake banzai.
Happy donabe life.

Making Amazake from scratch...with DONABE

Although it can be enjoyed throughout the year, Amazake is a very popular and also traditional drink for winter in Japan. Amazake doesn't only tastes delicious, but also is known for its remarkable health benefits...rich in Vitamin B, fiber, and full of active enzymes. Just like miso, we also drink amazake for our health. (I found a good link about Amazake here.)

So, what is Amazake? It literally translates into "Sweet Sake", because just like sake, it's also made from rice, koji, and water. But, unlike regular sake, amazake doesn't contain alcohol. Cooked rice and rice koji (rice, inoculated with koji mold) are fermented together and koji enzyme breaks the starch in rice and turns it into sugar. There is no sugar is added, but the result is a very sweet creamy thing!

With donabe, you can make authentic Amazake at home. I would recommend Soup & Stew Donabe, Miso-shiru Nabe, for its size and also exceptional heat-retention ability. Here's how to make Amazake with donabe.

Get ready 200g rice koji. Rub them together by hands until slightly fragrant. In "Miso-shiru Nabe", combine 1 rice-cup (3/4 US cup) sweet rice and 500 ml (about 2 US cups) water. Bring to simmer over medium-heat (with the lid on). Once it starts simmering, turn down the heat to low-simmer. Cook until it becomes turns into porridge. (about 15 minutes).

Turn off the heat and let it rest until the porridge temperature is about 150F degrees. (40-45 minutes) As soon as the temperature is 150F, add the rice koji and mix well.

Quickly cover with lid again and wrap with a towel. Put disposable hand-warmers (one in the bottom and one on the top) and wrap again with a blanket. Let it rest for 8-10 hours. Make sure that it doesn't get too hot or too cool inside. It's very important to keep the inner temperature at around 125-140 for the fermentation to take place.

Unwrap and remove the lid...Amazake base is ready! The aroma is so beautiful.

To make it smooth, I put it in a blender (VitaMix), but you can also enjoy the course-style amazake.

To enjoy in a traditional way, combine amazake with equal amount of water and just warm it on the stove. Add a little amount of grated ginger to serve. The flavor of my donabe-made amazake is so serious and so delicious. It's milky, sweet, and very natural. I must say my homemade amazake tastes better than any commercial amazake I've tasted...haha.

Amazake can be enjoyed in many other ways...you can mix in drinks, make dessert, etc. I also use my amazake in my power smoothie. So nice.

Happy donabe life.

Healthy Amazake life.

"SHIKOMI" Morning...Time for prepping and getting things ready

In Japanese, "Shikomi" is a word often used in the kitchen. It means "preparation". But it does not necessarily refer to just prep work. It's often about making something which requires some aging (waiting) time. So, making miso is a "shikomi" work. So as making "Ume-shu (plum liqueur). Depending on what you make, after "shikomi", it requires from just a few hours of waiting to multiple years.

One morning, I was busy doing "shikomi" on different recipes.

The first ones (top picture) were two different kinds of Chunky La-yu (chunky hot oil). One was similar to my "regular" style with dry shrimp. And the other was with fermented black beans. After infusing the ingredients in the oil, I need to let them rest for over night for the flavors to fully integrated.

Then, I made more Makkoli (Makgeoli) and more Shio-koji with more koji rice. This time, for Makkoli, I used Champagne yeast, which I ordered online. So, I'm excited to try it!

Then, I made 5-hour roasted "umami" tomatoes. To make it I simply drizzle some olive oil over the halved tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Then, the tomatoes were put in the 300F oven for 5 hours (the cooking time depends on the type of tomatoes). I can make a bunch of it and make an oil marinade and keep for a week or so. These super-slow roasted tomatoes are good in the salad, with rice, etc.

So, the next day, I made simple brown rice in my double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san", and tossed the rice with some edamame, and the super-slow roasted tomatoes. To serve, rice was served into individual bowls and topped with some thinly-sliced scallion and homemade chunky la-yu. Perfect dish.

Happy donabe life.