"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.

Pistachio and Pistachio

I got tons of premium quality pistachios from my friend's family farm.  So, I've been enjoying using them on both savory and sweet dishes.

Pistachio ice cream has become one of my favorite homemade ice cream.  This time, I made super fine puree of pistachios with the honey ice cream batter before putting them in ice cream machine.  The result was rich and very smooth ice cream with huge nutty flavor!


I also made sencha green tea & pistachio cookies with whole wheat flour and almond meal.  Really nicely flakey and gorgeous.

Let's go green:-)

Koji Magic...Making Donabe Steam-roasted Amazake Salmon

I've blogged a number of postings about my homemade donabe-fermented amazake by now, because I love it so much and also because I want more people to know about its remarkable health benefits.

Amazake, is essentially a product of koji culture, and koji doesn't only bring health benefits to your body, but also makes food tastier (with its natural umami flavors) and more tender.  I like marinating fish filet in koji.  The process is very simple.  You just season fish filet with relatively generous amount of salt and leave for 30 minutes to let it sweat.  Once you wipe off the moisture released from the fish, just marinade it in undiluted amazake for 1-2 days.

Here's my 24-hour marinated amazake salmon filets in my microwavable donabe steam-roaster, "Tochinsai".  In just 3 minutes in the microwave, super tender steam-roasted amazake salmon was ready.  Magic of Koji, and magic of Tochinsai.

Happy donabe life.

Super-simple one-pot donabe udon lunch

Mini-size donabe is great for making single-serving one-pot lunch, too.

Here's my mini Rikyu-Tokusa donabe.

Nikomi udon, with grated daikon and tororo kombu (shaved vinegar-marinated dry kombu), and soy-marinated boiled egg.


On another day, I did udon with miso & kochujang (Korean hot bean paste) broth and runny-yolk dropped egg plus tons of wakame seaweed and enoki mushrooms.

Typical simple Naoko styles.

Happy donabe life.

Mini donabe recipe...Tomato & Cheese Zosui for one

Since I still had some more mozzarella cheese and tomato juice (I used some for making donabe tomato-cheese fondue) in the fridge...

This time, I decided to make a quick zosui (soupy porridge) with donabe for lunch. For this, I used mini-size classic-style donabe, "Rikyu Tokusa". This recipe is super easy and fast, and the result is really delicious (and filling)!

1. Combine 100 ml tomato juice with 200 ml vegetable stock in mini donabe.

2. Add a 2 oz kabocha (cut into small cubes) and 1.5 oz enoki mushrooms (cut into 1" length) and set over medium-heat. Turn down to simmer once it starts boiling.

3. Once kabocha is cooked, season the broth with a pinch of salt (or 1 teaspoon of shio-koji), and stir in 1 teaspoon kuzuko (arrowroot starch, mixed with the equal amount of water) to thicken the broth.

4. Add a small rice bowlful (about 2/3C) of cooked rice (warm) and stir. Then, add 1 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded) and drop an egg in the center.

5. Cover and continue to simmer for a couple of minutes.

6. Turn off the heat and let it rest for another couple of minutes.

7. Garnish with sliced shiso leaves and serve immediately.

It was like a Japanese-style tomato risotto and super delicious...rice, cheese, gooey egg yolk, and sweet kabocha, worked perfectly with the light tomato broth. Such a nice complete meal.

The recipe is also posted on toiro's website.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Tomato-cheese Fondu with Donabe-steamed Vegetables

With leftover cheese in the fridge...I came up with another something so delicious.

In my mini-size classic-style donabe, "Rikyu-Tokusa", I first sauteed a couple of crushed garlic cloves in olive oil, then added 3/4C vegetable stock, a small can (8 oz) of tomato sauce, and some leftover cheese (about 3 oz of each Swiss and mozzarella, grated). To thicken the sauce, I stirred in 1 tablespoon kuzuko (arrowroot starch), which was dissolved in equal amount of sake into the sauce. At the end, I added some ground black pepper.

Meanwhile, I steamed vegetables in donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", and they were plated with some turnip leaves and mochi (rice cake). Sauce was served on a portable burner at the table and served with the vegetables to dip. They were so delicious with the cheesy tomato sauce!

With the leftover sauce, I put some donabe rice in it to make quick "ojiya" rice soup. Fantastic.

Happy donabe life.

Donabe Cooking Class Report...Japanese Bento Picnic Meal

Our last Saturday's donabe & Japanese cooking class was another unique theme...it was PICNIC BENTO.  In the class, we made a variety of both donabe and non-donabe dishes, and we all packed our own (individual) bento box meal to enjoy.

I find art in Japanese bento ("boxed meal"), because it's like a multi-course meal in one small box or as if there are different stories in there.  It also requires elaboration, planning, and of course, hard work.  And, yes, it's also real fun to make bento, especially when you are making it for someone you love!


After the cooking demonstration in the kitchen, I set up a "onigiri" station and we made our own rice balls.


Then, we all decorated our own bento boxes with the bento-friendly dishes we made.


I started first as a demonstration.  Everybody followed and made his/ her own version...I loved that every bento was decorated differently and showed his/ her own personality...very artistic!


Once we finished packing and wrapping, we took our own bento boxes to our patio and had a picnic lunch together.


It was a perfect picnic weather and we had a fun time over our healthy homemade Japanese bento meal with rose wine.  Our linch ended with my homemade "amanatto" (assorted sweet bean) and almond cookies.

Here's the menu:

Menu

Satsuma Sweet Potato & Fuji Apple in Creamy Miso, Endive & Pistachio Paste

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Donabe-steamed Drunken Chicken and Vegetables Salad

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Donabe Steam-roasted Cod, Rosemary “Yu-an” Flavor

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Donabe Steam-fry Once-frozen Tofu & Shiitake Mushrooms in Miso Sauce

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Yuzu-kosho Pesto “Onigiri” Donabe Rice Balls

Wine

2011 Moulin de Gassac, Guilhem Rosé, Pays d’Hérault (Languedoc, France)

Happy donabe life.