From a Healthy Japanese K itchen

Teriyaki-Donburi with Mountain Yam

2006-09-24T15:03:00.000+09:00

Is this chicken? No. This nugget is made from Mountain Yam ( naga-imo).

1. Spread 1 cm layer of grated Mountain Yam on nori seaweed and immediately slip into the hot oil, nori side down.

2. Fry until golden. Drain and coat the teriyaki sauce throughly.

3. Put the rice into individual donburi bowls. Place the nuggets on top of the rice with steamed green vegetables.

Nectarine and Blueberry Pie

2006-08-27T22:44:00.000+09:00

Nectarines are in season. In Japan nectarines are not so popular. People like to eat fresh white peaches. But I prefer Nectarines. Nectarines have a good balance of sweetness and sourness. They taste good when cooked.
I like to make pies and tarts. This is my favorite pie; baked Europian-style in a custard.

Goya Chips

2006-08-20T15:26:00.000+09:00

Goya is a bitter fruits looks like a cucumber. Goya is a very popular ingredient of Okinawan Cuisine. Okinawa, Japan's southernmost chain of island, is recently spotlighted in their unique culture of music, art, food , lifestyle, etc. In recent years, you can find Okinawan restaurant in most Japanese major cities. Goya is frequently used in Okinawan cuisne. It is most often used stir-fried. Today I made chips with goya. The bitterness of Goya is milder and can enjoy clispness. Shall we eat this with beer?

Curry and Rice with Char-Grilled Vegetables

2006-08-15T15:43:00.000+09:00

Curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Using Japanese curry roux, we can easily make thick curry sauce. Typical Japanese curry include vegetables, such as onion, carrots and potatoes .　　
Today I made an unique one, cooking vegatables and sauce separetely. Place the grilled pumpkin, courgete, red & yellow pepper on the steamed white rice and pour over the curry sauce. How beautiful summer vegetables are!

Drying Umeboshi Pickles

2006-08-08T15:31:00.000+09:00

This is the final process of making Umebshi Pickles.
Umeboshi are made by soaking ume (Japanese plums) for a mounth, weighted. Then, after the rainy season is over, they are sun-dryed for 3 days. In air-tight container, we can keep Umeboshi for a year.
Every year , I soak ume in June and dry them in July-Augst.

Umeboshi can be found every kitchen cupboard. We cook Umeboshi-flesh in many ways . Umeboshi is known the ability to stop food from going bad and efficacy as a stomach medicine.

Chilled Fine Noodles

2006-08-07T01:16:00.000+09:00

Typical summer lunch menu in Japanese home cooking. This is called " Soumen" , the most suitable dish for a hot and stickey summer.

Usually Soumen noodles are white . Today I used a green one, which contain green tea powder .

In a serving bowl, noodles are chilled with ice cube and water.
We eat the noodles with condiments in a dipping sauce prepared in individual bowls.

Beer, please!

2006-08-05T22:53:00.000+09:00

Today I have finished my work earlier. Before preparing dinner, I and my husband enjoyed a glass of beer with hiya-yakko (chilled tofu) and edamame (green soybean), both are common snack to go with beer.

Green soy bean is in season now, just cook in a plenty of boiling water for 3-4 minutes , drain well and sprinkle salt. As for tofu, there are many ways to eat. Today's one is my favorite topping , Chopped Bannou-negi onion, grated ginger and roasted sesame seed.

Tofu is rich in protain, which can help the function of a lever. Soybean contains B2 & C vitamin that help to assimilate alcohol gently.

Simmered Pumpkin with azuki beans

2006-08-01T16:36:00.000+09:00

This is called "Itoko-Ni" in Japanese.
Simmered Pumpukin is a popular side-dish of japanese cuisine. Adding Azuki beans, this dish become nuturitionaly perfect.